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According to RootData's financing data statistics, the crypto primary market disclosed 49 financing events in August, with a total financing amount of approximately $596 million, a 74.2% decrease compared to about $2.312 billion in July, and a 35.5% decrease compared to about $924 million in August 2025; the number of financing events slightly increased by 2.1% compared to 48 events in July, and decreased by 42.4% compared to 85 events in the same period last year. (This data does not include questionable financing and excludes mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, post-IPO, and debt financing.)From the perspective of sectors, DeFi was the most active sector this month, completing 19 financings, but the disclosed amount was only about $73.1 million; the infrastructure sector completed 14 financings, with a disclosed amount of about $311 million, ranking first in amount; CeFi completed 8 financings, with a disclosed amount of about $199 million. The top three projects by financing amount were Ripple ($275 million), RQD Clearing ($74 million), and Fasset ($68 million), with the top three projects totaling about $417 million, accounting for approximately 70.0% of the overall disclosed financing scale.In terms of RWA, RootData currently includes 529 RWA-related projects, of which 149 projects have financing records, with a financing coverage rate of about 28.2%. However, in August alone, there was only one RWA-related financing, Entropy, with a financing amount of $14 million, accounting for about 2.0% of this month's financing events and about 2.3% of the disclosed financing amount.In addition, 6 merger and acquisition events were disclosed in August, a significant decrease from 19 in July; among them, 4 belong to CeFi, including BitGo's acquisition of NYDIG, Nasdaq's acquisition of LeveL Markets, Rain's acquisition of Ansa, and OpenFX's acquisition of Global Ledger. These were mainly concentrated in CeFi, payments, market infrastructure, and data analysis services.In terms of investment institutions, YZi Labs, MH Ventures, Mapleblock, Polychain, and others remain active. Overall, in August, financing market funds mainly flowed into payments, clearing, stablecoins, CeFi, and institutional-level infrastructure; RWA sector projects are well-reserved, with high narrative heat, but monthly financing has not yet seen a synchronized increase.

Bitcoin is currently hovering around the $78,000 mark, with a 24-hour decline of 0.04% and an increase of about 1% over the past week. The overall cryptocurrency market is under pressure due to the strengthening dollar and changes in interest rate expectations, with Solana and Dogecoin leading the decline at around 2%, followed closely by Hyperliquid and XRP; Ethereum, BNB, Zcash, and TRON are basically flat.Meanwhile, the yen has fallen below the 160 mark against the dollar and is trading near the Tokyo market. Market strategists believe that a further depreciation of the yen to around 161 could trigger intervention, while the 162 to 163 range may face stronger intervention pressure. Previously, after Federal Reserve Chairman Waller's speech in Jackson Hole, market expectations for rising U.S. interest rates have heated up, leading bond investors to start pricing in the possibility of a Fed rate hike, which in turn strengthened the dollar.This round of interest rate expectation repricing has previously led institutional funds to withdraw from Bitcoin ETFs. The market will focus on the monthly fund flows of Bitcoin ETFs.

According to Caixin, Ant Group CEO and Alipay Chairman Han Xinyi elaborated on systematic insights regarding the global exploration path of AI payments at the China Payment and Clearing Forum. He stated that AI payments have essentially formed four exploration paths:The first category is represented by payment technology and infrastructure platforms like Stripe. The second category is represented by cryptocurrency companies such as Circle and Coinbase, which mainly rely on stablecoins and their wallet systems, using cryptocurrencies as a payment medium to directly support automated payment scenarios between machines. The third category is represented by traditional payment networks like the two major card organizations (Visa, Mastercard). The fourth category consists of AI platform companies such as Google and OpenAI.

Anatoly Popov, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of Russia's largest bank Sberbank, stated that the scale of compliant cryptocurrency trading in Russia is expected to reach at least 40 trillion rubles in its first year, approximately 46.43 billion USD. The bank anticipates that as investors shift to the official trading system, the scale will increase to about 75 trillion rubles, approximately 87.06 billion USD, by 2029.He noted that most of the cryptocurrency trading volume will still flow outside of the regulated exchange system, with about 20% of the trading volume in the first year, or 35 trillion to 40 trillion rubles per year, being completed through exchanges. The relevant system will take effect on September 1, allowing investors to legally purchase cryptocurrency assets through brokers. Non-qualified investors can purchase up to 300,000 rubles of cryptocurrency assets per year through a single licensed intermediary, and they must pass a risk awareness test; the investment limit for qualified investors is 3 million rubles. Currently, the official exchanges can only trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT, while other altcoins will be excluded; exchanges must complete registration by July 1, 2027.

According to Bitcoin.com News, the National Cryptocurrency Association of the United States has launched an interactive map estimating the distribution of 67 million cryptocurrency holders across states and congressional districts. The data shows that California has about 9.5 million holders, ranking first in the nation, followed by Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois. The related data is a model estimate and not verified actual numbers.Additionally, according to research commissioned by the association, the cryptocurrency industry supports approximately 231,800 jobs in the United States, generating $55.4 billion in economic activity and $30.8 billion in labor income.

