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Odaily News: The Central Bank of Russia, in its draft policy for 2027 to 2029, has classified cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as major risks to the financial market, stating that they could undermine the ruble's status and monetary sovereignty, and pose a risk of total loss of investors' principal. The bank also noted that the cross-border and decentralized nature of crypto assets could facilitate illegal activities and the expansion of shadow markets.The Central Bank of Russia advocates for criminal liability for unlicensed platforms and exchanges that facilitate the circulation of digital currencies, and administrative fines for participants who violate trading rules. Russia has already allowed specific companies to use crypto assets such as Bitcoin to settle international trade contracts under central bank supervision, with domestic retail investors permitted to trade through licensed intermediaries at an annual limit of approximately $3,700. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: According to Gate Ventures' latest weekly report, last week's escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East combined with U.S. core inflation exceeding expectations significantly heightened global market volatility. Brent crude and WTI crude surged 8.33% and 9.36% respectively, returning above $100 per barrel; U.S. August core CPI rose 0.29% month-over-month, higher than expected, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.97%, with market-implied probability of a September rate hike rising to approximately 86%; spot gold fell 1.82% to $4,349.42 per ounce. U.S. stock indices — the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones — declined 0.80%, 0.66%, and 1.57% respectively; the crypto market weakened in tandem, with BTC and ETH dropping 4.4% and 1.5% respectively. Spot BTC ETFs saw net outflows of $462.7 million, while ETH ETFs recorded net inflows of $197.1 million. The fear index dropped from 71 to 57, indicating a cooling of market sentiment.On the industry front, India launched a $107 million tokenized corporate bond pilot program, further advancing institutional-grade RWA tokenization; Gemini obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, further expanding its regulatory footprint in the Asia-Pacific region; and the Philippine central bank plans to suspend new payment system operator registrations for 12 months, tightening oversight of VASP-related payment activities.On the funding side, a total of 9 financing deals were completed last week, with disclosed total funding reaching $158.4 million, down 88% quarter-over-quarter. Overall, energy prices and inflation expectations remain the core variables driving short-term market trends, while interest in tokenized assets and institutional-grade crypto infrastructure development remains undiminished.
Odaily News: U.S. Senate Banking Committee ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren will deliver a speech on the Senate floor Monday evening, attacking the ethics provisions in the latest revised text of the CLARITY Act. Warren will call the provision a "weak fig leaf," arguing that it still contains major loopholes and fails to effectively restrict U.S. President Trump from profiting through crypto ventures such as World Liberty Financial.Previously, Senate Republicans unveiled the latest revised text of the CLARITY Act on Sunday evening, adding new ethics rules that include allowing state attorneys general to enforce the relevant provisions and prohibiting the president and other senior government officials from issuing digital assets. The Senate is expected to hold a key procedural vote Tuesday afternoon to advance the bill, which requires at least 60 votes in favor to move forward. (CNBC)
Odaily reports: Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has been granted a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), enabling it to provide digital payment token and cross-border transfer services.The license supports Gemini in offering spot trading, custody, and over-the-counter (OTC) services to both retail and institutional clients. Gemini has been serving customers in Singapore since 2020.Gemini co-founder and President Cameron Winklevoss stated that obtaining the license reflects the company's commitment to the Singapore market. Co-founder and CEO Tyler Winklevoss said Singapore will serve as the company's regional strategic hub. (Bitcoin.com News)
BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated millions in funding to the UK's Reform UK (Reform Party) to support the party leader's political agenda and policy reforms.
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.
Odaily News: Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform stating that most G20 countries already have regulatory frameworks for crypto trading, with the UK having recently established its framework just a few months ago. The US, home to the world's largest financial market, is a major exception in this regard. He stated that the Senate should pass the Clarity Act by September 15.
Crypto startups completed USD 11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed capital flowing to regulated, licensed enterprises. Payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms received the most funding. Major backers include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, whose investment focus is on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or alternative platforms. (CoinDesk)
According to The Block, the New York City Council has launched an investigation into four prediction market platforms—Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and Gemini Titan—alleging they employed "false, deceptive, or abusive" marketing tactics targeting young users. Among them, Polymarket was accused of paying social media creators to film videos placing fake bets on counterfeit websites, an incident first disclosed by The Wall Street Journal in June this year. Additionally, prediction market platforms face insider trading allegations; New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order in April prohibiting state government employees from using confidential government information to place bets on prediction markets.
