xp

According to ChainCatcher news, analysis from 10x Research suggests that Bitcoin may be decoupling from its correlation with the S&P 500. If the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates in September due to weak summer employment, Bitcoin is expected to become a major beneficiary alongside gold. The analysis states that after the FOMC meeting at the end of July 2026, bond traders were once convinced that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in September, with the market pricing in two rate hikes before the end of the year. However, the institution believes that four voters who leaned towards maintaining interest rates in July suddenly shifted to a higher threshold for rate hikes within six weeks.More importantly, seasonal factors play a role; historically, the labor market has performed poorly in the summer, which has previously driven rate cuts in September 2024 and September 2025. With the World Cup ending, similar employment weakness may force bond market traders to reassess their rate hike expectations, at which point gold and Bitcoin are expected to benefit.

Chairman Paul S. Atkins of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wrote to Robert Walley, Chairman of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Operating Committee, indicating that the SEC plans to undertake a comprehensive reform of the CAT system, including adjustments to its governance structure, funding sources, and operational model.Atkins stated that during his tenure, the SEC has significantly reduced the annual operating costs of CAT by issuing exemptions and approving amendments to the CAT NMS plan, and has eliminated the requirement to report personally identifiable information (PII) to the CAT system.These reforms have lowered system costs and the scope of data collection, but CAT still faces fundamental issues regarding costs, governance, and funding mechanisms. To address these issues, the SEC released a concept request for comments on April 16, 2026, to conduct a comprehensive review of CAT and other audit trail systems and data sources used in the regulation of U.S. securities markets.The SEC indicated that it has received hundreds of feedback comments, with one core consensus being that investors and market participants want the SEC to take more responsibility for the management and funding arrangements of CAT.Atkins stated that he has asked SEC staff to propose deep reforms for CAT, including: 1. Exploring new funding sources for CAT, including the use of congressional appropriations and transaction fees under Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act; 2. Drafting rule proposals that, if approved, would repeal Rule 613 and require exchanges, FINRA, and broker-dealers to continue using the existing CAT infrastructure and reporting standards to submit CAT data directly to the SEC or its designated agency; 3. Assessing the internal resource needs of the SEC to prepare for the SEC's future assumption of governance responsibilities for CAT.The SEC expects that this reform will involve multiple stages and will need to be advanced simultaneously, with the overall transition potentially lasting until the end of 2027.

According to the Financial Times, Erebor Bank, a crypto-friendly bank co-founded by Oculus founder and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, is seeking $1.5 billion in funding, with a pre-money valuation target of $8 billion. This valuation is nearly double the company's valuation of $435 million when it completed a $350 million funding round in December 2025.Currently, Erebor has received support from investment firms such as 8VC and Haun Ventures, and the new funding round is expected to attract participation from institutions like Lux Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Human Capital, Valor Equity Partners, and SV Angel.As investment in AI infrastructure enters a phase of rapid expansion, Erebor is targeting the financing needs of AI companies. AI firms require substantial funds to procure GPUs, build data centers, and secure energy supplies, while traditional financial institutions are gradually exploring financing models for AI infrastructure assets. However, whether Erebor can maintain rapid growth after the cooling of cycles in the AI and crypto industries remains a key focus for the market. This funding round has not yet been finalized and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

According to CoinDesk, the cross-border payment company MoneyGram announced the expansion of its cash and cryptocurrency exchange service MoneyGram Ramps to Solana, allowing wallets, exchanges, and developers within the Solana ecosystem to access its global cash network.The service supports two-way exchanges between cash and digital assets, with cash deposits covering over 25 countries and cash withdrawals covering over 170 countries and regions. MoneyGram had previously launched a cash deposit and withdrawal service based on USDC in partnership with Stellar and issued the dollar-backed stablecoin MGUSD, continuously expanding its stablecoin payment and remittance business.

According to Gate market data, Intel (INTC.O) stock price fell 1% in pre-market trading after the company announced an increase in the size of its stock issuance and set the pricing.

