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The latest report from the Bitcoin Policy Institute shows that due to the Iran conflict, the annual blockchain transaction volume in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach $350 billion in 2025-2026, more than three times the approximately $100 billion in 2022. The report points out that regional conflicts typically accelerate capital outflows, but the Iran conflict presents a different dynamic: an increasing amount of capital is shifting towards digital assets, highlighting the growing role of cryptocurrencies (especially Bitcoin) as a hedge against economic and geopolitical uncertainty.The report states that after the outbreak of the conflict, Bitcoin initially fell in sync with other risk assets, but then investors shifted from higher-risk cryptocurrencies to Bitcoin, raising its market capitalization share to a one-month high of 64.8%. In countries like Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran, due to currency devaluation, more people are increasingly using Bitcoin and dollar-pegged stablecoins to preserve value. Meanwhile, Gulf countries like the UAE and Bahrain are attracting crypto firms and institutional investors by establishing regulatory frameworks.Chainalysis data also shows that after the US-Israel airstrikes from February 28 to March 2, approximately $10.3 million left Iranian crypto exchanges. The report believes that in countries suffering from sanctions, conflict, or currency instability, cryptocurrencies have become tools for preserving and transferring value outside the traditional financial system, while regulated Gulf markets continue to attract institutional capital.

U.S. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio urged the U.S. Trade Representative to consider imposing tariffs on South Korea due to its treatment of the American e-commerce company "Coolpeng." Moreno pointed out in his letter that Seoul takes hostile actions against foreign companies, including heavy compliance requirements and biased regulatory enforcement, and requested an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. South Korea denies discriminating against Coolpeng compared to domestic companies.

According to Ledger Insights, Africa Finance Corporation issued digital bonds worth 350 million Swiss francs (approximately 431 million USD) through the SDX platform of the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX). This marks the first time an African institution has issued digital bonds through a Central Securities Depository (CSD) and an exchange.The five-year bond has a coupon rate of 1.4925% and is one of the larger digital bonds on the platform, although UBS had previously issued bonds worth 375 million Swiss francs in 2022. This transaction was arranged by Commerzbank AG (technical lead) and Deutsche Bank.

The South African National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have released a draft regulation for cross-border transfers of crypto assets. Farzam Ehsani, co-founder and CEO of the crypto asset trading platform VALR, stated that unless key terms are significantly modified, the relevant framework could harm the domestic digital asset industry and drive funds overseas.The draft allows individual residents to transfer crypto assets abroad within the existing foreign exchange limits but restricts companies from engaging in cross-border crypto asset transactions and categorizes some deposits from private non-custodial wallets as unacceptable transfers for local crypto asset service providers (CASP). Ehsani believes this could prompt businesses and retail investors to turn to overseas platforms.Ehsani pointed out that prohibiting regulated entities from processing legitimate business transactions, especially cross-border stablecoin payments, could push transactions underground or abroad, thereby undermining the visibility and monitoring capabilities that regulators hope to achieve. The South African National Treasury and SARB have opened a public consultation, with the feedback deadline set for September 30.

According to The New York Times, Chinese AI models are rapidly gaining popularity in the African developer community due to their low cost, open-source customization, and better handling of local languages, while leading American models like OpenAI and Anthropic are primarily closed-source and paid. Ugandan developer Ernest Mwebaze chose Alibaba's model over Meta or Google products when building a multilingual AI system called Sunflower aimed at local languages, which is now widely used by local farmers to obtain weather and planting information.The report states that similar adoption trends are spreading in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, covering multiple fields such as law, education, and business services. Chinese open-source models (such as DeepSeek and Qianwen) allow for free download and modification, while leading American models are often closed-source and paid, creating significant cost and accessibility differences in middle- and low-income countries. Industry insiders point out that the rapid penetration of Chinese AI in Africa is bringing long-term competitive pressure to American AI giants.

The South African National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have jointly released the "Draft Manual on Cross-Border Crypto Asset Activities," which is now open for public consultation, with a deadline of September 30, 2026.This manual is implemented in conjunction with the previously released "Draft Regulations on Capital Flow Management 2026," aiming to strengthen the regulation of cross-border financial activities and prevent the risks of illegal fund flows related to crypto assets.The manual specifies the triggers for cross-border crypto asset transactions—when crypto assets are transferred between authorized CASPs in South Africa and foreign CASPs, or when they are transferred from an authorized CASP in South Africa to a non-custodial wallet, this constitutes cross-border capital inflow or outflow and must be reported to the Financial Surveillance Department (FinSurv).It is noteworthy that, at this stage, individuals are only allowed to conduct outbound crypto asset operations through authorized CASPs within a single discretionary limit or foreign capital limit, and South African entities are currently not permitted to engage in related cross-border operations.Furthermore, the manual does not currently differentiate between different types of crypto assets, nor does it classify crypto assets as South Africa's official currency.

