payment

Regarding the issues of BitMart users' asset withdrawal restrictions and employees' unpaid salaries and compensations, employees of the platform publicly called on BitMart's management and relevant responsible parties to respond publicly by August 19 regarding the whereabouts of user assets, the platform's reserve situation, the reasons for withdrawal restrictions, and employee salary compensations. The open letter pointed out that a large number of users are still unable to withdraw their assets normally, and some employees have not received their last month's salary and due compensation; against this backdrop, if the platform only responds with announcements such as "ceasing operations," it cannot resolve the actual problems faced by users and employees. Relevant individuals requested that BitMart publicly disclose wallet, asset, liability, and available reserve information that can be verified by third parties, and explain when the platform became aware of the funding and withdrawal issues, who made the relevant decisions, and whether it continued to encourage users to redeem or trade despite being aware of the risks.The open letter also called for an investigation into related accounts, affiliated companies, trusts, and other funding arrangements associated with BitMart user assets, and specifically requested that the founder's partner provide explanations regarding their related accounts and funding situation. The open letter stated that there is currently information pending further verification indicating that BitMart accounts related to the founder's partner may have held assets worth tens of millions of dollars and have records of batch withdrawals; relevant individuals emphasized that no criminal characterization will be made against any individual until evidence is fully verified, but they demanded public clarification on whether the aforementioned accounts exist, asset ownership, sources of funds, transfer directions, and whether there is any connection with BitMart user assets, and called for an independent investigation into the relevant fund flows. At the same time, the open letter requested that BitMart promptly settle the salaries and compensations owed to employees, asserting that ordinary employees should not bear the consequences of management's operational decisions.In addition, the open letter requested that BitMart publish a user repayment plan with a clear execution timeline by August 19, including the scale of remaining assets, total liabilities, expected recovery ratio for users, repayment order, start and completion times, and supervision mechanisms, and explicitly stated acceptance of third-party independent audits. The open letter indicated that if a complete, transparent, and verifiable asset explanation and repayment plan are not obtained by then, they will consider submitting existing materials, funding clues, and relevant evidence to law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, lawyers, and the media in various locations to promote further investigation.

Coinbase announced the construction of a complete financial and payment infrastructure for AI Agents. The official statement claims that AI Agents can conduct research, decision-making, and trading on its platform, including cryptocurrencies, stocks, and derivatives, through "Coinbase for Agents," and can access Coinbase Advisor for personalized investment advice and tax-loss harvesting services.On the payment layer, Coinbase launched the open standard x402, enabling agent-to-agent machine payments without human involvement. Related transactions are primarily settled on the Base chain, while Coinbase Business supports businesses in receiving payments from AI Agents in USDC and provides discovery and marketplace access for x402 payable services on Agentic.Market.

Coinbase's official account posted that AiFi (the application form combining AI and finance) is already happening. The post pointed out that when AI agents generate funding needs, they will choose to use Coinbase-related services.The post also included a promotional link, emphasizing Coinbase's positioning in AI agent payment and fund processing scenarios. Currently, the publicly available information mainly consists of directional statements, and specific product details, partner lists, or transaction data have not yet been disclosed.

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.

According to the announcement from the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Yushu Technology has released the announcement of the results of its initial public offering and listing on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, as well as the prospectus for the initial public offering and listing on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board. It disclosed that the online and offline subscription payment work has been completed, and after the adjustment mechanism was activated, the final number of shares issued offline was 22,650,148 shares, accounting for approximately 70% of the number of shares issued after deducting the final strategic placement. The final number of shares issued online was 9,707,000 shares, accounting for approximately 30% of the number of shares issued after deducting the final strategic placement.In addition, before this issuance, the actual controller of Yushu Technology, Wang Xingxing, directly held 86,714,964 shares of the company, controlling a total of 34.763% of the shares. Through the arrangement of special voting rights, the proportion of voting rights controlled by Wang Xingxing in the company was 68.7816%. After this issuance, the proportion of voting rights controlled by Wang Xingxing will decrease to no more than 65.309%.

AI Economic Settlement Agreement AEON announced its integration with Colombia's national instant payment system Bre - B, allowing users to complete payments using cryptocurrency through the Bre - B standard QR code, while merchants receive payments in Colombian pesos (COP). AEON has supported over 50 million merchants globally, and this integration further extends the AI settlement network into the local payment systems of Latin America, providing the infrastructure support for AI and AI Agents to access real commercial scenarios and complete transactions and fiat currency settlements through local payment networks.

