News linked to both this project and an event.
The Situational Awareness fund, managed by "AI Stock God" Leopold Aschenbrenner, accumulated a gain of 439% before June 2026. However, it suffered severe setbacks during the AI sector sell-off in July. The fund is currently communicating with existing investors and lenders to seek new capital and is offering some LPs the opportunity to purchase assets from its portfolio.Sources say this capital discussion appears more like an ad-hoc response than an organized new fundraising round. The fund had previously used leverage through prime brokers at several major investment banks to amplify its AI trading exposure, turning market drawdowns further into funding pressure.In a letter to investors on July 24, Aschenbrenner acknowledged that the fund failed to avoid this market shock, noting that Asian markets were particularly affected. However, he believes this sell-off could present the best buying opportunity since early 2025. He plans to open a window for new capital on August 1st and views Anthropic's potential IPO as a catalyst for the second half of the year.According to disclosures, some holdings saw significant declines in July. Oracle and AMD fell approximately 20% for the month, while Nebius, Saronic AI, Bloom Energy, Sandisk, and others saw even larger drops. The Nasdaq 100 index fell about 10% in July, and South Korea's Kospi index dropped by roughly one-third.Currently, lacking specific data on the fund's exact drawdown magnitude, it is difficult to determine whether this fundraising is a passive capital injection driven by leverage pressure or an active move to increase positions for an opportunity. However, market trends suggest it is closer to the former. If forced selling occurs, the deleveraging process could also create discount opportunities in assets whose fundamentals haven't materially changed.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that Bitcoin's increasing momentum, ETF demand, and institutional adoption may indicate early signs of a new crypto bull run, driven by factors including tokenization, stablecoins, and blockchain-based financial markets. Hougan pointed out that since July 1st, Bitcoin has risen by 9%, while the Nasdaq 100 has fallen by 6%. He noted that market sentiment and ETF flows have improved, but the market has not yet confirmed a bottom. Hougan believes the next crypto cycle will focus on the convergence of blockchain technology and traditional finance, encompassing stablecoins, tokenization, 24/7 trading, instant settlement, and the expansion of institutional DeFi to a trillion-dollar scale. Hougan views Hyperliquid and Robinhood as two paths for on-chain finance. He stated that nearly half of Hyperliquid's trading volume comes from traditional assets such as crude oil, silver, and the S&P 500. Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain on July 1st to support tokenized stocks and DeFi services.
: Arcus, a decentralized exchange supported by Robinhood, launched tokenized stocks and perpetual futures on the Robinhood Chain on Tuesday. Arcus is built by the team behind the decentralized exchange dYdX and is supported by Robinhood Crypto. Arcus previously launched its spot market on July 1st when the Robinhood Chain went live. The platform offers over 95 stock tokens, perpetual markets, and crypto assets via self-custodial trading accounts, using USDG, a stablecoin issued by Paxos, as the primary collateral and settlement asset. The tokens launched on Arcus include stock tokens for major US companies such as Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon, as well as perpetual markets linked to stocks, ETFs, commodities, indices, and crypto assets. Arcus stated that its stock tokens are not available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other restricted jurisdictions. The platform utilizes a self-custody model, allowing users to retain control of their assets and connect self-custodial wallets such as MetaMask, Ledger, and WalletConnect.
Odaily Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor published a 110-point article opposing the proposed Bitcoin soft fork BIP-110. BIP-110 plans to tighten Bitcoin's consensus rules within about a year, restricting the technology used for embedding arbitrary data, targeting non-financial data such as Ordinals and inscriptions. Michael Saylor stated that BIP-110 would invalidate currently valid transactions that pay fees through consensus changes, and claimed that Bitcoin cannot differentiate data intent. He believes that including a specific use case within the consensus layer restrictions would set a governance precedent. While the specific restrictions would expire in about a year, the precedent would not disappear. He also opposed the proposal's activation design, stating it lowers the miner signaling threshold from the 95% used in earlier soft forks to 55%, and removes the option that typically allows proposals to naturally expire. Data from a proposal monitoring dashboard shows current signaling support is below 1%. The mandatory signaling window for BIP-110 is scheduled to open in August, with a target activation date around September 1st. Michael Saylor's stance aligns with Blockstream CEO Adam Back, Casa's Jameson Lopp, and Bitcoin proponent Samson Mow. Opponents include developer Luke Dashjr and the Bitcoin Knots camp.
