Buterin Maps Ethereum's Shift Beyond a Blockchain by 2030

Vitalik Buterin described a 2030 network that may still carry the blockchain label while working very differently, combining cryptographic proofs with computers operating outside the chain. He titled the post "The cryptographic world computer."

The constraint he targets is repetition. Every full node currently redoes the calculations behind each transaction, so adding machines never raises capacity, whereas a prover could produce a short mathematical receipt others verify far faster than recomputing the original work.

Developers wanted this a decade ago but lacked verification, he wrote. Machines could now handle separate jobs simultaneously while checking one another, with proof systems combined to shrink what gets recorded on the chain itself.

Privacy extends to wallet queries, since checking a balance tells the server operator which accounts someone follows. Buterin expects Hegotá to be the last normal fork, with payments finalising in roughly eight to 32 seconds thereafter.

SEC Staff Says Token Buybacks Need Not Create Securities

The Division of Corporation Finance published FAQs stating that once a crypto system is functional, announcing a buyback programme does not amount to promising essential managerial efforts under the Howey test. Non-functional networks pitching buybacks as yield could still trip securities law.

MetaLeX attorney Gabriel Shapiro called it a loophole, writing that securities laws now look opt-in as applied to crypto. The guidance carries no legal force and follows the Clarity Act's Senate failure, meaning a future commission could reverse it.

Strategy Proposes Daily Dividends on Four Preferred Stocks

Strategy is seeking shareholder approval for daily dividend record dates on STRC, STRD, STRF, and STRK, including weekends and holidays. Rates and total obligations stay unchanged, with STRC switching first from November 1 if approved.

The proposal aims to support price stability, liquidity, and demand, Michael Saylor wrote. STRC already moved from monthly to semi-monthly payments in June after dropping below $75, prompting a repurchase programme since doubled to $2 billion.

Bitget Hacker Moves $83 Million in Unfreezable XRP

The attacker behind Bitget's $387.5 million breach moved roughly $83 million out of three holding wallets, leaving about $75 million in accounts nobody can freeze. The ledger lets issuers freeze tokens they create, but that power excludes XRP itself.

Circle and Tether froze about $320,000 in connected stablecoins, whose contracts permit blacklisting. Bitget said its protection fund covers the loss, with bitcoin withdrawals resuming September 28 and other tokens by October 2.

Data of the Day

US spot bitcoin funds drew $2.4 billion last week, their strongest since October 2025, flipping 2026 net flows positive at $934.1 million after sitting $5.8 billion underwater in July. Monday alone brought $999 million.

BlackRock's IBIT led with $1.2 billion and Fidelity's FBTC added $701.7 million, while ether products reversed course with $689.9 million. Analysts tied the turn to Treasury buybacks of long-dated bonds. Track daily flows on our bitcoin ETF tracker.

More Breaking News

• Alpenglow reached both test networks, targeting 150 millisecond finality against 12.8 seconds, though SOL has no mainnet date and the figure remains simulated.
• KelpDAO's developer filed suit over April's $292 million exploit, alleging LayerZero endorsed the single-verifier setup in writing before blaming it publicly.
• Aave V4 accepted seven stocks as collateral on Base, letting non-US users borrow USDC against tokenized equities under a $29 million cap.
• Magic Eden warned of exposed listings on Ethereum, after a whitehat operation rescued 23,155 NFTs worth over $5.7 million from a payment processor flaw.
• The Sixth Circuit backed two states enforcing gambling laws against Kalshi, leaving it one for three across circuits as a Supreme Court review looms.
• Hester Peirce urged ending KYC surveillance in her penultimate week, arguing zero-knowledge proofs could verify facts without building hackable data haystacks.
• The CFTC sued Cash FX over an alleged $950 million forex Ponzi, saying participants lost at least $406 million while defendants promised 15% weekly returns.
• Leaked code points to Pro Max, a $500 monthly ChatGPT tier buying speed on agent tools rather than usage, against Anthropic's $200 ceiling.