ascend

Research institution Delphi Digital stated that hardware limitations are driving Chinese laboratories to shift towards cheaper models and more efficient technology stacks. Export control restrictions limit their access to advanced chips, while domestic accelerators can handle inference, but cutting-edge training remains difficult to achieve. Chinese laboratories are innovating in system efficiency, model architecture, training data, and reinforcement learning. DeepSeek has found a way to avoid GPU idle data movement, and ByteDance and Moonshot are set to release similar versions within months.In terms of architecture, training is shifting to cheaper digital formats that are compatible with domestic chips. Sparse architectures reduce the runtime per token, and the attention mechanism has been redesigned three times to control the memory costs of long context. In terms of data, denser prediction targets and better optimizers enhance the learning signal per token. In reinforcement learning, DeepSeek's GRPO has become the default recipe, with ByteDance, Alibaba, and MiniMax each launching successor plans within a year. Chinese models are now among the lowest-cost cutting-edge adjacent systems.On OpenRouter, the proportion of token consumption by Chinese developed models is expected to rise from less than 1.2% at the end of 2024 to the majority by 2026. The Chinese AI market is experiencing a price war from 2024 to early 2026, with several laboratories implying revenue multiples of about 47-117 times, while Anthropic and OpenAI are around 15-21 times. Huawei's Ascend chips are currently available for inference, and DeepSeek reportedly attempted to train R2 on Ascend but returned to NVIDIA after encountering technical issues. Domestic accelerator supply remains below estimated demand.

According to official news, the cryptocurrency trading platform AscendEX has announced that it will cease operations, attributing the reasons to the current market environment and the impact of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).In response, on-chain detective ZachXBT pointed out that AscendEX's public hot wallet currently lacks sufficient liquid assets to cover the verified withdrawal demands of users amounting to millions of dollars. Affected users are advised to report to law enforcement and regulatory authorities in their respective countries or regions to hold AscendEX co-founder George (Jing) Cao accountable.

According to on-chain detective ZachXBT, multiple reports indicate that the centralized cryptocurrency exchange AscendEX (formerly Bitmax) has recently delayed or failed to process users' withdrawal requests for several days or even weeks, yet the platform continues to accept user deposits.As early as the initial warning on June 26, ZachXBT pointed out that, after reviewing on-chain data from Arkham and TRM, several known hot wallets of AscendEX (covering EVM, Tron, and Solana networks) severely lack major market cap tokens such as ETH, USDT, and SOL, indicating that the platform is likely facing a serious liquidity crisis.The latest situation shows that, in the 9 days since the first warning, the official X account of AscendEX has remained inactive, and the platform's co-founder George (Jing) Cao has not responded to inquiries from users with large amounts of trapped funds. Currently, ZachXBT strongly advises users unable to withdraw their funds to report to law enforcement and regulatory agencies in their respective countries or regions as soon as possible.It is reported that AscendEX was founded by George (Jing) Cao and Ariel Ling in 2018. In December 2021, the platform was attacked by the hacker group Lazarus Group, resulting in approximately $78 million in asset losses.

ZachXBT released a community alert on platform X, reporting that the centralized exchange AscendEX (formerly Bitmax) has been reported by multiple users for withdrawal delays ranging from days to weeks, and in some cases, withdrawals cannot be processed at all. ZachXBT checked the known hot wallets of the exchange through Arkham and TRM and found that its reserves lack mainstream large-cap tokens such as ETH, USDT, and SOL, which may indicate liquidity issues.AscendEX was founded by George Cao and Ariel Ling in 2018 and was hacked by the Lazarus Group in December 2021, resulting in a loss of approximately $78 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the SOL/ETH trading pair has broken below a rising wedge pattern that has persisted for several months. Based on this pattern, the potential downside target is 0.038 ETH, which could represent a 40% pullback from current levels. Data from May 29 shows that the short-term support for this trading pair is around 0.0628 ETH.On-chain data indicates that memecoin activity in the Solana ecosystem has significantly cooled down. The daily fee revenue of the main issuance platform Pump.fun has dropped to a nearly one-year low, a substantial decline from the peak in the first quarter of 2025. A recent report from Standard Chartered Bank pointed out that the development of Ethereum Layer 2 solutions could pose competitive pressure on Solana.

