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According to CoinDesk, the Trump family-associated crypto project World Liberty Financial stated that it does not own, operate, or control the Hong Kong artificial intelligence platform WorldClaw, which only uses its stablecoin USD1 as a payment channel.WorldClaw provides developers with access to multiple AI model services through WorldRouter, supporting payments in USD1, with some plans available through locking WLFI tokens.World Liberty did not specify whether it or its affiliates hold equity in WorldClaw, provide financing, charge licensing fees, or participate in revenue sharing. WorldClaw's terms indicate that its services are not open to residents, companies, and citizens of the United States and China.

According to The Block, Ripple has completed a private placement of senior unsecured notes expanded to $275 million. The notes were issued by its non-bank prime broker Ripple Prime, and the funds raised will be used for working capital and expansion of its business in the United States.This issuance received a BBB investment-grade rating from KBRA, and Ripple Prime plans to further expand multi-asset clearing, financing, and prime brokerage services.

According to CoinDesk, Cash App has integrated with the cryptocurrency payment platform MoonPay, expanding its cryptocurrency services from previously primarily supporting Bitcoin and the US dollar stablecoin USDC to include various digital assets such as Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and USDT.

Cypherpunk Mining announced its official launch, and its 4.2 Gsol/s Equihash computing power deployed in the United States has made it the largest Zcash miner in the world.The company has acquired a fleet of Bitmain Z15 Pro miners previously deployed across the United States by signing a $33.33333 million asset acquisition agreement with Winklevoss Capital, currently producing about 7,800 ZEC per month and has achieved cash flow.Cypherpunk stated that the current unit electricity revenue from Zcash mining is about twice that of AI data center hosting and three times that of Bitcoin mining, and the capital expenditure for equipment is far lower than that of AI infrastructure. The company has no debt and plans to gradually vertically integrate into data centers and power assets.

According to CoinDesk, as crude oil prices retreat, refined oil prices continue to rise, with the "crack spread" between U.S. diesel and crude oil reaching $102.2 per barrel, a record high.Due to disruptions in global energy supply from the Iran and Ukraine conflicts, diesel supply is tightening, and with the current agricultural harvest season, the demand for fuel for agricultural equipment such as tractors is strong, further pushing up diesel prices, which may transmit inflation through food, transportation, and heating costs.Meanwhile, WTI crude oil prices have broken through the downward trend line formed since the peak in April, indicating that the four-month downward trend may be coming to an end. If oil prices continue to rise, market inflation expectations may heat up again. The combination of energy prices and inflation risks, along with concerns about government debt, is driving up U.S. Treasury yields and the yields of other developed economy bonds, increasing the opportunity cost of holding risk assets like Bitcoin, which may limit further upside for BTC.However, the weakening dollar still provides some support for Bitcoin. The dollar index fell to 99.29 on Monday, a two-and-a-half-month low, and broke below the previous upward trend line. Currently, Bitcoin is being influenced by multiple factors including oil prices, bond yields, and dollar trends, with the macro environment showing clear divergence.

According to market news, Ant Group plans to sell 3% of its shares in the Indian digital payment and fintech company Paytm for $309 million.

According to ChainCatcher information, in a recent LinkedIn post by Gate Europe CEO Dr. Giovanni Cunti, as digital assets, online banking, digital payments, and tokenized financial products continue to develop, digital identity is gradually becoming the core infrastructure connecting users with financial products and services, moving away from traditional compliance processes such as KYC and risk assessment. In the face of users' dual demands for efficient access to financial services and the security of personal information, the industry needs to enhance service efficiency while also considering security, privacy, and trust. The next generation of identity infrastructure should go beyond a single verification function, incorporating security, privacy, compliance, and user experience into a unified framework. This can reduce unnecessary operational costs, such as redundant information submissions, through reliable identity verification, while also enhancing transparency and protection regarding the collection, storage, and use of personal data.Dr. Giovanni Cunti further pointed out that regulatory standards are also the cornerstone of building a digital financial trust system. For digital asset platforms, as business expands from cryptocurrency trading to stablecoins, tokenized assets, payments, and multi-asset financial solutions, the importance of trustworthy infrastructure continues to rise. Gate Europe has completed the dual licensing layout of MiCA and PI under the regulation of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and emphasizes that secure access, robust compliance processes, and responsible handling of user information are key conditions for promoting the long-term development of financial services. Digital identity is becoming an important part of the financial ecosystem, and Gate Europe will continue to explore more possibilities in diverse financial scenarios, bringing users a more convenient and reliable digital financial service experience, and helping accelerate the integration of global financial markets.

According to Bloomberg, Singapore hedge fund Dymon Asia Capital has received approximately $1 billion in tranches from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) for expansion into markets from London to Hong Kong. Dymon’s assets under management have increased to about $9 billion as of July, far exceeding the previous expectation of $5 billion by the end of 2026, with its multi-strategy fund yielding about 7.5% this year.Dymon is focusing on expanding its commodities and London team, bringing in Amir Ravan from Jain Global as head of commodities, Jay Radia from BlueCrest as chief operating officer of commodities, and recruiting former Schonfeld macro trader Manas Baveja in London. ADIC is systematically increasing its allocation to global hedge funds, planning to raise its related exposure to about $15 billion.

According to official news, GasFree has officially integrated USDD as a payment method for on-chain transfer fees (Gas Fee). Starting today, when users initiate a USDD transfer through GasFree, there is no need to hold TRX, energy, or bandwidth in advance; the system will automatically deduct the fees in USDD, achieving a "single balance, completing transfers and payments" streamlined process.This upgrade effectively lowers the usage threshold of USDD, directly addressing pain points such as the cumbersome preparation of Gas and transaction failures due to insufficient balance in traditional on-chain transfers, significantly enhancing transaction convenience and success rates. At the same time, this integration further expands the practical application of USDD in the field of on-chain payments, providing a more friendly and efficient solution for the widespread adoption of stablecoins in daily transfers and circulation.

