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Italy’s biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo has sold most of its Bitcoin ETF holdings while surprisingly increasing its investment in a staked Ethereum ETF. 

The shift suggests the bank is looking beyond price gains and focusing more on earning steady crypto rewards.

Intesa Sanpaolo Reduces Its Bitcoin ExposureAccording to its latest second quarter 2026 Form 13F filing, Intesa Sanpaolo made major changes to its crypto portfolio.

The bank reduced its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by almost 94%, cutting its position from 646,809 shares to just 40,723 shares.

It also almost completely exited its bullish Bitcoin call options, reducing the position by 99.3%. 

At the same time, the filing revealed a new put option position tied to 500,000 IBIT shares, showing the bank is also using hedging strategies instead of taking only bullish bets.

Italy’s Largest Bank Intesa Sanpaolo Cuts IBIT Stake 94%, Triples Staked Ethereum ETF Holdings

Italy’s largest banking group, Intesa Sanpaolo, reported in its latest Form 13F that, as of June 30, its common-share position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) fell 93.7%… pic.twitter.com/A5YjlWyym9

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 4, 2026 Overall, the Bitcoin reduction is estimated to be worth around $22 million.

Why Did the Bank Shift From Bitcoin to Ethereum?Experts say this does not mean the bank is against crypto. It is simply changing where it puts its money.

Unlike spot Bitcoin ETFs, staked Ethereum ETFs generate staking rewards in addition to price movement. This allows investors to earn ongoing yield while holding the asset.

Many analysts believe this is the main reason behind the bank’s portfolio shift.

Therefore, While cutting Bitcoin, Intesa Sanpaolo almost tripled its investment in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF.

Its holdings increased from 116,200 shares to 349,600 shares, adding roughly $5.6 million in Ethereum exposure.

XRP Remains Untouched While Solana Loses SupportThe filing also shows that Intesa Sanpaolo kept its XRP investment unchanged.

The bank continues to hold 712,319 shares of the Grayscale XRP Trust, showing it has maintained confidence in XRP despite changing other positions.

However, its view on Solana appears very different.

The bank almost completely exited its Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, reducing its holdings from 2,817 shares to just seven shares.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s latest filing reflects a broader change in how large financial institutions are approaching digital assets.

Story Ends Here

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Digital assets firm Tether has released its second-quarter 2026 financial figures, highlighting steady operational results and strategic adjustments to its reserve portfolio. The company, known for issuing the USDT stablecoin, recorded approximately $1.5 billion in net operating profit for the three months ending June 30, 2026.

This performance was primarily fueled by income generated from its substantial holdings of US Treasury securities and repurchase agreement activities.

According to the attestation prepared by independent accounting firm BDO, Tether’s total assets stood at roughly $187.75 billion at the close of the quarter.

Liabilities totaled about $183.64 billion, the bulk of which related to issued digital tokens.

This left a reserve surplus of approximately $4.11 billion, confirming that assets continued to exceed obligations despite market fluctuations.

Circulating USDT reached about $184.6 billion, representing a modest increase of roughly $446 million from the prior quarter and pushing the token’s share of the overall stablecoin market above 60 percent even as the broader sector experienced contraction.

A notable development involved the expansion of physical gold holdings. Tether acquired an additional 14 tons of bullion during the period, elevating its total gold reserves to more than 146 tons.

These holdings were valued at around $18.8 billion at quarter-end.

The move underscores gold’s growing role within the company’s diversified reserve strategy, which remains heavily weighted toward short-duration, high-quality liquid assets such as US government-backed instruments.

Concurrently, Tether reduced its exposure to secured lending by approximately $2.38 billion, equivalent to a 15 percent decline.CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized the resilience of the firm’s approach amid volatility in both gold and Bitcoin markets.

He noted that USDT stayed fully backed throughout the quarter, with reserves still surpassing liabilities by $4.11 billion.

Ardoino highlighted the strong contribution from Treasury and repo performance, the continued status as one of the world’s largest purchasers of US Treasuries, the gold additions, and growth in the global user base exceeding 30 million additional participants.

These outcomes, he stated, illustrate the company’s liquidity, discipline, and capacity to navigate market cycles while supporting hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

The attestation also reaffirmed that the majority of reserves are allocated to instruments providing ready liquidity for potential redemptions under varying conditions.

Work continued on a more comprehensive Big Four audit process, alongside broader efforts to develop technology and financial infrastructure.

Bitcoin holdings increased modestly during the quarter as well, though market price movements affected the reported dollar valuations of both gold and Bitcoin positions.

The Q2 results portray a stablecoin issuer maintaining operational strength and actively refining its asset mix.

By prioritizing high-quality liquid assets while selectively increasing exposure to physical gold, Tether aims to balance yield generation with resilience.

The reported profit and reserve buffer provide further evidence of the digital asset firm’s ability to generate returns from traditional fixed-income instruments even as it expands into alternative store-of-value assets. User growth and market-share gains for USDT further signal sustained demand for its products across global markets.

Prominent angel investor and early Uber backer Jason Calacanis has once again taken aim at Bitcoin, saying he would rather invest in projects building real products.

Calacanis wrote that if BTC were owned by his brother, he would recommend selling half of it and reallocating the proceeds into "productive projects" such as Solana and Bittensor (TAO).

"The BTC power bottom is in!" Calacanis joked before adding that Solana and TAO are "actually delivering new products — not just projects and promises," he said. 

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No Solana investment For years, Calacanis had insisted that he had never owned Solana and questioned the blockchain's real-world utility.

In late 2024, the prominent venture capitalist said he had "never owned SOL." He claimed that no one had been able to explain meaningful applications for the network beyond speculation.  

He reiterated that position several times through early 2025, stressing that he owned only Bitcoin while distancing himself from both Solana and XRP.

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Calacanis has recently become much more positive on Solana. In recent interviews and posts, he has argued that entrepreneurs are building on "TAO, SOL, etc." and that Solana is producing real products.

Still, he has not publicly disclosed any investment in the token or direct ties to Solana Labs via his launch venture firm. 

Long-running criticism of StrategyEven though Calacanis is a longtime Bitcoin holder, he has been a very harsh critic of Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor. 

Earlier this year, the investor argued that Bitcoin has a "Strategy problem." He is convinced that Saylor's company has become too dominant within the ecosystem and is distorting the market narrative. 

He has repeatedly urged investors to buy Bitcoin directly instead of purchasing Strategy shares. The firm's financing model creates unnecessary risks, according to Calacanis. 

In previous remarks, Calacanis said he would "never touch" Strategy stock even if it suffered a steep decline. He claims that there should be no taxpayer-funded bailout if the company were ever to run into financial trouble. 

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, has significantly changed the composition of its crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings, according to its latest mandatory disclosure to US regulators.

Sharp reduction in Bitcoin ETF exposureAccording to the Form 13F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 31, the bank’s common shareholding in the iShares Bitcoin Trust fund fell dramatically between March and June. The reported position decreased from 646,809 shares on March 31 to 40,723 by June 30, marking an approximate 94% reduction.

Intesa Sanpaolo also reduced its exposure through call options. The underlying share count tied to these positions fell steeply, from 2,496,500 to 18,000, which reflects a drop of over 99%. Additionally, the June filing introduced a new put option tied to 500,000 underlying shares, a position that did not appear in earlier disclosures.

Asset/PositionMarch 31 HoldingsJune 30 HoldingsChange (%)iShares Bitcoin Trust (Common Shares)646,80940,723-93.7%iShares Bitcoin Trust (Call Options)2,496,50018,000-99.3%iShares Bitcoin Trust (Put Options)0500,000New PositionThe Form 13F report, a quarterly filing required by institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management, only reveals positions held as of the end of the reporting period. It does not specify strike prices, expiry dates, or whether options were sold short, leaving the bank’s precise strategy and risk exposure open to interpretation.

Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s leading financial institution, with operations spanning commercial banking, asset management, and insurance in Europe and beyond.

Ethereum positions surge as Solana holdings all but disappearWhile reducing its Bitcoin ETF exposure, Intesa Sanpaolo increased its stake in the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust fund. The bank tripled its holding, from 116,200 shares on March 31 to 349,600 shares at the end of June.

Meanwhile, its investment in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF was almost entirely eliminated, dropping from 2,817 shares to just seven between quarters. Holdings of the Grayscale XRP Trust ETF remained steady at 712,319 shares, showing little to no movement after accounting for possible trading activity that left the quarter-end balance unchanged.

