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On August 24, recent news reported that some banks in Hong Kong have initiated a source of funds declaration procedure for certain existing mainland investment clients, setting deadlines of August 20 (services may be suspended if not submitted) and September 12 (services may be terminated if not submitted).Previously, in response to requirements from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, some banks have begun to require new mainland account investors to confirm that their source of funds comes from legitimate overseas channels. This source of funds confirmation procedure targets existing mainland investor accounts, primarily focusing on long-term "inactive accounts." It is understood that some licensed institutions in Hong Kong, including HSBC Hong Kong and branches of Chinese banks in Hong Kong, have indeed implemented such measures recently.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich stated that the core logic behind their bullish outlook on Bitcoin is that AI is significantly reducing the production costs of software, content, and analytics, and value will shift towards scarce assets that cannot be infinitely increased.The supply cap of 21 million Bitcoins is guaranteed by network rules, cannot be copied or diluted, and can be settled globally 24 hours a day. The long-term experience of Japanese households regarding changes in currency purchasing power has also reinforced this judgment.

On August 24, according to CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr., Bitcoin rose 22% from $63,000 to $77,000 within 8 days, with the profit supply ratio of short-term holders (STH) increasing from 26.1% to 74.9%. Meanwhile, the net inflow of STH to exchanges shifted from negative to +28,600 BTC, breaking through the +25,000 threshold, indicating that profit-taking pressure is building.If this indicator remains above the threshold and price momentum slows down, the risk of selling will significantly increase; if the flow converges to zero and the profit ratio maintains above 50%, the market is expected to continue its upward trend.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 74, up 7 points from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 61, and the average over the past 30 days is 36.

The Slow Mist security team disclosed that the cross-chain bridge project Allbridge was attacked on August 19, 2026, resulting in a loss of approximately $190,000. Notably, this attack was not executed instantly; the attacker had begun laying the groundwork nearly a month prior and bypassed the verification mechanism by forging cross-chain messages. According to Slow Mist's analysis, on July 26, the attacker directly called Circle's MessageTransmitterV2.sendMessage function on the Polygon chain, constructing a cross-chain message disguised as a CCTP style message, claiming that a transfer of 1 million USDC existed, but in reality, no USDC destruction operation took place. Subsequently, Circle generated a valid verification proof (attestation) for this complete message according to normal procedures.About 24 days later, on August 19, the attacker waited for the Base Router to receive a real CCTP deposit, increasing the balance to approximately 191,000 USDC, and initiated the attack just 6 seconds later. The attacker utilized the previously forged message and verification proof to call Allbridge's receiveCctpMessage function. Due to the project's lack of critical verification, the system mistakenly recognized the false cross-chain message as a real deposit and recorded a limit of 1 million USDC. The attacker then temporarily borrowed approximately 809,000 USDC through an Aave flash loan, matching the Router balance with the forged amount, and used the internal credit record to call the transfer function, ultimately transferring out approximately 999,000 USDC (after a 0.1% fee). After repaying the flash loan and fees, the attacker netted a profit of about $189,800. The root cause of this vulnerability lies in Allbridge's failure to verify the identities of the sender and receiver of the cross-chain message, as well as not confirming whether USDC was genuinely minted and whether the balance actually increased, instead directly trusting the amounts and message hash data constructed by the attacker. Slow Mist emphasizes that on-chain message verification does not equate to the actual arrival of real assets. Cross-chain protocols not only need to verify the authenticity of messages but must also ensure that the message source is trustworthy, that the receiver is Circle's official TokenMessengerV2, and that asset accounting can only proceed after confirming the actual minting of assets and changes in balance. This incident once again highlights the security risks of cross-chain bridges in the message verification and asset settlement processes.

