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SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung stated that the company is exploring ways to deepen cooperation with Japanese memory chip customers and suppliers, and is cautiously assessing how to jointly develop the NAND flash memory market. Regarding the company's significant indirect stake in Kioxia, he mentioned that there are currently "no definite plans."After Toshiba's recent divestment, SK Hynix's investment vehicle BCPE Pangea Cayman2 has become Kioxia's largest shareholder, holding a 14.19% stake. SK Hynix holds bonds that can be converted into nearly all voting rights of this investment vehicle; according to a previous agreement, its voting rights cannot exceed 15% before 2028 without Kioxia's consent.In addition, SK Hynix is investing over $4 billion to build its first U.S. HBM packaging facility in Indiana. The cleanroom of the factory is expected to be operational by October 2028, with mass production of the next generation HBM planned for the second half of 2029, and it is expected to employ about 1,000 people once fully operational. The company is also still evaluating the possibility of listing its U.S. NAND subsidiary Solidigm, but no decision has been made yet.

According to Axios, the Trump administration is negotiating with the interim government of Venezuela to seek ownership rights to some of the country's oil fields, involving more than a dozen productive oil fields.In exchange, private companies, including American enterprises, will participate in the development of the oil fields, increasing production and bringing more oil revenue to Venezuela. The negotiations are led by U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez.

The Hyperliquid Policy Center stated on platform X that perpetual contracts should be at the core of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) innovation agenda. The agency submitted a statement regarding the first meeting of the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee on August 20, pointing out that perpetual contracts are gradually expanding beyond the digital asset market to traditional asset classes such as stocks and commodities, and that demand for this product among U.S. market participants is rising.Perpetual contracts can meet the risk management needs of different market participants, making them particularly suitable for airlines hedging fuel costs, investment funds managing portfolio exposure, and AI developers addressing ongoing risks related to computing costs that do not have a clear expiration date. Compared to futures with fixed expiration dates, perpetual contracts do not require rolling over, and there are no expiration and delivery issues; they anchor contract prices to the underlying assets through periodic funding rates. Currently, on Hyperliquid, perpetual contracts deployed by third-party developers cover over 80 traditional commodity and stock markets, with a cumulative notional trading volume exceeding $500 billion.This year, the CFTC has taken several measures to promote the establishment of the perpetual contract market in the U.S. In May, the CFTC approved the first perpetual futures contract listed in the U.S. and issued a policy statement and continuous trading guidance regarding the listing of perpetual contracts; in June, the CFTC sought public opinion on extending perpetual contracts to energy commodities and further consulted on computing power derivatives.In addition, the Hyperliquid Policy Center believes that on-chain infrastructure can also promote the modernization of the U.S. derivatives market within the existing regulatory framework. Public blockchains can openly record markets, orders, and positions, continuously conduct margin assessments programmatically, and enable real-time collateral transfers, thereby reducing counterparty credit risk and settlement risk. The agency will continue to provide relevant research and technical documents to the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee and committee staff, and promote the establishment of a pathway for U.S. market participants to compliantly access on-chain markets. The agency believes that perpetual contracts are one of the most representative financial innovations of the past decade and should be further developed in the U.S. market.

For the week ending August 22, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States was 203,000, lower than the expected 208,000, and the previous value was revised from 206,000 to 207,000.

For the week ending August 15, the number of continuing unemployment claims in the United States was 1.778 million, lower than the expected 1.79 million, and the previous value was revised from 1.799 million to 1.796 million.

CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju stated that the peak of this bull market cycle is likely to be driven by institutional funds and ETFs outside of the United States. Currently, South Korea has not yet launched a spot Bitcoin ETF, retail investors cannot purchase overseas related ETFs, and companies are even unable to open trading platform accounts to buy BTC.Ki Young Ju believes that the market was primarily driven by the adoption of Bitcoin in the United States, but the next phase will shift towards global institutionalization, accompanied by deeper stablecoin liquidity and RWA infrastructure. More institutions will hold BTC as a strategic asset, and several countries that have not yet launched ETFs will gradually improve related investment channels. The peak of this cycle may occur when a banker from a local bank in South Korea recommends a spot Bitcoin ETF to an elderly woman, suggesting it for savings.