Odaily, July 20 - According to official sources, Gate has launched the Esports Peak Trading Season from 16:00 on July 20 to 16:00 on August 10 (UTC+8), with a total prize pool of 200,000 USDT. During the event, users who register and participate in designated prediction trading for esports events in the Gate Polymarket esports section can enjoy newcomer benefits, weekly trading tasks, and the prediction trading leaderboard to share generous rewards. After the event, the top 100 users by cumulative prediction trading volume who meet the corresponding trading volume requirements can also share a 50,000 USDT leaderboard reward, with the 1st place winner eligible to receive up to 10,000 USDT. Currently, the Gate Prediction Market has launched prediction markets for popular events such as the 2026 KeSPA Cup "League of Legends" Chevor DRX vs. KT team, and more exciting events can be found on the platform for participation.According to data from Polymarket Builders, the Gate Prediction Market ranked first among Polymarket channels in single-day trading volume on July 19, and has also maintained a leading position in cumulative trading volume over the past week and month, ranking first among Polymarket channels. As the first centralized trading platform to integrate Polymarket, Gate has become a key entry point for users to participate in prediction markets. Users can enter Gate Polymarket via the Alpha section on the Gate App homepage and use USDT in their accounts to conveniently trade in prediction markets for popular esports events and championship outcomes. Users can also leverage the "Smart Money" feature to track the positions and market judgments of high-win-rate traders, gaining more reference for esports event predictions. Gate is continuously expanding the application scenarios of its prediction market, providing users with prediction trading experiences covering diverse events such as popular esports competitions.
on-chain investigator ZachXBT has released verification information, stating that crypto exchange AscendEX has officially announced its cessation of operations, and the platform's current liquid assets are almost insufficient to cover user withdrawal demands. According to the platform announcement, the shutdown is primarily due to market conditions and the EU MiCA regulatory framework. Starting July 1st, all services including account opening, trading, and deposits will be fully suspended, with only basic functions such as account inquiry and withdrawals remaining open. After July 6th, all withdrawal channels will cease automatic processing and switch entirely to manual review. The official team has candidly warned that withdrawals may be significantly delayed or even impossible to process.ZachXBT’s investigation found that pending user claims amount to millions of dollars, yet the platform’s available liquid assets in hot wallets are severely insufficient. AscendEX is currently evaluating its financial status and a plan for handling user assets, with subsequent arrangements to be announced separately.
on July 1st that Binance’s official X account announced the asset management scale for stock-related products on its platform has exceeded $1 billion.On June 1, 2026, Binance launched US stock and ETF trading services for eligible non-US users, offering over 7,000 US-listed stocks and ETFs with zero-commission trading and a minimum purchase of $5.