ETFMarch 31 SharesJune 30 SharesChangeiShares Staked Ethereum Trust116,200349,600+201%Bitwise Solana Staking ETF2,8177-99.8%Grayscale XRP Trust ETF712,319712,3190% Intesa Sanpaolo reported a sharp reduction in both its Bitcoin ETF and call option positions, while increasing its staked Ethereum fund exposure more than threefold. The bank’s Solana holdings nearly vanished, with XRP balances remaining unaltered over the quarter.

Form 13F filings reveal only a snapshot at the end of each quarter, presenting limited insight into daily trading or rationale behind trades. The filings do not capture written or short option strategies and lack detail concerning strike prices or expiration dates.

Due to these disclosure gaps, outside observers cannot definitively calculate the bank’s net exposure to any crypto asset based only on publicly available records.

Nevertheless, the data show Intesa Sanpaolo’s declared crypto investments now favor staked Ethereum over Bitcoin, with dramatically reduced exposure to Solana and steady XRP holdings.

Mini dictionary: Form 13F, a quarterly report that US institutional investment managers managing at least $100 million in certain securities must file with the SEC, disclosing their equity holdings as of the quarter’s end.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Jim Cramer, who occasionally makes headlines with his statements about cryptocurrencies, this time spoke about Bitcoin.

CNBC’s famous host Jim Cramer announced he would sell all of his Bitcoin holdings due to concerns that quantum computers could compromise Bitcoin’s security.

Cramer stated that he made this decision after an interview he had with IBM CEO Arvind Krishna on the Mad Money program the night before. Krishna had said that quantum computers could affect cryptocurrency encryption systems within 3-4 years and that investors should be “paranoid” about it.

The announcement quickly spread within the crypto community. Many investors and commentators revived the “inverse Cramer” joke, recalling that Cramer’s past sell calls often coincided with market lows. Following the announcement, Bitcoin traded around $63,700, up approximately 1 percent in the last 24 hours.

The potential of quantum computers to break Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography has long been debated. However, experts say that such a threat has not yet materialized in practice and that Bitcoin may transition to quantum-resistant algorithms.

*This is not investment advice.

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American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC) mined roughly 932 BTC in the second quarter, its highest quarterly production on record, and grew its strategic reserve to about 8,002 units on June 30.

Net loss came to $57.2 million, narrowed from $81.8 million in the first quarter. A $71.2 million non-cash loss on digital assets ran through operating expenses, and the operating loss was $74.1 million while Bitcoin fell about 12% over the quarter.

CryptoPotato reported on the $81.8 million first-quarter loss that landed alongside a then-record 817 Bitcoin mined in May.

Reserve Climbs Toward 8,300 Bitcoin Eric Trump, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, said on X that the reserve had grown to roughly 8,300 BTC as of August 3 and described American Bitcoin as the “#16 Largest Publicly Traded Bitcoin Company in the World.”

Just wrapped $ABTC‘s earnings call

Q2 2026 was our strongest quarter of Bitcoin production yet. As of today, our Bitcoin reserve has grown to ~8,300 BTC!

Gross margins have held at ~49%+ every quarter since launch. SG&A was just ~11% of revenue in Q2, one of the leanest cost… pic.twitter.com/4qLT2YeILJ

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) August 3, 2026

The company has traded on Nasdaq since its September 2025 debut through a stock merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.

“Our conviction in Bitcoin remains absolute, and our goal is simple: to deliver relentless growth, quarter after quarter, and build the preeminent American Bitcoin powerhouse for the long haul,” Trump noted in the earnings release.

The owned fleet stood at about 89,242 miners and 28.1 EH/s at quarter-end, with the 11,298 Bitmain units that added 3.05 EH/s at Hut 8’s Drumheller site fully energized in April. The operational fleet ran 58,999 miners at 25.0 EH/s.

American Bitcoin valued the reserve at about $478.9 million in its quarterly report, against a Bitcoin price of $59,847 on June 30.

You may also like: Lucky Solo Bitcoin Miner Lands $200K BTC Reward: But There’s a Catch (Flash News) Michael Saylor Breaks Silence After Strategy’s Third BTC Sale (Flash News) Here’s Why Crypto Traders Need to Watch the Fed’s H.4.1 Report This Week Mining Revenue Up 8% Mining revenue reached $67.0 million, up about 8% from $62.1 million in the first quarter. Moreover, revenue per Bitcoin mined slipped roughly 5% to about $71,900.

Cost to mine held near flat at about $36,500 per Bitcoin, driven by marginally higher energy costs at selective sites. General and administrative expense was $7.7 million, close to 11% of revenue.

American Bitcoin effected a 1-for-15 reverse stock split on July 2, cutting shares issued from 1,092,295,800 to roughly 73 million. Class A stock resumed split-adjusted trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on July 6 under the same ticker.

The split was “primarily intended to increase the per-share price” of the stock, the firm stated in its July 1 announcement, and “to maintain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for maintaining its Nasdaq listing.” Stockholders approved the measure at the annual meeting on June 22.

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Michael Saylor has responded to criticism around Strategy’s recent Bitcoin sale. He stood up to the renewed discussion around his famous “Never Sell Your Bitcoin” mantra.

Michael Saylor Clarifies Stance On ‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin’ Idea In a post on X, Saylor defended his position. He wrote, “When I say ‘Never Sell Your Bitcoin,’ I speak as one saver to another.” He added, “I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi.”

Saylor also drew a distinction between his personal holdings and the company’s treasury operations. He stated, “Strategy is a public company, not my wallet.” He further noted that since 2020, the company has disclosed that it “may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital.” According to Saylor, “Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.”

The comment was made in response to Strategy’s announcement on selling a part of its Bitcoin holdings. However, in a sarcastic comment, crypto commentator Tony Edward replied to Saylor’s post with “Sure buddy.”

When I say “Never Sell Your Bitcoin,” I speak as one saver to another. I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi. Strategy is a public company, not my wallet. Since 2020, it has disclosed it may buy or sell $BTC to manage capital. Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) August 3, 2026

Edward also attached an older video of Saylor talking about the firm’s Bitcoin stance. In the clip, Saylor says, “So, we’re not gonna be selling. We’re gonna be buying Bitcoin.”  The video soon picked up momentum as people made comparisons between the previous video and the company’s recent deals.

The backlash comes as an SEC filing made Monday, August 3, revealed that Strategy sold 1,638 BTC in the last week. This transaction was executed at a median price of $63,957 per Bitcoin.

After the deal, Strategy had 842,138 BTC in its portfolio. The reserve was acquired total cost of $63.51 billion, averaging $75,419 per Bitcoin, per the filing.

How Did Strategy Use The BTC Sale Proceeds? The latest sale was Strategy’s first Bitcoin transaction since early July. In the first week of that month, the company has sold 2,225 BTC. It hasn’t made a Bitcoin purchase in over five weeks. The last one was June 22, when Strategy purchased 520 BTC.

Strategy also revealed how it applied the funds it raised with the most recent sale. It set aside $52.4 million to pay the dividends to STRC shareholders. Additional $52.3 million was spent on the repurchasing of STRC shares through its Digital Securities Repurchase Program.

In the filing, Strategy noted that it bought 912,143 shares of STRC for $81.2 million. This was the second straight week of buybacks as the stock continued trading below its $100 par value.

Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

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Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

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South Korea’s semiconductor cluster has received enhanced policy support, with the government covering up to 100% of its infrastructure construction costs.

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Strategy Discloses Sale of 1,637 Bitcoin Last Week Worth Over $102 Million

Strategy disclosed that it sold 1,637 Bitcoin last week, worth over $102 million, reducing its holdings to 842,138 BTC.

From FTX to AI Fund Crisis: Nick Tomaino Says Elite Investors Often Ignore Risks Chasing Narratives

1confirmation founder Nick Tomaino commented on the crisis surrounding the AI investment fund Situational Awareness LP, saying the recent discussion around the fund reflects a long-standing problem in investing circles: many so-called "elite" and "smart money" lack basic risk judgment skills. Tomaino said he doesn't know all the details of the incident and doesn't want to comment on the specific blow-up process, but he believes a deeper issue is that many investors, driven by wealth and attention, gradually neglect facts, risks, and judgment of others. Citing the FTX collapse as an example, he said many people could sense something was off after brief interactions with the founder, but a large amount of "smart money" continued to invest and endorse it because they were chasing returns and the market narrative. Tomaino pointed out that a similar phenomenon occurred with the founder of Situational Awareness and the investment circles backing the fund: the same type of investors chased grand narratives, provided capital, and fueled publicity, only for the fund to run into trouble due to high-risk bets and a market reversal. He called on industry participants to learn the lesson and avoid repeating the cycle of "chasing hotspots — ignoring risks — collectively stepping on landmines."

