pol

According to the Korea Herald, in order to combat drug trafficking using virtual assets, the South Korean police have established a specialized virtual asset tracking and investigation team consisting of 41 members, and have intensified investigations into drug sales networks on platforms such as Telegram since August 3.In the first half of this year, South Korea conducted large-scale crackdowns from March to June, arresting a total of 5,203 drug offenders and detaining 1,039 individuals; compared to the same period last year, the number of arrests increased by 94 (an increase of 1.8%), and the number of detentions increased by 75 (an increase of 7.8%).

According to Jinshi, the People's Bank of China held a work meeting for the second half of 2026, stating that it will continue to implement a moderately loose monetary policy. The meeting emphasized the comprehensive use of various monetary policy tools to maintain ample liquidity and support the effective financing needs of the real economy.By the end of June, the total social financing scale increased by 7.4% year-on-year, and the broad money supply increased by 8% year-on-year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, during a time of tight funding, Leopold Aschenbrenner once agreed to sell a stake in Anthropic worth about $3.5 billion. The buyer was an investor led by Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital.The deal was finalized late Wednesday night but was withdrawn the next morning. The fund then opted to sell most of its publicly traded stocks and use the proceeds to repay loans.Leopold ultimately retained his stakes in Anthropic and other private companies. In a letter to investors, he stated that the fund chose to sacrifice its public stock positions to eliminate leverage and preserve private investments.

According to Livecoins, Brazilian police discovered a hidden illegal Bitcoin mining operation at a recycling station during a routine inspection targeting the theft and sale of scrap metal. Approximately 15 ASIC miners and 3 servers were seized on-site, with the total value of the equipment estimated to exceed 200,000 reais (about 39,400 USD).Bitcoin mining is not illegal in Brazil itself, but these devices were illegally tapping into electricity, with local power company Cemig estimating a monthly loss of about 60,000 reais (about 11,800 USD). A 37-year-old employee of the recycling station was unable to explain the source of the equipment and did not provide an invoice, leading to his arrest on charges of theft and trafficking. The police have also filed cases against a 31-year-old man and woman responsible for the business.The police stated that they are currently investigating the flow of the mined cryptocurrency.

According to Wall St Engine, "AI stock god" Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness fund faced liquidity pressure during the market crash in July, with behind-the-scenes details revealed.The report states that after the market rapidly cooled in mid-July, the decline in stocks held by Situational Awareness triggered margin monitoring by banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, leading to margin calls.Insiders said that other hedge funds began shorting related stocks after learning about its positions, creating a cycle of "price drop → margin call → forced selling → further price decline."In late July, while Leopold was hosting a wedding in Carmel, he continued negotiations with his team to maintain fund operations. On the evening of July 29, he reached a preliminary agreement with a consortium led by Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital to sell approximately $3.5 billion in Anthropic equity.However, in the early hours of July 30, before the U.S. stock market opened, Leopold changed his decision, opting to retain the private equity portfolio and instead sell publicly traded stocks. Subsequently, Citadel and Millennium entered negotiations with the fund team, and Citadel ultimately acquired most of the fund's public stock investment portfolio at a discount of more than 10% below market value before Thursday's opening.This transaction helped Situational Awareness meet margin requirements and avoid formal default. After the deal was completed, related AI and semiconductor stocks rebounded on Thursday, benefiting Citadel.As of around July 31, Situational Awareness disclosed to investors that the fund had a net loss of about 67% in July, but was still up about 80% for the year. Leopold stated that he "takes full responsibility" for the incident, and the fund has removed bank leverage, planning to continue operations and invest in the public market while adjusting its portfolio management and risk control systems.

According to Jinshi reports, several important events occurred domestically and internationally yesterday. The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the registration of coking coal options, and the Beidou satellite navigation system completed its in-orbit upgrade. The State Administration for Market Regulation launched price compliance guidance for the photovoltaic industry, and the three major telecom operators will stop issuing cards through third-party internet channels.On the international front, the Bank of Japan maintained its interest rates, and the South Korean KOSPI index recorded its largest single-day increase in history. Hawkish pressure within the Federal Reserve is rising, with several officials supporting interest rate hikes.

According to Jinshi reports, Federal Reserve Chairman Waller stated that he is considering reducing the frequency of Federal Reserve policy meetings.

According to Jinshi reports, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that the Bank of Japan is expected to continue raising interest rates and will adjust the intensity of its easing policy based on economic, price, and financial conditions.

According to Jinshi reports, Bank of Japan Policy Board member Takeda Hajime proposed raising the short-term interest rate target to 1.25%.

