Here’s a scary thought: you log in to your favorite CEX and… error 404. 🫠
What happens to your funds if the platform goes dark?

Three possible scenarios:

Best case:
The exchange is solvent, gets acquired, or gracefully unwinds. Users can withdraw funds (think Poloniex post-acquisition).

Messy case:
Exchange files bankruptcy → user funds get tied up in years of legal proceedings. (Ask Mt. Gox creditors still waiting after a decade.)

Worst case:
It’s a rug or “FTX-style” implosion. Funds are gone. Users are unsecured creditors — lowest priority in recovery.

Why does this happen?

Hacks & security breaches.

Regulatory shutdowns.

Poor treasury/risk management.

Straight-up fraud.

So how do you protect yourself?

Follow the golden rule: “Not your keys, not your coins.”

Use exchanges as trading venues, not savings accounts.

Park long-term holdings in hardware wallets or multisig.

Keep an eye on proof-of-reserves and regulatory status of your exchange.

Takeaway: CEX shutdowns prove the old lesson: exchanges are convenient, but they’re not banks. Think of them as busy airports — you pass through, but you don’t live there.

You’ve seen it: “XYZ protocol announces $50M token buyback!”
Everyone cheers, Twitter goes wild, charts start looking greener… but what’s actually happening under the hood?

Here’s the breakdown:

What is a buyback?
The project takes cash (or its stablecoin reserves) and uses it to buy its own token from the open market. Then it either:

Burns it → reducing supply permanently.

Holds it in treasury → to redistribute later.

Why do it?

Supports price by creating buy pressure.

Rewards long-term holders by reducing circulating supply.

Signals confidence: “We believe in our token enough to buy it ourselves.”

Does it always work?
Not really. If market sentiment is bearish or whales are dumping, the boost might be short-lived. Sometimes buybacks just delay the inevitable if fundamentals are weak.

When does it shine?

Strong project revenue (fees/fundamentals to sustain buybacks).

Scarcity model (like burns → supply shrinkage).

Timing with market momentum.

Takeaway: Buybacks can give your bags a sugar rush, but they aren’t magic. Long-term value still depends on utility, demand, and execution.

Sheepfarm in Meta-Land, the Web3 sheep-farming and racing game, has officially launched its beta on the Immutable network, marking the project’s shift away from legacy platforms like Kaia and Oasys-HOME.

The beta, which opened on September 2, is focused on helping players migrate their NFTs and tokens to Immutable while giving the developers time to fix bugs and stress-test systems ahead of the game’s full relaunch later in 2025.

Migration Details

NFTs (Sheep, Pastures, Decors): Players must move assets from their wallets into Meta-Land. The system will automatically convert them into Immutable-native NFTs.

MARD (utility token): Deposit via the SHOP menu, then withdraw again to receive Immutable-native MARD in your wallet.

NGIT (governance token): A snapshot of all wallet balances will be taken at full launch. Immutable NGIT will be airdropped automatically.

Liquidity providers: NGIT in LPs will not count for the airdrop. Liquidity must be removed before the snapshot.

Any assets left behind on Kaia or Oasys once the beta closes will become unusable, repeating what happened with Kroma earlier this year.

Beta Gameplay: Limited but Functional

For now, the beta isn’t a full content drop. Seasonal features, in-app purchases, and Sheep Racing are paused, though training and farming functions are active. Racing will resume once enough sheep are trained, with special beta events planned in the coming weeks.

Mobile-First Transition

The move to Immutable also signals a mobile-first strategy. The game’s web version will be discontinued, with all new features and updates rolling out exclusively on the mobile app. New players can start with Guest Log-in and then link wallets to access existing assets.

Tokenomics Reset

NGIT: Supply capped at 5M tokens, with ~3.5M already issued. After the migration snapshot, no more NGIT will ever be created, making it fully scarce.

MARD: Remains dynamic. Circulating supply after migration will depend on what players move over, with minting and burning continuing through gameplay.

What’s Next

The beta phase will run through late 2025, with the full relaunch bringing back races, seasonal missions, community growth tools, and expanded events. Developers say their current focus is stability and infrastructure, ensuring a smooth transition for players before scaling up again.

The Pudgy Penguins NFT brand and game developer Mythical Games have officially launched Pudgy Party, a mobile party game now available worldwide on Android and iOS.

Often compared to hits like Fall Guys and Stumble Guys, Pudgy Party puts players into chaotic obstacle courses and survival challenges—this time with a Web3 twist built seamlessly into the gameplay.

