SEC clears token buybacks and Quant surges 47%, while a $388M Bitget exploit rattles the market

Two stories drove the session in opposite directions. The SEC issued guidance explicitly permitting token buyback programs for crypto networks — a meaningful shift in how regulators view token economics. Buybacks let protocols use treasury funds to purchase and retire their own tokens, similar to how public companies buy back shares. For Quant, whose interoperability protocol had futures positions near yearly lows, the news hit like a spark in a dry field: the token surged 47% as traders unwound short positions and priced in the direct benefit to Quant's token model. Chainlink also caught a tailwind, rising 2.7% after rolling out upgrades to its cross-chain bridge infrastructure — the timing matters because a $292 million exploit at a rival bridge earlier this year put the entire sector under scrutiny, and Chainlink's update positions it as the safer alternative. Pulling in the other direction: a $388 million exploit at Bitget, one of the larger centralized exchanges, which began restoring user withdrawals in phases by day's end. The hack added to a backdrop of macro unease — stalled diplomatic talks over Iran and rising oil prices gave traders a reason to reduce risk broadly. Most of the top 15 assets fell between 1% and 4%, with Zcash (-3.5%), Monero (-3.6%), Dogecoin (-3.6%), and Hyperliquid (-3%) among the harder-hit names. Uniswap dropped 8.5%, partly as profit-taking after it had previously rallied on expectations of a fee-switch — the SEC's buyback news may have prompted some of that unwinding. Strategy's purchase of 1,665 Bitcoin for $143 million, bringing its total holdings to 847,666 BTC, provided a floor narrative for institutional demand even as spot prices dipped.

• –Bitget began phased withdrawal resumptions after a $388 million exploit, with THORChain separately declining to block the hacker's funds as $6 million moved to Bitcoin.
• –Strategy purchased 1,665 Bitcoin for $143 million, setting a new corporate holdings record at 847,666 BTC.
• –Chainlink rolled out cross-chain bridge upgrades months after a $292 million industry hack exposed systemic risks in bridge infrastructure.
• –California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation banning public officials from launching memecoins, a signal of tightening state-level oversight of politically-linked token projects.