NVIDIA's Senior Director Huang Maidi visited LG Electronics' robotics research and development center in South Korea on Tuesday, meeting with LG Electronics executives to discuss plans to expand cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence infrastructure and robotics.Last week, LG Electronics announced plans to launch a next-generation humanoid robot capable of bipedal walking in the first quarter of 2027, relying on NVIDIA's robotics platform.

On July 23, the European Union passed the 21st round of sanctions against Russia, expanding the trading ban to 14 cryptocurrency service platforms located in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus, and adding 4 new sanctions measures targeting the A7 Russian ruble network. The new regulations will take effect on August 25, prohibiting Russian and Belarusian citizens from holding, controlling, or serving in positions within MiCA cryptocurrency asset service providers in the EU, with the scope extending to services such as consulting, portfolio management, and transferring cryptocurrency assets on behalf of clients.The new regulations also allow the EU to impose a comprehensive ban on cryptocurrency transactions against third countries that have not prevented relevant sanction evasion activities. The list of relevant countries is currently empty and only includes third countries identified by the EU Council as having continuously and systematically failed to prevent the provision of cryptocurrency asset services or the operation of related platforms.

Lookonchain posted on platform X that Riot Platforms (@RiotPlatforms) sold a total of 9,665 Bitcoins in the first half of 2026, with a transaction amount of 732 million dollars and an average selling price of 75,785 dollars.

Payward (the parent company of Kraken) stated that in the coming weeks, it will use Claude Mythos 5 to scan for vulnerabilities in all Payward environments, and the findings will be directly incorporated into its existing security program.

According to Bitcoin News, the Duquesne Family Office managed by Stanley Druckenmiller has exited its positions in Intel and Micron Technology, and has established new positions in four publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies: Bitdeer Technologies, Riot Platforms, Hut 8, and IREN.

According to SoSoValue data, as of 8:00 AM Eastern Time on August 17, 2026, the total net purchase of Bitcoin by global listed companies (excluding mining companies) for the week was $5.32 million, a decrease of 90.34% compared to last week.Strategy did not buy or sell Bitcoin last week but spent $132 million to repurchase 1,388,720 shares of STRC preferred stock.The Japanese listed company Metaplanet did not purchase Bitcoin last week, marking five consecutive weeks without buying Bitcoin.In addition, two other companies purchased Bitcoin last week. The French Bitcoin company Capital B announced on August 17 that it bought 5 Bitcoins at a price of $64,395.60, bringing its total holdings to 3,145 Bitcoins; asset management company Strive announced on August 17 that it spent $5 million last week to purchase 79 Bitcoins at a price of $63,231, bringing its total holdings to approximately 20,246 Bitcoins.As of the time of writing, the total amount of Bitcoin held by the global listed companies (excluding mining companies) in the statistics is 1,139,641 Bitcoins, an increase of 0.007% compared to last week, with a current market value of approximately $72.42 billion, accounting for 5.7% of the circulating market value of Bitcoin.

According to CNBC, OpenAI President and Co-founder Greg Brockman responded to concerns about the recent frequent departures of executives from the company, stating that the personnel changes are not unusual. The heightened attention from the outside world is mainly because OpenAI has long been in the spotlight.Greg Brockman stated that compared to other organizations, every departure at OpenAI is subject to stricter scrutiny, and "every departure is magnified," but he believes this situation "is actually not uncommon." OpenAI is still focused on advancing artificial intelligence technology and believes that the level of attention on executive turnover is related to the company's industry influence.

AI voice interaction startup Wispr announced the completion of a $280 million Series B financing, with the company's valuation reaching $2 billion.This round of financing was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, 8VC, MVP Ventures, as well as Acrew, Peak XV, Together Fund, and PLUS Capital.

According to The Block, Bitcoin mining company HIVE Digital Technologies has signed a five-year GPU cloud service agreement worth approximately $350 million through its subsidiary BUZZ High-Performance Computing, with a client that has not been disclosed as an investment-grade enterprise.The contract is expected to add approximately $70 million in annual revenue for HIVE, bringing BUZZ HPC's total annual revenue to about $180 million.

Nasdaq-listed e-cigarette wholesaler Greenlane Holdings shifted to a corporate crypto treasury strategy by the end of 2025, focusing on the Berachain native token BERA instead of Bitcoin, and emulating the Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) model to accumulate a single asset through equity and debt financing, disclosing per-share assets. In October 2025, it completed approximately $110.7 million in private placement for the "BERA Strategy." By the end of 2025, it held 51.6 million BERA (costing about $58 million, with a market value of about $36.6 million), and continued to increase its holdings to 81.3 million in the first half of 2026, with a total cost of about $70 million.The second-quarter report disclosed on August 14, 2026, showed a net loss of $24.8 million, of which about $19.1 million came from non-cash impairment of BERA; cash and equivalents fell to $6.1 million, with an additional approximately $8.1 million in aUSDC and sUSDe reserves, and current liabilities of $6.5 million. As of June 30, the fair value of BERA holdings was approximately $16 million, down about 77% from cost in less than a year. The traditional e-cigarette business has shrunk to a nearly revenue-free agency model, and Proof of Liquidity staking returns are insufficient to offset treasury losses.In March 2026, Nasdaq issued a delisting decision due to minimum bid price, the company appealed and regained compliance on April 27 after implementing a 1-for-8 reverse stock split in April. Additionally, there is a Nasdaq minimum listing security market value of $5 million.