Gameplay Meets Web3

Players step into the game as Pudgy Penguins characters, collecting outfits, emotes, and costumes. Many of these items can be minted as NFTs and traded on a marketplace.

Behind the scenes, every player is automatically onboarded into a wallet on the Mythos Chain (Polkadot-based). However, Mythical Games CEO John Linden emphasized that this is hidden from most players:

“They have a wallet, but most of them won’t even know about it… The Web3 stuff is seamlessly behind it.”

This design ensures smooth onboarding for casual gamers while giving crypto-native users real digital asset ownership.

First Season: Dopameme Rush

The game launches with “Dopameme Rush”, a meme-fueled seasonal event. Seasons will run monthly, featuring both free and premium passes, competitive leaderboards, and special events.

Big Ambitions for Pudgy Party

Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz, who revived the brand with retail products at Walmart and Target, has bold goals:

“It has to have, at a minimum, tens of millions of players and downloads… My hope is we can actually push and make this a top app on the App Store.”

Netz envisions IRL tournaments, prize pools, and major streamers driving adoption, making Pudgy Party a Web3 game that breaks into the mainstream.

Mythical Games—already behind Web3 titles like NFL Rivals and FIFA Rivals—echoed the ambition.

“We’re after building a forever franchise with Luca,” Linden said. “Something that can be around and played by literally hundreds of millions of people.”

Takeaway

With mainstream-friendly onboarding, seasonal events, and NFT-powered customization, Pudgy Party aims to be the first breakout Web3 mobile party game—bridging crypto culture with mass-market gaming.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) tokenholders are facing thefts linked to a phishing exploit abusing Ethereum’s new EIP-7702 upgrade, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist founder Yu Xian.

The exploit has surfaced just as the Trump-backed WLFI token launched on Monday with a 24.66 billion total supply.

️ How the Exploit Works

EIP-7702, part of Ethereum’s May Pectra upgrade, allows regular wallets to act like smart contract wallets, delegating execution rights for smoother transactions.

Hackers are exploiting this by:

Phishing private keys from victims.

Pre-planting a malicious delegate contract into the wallet.

Snatching funds instantly once tokens (such as WLFI) are deposited or gas fees are added.

“It’s again the exploitation of the 7702 delegate malicious contract, with the prerequisite being private key leakage,” Xian explained on X.

He advised users to “cancel or replace the ambushed EIP-7702” and urgently move tokens to safe wallets.

Reports From WLFI Holders

WLFI forum users have shared harrowing experiences:

One said he managed to save 20% of his WLFI in a “stressful race against the hacker,” but fears the remaining 80% will be drained on unlock.

Another warned that presale wallets tied to the WLFI whitelist are especially vulnerable, since tokens are instantly stolen by sweeper bots once they arrive.

Some are urging the WLFI team to offer direct transfer options to bypass compromised addresses.

️ Rising Scam Activity

Security firm Bubblemaps flagged “bundled clones” smart contracts imitating WLFI and other projects to trick investors.

The WLFI team stressed it never contacts users via DMs and only provides support through verified email domains:

“If you receive a DM claiming to be from us, it is fraudulent and should be ignored.”

Takeaway

The WLFI launch highlights how new Ethereum upgrades can introduce attack surfaces for hackers to exploit — especially when paired with phishing schemes. Tokenholders are urged to use uncompromised wallets, verify official sources, and avoid signing suspicious transactions.

Crypto hackers and scammers stole over $163 million in August across 16 separate incidents, with one large-scale social engineering attack accounting for more than half the total, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield.

The figure marks a 15% increase from July’s $142 million in losses, though it remains 47% lower year-on-year.

High-Value Targets in the Crosshairs

PeckShield told Cointelegraph that August showed a clear strategic shift: hackers are moving away from smaller exploits and focusing on centralized exchanges and high-value individuals.

Two major incidents dominated:

Social Engineering Attack: A Bitcoiner lost 783 BTC (~$91M) after falling victim to bad actors posing as crypto exchange and hardware wallet support.

Btcturk Exchange Hack: Turkish exchange Btcturk lost $50M from its hot wallets — its second major breach since June 2024.

Despite the dollar amounts, the number of hacks has been gradually declining: 20 in June, 17 in July, and 16 in August.

“Looking at the broader picture, the total number of hacks has shown a decreasing trend… suggesting improvements in overall ecosystem security.” – PeckShield

Rising Prices, Rising Exploits

Hank Huang, CEO of Kronos Research, noted that crypto booms attract more sophisticated attacks:

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $124,000 on Aug. 14.