BlackRock’s IBIT Transfers 1,948.07 BTC to Coinbase Prime

BlackRock's IBIT transferred 1,948.07 BTC to Coinbase Prime, worth over $122 million. As of July 31, IBIT held 737,118.26 BTC (approximately $46.18 billion). The fund's return since inception through June 30 was 12.18%, while its one-year return stands at -45.62%.

SK Hynix ADR "Quiet Period" Ending Soon, Market Bets on Upcoming Shareholder Return Plan Announcement

Citrini analyst Jukan stated that South Korean media reported that SK Hynix has not yet launched the shareholder return plan previously expected by the market, possibly due to information disclosure restrictions after its US ADR listing. According to reports, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules stipulate that for a period after a company completes its ADR listing, disclosure of material information not included in the prospectus is restricted, to avoid newly listed companies announcing important matters that differ from the listing documents, thereby triggering risks under U.S. securities laws. The market generally believes that the restriction period is 25 days from the ADR listing date (including weekends). Since SK Hynix’s ADR began trading in the US on the 10th of last month, the relevant restrictions are expected to end after the evening of August 4th Korean time. Analysts believe that once the disclosure window opens, SK Hynix may announce a specific shareholder return plan at any time, including share buybacks, dividends, or other capital return measures. The market is closely watching the potential impact of this news on the company’s stock price and the South Korean semiconductor sector.

An early Ethereum whale sold 2,250 ETH after 3 years of dormancy, worth $4.15 million

An early Ethereum whale has sold 2,250 ETH worth $4.15 million after 3 years of dormancy. These ETH were purchased by the whale 8 years ago at an average price of just $489.

Bitmine added 10,399 ETH last week, raising total holdings to approximately 5.79 million ETH

Ethereum treasury company Bitmine Immersion Technologies disclosed that it added 10,399 ETH last week. The company’s current crypto asset holdings include 5,797,813 ETH, 209 BTC, equity in Eightco Holdings worth $61 million, and shares in Beast Industries worth $173 million.

A whale address holding 500 BTC was activated after 12.7 years of dormancy

An address holding 500 BTC was activated after 12.7 years of dormancy. These bitcoins are now worth $31,315,572, whereas in 2013 they were worth only $507,500.

South Korean chip unicorn DeepX valuation soars to $2.2 billion, roughly quadrupling from the previous round

South Korean AI chip design company DeepX Co. recently completed a new funding round, with its valuation roughly quadrupling from the previous round, reflecting still-high market enthusiasm for investment in companies along the AI industry chain. According to people familiar with the matter, the startup, headquartered in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, was valued at about 3.14 trillion Korean won (equivalent to $2.2 billion) in the latest transaction. DeepX has signed the first agreements of its Series D round, securing 42 billion won from existing investors BNW Investment Co. and DS Asset Management Co.

BlackRock launches two tokenized money market funds BSTBL and BRSRV, expanding blockchain cash management footprint

Asset management giant BlackRock announced the launch of two tokenized money market products, further expanding its blockchain-based cash management business, including the BlackRock Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL) and the BlackRock Daily Reinvestment Stablecoin Reserve Vehicle (BRSRV). BlackRock stated that the new products combine the liquidity and stability of traditional money market funds with blockchain infrastructure, providing institutional investors with more flexible cash management tools between traditional finance and digital asset markets. Details: BSTBL will offer tokenized shares on Ethereum built on top of an existing money market fund. These on-chain shares can be transferred between approved wallets subject to regulatory requirements. BNY Mellon will serve as transfer agent and tokenization service provider for BSTBL. BRSRV is a novel tokenized money fund designed for digital-native institutional investors, supporting daily dividend reinvestment and multi-blockchain access, and can be used for various digital asset applications including stablecoin reserve management. Securitize will serve as transfer agent and tokenization service provider for the fund. Both products invest in cash, short-term U.S. Treasury securities, and overnight repurchase agreements backed by U.S. Treasury securities, aiming to generate yield while maintaining principal stability and liquidity. As of now, BlackRock’s Cash Management Group manages nearly $1.1 trillion in cash strategy assets, covering a broad range of investors including corporations, banks, foundations, insurance companies, and public institutions. The launch of tokenized money market funds is seen as an important step for traditional asset managers to further venture into RWA (tokenization of real-world assets) and on-chain financial infrastructure.

A mysterious whale withdrew 200 BTC from Binance 4 hours ago, having now accumulated a total of 74,265 ETH and 1,400 WBTC

A mysterious whale has built a position of over $220 million in ETH and WBTC since July. The whale withdrew 200 BTC from Binance 4 hours ago and has now accumulated a total of 74,265 ETH and 1,400 WBTC, with average costs of around $1,770 and $63,887.37 respectively, sitting on an unrealized profit of $3.8 million. The ETH position is in profit while the WBTC position is underwater.

De¹ officially launches the first Financial World Model, building on-chain financial infrastructure for agents

De¹ officially launched the first Financial World Model, aiming to bring real capital execution and continuous learning into a single closed loop, and relying on real-time market data to build a high-fidelity financial intelligence training and execution environment. The model will serve as a universal base layer, fine-tuned for different financial scenarios such as high-frequency trading, perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and foreign exchange, and will support continuous learning and optimization for both human participants and AI agents in real markets, becoming the infrastructure for any future intelligent execution. De¹ also announced the integration of OpenOcean’s core infrastructure capabilities into its existing technology stack to enhance real liquidity access and market feedback capabilities, accelerating the deployment of the first Financial World Model.

Sources: Iran has rejected the U.S. proposal on the Strait of Hormuz

Tehran has rejected the latest U.S. proposal, insisting it will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz before the war ends. The source also said that Washington has made concessions regarding the closure of the southern shipping lane. These claims have not been independently verified.

KKR raises a record $19.2 billion infrastructure fund, betting on data center transformation

KKR has raised its largest infrastructure fund ever, aiming to capture opportunities in data centers and related assets. The firm said in a statement Monday that the KKR Global Infrastructure Investors V fund raised $19.2 billion, primarily investing in North America and Western Europe. For this new capital pool, the firm sees three key investment areas: digital assets (such as data centers and fiber), energy and power transition, and storage and logistics.

Amazon jumps over 4% in early trading, market cap hits $3.05 trillion, a new all-time high

The world’s largest cloud provider Amazon surged over 4% in early trading, reaching a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a new record high. Amazon AWS cloud business revenue growth hit an 18-quarter high. The company raised its full-year 2026 capex guidance and gave an optimistic outlook on AI’s long-term trillion-dollar revenue potential; the trend of AI computing power outstripping supply is expected to persist. Institutions anticipate that, as commercialization of generative AI accelerates and enterprise AI applications and cloud-based agents continue to penetrate, the world’s nine major cloud service providers (CSPs) will usher in a wave of upward capex revisions by the end of July. Major domestic and overseas companies are simultaneously ramping up smart computing centers, GPU clusters, proprietary chips, and supporting infrastructure construction, with computing power expansion exceeding previous market expectations.

Google's total market cap reaches $4.51 trillion, surpassing Apple to rank second globally

The U.S. stock market cap rankings have changed again, with Google surpassing Apple to rank second globally. As of press time, Nvidia shares fell 1.03%, with a total market cap of $4.81 trillion. Google-A shares rose 3.5%, total market cap at $4.51 trillion. Apple shares fell 0.7%, total market cap at $4.48 trillion.

Marvell to launch AI memory and storage solutions, says memory is becoming as important as compute

Data infrastructure semiconductor company Marvell announced it will launch AI memory and storage solutions from August 4 to 6. The company stated that as AI inference scales up, memory capacity, bandwidth, and connectivity are becoming as important as compute. Larger models and KV Cache are driving a surge in memory demand, and memory capacity, bandwidth, and data connectivity are becoming as important as computing power. New technologies improve hardware efficiency by optimizing data proximity to compute, and CXL, high-speed storage, and optical interconnects may be key to the next phase of data center expansion.

Trump pressures oil companies: Lower your prices

U.S. President Trump pressures oil companies, saying: Oil companies, lower your prices. Trump also stated: We have the largest tax cuts and employment numbers in history, the largest foreign investment in the U.S. in world history, a fully secure border, a huge victory in Venezuela, denuclearization of Iran, universally recognized respect and success, and more? Don't believe the radical left's fake polling data.

