In partnership with
A weak July U.S. jobs report (-23K payrolls, 4.1% unemployment) cooled Fed rate hike fears, triggering a nice risk-on wave across markets! Major coins are holding firm, boosted by strong Bitcoin ETF inflows. 👀 What to watch this week:
CPI (Wed, Aug 12) and PPI (Thu, Aug 13). A hot print could test this nonaggressive rally. Moderately risk-on, with CPI set as the next big trigger!
The CLARITY Act crypto bill is paused until the Senate returns in September.
Here’s what we got for you today:
👀 CEX or DEX? Binance or Uniswap?
⭐ Trump Media cuts BTC ambitions
⭐ 120+ crypto projects die in 2026
🔥 Burning hot takes for the road
Apple’s Starlink Update Sparks Huge Earning Opportunity
Apple just secretly added Starlink satellite support to iPhones through iOS 18.3.
One of the biggest potential winners? Mode Mobile.
Mode’s EarnPhone already reaches 490M+ users that have earned over $1B, and that’s before global satellite coverage. With SpaceX eliminating "dead zones," Mode's earning technology can now reach billions more in unbanked and rural populations worldwide.
Their global expansion is perfectly timed, and investors like you still have a chance to invest in their pre-IPO offering at $0.52/share.
With their recent 32,481% revenue growth and newly reserved Nasdaq ticker, Mode is one step closer to a potential IPO.
Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.
Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.
The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.
If you’re new to crypto, one of the first things you’ll come across is exchanges. You’ll need an exchange to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrencies. There are 2 main types of exchanges: CEX and DEX.
Now, don’t worry if these terms sound confusing. I’m here to break it down for you in simple terms, so by the end of this, you’ll have a clear idea of how they work, and more importantly, which one might be better for you 👇
🚨 TRUMP MEDIA PULLS BACK ON CRYPTO: SCRAPS CRO TREASURY & CUTS LOSSES!
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind Truth Social, is officially scaling back its crypto ambitions, canceling major deals with Crypto.com, and pivoting back to core tech, social media data, and clean energy.
1/ Scrapping the Deals: No More CRO Treasury or "Truth Predict" 🚫
Speaking to news outlet Axios, TMTG interim CEO Kevin McGurn confirmed that the company is calling off its biggest crypto projects with Crypto.com and Yorkville Acquisition Corp:
TMTG dropped plans to create a massive CRO token treasury. Announced a year ago, the plan aimed to build a $6.4 billion CRO token reserve using the Trump Media brand. McGurn explained that the corporate crypto treasury market is simply too crowded and saturated now.
Plans to embed "Truth Predict" have been scrapped. Instead of running the financial platform themselves, Truth Social will just run simple marketing for Crypto.com's existing betting products.
Following the news, Crypto.com’s $CRO ( ▼ 2.7% ) token traded around $0.0513 with a $2.4 billion market cap (ranked #38 globally).
2/ Cutting Bitcoin Losses & Shifting to Data + Fusion Energy 📉
Besides canceling future crypto products, TMTG appears to be cutting its losses on its heavy $BTC ( ▲ 0.2% ) investment:
On-chain sleuths spotted TMTG transferring over $165 million worth of Bitcoin to
Crypto.com, likely preparing to sell.
Back in 2025, TMTG spent roughly $2 billion buying BTC at an average price of $118,522 per coin. With market prices dropping, their portfolio took a 50% hit, driving a steep $406 million quarterly loss earlier this year.
Even after selling, TMTG still holds over $600 million in BTC, keeping them as the 14th largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the world.
TMTG is shifting its focus to its "Truth API" business, selling Truth Social platform data to 10 major clients. They are also pushing to complete a merger with fusion energy firm TAE Technologies before the end of 2026.
Critics also called out Truth Social for charging users for "early access" to Donald Trump’s posts. Opponents argue this monetizes public office.
The AI IPO Rush Is Coming
OpenAI and Anthropic could bring a new wave of AI attention to the public markets. But investors don’t have to wait for the IPOs.
MarketBeat’s 7 AI Stocks to Buy Now report reveals 7 publicly traded companies positioned to benefit from the next phase of AI investment.
