Geopolitics

According to Bloomberg, on August 27, the UK government will assign the Bank of England a new secondary responsibility to promote digital currency and payments innovation, which will not affect the central bank's primary mission of maintaining financial stability. City Minister Lucy Rigby stated

According to ChainCatcher, 39 U.S. state banking associations have formed the BankChain alliance to build a blockchain network for tokenized deposits, stablecoins, smart payments, and automated settlements. The alliance's 39 member associations represent 3,283 banks with combined assets of $21.8

The US Treasury Department is creating a quantum readiness task force that explicitly includes digital assets and emerging technology risks in its scope. The initiative supports President Trump's Executive Order 14412, which aims to strengthen cryptographic protections for America's sensitive

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the Treasury has established a Quantum-Readiness Task Force that includes digital assets and emerging technology risks, supporting President Trump's Executive Order 14412 aimed at strengthening cryptographic protections for the financial

Jon Atack, a Bitcoin Core developer living in El Salvador, recently made a Bitcoin payment at a restaurant in El Zonte that was the establishment's only cryptocurrency transaction all month. Restaurant employees confirmed that card payments have become significantly more common than Bitcoin for

More than three-quarters of Americans view cryptocurrency in workplace retirement plans as risky, according to a survey from The National Institute on Retirement Security conducted between Oct. 24 and Nov. 14, 2025. The survey found that 77% of Americans consider crypto in workplace retirement plans

According to BlockBeats, CZ stated on August 26 at the 2026 Wyoming Blockchain Summit that the CFTC chief will seek to enable Hyperliquid's entry into the U.S. market, following Trump's mention of the platform. CZ believes this development would constitute a major positive for the crypto

Iran's rial hit a record 2.02 million per dollar on Aug. 24, the same week the Trump administration launched Operation Economic Outcast, a sanctions package announced August 19 that added more than 60 entities to the Treasury's blacklist. The rial had traded at 1.53 million per dollar during Q1

According to Bitcoin.com News, Iran's rial crashed to 2.02 million per dollar on Aug. 24, down from 1.53 million in Q1 2026, as the Trump administration launched Operation Economic Outcast that week. The sanctions package, announced Aug. 19, added more than 60 entities to the Treasury's blacklist an

Pakistan announced a new regulatory framework for virtual assets on Friday, ending close to a decade of prohibition on cryptocurrencies. Bilal Bin Saqib, special assistant to the prime minister on blockchain and cryptocurrency, invited foreign businesses to establish operations in the country

According to Pakistan's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the country lifted its 8-year crypto ban on August 21 by announcing its Virtual Assets Act and opening the licensing portal for regulated virtual asset businesses. Bilal Bin Saqib, special assistant to Pakistan's prime minister on

According to Bitcoin Magazine, President Trump on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass the Clarity Act after meeting with crypto executives at the White House, stating the legislation would keep the U.S. ahead of China. When asked about potential government Bitcoin purchases, Trump said: "It's been

According to Nikkei Asia, Japan's Financial Services Agency, Ministry of Finance and Bank of Japan are preparing to establish a research group this summer to examine a blockchain-based settlement infrastructure for securities transactions. The proposed system could enable near-instant settlement of

According to Bitcoin Core contributor Jon Atack, a restaurant in El Zonte received only one Bitcoin payment during August 2026, with staff describing transactions as having become "practically non-existent." A 2024 survey by Universidad Centroamericana found that just 8.1% of Salvadorans used Bitcoi

The academic analysis cited by Crowdfund Insider found that from January 2019 to January 2026, a link between bitcoin and emissions was identified in Russia. The authors attribute this to higher carbon prices in the European Union, which may encourage miners to relocate emissions-intensive operations to Russia. The article describes this as a potential weakness in the region’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers analyzed data on the EU27, Russia, and the rest of the world The

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, OFAC on Aug. 24 designated Iran's digital asset sector as an economy sector subject to secondary sanctions under Executive Order 13902, marking the first sectoral determination of its kind. This allows OFAC to sanction any foreign person globally that

Bitcoin (BTC) has edged down from its recent high and was temporarily trading at around $78,840 on Aug. 26. Japan is preparing to establish blockchain-based payment infrastructure to enable real-time settlement of stock and Japanese government bond transactions. Reuters reported that India is preparing to pilot tokenized corporate bonds in September, using a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) for settlement and targeting the $10T real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector. Macro Even