News linked to this event type.
: AI anti-fraud company Socure announced the completion of a $156 million strategic growth funding round, valuing the company at $5.2 billion. The round was led by Summit Partners, with participation from Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs Alternatives (under Goldman Sachs), DocuSign, and others. In addition, the company also announced the acquisition of AI startup Fravity, aiming to leverage AI agents for fraud, risk, and compliance investigations. The specific acquisition amount has not been disclosed yet. Its anti-fraud services are currently applied to companies including crypto exchange Coinbase, stablecoin issuer Circle, digital bank Revolut, and Robinhood. (Crunchbase)
Circle Internet, the issuer of the stablecoin USDC, has become the new primary shirt sponsor for Premier League club Chelsea Football Club, with financial terms yet to be disclosed. Earlier reports indicated that Chelsea had sought a front-of-shirt sponsorship fee of £65 million (approximately $88.3 million) per year. Chelsea will debut the new jersey featuring the USDC logo in its first Premier League home match of the season. This partnership marks the first time a cryptocurrency financial services company has become a primary shirt sponsor for a Premier League club. Circle is authorized by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under an electronic money license.
Odaily News reports that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) stated that in the 2024 to 2025 tax year, 240 individuals each reported over £1 million in capital gains from crypto assets, totaling £717 million, accounting for more than half of the total. All 17,600 filers reported capital gains of £1.38 billion, with disposal proceeds reaching £13.8 billion.Taxpayers reporting capital gains below £25,000 accounted for 65% of filers, contributing only 7% of capital gains and 8% of disposal proceeds. Among crypto asset taxpayers, 54% were aged between 25 and 44, and 81% were aged 54 or under; men accounted for 87% and contributed 93% of capital gains.The UK is advancing regulation under the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, requiring trading service providers to furnish client information to tax authorities. HMRC will begin receiving relevant data in 2027; service providers that fail to fulfill their obligations will face fines of up to £300 per user. James Murray, Financial Secretary to the UK Treasury, stated that capital gains from crypto assets are taxable just like other capital gains.The UK Treasury plans to defer capital gains tax arising from DeFi lending and depositing assets into liquidity pools until the assets are actually disposed of. For the 2025 to 2026 tax year, capital gains exceeding the allowance threshold must be reported by January 31, 2027. (Decrypt)
Odaily News - California's meme coin regulatory bill AB 2409 has passed both the State Assembly and Senate, and now awaits the governor's signature to become law. The bill prohibits public officials and government employees from issuing meme coins, and starting January 1, 2027, prohibits offering meme coin trading to California residents. If signed by the governor, it will become the first state-level bill in the U.S. to impose systematic legislative constraints on meme coins.
Odaily News: 0xbow.io, a privacy and regulatory compliance tool supported by the Ethereum Foundation, has awarded a $5,000 bounty to researcher ross.wei for disclosing a vulnerability in the Privacy Pools v1 SDK. The vulnerability reduced the entropy of user account master key generation and was fixed in March. The team has provided a migration process, and no user funds were lost.
Odaily News: Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (Dallas Fed) have stated that tokenized deposits and round-the-clock instant blockchain transfers could weaken bank liquidity and limit their ability to issue long-term loans. The research was authored by Rosie Levy and Srini Ramaswamy.The study notes that of the $7 trillion in maturity risk borne by U.S. banks, approximately 80% is supported by the maturity characteristics of traditional deposits. If the weighted average maturity of deposits shortened by 10%, the banking system's maturity transformation capacity would decline by roughly $580 billion, potentially increasing liquidity risks and outflows pressure.Chris Turner, co-founder of Kula, stated that the speed of token transfers does not equate to the legal settlement of underlying financial claims. Tokens can be moved across blockchain networks in seconds, but payments, ownership, and legal claims still rely on banks, custodians, clearing systems, and regulatory registries to complete settlement. (Bitcoin.com News)
According to Chaoxiang Research, a Bernstein report dated August 26, 2026, indicates that approximately 70 AI-driven drug development projects have entered clinical pipelines, with the vast majority still in early stages, leaving the true test for the next three to five years. The CEOs of DeepMind and Anthropic recently claimed that “most diseases will be cured within 5 to 10 years,” but Bernstein regards such statements more as defenses of AI’s societal value, noting they lack grounding in the practical realities of drug development. Every layer—from target discovery to clinical trials to healthcare system capacity—presents a bottleneck. Since biological mechanisms must ultimately be validated in humans, this timeline cannot be compressed by algorithms. Bernstein argues that AI’s core value in pharmaceuticals lies not merely in accelerating processes, but in enhancing decision-making quality. A 20% improvement in success rates generates R&D returns that far outweigh equivalent reductions in time and costs. Conversely, applying AI to treat refractory diseases where biological understanding remains limited can yield even greater value, even if the overall success rate is relatively low. Major pharmaceutical companies exhibit significantly different AI strategies: Eli Lilly leads in external partnerships (25 initiatives), Roche invests the most in computing power, and Amgen boasts the deepest data moat backed by deCODE Genetics. AI has yet to produce a measurable impact on FDA approval metrics; the average annual approval of 48.5 new drugs over the past five years better reflects regulatory modernization and the rise of biopharmaceuticals. AI has already begun playing a role in molecular design, virtual screening, and target discovery. However, “curing all diseases” requires surmounting multiple bottlenecks—a challenge that algorithmic iteration alone cannot resolve.
