Japan sits on $14.9 trillion in household financial assets, yet its fixed income market offers some of the lowest returns in the developed world. The 10-year Japanese Government Bond yields just ~1%, and corporate bonds often struggle to clear 2%. For decades, pension funds, insurers, and banks have been locked into low-return allocations simply because there were no compliant, familiar alternatives.

Metaplanet’s Q2 earnings announcement aims straight at this gap. The company unveiled:

“Metaplanet Prefs” — a program of Bitcoin-Backed Preferred Shares designed to scale its Bitcoin treasury operations.

A plan to build a Bitcoin-backed yield curve in Japan’s fixed… Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Standard Chartered has sharply increased its Ethereum price targets, citing a “dramatic” improvement in market conditions. Analysts now expect ETH to reach $7,500 by the end of 2025—up from $4,000—and $25,000 by 2028, driven by strong demand from corporate treasuries, spot ETFs, new U.S. stablecoin rules, and renewed technical momentum. Head of Digital Assets Research Geoffrey Kendrick says ETH is on track to surpass its $4,866 all-time high by Q3.

The bank estimates corporate treasury buyers and ETFs have snapped up about 3.8% of all ETH in circulation since June, with firms like Bitmine Immersion and SharpLink Gaming alone acquiring roughly 2.3 million ETH. Kendrick also expects stablecoin adoption, boosted by the GENIUS Act, to fuel network activity—especially as most U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins run on Ethereum.

Technical upgrades and a push toward higher-value Layer 1 transactions, alongside booming DeFi usage, reinforce the long-term bullish case. Ethereum is already up 41% in 2025, outpacing Bitcoin’s 29% rise.

Kazakhstan has become the first country in Central Asia to launch a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), strengthening its position as a regional crypto leader. Astana-based Fonte Capital announced that the Fonte Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund OEIC (BETF) began trading on August 13 on the Astana International Exchange (AIX), priced in U.S. dollars. Unlike exchange-traded notes, BETF directly holds bitcoin, with custody provided by U.S.-regulated BitGo, which insures up to $250 million and stores assets in offline cold storage vaults.

The fund is regulated by the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which offers legal protections against sanctions-related freezes and supports licensed digital asset operations. Kazakhstan rose to global prominence in bitcoin mining after China’s 2021 ban, attracting investors with cheap, coal-powered energy and favorable regulations. BETF aims to offer low costs, in-kind settlements, and minimal tracking error versus bitcoin’s price.

With this move, Kazakhstan joins countries like the U.S., Canada, and Hong Kong in approving spot bitcoin ETFs, giving both local and foreign investors an easy, regulated way to add bitcoin to their portfolios without directly handling crypto assets.

Bitcoin is holding strong at around $120,000, sitting less than 3% below its all-time high of $123,180, as whales continue to accumulate large amounts of BTC. According to fresh data from Bitcoin Magazine Pro, the number of addresses holding over 100 BTC has reached a new all-time high of 18,996.

The chart provided by Bitcoin Magazine Pro shows the number of unique addresses holding at least 100 BTC steadily increasing, now surpassing its previous peak of 18,544 made back on February 26, 2017. The data “can be used alongside the other Address Balance charts to understand whether adoption is increasing or decreasing generally for Bitcoin over time, and also whether usage is increasing…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Recently, the team behind Tricorn—now joining Utexo—has completed the first-ever RGB bridge live on Bitcoin, debuting with a transfer of Tether (USDT) from Ethereum to RGB, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. This marks the first time USDT has been issued as an RGB asset on Bitcoin and made available for instant settlement over RGB Lightning.

“This milestone enables Bitcoin to capture stablecoin flows while preserving privacy, self-custody, and the immutability of settlement on Bitcoin,” the announcement stated. “Fees are low, settlement is fast, and the design is peer-to-peer.”

The Ethereum-to-RGB bridge allows stablecoins and other digital assets…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Bitcoin Magazine

How Companies Are Adding Bitcoin Art to Their Corporate Collections

Bitcoin art and Bitcoin corporations don’t seem to mix. But for decades — indeed centuries — companies have collected art to express their role in society. As early as the 15th century, the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (1472) established one of the first corporate art collections. What began merely as decorative embellishment quickly evolved into a status symbol and a sign of wealth, success and cultural responsibility. Can Bitcoin-native companies gain strategic advantages through digital art? And what role does Bitcoin art play as a new asset class and cultural anchor?

Why Do Companies… Read more on BitcoinMagazine