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According to Nikkei News, SoftBank Group is preparing to issue corporate bonds aimed at individual investors, with an issuance scale expected to be 1 trillion yen, which will become the largest corporate bond issuance for individual investors in Japanese corporate history.This move aims to utilize sources of funds such as Japanese personal savings against the backdrop of intensified global competition in artificial intelligence investment and rising funding demands. The bond has a term of 7 years, and the interest rate and other issuance conditions are expected to be determined in early September.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced that it has opened U.S. stock trading services to European users. Eligible users can now buy and sell U.S. stocks directly through the Kraken platform, further expanding its traditional financial asset trading product line.In recent years, Kraken has continuously promoted compliance and product diversification. While providing cryptocurrency trading, it has gradually introduced traditional securities such as stocks and ETFs to meet the demand of European users for one-stop investment services.

Ethereum core developer Sina Mahmoodi announced his departure from the Ethereum Foundation after more than seven years in office. Mahmoodi joined the Ethereum Foundation after graduating from university in 2019 and participated in the development of EthereumJS, eWASM, and the Geth client, with Geth becoming a key infrastructure in the Ethereum ecosystem.He stated that his belief in Ethereum as a decentralized global settlement layer has never changed and that he will take a break before deciding on his next direction.

According to KOL Kuai Dong (@_FORAB), several cryptocurrency practitioners reported this morning that their addresses on other exchanges inexplicably received small deposits from HTX exchange, and shortly after receiving them, their accounts were frozen. Previously, several exchanges, including Binance and OKX, announced that in response to sanctions from the EU and the UK, they would no longer process deposits and withdrawals from HTX, otherwise accounts could be forcibly frozen. Some users in the community claimed that this action is similar to "address poisoning," which could trigger KYT/AML risk control on other platforms.However, HTX market manager MollyFu stated that the official side absolutely did not engage in such behavior; it is either a misunderstanding or someone is deliberately causing trouble. The platform has been processing tens of thousands of deposits and withdrawals daily in the past two days, and accounts are normal. They will not randomly airdrop to users on other platforms; if testing is conducted, it will only be done on a small scale through their own accounts. HTX stated that they have held an internal meeting to discuss the matter and are quickly investigating the cause, promising to provide an explanation to the community.

The decentralized AI infrastructure network DGrid AI announced the $DGAI token economic model, with a total supply of 1 billion $DGAI tokens. Of this, 50% will be allocated to node network operations and node incentives, 15% will be allocated to community growth and ecological participation, 10% will be allocated to team incentives and long-term development, 10% will be allocated to early investors, 8% will be allocated to airdrop rewards, and 7% will be allocated to initial liquidity and secondary market support.According to previous news, DGrid AI opened the $DGAI airdrop eligibility inquiry and application channel on August 17, and the window will remain open until 16:00 Beijing time on August 22.

According to the latest report from The Economist Enterprise, after 13 years of development and multiple strategic upgrades, Gate is gradually expanding from a traditional cryptocurrency trading platform to a comprehensive financial infrastructure that connects digital assets with traditional financial markets. The report points out that as more traditional financial products such as stocks, ETFs, tokenized assets, foreign exchange, and metals enter the digital asset ecosystem, Gate is further bridging the gap between crypto finance and TradFi through multi-asset product layouts and global infrastructure development. Gate's founder and CEO Dr. Han stated in an exclusive interview that as the industry develops, digital asset platforms are facing not only technical issues but also risk management, user protection, and industry regulation.In terms of TradFi integration, Gate has formed a multi-layered layout from tokenized assets and derivatives to native stock trading, launching products and services such as xStocks, Ondo, Gate TradFi, Pre-IPOs, direct IPOs, and Gate Stocks. Among these, Gate Stocks has supported trading of U.S., Hong Kong, and South Korean stocks, significantly lowering the barriers for global users to participate in traditional financial markets. At the same time, Gate is continuously improving its around-the-clock trading and liquidity infrastructure to meet the needs of global users for cross-market asset allocation.The Economist Enterprise also points out that as the digital asset market further moves towards institutionalization, compliance, transparency, and infrastructure capability are becoming important components of platform competition. Gate continues to advance its global compliance layout across multiple jurisdictions and has been providing third-party audits and open-source proof of reserves since 2020. In addition, Gate is introducing AI infrastructure into Web3, connecting AI with trading, wallets, and more services through products like Gate AI, Gate MCP, and GateClaw, promoting the platform's evolution from a traditional trading venue to a comprehensive financial infrastructure that connects digital assets, traditional finance, and AI applications.

On August 18, WEEX announced that it will implement 0 fee trading for all spot pairs in the bStocks area, with all participants receiving 100% rewards and a chance to share a $100,000 prize pool. Activity period: 8/17 20:00 - 8/24 19:59:59 (UTC+8).During the event, all users who complete any spot transaction in the bStocks area will receive a 10 USDT bonus. If the cumulative spot trading volume is ≥ 2,000 USDT, they can share a bonus of 25,000 USDT based on their trading volume proportion.

