Morning Report | South Korea's top financial regulatory agency will accelerate cryptocurrency legislation, launching a basic law for digital assets in the fall; Yangtze Memory Technologies' parent company is expected to raise 33 billion yuan through its IPO on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board
August 24 Market Important Events OverviewCompiled by: ChainCatcher
What important events happened in the past 24 hours?
South Korea's top financial regulator to accelerate cryptocurrency legislation, plans to launch the Basic Digital Asset Act this fall
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by The Block, South Korea's top financial regulator has stated that it will accelerate discussions on cryptocurrency-related legislation and plans to launch the country's version of the Basic Digital Asset Act this fall. The bill is expected to establish relevant rules regarding stablecoin issuance, licensing for virtual asset service providers (VASP), Bitcoin ETFs, and other matters.
Hyperliquid Policy Center suggests SEC and CFTC classify equity perpetuals as securities futures
According to ChainCatcher, the Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC) submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stating that eligible equity perpetual contracts could be classified as securities futures. This category is jointly regulated by both agencies, allowing exchanges to compete on execution quality rather than jurisdiction. HPC pointed out that perpetual contracts still lack a clear classification under U.S. law (whether as futures or swaps), and this fundamental issue remains unresolved. They possess features of futures such as standardized terms, the ability to hedge positions, and forward value, although they do not have a fixed expiration date, prices converge continuously through funding rates. The letter proposed four points: confirming that the definition of securities futures can encompass cash-settled equity perpetuals with futures characteristics; preserving flexibility for exchange product listings; maintaining consistency in classification between the two agencies; and modernizing the securities futures framework to accommodate new structures. HPC stated that over the past 10 months, Hyperliquid's perpetual contract trading volume has exceeded $48 billion, and a clear framework would help related products enter the U.S. market.
Goldman Sachs: Nvidia's strong earnings report may not boost stock price
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Caixin, Nvidia will announce its Q2 earnings report for fiscal year 2027 after U.S. markets close on August 26. Goldman Sachs expects strong performance and upward guidance but notes that the stock price has already surged since August, with an increase of over 12% in the past two weeks, suggesting that the good news may already be priced in, making it difficult for excellent performance to boost the stock price. Goldman Sachs predicts Nvidia's EPS for Q2 and Q3 will exceed Wall Street consensus estimates by 6% and 12%, respectively, with a target price of $285, slightly below the market average. Goldman Sachs believes there is room for revaluation, provided that large-scale cloud providers improve profitability to support capital expenditures, Nvidia remains cautious on customer financing platforms to alleviate supplier revolving financing concerns, and continues to advance large-scale buybacks and dividends. Investors will focus on details regarding customer financing platforms, progress on the Vera Rubin platform, gross margins and raw material costs, CPU demand driven by AI agents, and industry competition dynamics during the earnings call. Goldman Sachs pointed out that while GPU demand remains strong, there are still risks of a pullback, making it increasingly difficult to "exceed expectations and raise guidance" quarter by quarter, and doubts remain about whether cloud providers can continue to increase capital expenditures. Earlier this month, Nvidia partnered with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, KKR, and others to establish an AI computing infrastructure financing platform, aiming to leverage over $50 billion in third-party capital; as concerns about revolving financing rise, the company needs to release more substantial new information, or the stock price is more likely to decline rather than surge after the earnings report.
Coinbase-backed crypto advocacy organization endorses 32 midterm election candidates, fully supports the passage of the CLARITY Act
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Reuters, the crypto advocacy organization Stand With Crypto, supported by Coinbase, announced endorsements for 32 incumbent congressional candidates for the November midterm elections. All 32 candidates voted last year to prioritize the CLARITY Act, the primary legislative initiative for the crypto industry, which is currently stalled in the Senate due to opposition from some lawmakers. The list includes key allies in the crypto industry such as Republican Representatives Tom Emmer and Bill Huizenga, as well as Democratic Representatives Ritchie Torres and Josh Gottheimer, with some candidates facing competitive races. Stand With Crypto Executive Director Mason Lynaugh stated, "In 2024, we proved that crypto voters are real, and in 2026, we want to demonstrate our organizational mobilization ability; our advocates are a voting bloc that can truly influence outcomes." Stand With Crypto was launched by Coinbase in 2023 to influence elections by mobilizing voters rather than through large-scale campaign spending, and currently claims to have over 3 million registered "advocates." In 2024, the crypto industry invested $170 million to support congressional candidates, most of whom won, and pushed Congress to pass the GENIUS Act for stablecoin regulation. During this midterm election cycle, the crypto industry has invested nearly $200 million through channels such as the Fairshake Super PAC to continue solidifying its influence in Congress.
