Solana hits $100 as records stack

August 25, 2026

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Key points:

  • OFAC can now target foreign individuals and companies operating in or supporting Iran’s digital asset sector, wherever they are based.

  • Treasury sanctioned Ivan Obukhov and Foscom FZE, alleging more than $100 million in crypto payments tied to IRGC-Qods Force oil sales since 2023.

News - Washington has moved from pursuing named Iranian crypto platforms and wallets to establishing sanctions authority over an entire digital asset sector. The new determination gives the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) a standing basis to designate foreign operators and service providers connected to Iran’s crypto economy.

The shift is in scope - Issued under Executive Order 13902, the determination formed part of Operation Economic Outcast, which also covered technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. Nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels across nuclear, missile, cyber, and oil networks were designated alongside the sectoral measures.

However, the change does not automatically blacklist every Iranian crypto business or prohibit all activity involving the country’s digital asset industry. OFAC must still determine that a person operates in, or provides services supporting, the covered sector before imposing sanctions.

Oil payments put crypto in frame - Treasury alleged that UAE-based Ukrainian vessel broker Ivan Obukhov processed more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments from 2023 onward to facilitate Iranian oil sales for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. His UAE-based company, Foscom FZE, was designated with him.

The pressure travels outward - U.S.-linked property belonging to designated parties must be blocked. Foreign banks facilitating significant transactions for them could also face restrictions on access to U.S. accounts, extending the potential consequences beyond Iranian exchanges and wallets without turning the measure itself into an industry-wide ban.

Solana stacks records, but one ETF dominates

Key points:

  • Solana processed a record 4.2 billion transactions in July, while tokenized real-world assets on the network approached $4 billion.

  • U.S. spot SOL ETFs drew $33.5 million on Monday, extending a five-session streak and lifting cumulative net inflows to a record $1.22 billion.

News - SOL’s return above $100 came with records on two different tracks. The token rallied roughly 40% over eight days amid a broader crypto market recovery, while Solana registered record transaction activity and cumulative U.S. ETF inflows. Those figures strengthened the activity picture around the rally without establishing what caused the price move.

The chain moved first - Solana processed 4.2 billion transactions in July, 13.5% more than the previous month. Its monthly count had increased by roughly 2 billion since December, representing 91% growth. Tokenized real-world assets on the network also climbed nearly 11.8% over the past month to almost $4 billion.

Fund flows found another record - Spot Solana ETFs attracted $33.5 million on Monday, their largest daily inflow since December and strongest session of 2026. The five-day run beginning August 18 brought in $61.8 million, while Monday’s trading volume reached $166.8 million, its highest level since October 2025.

One product carries the weight - Bitwise’s BSOL collected $25 million of Monday’s inflows and has accumulated $948.2 million, or roughly 80% of all capital entering U.S. spot SOL ETFs. Fidelity’s FSOL added $4.8 million, while Grayscale’s GSOL drew $3.7 million. Solana’s ETF milestone is therefore heavily concentrated, even as the network and listed products posted separate records across July and August.

Chainalysis flags 7,700 accounts. Police face an AI gap

Key points:

  • Operation Lighthouse examined 29,120 crypto addresses and digital identifiers, generating 14,300 investigative leads and flagging more than 7,700 suspect accounts.

  • Crypto crime experts separately warned that frontline investigators increasingly encounter wallets without sufficient training, while some jurisdictions restrict their use of AI tools.

News - Blockchain intelligence mapped crypto identifiers linked to suspected child exploitation, but converting that map into enforcement is the next test. Chainalysis-led Operation Lighthouse identified suspects across 125 countries, demonstrating how wallet data can surface connections while underscoring the specialist coordination needed to pursue them.

A wallet trail became 14,300 leads - The operation examined identifiers connected to more than 100 child sexual abuse material (CSAM) platforms, forums, and distribution networks across the surface and dark web. It generated leads across 11 crypto exchanges and payment services, with the suspect pool including 16 registered sex offenders.

The multi-day sprint brought law enforcement, crypto companies, and specialized nonprofits together at the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance in New York. Participants included Europol, the UK National Crime Agency, Binance, Coinbase, Block, and the Internet Watch Foundation.

The evidence meets a skills gap - A separate crypto-crime panel highlighted what can happen outside specialist operations. Kodex’s Nick Pailthorpe said investigators increasingly find crypto at crime scenes without knowing how to handle a wallet. Recoveris executive Sol Cinosi said some jurisdictions forbid investigators from using AI, even as AI-linked scam operations generated 4.5 times more revenue than those without such links, according to Chainalysis data.

Operation Lighthouse’s outputs remain investigative leads for follow-on legal processes and case development, not announced convictions. Blockchain tracing can narrow the search, but trained investigators must still carry the evidence forward.

AI crypto promises end in a $24M Ponzi conviction

Key points:

  • A federal jury convicted Profit Connect owner Brent Kovar of defrauding at least 400 investors out of $24 million.

  • Prosecutors said investor money funded earlier payouts, company expenses, employee gifts, and Kovar’s house rather than the advertised crypto operation.

