cryptocurrency

According to SoSoValue data, the cryptocurrency market sector showed mixed results, with the DeFi sector performing prominently, rising by 1.04%. Among them, Hyperliquid (HYPE) rose by 1.74%, and Chainlink (LINK) rose by 2.42%. The Meme sector increased by 0.7% in 24 hours, with Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) rising by 9.04% and Pump.fun (PUMP) rising by 8.76%.In other sectors, the PayFi sector rose by 0.4%, with eCash (XEC) increasing by 1.56%. The Layer1 sector rose by 0.2%, with Cosmos Hub (ATOM) increasing by 8.71%. Additionally, the CeFi sector fell by 0.07%, but Cronos (CRO) remained relatively strong, rising by 1.07%. The Layer2 sector decreased by 0.97%, while Optimism (OP) rose by 4.11%. The cryptocurrency sector index reflecting historical market trends shows that the ssiAI, ssiDeFi, and ssiMeme indices rose by 1.93%, 1.29%, and 1.28%, respectively.

According to CoinDesk, financial services company Swissquote Group has lowered its full-year revenue and profit expectations after a 66.2% decline in net cryptocurrency income in the first half of the year.In the first half of the year, the company's cryptocurrency trading volume fell by 63.5% to 2.58 billion Swiss francs, approximately 3.2 billion US dollars. After the announcement, Swissquote Group's stock price dropped by 14%.

According to Bitcoin.com, Gurinder Singh Josan MP and Lord Vaizey, co-chairs of the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Crypto and Digital Assets (APPG), have written to the CEOs of major UK banks requesting clarification on whether they provide account services to crypto businesses, what restrictions are placed on digital asset transactions, and whether these policies will be adjusted with the implementation of the new regulatory framework in the UK.The MPs pointed out that access to banking may be the single biggest obstacle to the development of crypto and digital asset businesses in the UK. If licensed crypto businesses are still unable to obtain basic banking services, the competitive goals of the new regulatory system will be difficult to achieve.Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has previously stated that banking service restrictions should not be imposed on FCA-authorized crypto businesses solely due to the nature of the industry. The deadline for submitting written evidence for this inquiry is August 31, and the APPG will use this to make policy recommendations to the government.

According to The Block, Robinhood's nominal cryptocurrency trading volume in July decreased by 33% month-over-month and by 62% year-over-year to $10.9 billion. Among them, the nominal cryptocurrency trading volume on the Robinhood app decreased by 74% year-over-year to $4.3 billion, while Bitstamp's trading volume decreased by 45% to $6.6 billion.

According to Digital Asset, a South Korean court has made a first-instance ruling regarding Delio CEO Jeong Sang-ho involved in a cryptocurrency fraud case amounting to approximately 250 billion won (about 180 million USD), sentencing him to 15 years in prison.The 11th Criminal Division of the Southern District Court of Seoul stated that Jeong's criminal conduct was serious, and he continued to shift responsibility to other companies while attempting to evade accountability. This ruling comes about three years and two months after Delio suspended withdrawals in June 2023.

According to News1, South Korea will expand the registration review scope of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) to include major shareholders starting from August 20. If there are changes to the major shareholders or the company's legal compliance framework, operators must notify the financial authorities 30 days in advance.The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced the revised registration manual at a briefing held in Seoul for virtual asset service providers and potential operators. The review targets not only the largest shareholders and major shareholders holding more than 10% of shares but also shareholders with special connections to the largest shareholders. If the largest shareholder is a legal entity, the largest shareholder of that entity and its representatives may also be included in the review scope.

According to The Block citing News1, Korea's Mirae Asset Group is injecting about 50 billion won (approximately 36 million USD) into the local cryptocurrency exchange Korbit after acquiring it in July.The operating company of Korbit has recently been renamed DigitalX.

After the overseas CEX Apps like Bybit and OKX were removed from the local Google Play in South Korea, the country is further tightening the process of transferring crypto assets to overseas platforms. According to the latest amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Specific Financial Information Act, South Korean trading platforms will need to determine whether to allow transfers based on the risk level of the overseas platforms; when transferring to certain overseas trading platforms or personal wallets, users may be required to prove that the account belongs to them and explain the purpose of the transaction and the source of funds. If the information is insufficient, the transfer may be delayed or refused.Transactions reaching 10 million Korean won or more will also be included in the suspicious transaction monitoring system established by the exchanges, and the relevant regulations will be implemented six months after their announcement.

The iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) under asset management company BlackRock generated $344,800 in revenue during its first operating period through selling options, of which $79,100 was realized profit and $265,700 was unrealized appreciation. The fund holds Bitcoin and the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). As of June 30, 2026, BITA had an unrealized loss of $782,200 on its Bitcoin holdings, and an unrealized loss of $417,600 on its IBIT position, totaling a loss of $1,199,800.Meanwhile, the realized and unrealized gains from options obtained by BITA totaled $344,849, which offset approximately 28.7% of the aforementioned losses. After adding a net investment loss of $5,337, the fund's operating activities ultimately resulted in a net asset decrease of $860,335. Additionally, according to disclosed documents, from the fund's initial purchase of related assets on June 9 until the end of the quarter, the price of Bitcoin fell by 4.43%, and IBIT fell by 4.75%. From BITA's official public trading on June 12 to June 30, the fund's total return rate was -5.61%.

Bitget launches a crypto & TradFi contract trading competition, running from August 12 to August 22, with a total prize pool of 50,000 USDT. During the event, users can trade designated crypto and TradFi contracts to earn chances to win in a blind box lottery. The prize pool includes rewards in popular tokens such as rSNDK, XAUT, HYPE, as well as experience vouchers worth up to 1,000 USDT.In addition, the event features a trading volume ranking competition. The top 1,000 users by trading volume who have a cumulative trading volume of at least 10,000 USDT can share a prize pool of 30,000 USDT, with the first place on the leaderboard receiving 3,000 USDT. For more details, please refer to the official Bitget platform.

According to bits.media, the Central Bank of Russia has included Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT in the list of cryptocurrencies approved for trading in the Russian market. This list is included in the draft guidelines for public consultation published by the Central Bank. The Central Bank briefly attributes the list to the standards set forth in the new Russian law: high market capitalization, high average daily trading volume, and at least five years of pricing history on overseas platforms.Non-professional investors can only purchase these three cryptocurrencies. The guidelines also set an annual purchase limit for non-professional investors: a maximum investment of 300,000 rubles per year through a single intermediary. Professional investors face fewer restrictions and can purchase any cryptocurrency offered on exchanges and over-the-counter markets without any limits. However, all investors, regardless of their status, must undergo mandatory testing before trading. Previously, Russian President Putin signed the "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Law" on August 4, establishing a regulatory framework for the circulation of cryptocurrencies, with relevant rules taking effect on September 1.

Hawaii will implement a cryptocurrency ATM ban effective October 1, becoming the fourth state in the United States to enact such a ban, aimed at addressing the significant losses caused by digital asset fraud.

According to market news, BlackRock has accumulated 1,019.27 BTC and 301.77 ETH from Coinbase Prime in the past few hours, with a total value of approximately $65.21 million.

Figure Lending LLC, a cryptocurrency lending institution, offers cryptocurrency-backed loans where borrowers can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana as collateral to obtain cash up to 75% of the collateral's value while retaining ownership of the tokens. Borrowing typically does not constitute a sale and generally does not trigger a capital gains event.Figure Lending LLC states that borrowers should compare the maximum loan-to-value ratio, fixed or variable interest rates, regulatory licensing, and liquidation terms. The institution offers fixed rates with a loan term of 12 months, a maximum annual percentage rate of 12.62%, and supports same-day funding without requiring a credit score, with approval based on the collateral. Figure provides an optional liquidation protection feature available in some states, which can delay liquidation during the loan term due to price declines; however, liquidation may still occur if the loan is overdue. This feature does not apply to situations of non-payment, default, or violation of loan terms, and a decline in cryptocurrency asset prices may still trigger margin calls.

According to The Block, a couple in the Somme department of France faced three break-ins in less than a month after purchasing the former home of a cryptocurrency millionaire. The incidents were triggered by the previous owner's tax information and address being leaked to the dark web, leading criminals to mistakenly believe that the new residents held approximately 1 million euros in cryptocurrency assets.The first break-in was thwarted by a dog, the second intruder subdued the residents and live-streamed the attack on Snapchat, and after confirming the target was incorrect, fled; the third break-in was scared off by the alarm system. The Amiens Criminal Court subsequently convicted two men (aged 20 and 21) involved in the third break-in, sentencing them to 3 years and 18 months in prison, respectively.

According to Cointelegraph, Mauro Eldritch, the founder of cybersecurity company BCA LTD, and Heiner García, a network threat intelligence analyst at Telefónica Tech, jointly established a fake cryptocurrency startup "Ballena Azul," successfully luring suspected North Korean IT workers to work in a controlled virtual desktop environment for up to five weeks while monitoring their behavior throughout.Investigations show that the external servers used by the workers are linked to North Korean cyber operations that previously distributed malware such as InvisibleFerret, BeaverTail, and OtterCookie; the workers also heavily relied on ChatGPT for programming assistance and Google Gemini to forge identity documents. Researchers pointed out that North Korean IT workers obtained remote jobs by faking U.S. identities, with their earnings ultimately flowing into Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction programs. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, such programs are expected to generate nearly $800 million for North Korea in 2024.