Data: IBIT call options daily trading volume hits a record high, averaging over 1 million contracts over three trading days
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by The Kobeissi Letter, the trading volume of call options for the Bitcoin ETF IBIT reached 1.58 million contracts on Wednesday, setting a new daily historical high; the volume exceeded 1 million contracts for three consecutive trading days from Wednesday to Friday, as investors chased the crypto rebound. Consequently, the call skew increased by 0.05 points over the past three days, marking the largest three-day increase in at least two years, more than three times the average three-day change since January 2025. This indicator measures the relative cost of upside versus downside options, and a significant increase in this metric indicates that investors are more willing to pay a premium for upside exposure.
PDD Holdings releases Q2 2026 financial report, revenue increases 8% year-on-year
According to ChainCatcher, PDD Holdings (NASDAQ: PDD) announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. Total revenue for the quarter was 112.4 billion yuan (approximately $16.6 billion), an increase of 8% compared to 104 billion yuan in the same period of 2025, primarily due to increased transaction service revenue. Among this, online marketing services and other revenue amounted to 57.6 billion yuan, while transaction service revenue reached 54.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Operating profit was 27.8 billion yuan, an 8% year-on-year increase; non-GAAP operating profit was 29.1 billion yuan, a 5% year-on-year increase. Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was 27.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12%; non-GAAP net profit was 28.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13%. Basic earnings per American depositary share were 19.32 yuan, diluted to 18.45 yuan. Operating cash flow was 25.7 billion yuan; as of the end of the quarter, cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled 456.4 billion yuan. Co-Chairman and Co-CEO Chen Lei stated that the evolving global trade and regulatory environment presents both challenges and opportunities, and the company will strive to build a platform that consumers can trust for the long term. Co-Chairman and Co-CEO Zhao Jiazhen noted that in the first half of the year, the company continued to strengthen ecological governance and advance trust and safety measures, viewing compliance as a fundamental priority. CFO Liu Jun stated that the company increased ecological investments in Q2, prioritizing helping merchants grow and strengthening the industry ecosystem to promote the platform's long-term sustainable development.
Fidelity fund manager doubles gold holdings, betting on the Fed's credibility and the dollar's status
According to ChainCatcher, on August 24, a portfolio manager at Fidelity International stated that his fund's gold holdings have doubled over the past three weeks, attributing this move to increased uncertainty regarding Federal Reserve policies. After raising the gold allocation in the fund to his self-imposed limit of 5%, George Efstathopoulos stated that he would consider raising this limit if the dollar's status as a safe-haven asset continues to decline. Following the Fed's July meeting, investors sold off long-term Treasury bonds, and George began increasing his gold holdings in this context. "My understanding is that this is due to the Fed's lack of credibility and increasing policy uncertainty," George stated. He also noted that the U.S. Treasury unexpectedly increased its repurchase of long-term bonds, appearing more like "manipulating yields rather than addressing the fundamental reasons for rising yields." "Today, the focus on gold is no longer just about rising yields themselves, but rather why yields are rising."
Over 50,000 Stripe API keys leaked in public code
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Security Affairs, researchers from Ransomnews recorded a large-scale leak of Stripe merchant API keys, with keys exposed in public code repositories, GitHub Actions logs, and misconfigured web servers, identifying over 50,000 unique keys. Sample tests showed that a significant portion of these keys remain active, allowing attackers to commit fraud within hours. The report stated that on August 18, 2026, a data trading forum released a dataset containing valid Stripe API keys for 659 merchant accounts and approximately 35 GB of customer and payment data. Ransomnews has conducted offline analysis and reported to Stripe before publication. Stripe itself was not breached; the keys belonged to merchants. Researchers found that upon discovering valid keys, they could access merchant customer lists, create fraudulent payment links, and complete a $1 test charge within 17 hours. Valid keys could list customers and stored payment methods, create charges and payment intents, initiate refunds to accounts controlled by attackers, modify webhook endpoints to intercept payment notifications, and access associated accounts when Stripe Connect is enabled. Major sources of the leak included hardcoded keys in GitHub repositories and unignored .env files, unmasked environment variables in GitHub Actions build logs, and approximately 12% of over 3,000 misconfigured servers containing usable keys.
