Tether Announces US-Regulated Stablecoin USAT

Tether announced the launch of USAT, a US-regulated stablecoin to be led by Bo Hines, former White House crypto official. Hines will operate as CEO from Charlotte, North Carolina, where the new company will be headquartered and issued through Anchorage Digital.

USAT will be marketed as an “America-first” product tailored for US users, while USDT continues as the company’s global channel. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized USAT’s compliance with the GENIUS Act framework, branding it distinct from USDT’s international distribution model.

The launch event in Manhattan featured industry lobbyists and political figures including Rep. Bryan Steil, Kevin McCarthy, and Hines’ White House successor Patrick Witt. Ardoino highlighted plans for USDT’s US compliance while reiterating skepticism toward yield-sharing models offered by competitors like Circle.

Cantor Fitzgerald, run by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, already custodies billions in Treasuries backing Tether’s reserves, underscoring the firm’s US ties. Ardoino also teased Tether’s aggressive Bitcoin mining ambitions, pledging the company would become the world’s largest miner by year-end.

Polymarket and Kalshi Eye Multi-Billion Valuations

Polymarket is reportedly considering financing that could value the prediction platform between nine and ten billion dollars. Sources said at least one investor submitted a term sheet at ten billion, ten times above its summer valuation. Meanwhile, US-regulated competitor Kalshi is also preparing a new fundraising round expected to value the platform near five billion.

August trading volumes show Polymarket processed around one billion dollars compared with Kalshi’s eight hundred seventy-five million. Both firms have attracted prominent investors including Founders Fund, Paradigm, and Sequoia, reflecting surging institutional confidence. Analysts say rising valuations underscore growing mainstream recognition of prediction markets as a maturing global financial sector.

Ethereum Foundation Sets New Privacy Roadmap

The Ethereum Foundation’s Privacy Stewards of Ethereum team released a roadmap detailing goals for comprehensive end-to-end privacy. The plan focuses on private writes, private reads, and private proving to make confidential actions easy and inexpensive. Team members said Ethereum risks enabling surveillance without stronger privacy tools protecting individuals who rely on the blockchain daily.

Priorities include work on PlasmaFold for private transfers, confidential DeFi protocols, and privacy-preserving RPC infrastructure. Researchers are also developing cheaper zero-knowledge proving systems for regular devices, improving speed and accessibility. The roadmap credits contributions from Vitalik Buterin and others, with initiatives expected to guide Ethereum’s privacy strategy for years.

Gemini Shares Jump After Nasdaq IPO Debut

Gemini debuted Friday on Nasdaq with a valuation of $4.4 billion, as shares opened strongly at $37.01 each. The debut price represented a 32% gain over the $28 IPO offering and raised $425 million in new funding. Founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini positioned itself early as a mainstream cryptocurrency exchange.

Goldman Sachs and Cantor Fitzgerald acted as lead bookrunners, helping oversubscribe the heavily demanded listing. Gemini becomes the 10th US crypto company to go public this year following Circle and Bullish. Analysts said strong IPO performance confirms investor appetite for digital asset firms and strengthens tokenization narratives across Wall Street.

Data of the Day

Tron enacted Proposal #789 on August 29, reducing gas fees sharply from 210 sun down to 100 sun. The adjustment immediately cut average network fees by nearly 60% and reduced producer revenue by 64% within ten days. Daily income collapsed from $13.9 million to $5 million, the lowest level recorded on the blockchain in over twelve months.

Supporters said lower fees would encourage activity and improve network sustainability despite short-term losses for block producers. Tron still dominated blockchain revenue, generating $1.1 billion over ninety days, far ahead of rivals like Ethereum and Solana. Analysts said reduced costs may drive user adoption but highlight challenges of balancing growth with validator incentives.

More Breaking News

• The Shibarium bridge was drained of $2.4 million in a flash loan exploit that briefly compromised validator control; developers paused activity and offered a bounty.
• Bittensor’s decentralized AI network recorded 128 live subnets, institutional staking, and a $4 billion market cap as community contributions and demand continue to grow.
• UK financial trade groups urged the government to include digital assets in the UK-US Tech Bridge before Trump’s second official state visit.
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs brought in $1.7 billion last week as BTC neared $115,000 and ETH holdings surpassed 12 million among institutional participants.
• THORChain’s founder lost $1.35 million in a phishing attack; THORSwap offered a public bounty if the hacker returns the stolen wallet funds.
• Coinbase accused the SEC of deleting Gary Gensler’s text messages during enforcement efforts and asked the court for sanctions and urgent message discovery.
• World Liberty Financial’s governance community is backing a plan to use all protocol-owned liquidity fees for WLFI token buybacks and permanent burns.
• Pakistan’s new crypto regulator invited licensed global exchanges to apply for permits and help launch a fully compliant national digital asset marketplace.

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