Crypto Hacks in August: $163 Million Stolen Across 16 Attacks

Polygon , once known as MATIC, is finally waking up after months of quiet trading. Polygon price today jumped nearly 5% to trade around $0.27, sparking excitement in the market. While rising adoption and network demand are fueling this move, the real excitement comes from analysts who see this rally as just the start.

Some are now eyeing a bold target of $1.30 for the POL token.

Polygon Network Activity Spike

One of the biggest drivers is the clear growth in activity on the Polygon blockchain. Active addresses are up 25%, climbing from 447,000 to 665,000, while daily transactions have grown nearly 8% to 4 million. This shows that more users are actively relying on the Polygon network.

USDT Upgrade Brings Efficiency

Another reason for the bullish momentum is Polygon’s upgrade of its PoS USDT to the new USDT0 standard. This move improved transaction efficiency and increased its dominance in stablecoin activity, making the network more attractive for users and investors.

Growth as a Stablecoin Hub

Polygon is also positioning itself as a stablecoin hub in Singapore and Asia more broadly. Data shows strong growth in XSGD stablecoin transfers on the network, with volumes hitting $66 million, $88 million, $74 million, and $94 million in the last four months, reflecting steady growth in usage.

Polygon’s Trading Volume Spike 110%

Lastly, market activity around the token itself has been impressive. Polygon’s trading volume has spiked by more than 110% in just the last 24 hours. Such a sharp rise in trading often signals strong investor interest and can directly push prices higher.

Polygon Price Prediction: Can It Bounce Back?

Polygon has been stuck in a long downtrend since its 2021 highs. Even when the wider crypto market rallied, POL kept sliding lower, making it feel like the token had spent the bull run in its own bear market.

Analyst Venturefounder says the first real sign of strength would be a move to $0.38, while the key breakout point sits at $0.71. Crossing that level, he believes, would mark the start of a true bull market for Polygon.

Adding to the optimism, analyst Javon Marks points out a strong bullish divergence, a signal that selling pressure is weakening and a reversal may be close. Based on this setup, he suggests POL could climb back to around $1.30, which would mean a 354% gain from current levels.

TL;DR

Price Returns to August Levels as Key Pattern Forms

XRP is trading near an important support zone, with traders watching for signs of direction. Analysts are weighing two key scenarios: either a continued rebound or a deeper pullback in early September. Market structure, on-chain activity, and regional demand are all being considered as the final quarter of the year approaches.

Charting Guy, a crypto market analyst, pointed out that XRP has returned to the same level it traded at in early August. He noted that this area, around $2.70–$2.75, has been a strong zone of support. The move also matches the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level from the last major rally.

$XRP BACK AT EARLY AUGIST LOWS

for the reply guys in the back saying i’ve been getting things wrong lately – i literally said we would likely revisit early August lows around this time. sorry you all can’t keep up with my updates!

okay, now. my… https://t.co/cWggbhLsLM pic.twitter.com/pMluNAJqn2

— Charting Guy (@ChartingGuy) September 1, 2025

Notably, the price is holding along the lower boundary of a long-standing ascending channel that has been active since April. On his chart, the recent dip is marked as Wave 4 in a larger five-wave move. A fifth-wave rally is projected if the support level holds.Expectedlevels for a move higher are $4.16, $4.63, and $5.39.

Charting Guy also described a second scenario. He warned that the market could form a short-term bearish pattern before rebounding quickly. He added,

“A bear trap is possible in early September, followed by a fast reversal.”Short-Term Resistance Remains Below $2.94

Another analyst, CryptoWZRD, said that XRP is trading below the $2.83 level and called recent price action “choppy.” The next support sits near $2.64, while a breakout above $2.94 may set up another move to the upside. A close above this resistance could allow for a long position.

Both XRP and XRP/BTC showed slight daily declines, continuing to follow Bitcoin’s broader trend. Weekly and monthly charts showed indecision. The market is now watching how sentiment may shift after the upcoming economic data from the U.S., including the Non-Farm Payroll report.

