Evercode Lab Weekly Crypto News Digest 21/08/2026

FalconX and Ethena Open $1B Credit Facility for USDe Backing Assets

On August 19, FalconX and Ethena launched a $1 billion secured lending facility that can use assets backing USDe to finance overcollateralized loans for institutional borrowers. FalconX will originate and service the loans, while collateral is held with qualified custodians. The $1 billion figure refers to the facility’s capacity. The companies did not disclose how much capital was deployed at launch.

Ethena has traditionally generated returns on USDe’s backing assets through crypto-market strategies, particularly funding and basis spreads. The new structure gives Ethena access to secured institutional credit as an additional source of returns for its backing assets. FalconX already supported USDe through its institutional platform, so the facility expands an existing relationship.

The deal creates another route for on-chain capital to enter institutional lending without changing USDe into a traditional fiat-backed stablecoin.

Bitcoin Reclaims 200-Day Average as Fear Turns to Greed

Bitcoin climbed to nearly $73,000 on August 20 and moved above its 200-day moving average for the first time since November 2025. BTC had spent about nine months below this widely watched long-term indicator. It gained more than 13% after the U.S. Treasury announced larger buybacks of longer-dated government debt, which initially lowered yields and supported demand for risk assets.

A large short squeeze added momentum. Around $2.75 billion in crypto short positions were liquidated on August 19, according to CoinGlass data cited by The Block. At the same time, market sentiment changed sharply. Fear & Greed Index stood at 46, or Fear, on August 19 and moved to 62, or Greed, on August 20. By August 21, it had reached 72 on Greed.

Crossing the 200-day average is an important technical signal after months of weakness. A sustained move above it would matter more than a single day’s breakout.

HSBC and Standard Chartered Put Swift’s Tokenized Ledger Into Live Use

On August 19, HSBC and Standard Chartered completed the first live interbank transaction on Swift’s new blockchain-based ledger. The banks used their separate tokenized deposit systems for a cross-border payment, while Swift’s ledger coordinated the obligations between them. Final settlement still took place through existing banking infrastructure.

The transaction follows Swift’s July launch of the ledger for initial use. Seventeen banks across six continents joined the pilot, which is designed to make tokenized deposits interoperable and support payments outside traditional banking hours. Swift acts as the shared coordination layer rather than replacing banks’ own systems.

The live transaction moves the project beyond technical preparation. More importantly, it tests whether banks can connect their own tokenized money through shared infrastructure instead of building isolated networks.

U.S. Regulators Explore a Path for Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid could gain a regulated route into the U.S. market. On August 19, President Donald Trump said CFTC Chair Michael Selig was working on a way for the on-chain derivatives platform to operate in the country under U.S. rules. No approval has been granted, and the form of a possible U.S. version has not been announced.

The discussion fits a broader change in U.S. derivatives policy. In May, the CFTC permitted a regulated exchange to list a true Bitcoin perpetual contract, creating a domestic route for a product that had largely developed on offshore crypto platforms. Selig said at the time that perpetual contracts could operate within the U.S. regulatory framework.

Hyperliquid would still need to meet the rules applied to U.S. derivatives venues. The significance is therefore not an immediate launch, but that regulators are now discussing how a major on-chain trading model could enter the U.S. market legally.

HYPE reacted quickly to the news, rising about 11% after Trump’s comments. The price move reflected market optimism, but it does not change the fact that a U.S. launch still depends on regulatory approval and structure.

Kraken Parent Explores Full Banking Business Outside the U.S.

Kraken parent Payward is exploring becoming a full bank in one or more markets outside the United States. No jurisdiction or banking licence has been named yet, so the project remains at an exploratory stage. A broader banking model could eventually let the company move beyond exchange services into products such as lending. Payward executives have even mentioned mortgages as a possible longer-term direction.

Kraken already operates Kraken Financial in Wyoming under a Special Purpose Depository Institution charter. That entity works on a full-reserve basis, meaning customer fiat deposits are not lent out. Payward also applied for a U.S. national trust charter in May, focused mainly on regulated digital-asset custody.

A full banking licence elsewhere would take the business further. It could allow Payward to combine crypto access with a wider range of traditional financial services instead of relying mainly on trading revenue.

Telegram Applies for Its Own .gram Internet Domain

Telegram has applied for the .gram top-level domain, which could eventually give users addresses such as username.gram. Pavel Durov also suggested that users could create websites connected to those addresses, potentially using a simple AI prompt. The application still has to pass ICANN’s evaluation process before .gram can become an active internet domain.

The business angle goes beyond giving Telegram users shorter URLs. An approved .gram domain would give Telegram control of its own internet namespace and could turn existing usernames into web identities for creators or businesses. The proposal also follows July’s disruption to t.me links suffered a DNS disruption in July, temporarily making many links unavailable.

Telegram already has an audience of around one billion users, giving .gram a potentially large built-in user base if ICANN approves the application. Approval is far from guaranteed, but .gram could expand Telegram from a messaging platform into infrastructure for websites and digital identity.

That’s a Wrap!

Bitcoin’s rebound gave the market a very different sentiment from just a week ago, but price was only part of the story. New products are reaching live use, crypto companies are testing bigger business models, and regulators are opening conversations that were difficult to imagine not long ago.

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