Analysis: U.S. July PMI data remains stable, but the report hides warning signals

U.S. July S&P Global Manufacturing PMI final reading 53.9, expected 53.8, previous 53.8. Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Although the U.S. PMI indicators remained stable in July, the survey data reveal some warning signals for the future growth trajectory. The pace of production growth slowed noticeably in July, linked to the third consecutive month of weak new business growth, reflecting a reduction in inventory backlogs following exceptionally strong precautionary inventory accumulation in the second quarter. Additionally, increasing supply chain delays, a decline in exports, and further customer resistance to high prices added greater pressure. Although raw material cost inflation eased slightly, inflation pressure remains high due to elevated energy prices and tariffs. In response, producers either tried to raise selling prices to protect profits or endeavored to improve production efficiency, so factory gate price inflation remained high in July while employment growth also flattened. In the current environment, business optimism about the growth outlook has fallen to its lowest since last October, highlighting the downside risks to the near-term outlook."

SpaceX's first post-IPO earnings report about to be unveiled: Potential 'extreme expectation bias'

SpaceX (SPCX) will report its second quarter 2026 earnings after the U.S. stock market closes on Tuesday. This is the company's first quarterly performance disclosure since completing its IPO in June. The market will use this report to assess the actual performance of its rocket launch, satellite internet, and artificial intelligence businesses, and to judge whether the current high valuation can be supported by revenue growth and AI investment returns. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Colin Canfield previously stated that the first quarterly report could carry an "extreme expectation bias," meaning actual results may differ significantly from market forecasts. According to FactSet data, the market expects SpaceX's Q2 revenue to be about $6.88 billion, with a loss per share of 23 cents; it also expects quarterly EBITDA of about $2.1 billion, full-year revenue of about $39 billion, and EBITDA of about $17.3 billion. Before the earnings release, SpaceX's stock price has remained under pressure. After listing, the stock once rose to a historical closing high of $201.80, then quickly pulled back, nearly halving from the high. Market data shows that SpaceX's market cap once approached $3 trillion after listing and has now fallen to about $1.4 trillion.

An ancient Bitcoin whale transfers 500 BTC, suspected due to Coldcard incident to strengthen security measures

An ancient Bitcoin whale, 18TExP, after over 12 years of dormancy, transferred all 500 Bitcoin (approximately $31.27 million) to a new wallet one hour ago. The address had no prior fund activity for a long time, and this large transfer has attracted market attention. On-chain analysts speculate that the holder may have increased asset security awareness due to the recent Coldcard security incident, migrating BTC to a new wallet address. It is not yet confirmed whether this transfer is directly related to the Coldcard incident, but recent discussions around hardware wallet and multi-signature wallet security risks are driving some long-term holders to reassess asset custody solutions.

Musk responds to 'Now is the time to buy SpaceX': I think so too

In response to community user Gali saying that looking back historically, the current SpaceX trend "will be a once-in-a-lifetime buying opportunity," Musk retweeted and replied: "I think so too."

New AI investment narrative emerges: Google DeepMind executive says RSI may replace AGI as the ultimate goal

Jasjeet Sekhon, Chief Strategy Officer of Google DeepMind, said that the unprecedented capital investment in the current AI industry is partly driven by betting on the future capability of AI systems to achieve "Recursive Self-Improvement" (RSI). Recursive self-improvement refers to AI systems being able to autonomously analyze and optimize their own capabilities, design more efficient algorithms, improve model architectures, and drive continuous enhancement of the next generation of AI systems. Sekhon believes RSI is becoming the new core investment narrative in the AI industry after AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). Sekhon recently stated that infrastructure investments of this scale in AI require a higher-level technological breakthrough to support their long-term value, and RSI is one of the key directions. He pointed out that the AI industry is gradually shifting from simply expanding model scale and computing power to exploring more autonomous AI agents and intelligent systems. If AI can achieve continuous self-improvement, it could change software development, scientific research, and enterprise production methods, and further increase the expected return on AI infrastructure investment. However, RSI is still in the exploratory stage. Although AI models already possess capabilities like code generation, tool use, and assisted R&D, there are still technical, safety, and controllability challenges before achieving truly autonomous iteration and capability leaps without massive human involvement. As tech giants continue to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in building AI data centers and computing infrastructure, the market is watching whether these investments can ultimately push AI from "scaled training" to a new stage of "self-evolution."

Research report analysis: Overseas vendors' cloud revenue maintains high growth, AI applications expected to accelerate development

China Merchants Securities published a research report stating that through SK Hynix and Microsoft's earnings reports, we can draw the following conclusions: The AI industry is still facing genuine supply constraints, and no obvious overall surplus has yet appeared. Large tech companies are still increasing AI infrastructure investment, customers' demand for additional supply continues to grow, and market concerns about AI computing power surplus temporarily lack sufficient evidence from earnings reports. Looking at Microsoft's computing power utilization rate and SK Hynix's order situation, the current industry contradiction is mainly manifested as insufficient supply of high-performance computing power, advanced storage, and data center supporting infrastructure, rather than massive idle equipment. Therefore, short-term investment opportunities can still focus on links that can alleviate computing power bottlenecks.

Analysis: U.S. manufacturing expansion speed hits four-year high, but bond market falls into 'credibility blind spot'

U.S. manufacturing has shown surprising growth resilience. According to the latest data released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), national manufacturing activity has expanded for seven consecutive months, with the July manufacturing index jumping to 55.6, the highest level since May 2022. This figure significantly exceeds the 50-point boom-bust line, marking the sector's strongest growth cycle in more than four years. The hot performance of manufacturing and the inflation threat from geopolitical tensions have sent the U.S. Treasury market into violent turbulence. Long-term Treasuries have recently suffered fierce selling, with yields surging to near 20-year highs. Mark Cabana, head of U.S. rates strategy at Bank of America, commented that the bond market turmoil was a "textbook inflation credibility shock." Cabana pointed out that the core reason for the market turmoil is not the data itself, but the Fed's lack of policy communication. He specifically mentioned the performance of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at a recent press conference, arguing that Warsh failed to clearly articulate how the Fed will achieve its 2% inflation target.

Data: 300 billion yuan poured into Chinese AI startups in the first half, venture capital accelerating into AI and hard tech

Looking at global experience, the rise of many leading technology enterprises has been inseparable from venture capital support. In the first half of this year, investment in high-tech industries grew by 4.6% year-on-year, and behind this figure is the continued recovery of venture capital activity. Industry insiders generally believe that the development of AI technology is the core driving force behind this round of recovery in the venture capital market, with funds accelerating into areas such as AI, quantum technology, and computing power. Data shows that in the first half of 2026, total financing for AI startups in China exceeded 300 billion yuan, surpassing the full-year total for 2025. The concentrated influx of funds has led to a rapid rise in valuations, with “scrambling for allocation” becoming a keyword in the primary market.

POAP Announces End of Operations: Crypto Market Cycles and Distribution Models Cannot Support Long-Term Sustainable Growth

Isabel, co-founder of the Ethereum ecosystem digital collectibles project POAP, announced that after more than five years of operation, POAP will officially cease development. Looking back, Isabel noted that over the past few years POAP has issued millions of digital collectibles across hundreds of communities and partnered with global institutions including Coinbase, American Express, Warner Music Group, and Bayer. She said that POAP holds special meaning for many people, but the crypto industry’s funding cycles and distribution models make it extremely difficult for a project to build a sustainable business model without sacrificing its original values. At the same time, building on top of rapidly changing and relatively fragile technology infrastructure, amid a hype-driven market cycle, further increased the difficulty of long-term development. Isabel summarized three lessons from POAP: First, user community is a company’s most underestimated asset. If a product truly builds an emotional connection, users will proactively spread the brand, and the community’s value far exceeds traditional marketing. Second, connecting people remains the core value. While the market often focuses on the latest technology and price speculation, POAP’s use at events, classes, and hackathons gave users a genuine sense of participation and belonging. Third, long-term accumulation and brand trust will become an important moat in the future. As product development cycles continue to shorten and distribution increasingly relies on technical capabilities, users place greater value on whether a brand can sustain growth and adapt to market changes. Isabel expressed gratitude to everyone who supported POAP. She has not yet determined her next steps, but is pondering how “go-to-market (GTM) strategy in the AI era” will change. POAP was founded around 2021 and was one of the significant representatives of early NFT applications. Its core concept was recording offline event participation experiences through on-chain credentials, and it was widely used in Ethereum community events, conferences, and the developer ecosystem. This shutdown also reflects the long-term challenges that some Web3 applications face when transitioning from community value to commercialization.

