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The market is closely watching Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Walsh's speech at the Jackson Hole annual meeting this Friday. As U.S. long-term Treasury yields continue to rise, the market generally expects Walsh to possibly release dovish signals to alleviate concerns about inflation and fiscal risks in the bond market.Mark Cabana, head of U.S. interest rate strategy at Bank of America, stated that the market has gradually lost sensitivity to Walsh's previous verbal statements about "fighting inflation," and investors currently hope to see a substantive policy path to address inflation. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Basant has recently increased the repurchase of long-term U.S. Treasuries and financed the government through the issuance of short-term bonds, indicating some divergence between the Treasury and the Federal Reserve in managing the bond market.The article points out that Basant's shift of financing pressure to the short end effectively bets U.S. fiscal costs on future interest rate declines. If Walsh can promote interest rate cuts by controlling inflation and boosting productivity, the short-term financing model is expected to reduce government interest expenses; however, if long-term rates remain high, U.S. fiscal pressure may further intensify.The market also anticipates that the Federal Reserve may make adjustments to liquidity management and balance sheet policies. Michael Cloherty, head of U.S. interest rate strategy at CIBC, believes that quantitative tightening could begin as early as the end of 2027, provided that regulatory rule changes can reduce banks' demand for reserves.Currently, the Federal Reserve still holds about $1.6 trillion in long-term U.S. Treasuries. Walsh's statements at Jackson Hole regarding long-term yields, inflation, and the path of balance sheet reduction may become an important signal for assessing the degree of future policy coordination between the Federal Reserve and the Treasury.

According to an announcement on the official website of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the launch of the Quantum Readiness Working Group. This working group is a public-private partnership mechanism that will promote the orderly and resilient transition of the U.S. financial industry to post-quantum technology, and will connect to the roadmap for post-quantum cryptography migration developed by the G7 Cyber Experts Group.The working group will operate through three workstreams: "Industry Collaboration and Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration," "Third-Party and Vendor Readiness," and "Digital Asset and Emerging Technology Risks." It will bring together government, financial institutions, financial market infrastructure, technology vendors, and other private sector participants, focusing on identifying critical dependencies, enhancing cryptographic agility and interoperability, strengthening the protection of critical financial infrastructure, and addressing implementation challenges related to third-party dependencies and digital assets.

Research institution Digitimes stated that with the surge in AI-driven infrastructure spending, major cloud service providers are expected to place greater emphasis on operational efficiency and financial discipline in the second half of 2026. Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft reported a combined cloud business revenue of $106.3 billion in the second quarter, with an annual growth rate accelerating to 43%. These companies are expected to increase their total capital expenditures to $74.5 billion.

FundaAI released a research report on enterprise AI applications, indicating that enterprise AI budgets are still expanding, but there is a divergence in trajectories in the second half of 2026 and 2027. The AI spending guidance from large U.S. telecom operator A shows an increase from a baseline of 100 in January to about 190 in December, with an expected year-on-year increase of 40%--50% in 2027; large European automaker A has only increased by 10%--15% so far this year, with guidance for next year remaining roughly flat.Incremental spending is shifting from paid seats to API/Token consumption and production workflows. The aforementioned telecom operator's subscription and API ratio has changed from about 50%/50% to 40%/60%, and it may trend towards 35%/65%; mid-to-large biopharmaceutical company A has adjusted from 80%/20% to about 70%/30%. Open-source adoption is uneven, with active scenario usage accounting for 30%--40%, as the unit price is lower, leading to a smaller spending proportion; experts estimate that open-source inference can be about 40%--70% cheaper than closed-source cutting-edge models, with the gap narrowing to 20%--40% under full cost metrics, and model routing, caching, and context compression could further reduce API spending by about 20%--30%.On the production side, AI budgets are increasingly built from the bottom up based on workflow ROI. The typical production ROI for this telecom operator is about 1.5--2 times, with a payback period of 6--18 months, and mature use cases can reach 3--5 times. The next wave of spending is related to agents, software modernization, network operations, commoditized workflows, and longer-cycle business processes, but engineering capacity, process reengineering, governance, and data readiness are becoming tighter constraints than funding.