As reported by Fortune, Grayscale CEO Peter Mintzberg authored an article stating that Bitcoin rallied nearly 20% last week, recording its strongest three-day gains since 2023 as the crypto winter slowly thaws. However, he cautioned that market participants remain overly focused on short-term price fluctuations, overlooking the long-term structural growth of digital assets. Mintzberg highlighted two key drivers: first, sustained expansion in institutional demand. In 2025, the daily average capital inflow into spot Bitcoin ETPs exceeded $500 million, roughly 12 times the daily new supply from miners. Additionally, a 2026 EY survey revealed that 73% of institutional investors plan to increase their digital asset allocations. Second, accelerated enterprise blockchain adoption. In 2025, approximately 60% of Fortune 500 executives stated that their companies are actively advancing blockchain initiatives, with major players like Fidelity, Visa, and Stripe all positioning themselves in the stablecoin sector. He also noted the complementary nature of AI and public chain technologies, adding that emerging demands such as machine-native micro-payments and cross-border instant settlements will further drive real-world blockchain adoption. As regulatory frameworks grow increasingly clear, digital assets are rapidly integrating into the mainstream financial ecosystem.
Odaily News Tech reporter Alex Heath said that OpenAI recently showcased Astra to VIP clients at a closed-door preview event.OpenAI researchers demonstrated Astra coordinating multiple agents to jointly complete mathematical proofs, operating desktop software at what Sam Altman described as "superhuman, extremely fast" speeds, and generating presentation slides (PPT), financial review reports, and analyses of messy data. Astra is designed to work continuously for days or even weeks, capable of remembering human corrections, collaborating with other agents and humans, and executing operations across multiple software tools.Sam Altman also said at the event: "I expect that Astra will be the first model that can truly invent new things in a substantive way."
According to The Block, Evernorth Holdings, an XRP treasury company, announced that its S-4 Registration Statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially become effective. The registration covers Evernorth's business combination with SPAC Armada Acquisition Corp. II, after which it is expected to commence trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "XRPN". The S-4 document registers up to 34,499,992 shares of Class A common stock and 11,499,992 warrants. Positioned as a regulated digital asset treasury company, Evernorth focuses on XRP investment exposure and plans to actively deploy capital into XRP infrastructure projects. Its investors include institutional backers such as Ripple, Arrington Capital, SBI Group, Pantera Capital, Kraken, and GSR. The merger is anticipated to close in late Q3 or early Q4 of 2026, pending shareholder approval.
According to CNBC, the Democratic Senate primary in Massachusetts will take place next Tuesday, with artificial intelligence emerging as a central focus. The race between incumbent Senator Ed Markey, 80, and Representative Seth Moulton, 47, continues to heat up. Moulton seized on Markey's gaffe during a debate where he admitted to not knowing whether he uses AI himself, turning it into a campaign ad that cited the incident as exactly "why we need a new generation of leaders." Public First Action, an organization supported by Anthropic, donated $500,000 to the Markey-supporting PAC "Commonwealth Together," citing Markey's "clear support for AI regulation" and his leadership in driving a 99-to-1 vote to remove a statewide AI regulatory ban provision from a budget reconciliation bill. Anthropic has previously donated $20 million to the organization. Both candidates advocate for stronger AI regulation: Moulton calls for federal AI legislation, while Markey has introduced an "AI Accountability Agenda." Markey also boasts endorsements from prominent progressive figures such as Sanders, Warren, and Ocasio-Cortez. Latest polls show Markey leading Moulton by 35 percentage points, 63% to 28%.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is attempting to revive the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), a cryptocurrency market fundraising model that was once highly popular. However, while some venture capitalists see this as a key opportunity to reset the market, attracting back investors who have long since exited may prove to be a more formidable challenge than regulation itself.
