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According to Bloomberg, the U.S. government is investigating Apex Logistics, headquartered in Singapore, for allegedly playing a role in smuggling NVIDIA AI chips to China. Sources say this could become the first action against a transportation company involved in illegal semiconductor trade.Authorities are verifying whether Apex (a unit of shipping giant Kuehne+Nagel) violated U.S. export restrictions by transporting AI systems assembled by Super Micro Computer. NVIDIA chips are regarded as the industry standard for training and running AI models, and companies like Super Micro Computer assemble them into data center servers.

Visa announced its participation in the BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency) initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), aimed at expanding the settlement capabilities of financial institutions and promoting interoperability between traditional payment systems and stablecoin payment rails, allowing institutions to enjoy faster, programmable payments while retaining security and compliance assurances.As the first partner under the BLOOM framework, Nium will pilot the use of stablecoin settlements with Visa, exploring more efficient cross-border fund flows based on Visa's payment network, security, and compliance capabilities. The two parties will study the implementation of settlements seven days a week (including weekends and public holidays) using stablecoins to reduce delays and enhance efficiency. The pilot supports regulated stablecoins backed by major currencies, including US dollar and euro-denominated stablecoins.

The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) has ordered the freezing of approximately SGD 75 million worth of Bitcoin and USD Coin, involving a transfer dispute between a global major cryptocurrency exchange operator (the plaintiff and related companies) and a long-term customer. In a ruling made in March 2026 by Singapore High Court Judge Aidan Xu and SICC international judges Anthony Meagher and David Goddard, the court granted the plaintiff a temporary injunction, prohibiting the defendant from disposing of 816,773 USDC and 780 BTC transferred from two dedicated wallets on the platform and the corresponding profits, and required the defendant to disclose the whereabouts of the assets, but did not allow the plaintiff to use that information to apply for similar injunctions in other jurisdictions.The defendant had held 2,500 BTC and 2,500 BCH in the dedicated wallet. The plaintiff claimed that due to technical reasons, the internal ledger did not record the defendant's transfer operation in March 2020, and the wallet appeared empty. Based on this misunderstanding, the plaintiff transferred 2,500 BTC and 2,500 BCH to the defendant's other wallet in July 2024. The defendant subsequently exchanged 20 BTC for approximately 816,773 USDC and transferred it along with 780 BTC to a non-plaintiff custodial wallet between July and November 2024. After discovering the ledger error in January 2025, the plaintiff froze the defendant's wallet and recovered the remaining 1,700 BTC and 2,500 BCH.

According to the Financial Times, citing two informed sources, regulators are preparing to lift the exit restrictions on Manus founder and CEO Xiao Hong and others. Xiao Hong has informed employees that he plans to return to Singapore soon.Xiao Hong and Manus co-founder and chief scientist Ji Yichao were asked to stay in the country in March this year. At that time, regulators were investigating whether Meta's acquisition of Manus violated relevant regulations. In April, regulators requested Meta to withdraw the approximately $2 billion acquisition.Manus has officially confirmed this week that it will resume independent operations. The split plan is also taking shape. Original shareholders such as Tencent, ZhenFund, and HSG will participate in the buyback, and Tencent will also acquire most of Benchmark's shares, becoming the largest single shareholder of Manus, but its stake will not exceed 50%. Manus will not be merged into Tencent and will continue to operate independently in Singapore.The final plan still requires approval from regulatory authorities. From the current plan, regulators are requesting the dismantling of Meta's acquisition relationship with Manus, but they have not asked Manus to relocate its business.

According to CNA, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) reported that a cryptocurrency scam involving fake job postings and compromised software systems resulted in losses of $11.8 million.The scam group impersonated cryptocurrency company recruiters on LinkedIn, used forged domain names to send emails, conducted video interviews, and induced victims to download malware on company devices to complete "technical tests," thereby stealing session tokens, bypassing multi-factor authentication, and ultimately transferring cryptocurrency.

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.

The IEA monthly report predicts that due to the resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East, the oil market will experience a supply gap of 1.8 million barrels per day in the third quarter, a significant increase from the 800,000 barrels per day gap forecasted in July.

