Night signals: banking license for crypto companies, return of Strategy, and a new step by the SEC
The past night was rich in important regulatory and corporate events that could set the tone for the entire market in the coming weeks. The head of the OCC spoke in favor of giving crypto companies access to a banking license, Strategy announced the resumption of bitcoin purchases, and the SEC, it seems, is preparing a surprise in the field of tokenized stocks.
Market: consolidation before a breakout?
Bitcoin (BTC) was trading around $63,794 by the morning of August 12. Nighttime volatility was moderate: quotes dropped to $63,200, then attempted to storm $64,450, but met resistance and pulled back to current levels. Ether (ETH) showed similar dynamics, falling to $1,853 and recovering to $1,890.
Altcoins from the top 10 moved in different directions. The growth leaders were Dogecoin (+2.91%) and BNB (+2.19%), while Hyperliquid (HYPE) lost 1.47%. Among the top 100, Canton (CC) stood out with a gain of 5.52%, followed by NEAR Protocol (+4.48%) and Curve DAO Token (+4.07%). The day's laggards were Audiera (BEAT) with a drop of 10.7%, Lighter (LIT) at 6.37%, and Uniswap (UNI) at 5.41%.
Flows into spot ETFs remain mixed. Bitcoin funds attracted $4.89 million, Solana products — $1.43 million, while Ethereum ETFs lost $1.76 million. Over the day, exchanges liquidated positions of 76,376 traders totaling $175.22 million. The largest liquidation order came on Binance for the BTCUSDT pair — $2.46 million.
Regulatory shift: banks and tokenization
The head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Jonathan Gould, made an important statement: crypto companies should have a path to obtaining a banking license in the U.S. He emphasized that access to a national license should be opened to everyone conducting legitimate activities, including work with digital assets. According to him, over the past 18 months, the agency has received 40 applications to create new banks, and decisions on many of them are made within 120 days.
This is a signal that the American banking system is beginning to systematically integrate the crypto industry rather than isolate itself from it.
Meanwhile, Strategy CEO Phong Le confirmed that the company will resume bitcoin purchases before the end of the year. This will happen after recent sales of part of its reserves, which raised questions from the market. Le explained that since the start of the year, Strategy has acquired about 175,000 BTC and sold approximately 7,000 — meaning purchases exceeded sales by 25 times. The proceeds were directed to dividends on preferred shares, share buybacks, and dollar reserves, and by the end of the year, the organization will return to increasing its holdings of the flagship cryptocurrency.
Finally, the SEC, according to my information, may as early as Friday present an exemption for trading tokenized stocks. The regulator will hold an open meeting and consider a special regime for certain contracts with crypto assets. Such an exemption could pave the way for 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks on the blockchain. Public companies will be able to object to third-party digitalization of their securities, and platforms will be required to adopt stricter anti-money laundering rules, including a possible requirement to register in the U.S.
My view: The combination of these signals indicates that institutional interest in bitcoin is not just persisting but is gaining new regulatory support. If the SEC indeed takes such a step, it could become a catalyst for a new wave of growth, especially in the segment of tokenized assets. However, traders should remember: such statements often precede a period of increased volatility, so risk management is critically important right now.