demand

Zhao Haijun, Co-CEO of SMIC, stated that the demand for AI-supported chips has increased by 40%.

Glassnode published a market perspective stating that Bitcoin is currently caught between the median realized price (around $63,000) and the cost basis of short-term holders (around $68,700). Spot trading volume has hit its lowest level since 2019, and the market is in an extremely quiet compression state. Despite core inflation falling to 2.5% in July and the stock market reaching new highs, Bitcoin has shown almost no reaction and even weakened, indicating a clear lack of demand.On the other hand, selling pressure is easing: profit supply is approaching the past bear market bottom area, the seller exhaustion indicator has hit a cycle low, and the adjusted SOPR has been rejected near the breakeven line nine times. Meanwhile, buyers continue to be absent, with minimal net inflows into ETFs, and coins are still flowing into exchanges; however, derivatives leverage has already massively gone long, with open interest relative to trading volume being high, and the order book's buy side is also thinning. Glassnode believes that the key observation points are the upper level of $68,700 and the lower level of about $58,500: effectively standing above the former with accompanying volume and ETF inflows recovering may confirm improvement, while losing the latter could easily lead to accelerated declines under thin buy support and crowded longs. Glassnode remains cautious overall, believing this is the late-stage bear market compression phase, and real demand signals have yet to appear.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has lowered its global oil demand forecast for this year, primarily due to ongoing export disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and high fuel prices. The IEA expects global oil demand to decline by 1.56 million barrels per day by 2026, reaching 103.29 million barrels per day. It is anticipated that global oil demand will decrease by 4.9 million barrels per day year-on-year in the second quarter, with a recovery in the fourth quarter, increasing by approximately 580,000 barrels per day.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju stated that the current trend of Bitcoin is mainly driven by the futures market. He pointed out that although open interest continues to rise, on-chain spot demand remains in a state of net negative growth.

The senior deputy governor of the Bank of Korea stated that the central bank is more focused on demand-side inflation pressures rather than supply-side, and revealed that there will be additional interest rate hikes.

Ethereum developers proposed a "Tapered Issuance Burn" mechanism, planning to gradually burn a portion of the idealized rewards for validators as the ETH staking ratio increases; when the staking amount approaches 50% of the total supply, the net issuance of ETH will drop to 0%. The author of the proposal stated that the ETH staking ratio exceeded one-third of the total supply in April; if not adjusted, Jerome de Tychey indicated that by January 2028, the staking amount could exceed 70 million, accounting for more than 55% of the supply.Supporters believe that excessive staking may cause small independent validators to lose economic viability first, leading to staking concentration among custodial institutions and large service providers; the plan is proposed to be implemented over 18 months, with an additional approximately 6 months reserved for preparation before potential network upgrades. Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that once the staking rate exceeds 50%, rewards will drop to 0%, and the uncertainty of returns may weaken institutional staking and DeFi demand. He pointed out that ETH lending strategies may be affected, and this proposal is still in its preliminary stage.

Glassnode released a market outlook stating that the sentiment in the Bitcoin options market is improving, with the short-term downside skew significantly retreating. The 1-week 25 Delta Skew has dropped to about 7%, indicating that recent panic has eased. However, the longer-term skew remains around 10%--12%, and the demand for downside protection still exists.Currently, the open interest for BTC call options is about $15 billion, higher than the approximately $10 billion for put options; recent funds are mainly concentrated in the $61,000 to $67,000 range, with a noticeable buying of $65,000 call options. Glassnode believes that the market is shifting towards more aggressive positions but has not yet abandoned risk hedging.

Micron Technology stated to Deutsche Bank at the FMS 2026 conference that AI is reshaping the memory industry landscape, with the proportion of memory in the total value of systems rising from about 10% thirty years ago to nearly 50% currently, and this trend is accelerating. Currently, both DRAM and NAND are in a state of supply shortage. Due to the need for physical disassembly of systems for memory upgrades, the demand for memory in AI systems is more rigid, and price elasticity is lower than market expectations. The Strategic Customer Agreement (SCA) is expected to cover about 40% of sales, providing a price stability mechanism for both parties.Micron's management described the demand for CPU-side AI Agents as "pre-season warm-up," viewing it as a new pillar of growth outside the GPU ecosystem. For emerging technologies like SRAM, Micron believes their scalability is limited and cannot challenge the core position of HBM, with only about 5% of systems currently running such specific workloads. Deutsche Bank maintains a "Buy" rating, believing Micron has a unique advantage of "growth without sacrificing profits." During FMS, Sandisk and SK Hynix jointly released the first HBF technical specifications, but Micron believes that its actual value and commercialization prospects remain controversial.

Google's parent company Alphabet's massive bond issuance attracted about $115 billion in subscription demand.

According to Jinshi reports, Israel has requested residents of southern Lebanese towns to evacuate.

According to CryptoQuant analyst Novaque Research, the Federal Reserve voted 9 to 3 on July 29 to maintain the interest rate target range at 3.50% to 3.75%. However, maintaining the interest rate is different from cutting rates and did not bring new liquidity stimulus, and Bitcoin's internal demand indicators reflect this constraint.Novaque stated that the Coinbase premium index continues to be deeply negative, close to -0.11, indicating that Bitcoin's pricing on Coinbase is weaker than on offshore platforms, pointing to sluggish spot demand in the U.S.; total open interest remains below the 100-day moving average, and CME options exposure has significantly contracted from the peak in the first quarter; exchange reserves have rebounded from the April low to about 2.72 million BTC, indicating an increase in supply that can be sold at any time. It believes that against the backdrop of weak demand in the U.S., simply pausing interest rate hikes can only prevent further tightening and cannot create a favorable environment for price increases, and Bitcoin prices will remain under pressure in the short term.