CryptoWZRD also mentioned that Bitcoin’s falling dominance could benefit XRP/BTC, which may give Ripple’s token room to rise if BTC remains steady.Large Buyers Step in During Market Drop

On-chain data showed that Korean exchanges absorbed around 16 million XRP, valued at approximately $45.5 million, during the recent drop. Analyst Ali noted that XRP “must hold above $2.77 to avoid a retracement to $2.40.” This activity points to institutional buying while retail traders have been reducing exposure.

South Korean platforms are known for driving sharp moves in altcoins. This behavior, sometimes referred to as the “Kimchi Premium,” shows how local demand can push markets faster than global averages. The recent buying may help form a base around current prices.

Activity on the XRP Ledger has also increased. Active wallet addresses rose by 20% over three days leading into the planned Decentralized Media launch on September 12.

At the same time, Chinese tech firm Linklogis integrated XRP Ledger into its platform, reporting a 23% increase in its equity. Data from Messariconfirmedthat XRPL closed Q2 with a record $131.6 million in real-world asset value.

Open interest in contracts for the Trump family-tied World Liberty Financial token neared $1 billion just hours ahead of a partial token unlock.

Open interest on derivative contracts for the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token neared $950 million in early trading on Monday, before cooling to $887 million, still up 45% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass.

The trading volume on WLFI derivatives has jumped over 535% in the past day to $4.54 billion and is the fifth-most traded crypto derivative in the past 24 hours.

The token is trading at around 34 cents on most exchanges, down from a peak of over 40 cents a week ago.

Open interest is the number of active, outstanding contracts not yet settled and shows that WLFI is seeing strong interest ahead of an unlock of around 5% of the token supply due in a few hours.

WLFI value could be among crypto top 10

If the price of WLFI continues to trade at around 34 cents, the token could have a fully diluted market value of $34 billion, based on its total supply of 100 billion tokens.

Its total market value would make it the ninth-largest cryptocurrency, replacing Tron (TRX) and pushing Dogecoin (DOGE) out of the top 10, both of which have full market values under $32 billion.

The price of gold hit an all-time high after US President Donald Trump commented on inflation on his social media platform, but Bitcoin was moving in the opposite direction on Monday, in what could be seen as an example of Bitcoin’s “split personality.”

Over the past two and a half years, there has been a strong correlation between gold, Bitcoin, and the Nasdaq, with all of them ripping higher, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told Cointelegraph.

“At times, Bitcoin is viewed as a store of value or a safe haven, and at other times it’s viewed as a risk asset,” he added.

The price of gold climbed to its highest ever level on Monday, reaching $3,485 per ounce after a 1% spike, according to GoldPrice. It came after Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, stating “prices are ‘WAY DOWN’ in the USA, with virtually no inflation.”

The Ethereum validator exit queue peaked at just over 1 million ETH on Friday as the asset maintained its price gains, and selling pressure and profit-taking increased.

This is only natural, considering that Ether has more than doubled in price in a little over two months after spending a couple of years in the doldrums.

The big increase in the exit queue led to a lot of FUD about a massive Ether sell-off and price crash, but this is largely unfounded because the entry queue for staking has also surged.

The entry queue hit its highest level since 2023 on Sunday at 787,255 ETH worth around $3.4 billion, according to ValidatorQueue.

Forget the ETH unstaking FUD.

Entry queue just hit 787k ETH ($3.5B). Recent highs! And continues to climb while unstaking amounts peaked.

The great rotation for $ETH is underway. pic.twitter.com/L96bYrb417

— Ignas | DeFi (@DefiIgnas) August 31, 2025

Ether Moving From Weak to Strong Hands

However, it was pointed out that ETH in the entry queue has already been purchased, so its impact on spot prices has been seen, whereas the Ether in the exit queue has yet to be processed by markets.