According to DIGITIMES, the NB supply chain has reported that brand manufacturers are significantly returning to production in China, with "returning to China for production" becoming a new trend. Brands such as HP, ASUS, and Acer have recently noticeably reduced their originally planned capacity shifts to Southeast Asia, with production focus returning to Chongqing or Kunshan in China, and increasing orders to Chinese ODM or EMS manufacturers and the proportion of private label products. This involves production lines at Quanta, Inventec's Thailand factories, and Compal, Wistron’s Vietnam factories, which may be affected by customer transfers. Lenovo, Dell, and Apple, on the other hand, remain relatively unchanged.The supply chain indicates that after the U.S. equivalent tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the impact of substitute tariffs is smaller, and the production costs for NB in Southeast Asia are on average $9 higher per unit than in China. The gross profit margin for brand manufacturers per unit of NB is mostly between 3% to 10%. Based on a low-priced model with an average price of about $300, the $9 difference is close to or even exceeds their profit, resulting in unprofitable shipments. Local Chinese governments are also demanding increased production due to reduced tax revenues, or they will reclaim past subsidies, creating a pull for returning production.Relevant ODM personnel stated that they will respect customer decisions, and if they cannot take on a single product, they will shift production locally to servers and other product lines such as networking. Lenovo is more cautious due to its diversified layout, with limited relocation; Dell has not significantly returned due to the high proportion of U.S. government orders; Apple targets the high-end market and promotes automation, with the main reason for relocating MacBook production from Shanghai being the pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, and its plans in Vietnam remain unchanged to date.

"White-haired stock god" Serenity posted on the X platform, stating that after a series of fact sheets released by the U.S. government recently, the future key industries that the U.S. will support and develop can be seen more clearly.Serenity pointed out that this week the U.S. government released policy documents related to the "Golden Age of Space Transportation," with the space industry becoming a key focus area. She believes that the relevant policy goals will promote the development of the launch industry and may benefit companies in the space industry chain, including rocket manufacturers.The U.S. government has set a goal of achieving 1,000 launches and re-entry missions annually by 2030, with rocket companies like Rocket Lab (RKLB) expected to be beneficiaries. In addition, Serenity mentioned that this month the areas of focus for U.S. policy also include: tariffs on drone components; U.S. mining and critical mineral resource cooperation; adjustments to polysilicon supply chain tariffs; and other strategic industry policies. By continuously observing U.S. government policy documents, one can more intuitively judge the industry directions that the capital market will focus on in the future and help investors discover potential industrial opportunities.

In the second quarter, the trading revenue of three listed cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase, Bullish, and Gemini, decreased sequentially. The gap between trading revenue and non-trading revenue for the three platforms narrowed, with Coinbase's difference dropping from approximately $132 million to $44 million within a year.Coinbase expanded its product offerings in stablecoins and prediction markets, with the average USDC holdings in the third quarter increasing by 44% year-on-year to $20 billion. Gemini increased the number of market makers in the prediction market to three times that of the beginning of the year.Bullish launched a new rewards program to support trading operations, with adjusted trading revenue in the second quarter decreasing by 21% sequentially to $29.9 million, but increasing by 24% year-on-year. Gemini's trading volume decreased by 66% year-on-year to $3.8 billion, with a 38% decline in trading revenue.

Bitget CFD Chief Analyst Lewis Huang stated in a live broadcast yesterday that the overall tone of the Federal Reserve's July FOMC meeting minutes is hawkish. Although the interest rate was kept unchanged at this meeting, several officials emphasized that if inflation does not continue to decline to the 2% target, further tightening of policy or even another rate hike remains a viable option. This means that the market should not simply trade based on interest rate cut expectations in the short term, but should reassess the impact of "high rates lasting longer" on the US dollar, US Treasury yields, gold, and US stock valuations.Lewis Huang pointed out that the subsequent market direction will be determined by a combination of inflation and employment data: if CPI, PCE, or wage data rise and the job market remains resilient, the US dollar and US Treasury yields may strengthen, while gold and high-valuation assets like the Nasdaq 100 may come under pressure; conversely, if inflation significantly cools and employment and consumption weaken simultaneously, the market will raise expectations for Federal Reserve easing, and gold, non-US currencies, and risk assets are expected to receive support. He suggested that CFD traders focus on the correlation between the US two-year Treasury yield, the US dollar index, and gold, waiting for price breakthroughs and pullback confirmations after major data releases, avoiding chasing the initial wave of volatility, while strictly controlling leverage and stop-loss risks.