South Korea’s Single-Stock Leveraged ETF Regulation Questioned: Samsung, SK Hynix Crash Risk Not Tested Before Approval

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), before approving the launch of single-stock leveraged ETFs, completed product structure risk reviews but did not conduct stress tests on the specific ETF products, nor did it simulate the market impact if core heavyweight stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were to plummet significantly. According to documents disclosed on the 3rd by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Park Sung-hoon, the FSC’s submitted risk analysis materials mainly included internal product risk review documents, individual stock market trading conditions, and a previously published research report on leveraged and inverse ETFs by the Korea Capital Market Institute. An FSC official stated that the submitted materials already covered all existing analysis and confirmed: “The Financial Services Commission did not conduct its own stress tests on single-stock leveraged ETFs, nor did it commission external institutions to carry out stress tests before the products were listed.” Earlier, Park Sung-hoon had asked the FSC at a National Policy Committee meeting to explain whether extreme scenario tests and other risk assessments were conducted before introducing single-stock leveraged ETFs. FSC Chairman Lee Bok-hyun responded at the time that the relevant products had undergone “thorough review” and promised to provide analysis materials. However, the final submitted documents did not include any quantitative risk tests for scenarios where individual stocks crash. South Korean regulators stated that to mitigate risk, investor protection mechanisms for single-stock leveraged ETFs have been established, including restrictions on credit and margin trading, requirements for sufficient liquidity in underlying stocks, mandatory basic education, and investor qualification requirements. Market participants noted that as the AI chip boom makes large-cap tech stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix investment hotspots, risk management issues for single-stock leveraged ETFs are drawing more attention. Whether regulators will need to establish stricter stress testing and risk disclosure mechanisms for high-volatility stocks in the future has become a new regulatory topic in South Korea’s capital markets.

Citadel Securities: New Debt to Finance AI Chips to Exceed $500 Billion by 2028

Citadel Securities forecasts that new debt raised to finance AI chips will exceed $500 billion by 2028.

Trump Announces Nothing Enters Iran Without U.S. Approval

U.S. President Trump announced that nothing can enter Iran without U.S. approval, and the Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the U.S. Navy.

Tether Gold Positions Expand Against the Trend with 9.5% Growth, Investor Holdings Rise to 612,823.66 Tokens

Tether’s tokenized gold product Tether Gold (XAU₮) saw investor holdings grow 9.5% in the second quarter, indicating sustained demand for on-chain gold assets. Data shows that as of June 30, 2026, XAU₮ investor holdings increased from 559,598.64 tokens at the end of Q1 to 612,823.66 tokens, a quarterly increase of 53,225.02 tokens, corresponding to approximately 1.66 tonnes of physical gold. Over the same period, international gold prices fell 14.1%, closing the quarter at $4,008.02 per ounce, yet investors continued to buy XAU₮. Tether noted that this demonstrates demand is not solely driven by gold’s upward price movement; some investors also view price pullbacks as an opportunity to increase their exposure to physical gold. As of the end of Q2, XAU₮ reserves were as follows: Physical gold reserves: 707,747.139 troy ounces (approx. 22.01 tonnes) Gold backing ratio: 1:1, each XAU₮ token backed by at least 1 ounce of physical gold Market value: approximately $2.837 billion Tokens sold: 612,823.66 tokens. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the Q2 gold market correction validated XAU₮’s demand resilience, as investors not only bought during gold’s rise but also added gold allocations on-chain during market pullbacks. Additionally, Tether International SA de CV disclosed cumulative purchases of approximately 27.1 tonnes of gold in the first half of 2026, averaging about 4.5 tonnes per month. If that entity’s holdings were included in global gold reserve rankings, its roughly 150-tonne scale would rank third globally, behind only Poland and China.

Michael Saylor: I Have Never Sold Bitcoin, My Conviction in Bitcoin Remains Unwavering

Strategy founder Michael Saylor posted on X: “When I say ‘never sell your bitcoin,’ I am speaking as one saver to another. I have never sold my bitcoin, not a single satoshi. Strategy is a publicly traded company, not my personal wallet. Since 2020, the company has disclosed that it may buy or sell BTC for capital management purposes. Our shared conviction in bitcoin remains consistent.”

FalconX Cuts 10% of Staff to Navigate Crypto Downturn, Withdraws Singapore License Application

Digital asset brokerage FalconX has cut 10% of its workforce to cope with the prolonged downturn in the crypto market. Sources said about half of the staff in the Singapore office, including senior executives and sales and accounting personnel, were laid off. The company is adjusting its strategy to focus on crypto derivatives trading that does not require a license and plans to withdraw its license application submitted to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company stated it is concentrating resources on priority areas while maintaining its Asia-Pacific business and expanding regulated operations in Europe.

White House Has Not Responded to New Compromise on Clarity Act Ethics Clause, Biggest Point of Contention Remains Unresolved

The White House has yet to respond to the alternative ethics clause proposal put forward by Senators Tillis and Gallego, leaving the largest point of contention in the Clarity Act still unresolved.

Boltz: Suspends Platform Services Due to Persistent AI-Assisted Attacks, User Funds Unaffected

Bitcoin non-custodial cross-chain bridge Boltz announced on X platform that its services will remain deactivated until further notice. The API is still available for coordinating refunds, and unilateral refunds do not rely on its infrastructure and can still be used normally. Boltz stated this is not a response to a single security incident; over the past months, its infrastructure has come under continuous automated AI-assisted attack probing, and it has handled multiple exploit attempts. Although all were contained, the attackers' iteration speed has surpassed the team's ability to discover and patch vulnerabilities. In recent days, the attacks have further accelerated, and the team believes this asymmetric situation will not reverse, so exchange services will not be restored in the short term. Boltz emphasized that its non-custodial design means user funds were never at risk, and losses are borne by the company itself.

DEX Share of Spot Trading Volume Hits Record 24% High, CEX Spot Volume Falls to 12-Month Low

The proportion of spot trading volume on DEXs hit an all-time high of 24% in July, up from 17% a year ago, while centralized exchange spot trading volume is expected to hit a 12-month low, falling from an annual peak of $2.23 trillion to $670 billion. The decline in volume was partly diverted to prediction markets and also reflects waning overall crypto interest. Meanwhile, on-chain trading products continue to improve—deeper liquidity from aggregators and faster cross-chain swap routing have narrowed the execution gap with centralized exchanges. Analysts expect improved experience and costs to continue driving users toward on-chain alternatives.

LpdFi Protocol Attacked, Loses $700K; Attacker Profits via Flash Loan and Price Manipulation

Yesterday, Hexagate detected an attack on the LpdFi protocol, resulting in a loss of approximately $700,000. The attacker borrowed about $44 million in flash loans, artificially inflated the price of the LPD token on a DEX by 71 times, and then used tokens worth only about $2 million to fabricate roughly $140 million in deposits in the protocol. One second later (just past the protocol's daily interest settlement boundary), the attacker claimed a full day's interest on the inflated position, triggering the protocol to liquidate its entire liquidity pool and pay out the stolen funds. After repaying all loans, the attacker made off with about $700,000 and immediately moved the funds through Relay and TornadoCash.

Dragonfly Exec: Coldcard Vulnerability Discovery Cost Could Be Only $2; AI Security Hardening is a Must-Invest

Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi analyzed the Coldcard incident on X, pointing out that the key battleground in security has become a cost race—between the cost for attackers to scan for vulnerabilities using cutting-edge AI and the investment in AI security hardening by the target. Claude discovered the vulnerability in 8 minutes, and GLM reproduced it in 20 minutes, indicating that Coldcard invested virtually zero in AI security hardening. Qureshi estimated that the discovery cost to reproduce the attack using GLM 5.2 was only about $2, meaning it costs just $2 to find this vulnerability with AI—there's no reason not to do it. He warned that small companies will struggle to survive in security-sensitive product areas and stressed that any security-sensitive product should undergo an AI security scan on every release. Related reading: AI Pinpoints 5-Year-Old Bug in 8 Minutes; Coldcard Theft Sparks Cold Wallet Trust Crisis

Mastercard Completes Acquisition of Stablecoin Infrastructure Firm BVNK

Mastercard announced it has completed the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK to enhance its global stablecoin service capabilities. Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer stated that in a multi-currency world where fiat, stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and other forms of value coexist, the next generation of payment models will be defined by the connectivity efficiency of each rail. BVNK’s on-chain infrastructure and stablecoin-native technology will help financial institutions, fintechs, and enterprises expand stablecoin use cases such as cross-border B2B payments, remittances, settlements, and treasury flows. Previous news in March indicated Mastercard planned to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.

