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The crypto market is holding steady heading into the weekend, with the total market cap sitting near $2.18 Trillion. Key highlights today:

  • $BTC ( ▼ 1.5% ) is still stuck near $63,300 (-0.4%), as cool US CPI data isn't enough to trigger a breakout yet.

  • $ETH ( ▼ 0.8% ) is edging slightly higher to $1,880, supported by institutional interest.

  • SEC chair Paul Atkins introduced a 4-year regulatory runway framework for crypto startups. Oh, Chainalysis also warns of a sharp rise in physical "wrench attacks" targeting wallet owners.

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • 👀 Money machine hack in crypto

  • ⭐ Tether finally gets a clean audit

  • ⭐ Trezor leak hits 14K customers

  • 🔥 Burning hot takes for the road

One Shark Missed Billions… Another Saw This Coming

Imagine turning down Uber at a valuation of $10 million, only to watch it go public at over $80 billion.

That’s exactly what happened to Mark Cuban… a 799,900% return, gone.

But original Shark Tank investor Kevin Harrington built his career doing the opposite: spotting asymmetric opportunities before they go mainstream.

Like Uber turned vehicles into income-generating assets, Mode Mobile is turning smartphones into income streams.

They were named the #1 fastest-growing software company by Deloitte and have already helped their users earn and save over $1B.

Kevin Harrington invested early.

And at just $0.52/share, you can still get in before their potential IPO.

Potential Uber return for Marc Cuban does not take into account dilution.

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 in 2023.

Please read the offering circular at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A Offering.

You might be thinking, "I'm just interested in Crypto, why should I care about AI?" Well, you're exactly like I was 1 year ago. And now, I kind of regret that.

AI and crypto are the perfect combination, FOR REAL. I’ve launched a crypto project, and I’ve failed many times in the past. But now, I’m here to help you overcome those challenges and build your own money-making machine 👇

🏛️ TETHER DROPS HISTORIC KPMG AUDIT: CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH AFTER 12 YEARS!

If you've been in crypto for more than five minutes, you know the single biggest rumor that never seems to die: "Is Tether actually backed?"

On the evening of August 13, 2026, Tether officially dropped the hammer on those doubts. For the first time in its 12-year history, the stablecoin giant published a full financial audit backed by Big Four accounting firm KPMG.

1/ A Clean Audit Grade from a Big Four Auditor

Following through on a promise made earlier in 2026, Tether hired KPMG to inspect its entire 2025 financial report.

  • KPMG gave Tether an unqualified opinion, which is accounting speak for a completely "clean audit". It’s the best possible score an auditor can give.

  • KPMG confirmed that Tether's 2025 financial statements follow U.S. accounting standards. They checked everything: balance sheets, income, cash flows, ownership documents, system data, and business partner info.

While both sides put out press releases, neither Tether nor KPMG has released the actual official audit PDF document to the public yet.

2/ KPMG Physically Counted Every Single Gold Bar

This wasn't just a quick paper check. KPMG went hands-on to verify Tether's physical assets.

Instead of trusting reports from third-party vaults or paper receipts, KPMG inspectors physically counted and checked every single gold bar in Tether's reserves to verify their condition and origin.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino called this a historic moment, saying critics who claimed Tether would never submit to a real audit were proven wrong. He added that USDT's stability is no longer just a promise, but proven on black-and-white paper for over 650 million global users.

3/ Financials: $10B Profits Meets 2026 Market Chop

The audit also shed light on Tether's massive money-making engine:

  • 2025: Tether pulled in $10 billion in profit in 2025 alone, backed by over $186 billion in issued USDT and a reserve cushion of over $6.3 billion. This marked Tether's second straight year over $10B (following its record $13B profit in 2024).

  • 2026: It hasn't been all smooth sailing recently. Slumping crypto and gold prices during 2026 hit Tether's reserves, cutting its extra asset buffer in half during Q2 2026.