China Payment and Clearing Association releases self-regulatory convention for agent payments, supports exploring KYA mechanism
According to ChainCatcher, the China Payment and Clearing Association issued the "Self-Regulatory Convention for Agent Payment Applications," regulating member institutions' use of large models and other artificial intelligence "agents" to initiate and execute payment instructions in payment scenarios. The convention requires banks, non-bank payment institutions, clearing institutions, and others engaged in agent payment applications to adhere to the principle of "who provides payment services is responsible," implementing cybersecurity, data security, and privacy protection. The convention proposes establishing a "Know Your Agent (KYA)" mechanism, agent tiered management, and full-link identity transmission mechanisms to strengthen model robustness and traceability, anti-money laundering, and anti-fraud controls, and to set stricter authorization and risk control measures for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and minors. The convention will take effect from the date of publication.
Specter: Over $40 million in cryptocurrency stolen last week in three incidents
According to ChainCatcher, on-chain detective Specter monitored that over $40 million in stolen cryptocurrency was involved in three independent incidents last week, with each victim losing tens of millions of dollars. Specter noted that a large amount of funds entered the market last week, while social engineering, phishing links, and wallet theft scams continued to persist. Specter reminded that cryptocurrency is not an industry that can be ignored after purchasing assets; asset security is part of investment, and one should pay attention to the latest attack incidents, wallet vulnerabilities, and phishing activities; if not active on crypto Twitter or security forums, at least follow a reliable source that continuously publishes security updates.
Gemini and Apex reach intention to expand prediction market distribution
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CoinDesk, the crypto platform Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Apex Fintech Solutions to distribute regulated crypto prediction market contracts to brokerage clients through Apex's futures commission merchants (FCM). Under the arrangement, the subsidiary Gemini Titan will become the exclusive regulated trading venue for distributing crypto event contracts via Apex FCM, with Gemini responsible for execution and clearing, allowing brokers using Apex to offer related products without needing to build connections to prediction market exchanges. This collaboration builds on Gemini's efforts to advance regulated prediction market layouts. Gemini Titan received its CFTC designated contract market license in December 2025, while Gemini Olympus obtained a derivatives clearing organization license in April 2025. The two parties already have a collaborative foundation, as Gemini launched commission-free stock trading for some U.S. customers in July, with Apex Clearing Corporation serving as the custodian and clearing broker. The company expects to finalize details in the coming weeks. Gemini CEO Tyler Winklevoss stated that he believes prediction is the future of the market. The report also mentioned the overall growth in prediction market trading volume and the Command Center AI feature related to prediction markets that Gemini previously launched.
Yangtze Memory Technologies' parent company plans to raise 33 billion yuan in IPO on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board
According to ChainCatcher, on August 24, as reported by Reuters, Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), China's largest flash memory chip manufacturer, announced that its parent company, Yangtze Memory Technologies Holdings (CCSH Corporation), has had its listing application accepted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Sci-Tech Innovation Board, with the market expecting the company to go public next year. This IPO is expected to raise 33 billion yuan (approximately $4.9 billion). CCSH plans to issue between 1.98 billion and 2.43 billion new shares. The prospectus shows that the company's revenue for Q1 2026 (January to March) reached 47 billion yuan, nearly a fivefold year-on-year increase; net profit was 33.38 billion yuan, more than double the net profit of 14.21 billion yuan for the entire year of 2025. YMTC's factories are currently operating near full capacity and continue to expand sales in the tightening NAND flash memory market. The average selling price of NAND flash memory in Q1 2026 reached 2.73 times the average level of 2025, with gross margins rising sharply from 35.3% in 2025 to 76.8%. CCSH plans to use 20.8 billion yuan of the funds raised in this listing for expanding production lines, with another 12.2 billion yuan allocated for R&D of the next generation of NAND flash memory and high-speed storage products.