Ether reached $4,946 on Aug. 24.

“August’s surge highlights how attackers are zeroing in on centralized wallets using phishing and social engineering to expose operational weaknesses,” Huang said.

What’s Next?

Losses had previously been trending downward — $385M in May → $176M in June → $142M in July — but August broke the pattern.

Huang warns that losses could keep rising through 2025, fueled by high crypto prices and lagging security improvements.

Still, advances in AI-driven security and stronger protective models could cushion future losses.

️ Takeaway

PeckShield emphasized that corporations and wealthy crypto holders should adopt the strongest possible security:

“High-value targets — both corporations and individuals — should be increasingly vigilant and proactively implement robust security measures.”

Think Python or AI are the hottest tickets in tech hiring? Think again. According to a new Course Report study, Excel remains the single most requested applied skill in the industry — nearly 40 years after its launch.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Analyzing 12 million job listings on Indeed, Course Report found:

Excel appeared in 531,000 postings.

Microsoft Office overall was mentioned 344,000 times.

By comparison, Python (67,000 mentions) and SQL (60,000) trailed far behind.

Machine learning skills showed up in 31,000 listings.

AI was mentioned just 25,000 times.

(Source: Course Report, Business Insider)

Why Excel Still Rules

Rajoshi Rhosh, co-founder of PromptQL (a company building Fortune 500-grade, “non-hallucinating” AI systems), says Excel isn’t going anywhere soon:

“AI’s role in the future will be to deliver accurate, meaningful data into the services people already trust — like Excel.”

He adds that in most B2B companies, the “last mile” remains the same:

Either you hide the Excel model under a sleek user interface,

Or you deliver the data directly in Excel, where clients already know how to work with it.

️ The Takeaway

Despite the hype around AI, LLMs, and new interfaces, Excel continues to be the default universal language of business data. It’s not glamorous, but it’s everywhere — and knowing it could still be the best career move in tech.

Think Python or AI are the hottest tickets in tech hiring? Think again. According to a new Course Report study, Excel remains the single most requested applied skill in the industry — nearly 40 years after its launch.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Analyzing 12 million job listings on Indeed, Course Report found:

Excel appeared in 531,000 postings.

Microsoft Office overall was mentioned 344,000 times.

By comparison, Python (67,000 mentions) and SQL (60,000) trailed far behind.

Machine learning skills showed up in 31,000 listings.

AI was mentioned just 25,000 times.

(Source: Course Report, Business Insider)

Why Excel Still Rules

Rajoshi Rhosh, co-founder of PromptQL (a company building Fortune 500-grade, “non-hallucinating” AI systems), says Excel isn’t going anywhere soon:

“AI’s role in the future will be to deliver accurate, meaningful data into the services people already trust — like Excel.”

He adds that in most B2B companies, the “last mile” remains the same:

Either you hide the Excel model under a sleek user interface,

Or you deliver the data directly in Excel, where clients already know how to work with it.

️ The Takeaway

Despite the hype around AI, LLMs, and new interfaces, Excel continues to be the default universal language of business data. It’s not glamorous, but it’s everywhere — and knowing it could still be the best career move in tech.

Crypto was born on the promise of permissionless finance. But as adoption scales and regulators sharpen their frameworks, we’re entering an era some call “permissioned scale.”

Here are some advanced FAQs to unpack what that really means for the future of Web3

Is regulation killing crypto — or catalyzing it?

Regulation once felt like an existential threat. Today, it’s becoming the baseline for adoption.

UAE’s VARA has licensed 36+ firms, piloting tokenized gold & DeFi inside a compliant sandbox.

India is reopening to offshore exchanges under Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) oversight.

In the US, enforcement-first approaches remain messy, but institutional flows show clarity = capital.

Takeaway: Regulation doesn’t necessarily kill crypto — it’s fueling scale where clarity exists.

What does “permissioned scale” mean?

It’s the idea that long-term growth depends on thriving within rules, not around them.

Fiat-crypto rails that are regulated can rival Visa/Mastercard.

Automated compliance + risk monitoring at the protocol level are emerging as must-have features.

Institutions want transparent, scalable, compliant liquidity — not loopholes.

How do demographics and jurisdictional intelligence matter?

India: 1.12B mobile connections, but only ~27% with financial literacy → huge education + onboarding challenge.