According to a report by South Korea's Asia Economy, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek has decided to invest in the South Korean stock market for the first time, having selected Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as investment targets, and is in contact with the South Korean government to discuss the timing of fund execution. Temasek manages assets of approximately 518 billion Singapore dollars (about 572 trillion Korean won), and this investment will be managed internally rather than through external asset management.Temasek believes that the storage semiconductor sector in the AI value chain is undervalued by the market. Recently, it has been increasing its investments in AI-related fields and already holds shares in semiconductor giants such as Nvidia, TSMC, and ASML, and is also one of the major institutional investors in OpenAI and Anthropic. Temasek plans to increase the proportion of AI-related investments from the current 6% to a maximum of 15% over the next five years. If executed smoothly, this will be Temasek's first direct entry into the South Korean stock market.

According to market news, Anthropic, Macquarie Asset Management, and the Singapore Government Investment Corporation announced the establishment of a strategic partnership.

CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. posted on the X platform that Bitcoin's current trading price is below the cost basis of short-term holders (STH), which is the average purchase price of Bitcoin held for less than 155 days. As of August 8, 2026, the trading price of Bitcoin is $64,952, while the realized price for short-term holders is $67,523.The spot price is 3.8% lower than this level, with a gap of $2,571, the narrowest since July 21. Over the past 284 days, Bitcoin has closed below the STH realized price for 279 days. This time may not be an exception, as short-term holders will begin to sell to close positions at breakeven.

The renowned crypto event TOKEN2049 will be held from October 7 to 8 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, expected to attract 25,000 attendees from over 7,000 companies across 160 countries, featuring 500 booths, 300 speakers, and over 1,000 side events.TOKEN2049 co-founder Alex Fiskum stated that this year's Dubai event has been postponed to 2027, and the team will fully focus on the Singapore event. In addition, a 36-hour hackathon TOKEN2049 Origins and the NEXUS startup competition will be held during the event week, with well-known venture capital firms such as Dragonfly, Multicoin, and Maelstrom serving as judges.

According to Dealstreetasia, Singapore-based AI infrastructure startup Acrab announced the completion of a $130 million Series B funding round, with participation from Vertex Growth and others. To date, the total funding raised has exceeded $480 million.The company has built a full-stack AI computing platform that includes self-developed chips, edge AI models, and software orchestration to support the real-time operation and task execution of AI Agents. The new funds will be used to expand product capacity, enhance the technology ecosystem, and accelerate the development of the next-generation AI computing platform.

According to Bloomberg, digital asset broker FalconX has cut 10% of its global workforce to cope with a prolonged downturn in the crypto market. Sources say that about half of the employees in its Singapore office were laid off, including senior management as well as staff in sales and accounting positions.FalconX is adjusting its business strategy in Singapore, focusing on crypto derivatives trading that does not require relevant licenses, and plans to withdraw its license application submitted to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company stated that it will concentrate resources on priority businesses while continuing to maintain its operations in the Asia-Pacific region and expand its regulated business in Europe.FalconX currently has about 350 employees worldwide and has seven offices in locations such as Silicon Valley, New York, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Over the past 18 months, the company has acquired derivatives startup Arbelos Markets, crypto exchange-traded product issuer 21Shares, and blockchain trading and network technology company bloXroute.FalconX is the latest crypto company to lay off employees, following Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Gemini. Reports indicate that the industry is facing a prolonged bear market, cost pressures, and the impact of advancements in AI technology. Since its establishment in 2018, FalconX has facilitated approximately $2.5 trillion in trading volume and completed a $150 million Series D funding round in 2022 at a valuation of $8 billion.

According to Jinshi reports, strategists from Citigroup and Barclays Bank stated that the appreciation of the yen may drive various Asian currencies stronger, especially the South Korean won, Singapore dollar, and Thai baht. The yen has risen more than 4% over the past three trading days, while during the same period, the South Korean won, Thai baht, and Philippine peso have all appreciated by at least 0.7%.Strategists pointed out that recent USD/JPY intervention actions may have spillover effects on the Asian foreign exchange market, pushing up Asian currencies sensitive to the yen's movements.