There are currently around 35.7 million ETH staked, worth a whopping $157 billion and representing almost 30% of the entire supply, so the ecosystem is more than stable.

“The ‘Great Rotation’ is also clear in retail selling, while whales and institutions are buying,” said DeFi researcher Ignas.

There have been billions in Ether ETF inflows in August,digital asset treasuriesare stillaccumulatingthe asset, and whales are publicly rotating billions from BTC into ETH, yet the price has not surged because retail is selling, he added in a separate post.

“Supply moving from weak to strong hands. Same setup before every big run.”

$ETH has large ETF inflows, DATs buying, and HL whale publicly rotating billions of BTC into ETH.

Price still flat. Why?

Retail is selling: • 100–1k ETH holders dumping • 10k–100k whales loading fast

Supply moving from weak to strong hands. Same setup before every big run. pic.twitter.com/uk9UGZwbma

— Ignas | DeFi (@DefiIgnas) August 30, 2025

“Capital has been rotating from Bitcoin into Ethereum,”saidpopular analyst Will Woo last week.

Meanwhile, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck labelled the asset “the Wall Street token” last week, explaining that financial institutions must adopt Ethereum to facilitate stablecoin transfers or risk falling behind.

Consensys founder Joseph Lubin made the bold prediction that “ETH will likely 100x from here. Probably much more,” because Wall Street needs it for decentralized rails. He also said that Ether will flip Bitcoin as the monetary base.ETH Price Stalls

No such bullishness is happening at the moment on spot markets as weak retail hands continue to sell, sending the asset down 1.4% on the day as it trades at $4,380.

Ether has now retreated almost 12% from its peak of $4,950 a week ago, but remains within its range-bound channel that formed three weeks ago when the asset broke above $4,000.

Analysts are still confident that Ether has a long way to go in this bull run despite it stalling at current levels.

ETHEREUM IS TRACKING GLOBAL LIQUIDITY

Accumulation is done. The bull run is alive.

Global liquidity is expanding higher and $ETH is mirroring the move. This isn’t hopium, it’s macro.

Miss it now, and you’ll be chasing above $6K. pic.twitter.com/Ggc2p5GxDS

— Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) August 31, 2025

Bitcoin, Ether, and other major cryptocurrencies declined over the weekend as traders processed macroeconomic data ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later this month.

According to The Block's crypto price page, bitcoin fell 0.71% to $107,866 as of 1:50 a.m. on Monday, currently in a price range that is the lowest since early July. Ether dropped 1% to $4,398, XRP fell 3.67% to $2.73, and Solana dipped 2.71% to $198.6.

"The crypto market extended its decline over the weekend following the PCE release, as persistently elevated inflation dampened expectations for a September rate cut," said Min Jung, research analyst at Presto Research.

Last Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditures data showed that core inflation rose 2.9% in July. While the rate came as expected, this was the highest annual rate since February, CNBC noted.

The inflation data intensified bearish market sentiment that initially followed a series of significant bitcoin whale sell-offs that triggered the liquidation of leveraged positions, Kronos Research CIO Vincent Liu told The Block.

"Bitcoin’s key psychological support sits at $100K, with leveraged positions under pressure, highlighting fragile liquidity," said Liu, adding that Ether's key support sits at $4,000. "If these supports break, it could trigger a deeper drop and a broader liquidity crunch, though a full bear market would require a more sustained decline."

NFP and FOMC

Traders are now focused on this week's non-farm payrolls (NFP) report, as it could signal the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates based on the latest U.S. employment data.

"A major surprise in job growth could trigger sharp market moves—strong numbers may weigh on crypto as risk appetite falls, while weaker-than-expected data could lift demand," Liu said.

The FOMC meeting is scheduled for Sept. 16 and 17, which will bear the much-anticipated result of the U.S. central bank's interest rate decision.

Despite the recent PCE data pointing to sticky inflation, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool still gives a 87.6% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in the upcoming meeting.

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