The UK government has released the first official statistics on taxable crypto asset gains, revealing that in the 2024-25 tax year, 240 individuals reported capital gains exceeding £1 million, totaling £717 million, which accounts for more than half of the total £1.38 billion reported by 17,600 individuals. The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stated that 17,600 individuals reported crypto asset disposal gains of £13.8 billion, with taxable gains of £1.38 billion, averaging about £78,000 per person; of these, approximately 87% were male and 13% were female.Selling, exchanging, consuming tokens, or gifting assets to others may trigger tax obligations. HMRC has sent out 81,000 crypto tax letters in the past 12 months, an increase of 25% from about 65,000 letters, approaching the 27,714 letters sent in the 2023-24 tax year. James Murray, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Director of Payments, stated that crypto asset gains are subject to tax just like other gains. The UK plans to adjust the tax treatment of certain DeFi transactions starting from April 6, 2027, with related lending and liquidity pool transactions typically deferring capital gains tax until an economic disposal occurs, expected to affect about 700,000 individuals. HMRC estimates that its crypto tax compliance and education activities have generated an additional £168 million in capital gains tax for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The European digital currency market is forming a pattern of parallel development between the central bank digital euro and private euro stablecoins. Revolut has previously launched phased testing of EURR in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal. This euro stablecoin operates on Ethereum and is issued by Bridge Building, a subsidiary of Stripe.The ECB emphasizes that the digital euro will adopt a highly private design, with offline payment information only held by the transacting parties, and online transactions cannot be directly linked to individuals by the Eurosystem. Europe is advancing its digital payment system through public digital currencies and private stablecoins to reduce reliance on dollar stablecoins and non-European payment infrastructures.

According to CoinDesk, as Bitcoin surged from about $62,000 to over $77,000 last week, liquidating approximately $3 billion in leveraged short positions, major crypto market makers such as Abraxas Capital, Fasanara Capital, and Wintermute quietly established short positions in perpetual contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars on Hyperliquid.Lookonchain data shows that the three institutions collectively hold short positions of 138,569 ETH (approximately $338 million) and 3,425 BTC (approximately $265 million); meanwhile, Abraxas Capital withdrew 73,872 ETH (approximately $173 million) from Binance in the past four days.This strategy is known as cash arbitrage or basis trading: traders hold spot positions while shorting an equivalent amount of assets through perpetual contracts to hedge against price volatility risks, primarily earning the funding rates paid by longs to shorts. In previous months, funding rates were long suppressed or even turned negative, but this month's rebound has quickly turned funding rates positive, reopening the arbitrage window. Aegis data shows that the 30-day average funding rate for Bitcoin perpetual contracts on August 24 reached an annualized 6.7%, with a 7-day average of 8.7%; 21shares capital markets noted that basis trading for mainstream assets like Solana is also becoming lucrative.This trading has extended to regulated markets: Glassnode data shows that CME Bitcoin futures open interest has risen from about 87,000 BTC to 122,000 BTC.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam is piloting a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency market to strengthen investor protection while opening up financing channels. The government’s Resolution No. 05, released in September 2025, specifies that cryptocurrencies must be backed by RWA, excluding securities and fiat currencies, and will initially be issued only to foreign investors. Currently, five companies have undergone preliminary assessments through the exchange and must meet Level 4 security requirements and contribute at least 100 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately 383 million USD). The decree No. 284, issued in July, will impose penalties on unlicensed platform trading activities starting from September 1, and domestic investors must wait six months after the first licensed service provider receives a license from the Ministry of Finance before they can trade through licensed providers.

According to South Korean media Daum, an analysis of the five major Korean won exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX, as well as the public API of CoinGecko, found that after excluding duplicate assets, the five exchanges collectively support approximately 606 types of crypto assets. Among them, 164 types (27.1%) are only available for trading on one exchange, and another 324 types (53.5%) are traded on two or fewer exchanges.Among the assets supported by a single exchange, Coinone has the most, with 55 types; Bithumb has 54 types, GOPAX has 25 types, Upbit has 16 types, and Korbit has 14 types. In terms of liquidity, the median trading volume of these 164 assets in nearly 24 hours is only about 1.37 million won, with 79 types having a trading volume of less than 1 million won, and 38 types even having zero transactions.The analysis suggests that listing on a single exchange does not inherently mean that the asset carries risk. If the relevant assets are actively traded on overseas exchanges or support smooth withdrawals, investors still have other exit channels. However, for assets with low overseas trading volume and restricted deposit and withdrawal networks, once support is terminated, investors may face difficulties in both selling and transferring.