Data: Ethereum spot ETF saw a net inflow of $697 million last week, with BlackRock's ETHA leading with a net inflow of $537 million
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by SoSoValue, the Ethereum spot ETF saw a net inflow of $697 million during the trading days from August 17 to August 21 (Eastern Time). The Ethereum spot ETF with the highest net inflow last week was BlackRock's ETF ETHA, which had a weekly net inflow of $537 million, bringing its historical total net inflow to $12.17 billion; followed by Fidelity's ETF FETH, which had a weekly net inflow of $56.22 million, with a historical total net inflow of $2.18 billion. As of the time of publication, the total net asset value of Ethereum spot ETFs was $14.29 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market cap relative to Ethereum's total market cap) of 4.85%, and a historical cumulative net inflow of $12.15 billion.
Data: Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $1.918 billion last week, with BlackRock's IBIT leading with a net inflow of $1.331 billion
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by SoSoValue, the Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $1.918 billion during the trading days from August 17 to August 21 (Eastern Time). The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest net inflow last week was BlackRock's ETF IBIT, which had a weekly net inflow of $1.331 billion, bringing its historical total net inflow to $62.43 billion; followed by Fidelity's ETF FBTC, which had a weekly net inflow of $293 million, with a historical total net inflow of $10.18 billion. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest net outflow last week was VanEck's ETF HODL, which had a weekly net outflow of $16.1496 million, with a historical total net inflow of $1.07 billion. As of the time of publication, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs was $96.07 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market cap relative to Bitcoin's total market cap) of 6.17%, and a historical cumulative net inflow of $53.71 billion.
Bloomberg: Trade.xyz and Hyperliquid are lobbying for the opening of pre-IPO perpetual contracts in the U.S.
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Bloomberg, Trade.xyz and Hyperliquid, encouraged by their success, are pursuing a more ambitious goal. They are lobbying regulators to open pre-IPO perpetual contracts in the U.S., claiming that these tools can help modernize the traditional IPO process by improving price discovery. Hyperliquid operates outside the U.S. and has not formally opened to U.S. traders. Trade.xyz is also subject to the same restrictions.
Goldman Sachs holds five XRP ETFs worth $86.5 million in Q2
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CoinDesk, Goldman Sachs disclosed in its Q2 13F filing that it held a total of five XRP ETF positions, valued at approximately $86.5 million, indicating that it has re-established exposure to these products after liquidating its positions in the first quarter. The 13F filing is a report required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for institutional investors to disclose their holdings. Goldman Sachs' disclosure indicates that the institution has re-established allocations in XRP spot ETF products, involving multiple related funds.
Standard Chartered becomes the first bank to distribute Hong Kong dollar stablecoins
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CoinDesk, Standard Chartered Bank, headquartered in London with assets of $850 billion, announced that it will become the first bank to distribute regulated stablecoins in Hong Kong. The institution stated in an email statement released on Monday that it will first assist its eligible institutional clients and partners in integrating the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HKDAP issued by Anchorpoint Financial, of which Standard Chartered is a majority shareholder. Standard Chartered also stated that it plans to launch several new HKDAP commercial applications within the next month, including market fund subscriptions, settlements with asset management managers, inter-departmental settlements within the bank's global network, and cross-border payments. Anchorpoint Financial began a limited rollout of HKDAP on August 12, having obtained one of the first two issuance licenses in Hong Kong four months prior, with the initial rollout focusing on institutional payments and settlements, followed by the addition of more access channels and cross-border applications. Another licensed institution, HSBC, is preparing to launch its stablecoin in the second half of 2026, potentially distributing it through PayMe, which has 3.3 million users. Additionally, Kraken's parent company Payward has also expanded its stablecoin business in Hong Kong through a $600 million acquisition of Reap Technologies.
U.S. Treasury may use about $1 trillion TGA balance to expand long-term Treasury bond repurchases
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CNBC, two senior officials from the U.S. Treasury revealed that the Treasury may use nearly $1 trillion from its Treasury General Account (TGA) to fund its recently announced expansion of government bond purchase plans. Utilizing the TGA account would give the Treasury greater ability to influence long-term bond yields. Last week, the Treasury unexpectedly announced that it would increase the repurchase scale of long-term "off-the-run securities" from $2 billion to at least $4 billion. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the scale of such operations could even exceed this new minimum level. However, the Treasury did not specify how it would fund these purchases at that time. Most market participants previously believed that the Treasury would raise funds by increasing the issuance of short-term Treasury bills. If the TGA account is utilized, market perceptions of this plan may change. The TGA is essentially a "checking account" that the U.S. government holds at the Federal Reserve, similar to an emergency fund for the government. The funds in this account come from existing tax revenues.