The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is an organization representing large banks such as JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citi. BPI proposed that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury should expand customer identification program requirements to the secondary market for stablecoins, covering exchanges and other platforms that establish direct account relationships with retail investors.BPI stated that the relevant exchanges and platforms engage in a significant amount of buying and selling activities within the payment stablecoin ecosystem, where most illegal activities related to stablecoins occur. If the proposal is incorporated into the rules, the relevant platforms will be required to collect customer information in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act, and decentralized exchanges may also fall under regulatory oversight. The proposed rules by FinCEN indicate that transactions in the secondary market for stablecoins on the blockchain typically use anonymous or pseudonymous identities, and there are no centralized nodes for collecting identity information, limiting the ability of issuers to gather customer data from the secondary market. BPI has also opposed the current version of the Digital Asset Market Structure Bill along with other banking organizations.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 67, down 3 points from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 55, and the average over the past 30 days is 34.

Morgan Stanley's equity research team conducted an annual survey of over 500 North American summer interns, most of whom are under the age of 21. More than a quarter of the interns reported using prediction market applications in the past year, with Kalshi and Polymarket being the most common choices; among them, 55% of users utilized multiple betting applications.Prediction markets are facing increased scrutiny in the United States, with several states taking legal or regulatory actions against related platforms. Morgan Stanley's employee code of conduct covers trading and investment matters, including prediction markets, but insiders did not disclose further details. Another national survey indicated that 21% of American adult respondents have used prediction market platforms, with the percentage rising to 37% among the 18 to 34 age group.Regarding AI, 68% of interns use AI tools daily, up from 35% last year and 14% in 2024; about 70% are personally subscribing to paid AI tools, an increase from 52% last summer. Meanwhile, 61% of respondents are concerned that AI will replace jobs in finance, and 74% worry about job displacement in other industries. Over 60% are interested in using humanoid robots at home, and 10% indicated they might become early adopters.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 70, down 1 point from yesterday. The average for the past 7 days is 50, and the average for the past 30 days is 33.

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, warned that the annual budget deficit in the United States has reached $2 trillion, with approximately $10 trillion in debt needing to be refinanced. If the current trajectory is not changed, a debt crisis could arrive "within three years, with a two-year margin of error."In terms of asset allocation, Dalio advises investors to reduce their bond holdings to avoid debt risks; increase their allocation to gold, raising it to 10% to 15% of their portfolio; and hold a small amount of Bitcoin to hedge against government credit risk. Dalio also calls for the U.S. to reduce the budget deficit from the current level of about 6% of GDP to 3%, through measures including cutting spending, increasing taxes, and lowering interest rates.As a result of these statements, gold prices surged to their highest level since May on Friday, and Bitcoin broke through $77,000, marking the largest weekly increase since 2023.

According to CryptoBriefing, Texas-based Bitcoin mining infrastructure company Bitari Inc. submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. SEC on August 21, seeking to raise $30 million through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Global Market, with the stock ticker BIAI.This offering will issue 4,285,715 shares of common stock, priced at $7 per share, with expected total proceeds of approximately $30 million, and net proceeds of about $27 million after underwriting and related expenses. Bitari is responsible for building and operating the physical infrastructure required for Bitcoin mining. Its current core facility is a 20-megawatt operational mine located in Wheeler, Texas. A second 20-megawatt mine is under construction in Dumas, Texas, and the company also has a contracted 20-megawatt mine in Marion, Indiana.

According to The Block, Grayscale submitted its fifth amendment application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 21, further advancing its plans for the listing of the Zcash ETF. The latest application indicates that the product will officially be renamed "The Zcash ETF," with an annual management fee set at 2.5%, and plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange Arca under the code "ZCH," with Coinbase Custody Trust Company as the custodian and BNY Mellon as the transfer agent.This ETF will be converted from Grayscale's existing Zcash trust, which has been operating since 2017 and currently has assets under management exceeding $260 million. In the previous fourth amendment application, a subsidiary of Grayscale's parent company, Digital Currency Group, had negotiated to inject approximately 200,000 ZEC into the fund.

