Good morning, everybody. It’s your Daily Crypto News, and it’s Tuesday, August 26, 2025. I woke up today in kind of a weird mood today. Some of you hit me up on Spotify, and as usual, the inbox is buzzing. Appreciate all the feedback—even when you’re ripping into Kyle or me—it keeps the show sharp. Let’s get into the news.
📱 Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over iPhone AI ‘Monopoly’
💶 French Chipmaker Sequans Sells $200M in Shares to Build Bitcoin Treasury
🕵️ Brothers Move to Block Google Searches Tied to $25M Crypto Heist Case
📉 Bitcoin Drops Below $110K as Fed Turmoil and Economic Data Weigh In
🤖 AI Titans Launch $100M Super PAC to Elevate Industry’s Status
📉 Trader Cobb & Market Training via The Grow Me Co
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over iPhone AI Monopoly
“Elon Musk’s X Corp. and xAI have filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of conspiring to create an AI monopoly on iPhones.”
The complaint was filed in Texas and seeks billions in damages, demanding Apple stop making ChatGPT the default AI assistant across iOS. Musk argues the deal unfairly locks out competitors like his chatbot Grok and cements OpenAI’s dominance with exclusive access to billions of prompts from iPhone users. The lawsuit also accuses Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT, blocking Grok promotions, and delaying updates. Musk is citing Sherman Act violations and Texas antitrust laws.
My Take: Apple’s entire value is the “walled garden.” People stick with iPhones because everything works together seamlessly — hardware, software, services, and deals like this. If Musk wins, you might get “fairness,” but it could mean worse experiences for users. Think back to when Epic Games forced Apple to open up subscription management — it was fair, but clunky. The question is, do we want fairness or the best experience?
Sequans Raises $200M to Expand Bitcoin Treasury
“Paris-based chipmaker Sequans has announced a $200 million share sale to expand its Bitcoin holdings, aiming for 100,000 BTC by 2030.”
The company already holds around 3,000 BTC and has raised nearly $400 million this summer for the strategy. Analysts are cautious, warning that the move dilutes shareholders and ties the company’s valuation too closely to Bitcoin’s volatility. Sequans says Bitcoin is the best long-term reserve asset and wants to lead the way among European corporations.
My Take: We’ve seen this before. When your core business isn’t strong enough, you pivot to Bitcoin treasuries as a “lifeline.” Michael Saylor pulled it off because he’s relentless and plays the long game, but most companies can’t stomach the downside. If Bitcoin cuts in half, what happens? Layoffs, fire sales, bankruptcy. History shows us how dangerous this can be if you don’t have the balance sheet to survive the swings.
The $25M in 12 Seconds Case
“Two MIT-educated brothers are accused of stealing $25 million in 12 seconds through an Ethereum MEV exploit.”
Anton and James Parer Bueno allegedly manipulated validators in a lightning-fast trade that drained millions from bots running sandwich attacks. Prosecutors point to their Google searches — “top crypto lawyers,” “wire fraud statute of limitations” — as evidence of guilt. The brothers argue the searches were part of seeking legal advice and should be protected. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison.
My Take: Let’s do the math. $25 million in 12 seconds is the equivalent of $7.5 billion an hour. That’s insane. The real issue is whether those Google searches prove intent. To me, there’s a difference between searching before the exploit (planning it) and after (figuring out if you’re screwed). Prosecutors are stretching, but it shows the thin line between “code is law” and “wire fraud.” Either way, was 12 seconds of adrenaline worth 20 years behind bars? Probably not.
AI Titans Launch $100M Super PAC
“A handful of America’s most powerful AI companies, investors, and entrepreneurs have launched a $100 million political fund to support pro-AI candidates.”
The new PAC, called Leading the Future, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale, Ron Conway, and Perplexity. It’s modeled directly on Fairshake, the pro-crypto PAC that reshaped the 2024 elections. Strategist Josh Vlasto, who ran Fairshake, is advising. The PAC plans to intervene in key 2026 races and then scale nationally.
My Take: Big money doesn’t just follow politics — it sets the agenda. We saw it with crypto PACs in 2024, and now AI wants its own seat at the table. The difference is AI has even bigger backers and deeper wallets. The battle in Washington isn’t left vs. right anymore, it’s which industries can outspend the others to buy influence.
Crypto Prices – August 26, 2025 – 12:57 PM Lisbon / 8:00 AM Eastern
Fear & Greed Index: 43 — neutral, leaning fearful
Bitcoin: $109,777, down 1.3% in 24h, down 5% in 7d
Ethereum: $4,423, down 3.7% in 24h
XRP: $2.90 down 1.3% in 24h
BNB: $840, down 1.6% in 24h
Solana: $187, down 4.8% in 24h
Dogecoin: $0.21, down 4% in 24h
Cardano: $0.838, down 3% in 24h
Tron: $0.346, down 1.6% in 24h
Total Market Cap: $3.85 trillion
Bitcoin: $2.25 trillion
Ethereum: $517 billion
Even with this pullback, the structure is still bullish. Under $105K Bitcoin, I’d start to worry.
That’s our show. Until next time, happy hodling everyone.
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