Crypto ETFs draw $2.6B as tax, policy and DeFi risks intensify

Moki

2 min read·2026/08/24

Moki

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Institutional flows are again driving the crypto narrative. U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs posted their strongest combined week since October 2025, while U.S. rulemaking, UK tax enforcement and a Term Finance governance exploit showed that regulatory and security risks are rising alongside market demand.

Image / crypto.news

ETF inflows put institutions back at the center of the rally

U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs attracted $2.61 billion over five trading sessions, their strongest combined week since October 2025. Bitcoin funds took in about $1.92 billion, or 73% of the total, while Ether funds added $697.47 million after five straight positive sessions. BlackRock led the final day with $239 million into IBIT and $151 million into ETHA, and the flows accompanied Bitcoin’s move above $76,000 and Ether’s push above $2,400 during the week.

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Image / CBS News

U.S. policy is moving from campaign rhetoric toward concrete votes and rules

The CLARITY Act remains the main U.S. market-structure story after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued the bill would add consumer protections and clarify SEC-CFTC oversight before a September Senate vote. In parallel, the Treasury’s GENIUS Act proposed rulemaking would define when payment-stablecoin issuers need federal or state licensing, with key requirements expected to take effect on January 18, 2027. The combined signal is that U.S. crypto rules are becoming more specific, but final law and agency rules are still pending.

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Tax scrutiny is widening in the UK and at the U.S. state level

The UK’s HMRC sent 81,172 warning letters, emails and texts to crypto investors in the 2025-26 financial year, almost triple the 27,714 sent in 2023-24, after Bitcoin’s earlier bull run created suspected unpaid capital gains tax. New overseas platform-reporting powers due in 2027 could make investigations easier. In the U.S., crypto industry groups also sued Illinois to block a 0.2% digital-asset tax scheduled for January 2027, showing that taxation is becoming a second regulatory front beyond securities and commodities law.

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Image / Crypto Briefing

Term Finance exploit shows DeFi’s governance layer remains fragile

Term Labs said Term Finance lost about $8.5 million after an attacker gained enough voting control over strategy vaults to drain roughly 2,843 ETH and 1.6 million DAI. Crypto Briefing reported that the incident was governance manipulation rather than a direct smart-contract bug: the attacker obtained near-total control of several vaults and used voting power to redirect assets. The loss underscores that audited code does not remove architectural risks in protocol governance.

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