Stanford professor releases VC firm rankings: 5% of VCs generate 90% of industry profits, 21 new firms enter the top 100
According to ChainCatcher, Stanford Business School professor Ilya Strebulaev, in collaboration with Blake Jackson, released the 2026 Strebulaev-Jackson VC firm rankings based on nearly 30 years of data from over 230,000 investments and nearly 13,000 VCs. The study estimates that about 5% of VCs generate approximately 90% of the industry's profits. The top five are Sequoia Capital (10,158 points), Andreessen Horowitz (8,292 points), Accel, DST Global, and Tiger Global. Among them, Parkway Venture Capital (19th) and Notable (20th) made it into the top 20 but are not widely recognized brands. The ranking uses six factors: discount valuation, dilution adjustment, net profit (after costs), value added (leading investments and board seats), human capital decay (three-and-a-half-year decay), and credit allocation between institutions and individuals (25% for the investing institution, 75% for the current institution). Of the top 100, 62 are located in California, 19 in New York, and six each in Massachusetts and Texas. Twenty-one were established in 2015 or later, and 23 of the best investments were in frontier AI or AI infrastructure companies, with OpenAI listed as the best investment by four firms, xAI by three, and Anthropic and Perplexity by two each. The ranking methodology has a correlation of only about 0.27 with the Midas List, with SV Angel investing in about 139 unicorns ranked 31st, and Thrive with only 47 unicorns ranked 8th. This ranking is a research outcome of Stanford professors and does not constitute investment advice.
Secret Network mints approximately 1.079 billion SCRT, diluting supply by about 75%
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CryptoSlate, the privacy public chain Secret Network, based on Cosmos, minted approximately 1.079 billion SCRT after proposal 365 was passed on August 21, through the v1.26.0 upgrade, to maintain network operations before SCRT Labs stops support on September 1. After the upgrade, the total supply rose to approximately 1.443 billion, with the absolute balance of original holders unchanged, but their total proportion dropped to about one-quarter, diluting the supply by about 75%. The distribution of the minted tokens includes: 299 million each for the foundation and core development plan, 178 million for the ecological fund, 72 million each for consultants, R&D, and validators, 43 million for builders and relayers, and 44 million for remedial purposes. The v1.26 economic model allows approximately 30.84 million SCRT to be circulating on the first day and sets a continuous inflation rate of 5%. The community previously rejected SCRT Labs' proposal 360 regarding migration to Arbitrum snapshots. SCRT Labs has indicated that regardless of the voting outcome, it will end development and related support for this Cosmos Layer 1 on September 1, with no plans for chain shutdown; subsequent development, infrastructure, and validator participation will need to be undertaken by the community, and this minting aims to provide resources and incentives for continued operation.
Pakistan requires crypto platforms to apply for regulatory licenses by September 5, or face shutdown
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by CryptoSlate, Pakistan's virtual asset regulatory authority (PVARA) has required cryptocurrency exchanges and related service providers operating locally to enter a new licensing process by September 5, or they must cease relevant operations. PVARA opened the licensing application portal for virtual asset service providers on August 22 and released regulatory rules for virtual asset services. According to the regulations, service providers that have conducted cryptocurrency business in Pakistan must submit a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) application; during the application review period, they may continue to provide existing services as long as they submit a complete application on time. Businesses that do not submit applications by September 5 must stop relevant services within the regulatory scope, and continuing operations will be considered a violation. PVARA added that this policy does not constitute a blanket ban on cryptocurrency but establishes a "comply or exit" regulatory mechanism applicable to exchanges, custodians, and other businesses providing virtual asset services to Pakistani users.