SE Asia: remittances = up to 9% of GDP → stablecoins can cut costs and increase transparency.

Dubai: positioning itself as a Web3 capital, combining global regulation with innovation sandboxes.

Platforms that blend local compliance + cultural context will win adoption faster than those that just “go global.”

Where do AI and real-world assets (RWAs) fit in?

AI → Real-time regulatory interpretation, fraud detection, trade routing.

RWAs → Tokenized real estate, sovereign bonds, gold, carbon credits.

Projected to hit $10T market by 2030.

Creates liquidity for SMEs + new, diversified yield streams for institutions.

Big players (BlackRock, Robinhood, Coinbase) are already pushing for RWA exposure in mainstream portfolios.

Who wins in this permissioned future?

Builders who embed compliance directly into design (onboarding → monitoring → reporting).

Platforms that prioritize user education + local relevance.

Ecosystems that connect stablecoins, regulated rails, and tokenized assets into seamless infrastructure.

Speculation is fading. The winners will be the ones who scale with the rules, not despite them.

Big Picture

Permissionless ideals aren’t dead — but permissioned scale is becoming the growth engine.
The question for advanced users isn’t if regulation will define crypto’s next phase, but who will innovate best within it.

What’s your take:

Is this “permissioned future” a necessary evolution that unlocks trillions?

Or is it a slippery slope where crypto loses the very freedoms it was built to protect?

Crypto gains are exciting… until tax season rolls around. Whether you’re stacking sats, staking ETH, or grinding DeFi yields, most governments want their cut. Here’s a breakdown of how to officially declare your crypto earnings

What Counts as “Crypto Earnings”?

Different activities = different tax categories:

Trading profits → Capital gains.

Staking / Yield farming → Income when received, gains/losses when sold.

Mining rewards → Income (fair market value at time of receipt).

Airdrops & Rewards → Usually taxed as income.

Salary/freelance in crypto → Income, taxed like regular wages.

Track Everything

Tax agencies expect detailed records:

Date + time of every trade.

Type (buy, sell, swap, earn).

Value in your local fiat currency.

Wallets/exchanges used.

Tip: Tools like Koinly, CoinTracker, Accointing, ZenLedger automate reports.

Report Correctly

Capital gains → Sales/swaps/spending of crypto.

Income → Salaries, staking, mining, airdrops.

Business income → If mining/trading is your main profession.

Local Rules to Watch

US (IRS): File Form 8949 + Schedule D for gains, Schedule 1 for income.

UK (HMRC): Gains + clear staking/airdrop rules.

Germany: Hold >1 year = tax-free.

India: Flat 30% on gains, 1% TDS on trades.

UAE/Dubai: Currently 0% personal tax on crypto.

Pro Tip

If you’re getting paid from a DAO or foreign exchange, don’t forget foreign income/asset declarations. And when in doubt → find a crypto-savvy accountant.

Bottom line: Declare everything (income + gains), track it properly, and align with your jurisdiction’s rules. Transparency now saves you penalties later.

Question for the community: Do you handle your crypto taxes yourself with software, or do you bring in a specialist accountant to avoid mistakes?

For years, Web3 gaming has struggled with the same issue: too much speculation, too little fun. High entry barriers and “earn-first” mechanics alienated mainstream players who wanted entertainment, not spreadsheets.

Now, Triumph Games — a new studio led by veteran AAA developers — is stepping in to bridge the gap between traditional and crypto gaming.

What Triumph Is Building

Triumph’s model blends Web2 accessibility (free-to-play) with Web3 ownership economies, where skill — not just spending — drives rewards.

The studio is rolling out:

Three games (live + in testing).

One token ($TRIUMPH).

And an ecosystem designed for mainstream adoption.

The Team Behind It

Founded by industry veterans from Telltale Games UK and classic PlayStation titles like Die Hard Trilogy and Alien Trilogy.

Collectively, the team has shipped 30+ games since 1998.

Current portfolio: ~400,000 downloads and sign-ups across its titles.

Flagship Games

BattleRise → Tactical fantasy RPG, rich lore + strategy. Already live with 60,000+ downloads.

Legends of Elumia → MMORPG with full asset ownership. Relaunching as a free-to-play title on Epic Games Store + Google Play.

ArmourX → Fast-paced, UE5-powered open-world RPG for mobile. Already 355,000+ closed beta sign-ups.

Tech That Bridges Web2 → Web3

Triumph is making blockchain invisible to players:

Immutable Passport for wallet/authentication.