Hyperliquid founder Jeff posted on platform X that VALR, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Africa, will directly utilize Hyperliquid's on-chain liquidity to support its core perpetual contract products. This is a significant milestone that will redefine the way the next generation of financial applications are built.The breakthrough in cloud computing lies in the ability for any startup to quickly test its ideas and rest assured that the infrastructure will scale as the business grows. As the most liquid global venue for assets like BTC, Hyperliquid will play the same role in the global economy. By leveraging the deepest on-chain liquidity, builders can shift their focus back to their products and users. Heartfelt congratulations to the VALR team. We are honored that they chose to build on Hyperliquid. Looking forward to expanding together.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) recently released the "Draft Guidelines on Taxation of Crypto Assets," seeking public input on how South African tax residents should declare and handle income related to crypto assets, with a feedback deadline of August 31.The guidelines focus on the provisions in tax law that are most closely related to crypto assets and do not cover all applicable sections. Some provisions, although not explicitly mentioning crypto assets, are also applicable to related trading activities.The guidelines state that South Africa's income tax system is residency-based. With specific exceptions, South African tax residents must pay tax on their worldwide income, including income and capital gains from crypto assets listed on foreign exchanges; non-residents may also have tax obligations if their income source is South Africa or if the disposed assets meet the relevant provisions.

AI Agent Economic Settlement Agreement AEON announced its expansion into the Zambian market, achieving real-time fiat settlement of cryptocurrency assets with the Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) by integrating with local mainstream mobile wallets Airtel Money and MTN Mobile Money.AEON has covered over 50 million merchants globally. This integration not only opens up Web3 retail channels for over 70% of local e-wallet users but also builds the underlying payment infrastructure for global AI agents in the programmatic high-frequency settlement of the African real economy. AEON will also expand its AI agent settlement network to emerging markets in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the Polymarket market. A large whale invested $99,999.94 in a single bet on "Canada" in the event "South Africa vs. Canada." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this bet is 43%.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the Polymarket market. A large whale invested $80,844.91 in "South Africa vs. South Korea" event, specifically targeting "South Korea." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this target is 58%.

According to Protos, the decentralized lending protocol Goldfinch, led by a16z and aimed at serving the unbanked population in Africa, is in crisis.On-chain data shows that among the 8 borrowers in the project, 2 have officially defaulted, and 6 have entered debt restructuring, with total losses exceeding $18 million. Depositors are lamenting that "the $50 million has gone down the drain." Its native token GFI has fallen from a peak of $32.94 in January 2022 to below $0.07, a decline of 99.8%, and the project's market value has shrunk from a peak of $390 million to less than $6 million.Goldfinch had previously lent over $100 million to borrowers in 18 countries, including motorcycle rental companies in Kenya and salary advance platforms in Nigeria, but the core issue lies in the severe lack of off-chain credit verification, with borrowers frequently misappropriating funds and refusing to repay. As the default rate rises, the project has quietly abandoned its positioning in emerging markets in Africa, shifting towards institutional credit funds like Ares and Apollo, rendering its original vision of inclusive finance a mere facade.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the Polymarket market. A large whale invested $100,000.18 in "Czech vs South Africa" event, specifically targeting "Czech." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this subject is 49%.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the market Polymarket. A large whale has made a single purchase of $96,000 on "Czech Republic vs South Africa" event, targeting "Czech Republic". Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding win rate for this subject is 48%.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the Polymarket. A large whale invested $62,305.31 in "Czechia" for the event "Czechia vs. South Africa." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this target is 53%.

According to on-chain data monitored by Catcher Predict, significant capital movements are predicted in the market Polymarket. A large whale has made a single purchase of $95,400 on "South Africa" in the event of "Mexico vs South Africa." Based on the current transaction price, the latest corresponding winning probability for this subject is 90%.

According to monitoring by Catcher Predict, in the "Mexico vs South Africa More Markets" event on the prediction market Polymarket, the "Yes" option for the sub-market "Both teams score in the second half" experienced a dramatic fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 19.5% an hour ago to the current 36.5% (a fluctuation of 17%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

According to monitoring by Catcher Predict, in the "Mexico vs. South Africa - More Markets" event on the prediction market Polymarket, the "Yes" option for the sub-market "Both teams score in the second half" experienced a sharp fluctuation in winning probability, plummeting from 49.5% an hour ago to the current 25.5% (a fluctuation of 24%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.