According to Politico, the United States is considering expanding the scope of tariffs to include laptops and servers.

The revised GDP price index for the United States in the second quarter is 6.4%, higher than the expected 6.2%, and the previous value was 6.2%.

The revised annualized quarterly rate of real GDP in the United States for the second quarter is 1.5%, in line with expectations, with the previous value being 1.5%.

At the 2026 Wyoming Blockchain Conference, Zhao Changpeng stated that Trump mentioned Hyperliquid and that Mike Selig, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will seek a path for the platform to enter the U.S. market.Zhao Changpeng believes that if this progress can be realized, it will be a significant boon for the entire cryptocurrency industry. Zhao stated that the outside world tends to view him as a supporter of centralized trading platforms due to his holdings in Binance, but the fundamental reason he entered the cryptocurrency industry is his belief in decentralization.He pointed out that some users choose Hyperliquid because the platform can be used through wallets without the need for traditional accounts and KYC processes; if Hyperliquid can operate in the U.S. in a compliant manner, it will open up space for perpetual contracts and more decentralized services to enter the U.S. market.He believes this is not only related to Hyperliquid itself. "Hyperliquid is just the tip of the iceberg; once this tip enters, other projects can follow suit." Related developments will benefit more decentralized products and their portfolio companies, and will also bring more liquidity to international centralized trading platforms, allowing U.S. users to obtain more competitive prices when buying and selling crypto assets.Zhao Changpeng stated that the current cryptocurrency market is far from saturated, so competition between platforms is not the main issue. Hyperliquid's entry into the U.S. will not only benefit itself but will also expand the market size of the entire industry, "what is beneficial for them will also be beneficial for us."

Cryptocurrency investment firm RockawayX announced the acquisition of the crypto hedge fund Relayer Capital to incorporate long-short strategies into its existing platform and expand its business footprint in the United States. RockawayX manages approximately $2 billion in assets, and Relayer will be renamed RockawayX Liquid Opportunities Fund, focusing on uncovering "undervalued liquidity tokens and crypto-related stocks." After the acquisition is completed, Relayer founder Austin Barack will serve as the chief investment officer of the fund, with Forbes citing informed sources that the company plans to raise $150 million for the fund.According to the announcement, Relayer's liquidity strategy has achieved approximately 70% net returns this year, outperforming a weighted basket of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana by 86% as of August 21. The strategy expresses fundamental views on crypto tokens through long and short positions and pairs trading, while reducing overall market exposure at appropriate times. RockawayX CEO Viktor Fischer stated that now is the "right time" to implement this strategy, as there are crypto companies with real revenue and strong fundamentals emerging in the market, but inefficiencies and mispricing still exist, providing good opportunities for active investors.This transaction occurs amid a recent rebound in the crypto market, with Bitcoin recording its largest weekly dollar gain in history last week, dropping 1.68% to $79,064 in the past 24 hours after briefly reaching a high of around $81,000.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the prediction market Polymarket for the event "The United States announces the end of the blockade on Iran," the sub-market "September 14" saw the probability of the "Yes" option fluctuate dramatically, soaring from 22.5% an hour ago to the current 42% (a fluctuation of 19.5%). Please note the impact of relevant breaking news.

According to a report by Nikkei Chinese Network citing Bloomberg on August 24, the Trump administration is considering imposing an additional 7.5% tariff on goods imported from China, a move seen as a countermeasure against China's overcapacity. If this tariff is implemented, combined with previously imposed tariffs, the total tax rate will reach 20%, returning to the level before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Trump tariffs invalid in February of this year.The report states that in July, the Trump administration imposed additional tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on China and 59 other countries and regions based on Article 301 of the Trade Act, citing their inadequate response to forced labor issues; at the same time, it had also considered imposing tariffs on China, Japan, and 14 other countries and regions regarding the issue of overcapacity. The U.S. claims that China's surplus products are eroding the American market, to which China has rebutted.

