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According to the Industrial and Commercial Times, there are widespread rumors in the market that TSMC intends to invest over 30 billion New Taiwan dollars to acquire AUO's two old-generation panel factories, L7 and L5C, located in the Central Taiwan Science Park, adjacent to TSMC's plant, to reserve space for large-size packaging such as CoPoS and FOPLP. Informed sources indicate that TSMC has sent personnel to complete on-site audits, and AUO plans to prioritize the disposal of the two factories, aiming to submit to the board of directors in October, with an estimated completion of production line relocation and factory vacating by the end of the first quarter next year. Both TSMC and AUO have not confirmed this transaction.Semiconductor industry analysts suggest that TSMC is extending from the A14 advanced process and advanced packaging to the COUPE silicon photonics platform, leveraging Taichung's role as a hub for precision optical components to build the Central Taiwan Science Park into a CPO ecosystem. TSMC's existing Fab 15A in the Science Park mainly uses a 28-nanometer process and can support the manufacturing of silicon interposers; the second phase of the Science Park, Fab 25, is planned to build four A14 wafer fabs, with the first two already entering steel structure construction, and the first factory striving for completion before April 2027. The existing advanced packaging and testing facility AP5 in the Science Park has already started CoWoS production, and in the future, it will integrate electronic and photonic chips through the COUPE platform.On the optical side, Largan Precision has recently acquired land and factories in Nantun, Taichung Industrial Zone, and nearby precision machinery clusters, with three transactions totaling approximately 2.568 billion, interpreted by the market as a warm-up for CPO mass production. The company has obtained its first mass production order for fiber optic arrays, with the first automated trial production line aiming for completion by the end of the third quarter, and mass production expected as early as mid-2027, while also laying out micro-lens arrays and integrated FAUs.

According to the Associated Press, drug enforcement agencies from Cambodia and the United States announced on Friday that they have dismantled a cryptocurrency money laundering network utilized by the Sinaloa drug cartel from Mexico.The operation was conducted in collaboration between Cambodian drug enforcement police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, seizing approximately $7 million in cryptocurrency related to the Sinaloa drug cartel, arresting multiple individuals, and confiscating assets, drug production laboratories, and storage facilities.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Solana Company (HSDT) announced its voting positions on the first three Solana governance proposals: supporting SGP-0001 "Solana Constitution," opposing SGP-0002 to accelerate inflation reduction, and SGP-0003 to change transaction fees from fixed to floating.The company stated that supporting the new governance system is due to its allowance for stakers to participate directly in voting and retain the right to overturn votes from delegated operators, which is beneficial for institutional participation in network governance. Regarding inflation and fee adjustments, the company expressed that it is not opposed to the direction but believes that the current entry of institutions is still at a critical stage, and changes in core economic parameters may affect the stability and predictability of the rules.

According to reports from Liberty Times and other media, TSMC has completed the development and verification of the angstrom-level A16 (1.6nm) process, which is expected to enter mass production in the fourth quarter of 2026. This process uses TSMC's back-end power delivery network technology Super Power Rail (SPR), separating signal routing from power routing, with the power located on the back of the wafer to reduce bottlenecks.Compared to the 2nm process, the A16 is said to improve computing speed by 8% to 10%, reduce energy consumption by 15% to 20%, and increase chip density by 8% to 10%. TSMC views the 1.6nm process as a transitional step towards 1.4nm, with the goal of starting 1.4nm mass production in 2028.

Counterpoint Research predicts that Samsung Electronics will regain its leading position in the smartphone market this year, indicating its stronger resilience against rising memory chip prices. Since the beginning of this year, the shortage of memory supply has become increasingly severe, and Counterpoint expects global smartphone shipments to decline by 14.3% by 2026. Samsung, with its highly integrated supply chain and mature distribution network, is an exception, with expected shipment growth of 0.8%, outperforming other manufacturers.Counterpoint states that the overall smartphone market is expected to decline again in 2027, followed by a recovery the next year. Similar to Samsung, Apple is expected to withstand the pressure from rising component prices, but the agency is more cautious about Apple's outlook. Apart from Samsung, only China's Huawei has established its own hardware supply system, which is expected to maintain significant growth.Counterpoint's chief analyst points out that the key to Samsung's return to the top lies in its internal component manufacturing capabilities, diverse product line, and solid relationships with carriers and retailers. It is expected that leading smartphone manufacturers in China will face greater shipment pressure, and the acceleration of industry consolidation during the economic downturn remains its fundamental forecast.

