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According to a report by South Korea's "Daily Economic News" on July 12, driven by the stock market investment boom and sustained housing demand, the five major commercial banks in South Korea (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup) saw a surge in household loans in the first half of this year. As of the end of June, the household loan balance of the five major banks (excluding policy loans) reached 647.57 trillion won, an increase of about 3.7 trillion won compared to the end of last year. This means that in just half a year, the five major banks have exhausted 85.3% of the annual new loan limit set by financial regulatory authorities (approximately 4.33 trillion won), with two banks even exceeding the annual new limit ahead of schedule.To meet the strict overall control targets set by financial regulatory departments, banks are currently accelerating the tightening of credit thresholds. For example, KB Kookmin Bank recently significantly lowered the maximum limit for housing loans from 600 million won to 300 million won, while other banks are focusing on limiting new credit loans and reducing overdraft account limits. However, in just the first nine days of July, the household loan balance of the five major banks increased by over 1 trillion won. Industry insiders point out that against the backdrop of a severely limited remaining quota, banks will have to adopt stricter lending measures in the second half of the year to control the annual growth rate, and the South Korean market is expected to face a severe "credit winter."

A report released by the Bank of Korea on July 13 pointed out that the global semiconductor market is still in a state of supply shortage, and the chip supercycle driven by artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to last for a long time, which refutes market concerns that the chip cycle has peaked.The central bank's analysis states that the current chip cycle is different from previous ones, primarily driven by competitive investments made by companies to respond to the fundamental changes in the industrial ecosystem brought about by AI. At the same time, due to the current market being dominated by customized products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM), the pace of supply expansion is more constrained than in the past.Recently, concerns over excessive investment in AI infrastructure and potential oversupply of memory chips have triggered a sell-off in tech stocks, with significant declines in the stock prices of South Korean chip giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. In response, the Bank of Korea stated that although there remains uncertainty regarding the speed of AI technology adoption and profit prospects, major investment banks such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley generally predict that the global semiconductor market will maintain strong momentum at least through next year.

According to local media reports in Thailand, Thailand will require individuals to verify the source of funds when depositing more than 5 million Thai Baht (approximately 150,000 USD) in cash. This intervention expands the compliance responsibilities of commercial banks regarding cash networks, large currency exchanges, precious metal transactions, and suspicious stablecoin transactions, directly preventing regulated entities from fostering systemic corruption or a shadow economy.In addition, the Bank of Thailand and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have jointly conducted audits focusing on Tether (USDT) to identify and prevent illegal fund flows. This crackdown also includes strengthening controls over precious metal transactions, requiring banks to report suspicious patterns, such as rapid digital purchases and same-day physical withdrawals, to combat money laundering activities.

According to Jinshi News, Deutsche Bank stated that Federal Reserve officials will speak intensively next week, focusing on their interpretation of the June CPI data and potential interest rate hike tendencies.Waller will give a speech on Monday, Chair Waller will testify on Tuesday and Wednesday, and several officials will deliver outlook speeches on Friday. Waller is expected to reiterate recent statements, while Waller's speech will be closely monitored for signals of his policy inclination.

According to Bloomberg, the crypto bank Custodia Bank has submitted a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of its case regarding "being unlawfully denied access to the Federal Reserve payment system." Custodia applied for a master account access with the Kansas City Fed in 2020, but the Federal Reserve denied it in 2023 on the grounds that its "business model focuses on activities related to crypto assets."Custodia filed a lawsuit, but the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Federal Reserve's decision. In the petition, Custodia stated that the case raises "extremely important questions"—whether regional Federal Reserve banks can veto state bank charter decisions by denying access to central bank payment services.Custodia founder and CEO Caitlin Long stated that Wyoming has created a crypto-friendly environment through dozens of laws, but the Kansas City Fed chair "disagrees with Wyoming's policy choices." The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case after the October recess.

According to Jinshi reports, Bank of America Securities analysts stated in a report that the overall CPI in the United States may decrease by 0.09% month-on-month in June, partly due to a significant drop in gasoline prices. However, the core inflation rate is expected to remain high at 0.28% month-on-month or 2.9% year-on-year, partly because demand related to the World Cup is pushing up inflation in the service sector.Based on this forecast, analysts expect core PCE to be slightly stronger than CPI again.

According to Bloomberg, Nubank's parent company Nu Holdings, a crypto-friendly digital bank in Brazil, has been granted a formal banking license by Mexico's financial regulatory agency Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores, allowing it to conduct business such as payroll accounts, checking accounts, higher limit deposits, and more loan products locally.Since entering Mexico in 2019, Nubank has invested billions of dollars, and currently has over 15 million customers, accounting for about 15% of the local adult population. Founder and global CEO David Vélez stated that total investment in Mexico is expected to reach approximately $4.2 billion by 2030. Obtaining a full banking license is expected to help Nubank replace some wholesale financing with low-cost deposits and compete directly with large traditional banks in Mexico as well as fintech institutions like Revolut and Klar.

