Lisk plans to shut down the Lisk Chain on Oct. 31, 2026, drawing a line under nearly a decade of operating its own network as the project pivots toward business finance software. A proposal put forward through the Lisk DAO calls for burning 100 million LSK from treasury allocations, cutting the maximum supply by 25% to 300 million from 400 million. Lisk said the tokens slated for destruction were previously expected to enter circulation through future vesting. The shutdown does not eliminate the LSK token. Lisk said the token contract and ticker remain unchanged for holders on Ethereum or via exchanges. The project expects Base to become LSK's primary network alongside Ethereum, with LSK positioned as a loyalty token within the new business-focused platform. For users holding LSK on Lisk Chain, timing is critical. Lisk said those balances must be bridged to Ethereum ahead of the Oct. 31, 2026 closure. The bridging process is expected to take at least seven days, and stakers face a three-day waiting period after unstaking. The proposal also seeks to adjust staking mechanics by removing the penalty for emergency unlocking. A three-day waiting period would still apply before funds become available. The restructuring includes plans to dissolve the Lisk DAO over time, with governance contracts and the forum eventually wound down. The proposal would also transfer about 47 million LSK from the DAO treasury to Lisk Ltd, the company behind the project. Lisk attributed the shift to the rising difficulty of justifying an independent blockchain after years of ecosystem work. It said its Layer2 strategy, adopted after moving from a Layer1 model in 2023, failed to generate enough revenue to sustain incentives, while token-based rewards added to selling pressure.

Mantle has shifted its stablecoin yield vault from a centralized custody setup to a noncustodial decentralized finance framework, following the product reaching $200 million in deposited assets, according to crypto.news and The Cryptonomist. The vault sits within Mantle's real-world asset (RWA) yield lineup, which aims to offer stablecoin holders returns linked to offchain instruments such as government bonds and other yield-bearing assets. Under the prior structure, yield was generated through a CeFi arrangement in which a centralized party held the underlying assets on users' behalf. By moving to a noncustodial model, Mantle is positioning the product so users retain direct control of their funds, with smart contracts handling deposits, yield distribution, and withdrawals rather than a centralized custodian. The shift highlights a long-standing fault line in onchain yield products: counterparty reliance in CeFi versus code and smart-contract risk in DeFi. The $200 million mark appears to have been the catalyst for the transition. The scale signals rising demand for yield-bearing stablecoin products on Mantle, and the move may be intended to reduce counterparty exposure as assets under management grow. Mantle operates as an Ethereum-based layer-2 network competing with other chains targeting RWA issuers and stablecoin projects. The broader RWA segment has continued to expand as both institutions and crypto-native platforms push tokenized treasuries and similar products as a way to deliver returns without relying solely on crypto market beta. Neither crypto.news nor The Cryptonomist provided technical details on the new noncustodial implementation, including the smart-contract framework, audit coverage, yield sources, or any changes to fees. Market impact: A noncustodial design may appeal to users focused on self-custody and lower counterparty risk, and could strengthen Mantle's positioning against other layer-2 networks and DeFi protocols offering comparable RWA yield products. With $200 million already deposited under the former CeFi structure, market attention will likely center on whether capital remains in place and whether inflows accelerate under the new model. FAQ - What changed with Mantle's stablecoin vault? Reports say it moved from CeFi custody to a noncustodial DeFi structure. - Why does the $200 million milestone matter? The timing suggests the transition was tied to the vault reaching larger scale. - What's the difference between CeFi and DeFi custody? CeFi relies on a centralized custodian holding assets; noncustodial DeFi uses smart contracts, with users retaining direct control. - What are RWA yield products? They offer token holders returns linked to offchain assets, such as bonds, brought onchain through tokenization. Originally reported by AltcoinGordon; written by Sophia Bennett. Republished with permission. View the original on AltcoinGordon →

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) continued to regain ground after adding 32,447 Ethereum (ETH) to its treasury, a move that keeps the company on track toward its stated goal of owning 5% of ETH's supply. The purchase also leaves the stock trading close to the value of BitMine's underlying assets. BitMine reported holdings of 5,847,611 ETH as of August 23, according to its latest weekly update. That equates to roughly 4.8% of Ethereum's circulating supply and puts the company about 97% of the way to its 5% target. Using an ETH price of $2,440, the position was valued at about $14.3 billion. BitMine said total holdings were $14.9 billion when including 210 Bitcoin, $308 million in cash and marketable securities, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings. The company's total holdings were valued at $11.4 billion a week earlier. BitMine attributed much of the roughly $3.5 billion increase to Ethereum's 30% rally in recent days, along with gains in the value of cash and non-crypto investments, rather than solely to the newly added ETH. BitMine said it has staked 5.07 million ETH and estimates about $330 million in annual revenue at current prices, signaling that the bulk of its ETH is deployed to generate yield rather than sitting idle. BMNR tracks closer to NAV BMNR traded at $24.68 at the time of writing, up 2.24% on the session. Shares climbed from below $19 over the past several days and briefly reached $24.82, returning to levels last seen near the stock's April and May highs. Earlier in the session, treasury data pegged BitMine's asset value at $23.85 per share while BMNR traded at $23.71, implying a 0.99x multiple to its holdings. The move to $24.68 appears to have eliminated that discount, indicating investors were valuing the shares roughly in line with the company's assets rather than paying a large premium for its treasury strategy. After the sharp run-up, the stock may pause or retrace part of the advance. BMNR also remains highly sensitive to ETH moves, as a decline in Ethereum would reduce the value of BitMine's treasury and could quickly pressure the shares. Summary BitMine's Ethereum holdings rose to 5.85 million ETH, valued at about $14.3 billion at the company's stated price. BMNR has largely closed its discount to asset value after climbing to $24.68, though the rapid rally leaves room for a pullback.