Binance founder CZ stated that the company's MiCA license application in Greece fully met regulatory requirements before its withdrawal and was close to approval. However, the process was ultimately disrupted due to the intervention of "external political factors."In an interview, CZ mentioned that several countries within the EU had expressed interest in the license, with some even showing a degree of "competitive pursuit." Ultimately, the regulatory progress was affected by factors outside the regulatory sphere, forcing the withdrawal of the application. Binance formally withdrew its Greek application last week and stated it would pursue MiCA authorization in other EU member states. Addressing market rumors linking him to high-level EU political figures, CZ said he had not seen any verifiable documents and had only encountered similar claims online, which he could not confirm.CZ also noted that the MiCA transitional period in the EU is set to end on July 1st. After that date, platforms without a license must cease related services. National regulatory bodies have made it clear there will be no extensions. He described the outcome as a "lose-lose situation" and, citing the regulatory histories of Japan and Singapore, emphasized that compliance processes often require a longer cycle.Furthermore, when discussing Strategy's STRC preferred stock product, CZ described its structure as "too complex" and said he found it difficult to fully understand its mechanism. However, he stressed that he was not making a judgment on the credibility of its founder, Michael Saylor, whom he considers a "staunch Bitcoin supporter." (The Block)
: Zhipu AI founder Tang Jie posted on the X platform, stating that since the official open-source release of GLM-5.2, it has achieved leading results in multiple international authoritative evaluations and competitive rankings. In the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index comprehensive evaluation, GLM-5.2 scored 51 points, placing it in the same range as Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.8. In the Code Arena front-end code generation adversarial test, it ranked 2nd globally with an Elo of 1595, and in the DesignArena design and code integration scenario, it scored 1360 points, ranking 1st.Overall, Zhipu GLM-5.2 continues to rank among the top globally in real-world scenario evaluations across multiple areas, including front-end development, design generation, and software engineering. It is steadily narrowing the performance gap with cutting-edge models from OpenAI and Anthropic and will continue to push the upper limits of model capabilities.Previously, in response to Musk's statement that Chinese large models might reach Anthropic's Fable level by the first quarter of next year, Zhipu AI founder Tang Jie replied, "It won't take that long."
According to Lookonchain monitoring, data updated on June 1st shows that Bitcoin ETFs recorded a single-day net outflow of 1,947 BTC, approximately $139.42 million, and a 7-day net outflow of 19,351 BTC, approximately $1.39 billion; Ethereum ETFs recorded a single-day net outflow of 27,948 ETH, approximately $55 million, and a 7-day net outflow of 125,288 ETH, approximately $246.57 million; Solana ETFs recorded a single-day net inflow of 15,902 SOL, approximately $1.27 million, and a 7-day net inflow of 35,374 SOL, approximately $2.82 million.
Binance has released its May proof of reserve update. As of May 1st, users' net BTC balance stood at 606,742.388 BTC, while Binance's wallet balance was 608,067.979 BTC, resulting in a BTC reserve ratio of 100.22%.Additionally, users' net ETH balance was 3,762,321.834 ETH, with Binance's wallet balance at 3,762,328.82 ETH, giving an ETH reserve ratio of 100%. The USDT reserve ratio was 104.27%, and the BNB reserve ratio was 101.68%.
: CME Group has announced the launch of cash-settled Bitcoin Volatility Futures, scheduled to go live on June 1st (pending regulatory approval).Based on the 30-day Implied Volatility Index (BVX), this product allows traders to trade or hedge Bitcoin volatility without speculating on the direction of price movements.The new contract is expected to carry the ticker symbol BVI, with a contract multiplier of $500 x the index value, aiming to provide the market with a more refined risk management tool.
Coinbase has announced it will list Wrapped Ronin (WRON) for spot trading. If liquidity conditions are met, the WRON-USD trading pair is expected to open after 00:00 Beijing time on May 1st. Simultaneously, Coinbase will support MegaETH (MEGA). Users can now generate deposit addresses, but deposits can only be made after the project team enables transfers. The specific listing time for trading will be announced separately.Additionally, Coinbase has listed Gensyn (AI) and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL), allowing users to buy, sell, swap, and transfer these tokens on the platform.
Odaily News Drift announced on its official website that Drift Protocol has received support from Tether and other partners. Tether intends to contribute $127.5 million, while other partners plan to contribute $20 million, collectively supporting user recovery efforts following the April 1st attack. This support package includes a $100 million revenue-linked credit line, ecosystem grants, and loans provided to market makers. Drift will establish a dedicated user recovery pool, aiming to gradually address the $295 million in outstanding user losses as trading revenue grows. Additionally, Drift will issue independent recovery tokens to affected users, which represent a claim on the recovery pool and are transferable. Drift is currently in the process of restarting the protocol, having engaged Ottersec and Asymmetric for audits, and is migrating its settlement layer from USDC to USDT. The previous attack resulted in the theft of assets worth approximately $295 million, while the insurance fund assets remained unaffected.