In a research report released by the Bank of Italy in July 2026, a "mystery shopper" empirical investigation was conducted for the first time, tracking 200 USDC transfers across ten corridors between Italy and Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, the UAE, and Japan. The results showed that the total cost of stablecoin remittances fluctuated greatly, with a minimum of only 0.3% and a maximum close to 9%. On-chain transfers accounted for an average of only 0.4%, with the bulk of costs concentrated in fiat withdrawal and deposit stages—traditional intermediary fees such as exchange buy-sell spreads, credit card fees, and withdrawal fees were the decisive factors. Compared to traditional channels like Wise, stablecoins have a cost advantage in some corridors like Brazil to Italy, but the costs are higher in corridors like UAE to Italy, showing a high degree of "corridor specificity."In terms of speed, blockchain transfers themselves take only a few minutes, but end-to-end efficiency entirely depends on the quality of the traditional payment infrastructure in the destination country. Countries with instant payment systems, such as Brazil (PIX), Italy (TIPS), and Argentina (Transferencias 3.0), can keep the entire process under 20 minutes; whereas countries like South Africa, which rely on traditional bank transfers, see the arrival time extended to 1 to 2 business days. The report pointed out that the efficiency of stablecoin remittances is jointly determined by their own infrastructure and the surrounding traditional payment infrastructure, with both being complementary rather than substitutive. The report also analyzed the impact of global regulatory fragmentation: the EU's MiCA and the US's GENIUS Act represent mature compliance frameworks; Japan's strict "safety first" access, while lowering nominal costs, complicates processes leading users to offshore platforms; countries like India and Turkey are in a transitional regulatory phase; while countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with prohibitive measures, have failed to suppress demand, instead pushing transactions into gray channels.

Crypto analyst Ali Charts posted on the X platform that Bitcoin has established strong support in the range of $61,849 to $63,111, where over 2 million BTC have changed hands previously. UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) data indicates that there is almost no resistance ahead; if it breaks through $75,733, the next major supply zone will appear in the range of $83,307 to $84,569, where approximately 1 million BTC have changed hands previously.

Optimism governance has approved a proposal to transfer 546.9 million OP tokens (valued at approximately $49.7 million at the time of voting) originally reserved for future user airdrops to a strategic ecosystem fund managed by the Optimism Foundation. This move cancels the remaining dedicated airdrop pool and authorizes the foundation to use the tokens for collaborative transactions, incentives, and other initiatives to promote the growth of OP Mainnet and OP Enterprise. The proposal clearly states that there are currently no additional airdrop plans, and the tokens distributed in Airdrop 1 to 5 are unaffected.On-chain voting ultimately passed with 17.974 million OP in support and 10.931 million against. The core development team Test in Prod cast 8.486 million OP in favor about 17 minutes before the end of voting, raising the support rate from 45.77% to 61.84%; without that vote, the support rate would have been only 46.47%. The team claims to be fully funded by the Optimism Collective and has been involved in the development of OP Stack execution clients, network upgrades, and fault proofs since 2022.The Foundation stated that it has distributed 269.1 million OP through five airdrops, but broad user acquisition no longer aligns with the current institutional strategy. The new fund can support transactions related to chains, protocols, institutions, and infrastructure, as well as incentives for OP Mainnet activities and liquidity. Some representatives believe the authorization is too broad, and the L2BEAT governance team is calling for clearer deployment expectations, evaluation methods, and success criteria. The foundation will update public token accounting and disclose cumulative deployment status in the annual budget report.

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Al Thani stated at a joint press conference with the Egyptian Foreign Minister that Qatar will coordinate and cooperate with Egypt to promote a final agreement on the Iran issue to end the war and military escalation.The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the need to ensure freedom and safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, condemning actions that hinder international shipping.