SK Hynix has restarted the construction of its second NAND flash memory factory in Dalian, expecting to increase the monthly production capacity in the region by about 50%. The new production line is designed for a monthly capacity of approximately 50,000 wafers, combined with the existing Dalian Plant 1's monthly capacity of 100,000 wafers, bringing SK Hynix's total NAND production capacity in China to about 150,000 wafers per month. The factory began construction four years ago but was paused due to the downturn in the memory chip market and U.S. export restrictions on equipment to China, having only completed the structural framework.The investment in Dalian Plant 2 is driven by SK Hynix's NAND subsidiary Solidigm, with equipment installation expected to start as early as November this year, and plans to establish a mass production system in the first half of next year. Driven by the expansion of AI data centers, demand for enterprise-level SSDs has surged, with NAND prices rising nearly tenfold compared to a year ago, prompting the restart of investments. SK Hynix will adopt a dual-track strategy: the Dalian factory will use Intel's mature floating gate architecture to produce NAND at the hundred-layer level, while domestic factories like Cheongju M17 will focus on advanced NAND production of over 300 layers, the latter having announced an investment of 19.1 trillion won. Industry insiders expect that the equipment configuration of Dalian Plant 2 will be similar to that of Plant 1, maintaining a monthly production capacity in the range of 40,000 to 60,000 wafers.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is exploring how tokenized gold can be incorporated into the wholesale market, including whether it can be used as collateral. The discussions involve regulatory approaches aimed at the institutional market, with relevant rules expected to be announced in the coming months.This regulatory discussion comes as London seeks to solidify its position as a global gold trading hub. Data from the World Gold Council shows that London currently accounts for about 70% of global gold trading volume, while Shanghai and Hong Kong are vying for a larger share of wholesale business. HSBC launched a tokenized gold product for retail investors in Hong Kong over two years ago and reported that the cumulative trading volume has exceeded $2.2 billion, with more than 276,000 transactions. The FCA does not directly regulate physical gold trading but oversees gold derivatives and publicly traded products in the market.

According to Gate market data, Hong Kong gold stocks expanded their decline in the afternoon, with Zijin Mining falling over 5% and Lingbao Gold dropping over 6%. Stocks such as Zhaojin Mining and Shandong Gold also experienced a decline.

According to CoinDesk, Bitwise Research Director Ryan Rasmussen stated that as the stablecoin market expands to a scale of trillions of dollars, Circle's value is underestimated by the market. Rasmussen expects the stablecoin market to grow from about $300 billion to $3 to $5 trillion, with Circle having a first-mover advantage due to its existing market share as U.S. stablecoin regulations take shape.He believes that Circle will not only become a stablecoin giant but also a payment giant—its payment infrastructure under construction will play a key role in a stablecoin-driven financial system, yet investors are still too focused on its reserve business. Rasmussen compared Circle's potential development trajectory to that of Visa and Mastercard, arguing that the entry of banks and other giants is not a major threat, as the pace of market expansion is sufficient for Circle to maintain growth. He mentioned that Circle's Arc blockchain will test whether it can expand from stablecoin issuance to the payment infrastructure sector, with the key in the coming year being how its economic model changes with the adoption of stablecoins and the development of infrastructure.

According to The Information, citing informed sources, the AI startup Applied Compute, founded by former OpenAI researchers, is discussing a new round of financing, with a valuation expected to reach around $3 billion, more than doubling the valuation announced four months ago during the last financing round. The company is dedicated to helping businesses utilize their own data to run and customize open-source models.This financing is taking place against the backdrop of the company's recent strong revenue growth. Informed sources indicate that Applied Compute's current annualized revenue is approximately $50 million, nearly quadrupling the revenue level disclosed by its CEO Yash Patil last November. According to the sources, investor Elad Gil is negotiating to lead this round of financing, with the expected amount reaching several hundred million dollars. It is still unclear whether this valuation includes the newly injected funds. This round of financing has not yet been finalized, and specific terms may still change.

According to Binance spot market data, the market has experienced significant fluctuations. BICO has risen by 12.65% in the last 24 hours and is showing signs of a rebound after hitting a low.At the same time, BIO, MMT, ESP, ROBO, and SNXXB have all shown a "high and then low" trend, with 24-hour declines of 5.15%, 7.75%, 14.15%, 20.07%, and 5.88%, respectively. In addition, GLWB, AXTIB, and IRENB have reached new lows today, with declines of 6.42%, 21.12%, and 8.36%, respectively.

The Solana Name Service (SNS) announced that .sol domain registrations are expected to be suspended on August 17, 2026, to align with the subsequent eligibility snapshot process. The official statement mentioned that .sol domains registered before the suspension will be included in the upcoming snapshot range, and users can check their eligibility results after the snapshot is completed.SNS also stated that it will continue to disclose relevant progress starting from August 17, and .sns domain registrations are expected to resume in mid-September, with more details to be announced later. The official also reminded users to be cautious of fraudulent claim links and emphasized that SNS will not ask users to claim domains, sign transactions, or pay fees to receive new .sol domains.