According to The Block, Standard Chartered stated that it maintains its price prediction of Bitcoin reaching $100,000 by the end of 2026. The recent market decline triggered by movements related to Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is not due to a deterioration of the company's balance sheet, but rather a failure of the strategic adjustments to be fully understood by the market.Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered, pointed out in a report that Strategy's recent behavior is disrupting short-term market expectations for Bitcoin. The market had previously accepted the narrative of the company "never selling Bitcoin," but now Strategy seems to be shifting towards a more complex capital operation model. Whether this change can be clearly communicated will determine when market pressure eases.Currently, Strategy holds 843,775 Bitcoins, accounting for over 4% of the total supply of 21 million Bitcoins. Between 2020 and mid-2025, Strategy's mNAV (market value/Bitcoin asset value) has remained above 1, allowing the company to finance Bitcoin purchases through stock issuance and achieve shareholder value growth.The commitment to "never sell Bitcoin" is the core of this model gaining market recognition. However, as the current mNAV approaches 1, the leverage effect of this financing model is weakening. Kendrick believes that Strategy is transitioning from a "Bitcoin accumulation tool" to a "Bitcoin credit support tool," meaning it holds Bitcoin as the credit basis for its perpetual preferred stock STRC.STRC currently has a scale of about $10 billion, making it the largest financial instrument launched by Strategy, with an annualized dividend yield of 12%, paid in cash every half month, and its price maintained around the $100 par value through an interest rate adjustment mechanism. Standard Chartered stated that STRC is currently trading at about $90, while Strategy has a dollar reserve of about $2.55 billion for paying dividends, which can cover approximately 17.4 months of dividend expenses.Kendrick stated that the policy adjustment allowing the sale of Bitcoin does not necessarily mean the company will continue to sell. He believes that as long as the market believes the new capital structure arrangement can stabilize the STRC price, Strategy may not actually need to sell Bitcoin. He likened this mechanism to a central bank's commitment to "take action no matter what": restoring market confidence alone may mean that actual intervention might not occur at all.

According to Jinshi reports, the Royal Bank of Canada expects the US dollar index to rise to 104 by the end of the year, while the euro will fall to 1.11.

According to official news, the stablecoin USDC issuer Circle (NYSE: CRCL) announced on July 10 that it has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank named Circle National Trust.The announcement stated that this approval marks an important milestone in U.S. regulation, placing the trust bank directly under the federal oversight of the OCC. After opening, Circle National Trust will initially provide federally regulated digital asset custodial services for Circle and its affiliates. According to the approved business plan, the bank plans to directly offer custodial services to specific banks and financial institutions in the future, ultimately achieving direct management of USDC reserves, thereby further enhancing the security and transparency of USDC. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that this move is a key step in integrating blockchain technology and digital assets into the core financial system of the United States.

Zhao Changpeng (CZ) posted on X that 5,000 POS terminals of Kazakhstan's Alatau City Bank have been integrated with Binance Pay.

According to Jinshi reports, ING analyst Chris Turner stated that expectations for the European Central Bank to possibly raise interest rates again in September are supporting the euro. He pointed out that tensions between the U.S. and Iran have led to a surge in oil prices, but the euro has shown resilience as the yield spread has narrowed in favor of the euro.However, he also mentioned that the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates is a "more dominant theme," which could lead to the euro falling below 1.14 against the dollar.

According to official news, Swift announced that its blockchain-based ledger is ready, and 17 banks from six continents are preparing to pilot the use of tokenized deposits for 24/7 cross-border payment trials.The ledger provides a secure orchestration layer for participating banks, supporting them in issuing tokenized deposits on their own ledgers, enabling around-the-clock fund movement before final settlement through existing systems. Participating banks include ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citibank, DBS Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, FirstRand Bank, HSBC, Itaú Unibanco, Lloyds Bank, Mashreq Bank, MUFG, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered, UBS Group, UOB, and Wells Fargo.

According to Edaily, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song stated at a parliamentary meeting that the system related to the Korean won stablecoin and the legislation of the "Digital Asset Basic Law" should be promoted as soon as possible, and emphasized that there will be a competitive and complementary relationship between stablecoins, deposit tokens, and central bank digital currencies.

According to Banking Dive, Sony has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank, planning to launch Connectia Trust in 2027, focusing on the issuance and management of dollar stablecoins.The trust subsidiary is part of Sony Financial Group, with a capital of 40 million dollars.

According to The Block, Cash App's parent company Block has agreed to pay $45 million to settle with regulatory agencies in nearly 50 states in the U.S. over allegations of misleading security promotions and insufficient anti-fraud measures. Regulators accused Block of marketing Cash App as having security protections comparable to traditional banks, but failing to establish a comprehensive fraud detection system and not providing an effective fraud reporting hotline, resulting in users suffering losses from scams.Additionally, regulators accused Block of continuing marketing activities despite being aware of the increase in scams and amplifying scam risks in promotional activities. Under the settlement agreement, Block must improve customer support services, provide 24-hour live customer service, and cease related promotions regarding Cash App's security. Block denies any wrongdoing, stating that the settlement involves previously disclosed legacy issues.

According to Bits.media, Russia's largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, has announced plans to become a digital custodian and provide cryptocurrency-related services, not only for its own clients but also for other legal entities. Dmitry Vitman, the bank's Chief Operating Officer, stated that the bank aims to create investment tools based on open blockchain to attract foreign investors and develop proprietary products and tools that can compete in the international market.He anticipates that after the government cryptocurrency regulatory bill comes into effect, Russia may see retail brokerage services emerge between the end of 2026 and early 2027, involving both Russian and foreign infrastructure, but large-scale liquidity is not expected until at least the end of 2027. Digital custodians are regulated entities responsible under Russian law for monitoring all client cryptocurrency transactions and freezing transfers to addresses not approved by the state.