ThirdWeb to simplify blockchain integration.

Seamless onboarding → no prior crypto knowledge needed.

And on the gameplay side:

“Emotive AI” → NPCs with personalities, backstories, and dynamic behaviors.

Example: BattleRise now has an AI shopkeeper you can haggle with — beyond simple buy/sell menus.

The Vision

Pearl Nagy, CEO of Triumph Games:

“We envision a future where the best games aren’t just played — but built — by communities. Web3 is not the future of gaming — it’s the present, and we’re here to prove it.”

Key moment ahead:

TRI token generation event → Sept. 4, 2025.

Elumia’s free-to-play relaunch → kickstarting ecosystem growth.

Big Picture

Triumph Games is betting that fun-first, frictionless Web3 design will finally push crypto gaming mainstream. If they succeed, they could set the blueprint for sustainable player-owned economies.

What do you think — can studios like Triumph finally deliver a Web3 game that gamers actually want to play? Or will the space stay dominated by speculation-driven projects?

What’s the best platform you’ve used to find a crypto job? Drop the name and share your experience!

Corporate adoption of crypto is accelerating fast. According to K33 Research, the number of public companies holding Bitcoin nearly doubled in just six months.

The Numbers

December 2024: 70 listed firms held BTC.

June 2025: 134 firms.

Total holdings: 244,991 BTC (~$27.3B at today’s prices).

This wave is being compared to corporate adoption of gold in earlier decades — a way to let investors indirectly access an asset they otherwise might not.

First-Mover Advantage (and Risks)

Mike Foy, CFO at Amina Bank, notes:

“Time will tell if this becomes a sustainable trend, but it is clear that strategy has a first mover advantage.”

Key point: Firms in jurisdictions with limited access to institutional crypto products stand to benefit most.

Lifeline or Last Resort?

Not everyone is convinced this is all strategy — some companies may be using crypto treasuries as a reputational boost.

Example:

Windtree Therapeutics (biotech firm) announced a $60M BNB treasury plan in July 2025.

Stock pumped briefly, then collapsed 90%+ from peak.

By August, Nasdaq moved to delist the company for failing to meet the $1 minimum bid price.

Foy’s red flags for “optics plays”:

Weak management risk expertise.

High leverage.

Lack of focus on core business.

Insider share dumps.

If you see those, the treasury move might be short-term optics, not long-term conviction.

Beyond Bitcoin: ETH & Altcoins Enter the Game

Ethereum (ETH) is attracting treasury strategists thanks to:

Staking rewards (yield).

Programmability (partnerships + integrations).

Compliance-friendly roadmap.

Ray Youssef (NoOnes CEO):

“Ethereum looks like a hybrid between tech equity and digital currency. That appeals to treasury strategists looking beyond passive storage.”

Some firms are experimenting with select altcoins, often tied to partnerships with blockchain foundations.

The Big Picture

Bitcoin remains the king of corporate treasuries, but ETH is gaining ground.

The challenge: telling apart genuine long-term treasury strategies vs. short-term “share price rescue” plays.

If this trend holds, corporate crypto treasuries could become the new normal, just like gold once did.

What’s your take?

Is this corporate Bitcoin wave the start of a sustainable treasury revolution?

Or will we see more “Windtree-style” collapses from firms using crypto as a quick PR bandage?

Speculation once fueled crypto adoption. Today, regulation is the baseline. From U.S. enforcement crackdowns to Dubai’s full crypto rulebook and India’s debate over Bitcoin reserves, governments are rewriting digital finance.

The real story now isn’t what’s next, but who’s building what comes next.

Regulation as Backbone, Not Barrier

UAE → rolling out a unified VASP framework and experimenting with tokenized gold + DeFi in controlled pilots.

India → letting offshore exchanges return, but only with Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) oversight.

Result: compliance = scale. Those who align with tax, licensing, and data rules will access fast-expanding markets without friction.

The center of gravity is tilting eastward — innovation thrives where rules are clear.

Beyond Rules: Jurisdictional Intelligence + Demographics

Dubai VARA: 36 full licenses issued, 400+ companies registered.

India: 1.12B mobile connections, but only 27% of adults financially literate.

SE Asia (Cambodia, Philippines): remittances = ~9% of GDP → ripe for stablecoin-based payment rails.

Platforms that embed education + local culture into user journeys can convert untapped populations into loyal ecosystems.

Compliance as the New Competitive Moat

Government-backed payment rails are already challenging Visa & Mastercard.