Recently, the public security agencies of Zhanjiang and Leizhou in Guangdong, China, launched a concentrated crackdown operation, successfully dismantling a money laundering criminal gang that used virtual currency transactions to transfer funds from telecom network fraud. Sixteen members were criminally detained in accordance with the law.The gang, led by a couple named He and Zhang, began laundering and transferring fraudulently obtained funds through virtual currency trading models since the end of 2025. They illegally profited by earning transaction price differences and amassed a large number of personal bank cards, WeChat, Alipay, and other payment accounts to build a money laundering chain. In the early hours of July 24, the police conducted a precise cross-regional operation, dismantling the entire gang. The Zhanjiang Public Security Bureau solemnly reminds that "score running" money laundering is an important accomplice in telecom network fraud. Involved individuals will be charged based on the severity of their actions, suspected of aiding information network criminal activities, concealing and disguising criminal proceeds, and crimes related to the benefits of criminal proceeds.Citizens are strongly advised not to rent, lend, or sell personal bank cards and various payment accounts for the sake of small commissions. They must resolutely avoid participating in illegal activities such as virtual currency fund transfers and money laundering. Everyone should consciously protect their personal credit and property safety and actively stay away from all types of fraud-related criminal activities.

According to Jinshi reports, Dong Ximiao, chief economist of Zhailian, expects that a reduction in the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates may be implemented in the third quarter. If the momentum for economic recovery weakens marginally in the second half of the year, a timely reduction of the policy interest rate by 10 to 20 basis points cannot be ruled out.Regarding the reserve requirement ratio, there is still room for a reduction of 25 to 50 basis points within the year, with the implementation window possibly arranged during peak bond supply or periods of tight liquidity. The People's Bank of China will increasingly utilize structural monetary policy tools to strengthen the regulation of market liquidity.

According to official news, the prediction market Polymarket announced a significant adjustment to its settlement mechanism for cryptocurrency price fluctuation markets starting from August 7, to protect market integrity. From midnight UTC on that day, the affected markets will no longer settle based on a single price snapshot at a specific time but will instead use a time-weighted average price.Markets of different durations correspond to different TWAP windows: all cryptocurrency 5-minute markets will use a 30-second TWAP, 15-minute markets will use a 60-second TWAP, and 4-hour markets will also use a 60-second TWAP. The previous single snapshot settlement method was prone to price manipulation during periods of low liquidity, and this change is a proactive reinforcement of the market integrity system by Polymarket after facing regulatory scrutiny.To support this transition, Polymarket will inject $1 million in liquidity rewards into all affected markets throughout August. On the technical side, Chainlink TWAP testnet data streams are now available, and mainnet data streams along with Polymarket real-time data stream services will go live on August 4, at which point developers can access TWAP prices directly through Chainlink Data Streams or Polymarket's public WebSocket.

According to the New Straits Times, Malaysian police recently dismantled an illegal Bitcoin mining operation located in Tronoh, arresting two men aged 40 and 52, and confiscating 73 cryptocurrency mining devices and related equipment.

According to Jinshi reports, Polish Prime Minister Tusk stated that a missile fell into Polish territory.

According to Jinshi reports, the Polish armed forces stated that due to Russia's airstrikes on Ukraine, Poland has deployed fighter jets for protective reasons.

According to The Block, the Solana Policy Institute in the United States has sent a letter to the bipartisan leaders of the Senate, urging them to push the Clarity Act digital asset bill into the voting process before the congressional legislative window closes in early August. The bill aims to provide regulatory clarity for U.S. crypto developers, institutions, and consumers, and establish a "non-money transmission" safe harbor for non-custodial software developers through the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.The latest Republican version also adds ethical provisions that prohibit federal officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, with the relevant provisions set to expire on January 20, 2029. SPI stated that the bill helps prevent "overreach" of regulation and criminal enforcement against software developers, maintaining the momentum for domestic construction in the United States.

According to The New York Times, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance quietly adjusted its law enforcement cooperation policy last April, requiring law enforcement agencies in various countries to forward relevant requests to foreign government agencies for processing, which must go through international treaty procedures, significantly extending the response time.Police representatives from five European countries reported at a law enforcement meeting in the Netherlands that, except for urgent cases involving child sexual abuse, terrorism, or threats to life, the vast majority of requests were forwarded to the UAE government, where Binance is registered, severely hindering investigations.Meanwhile, several senior employees from Binance's compliance team have left one after another, further intensifying external concerns. Binance denied slowing down cooperation, stating that this move aims to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations.

According to Fortune, the prediction market platform Polymarket has established the Polymarket Institute, a new organization dedicated to researching prediction market information discovery and forecasting mechanisms, fully funded by Polymarket but without disclosing the specific amount.The institute will set up a "Scientific Scholarship" program to fund doctoral researchers conducting research in related fields, initially recruiting 12 researchers, each of whom will receive a one-time grant of $10,000. To ensure research independence, researchers are prohibited from trading on platforms like Polymarket during their tenure and retain the unconditional right to publish any research findings (even if unfavorable to Polymarket). The funding will adopt a university donation model rather than commissioned research to avoid Polymarket having editorial influence over the results.Polymarket's Chief Data Officer Kai Brusch will serve as the Managing Director of the institute, and Carnegie Mellon University Assistant Professor of Economics and Technology Brian Jabarian will serve as the Scientific Director. To avoid conflicts of interest, Jabarian will not receive personal compensation for this role.

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.