Solana Foundation Expands Senior Hiring to Target AI, Stablecoins, and Asian Markets

The Solana Foundation is hiring for multiple senior roles, including Head of Stablecoins, General Manager of AI Ecosystem, Head of Institutional Growth for Greater China, Head of Institutional Growth for Japan, and Head of DeFi Growth, signaling a strategic pivot toward AI, stablecoins, and Asian institutional markets.

Hashdex to Close Hashdex Bitcoin ETF; Last Trading Day is August 17

Hashdex announced it will close and liquidate its Bitcoin ETF (NYSE Arca: DEFI), which had approximately $14.7 million in assets under management as of July 30. Hashdex stated the decision to close the fund was based on factors including assets under management, trading liquidity, operating costs, investor interest, and product line positioning. The ETF’s last trading day will be August 17, after which it will stop accepting creation orders and will be delisted from NYSE Arca. Shareholders holding through the last trading day will receive cash liquidation distributions around August 28. Hashdex still manages over $200 million in products available to U.S. investors.

Bitmine Stakes Another 150K ETH, Worth Approximately $280 Million

Bitmine deposited 150,120 ETH ($280 million) into Ethereum staking 2 hours ago. It currently holds a total of 5.7978 million ETH, of which 87% (5.0673 million ETH) is staked and earning yield. At the current annualized yield of 2.66%, it can generate approximately 134,800 ETH in interest annually, worth $250 million.

U.S. Treasury Digital Asset Policy Advisor Tyler Williams Departs

Tyler Williams, the senior official in charge of digital asset policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, has departed. Williams joined the Treasury in early 2025 after serving as Head of Policy at Galaxy Digital, and played a central role in advancing the Trump administration’s “Make America the Crypto Capital” agenda. Treasury Secretary Bessent confirmed Williams’ last day was last Friday, saying he “played an important role” in advancing the administration’s digital asset agenda. Williams’ departure comes as the Clarity Act is deadlocked in Congress, stalled before the August recess over disagreements on ethics provisions and requiring 60 votes to pass.

Jim Cramer Plans to Sell All Bitcoin Due to “Quantum Threat” Fears

CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer said he plans to sell all of his Bitcoin holdings because he believes quantum computing could break the cryptocurrency’s security within about three years. The statement came after his July 30 interview with IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, who warned investors to be “vigilant” about quantum computing’s ability to challenge modern cryptography in the next three to four years, citing IBM’s progress on commercial quantum computers. This timeline quickly caught the attention of Bitcoin watchers, as every major quantum hardware breakthrough reignites the same debate: whether the theoretical risk is finally beginning to shift from academic extrapolation to an engineering problem. Cramer responded by saying he intends to completely exit his Bitcoin position, citing the possibility that the technology could threaten the Bitcoin network within the same timeframe. Cramer’s remarks sparked widespread discussion on social media, with crypto users treating it as a contrarian signal, saying the “inverse Cramer” trade is playing out again.

Report: Coldcard Incident Losses Exceed $100 Million; 1,596 BTC Confirmed Stolen

A Galaxy Research report says losses from the Coldcard hack have exceeded $100 million, with 1,596 BTC confirmed stolen, and potential losses could rise to $130 million.

Franklin Templeton Becomes a Super Validator on Canton Network

Franklin Templeton announced it has become a super validator on the Canton Network, deepening its commitment to blockchain infrastructure. Franklin Templeton stated that financial institutions should not only use blockchain but also participate in operating it, as traditional finance and decentralized finance are converging, and the Canton Network is precisely the on-chain infrastructure designed for institutional finance. By becoming a super validator, the firm will participate in the core infrastructure that secures transactions, laying the groundwork for institutional capital to move on-chain.

Telegram Has Been Removed from Apple’s iOS App Store

Telegram has been removed from Apple’s iOS App Store.

Coinbase Launches 24/7 Perpetual Contract Trading for Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on X that gold, silver, and crude oil can now be directly traded as perpetual contracts on Coinbase 24/7.

Suspected a16z Addresses Transfer $53.53M in HYPE to Hyperliquid for Staking

Two addresses suspected to belong to a16z transferred 979,000 HYPE ($53.53 million) to Hyperliquid and staked them 8 hours ago.

CSRC Chairman Wu Qing: Will Deepen Policy Coordination with Hong Kong Regulators on AI, Blockchain, and Other Areas

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Chairman Wu Qing, attending the listing ceremony for offshore government bond futures in Hong Kong, announced five additional policy measures to deepen practical bilateral cooperation between the mainland and Hong Kong and support Hong Kong's development. Wu Qing stated that the CSRC will strengthen collaboration with Hong Kong regulators under bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, promote pilot programs for sustainable information disclosure by companies listed in both markets, and deepen the exchange of experience and policy coordination around cutting-edge innovative fields such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, thereby improving and aligning international rules and standards, and enhancing China's participation and influence in global financial governance.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed a coordinated intervention alongside Japan to buy yen, putting real dollars behind the kind of currency activism that Washington has mostly left on the shelf since the Obama era.

The move, confirmed on August 1, involves plans to purchase between $5 billion and $10 billion in Japanese yen.

The notepad that moved markets The intervention details first surfaced during a Camp David cabinet meeting on July 31, when Bessent’s handwritten notepad outlined the yen purchase range for cameras to capture.

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Bessent’s public statement framed the action as a response to “disorderly yen movements.” The yen has been trading at levels not seen in nearly 40 years against the dollar.

The coordinated nature of the intervention is what makes it genuinely notable. Bessent confirmed active collaboration with officials from Japan’s Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, meaning American dollars were deployed alongside Japanese reserves in a joint operation.

This is the first yen-buying intervention by the US in over a decade.

Why the US decided to get involved Bessent also proposed upsizing the Federal Reserve’s FIMA Repo Facility as a complementary measure. The FIMA facility essentially allows foreign central banks to temporarily convert their US Treasury holdings into dollars. Expanding it would give institutions like the Bank of Japan more flexibility to manage liquidity without being forced into fire sales of US government debt.

What this means for crypto and risk assets For Bitcoin specifically, the dollar dynamics matter. Active US selling of dollars to buy yen is, at the margin, dollar-negative. A weaker dollar has historically correlated with stronger Bitcoin performance, since BTC is priced in dollars and becomes relatively cheaper for international buyers when the greenback softens.

Traders should also watch the FIMA Repo Facility expansion closely. If foreign central banks gain more flexibility to access dollar liquidity without selling Treasuries, it reduces the risk of disorderly moves in US bond markets.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Monday was a tale of two assets. Spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $170 million in net inflows, while their Ether counterparts shed $11.4 million on the same day.

What the flows actually tell us Flow data from trackers like SoSoValue and Farside Investors has become one of the cleaner real-time reads on institutional sentiment in crypto. Unlike price charts, which react to everything from a rumor to a liquidation cascade, ETF flows represent slow, deliberate capital allocation decisions.

The Ether side of the ledger tells a different story. An $11.4 million outflow is not catastrophic in isolation, but it sits inside a broader pattern of inconsistency for Ether ETF products, which have swung between inflows and outflows with far less directional confidence than Bitcoin vehicles.

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The major issuers in this space, BlackRock with its IBIT and ETHA products, Fidelity with FBTC and FETH, and Grayscale with its suite of converted and new products, all compete for the same pool of institutional dollars. When the Bitcoin products absorb inflows while the Ether products shed assets, that is not a coincidence. It is a preference being expressed through capital movement.

A brief history of how we got here US spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, after years of SEC rejections. Spot Ether ETFs followed later in 2024. Collectively, both asset classes accumulated cumulative flows reaching tens of billions before conditions shifted heading into 2025 and 2026.

Bitcoin ETFs have previously recorded single-session inflows exceeding $200 million, so Monday’s $170 million figure sits comfortably within the range of a strong but not extraordinary day. What makes it notable is the contrast with Ether’s simultaneous outflow, reinforcing a pattern that has been building for several months.

Ether ETFs have been more reactive to macroeconomic conditions and price volatility in the broader crypto market. When risk appetite tightens, allocators have shown a consistent tendency to reduce Ether exposure before trimming Bitcoin positions.