According to Gate market data, Meta Platforms' pre-market stock price increase has expanded to 2%.

According to the latest research by TrendForce, driven by rising prices of components such as memory, the material cost of the 256GB iPhone 18 Pro is expected to increase by about 38% year-on-year, making a retail price increase unavoidable. Apple may ease the extent of the price increase by sacrificing some gross margin to maintain shipment volume and market share. Analysis shows that the proportion of memory in the BOM cost of the last two generations of Pro models has risen from about 10% a year ago to about 34% in Q3 2026, and it is expected to exceed 40% in the first half of 2027. Memory has become the largest single cost item for the iPhone, replacing the traditional dominance of application processors and displays.TrendForce points out that Android manufacturers are facing greater profit pressure, especially mid-range and low-end models, with some brands potentially forced to significantly raise prices or discontinue loss-making product lines. Since early 2025, memory prices have increased by 5 to 7 times, and it is expected that global smartphone production will continue to be under pressure from the second half of 2026 to 2027. Apple may also adjust the pricing of older models in sync with the launch of new products to partially offset the impact of rising memory costs.

According to data from the Bank of Korea, South Korea's current account surplus in June reached 49.73 billion USD, setting a monthly record for the second consecutive month, further expanding from 38.61 billion USD in May, and compared to 13.97 billion USD in the same period last year. The cumulative surplus for the first half of the year was 191.01 billion USD, the highest in history for the same period, exceeding the Bank of Korea's previous annual target of 250 billion USD by 76%. The goods trade surplus of 47.89 billion USD also set a monthly record, with exports increasing by 84.5% year-on-year to 112.37 billion USD, surpassing the 100 billion USD mark for the first time, among which chip exports soared by 196.9%, and computer peripherals grew by 282.7%.South Korea's current account has maintained a surplus for 38 consecutive months since May 2023. The services account deficit widened to 1.29 billion USD, mainly influenced by increased payments related to intellectual property; the travel account surplus was 440 million USD, the second highest since October 2008. The current account surplus for South Korea in 2025 is projected to be 123.05 billion USD, setting a historical annual record.

The South Korean semiconductor sector experienced fluctuations during the trading session, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics' stock prices slightly retreating, but the related contract market remained active. According to Gate market data, SK Hynix (000660) reported $1002.56 during the session, down 0.21%; Samsung Electronics (005930) reported $162.15 during the session, down 0.64%. According to CoinGlass data, the SKHYNIX contract open interest reached $693 million, of which the SKHYNIX contract open interest on the Gate platform reached $131 million, ranking second in the entire network; the SAMSUNG contract open interest reached $45.2207 million, of which the SAMSUNG contract open interest on the Gate platform reached $6.19 million, also ranking second in the entire network.

According to the latest supply chain survey by TrendForce, despite the United States implementing export controls on high-end GPUs, China's AI industry has not slowed down; instead, it is accelerating the construction of a domestic AI supply chain. The report points out that the supply structure of high-end AI chips in China is shifting from reliance on imported GPUs to a dual-track model of "domestic GPUs plus self-developed ASICs," with domestic solutions expected to capture nearly 90% of the Chinese high-end AI chip market by 2026.This year, the Chinese government is actively promoting the adoption of domestic AI chips, with policies prioritizing support for high-potential local manufacturers to significantly expand their market share in the high-end AI server market. Meanwhile, the domestic ecosystem is gradually maturing in key areas such as advanced processes, advanced packaging, and thermal management. TrendForce expects that, against the backdrop of an accelerated domestic substitution process, domestic chip manufacturers like Huawei Ascend, Cambricon, and Haiguang are likely to continue benefiting, and the related industrial chain will usher in structural growth opportunities.

According to a report by CNBC, the latest research published in the academic journal "Review of Accounting Studies" shows that among U.S. taxpayers holding virtual currencies, the actual proportion of those reporting transactions to the federal government is only 32% to 56%.As the IRS will require intermediaries to submit virtual currency tax forms "Form 1099-DA" starting in 2025, discrepancies between reports from businesses and taxpayer filings will be more easily identified by authorities. In the first year, the form only needs to report total earnings, while the obligation to report cost basis will officially be included starting in 2026.