Korean BC Card announced that it has completed the "Overseas Digital Asset Wallet - Connection of Korean Local Bank Card Payment Infrastructure" pilot test with Coinbase and Wavebridge.The test verified that foreign tourists can directly use USDC in their wallets to make payments at Korean BC QR merchants, achieving a full process linkage from stablecoin payment to Korean won settlement.

The Bank of England (BOE) has entered the second phase of the digital pound project, testing whether publicly issued stablecoins can operate in conjunction with central bank currency within a single payment process for trade finance.BOE will collaborate with NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet, and Polygon Labs in the digital pound laboratory to explore the establishment of reusable credit profiles for small businesses and to study the use of stablecoins in conjunction with potential digital pounds in invoice factoring. The related experiments do not involve real customers or funds and aim to provide a reference for BOE and the UK Treasury to assess the interoperability of different forms of digital currency.

The B.AI platform officially launched the "Recharge for Others" feature on August 12, allowing users to top up platform points for team members or friends with one click. Users can input the recipient's email or on-chain address (compatible with TRON, EVM, and Solana networks) for precise targeting and real-time crediting.In terms of payment channels, this feature has fully integrated with fiat channels such as WeChat, Alipay, UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay, and Apple Pay, while also supporting mainstream cryptocurrency payments. To encourage user adoption, the platform has simultaneously launched a recharge reward campaign: recharging via BNB Chain allows users to receive a 1:1 equivalent point bonus, while other payment methods offer a 1:0.5 reward. Each user can receive up to $100 in additional rewards.

Morph Network officially announces the launch of Morph Payments, positioned as an enterprise-level stablecoin payment platform for global businesses. Enterprises can register via email and generate payment links, while customers can use any wallet and network to pay with stablecoins, with funds arriving within seconds. The recipient can choose their preferred network for receiving payments.The payment side supports single or bulk payments to suppliers, employees, or contractors. Morph Network states that the platform is aimed at real business scenarios, covering the global flow of funds from receiving to paying.

During the US stock market, Circle (CRCL) stock price rose over 6%, reaching a high of $73.35 during the session, with a market capitalization of approximately $18 billion.Recently, Bitwise Research Director Ryan Rasmussen stated that as the stablecoin market expands to trillions of dollars, Circle's value is underestimated by the market, and it will not only become a stablecoin giant but also a payment giant.

The UK Parliament's Crypto and Digital Assets APPG co-chair Gurinder Singh Josan and Lord Vaizey of Didcot have written to the CEOs of all major UK banks, requesting clarification on how they treat cryptocurrency and digital asset businesses. The letter raises six questions regarding the banks' current policies, whether they provide services to crypto businesses, related transaction restrictions and their determining factors, and whether they have adjusted their practices since the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulatory regime came into effect.The group stated that many crypto businesses find it difficult to open bank accounts in the UK, and some banks restrict related payments. This letter stems from the parliamentary inquiry into access to banking services launched on July 21, with written submissions due by August 31. A January survey by the UK Crypto Asset Business Council indicated that the proportion of transactions blocked or delayed by banks when transferring to crypto exchanges is estimated to be as high as 40%. HSBC, NatWest, Monzo, and Nationwide limit the amount transferred to crypto exchanges each month to between £5,000 and £10,000, while Starling and Chase UK prohibit such transfers altogether. Lucy Rigby, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, stated that the government does not want FCA-licensed businesses to be restricted by banks solely because of their industry; the FCA completed the relevant rules in June, and the regime will be enforced from October 2027.

According to a16z crypto, the monthly spending on crypto payment cards has grown from a niche scale to $759 million. These cards allow users to pay with cryptocurrency in all scenarios that support traditional card organizations, with stablecoins converted to local currency at the point of sale, making it no different for merchants than regular card transactions.As of July 31, looking at the spending composition from various card programs, RedotPay has long held the majority share, while EtherFi, KAST, Karta, and others have gradually increased their share since the end of 2025. a16z crypto states that crypto cardholders do not need traditional bank accounts and can deposit stablecoins with the issuer or hold them directly through self-custody. These cards have expanded global users' access to dollar accounts and provided a convenient spending method for stablecoin holders.

According to a video released by Bitcoin Magazine on the X platform, U.S. President Trump stated that he is seeing more and more people using Bitcoin for payments, "they don't even know what cash is anymore." Trump said, "Cryptocurrency is a big deal."

According to Jinshi reports, Guangdong Province is publicly soliciting opinions on the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Draft for Comments)," which aims to orderly expand financial openness and promote the expansion of pilot projects for cross-border payments using digital RMB.The plan mentions supporting the establishment of headquarters for international financial institutions, promoting innovative businesses such as cross-border finance and green finance, and deepening pilot projects for the transfer of cross-border credit assets.