According to Jinshi reports, German chip manufacturer Infineon expects fourth-quarter revenue for the period ending in September to reach approximately 4.7 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars), exceeding analysts' average expectations of 4.6 billion euros. This growth is mainly attributed to the increased demand for data center chips and rising prices.Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck stated that the demand for power solutions aimed at artificial intelligence data centers remains strong, becoming an important growth driver for the company.

Glassnode released the report "BTC Market Pulse: Week 32," stating that Bitcoin has recently fallen to around $62,600, with weak spot demand and rising defensive sentiment in the derivatives market. However, increased on-chain activity, confidence among long-term holders, and ETF capital inflows continue to support the market.The report pointed out that Bitcoin previously failed to maintain the rebound after breaking through $66,000 and has now retreated from the $65,000 range. The current price trend reflects a weakening of spot momentum, with sustained net selling pressure and low trading activity keeping the market in a consolidation phase lacking clear breakthrough momentum.In the derivatives market, the overall open interest has decreased, but the funding rate for perpetual contracts has rebounded, and active selling volume has eased. The options market remains defensive, with the 25 Delta skew widening, indicating increased demand for downside protection among investors, while speculative open interest continues to decline. The ETF market has shown improvement, with net inflows and trading volume both rebounding in the past week, indicating that institutional investors are reallocating funds through regulated channels.Regarding on-chain data, Glassnode noted that Bitcoin network activity has significantly increased, with the number of daily active addresses and adjusted transfer volume both breaking through the upper limit of the statistical range, indicating an increase in network usage and economic activity. At the same time, new capital inflows have slightly increased, and capital outflow pressure has eased. In terms of holding structure, the supply ratio of short-term holders to long-term holders remains close to historical lows, showing that long-term investors still maintain strong confidence.However, the overall profitability of the market continues to decline, with the proportion of profitable supply nearing a cyclical low, and investor spending behavior is more defensive, reflecting stop-loss strategies. Glassnode concluded that the current Bitcoin market is in a transitional phase, with stability among long-term holders, increased on-chain activity, and a rebound in ETF demand providing structural support. However, valuation pressure, insufficient spot momentum, and defensive positions in derivatives still limit market risk appetite.

According to Jinshi reports, the Bank of Japan stated on Monday that global demand related to artificial intelligence may create persistent upward pressure on inflation in Japan, indicating that the bank is increasingly concerned about inflation risks, which may further strengthen its rationale for recent interest rate hikes.The Bank of Japan pointed out that in the short term, the investment boom driven by AI may lead to inflation effects that exceed the benefits brought by productivity improvements. The report stated that the spillover effects from AI demand will persist for some time, while the rising import costs due to the depreciation of the yen will also increase domestic inflationary pressures.

Goldman Sachs published a research report stating that Samsung Electronics' operating profit for the second quarter met expectations. The firm raised its earnings per share forecast for 2026 to 2028 by about 2% and increased the 12-month target price from 480,000 won to 490,000 won. The firm expects that demand for memory will significantly exceed supply, with the gap widening in 2027 and supply remaining tight in 2028.Goldman Sachs pointed out that the company has signed long-term agreements with major data center customers, which will provide better profit visibility and downside protection.In addition, the company aims to become a leader in the AI memory market, with HBM4 expected to account for over 60% of HBM revenue in the second half of 2026, and anticipates significant upside potential for shareholder returns. The stock is currently trading at a forecasted price-to-earnings ratio of 3.1 times and a price-to-book ratio of 1.2 times, with a shareholder return rate close to 50%.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated that Binance recorded a net outflow of approximately $2.2 billion in stablecoins in July, with Binance currently holding 70% of the exchange's stablecoin supply. Since the beginning of the year, Binance has accumulated a net outflow of $7 billion in stablecoins, confirming a trend of sharply shrinking demand that has never truly reversed.The analyst pointed out that the continuous outflow of stablecoins indicates that liquidity is fleeing the crypto market, with investors more inclined to withdraw funds rather than wait for redeployment, reflecting ongoing risk aversion rather than simple capital rotation between platforms. Despite the ongoing liquidity drain, Bitcoin remains stable above $60,000, demonstrating price resilience amid geopolitical and macroeconomic tensions. The analyst warned that the market needs to see a recovery in demand soon, or the pullback may continue.

According to Jinshi reports, U.S. President Trump stated that he told Ukrainian President Zelensky that this war must end.

According to a post from Wanchain's official X account, on July 20, 2026, the Wanchain Bridge Cardano cross-chain bridge was attacked, and hackers stole NIGHT tokens. Wanchain immediately issued a notice to the attackers, requesting them to return 90% of the stolen NIGHT tokens by August 6 at 12:00 UTC, allowing them to keep 10% as a white hat bounty, and promising not to pursue civil liability.Currently, some community users have pointed out that the hackers have completed the exchange of NIGHT tokens on DEX, and the price of NIGHT tokens has dropped by over 30%, now reported at $0.0188.