According to the Daily Economic News, following the requirement to confirm that the source of funds for new account openings comes from legal overseas channels, some banks in Hong Kong have begun to initiate a source of funds declaration process for certain existing mainland investment clients. HSBC Hong Kong has recently started notifying some existing mainland investment clients, requiring them to submit the "Declaration for Opening/Maintaining Accounts" through the HSBC Hong Kong App by September 12 and to update their contact information.The declaration includes confirming that the funds for investment activities come from legal sources outside mainland China, and that the bank may disclose personal information at the request of law enforcement or regulatory agencies. The notice also mentioned that if the declaration is not submitted by August 20, investment-related services may be suspended; if it is still not submitted by September 12, investment-related services may be terminated.An HSBC spokesperson responded that they will follow relevant regulatory requirements when managing investment client relationships, thus inviting relevant mainland Chinese investors to provide self-declarations and confirm that the information provided in their "Know Your Customer" and "Customer Due Diligence" processes is current and valid, which helps to continuously provide uninterrupted services to clients. HSBC emphasized that this latest declaration requirement applies only to investment service clients.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) warns that changes to the Gas model in the Glamsterdam upgrade may cause some wallets, indexers, and Gas estimation tools to become ineffective. The EF Protocol DevOps team stated that tools relying on hard-coded maximum Gas limits will fail, and developers need to update relevant systems and test on the Plataberget public testnet.Plataberget went live on August 13 and is planned to run for several months. The Glamsterdam fork is scheduled to activate on the Ethereum network on Thursday, followed by deployment to the Sepolia and Hoodi testnets. EIP-8037 will introduce an independent state Gas dimension for operations that create new states. Transferring ETH to existing accounts will still require 21,000 Gas, while transferring to new accounts will incur additional state Gas; developers should also re-evaluate software that considers 21,000 Gas as the total cost for all ETH transfers or only uses a single Gas dimension to estimate transaction fees.

Cross-border payment company Airwallex co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang stated that stablecoins are becoming an important channel for global capital flow, but sovereign financial systems still determine how to incorporate them, rather than the other way around. As the adoption of stablecoins grows, this trend will intensify. The Central Bank of Brazil has included virtual asset services in its foreign exchange and international capital regulatory framework, Vietnam is working on building a regulated crypto market while banning crypto assets as a means of payment, and the Philippines has indefinitely extended the suspension of virtual asset service provider licenses, all indicating that the adoption of stablecoins will occur within the regulatory frameworks of various countries.He noted that technology is making business more globalized, while financial sovereignty is becoming more localized, and governments will continue to set their own rules for currency, data, identity, and payments. The most enduring stablecoin infrastructure needs to connect sovereign financial systems, provide deep liquidity, and offer reliable conversion between stablecoins and fiat currencies for businesses. Airwallex, with a focus on corporate accounts, has obtained a central bank payment institution license in Brazil and acquired MexPago, the holder of the IFPE license in Mexico, to access the local financial systems of major economies in Latin America. It bets that AI and stablecoins will drive more global business, making regulated local connections more valuable.

According to BeInCrypto, Sean Farrell, the head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors, released a research report indicating that Bitcoin's current 30-day price volatility has dropped to historically low levels. Reviewing the past eight similar low-volatility periods, the median absolute price change of Bitcoin over the subsequent 60 days has reached about 30.2%, with four instances of increases and four instances of decreases.Based on the current price of approximately $64,000, a 30% upward volatility would target a price of about $83,200; if it goes downward, it would be around $44,800. Farrell also pointed out that Bitcoin's approximately 2% rebound this Monday was mainly driven by short covering, and the future direction remains unclear, while the continuous rise in real bond yields poses the greatest downside risk at present.

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.

The research institution 10x Research published that Bitcoin's current price of about $63,000 is a critical level that will determine whether market sentiment trends towards a bottom or a collapse. Bitcoin had been fluctuating narrowly around $60,000 for six months before the 2024 U.S. election, and this level also served as the top construction area of the 2021 cycle. After Trump's victory confirmation, Bitcoin quickly rose from $70,000 to $90,000, briefly falling below $90,000 during the tariff impact in April 2025, but due to most holders still being in profit, the trading during this pullback was light.10x Research stated that due to the very low turnover in the $70,000 to $90,000 range, it warned in November 2025 that if it fell below $93,000, Bitcoin could experience a sharp decline, as there was almost no supply to slow the decline from that range down to around $65,000, and the subsequent downward trend confirmed this judgment. Currently, Bitcoin is once again consolidating in the $60,000 area for about six months, but during this period, the actual distribution of turnover chips has significantly changed, which has a substantial impact on the next movement of this position. The institution will further elaborate on the importance of this level, the role of exchange balances, and the timing of leveraged traders possibly returning to the market.

Ondo posted on platform X that tokenized stocks are making history. A buy transaction worth $2,328,595.73 for QQQon has been completed on Ethereum in a single transaction.Ondo stated that this seven-figure execution was achieved exclusively on Ondo Stocks. Ondo is a platform focused on the tokenization of real-world assets, and its Ondo Stocks product supports the trading of traditional financial assets like U.S. stocks in tokenized form on-chain.

Bitcoin Treasury Company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) stated on platform X that its $STRC semi-monthly dividend of $0.50 per share has been paid today. The next semi-monthly dividend payment date for $STRC is August 31.Strategy is known for its large-scale holdings of Bitcoin and financing through the issuance of various preferred stocks and convertible securities. $STRC is one of its related preferred stock products, distributing fixed dividends to shareholders on a semi-monthly basis. The company continues to support its Bitcoin reserve strategy through capital market instruments.

Coinbase announced the launch of the US500 perpetual contract product, allowing users to go long or short on the overall performance of the 500 largest companies by market capitalization in the United States through a single contract. This product is designed to provide traders with a convenient tool for exposure to U.S. stock index risk without the need to trade individual component stocks separately.The US500 perpetual contract supports leveraged trading, enabling users to express their bullish or bearish views on the overall performance of large U.S. companies in a more efficient manner. Coinbase continues to expand its product line of derivatives and traditional financial assets to meet the diverse trading needs of institutional and retail users.