What this means for investors watching the space For investors tracking these flows as a positioning signal, the Bitcoin versus Ether divergence is worth monitoring on a weekly basis rather than reading too much into any single day. A sustained multi-week pattern of Bitcoin inflows paired with Ether outflows would be a more meaningful signal than one Monday’s numbers.

The gap visible in Monday’s flow data is, at minimum, a useful reminder that “crypto” is not a monolithic trade. Bitcoin and Ether are attracting very different investor profiles right now, responding differently to the same market conditions, and generating very different flow signals in the ETF wrapper that was supposed to level the playing field between them.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Leading cryptocurrencies lacked momentum on Monday as traders balanced geopolitical risk from Iran against selling pressure from large corporate Bitcoin treasuries.

What’s Impacting Crypto Market?Bitcoin jumped to an intraday high of $64,020 late afternoon before pulling back to around $62,000, while Ethereum remained stuck in the $1,800 region.

Over $240 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours, with short position traders losing more vis-à-vis long position traders, according to Coinglass data.

Bitcoin’s open interest rose 1.93% over the last 24 hours. An increase in open interest alongside an increase in price indicates long buildup, meaning new buyers are entering the market.

Top Gainers (24 Hours) 

The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.2 trillion, following a dip of 0.79% over the last 24 hours.

Stocks Enter Record TerritoryMarkets opened the fresh trading week on a high note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 693.38 points, or 1.32%, to end at a record close of 53,178.41. The S&P 500 rallied 1.48% to end at 7,600.50, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.13% to settle at 25,913.90.

President Donald Trump called off a planned strike on Iran during the weekend to resume negotiations, but Tehran later denied that direct talks with Washington were underway.

Trump accused Iranian negotiators of being “unbelievably duplicitous” in a Truth Social post and warned them that only two options remain at the table: “Deal” or “Total Surrender.”

Still No BTC Bottom?On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin’s Adaptive Sell-side Risk Ratio—an indicator that quantifies overall selling pressure—has declined to levels historically associated with accumulation phases.

“Historically, such zones have appeared during the late stages of bear markets,” CryptoQuant said. “This improves the long-term risk-reward profile, but it does not mean a local bottom has already formed.”

Michaël van de Poppe, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, said things have started to “look great” for Ethereum.

“I would assume that we’re going to hold $1,800 and break the $2,000 barrier. After that, it’s a fast run to $2,300 and higher,” Van De Poppe projected.

Photo: KateStock / Shutterstock

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Bitcoin rallied even as headlines focused on a $100 million hack. 3d illustration

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Bitcoin prices climbed on Monday, August 3, posting a modest gain even as headlines were dominated by a hack that resulted in the loss of over $100 million’ worth of the digital currency.

The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency climbed to more than $64,000 close to 3:30 p.m. EST, according to Coinbase data from TradingView.

At this point, the digital asset was up roughly 2.9% after falling to approximately $62,200 earlier in the day, additional Coinbase data from TradingView reveals.

When explaining this upward movement, analysts offered differing explanations.

“Bitcoin’s move from roughly $62,200 to $63,900 appears to reflect a combination of improving macro sentiment and growing optimism around U.S. crypto regulation rather than a single catalyst,” Terence McMenamin, CEO and cofounder of innovative lending firm Techdollar, stated via email.

“Investors have become increasingly optimistic that the Federal Reserve could shift toward a more accommodative policy if economic data continues to soften, supporting risk assets like equities and cryptocurrencies,” he continued.

“At the same time, the market is increasingly pricing in the possibility that the CLARITY Act could advance before Congress recesses,” McMenamin claimed, referring to the legislation that would outline the jurisdiction that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have over digital currencies.

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“Many institutional investors have been explicit that clearer regulatory rules are a prerequisite for deploying more capital, so each credible headline suggesting progress on the legislation has the potential to bring sidelined investors back into the market.”

He also mentioned the Coldcard hack, which took place after attackers identified the patterns that Coldcard hardware devices were using to create recovery phrases, according to a document generated by financial technology firm Block that was reported on by Fortune.

The hack “failed to trigger a meaningful selloff, suggesting the market had already absorbed much of the recent pessimism.”

“When negative headlines struggle to push prices lower, it often indicates that bearish positioning has eased and buyers are becoming more willing to step in,” he added.

Market expert Tim Enneking, managing partner of Psalion, offered a different take on the matter, stating that through emailed commentary that “The small move up was probably due to some mildly positive news with respect to the US-Iran ‘war’ and a very positive start to the week on Wall Street due to solid earnings reports.”

Jeff Anderson, managing director at STS Digital, also weighed in, speaking to a broader rise in the digital asset markets.

“Bitcoin’s move higher tracks other risk assets, with the NASDAQ rebounding nearly 2% after last week’s washout,” he stated.

“Stretched positioning in AI and chipmakers triggered a cascade in valuations on Thursday, which rippled into digital assets over the weekend.”

Bitcoin traded around $63,000 on Monday, holding above key support as macro volatility eased off.

Notable Statistics:

Coinglass data shows 67,757 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $257.04 million.        SoSoValue data shows net outflows of $265.4 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs on Friday. Spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $9.03 million. In the past 24 hours, top losers include Audiera, Uniswap and Pi. Notable Developments:

Trader Notes:

Crypto trader Michael van de Poppe says Bitcoin and broader markets are consolidating after Monday’s selloff and expects both to resume their upward trend over the next few days.

CryptosBatman noted Bitcoin has reached a key technical inflection point, with the 200-day EMA and descending channel resistance converging. The price reaction at this level is expected to determine Bitcoin’s next major directional move.

Trader Justin Bennett explained Bitcoin is facing a critical battle at the $64,000 level. While whale positioning has turned more bullish, declining open interest suggests the move is being driven by short covering rather than new long positions.

Aggressive selling at the bid/ask, like previous swing highs, indicates sellers currently have the upper hand.

Image: Shutterstock

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Jim Cramer and Tom Lee Share a Bullish Call That Could Shape Investors’ Next Move

Ethereum ETFs Post Best Month Since October 2025 but Fed Hold Chills Demand

CNBC's Mad Money host Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) has announced he will sell his entire $BTC position, warning that advances in quantum computing could pose a serious threat to the Bitcoin network within three years. Speaking on the show, Cramer said investors should be "paranoid" about the potential impact of quantum computing on Bitcoin's security.

Crypto Twitter reaches for the inverse Cramer playbook The announcement landed with a familiar thud in crypto circles. His comments quickly drew attention across the community, where traders largely responded by referencing the long-running "inverse Cramer" phenomenon rather than his warning. Cramer's Bitcoin calls have historically preceded recoveries rather than confirmed declines, and the inverse Cramer phenomenon is real enough that structured products were once built around it. Bitcoin was trading at $63,764 at the time of writing, up 1.16% over the past 24 hours.

Cramer's views on Bitcoin have shifted several times over the years. This is not the first time a bearish call from the host has served as a contrarian signal for the market.

The quantum threat: real concern, long runway Cramer's warning centered on the idea that quantum computing could eventually undermine the cryptographic systems that secure Bitcoin, though his timeline is more aggressive than many discussions within the industry.

The technical concern has genuine substance, even if the three-year window is contested. Progress in quantum computing is a threat to protocols relying on elliptic curve cryptography. Bitcoin relies on elliptic curves for digital signatures (ECDSA), and breaking ECDSA would mean breaking Bitcoin's property rights. Roughly 6.9 million Bitcoin, including Satoshi Nakamoto's early holdings, are already exposed to future quantum attacks because their public keys are visible on-chain.

The developer community is not standing still. Bitcoin's developer community has been discussing quantum-resistant upgrades for years, and the broader cryptography field is actively developing post-quantum standards that could be integrated into Bitcoin's protocol well before any real threat materialises. In August 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology finalised three post-quantum cryptographic standards designed to replace the algorithms that quantum computers threaten, and Bitcoin developers can draw from them as the network's transition takes shape. The quantum threat to Bitcoin is neither imminent nor insurmountable. Cryptographic tools to make Bitcoin quantum-resistant already exist and development work is underway. The question is less about finding a technical solution and more about the network forging consensus on how and when to deploy one.

Sources:
Invezz: Jim Cramer to sell all of his Bitcoin over quantum computing fears
Bitcoin Policy Institute: State of Play: Quantum Computing and Bitcoin's Path Forward
CoinDesk: Clock is ticking for Bitcoin to prevent quantum threat

Never sell your bitcoin was not meant for companies, he explained.

Michael Saylor, co-founder, former CEO, and current Chairman of the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, spoke after the company announced its third BTC sale in the past few months.

