Total digital asset market capitalization stood near $2.63 trillion, with BTC at $77,146 and ETH at $2,423.81. U.S. spot BTC and ETH ETFs recorded net inflows of $307 million and $185 million for August 21. This edition also covers AI infrastructure funding, an onchain security response, a regulatory monitoring platform, and protocol-scale data.
1. Starcloud raises $250 million
Starcloud announced a $250 million funding round on August 22 led by Manhattan West Ventures, with Nvidia investing about $25 million. The company plans to use the capital to expand satellite manufacturing facilities and develop its next orbital data center satellite, Starcloud-3. The disclosed figures cover the round size and stated use of proceeds.
Assets to watch: NVDA
2. Robinhood Chain TVL exceeds $1 billion
Robinhood Chain said on August 22 that total value locked across protocols on the network had exceeded $1 billion. The public update gave the current total but did not provide a protocol breakdown, starting point, or measurement period. TVL records assets deposited in onchain protocols and is not the same as platform revenue or customer net deposits.
Assets to watch: HOOD
3. SAND bridge vulnerability is contained
The Sandbox said on August 22 that it had identified and contained a SAND crosschain bridge vulnerability affecting less than 0.01% of the token supply. SAND on Ethereum and Polygon was unaffected, and no user wallets were compromised. The team disabled bridging between the affected networks and is preparing a snapshot and compensation plan.
4. Korea launches real-time AI manipulation monitor
Korea's Financial Supervisory Service launched a real-time AI platform on August 22 to detect short-term digital asset price manipulation. The system compares activity with a historical database of known market-abuse strategies and is planned to expand into cross-platform fund flows and onchain activity. It is a regulatory monitoring tool and does not execute or price trades.
5. Four-hour liquidations reach $650 million
CoinGlass data at 14:20 UTC+8 on August 22 showed $650 million of digital asset contract liquidations over four hours. Long positions accounted for $500 million and shorts for $150 million, including about $120 million in ETH and $71.3216 million in SOL. Liquidation data records derivative positions forcibly closed after margin requirements were not met.
Assets to watch: ETH SOL
6. Whale sells 7,700 BTC in three days
Lookonchain recorded one address selling another 2,700 BTC, worth about $211.8 million, on August 22. The address sold 7,700 BTC over three days, valued at roughly $576.6 million at the recorded prices. The data confirms transactions linked to the address but does not identify its owner or the later use of the funds.
Assets to watch: BTC
7. Bitdeer sells 265.6 BTC for the week
Bitdeer reported that it mined 265.6 BTC in the week ended August 21 and sold the same amount. Net additions were zero, leaving its current BTC holdings at zero. The figures use the company's weekly production and sales measure, with all newly mined coins sold rather than added to inventory.
Assets to watch: BTC
8. BTC spot ETFs add $307 million
U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $307 million of net inflows for the August 21 trading day, their fifth consecutive positive session. IBIT received $239 million and FBTC added $30.1885 million. Cumulative net inflows across the products reached $53.706 billion, using the completed daily flow figures.
Assets to watch: BTC
9. ETH spot ETFs add $185 million
U.S. spot ETH ETFs recorded $185 million of net inflows for the August 21 trading day, also their fifth consecutive positive session. ETHA received $151 million and the ETH Mini Trust added $11.5132 million. Cumulative net inflows across the products reached $12.150 billion.
Assets to watch: ETH
10. Groups sue over Illinois digital asset tax
The Crypto Council for Innovation and Blockchain Association filed suit in Sangamon County over Illinois' new digital asset tax. The law imposes a 0.2% levy on qualifying digital asset transactions or storage in the state for companies with more than $100,000 of related revenue. The state budget projects about $60 million from the tax.
Market snapshot
BTC: $77,146 | ETH: $2,423.81
Gold: $4,661.6 | Silver: $69.01
WTI: $86.64 | Brent: $93.87
S&P 500: 7,674.37* | Nasdaq 100: 29,308.86*