According to Fortune, Hyperliquid is accelerating its entry into the regulated market in the United States, with its related listed company Hyperliquid Strategies actively participating in the promotion of domestic compliance business layout in the U.S.Fortune pointed out that Hyperliquid has currently established a strong market influence in the perpetual contract trading sector and is repurchasing and destroying HYPE through platform fee income.

According to River statistics, there are 49.6 million adults in the United States who own Bitcoin, which is nearly 21 million more than the 28.8 million who own gold.

In the previous week, the two types of ETFs had a total net outflow of 392 million dollars.

Canadian Prime Minister Carney stated that Canada's measures (tariffs) against the United States will take effect on September 8.

This week, U.S. cryptocurrency policy has seen intensive progress. The Trump administration has pushed for new advancements in the CLARITY Act, the SEC has proposed a draft of regulatory rules for cryptocurrency assets for the first time, and the CFTC has stated that if congressional legislation stalls, it will promote the establishment of an independent regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency market. Trump met with leaders from several cryptocurrency companies at the White House this week and publicly called on Congress to pass a "fair version" of the CLARITY Act. Representatives from Coinbase, a16z, Ripple, Kraken, and other industry participants attended the meeting, focusing on the bill's impact on U.S. jobs, innovation, and attracting cryptocurrency companies back. Currently, the main obstacles to advancing the bill are concentrated on certain ethical clauses. Trump believes that the relevant provisions may target individuals, but industry insiders are pushing both sides to find a compromise to facilitate bipartisan support.CFTC Chairman Mike Selig stated that the CLARITY Act is key to avoiding regulatory uncertainty. If Congress continues to delay, the CFTC will use its existing authority to formulate regulatory rules for the cryptocurrency asset market. Meanwhile, the U.S. SEC has officially proposed a "Crypto Assets Rule Framework," planning to allow certain cryptocurrency financing to be exempt from full securities registration under specific conditions, including a cumulative financing cap of $5 million over four years or an annual limit of $75 million, and providing conditional safe harbor for certain token projects. Additionally, the SEC is considering limiting certain state securities registration requirements to provide a clearer compliance path for U.S. cryptocurrency companies. Market participants believe that recent actions by U.S. regulators indicate that Washington is shifting from a previous enforcement-based regulatory model to establishing a systematic regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets.On the other hand, former Signature Bank Chairman Scott Shay has launched the N3XT Digital Dollar (NDD) digital dollar deposit project, attempting to challenge the stablecoin market. NDD operates on a public blockchain, enabling 24/7 dollar transfers, and is backed one-to-one by cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Shay stated that banks can leverage blockchain technology to create a payment system similar to stablecoins while maintaining the dollar credit advantage of the traditional financial system. The project is seen as a new attempt by banks to respond to the expansion of stablecoins. Additionally, the cryptocurrency investment market is entering a new cycle. Dragonfly partner Rob Hadick stated that although AI is attracting significant capital, cryptocurrency startup activity is still recovering, and future predictions of market, institutional applications, and improvements in U.S. regulation may drive new growth in the industry.

Insiders reveal that the artificial intelligence cloud company Nscale plans to seek up to $3 billion in financing in its IPO in the United States.

Works in Progress Editor Simon Grimm warns that Europe has lagged behind the United States for the past 30 years, and with the development of AI, this gap may widen sharply. He points out that Europe needs to achieve growth in the process of enhancing AI capabilities, but is currently not on the right track, and the lagging situation may further deteriorate.Grimm states that the world is experiencing one of the most expensive infrastructure expansions in history, yet Europe has seen almost no significant data center projects come to fruition, which is somewhat puzzling. AI companies are urgently seeking locations to build data centers, but few projects are advancing in Europe. He believes that the problem largely lies on the supply side, as conditions in Europe are relatively worse, making related construction difficult.