💀 OVER 100 CRYPTO PROJECTS HAVE VANISHED IN 2026: THE GREAT CLEANSE IS HERE
According to data from RootData as of early August 2026, over 120 crypto projects have officially shut down, gone bankrupt, or disappeared this year alone.
Major names went under recently, including BitMEX, BitMart, Movement Labs, and Storj Labs. Nick Puckrin, founder of Coin Bureau, noted that for every project that publicly announces its death, roughly 10 others are quietly shutting down behind closed doors.
1/ Why are so many projects failing? 🧱
The market is bloated with copycats, and old tokenomics models don't work anymore.
2026 Crypto Dead Projects List
Between 2023 and 2025, rollups made building a blockchain super easy. So dozens of general-purpose Layer-2s offering the exact same features to the exact same users. Having too many identical chains created a huge supply surplus with no real demand.
→ Moonbeam, once a flagship Polkadot parachain, officially shut down on July 31, 2026, forcing users to pull out their funds.
For years, when token prices fell, budgets shrank instantly while fixed operational costs stayed high. Even big names failed:
Tally: A governance platform that handled billions for giant DAOs like Uniswap, Arbitrum, and ENS shut down because it couldn't find a sustainable business model.
Everclear: A cross-chain settlement protocol processing $500 million monthly still ran out of cash because its commercial fees weren't deep enough.
2/ Capital Is Drying Up 💸
Crypto startups raised only $4 billion in Q1 2026, down 50% from the previous quarter. New crypto funds raised the lowest amount of capital since Q3 2020.
CoinGecko and Tiger Research report that while $13.3 billion entered crypto in the first half of the year, the total number of funding rounds dropped by 78% compared to the 2022 peak.
→ Real money is shifting toward stablecoins and payment solutions (like Mastercard buying payment processor BVNK for $1.8 billion).
3/ Hacks Are Finishing Off Weak Projects ☣️
In the past, if a project got hacked, it could raise fresh capital or launch new tokens to cover losses. In 2026, a hack is usually an instant death sentence.
TRM Labs reported 207 hacks in the first half of 2026, the highest number of attacks in any 6-month period ever recorded.
Blockaid estimates total losses crossed $1 billion in H1 2026. Two huge attacks on Drift and KelpDAO in April alone accounted for $577 million. North Korean hackers were linked to 66% of all stolen funds ($643 million).
After hackers compromised a team member's device and stole $40 million, Step Finance couldn't find fresh investment or a buyer, forcing them to close completely.
4/ Who Is Actually Surviving?
Hyperliquid: Crosses over $1 billion in cumulative fees in under 2 years, with trading activity growing even during market downturns.
Aave: Holds tens of billions in deposits and generates constant real revenue from loan interest.
Ether.fi: Expanded its revenue stream into crypto payment cards rather than relying purely on restaking yields.
→ Unlike the sudden collapse of 2022, which was triggered by massive leverage blowups like Terra and FTX, the 2026 cleanse is a slow, quiet removal of weak projects.
🔥 BURNING HOT TAKES FOR THE ROAD
European stock ETFs recorded their first green monthly inflow growth since the war in Iran broke out. Read more
$USDC ( 0.0% ) and $USDT ( 0.0% ) now dominate an astonishing 84% of all crypto card spending while Euro volume collapses. Read more
Airbnb's AI bet paid off. Its stock skyrocketed 17% after its CEO declared AI "the best thing" to ever happen to the company. Read more
Bybit is actually suing North Korea and Lazarus Group over a $1.5B hack, winning a U.S. court order to freeze stolen assets. Read more
Rate us today!
🤡 SPICY MEME
💌 SHOUTOUT FROM OUR FIRESTARTER
We read your emails, comments, and poll replies daily
Hit reply and say Hello, we'd love to hear from you!
And if you’ve got a friend deep in crypto (or just getting started), feel free to forward this to them. They can sign up here. Cheers!
⚠ This newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Traders should conduct thorough research, understand the risks, and carefully evaluate their decisions before investing in cryptocurrency.