According to Decrypt, privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Sparrow Wallet released version 2.5.4 on August 28. Developer Craig Raw stated that the update was driven by an AI-assisted code review, with the majority of fixes originating from it. This review was prompted by the recent seed generation code vulnerability exploit affecting Coldcard, as well as the release of unrestricted AI models in China, which has significantly enhanced vulnerability scanning capabilities across large codebases. Key updates include: validating the authenticity of transactions returned by Electrum servers, enforcing stricter BitBox02 hardware wallet security requirements (firmware v9.4.0 or higher required), patching local DNS leaks, and masking sensitive credentials in debug logs. Raw noted that there are no indications of any exploits being leveraged, user funds remain secure, and he still advises all users to update at their earliest convenience.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Dunamu, operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, has announced a strategic partnership with global payment giant Visa. Both parties will jointly explore next-generation financial payment services leveraging stablecoins and AI. Cooperation areas include stablecoin payments and cross-border remittance services, business models for the USD stablecoin OUSD based on Open Standards, and "Agentic Commerce," which integrates AI with stablecoins to allow AI to handle the entire product search, purchase, and payment process on behalf of users. The specific service architecture has yet to be finalized, and implementation will proceed in phases in compliance with relevant regulations and regulatory requirements.
As reported by Bitcoin.com, New Zealand's fourth-largest party, the ACT Party (Consumers and Taxpayers Association), has formally proposed a digital asset tax reform plan. The proposal seeks to exempt compliant crypto assets held by individual retail investors for over a year from capital gains tax and waive tax reporting obligations for small-value crypto payments. Additionally, the plan introduces clear regulatory frameworks for stablecoins and tokenized securities, alongside a regulatory sandbox mechanism tailored for startups. ACT Party Deputy Leader Nicole McKee stated that this initiative aims to establish New Zealand as a trusted hub for digital finance, driving local high-value employment and economic growth.
According to an official announcement from BitGo, the company has reached a definitive agreement with NYDIG to acquire its institutional trading business, adding capabilities in execution, derivatives, structured products, and financing to complement its existing federally regulated custody, settlement, and wallet infrastructure. NYDIG's institutional trading business serves institutional clients including asset management firms, hedge funds, corporations, and family offices.
According to reporter Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett), the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are advancing a rulemaking proposal to clarify the definition of "unsafe or unsound practices" in bank regulation. The term has long lacked a precise definition, granting examiners broad discretion. The new rule will require regulators to tie such determinations to actual violations or significant financial risks, preventing them from pressuring banks under vague reputational or procedural grounds to deny service to legitimate customers, including crypto businesses.
Odaily News: Federal authorities are preparing to bring charges against a U.S. service member suspected of wagering over $1 million on military operations through prediction markets. The service member, who has been under scrutiny since spring, placed bets related to military strikes against Iran and Venezuela. This case is one of several investigations into service members involved in trading war contracts, with related contracts covering the timing and outcomes of military operations. The U.S. is also investigating a KPMG employee suspected of wagering that a company's performance would exceed market consensus expectations.
Odaily News: Prediction market platform Polymarket US withdrew two NFL player participation contract filings on August 26. The platform had completed certification with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the previous day and planned to launch the related products no earlier than August 27.On the same day, Polymarket US certified Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana price contracts. All three contract types were submitted in paired form and classified as swaps under the binary options subcategory. Both the NFL contracts and the cryptocurrency contracts fall under the relevant classification.Polymarket US separately filed a confidential treatment request for the NFL compliance analysis documents, seeking permanent non-disclosure on the grounds that public release would reveal trade secrets and give competitors an unfair advantage. As of the time of record, another NFL American football starting eligibility contract remained in certified status. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Fox Business crypto reporter stated on the X platform that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation are advancing toward finalizing a rule to define "unsafe or unsound practices" in bank regulation. The term has remained loosely defined for years, relying largely on the broad discretion of bank examiners. Under the rule, regulators must tie determinations that a practice is "unsafe or unsound" to actual violations of law or significant financial risk, thereby reducing the likelihood of pressuring banks—including those serving legitimate clients such as crypto companies—over vague reputational or procedural concerns. The rule marks another important step toward dismantling "Operation Choke Point 2.0."