News - Profit Connect wrapped an old cash-flow scheme in a futuristic pitch. From late 2017 through July 2021, the company claimed AI software on a supercomputer mined crypto and verified transactions on other networks. After a nine-day trial, its owner was convicted on 15 fraud and money-laundering counts.

Technology sold certainty - Kovar presented Profit Connect as profitable, claimed it held hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto reserves, and offered fixed annual returns as high as 30%. Investors were also promised a 100% money-back guarantee and, according to an FDIC investigator, told their funds were federally insured.

Prosecutors said the company was not profitable, held no such reserves, and had no legitimate means to deliver the advertised returns or guarantee.

The crypto proceeds came from investors - Funds were used to operate the company, purchase gifts for employees, and buy Kovar a house. Some money was recycled to earlier investors and presented as proceeds generated through crypto activities.

The criminal case covered a larger toll than the SEC’s 2021 allegation: $24 million from at least 400 investors versus $12 million from at least 277.

The 280 years is a ceiling - Kovar was found guilty of 11 wire-fraud counts, two mail-fraud counts, and two money-laundering counts. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30. The cited 280-year term is the combined statutory maximum, while the federal judge will determine the actual sentence.

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Interesting facts

  • No name, no address, still legally served: In June 2022, England’s High Court permitted proceedings against unidentified alleged fraudsters to be served through an NFT sent to a blockchain wallet, turning the destination of disputed crypto into a delivery address for the case.

  • Drug-bust Bitcoin was rerouted toward Ukraine aid: Finnish Customs sold 1,889.1 BTC forfeited through narcotics and doping investigations for €46.5 million in 2022. After Bitcoin’s decline left the proceeds below Finland’s planned €70 million Ukraine aid allocation, the government said it would cover the shortfall from elsewhere.

  • Austria gave ordinary postage an on-chain alter ego: On June 11, 2019, Austrian Post launched its first Crypto Stamp, pairing a physical stamp bearing a unicorn with a digital twin recorded on Ethereum.

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Top 3 coins of the day

Ethena (ENA)

Key points:

  • ENA retreated from $0.179 to $0.151 and slipped beneath the blue Chande Kroll Stop at $0.153.

  • The Awesome Oscillator stayed positive at 0.0066, but its contracting red bars exposed fading momentum.

What you should know:

Ethena’s $1 billion secured warehouse facility with FalconX formed the clearest project-specific backdrop to ENA’s rally, but the move lost force after price peaked near $0.179. A whale then deposited 9.776 million ENA, worth roughly $1.5 million, into Binance, raising potential sell-side pressure without proving a sale. ENA retreated to $0.151 and slipped beneath the blue Chande Kroll Stop at $0.153. The Awesome Oscillator remained positive at 0.0066, but its shrinking red bars showed that bullish momentum had faded sharply. Volume also cooled from the breakout spikes, leaving the latest bounce without strong confirmation. Reclaiming $0.154 brings resistance between $0.160 and $0.163 back into view. Support stands between $0.147 and $0.150; below it, $0.136 to $0.140 becomes vulnerable.

Solana (SOL)

Key points:

  • SOL reached $103.5 before retreating to $98.17, surrendering its hold above $100.

  • The Parabolic SAR stayed bullish at $89.76, but Stochastic RSI %K plunged to 14.59.

What you should know:

Solana’s trend and momentum stopped agreeing after price crossed $100. The Parabolic SAR had flipped below price at $89.76, preserving a bullish trend signal, but SOL’s push to $103.5 quickly reversed to $98.17. Stochastic RSI confirmed the loss of speed: %K fell to 14.59, below %D at 35.58, after both rolled down from overbought territory. Volume expanded during the breakout, then moderated as red candles erased the move above the milestone. Institutional demand nevertheless stayed specific, with spot Solana ETFs posting a fifth straight inflow day and a 2026 record $33.5 million daily intake. Validators are also voting through August 27 on doubling the disinflation rate, a proposal projected to reduce future issuance by nearly 19 million SOL. $100 is the first reclaim; support sits between $96 and $98.

JasmyCoin (JASMY)

Key points:

  • JASMY surged from $0.0034 to $0.0051 and remained above the orange Chande Kroll Stop at $0.0050.

  • The MACD line reached $0.00024 against a $0.00018 signal as the positive histogram expanded.

What you should know:

JASMY’s chart turned bullish just as its calendar became dangerous. Price rallied from around $0.0034 to $0.0051, clearing the orange Chande Kroll Stop at $0.0050 on the strongest green-volume burst of the move. MACD reinforced the breakout: its $0.00024 line stood above the $0.00018 signal, while the positive histogram expanded to $0.00006. JasmyChain’s planned use of JASMY as its native gas token supplied a concrete future-utility narrative. Yet Upbit and Bithumb plan to delist the token on September 14, creating a dated liquidity risk that momentum cannot erase. Holding $0.0050 keeps resistance between $0.0052 and $0.0053 in play. A drop below $0.0050 shifts attention to support between $0.0046 and $0.0047, followed by the blue stop at $0.0042.

Markets move. Headlines catastrophize. Inside the noise is the story that matters — the opportunity, not the fear. The Daily Upside: global business and finance, reported without the alarm.

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