Tether Completes Audit, Wintermute Bets on AI and High-Frequency Trading, And More

WEEK IN REVIEW

Ethereum’s Oldest Whales Wake up as Millions Leave Deep Storage
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, onchain trackers caught a Genesis ethereum (ETH) wallet moving 2,680 ETH worth $5.03 million after sitting untouched for 11 years.

Editor’s comment:

This particular entity was up 605,924% on its original pre-mine investment. It’s unclear whether the coins were moved with the intention of selling, but it goes to show the difference in profile between today’s market participants and the OGs who got in on the ground floor.

KPMG Completes Full Audit of Tether’s 2025 Financial Statements

Tether disclosed that KPMG U.S. completed a full audit of its 2025 financial statements and issued an unqualified opinion, the most favorable conclusion an independent auditor can provide.

Editor’s comment:

This signals the end of an era. For many years, “Tether truthers” contended that USDT and the rest of the company’s products were backed by nothing and a ticking time bomb. With the KPMG audit, a potential black swan for crypto has effectively been eliminated.

Arthur Hayes Warns Bitcoin May Fall to $50,000 Before $1 Million

Arthur Hayes argues the artificial intelligence buildout is a leveraged real estate bubble that he says will end in a government bailout larger than 2008.

Editor’s comment:
Hayes has a way with words, and has been criticized for being sensational in the past. However, a dip to the $50,000 lines up with what many analysts have described citing on-chain metrics, the four-year cycle, macro conditions, and more.

Wintermute Bets $1 Billion on AI and High-Frequency Trading Expansion

Wintermute plans to invest about $1 billion over five years in high-frequency trading and AI data-center infrastructure as it expands beyond digital assets

Editor’s comment:

Yet another crypto firm with a wandering eye attracted to AI. In my recent interview with Spencer Marr, President at Sangha Renewables, he predicted that many of these companies are late to the game and will ultimately fail. Time will tell.

Gold Hits 2-Month High Above $4,400 as China Keeps Hoarding

Gold muscled back above $4,400 an ounce this week, hitting its highest level in roughly two months as a brutal U.S. jobs print.

Editor’s comment:

Gold’s outperformance of bitcoin (and the stock market) has been a pain point for investors of risk assets. While impressive, it does feel like it may be getting long in the tooth and that a reversion may be in the cards at some point in the near future.