HP, Asus, and Acer reduce production capacity in Southeast Asia, shifting NB production focus back to China
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by DIGITIMES, there are reports from the NB supply chain that brand manufacturers are significantly returning to production in China, with "returning to China" becoming a new trend. HP, Asus, and Acer have recently noticeably reduced the capacity originally planned to be moved to Southeast Asia, with production focus returning to Chongqing or Kunshan in China, and increasing orders to Chinese ODM or EMS manufacturers. Production lines involving Quanta, Inventec's Thailand factories, and Compal, Wistron’s Vietnam factories may be affected by customer transfers. Lenovo, Dell, and Apple have remained relatively unchanged. The supply chain pointed out that after the U.S. equivalent tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the impact of alternative tariffs has been smaller, and the production costs for NB in Southeast Asia are on average $9 higher than in China. Brand manufacturers typically have a gross margin of 3% to 10% per NB, and with a low-priced model averaging about $300, the $9 difference is close to or even exceeds their profits, making shipments unprofitable. Local governments in China are also demanding increased production due to reduced tax sources, or they will reclaim past subsidies, creating a pullback effect. Relevant ODM personnel stated that they will respect customer decisions; if unable to take on a single product, they will shift to producing servers and other product lines locally. Lenovo is more cautious due to its diversified layout, with limited relocation; Dell has not significantly returned due to a high proportion of U.S. government orders; Apple targets the high-end market and promotes automation, with the main reason for moving MacBook production away from Shanghai being the pandemic's disruption, and its plans in Vietnam remain unchanged.
Market news: TSMC reportedly invests over 30 billion NT dollars to acquire AUO's Zhongke dual plants, laying out CPU ecosystem
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by the Commercial Times, there are rumors in the market that TSMC intends to spend over 30 billion NT dollars to acquire AUO's two old-generation panel factories located in Zhongke, near TSMC's plant, to reserve space for CoPoS, FOPLP, and other large-size packaging. Insiders indicated that TSMC has sent personnel to complete on-site audits, and AUO plans to prioritize the disposal of these two plants, aiming to submit to the board in October, with an estimated completion of production line relocation and plant vacating by the end of Q1 next year. Neither TSMC nor AUO has confirmed this transaction. Semiconductor industry analysts believe that TSMC is extending from advanced processes like A14 and advanced packaging to the COUPE silicon photonics platform, leveraging Taichung's role as a hub for precision optical components to build Zhongke into a CPO ecosystem. TSMC's Zhongke already has Fab 15A primarily focused on 28nm processes, which can support silicon interlayer manufacturing; the second phase of Zhongke's Fab 25 plans to build four A14 wafer fabs, with the first two already entering steel structure construction, aiming for completion before April 2027. The existing advanced packaging AP5 in Zhongke has already entered CoWoS production, and in the future, the COUPE platform will integrate electronic and photonic chips. On the optical side, Largan Precision has recently acquired land and factories in Taichung's Nantun, Taichung Industrial Zone, and nearby precision machinery clusters, with three transactions totaling approximately 2.568 billion NT dollars, interpreted by the market as a warm-up for CPO mass production. The company has secured its first mass production order for fiber optic arrays, with the first automated trial production line aiming for completion by the end of Q3, and mass production expected as early as mid-2027, while also laying out micro-lens arrays and integrated FAUs.
Sam Altman expresses concern that AI may fall into the hands of a few powerful entities, stating some are overly anxious
According to ChainCatcher, as reported by Business Insider, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated in the David Senra podcast that he is concerned that AI may one day be controlled by a few companies, models, or individuals, causing the vast majority of consumers to lose their voice in how technology shapes the world. He stated that the correct approach is to ensure that people firmly control the future, with society and models evolving together. Altman also expressed concern that AI could escape human control. He pointed out that excessive fear of the latter risk could lead to the former scenario becoming a reality, with some advocating sacrificing significant freedoms for safety due to anxiety. The article suggests this may indirectly refer to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has repeatedly warned about AI risks and called for increased government regulation. Anthropic is the only mainstream AI company that has not signed the open letter supporting open-weight models. Although OpenAI has not yet open-sourced its cutting-edge models, it released two open-weight models, gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, last year. Altman also stated that U.S. AI leaders have failed to adequately demonstrate to the public how this technology enhances autonomy in life and anticipate the largest wave of entrepreneurship, as AI empowers more people to start small businesses.