ChainCatcher news, on-chain analyst Ali Martinez stated on social media that despite the market's volatility, Ethereum remains strong within an ascending parallel channel, pointing towards $6,000.

ChainCatcher news, the former executive director of the Bank of Japan responsible for monetary policy stated that Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election has increased uncertainty for the Bank of Japan, and if the trend of a weaker yen further expands, it could become a potential catalyst for a rate hike in the near future.Former Bank of Japan official Kazuo Momma said in an interview on Thursday: "The U.S. election has led to increased uncertainty, not just for the Bank of Japan, but for everyone globally. The only reason the Bank of Japan might consider raising rates early could be a rapid depreciation of the yen."Momma believes that a yen-to-dollar exchange rate falling to 160 could be a key threshold for policymakers, but the timing of any exchange rate changes will also depend on the level of public discontent.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the dynamic Bitcoin inscription artwork "Ascend" will participate in the live auction at Christie's London on October 10. This piece is the only digital artwork in the auction and is the first dynamic Bitcoin inscription artwork to be featured at Christie's.It is reported that the artwork depicts the beauty of decay of the Tskaltubo sanatorium in Georgia, which was a famous health resort during the Soviet era, built between 1952 and 1962, and has now become a ruin. The piece is inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain using the Ordinals protocol, switching between day and night modes, reflecting the real-time of Georgia through a 30-minute transition process.

ChainCatcher news, AscendEX (formerly BitMax) has launched a new DEX contract trading product, AscendEX DEX, in collaboration with Orderly Network. AscendEX DEX will initially support Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base chains, allowing the use of USDC as margin.In addition, users trading contracts on AscendEX DEX can earn Orderly Network Merits points. Holding Merits points will qualify users for Orderly Network token airdrops.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, AscendEX (Peak) was launched in 2018 and is a full-stack cryptocurrency trading platform co-built by Wall Street investors, providing simple solutions for investment, trading, and profit, helping users maximize the returns on their portfolios.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Aptos Labs announced new partnerships with Microsoft, Brevan Howard, SK Telecom, and Boston Consulting Group to develop the institutional platform Aptos Ascend.It is reported that the platform is a digital asset management platform aimed at financial institutions, designed to extend decentralized finance to institutional capital through the Aptos network and increase the liquidity of tokenized assets globally, among other things.

ChainCatcher news, the NFT collateral lending platform MetaStreet announced on social media the completion of a $25 million financing round, with participation from Andrew Kang, dingaling, GMoney, MrBlock, DCF God, Sisyphus, Spencer, FreeLunchCapital, Jae Chung, GoodAlexander, and others.In addition, MetaStreet also announced the launch of ASCEND, aimed at facilitating entry into the illiquid credit market. The platform focuses on expanding on-chain debt scale, aiming to unlock untapped opportunities for NFTs and other illiquid assets.MetaStreet is introducing Liquid Credit Tokens, which can provide scalable capital markets for on-chain illiquid assets.According to the crypto data platform RootData, on October 14, 2022, MetaStreet completed a $10 million financing round, with participation from DragonFly Capital, Nascent, Ethereum Ventures, and others, bringing the total financing to $24 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the Avalanche ecosystem inscription ACST will be listed on BitMart today at 16:00, and will soon be available on the AscendEX trading platform.

ChainCatcher news, the action role-playing blockchain game project Ascenders based on Avalanche has announced the cessation of game development, including the flagship project "Ascenders MMORPG" and its accompanying mini-game "Ascenders: Simulation," while also terminating company operations.The announcement stated, "The results of the land NFT minting carefully prepared in May 2023 fell far short of our expectations. Unfortunately, we have reached a point where we can no longer operate financially."ChainCatcher previously reported that the action role-playing blockchain game project Ascenders based on Avalanche announced the completion of a $6.4 million private placement round, co-led by Paramount Capital, Three Arrows Capital, Sino Global Capital, and Merit Circle, with participation from DeFiance Capital, Blizzard Fund, Colony Labs, GuildFi, Momentum 6, Forward Analytics, Avocado Guild, Zee Prime Capital, Snack Club, Layer X, and Mintable, among others.