The Daily: SEC delays XRP, Dogecoin and other ETFs, Strategy buys more bitcoin, Ethereum ICO wallet move funds, and more

The Block

Aug 19, 2025 04:28:28

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The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Monday, and welcome to The Daily.

Crypto markets opened the week in the red after last week’s U.S. macro data dimmed hopes of a rate cut in September.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its next moves on proposed ETFs tied to XRP, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and others.

Meanwhile, Ethereum ICO-era wallets continue stirring — with one wallet moving $1.5 million in ETH originally bought for $104, and another offloading $19 million to Kraken.

Digital asset treasury or DAT activity hasn’t slowed. Strategy bought another 430 BTC for $51.4 million. Japan’s Metaplanet added 775 BTC for $93 million, and BitMine said its corporate ETH holdings have crossed $6.6 billion. ETHZilla, formerly 180 Life Sciences, has completed its rebrand and now holds over 94,000 ETH.

In Asia, stablecoin regulation is on the agenda. South Korea’s financial regulator is set to submit a new bill in October, while Japan may approve its first yen-backed stablecoin as early as this fall.

P.S. I also write The Funding, a biweekly newsletter covering crypto VC trends. The latest edition explored whether massive treasury deals are hurting early-stage startup funding. Subscribe here.

Let’s get started.

SEC delays XRP, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and other crypto ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back decisions on several crypto ETF proposals, including five spot XRP ETFs (Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, CoinShares, and Canary), CoinShares’ proposed spot Litecoin ETF, and Grayscale’s spot Dogecoin ETF.

It also delayed a proposal from 21Shares that would allow staking within its spot Ethereum ETF.

Meanwhile, the SEC postponed its decision on the Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF to Oct. 8. The application, tied to Donald Trump’s media company, has drawn criticism due to the president’s growing personal and business ties to crypto.

All delays are procedural — the SEC frequently takes the full review period. But with the agency recently approving in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto ETFs under the Trump administration, this wave of delays pushes key altcoin ETF decisions into Q4 just as industry momentum is building.

Strategy adds 430 BTC, pushing total to 629,376 bitcoin

Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy has purchased another 430 BTC for $51.4 million at an average price of $119,666. The firm now holds about 629,376 BTC — acquired for ~$46 billion — as it marks five years since its initial 2020 buy.

The latest buy was funded through its trio of preferred stock ATM programs (STRK, STRF, STRD), which together raised over $50 million in net proceeds this month.

Strategy’s co-founder Michael Saylor teased the buy over the weekend with an “insufficient orange” post on X — a signal traders have come to expect ahead of new disclosures.

The company’s BTC holdings are now worth around $72.4 billion, reflecting around $26 billion in paper gains. With 3% of bitcoin’s supply on its books and a capital machine running at full tilt, Strategy remains the dominant force in corporate crypto treasuries.

Ethereum ICO whale offloads $19M in ETH to Kraken

A wallet linked to an early Ethereum ICO participant sent 4,460 ETH — worth about $19 million — to Kraken on Monday, continuing a potential selloff trend as markets turned red.

Over the past week, the address (starting 0x815) has deposited 9,803 ETH, worth about $43.9 million, to exchanges, according to Arkham. The wallet’s balance now sits at just 197 ETH.

The same address had previously moved 2,000 ETH ($8.6M), 1,162 ETH ($5.2M), and 1,060 ETH ($5.1M) to trading venues — activity often viewed as a potential sell signal.

Separately, another ICO-era wallet moved $1.5M in ETH originally purchased for $104, adding to the week’s notable on-chain movements. Ether is down amid the broader macro pullback.

Solana memecoin launchpad war flips again as Pump.fun reclaims dominance

Pump.fun has surged back to a 90% share of Solana’s memecoin launchpad market, up from just 5% two weeks ago, as rival LetsBonk collapses to 3%, per data compiled by The Block.

The flip appears tied to the return of top memecoin deployers and bot activity, with Pump.fun also ramping up buybacks of its PUMP token.

Popular trader @WazzCrypto noted the top 10 bots have abandoned LetsBonk. Coinbase’s Conor Grogan previously said most token launches on both platforms are bot-driven.

Pump.fun’s buybacks come amid speculation it may share revenue with token holders. The platform raised $600 million in July via a token sale and reportedly began repurchasing millions worth of tokens shortly after.

LetsBonk, created by the BONK community, is now testing a points system to incentivize new token launches. But for now, the balance of power has decisively shifted in Pump.fun’s favor.

South Korea to submit stablecoin regulation bill in October

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission reportedly plans to submit a stablecoin regulation bill to lawmakers in October.

The proposed bill is expected to outline rules for issuance, collateral management, and internal risk controls, forming part of the country’s broader digital asset legal framework. President Lee Jae Myung has backed efforts to build a robust local stablecoin market to bolster monetary sovereignty.

South Korea’s four largest banks — KB Kookmin, Woori, Shinhan, and Hana — may reportedly meet with USDC stablecoin issuer Circle’s President Heath Tarbert next week during his visit. Meanwhile, Japan could reportedly approve its first yen-denominated stablecoin as early as this fall.

The regulatory push comes amid global moves around stablecoins, including the U.S. GENIUS Act signed into law last month by President Donald Trump to support dollar-backed stablecoins.

In the next 24 hours

SEC Chair Paul Atkins is scheduled to speak on crypto policy. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman to speak on crypto and the banking system.

Notable token unlocks include EigenLayer, IOTA, and Kaito.

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