Analysis: Rising crypto prices boost protocol revenues, with perpetual income up 243% last week
According to ChainCatcher, Blockworks Research analyst Shaunda Devens stated that crypto will continue to be the best speculative market, as prices and demand reinforce each other. In stocks, price increases do not directly affect underlying businesses; for example, when Apple's stock price rises to a certain level, its price-to-earnings ratio relative to the same revenue base may appear unreasonable. It points out that crypto is not like this; token businesses are largely tied to financial asset speculation, and higher prices directly lead to more trading and leverage demand, subsequently increasing protocol revenues. Last week, despite token prices rising as much as 60%, 10 out of 16 sectors saw revenue growth exceeding price increases; perpetual contract income rose 243%, while corresponding prices only increased by 43%. Therefore, tokens do not have a true value ceiling in the short term, and mechanisms like buybacks and DAT further reinforce this reflexive cycle.
EthHub founder proposes ERC-8391 to provide asset status interfaces for tokenized stocks and RWA
According to ChainCatcher, EthHub founder Eric Conner stated that he has drafted a new ERC proposal, ERC-8391, aimed at providing asset status interfaces for tokenized stocks and RWA. Tokenized stocks can be traded on-chain around the clock, but the NYSE is only open for 32.5 hours a week, making it difficult for smart contracts to distinguish whether outdated prices are due to weekend market closures or because of price feed failures or acquisitions during market closures; both scenarios have the same on-chain bytes but require opposite responses. Information such as trading halts, price locks, and redemption windows cannot be reflected in prices either. This standard will regulate issues that contracts can query, covering market phases, trading halts, valuation activity, and redemption windows. Oracles can feed data into it, with tokens responding.
Listed companies' weekly net purchases increase by 1431.6%, Strategy monetizes $2.007 billion to increase cash reserves
According to ChainCatcher, based on SoSoValue data, as of 8 AM Eastern Time on August 24, 2026, the total net purchase of Bitcoin by global listed companies (excluding mining companies) for the week was $81.48 million, an increase of 1431.6% compared to the previous week. Strategy did not buy or sell Bitcoin last week but sold 18,261,118 shares of MSTR common stock, generating $2.007 billion. The Japanese listed company Metaplanet did not purchase Bitcoin last week, marking six consecutive weeks without purchases. Additionally, two other companies announced Bitcoin purchases last week. Asset management company Strive announced on August 24 that it spent $81.48 million last week to purchase 1,110 Bitcoins at an average price of $73,409, bringing its total holdings to approximately 21,356 Bitcoins; Ethereum asset company Bitmine announced on August 24 that it purchased 1 Bitcoin, without disclosing the specific purchase amount, bringing its total holdings to 210 Bitcoins. Additionally, Boya Interactive announced on August 20 that it spent $7.35 million in Q2 2026 to purchase 108 Bitcoins at approximately $68,047 each, bringing its total holdings to 4,201 Bitcoins as of June 30, 2026. As of publication, the total amount of Bitcoin held by global listed companies (excluding mining companies) is 1,140,751 Bitcoins, an increase of 0.1% compared to the previous week, with a current market value of approximately $8.952 billion, accounting for 5.7% of Bitcoin's circulating market value.
Strive increases holdings by 1,110 BTC last week, total holdings surpass 21,000
According to ChainCatcher, Strive submitted an 8-K filing to the SEC, stating that the company purchased 1,110 Bitcoins at an average price of approximately $73,409 from August 17 to 21, significantly increasing its previous weekly purchase scale. As of August 21, Strive's total Bitcoin holdings reached 21,356, along with 505,000 shares of Strategy STRC preferred stock (fair value approximately $48.57 million) and approximately $171.9 million in cash.
Meme Popularity Rankings
According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of August 25, 08:45,
The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: V4, WEBCAT, UNI, LINK, ASTEROID
The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: CATE, kylie, BATON, MARTIN, CVXV666
The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: Basecat, 1F916, Bots, SOL, plumber
What are some noteworthy articles to read in the past 24 hours?