Fiat-crypto integration with automated compliance + risk monitoring is the next leap.

Example: UAE attracted $34B crypto inflows in 2024.

India’s UPI shows how rules + rails = faster adoption + fraud safeguards.

In short: compliance doesn’t kill growth — it unlocks it.

AI + Real-World Assets (RWA) = Democratization

AI → real-time regulatory interpretation, fraud detection, parity-based trading.

RWA tokenization → real estate, bonds, gold, carbon credits, agriculture.

Projected to hit $10T by 2030.

Liquidity for SMEs + new return streams for institutions.

Giants like BlackRock, eToro, Robinhood, Coinbase are already pushing for RWA exposure in mainstream portfolios.

AI-native platforms that can price, route, and settle tokenized trades compliantly will lead the next wave.

The Big Picture

The speculative surges are fading. The winners now are those who:

Scale with the rules, not around them.

Embed jurisdictional nuance + user behavior into design.

Unlock liquidity + real-world assets through compliant infrastructure.

The Asia–Middle East corridor is already setting the pace. Whoever masters this age of permissioned scale will write the next crypto playbook.

Do you think regulation is truly the growth catalyst for crypto’s next era — or is it a necessary evil that slows innovation until players learn to work within the lines?

VivoPower International (NASDAQ: VVPR) — a solar power company — saw its stock rocket 32.12% to $5.10 on Friday after announcing a $100M plan to buy privately held Ripple Labs shares as part of its growing XRP-focused treasury strategy.
The Announcement

Deal size: $100M in Ripple shares, bought directly from existing shareholders (pending Ripple exec approval).

Goal: Hold both Ripple equity + XRP tokens to maximize yield and reduce average XRP acquisition cost.

Ongoing XRP buys: VivoPower will continue direct XRP purchases, becoming the first publicly listed U.S. company with exposure to both Ripple equity and XRP.

Stock gained another 4.51% in after-hours trading.

CEO’s Take

“Buying a combination of Ripple shares and XRP tokens will allow us to optimize for yield maximization while minimizing the weighted average cost of XRP acquired.”
— Kevin Chin, VivoPower CEO

Custody & Oversight

Custody: BitGo (digital assets) + Nasdaq Private Market (private shares).

Audit: Independent quarterly reviews of Ripple holdings.

Numbers That Matter

Ripple holds 41B XRP (mostly in escrow) + runs RLUSD stablecoin, Hidden Road prime brokerage, and other digital asset businesses.

VivoPower estimates every $10M in Ripple shares could add $5.15/share in value — depending on market conditions.

Strategy could lower XRP cost basis to $0.47 — ~86% below current market price.

TL;DR:
VivoPower is going all-in on Ripple — equity + tokens — making it a rare publicly traded XRP play. Stock popped hard on the news, and management thinks the move could massively boost shareholder value if Ripple’s ecosystem keeps expanding.

Bitcoin bulls are circling for a massive short squeeze, and some traders are already calling for a run to all-time highs.
The Setup

Over the weekend, BTC/USD hit $118,760 on Bitstamp — the highest in August so far.
The move came during “out-of-hours” weekend trading, pushing $350M in crypto liquidations in just 24 hours (CoinGlass data).

Key levels in play:

$117,200 → Potential weekly support reclaim (per Rekt Capital).

$116,500 CME gap → Possible dip target before another leg up.

$120K+ → The breakout zone everyone’s watching.

Why Bulls Are Excited

Popular trader BitBull points out:

“A 10% move higher will trigger $18B+ in short liquidations — big money is watching.”

He adds that while Monday might see a small retrace as TradFi markets reopen, the path after could lead to $120,000+.

Trader Merlijn agrees — expecting a short squeeze to fuel the rally.
The CME Gap Factor

Crypto investor Ted Pillows highlights a gap at $116.5K in the CME Bitcoin futures market:

Last week’s gap got filled after a $2K drop.

This gap could see the same treatment before Bitcoin rallies toward a new ATH.

️ Caution from the Sidelines

Not everyone is calling it a clean breakout just yet.
Daan Crypto Trades describes the weekend’s BTC moves as “choppy” and notes ETH and altcoins have been stealing the show. He expects BTC to dominate attention again once it breaks $120K and nears ATH levels.

TL;DR:

BTC is pushing August highs.

$18B in shorts could get squeezed with just a 10% move.

Watch $116.5K (CME gap) for a possible dip before the run.

$120K is the line in the sand for full-blown hype mode.