🧠 My Analysis

For years, Tether's lack of a full Big Four audit was the #1 argument used by crypto skeptics. Getting KPMG to sign off on a clean audit, and physically count gold bars, is a massive trust win for the whole market.

Even though the market slump in 2026 trimmed their reserve cushion, knowing that $USDT ( 0.0% )'s $186B+ market cap is backed by real, audited assets provides a huge layer of safety for everyday traders.

The SpaceX Insiders Bought Years Ago.

The insiders who got rich on SpaceX bought years before the IPO. You can't go back — but you can get in early on the next wave. Our analyst found 3 stocks set to ride the space boom from the ground floor.

🚨 TREZOR DATA LEAK EXPOSES 14,000 CUSTOMERS: PHISHING DANGERS

If you bought a Trezor hardware wallet over the summer, check your email inbox immediately. A major security breach at Trezor’s third-party shipping partner, ShipMonk, has exposed the personal information of nearly 14,000 customers.

1/ What Got Leaked & Who Is Affected

ShipMonk, the third-party company that handles storage and shipping for Trezor, notified Trezor that an unauthorized intruder had hacked their customer database. Trezor officially confirmed the incident affecting 13,689 total customers:

  • Full details leaked (11,742 users): full names, email addresses, phone numbers, and complete physical shipping addresses.

  • Partial details leaked (1,947 users): names, cities, and email addresses.

  • Orders shipped between May 10 and August 8, 2026 in the US, UK, Sweden, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, and Portugal.

Who’s safe: Orders placed outside that 90-day window were protected because Trezor enforces a strict rule requiring shipping partners to delete or anonymize order data after 90 days. Orders placed via Amazon are also safe (handled by a different partner).

If you were affected, Trezor sent an official warning directly to your inbox from [email protected]. If you didn't get that email, your data wasn't in this leak.

2/ Your Funds Are Safe, But Your Real Life Is Targeted

I need to say that your hardware wallet, private keys, seed phrases, and crypto funds are NOT compromised. Trezor’s internal systems were not hacked.

According to CertiK, physical extortion and home targeted attacks caused $124 million in losses in the first half of 2026 alone (up 33%). Having a list of names, phone numbers, and physical addresses makes target selection super easy for criminals.

→ Expect super convincing scam emails using real order details, fake customer service calls pretending to be Trezor or your bank, or even malicious physical mail sent directly to your home address.

Third-party vendor leaks are Web3's biggest headache. Trezor dealt with Mailchimp leaks in 2022 and SatoshiLabs support portal leaks in 2024. Ledger faced similar issues with Global-e in January 2026, and its notorious 2020 leak resulted in physical scam letters sent to users' homes for years.

3/ How to Protect Yourself Right Now

Trezor explicitly warned that they will NEVER ask for your seed phrase, wallet backup, PIN, or money. Here’s your immediate safety checklist:

  1. Never type your wallet backup seed words into a website, computer, or phone screen. Seed phrases belong exclusively on your physical Trezor device.

  2. Ignore any urgent emails, phone calls, or physical letters claiming you need to "verify your wallet," "fix a firmware bug," or "claim compensation."

  3. For future hardware purchases, use a burner/throwaway email address not linked to your real identity, and pay with crypto if possible.

  4. Trezor announced they are rolling out anonymous locker pickup and neutral packaging options in the EU by September and the US by late 2026.

🔥 BURNING HOT TAKES FOR THE ROAD

S&P 500 just smashed another all-time record, hitting 7,799 as cooling inflation data fuels massive rate-cut hopes. Read more

Hyperliquid is eyeing the U.S. market, expecting the CFTC to let licensed institutions launch on-chain perpetual futures. Read more

The SEC opened the door for Franklin Templeton funds to use tokenized BENJI for idle cash management. Read more

MSCI is considering dropping Strategy, Metaplanet, and Yellow Cake from its global indexes to target non-operating firms. Read more

🤡 SPICY MEME

💌 SHOUTOUT FROM OUR FIRESTARTER

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⚠ 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.

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