"Saving U.S. Treasuries" baton: Yellen messed up last week, now looking at Waller
5% is key, whether devaluation trades can continue is in doubt. Wall Street Insight wrote that Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett views the 5% yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries as an important dividing line, believing that if it cannot break below this level, it will exacerbate the pressure on the dollar and high-leverage sectors—including AI super-scale computing companies and private credit. Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio warned last Friday, advising investors to reduce bond exposure and hold gold and some Bitcoin to guard against a potential U.S. debt crisis. This pressure is not unfounded. Bloomberg points out that as the conflict with Iran continues to escalate, the fiscal outlook is increasingly drawing market attention; meanwhile, the issuance of bonds by AI-related companies is surging, competing for the same pool of capital as U.S. Treasuries; foreign investors' demand for U.S. Treasuries is also becoming more "price-sensitive," with a decreasing tolerance for the current policy direction.
EIP-8363 Quantitative Review: Cutting Staking "Subsidies," What Does Ethereum Want to Regain?
Conditions that trigger our change of perspective (falsification indicators): On-chain data proves "issuance is reinvested, not sold": If capital flows show that newly minted ETH globally remains in automatically compounding LSTs and does not flow into exchanges to dump, then our assumption of selling pressure is invalid. Staking ETFs bring massive buying: Currently, a scale of $500 million is insignificant. But if expanded tenfold, the marginal demand will outweigh the significance of inflation reduction. L1 transaction fees miraculously recover: If the burn mechanism re-dominates the fundamentals, the urgency of artificially intervening in issuance will vanish. The negative correlation between supply and price is thoroughly evidenced: Currently, the relationship between the two is very weak; if data over the next year can confirm that "reducing supply must raise prices," this will become the most unassailable quantitative pillar for being bullish on ETH.
• Palantir has also been reinterpreted from a controversial government software contractor to a data and decision-making platform for the AI era; today, Neuralink is betting on the next way to connect humans and AI, while Anduril is betting on the next defense industrial system in the AI era. One focuses on the human brain, the other on the battlefield. They are in completely different industries but stand at similar value re-evaluation nodes—markets are curious about what these companies will become in the future. For MSX Pre-IPO, the third phase truly continues this longer-term asset search logic: discovering platform-level assets that are redefining themselves and may redefine an industry before next-generation tech companies are fully recognized by the public market.
What to Save U.S. Treasuries? Yellen Targets Trillion-Dollar Fund Pool
This is why the market interprets using the TGA as a more aggressive solution than continuing to issue short-term debt for financing. However, this solution is difficult to sustain in the long term. The Treasury has clearly projected that it will need to maintain a cash balance of about $950 billion by the end of September, so from a medium to long-term perspective, if the TGA declines significantly, it will still need to replenish the account through taxes, Treasury bond issuance, and fiscal cash flow. In other words, it merely shifts the pressure of issuing short-term debt today a little into the future. Moreover, the yield on long-term U.S. Treasuries is not solely determined by supply and demand. Treasury repurchases can indeed improve liquidity and marginally reduce the supply of long-term bonds, thereby lowering term premiums. However, if investors are genuinely concerned about the U.S. continuing to expand its fiscal deficit in the coming years, merely repurchasing tens of billions or hundreds of billions of Treasury bonds is unlikely to change the long-term equilibrium. What the market truly wants is a completely new…
The weak dollar and the continuous dilution of purchasing power, the abundance era driven by AI, and the BTC/gold ratio are actually telling us three different but complementary things. The first factor expands the overall opportunity for scarce monetary assets. The second factor increases the value premium enjoyed by scarce assets that cannot be easily replicated. The BTC/gold ratio helps us assess how much market share Bitcoin can capture among all scarce monetary assets competing for the same pool of capital. Viewed individually, any of these changes is a positive factor. But if they continue to develop in the direction we judge, Bitcoin will enter its most favorable macro environment and relative performance combination in history. This also means that the potential upside for Bitcoin in the coming years may reach a level we have never truly seen before.
Former Hack VC partner accuses workplace pressure: attempted suicide, refuses to settle
Additionally, according to RootData, Hack VC has seen at least three partner-level executives leave in the past year, including Alex Botte, Roshun Patel, and Sean Brown, aside from Hsin-Ju. In terms of investments, Hack VC's investment rounds have also dropped to the lowest point since its establishment, with only four publicly disclosed projects this year. Currently, the incident is still at a stage where both sides hold differing opinions, and Hsin-Ju's statements lack any strong evidence or public support from other well-known industry figures. Hsin-Ju has indicated that she will publicly present relevant evidence on August 26 or earlier, which will be a key point in determining whether her core accusations can be validated.
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