Bitwise CEO posted on the X platform that Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin are currently the only three crypto assets in the world whose ETF size has grown to over $1 billion.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has effectively banned Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading nationwide, threatening to prosecute traders and related businesses. More than 20 crypto shops in Herat have closed, and at least 13 traders have reportedly been arrested. Monthly inflows of cryptocurrency in Afghanistan have dropped from a peak of over $150 million to less than $80,000.After Afghanistan was largely cut off from the global banking system, Bitcoin and stablecoins had become important tools for savings and remittances. Taliban officials claim that digital assets are fraudulent and believe that cryptocurrency speculation is akin to gambling under Islamic law. Although the related actions have compressed the visible cryptocurrency market in Afghanistan, Bitcoin can still be traded via the internet, private keys, and counterparties.

According to IT Home, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has announced the results of the new anti-fraud operation "Jackal IV." This operation will last from November 2025 to June 2026 and involves 22 countries and regions worldwide, focusing on combating online financial crimes such as romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment fraud, email scams, and money laundering. A total of 58 people were arrested in this round of operations, and the identities of 263 individuals involved have been confirmed.Among them, the Argentine police seized a "Crime-as-a-Service" (CaaS) network that provided website domain and money laundering services, arresting 17 people and confirming the identities of 196 individuals involved. The South African police raided 7 locations in Johannesburg, arresting 39 suspects accused of romance scams and investment fraud targeting retirees from English-speaking countries, while seizing $2.67 million and freezing 257 bank accounts.In addition, the Italian police confirmed one suspect involved in a cross-European money laundering network, discovering that a single bank account was linked to money laundering transactions amounting to €845,000; the Romanian police dismantled an investment fraud gang, arresting 11 people and seizing illegal assets such as cash, cryptocurrency, and real estate.

Trader Wang Xiaoer posted that he has recently reflected on missing several leading projects of Robinhood Chain, believing that this ecosystem is one of the few incremental markets in the cryptocurrency space, while also having its own token listing channels. Therefore, he sees certain opportunities in the leading projects emerging on-chain.He also stated that the market is not far from the next bull market, and there is no need to feel anxious about missing previous opportunities. He will return to on-chain trading through the Pump.fun App to practice trading skills for the potential bull market.

According to Decrypt, the British police confiscated 20.21 bitcoins along with other cryptocurrencies and bank funds, totaling a value of 1.4 million dollars. The individuals involved had previous convictions for money laundering and are now deceased.Investigators traced these assets back to dark web markets that operated from 2016 to 2019 and were later shut down by law enforcement. The police stated that these now-closed websites had facilitated various criminal activities ranging from drug supply to human trafficking, but did not disclose the specific names of the websites.

New York state officials warn that AI-generated content and fake cryptocurrency projects are making investment scams more deceptive. Investment scam losses exceed $8 billion, a 38% increase from 2024, with 144,041 consumers reporting losses, and the median loss per incident is $10,560. AI can be used to clone voices, forge videos, impersonate financial professionals, and create social media advertisements.New York Attorney General Letitia James has warned that scammers attract investors through deepfake endorsements of celebrities, fake cryptocurrencies, pump-and-dump schemes, and fraudulent trading platforms. Some fake platforms display forged account balances, earnings, and transaction records, allowing victims to withdraw small amounts to build trust, and then request additional funds or fees. New York state officials advise consumers to verify the identity of promoters, companies, and investment projects, and confirm the destination of funds. According to the FBI, reported losses from cybercrime amount to $20.877 billion, with complaints involving cryptocurrency losses totaling $11.37 billion. Common signs of scams include promises of high returns, unsolicited investment opportunities, high-pressure sales tactics, and projects lacking clear documentation.

According to Bloomberg, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Isabel Schnabel stated that central banks should introduce central bank money into blockchain to innovate the execution of monetary policy.Implementing "on-chain" not only maintains the status of money as the "settlement cornerstone," but also allows central banks to utilize the programmable features of distributed ledgers to modernize the execution of monetary policy, collateral management, and liquidity provision, thereby promoting financial stability.

The asset management company Grayscale's crypto research team stated in a report that the so-called "debasement trade" is favorable for Bitcoin. The head of research at the institution, Zach Pandl, pointed out in the report that uncontrolled government debt growth undermines the credibility of fiat currencies, prompting investors to seek alternative stores of value such as physical gold and certain cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin being the primary beneficiary.The report states that U.S. public debt has surpassed $40 trillion, and the Treasury is conducting bond buybacks to alleviate rising borrowing costs, but the core deficit still exists. Grayscale believes this may drive investors towards debasement trades involving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Zcash. The report also notes that the buybacks themselves indicate a problem—the heavy growth of government debt is driving up borrowing costs, and the Treasury is merely treating the symptoms (rising bond yields) without addressing the root cause of the structural deficit.As Bitcoin began to surge last week, the dollar experienced its worst week in August and fell to a three-month low. As of Friday afternoon New York time, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $77,493, having reached a high of $81,281 earlier in the week; it has remained relatively flat over the past 24 hours but has risen over 20% in the past 30 days.