According to CoinDesk, a governance proposal from the Optimism community has been approved, reallocating 546.9 million OP tokens originally planned for user airdrops to the "Strategic Ecosystem Fund" managed by the Optimism Foundation, sparking discussions in the community about governance transparency and user rights. The OP tokens involved account for approximately 12.7% of the total supply, valued at about $49.7 million at current prices.The Optimism Foundation stated that as the ecological strategy shifts towards institutional adoption and corporate partnerships, large-scale user airdrops are no longer fully aligned with the current development direction. Unused tokens can be utilized for ecosystem incentives, partnership building, and enterprise-level project expansion. The final vote resulted in 17.974 million OP in support and 10.931 million OP against the proposal.A key turning point occurred 16 minutes and 52 seconds before the voting ended, when the Optimism core development team Test in Prod (delegate.testinprod-io.eth) cast 8.486 million OP in support, raising the approval rate from 45.77% to 61.84%, ultimately pushing the proposal through.If the vote from Test in Prod were excluded, the support rate for the proposal would only be 46.47%, which would not have passed, and the related tokens might have remained in the user allocation pool. The Optimism Foundation previously committed to disclosing the cumulative usage of the fund and related results through an annual budget report. This vote has also reignited discussions about the influence of "large delegated voting rights" in DAO governance and the balance of rights for token holders.

According to the Industrial and Commercial Times, competition in advanced process technology for PC processors is heating up. Market news indicates that Intel's next-generation Nova Lake desktop processor will prioritize the introduction of bLLC large last-level cache to reduce access latency to system memory, competing with AMD's 3D V-Cache technology; the laptop version may be delayed until the subsequent Razor Lake-HX generation is released. The supply chain reveals that Nova Lake, set to debut early next year, will utilize a combination of Intel's 18A and TSMC's N2P processes, while the subsequent Razor Lake may further adopt TSMC's high-performance 2-nanometer N2X process.N2X is a high-performance extension of TSMC's N2 platform, targeting high-frequency CPUs, AI, and HPC applications, with transistor technology shifting from FinFET to nanosheets. If mass production is achieved, Intel's collaboration with TSMC on advanced processes is expected to extend to a broader 2-nanometer family, helping to reduce risks associated with a single proprietary process and optimize the timing and capacity configuration for high-end CPU launches.In addition to TSMC benefiting directly, related supply chains are also expected to welcome business opportunities. Sungsan is one of the few manufacturers in Taiwan capable of mass-producing its own CMP polishing pads, with a 25% year-on-year increase in consolidated semiconductor revenue in the first half of the year, rising to 66% of total revenue. Demand for Hard Pads and advanced packaging is strong, with a new Soft Pad line expected to begin trial production in the third quarter and gradually ramp up production in the fourth quarter, with products already applied in CoWoS and SoIC. Zhongsha holds CMP diamond discs and recycled wafers, reporting revenue of 2.49 billion yuan in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 17.9%, with gross margin rising to 40.1%, and shipments of 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer related diamond discs rapidly increasing.

Meta Platforms announced the launch of a new Meta AI feature aimed at small businesses.

According to the latest ranking of stock derivatives exchanges released by RootData, as of the time of publication, Gate has the smallest spread among the 30 listed exchanges, currently at 0.004%. Among other top-ranked exchanges, Binance has a spread of 0.012%, Hyperliquid at 0.011%, and OKX at 0.009%.It is reported that this spread is the 24h trading volume weighted spread, and a lower value usually indicates lower trading costs.

According to data from the official website, the Smart Allocator mechanism of the decentralized stablecoin USDD has generated a cumulative investment return of 25.353 million USD for users, demonstrating its strong self-sustaining ability and capacity to provide stable shared returns for holders, further strengthening its long-term competitiveness in the stablecoin sector. The Smart Allocator is the profit-sharing mechanism of USDD, which reasonably invests in high-quality projects to obtain returns such as interest and platform rewards, and returns the profits to users. All operations are transparent and publicly visible on the blockchain.