On August 18, 2026, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) aimed at clarifying how the current definition of "cash equivalents" applies to certain digital assets, such as stablecoins, and enhancing the transparency of disclosures regarding important components of cash equivalents. Stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments by November 19, 2026.In the 2025 FASB agenda consultation project and other feedback, stakeholders pointed out that there is uncertainty regarding whether certain digital assets, including stablecoins, meet the definition of cash equivalents under current Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), leading to differences in practical treatment. The proposed ASU will provide illustrative examples to promote a more consistent application of this definition and enhance comparability among entities choosing to report qualifying digital assets as cash equivalents, but it will not change the current definition of "cash equivalents."At the same time, the proposed rules require all entities reporting assets as cash equivalents, regardless of whether they include digital assets, to enhance disclosures regarding the important components of cash equivalents and related amounts, so that investors and other financial statement users can obtain more transparent information. The relevant proposed ASU and methods for submitting comments can be found on the FASB website.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a new article titled "Obfuscation (Part 3): Local Mixing," which delves into a cryptographic obfuscation technique being explored—"Local Mixing." He claims it may become a new foundational cryptographic tool following elliptic curves, RSA, and lattice-based cryptography.Vitalik states that current mainstream obfuscation techniques mainly rely on complex mathematical assumptions, often resulting in extremely high computational overhead. In contrast, Local Mixing adopts a completely different approach, not relying on elliptic curves, large integer factorization, or lattice cryptography. Instead, it draws on experiences from symmetric cryptography and hash function design, continuously shuffling, reconstructing, and hiding circuit structures to eliminate information leakage while maintaining functionality.The Local Mixing technique primarily includes steps such as reversibility, hardening, mixing, splitting, crossing walk, and "gadgetization." By introducing random structures into the circuit, rearranging logic gates, and employing nonlinear hiding mechanisms, it makes it difficult for attackers to recover the original computational logic.Vitalik points out that this technology is still in its early stages, with security not yet validated over the long term and facing challenges such as random attacks and linear analysis. However, he believes that Local Mixing represents a completely new path for cryptographic exploration, aiming to construct more efficient indistinguishable obfuscation (iO) schemes.If breakthroughs in Local Mixing technology are achieved, it could lead to new quantum-resistant public key encryption schemes and promote the development of general obfuscation techniques. The field still requires years of cryptanalysis and optimization validation, but AI-assisted research may significantly accelerate this maturation process. Vitalik states that obfuscation technology is seen as the "final frontier" of cryptography because, theoretically, other cryptographic primitives can be constructed based on obfuscation and one-way functions. Local Mixing may not only reduce the costs of traditional obfuscation schemes but could also become an important direction for future cryptographic infrastructure.

According to The Block, TRM Labs' latest report shows that the application of artificial intelligence in crypto crime has increased by 40% year-on-year over the past year, primarily driven by fraud activities. The report states that crypto hackers are increasingly using artificial intelligence for vulnerability analysis, social engineering attacks, and penetration.In the first half of 2026, there were 201 digital asset hacking incidents, a record high, with approximately 75% of the losses stemming from 4% of the incidents. North Korea-related activities caused about $600 million in losses, accounting for 61% of the losses in the first half of the year. TRM Labs stated that artificial intelligence has not created new types of crime but has significantly lowered the barriers to crime and expanded the scale of attacks.

According to Coinglass data, the cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index is currently at 71, up 10 points from yesterday. The average over the past 7 days is 45, and the average over the past 30 days is 32.

The Hungarian Parliament passed Bill XXXVIII of 2026, which abolishes legal provisions related to cryptocurrency asset conversion services, including the verification requirements that European exchanges must pass to operate legally in Hungary. The bill was voted on and passed on July 31 and came into effect on August 7.This abolition simultaneously cancels two charges related to cryptocurrency assets: unauthorized trading of high-value cryptocurrency assets can result in a maximum of 5 years in prison, and violating verification obligations when providing cryptocurrency exchange services can result in a maximum of 8 years in prison. The relevant provisions were criticized for overlapping with the EU MiCA framework.

Asset management giant Franklin Templeton announced that its first mortgage fund obligation (CFO) product, Franklin Templeton Structured Solutions 2026, has successfully completed fundraising of $1.5 billion. The aim is to provide investors with diversified and more efficient private market investment channels, with a portfolio covering strategies such as the private equity secondary market, continuation vehicles, and direct loans to U.S. mid-sized enterprises.As of the end of July 2026, Franklin Templeton's alternative asset management scale reached $295 billion, with its alternative investment platform covering multiple fields including the private equity secondary market, private real estate, private credit, venture capital, hedge strategies, and digital assets.