"Saylor says 'We're back' with BTC buys" Aug 31, 2026

Michael Saylor signaled “we’re back” as Strategy resumed Bitcoin accumulation, buying 4,600 BTC for $369 million from August 24 through August 30. The purchase followed several quieter weeks and marked a return to buying, though the announcement does not specify whether Strategy expects to continue at the same pace.

The acquisition brought Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings to more than 845,000 BTC, worth about $66 billion at the prices cited in the episode. That represents just over 4% of Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap, and the company had about $2.3 billion in paper gains at current prices. Bitcoin stood at $78,486 and was slightly down at 8 a.m. Eastern on August 31.

Russia’s new crypto law, signed by Vladimir Putin in August, takes effect September 1, 2026. Retail investors will be allowed to buy the most liquid cryptocurrencies up to 300,000 rubles, about $3,700, per year through each intermediary; qualified investors will have no purchase limits. Crypto remains prohibited for domestic payments, while the law permits its use in cross-border trade. Sberbank forecasts regulated crypto trading on Russian exchanges could reach $46 billion in the law’s first year and about $87 billion by 2029.

Chainalysis is suing ICE over the agency’s $94 million sole-source blockchain analytics contract with TRM Labs, alleging that the procurement was tailored to TRM’s products and relationships. Chainalysis says ICE issued highly specific initial requirements, then gave competitors three days and one page to answer a broader statement of need. It alleges ICE rejected its bid under undisclosed criteria without meaningfully assessing its alternative or asking about its work with HSI, the FBI and DEA.

Cronos halted after an exploit struck Tectonic, its largest lending protocol. An on-chain researcher estimated that about $75 million in assets were affected; before the incident, Tectonic had roughly $122 million in total value locked and $83 million in active loans. Tectonic had not confirmed either the loss or the root cause. The attacker reportedly bridged only about $6 million to Ethereum before the halt, leaving most of the affected assets stranded on-chain.

Kalshi became the US Open’s official prediction market platform partner under an exclusive deal finalized shortly before the main draw and effective immediately. The reported agreement bars rival platforms from advertising at the tournament and during ESPN’s US Open broadcasts; financial terms were not disclosed. The USTA accelerated the agreement under CEO Craig Tiley after initially planning to explore prediction-market partnerships for 2027 and beyond.

The CFTC ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to return $100,000 in trading profits, pay a $65,000 civil penalty and stay out of CFTC-registered markets for three years. The agency found that he traded using advance access to President Trump’s prepared speeches, allegedly seeing them about an hour before delivery and trading from December 2025 through March 2026. Perez settled without admitting the findings. The CFTC reduced his penalty by about 40%, citing what it called exemplary cooperation; Kalshi’s surveillance unit identified his activity and referred it to regulators.