BIG: Aave V4 active loans rose to an all-time high of \u0022213 million\u0022.

Aave V4 has surpassed $500 million in deposits on Ethereum.

World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump, is pushing back against outside scrutiny by pointing to growing activity in its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1. In an interview with CNBC, CEO Zach Witkoff said USD1's real-world usage is expanding. He cited recent market data showing USD1's circulating supply has climbed above $4 billion, while daily trading volume is running above $1 billion. Witkoff added that trading volume reached about $1.7 billion over the past 24 hours. Witkoff argued the figures suggest USD1 is being used in everyday transactions and make it less plausible that the token is primarily a vehicle for corporations or foreign entities to route funds to Trump and his family. He said the company operates independently of political influence and stated he has never discussed the business with Trump and does not plan to do so. He also said stablecoins are increasingly becoming the "cash layer" of the always-on internet economy, and that the dollar should have the same round-the-clock liquidity. World Liberty Financial launched in 2024 with involvement from Trump, his children and related parties, and it operates the USD1 stablecoin. The company recently received conditional approval to pursue a national trust bank charter, a move that would give it greater internal control over USD1 issuance and custody. Political concerns around Trump's ties to the project persist. Trump's annual financial disclosure indicates he earned about $515 million from selling World Liberty Financial tokens and roughly $65 million from selling equity in WLF Holdings in 2025. Separately, a group linked to the UAE was reported to have acquired a 49% stake in the project, prompting Democratic members of Congress to question whether the investment affected U.S. policy decisions on AI chip exports and arms sales. Additional reporting said the Trump family had rights to receive about $500 million from a transaction between World Liberty Financial and Alt5 Sigma, after which Alt5 Sigma's share price declined. Key figures: - USD1 circulating supply: over $4 billion - USD1 daily trading volume: over $1 billion - Past 24-hour peak trading volume: about $1.7 billion

RockawayX is looking to raise $150 million for a new liquidity opportunities fund aimed at buying undervalued tokens and publicly traded equities tied to the crypto sector, ChainThink reported, citing sources on Aug. 26. The vehicle is set to be run by Austin Barack, founder of crypto hedge fund Relayer Capital—later acquired by RockawayX—and a former partner at CoinFund. RockawayX oversees about $2 billion in assets. The fundraising effort comes as crypto markets extend a sharp rebound, with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana each up more than 20% over the past week. While some rivals have pivoted toward AI and robotics, RockawayX is doubling down on liquid crypto assets.

Ripple's U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, exceeded a $2 billion market capitalization in the week of August 18–22, ranking it among the fastest-growing regulated stablecoins in crypto. About $988 million of RLUSD is issued on the XRP Ledger, with the remainder on Ethereum. Total circulating supply is estimated at roughly 2.07–2.09 billion tokens. RLUSD has become the anchor stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, representing more than 90% of the network's total stablecoin supply. That concentration pushed aggregate stablecoin supply on the ledger above $1 billion, a level that also puts the XRP Ledger ahead of Stellar by total stablecoin supply. Dual issuance on XRP Ledger and Ethereum gives RLUSD reach into Ethereum's DeFi ecosystem while tapping the XRP Ledger's faster settlement and lower transaction costs. On compliance, RLUSD is issued under a New York Department of Financial Services trust company charter. Ripple says the token is fully backed 1:1 by U.S. dollar deposits and cash equivalents, supported by monthly attestations from an independent CPA. The company is also reportedly considering additional federal oversight. Regulation could tighten further under the GENIUS Act, expected to define stablecoin oversight when it takes effect in 2027. The framework is likely to raise standards around reserve transparency, issuer licensing, and consumer protections. Ripple has positioned RLUSD primarily for payments and liquidity management rather than retail trading, targeting treasury functions, cross-border settlement, and institutional workflows where the token can serve as a bridge asset. RLUSD's rise from zero to $2 billion in under two years stands out given its stringent regulatory posture. For the XRP Ledger ecosystem, the fact that a single token makes up over 90% of stablecoin supply also increases reliance on one issuer's performance and risk management.

Base's six-month run as the clear leader in x402 micropayments has ended. Solana has moved ahead of Base in daily x402 transaction count, taking back the top position in one of crypto's fastest-growing payment categories. x402 revives an old piece of web plumbing: the HTTP 402 status code, long left largely unused as a placeholder for a future with native online payments. The x402 protocol, developed under the x402 Foundation, repurposes it into an open standard for onchain micropayments. It removes subscriptions, API keys, and traditional payment rails, relying instead on an automatic stablecoin transfer—most commonly USDC—when a service requests payment. On January 20, 2026, Solana logged 518,400 x402 payments in a single day, narrowly surpassing Base's 505,000, a lead of about 2.6%. Dollar volume was similarly close: roughly $34,600 on Solana versus $34,300 on Base. By mid-August 2026, Solana's advantage had widened sharply. It accounted for about 70% of monthly x402 volume across chains and had processed more than 35 million x402 transactions since launch. More broadly, Solana's total daily transactions routinely exceed 100 million, with peaks above 170 million in August 2026; Base typically processes several million. A key catalyst came on August 21, 2026, when Ramp announced x402 AI agent wallet capabilities on Solana, aimed at its network of more than 70,000 businesses. Ramp positions x402 as automation-ready payments infrastructure for enterprises rather than a crypto-native product pitched to DeFi users. With nearly all x402 payments settling in USDC, the protocol is also emerging as a notable driver of stablecoin velocity on the chain that captures the bulk of usage.