He weighed in on a statement he had made countless times in the past: “Never sell your bitcoin,” but noted that it was meant for “savers.”

Saylor assured that he, as an individual investor, has never sold a single BTC, but Strategy is a public company, “not my wallet.”

“Since 2020, it has disclosed it may buy or sell BTC to manage capital. Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged.”

Strategy disposed of another 1,638 BTC in the past week, which builds on the 3,588 units sold at the end of June.

The company also used the capital to repurchase more of its own STRC shares. This reinforced the asset’s price, which has climbed to $92. Although it’s still below its par price of $100, it has rebounded swiftly from the recent lows of $75.

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About the author

Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain.

Strategy co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor breaks silence on personal Bitcoin holdings amid relentless criticism.

Billionaire Michael Saylor-led Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) again sold Bitcoin (BTC) last week as the leading cryptocurrency's price failed to recover.

The world's largest Bitcoin treasury company sold 1,638 BTC for $104.73 million during July 27–Aug. 2.

This is the third time the company has sold Bitcoin this year. Earlier, it sold 32 BTC for about $2.5 million during May 26–31 and 3,588 BTC for $216 million during June 29–July 3.

The firm previously extended its Bitcoin acquisition pause to five weeks ending July 26.

With 843,138 BTC on its balance sheet, Strategy is still the world's largest Bitcoin treasury.

Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:Cathie Wood trims Ethereum exposure on 11th anniversaryAfter Coldcard exploit, crypto billionaire issues stark warningMajor crypto exchange eyes IPO amid market slumpWhat Michael Saylor said on personal Bitcoin holdings However, the Bitcoin sales have provoked sharp reactions from within the crypto industry, who questioned Saylor about violating his creed of never selling Bitcoin.

In February last year, he most famously posted on X, "Sell a kidney if you must, but keep the Bitcoin."

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After the latest Bitcoin sale, Saylor finally broke his silence and said in an Aug. 3 post that the "never sell your Bitcoin" creed only applied to individual savers, not a public company like Strategy.

"I have never sold mine. Not one satoshi," Saylor disclosed.

On the other hand, Strategy disclosed in 2020 itself that it may buy or sell Bitcoin to manage capital, he added the disclaimer.

"Our shared conviction in Bitcoin remains unchanged," the billionaire entrepreneur seemed to double down on his faith in the cryptocurrency in the face of relentless public criticism.

Last week, Strategy reported its financial results for Q2 2026, and it posted a net loss of $8.22 billion. The company attributed almost all of the operating loss to an $8.32 billion unrealized loss on its Bitcoin holdings.

It posted a diluted loss of $24.45 per share, much higher than the estimated loss of $2.19 per share.

BTC/USD, Source: Decibel

BTC was trading at $63,900 at the time of writing, around 50% lower than its all-time high (ATH) of $126,080 it hit on Oct. 6, 2025.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally granted a petition from CME Group seeking review of a prior staff decision that conditionally approved Nasdaq PHLX’s plans to list and trade cash-settled Bitcoin index options.

As a result, the approval remains stayed while the full Commission examines the matter.

In May 2026, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, acting under delegated authority, gave accelerated approval to Nasdaq PHLX’s proposed rule change.

The product, referred to as Nasdaq Bitcoin Index options or QBTC, would consist of cash-settled, European-style contracts based on an index derived from the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index. Launch remained contingent on obtaining necessary exemptions from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

CME Group challenged the decision, filing a notice of intention to petition for review in mid-June and a formal petition shortly thereafter.

The exchange operator contends that Bitcoin qualifies as a non-security commodity and that options linked directly to its value constitute commodity option swaps falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC.

CME argues that the SEC lacks authority to approve such contracts and that CFTC exemptions cannot properly transfer oversight of a product lacking securities characteristics to the securities regulator.

The challenge also references provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act limiting the agencies’ ability to reclassify instruments covered by the swap definition.

Under SEC rules of practice, the notice of intention automatically stayed the delegated approval.

On July 29, 2026, the Commission issued an order granting CME’s petition for review.

The order directs that the approval remain stayed pending further Commission action and sets a deadline of August 24, 2026, for any party or other person to submit written statements supporting or opposing the original approval.

The development highlights ongoing questions about the division of regulatory authority over crypto-related derivatives between the SEC and CFTC.

CME already offers regulated Bitcoin futures and options under the CFTC framework.

Nasdaq’s proposed product would have provided an alternative venue accessible through the securities markets infrastructure, including the Options Clearing Corporation, potentially broadening participation among equity traders.Nasdaq PHLX cannot list the contracts while the stay is in effect.

The Commission’s order does not express a view on the merits of CME’s jurisdictional arguments.

Interested parties now have the opportunity to file statements before the August 24 deadline, after which the Commission will further consider the matter.

This pause introduces additional uncertainty into the timeline for expanded Bitcoin options trading on US securities exchanges.

Market participants and industry observers will closely monitor the public statements and the Commission’s subsequent decision, which could clarify the regulatory treatment of similar cash-settled crypto index products.

The episode underscores the complexities of integrating digital assets into traditional financial market structures amid overlapping statutory frameworks. Clearer delineation of agency roles could ultimately support more consistent oversight and product development, though the immediate effect is a continued delay for Nasdaq’s initiative.

For the better part of six years, Michael Saylor’s playbook was simple: buy Bitcoin, then buy more Bitcoin. Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, built its entire corporate identity around relentless accumulation. Now it’s selling.

The company offloaded approximately 1,638 BTC for around $104.7 million in late July and early August 2026, boosting its USD cash reserves from $3.2 billion to $4.0 billion.

Where the money is going The Bitcoin sale wasn’t about cashing out for a yacht. About $81 million of the proceeds went toward repurchasing preferred shares and paying dividends on its STRC preferred stock, the financial instrument Strategy created as part of its capital structure expansion.

The company also raised $290.6 million through common stock sales during the same period.

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This wasn’t even the first sale. Back in June 2026, Strategy sold 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million specifically to cover STRC preferred distributions. That transaction was small enough to fly under the radar. The latest sale, at 50 times the size, is harder to ignore.

After the sale, Strategy still holds 842,138 BTC.

The debt cleanup The Bitcoin sales are only one piece of a broader capital restructuring effort. In May 2026, Strategy repurchased $1.5 billion in 0% convertible senior notes due 2029, paying $1.38 billion for them. The discount, about $120 million, is the kind of trade that makes CFOs look smart at board meetings.

That debt buyback was funded from existing cash reserves, not from new Bitcoin purchases.

The company has also overhauled how it reports its Bitcoin exposure. Instead of simply trumpeting total BTC held, Strategy now provides net exposure figures that account for senior claims like preferred stock and convertible debt.

Why the shift matters Strategy has preferred shareholders expecting dividends. It has convertible debt holders with claims on the balance sheet. It has a $4 billion cash pile that needs to earn its keep. Managing all of this requires selling Bitcoin sometimes, and that’s a fundamentally different posture than “never sell.”

Strategy has been the single largest corporate Bitcoin holder for years, and its buying activity has at times moved markets. If the company shifts from net buyer to occasional seller, that removes a reliable source of demand that traders have come to expect.

For Strategy’s own shareholders, the restructuring creates a different risk profile. The company is less of a pure-play Bitcoin bet and more of a complex financial entity with multiple classes of securities, each with different claims on the underlying assets.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

The miner was not the 'average Joe,' as one market commentator described them.

Bitcoin mining has long become a massive business niche in which the individual miner has been sidelined, but there are occasional exceptions.

A single miner managed to mine block number 960804, which secured them the 3.125 BTC prize, worth roughly $200,000 at today’s prices.

Pseudonymous software developer at CKPool, Dr -ck, was among the first to congratulate the miner. However, they explained that the miner’s hashrate peaked at 100 PH, which is significantly higher than that of so-called hobby miners.

Consequently, Dr- ck determined that the miner in question had probably rented the equipment. In addition, popular market observer going under the X moniker Bitcoin Archive described the miner as “not the average Joe,” but still admitted the substantial luck needed to succeed given the current miner environment.

This development comes amid the Coldcard saga, in which many investors using the hardware wallet lost millions of dollars worth of BTC as the wave of attacks continues. Dr -ck noted that the chaos has not deterred the Bitcoin network from operating as intended.

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About the author

Jordan got into crypto in 2016 by trading and investing. He began writing about blockchain technology in 2017 and now serves as CryptoPotato's Assistant Editor-in-Chief. He has managed numerous crypto-related projects and is passionate about all things blockchain.