AI chip startup Etched recently completed a $700 million financing round at a valuation of $21 billion, but its technology claims are facing industry skepticism. The well-known hacker George Hotz's AI computing team, the tiny corp, publicly criticized Etched's marketing approach: there are many investors, orders, and hardware photos, but there is too little third-party data to truly verify performance.Etched's core selling point is LVI (Low Voltage Inference) technology, claiming it allows trillion-parameter sparse MoE chips to run at over 80% of theoretical peak computing power (MFU). Chip design professional Wesley Yue raised technical doubts about this: high MFU does not necessarily represent absolute performance—if the chip's peak computing power is low, even with an 80% utilization rate, actual performance may still lag behind competitors. Yue believes that Etched's design "does not make sense from first principles" and may be a result of repackaging after its early Transformer ASIC faced power consumption issues.Etched has not yet disclosed complete computing power, power consumption, and third-party benchmark data; the official website only states that "early customer tests have reached leading levels," and detailed performance data will be "released later." There is currently no evidence to prove that Etched is fraudulent. Etched has not publicly responded to this matter.

According to GMGN data, the top 5 tokens with net inflow of smart money in the past 24 hours are as follows:EYE (RmtM....DYk): Net inflow of $3,000, 24-hour increase of -43.5%, currently priced at $0.0026.CLUG (7g2x....SpV): Net inflow of $2,000, 24-hour increase of 13258.4%, currently priced at $0.0004.Sad (6tCW....ump): Net inflow of $2,000, 24-hour increase of 1859.1%, currently priced at $0.0001.GhostBob (FNgR....ump): Net inflow of $1,000, 24-hour increase of 690.7%, currently priced at $0.0001.HorseMeat (2Fpr....dbq): Net inflow of $1,000, 24-hour increase of 15%, currently priced at $9.2798.

According to the Economic Daily, TSMC's advanced packaging CoWoS capacity is in short supply, and it has been reported that some backend orders have overflowed to Intel's factory in Malaysia, where Intel is assisting with packaging using part of its capacity to serve common major customers, breaking the past ecosystem competition norms. TSMC Chairman Wei Zhejia previously stated at a conference call that TSMC focuses on advanced packaging in the frontend and welcomes "more manufacturers to supply capacity" for the shortage in the backend, providing flexible alternatives for common customers.The report points out that the bottleneck in advanced packaging capacity mainly lies in the backend ramp-up speed being lower than that of the frontend process, and the widening gap in CoWoS capacity has forced orders to overflow. SemiAnalysis Chipbook data shows that approximately $1.3 billion worth of HBM has been shipped to Malaysia, and industry analysis indicates that Intel's local factory should already have the capability for large-scale HBM integration. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated that the EMIB-T technology is ensuring reliable yield, and in the context of insufficient CoWoS capacity, "Intel is in a unique position to provide support." Companies with overlapping supply chains such as Unimicron, ASE Technology Holding, and Jiadeng are expected to benefit simultaneously, with Unimicron's stock price rising over 7% on that day. Intel's EMIB-T related applications are targeted for mass production by 2027.

According to The Block, White House digital asset advisor Patrick Witt expressed that he is "truly optimistic and bullish" about the CLARITY Act, the U.S. crypto market structure bill, ultimately becoming law, despite renewed controversies surrounding stablecoins. The bill spans over 600 pages, and the Senate is currently in recess until mid-September, with Republican leader John Thune scheduling a procedural vote requiring 60 votes on September 15 to advance the discussion.Witt stated that the White House will communicate with Democratic lawmakers to bridge the gaps. The main points of contention include issues related to stablecoin rewards and yields. Previously, the Alsobrooks-Tillis compromise proposal prohibited purely holding rewards while allowing rewards for trading or payment scenarios. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott indicated that further discussion is needed; another focal point is the conflict of interest and ethical provisions related to Trump's crypto business interests, with Democrats seeking stricter rules. Trump had previously agreed to some restrictions and set sunset clauses, and is currently reviewing additional Gallego-Tillis proposals.

According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York urged the court in court documents to dismiss former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky's application to overturn his conviction and reduce his sentence, stating that his legal arguments "lack merit." Mashinsky was sentenced to 144 months in prison and fined $48 million for commodity fraud and securities fraud in May 2025.In May, he informed the court that he would represent himself, and the motion submitted involved allegations related to FTX and former colleague Roni Cohen-Pavon, but prosecutors pointed out that he had not submitted a sworn statement to support the allegations and requested the court to dismiss it without a hearing. Cohen-Pavon has completed his sentence for providing "substantial assistance." Additionally, the CFTC permanently banned Mashinsky from engaging in commodity market trading in June, and the SEC's civil lawsuit against him is still ongoing, with both parties in the "settlement discussions" stage.