Tim Duy, Chief U.S. Economist at SGH Macro Advisors, stated that it has become common for several Federal Reserve officials to cast dissenting votes on interest rate decisions recently. Duy believes that the core concern for the market is how widespread the officials' worries about inflation are, especially when inflation is above target levels.The labor market is stabilizing, and some officials believe that interest rate hikes are necessary to curb inflation. The market will focus on the consensus within the Federal Reserve regarding concerns about inflation and the degree of policy divergence.

Ethereum Foundation researcher Toni Wahrstätter stated that the protocol architecture team hopes to prioritize the advancement of Frame Transactions (EIP-8141) and FOCIL (EIP-7805) in the Hegotá upgrade planned for 2027. Frame Transactions can collaborate with Keyed Nonces and Recent Roots (EIP-8272) and Transaction Assertions (EIP-7906) to allow privacy pools to autonomously pay transaction fees and enable wallets to set execution conditions after transaction submission.FOCIL can provide protocol layer inclusion guarantees for eligible transactions. Currently, FOCIL is the only proposal confirmed for inclusion in Hegotá, while the Frame Transactions-related proposals are among the 66 proposals under evaluation. Other candidate proposals involve transaction pricing, state growth, block access lists, and optional zkEVM proofs on the mainnet. Vitalik Buterin previously proposed enhancing Ethereum's privacy, quantum resistance, and reducing reliance on layer two networks. Hegotá will be launched after Glamsterdam, with developers planning to complete Glamsterdam by the end of 2026.

According to QCP, the preliminary consumer confidence index for the University of Michigan in the U.S. dropped to 51 in August, and retail sales in July decreased by 0.6% month-on-month. Coupled with previous weak employment data, market expectations for the Federal Reserve's short-term tightening policy have decreased.Federal funds futures indicate that the probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in September is about 30%.

According to CoinDesk, the crypto startup raised $11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed funds directed towards regulated and licensed enterprises. The most funding was received by payment and stablecoin companies, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms.Major investors include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, focusing their investments on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or other alternative platforms.

Venture capital fund Team8 announced the completion of a new fundraise of $365 million. This round of fundraising includes $265 million for Team8 Capital's third fund, as well as over $100 million for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies.The new fund will focus on investing in seed and Series A stage AI-native companies, covering areas such as cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, and fintech, with a particular emphasis on infrastructure projects that help businesses deploy AI while ensuring security, governance, and control capabilities. Team8 currently manages assets close to $2 billion.Previously, Team8 has co-invested in several cryptocurrency and AI companies, including cryptocurrency institutional wallet developer Curv, AI compliance platform IVIX, and AI data leak prevention company Jazz.

According to Gate market data, oil prices fell slightly after rising for five consecutive trading days, with WTI crude oil dropping below $82 per barrel and Brent crude oil briefly falling below $87. Traders are awaiting progress on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The International Energy Agency stated that the global oil market faces a supply gap of 1.8 million barrels per day this quarter, more than double the previous forecast. Gasoline and diesel prices in the United States have reached new highs for this time of year.

According to sources, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has urged employees in recent months to focus on bringing the Gemini model back to the forefront of artificial intelligence.

The senior deputy governor of the Bank of Korea stated that the central bank is more focused on demand-side inflation pressures rather than supply-side, and revealed that there will be additional interest rate hikes.

Morgan Stanley announced the launch of the "U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative," which aims to drive approximately $1.5 trillion in capital raising and investment activities over the next 10 years to support U.S. economic growth.The initiative will focus on strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and semiconductors, and will promote the construction of digital and physical infrastructure.

According to Cointelegraph, Nansen's CEO Alex Svanevik stated in a recent interview that Robinhood is unlikely to launch a token, as this could create competition with its publicly traded stock HOOD.Alex Svanevik pointed out that the Layer 2 network currently launched by Robinhood is already operating based on the Ethereum ecosystem and has a Gas token for paying network fees, so there is no need to issue an additional platform token. He believes that the core purpose of Robinhood's layout of blockchain infrastructure is to enhance product capabilities using blockchain technology, rather than financing through token issuance or building a new economic model.Previously, the market speculated that Robinhood might follow some crypto projects to launch an ecosystem token, but it seems that the company is more likely to use blockchain as an underlying technological tool rather than building a business system around tokens.