According to Jinshi reports, data from the Bank of Japan indicates that the monetary market is expected to have a funding gap of 8.2 trillion yen, whereas the previous forecast was a surplus of 1.4 trillion yen to a gap of 1.73 trillion yen.

HashKey Holdings Limited's latest announcement states that its wholly-owned subsidiary HKDAG SG has entered into a non-binding framework agreement with the major shareholders of the Singapore Derivatives Exchange APEX regarding a potential acquisition of all its equity. The acquisition price and payment arrangements have yet to be determined.According to HashKey, APEX holds a recognized exchange license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and its member company Asia Pacific Clear holds a recognized clearing house license, possessing comprehensive issuance and clearing capabilities. HashKey indicated that if the acquisition is completed, it will help establish a more scalable regulated presence in Singapore.The announcement also emphasizes that the proposed acquisition is subject to the execution of final documents and obtaining approval from MAS before it can be finalized. As of the announcement date, neither party has executed any final documents, nor has MAS approval been obtained, and the transaction may or may not proceed.

Circle's Senior Director of Strategy and Policy for the EU, Patrick Hansen, pointed out that since the implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), approximately 35 electronic money tokens (EMT) from 21 institutions have obtained compliance certification, with banks and electronic money institutions entering the market, showing a good momentum for local issuance.However, among the top 50 stablecoins globally, currently only USDC, USDG, and EURC meet MiCA requirements, while the rest remain outside the regulatory framework, leaving EU users facing a dual dilemma of lack of protection or being forced to cut off access. Hansen believes that for MiCA to truly become a global regulatory blueprint, it must achieve two goals simultaneously: first, to promote local EMTs to go global with competitive systems; second, to establish a recognition mechanism for compliant stablecoins from abroad, attracting global issuers into the MiCA regulatory framework, rather than making local issuance the only entry path.

According to Business Insider, Musk reiterated and refined the timeline: within about 5 years, overall AI intelligence may surpass the total human intelligence; within about 10 years, humans are likely to no longer dominate (the intelligence gap is far greater than that between chimpanzees and humans). He stated that AI can do better in almost all aspects except "being human" itself.Musk believes the most likely outcome of AI development is an "era of astonishing abundance," where robots + AI can produce goods and services far exceeding human consumption capacity, allowing anyone to have whatever they want. By around 2036, "money may no longer matter."He believes that the government could directly issue checks to the public (similar to universal basic income), as output surges, and deflation is more likely to occur rather than inflation; the traditional logic of taxation/re-distribution may fail under the new paradigm. He accepts that there is about a 10-20% risk of human extinction from AI, but believes that the momentum of development is unstoppable, having reached a "philosophical conclusion": if it cannot be stopped, then join in and "enjoy the journey."

The Singapore Police Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen joint actions, intelligence sharing, training, and law enforcement assistance in online scams, cyber fraud, and money laundering cases.The two parties completed a joint operation targeting cross-border cryptocurrency fraud in Singapore and the United States, identifying 54 victims and potential victims through information sharing and blockchain intelligence, and preventing potential losses of approximately 2.7 million USD in the United States and about 388,000 SGD in Singapore.

Coinbase officially opened its office at Raffles Quay No. 1 in Singapore on July 22. Hassan Ahmed, the National Director of Singapore, stated in an interview with The Business Times that the plan is to increase the local workforce from about 150 to around 200 by the end of 2026, with the fastest-growing positions concentrated in engineering, customer service, relationship management, and institutional sales.Ahmed described Singapore as one of the most trusted financial centers in the world and one of Coinbase's fastest-growing international markets. This expansion contrasts with Coinbase's global layoffs of about 14% in May this year. Ahmed explained that the company is optimistic about the adoption prospects of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in Singapore and the Asian region, citing the local clear regulatory framework, friendly business environment, and strong capital flow as attractive factors.In October 2023, Coinbase obtained a full major payment institution license under Singapore's Payment Services Act and is currently exploring the intersection of AI and digital assets, including equipping AI agents with stablecoin wallets.