Odaily News: Gurinder Singh Josan, Co-Chair of the UK Parliamentary Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), along with Lord Vaizey of Didcot, has written to the CEOs of all major UK banks, demanding clarification on how they treat crypto and digital asset businesses. The letter raises six questions covering banks' current policies, whether they provide services to crypto businesses, related transaction restrictions and the factors determining them, and asks whether practices will be adjusted once the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulatory regime takes effect. The group noted that many crypto businesses struggle to open bank accounts in the UK, with some banks also restricting related payments. The letter stems from a parliamentary inquiry into banking service access launched on July 21, with written submissions open until August 31. A January survey by the UK Cryptoasset Business Council estimated that banks block or delay around 40% of transactions to crypto exchanges. HSBC, NatWest, Monzo, and Nationwide cap monthly transfers to crypto exchanges at between £5,000 and £10,000, while Starling and Chase UK prohibit such transfers altogether. UK Treasury Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby stated that the government does not want FCA-licensed firms to face banking restrictions solely because of their industry; the FCA completed related rules in June, with the regime becoming mandatory in October 2027. (Decrypt)
The South Korean State Council approved the Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Specific Financial Information Act, expanding the crypto asset Travel Rule from currently applying only to transfers above 1 million KRW to all transfers to prevent splitting transactions to evade regulation. The new regulations also tighten VASP admission, expand the scope of major shareholder review, and add new financial requirements such as a debt ratio not exceeding 200%; transfers with overseas exchanges and personal wallets will be managed differentially according to risk levels, and high-risk transactions may be prohibited. The Travel Rule and related regulations will be implemented six months after publication.
According to Cryptopolitan, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has launched a three-month fraud refund system reconstruction project with a budget of approximately 119 million Korean won. This upgrade aims to align with the revised "Telecommunications Fraud Damage Compensation Act" amended on March 31 this year—the bill will officially take effect on October 1, formally incorporating virtual assets into the scope of "damaged property" and "refundable property." The new system will support calculating compensation amounts based on token type and quantity, using the Korean won value at the time funds were frozen as a reference benchmark, while also possessing the ability to disentangle mixed fraud funds across multiple accounts. Major exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX will be required to assume anti-fraud and victim relief obligations equivalent to those of banks at that time, including verifying transaction purposes, monitoring suspicious funds, and freezing suspected accounts.
According to South Korean media NATE, the South Korea Regulatory Rationalization Committee has proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Specific Financial Transaction Information Act to exclude minor violations from the eligibility restrictions for major shareholders of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), sparking market discussions on exchange M&A, new business entry, and regulatory fairness. This relaxation proposal also involves issues regarding the boundaries of authority under the Enforcement Decree.
Odaily News: Patrick Hansen, Senior Director of EU Strategy and Policy at Circle, stated that since the full implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), licenses have been granted to 35 electronic money tokens from 21 issuers, with local issuers making good progress in implementation. Patrick Hansen pointed out that MiCA's strict requirements have made it impossible for most major stablecoin issuers, including Tether, to meet operational requirements. Currently, only USDG, USDC, and EURC comply with the framework's requirements, leaving other stablecoins outside MiCA's regulatory scope and leaving EU users either unprotected or unable to access them. He believes that the upcoming MiCA review should address this issue and provide foreign issuers with a more pragmatic operational path. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union launched a public consultation on May 20 to assess whether the current framework remains fit for purpose, with the consultation set to run until September 30.
According to Korean media Daum, volatility in the South Korean stock market has recently intensified, investor risk appetite has clearly cooled, and funds are flowing back from the stock market to safe-haven assets such as banks. Due to adjustments in the semiconductor sector and stricter regulation on leveraged investment, idle funds in the South Korean stock market are withdrawing rapidly, and the market is exhibiting a phenomenon of "reverse capital migration". Data shows that as of the end of July, the time deposit balance at South Korea's five major banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup) reached 973.49 trillion won, an increase of 24.09 trillion won from the end of the previous month, marking the largest single-month increase this year. Funds related to the stock market also showed significant contraction. According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, investor securities account deposits (idle funds for stock trading) reached a historical high of 139.69 trillion won on June 4, but as of July 28, had fallen to 107.20 trillion won, a decrease of over 32 trillion won in less than two months. The balance of credit transaction financing, representing the scale of market margin trading, fell to 33.19 trillion won during the same period, a decrease of about 4.5 trillion won from the peak of 37.72 trillion won set on July 2, a decline of approximately 12%.
Circle's Senior Director of EU Strategy and Policy Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) stated in a post that since the implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), approximately 35 Electronic Money Tokens (EMT) from 21 institutions have obtained compliance certification, with banks and electronic money institutions entering the market and strong momentum in local issuance. However, among the top 50 global stablecoins, currently only USDC, USDG, and EURC comply with MiCA requirements; the rest remain outside the regulatory framework, leaving EU users facing a dual dilemma of lacking protection or having access forcibly cut off. Hansen believes that for MiCA to truly become a global regulatory blueprint, it must achieve two goals simultaneously: first, to promote local EMTs to go global through a competitive regime; second, to establish a recognition mechanism for overseas compliant stablecoins, attracting global issuers into the MiCA regulatory framework, rather than making local issuance the only access path.
: The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea plans to draft a unified "Basic Digital Assets Act" together with the ruling Democratic Party. The content will cover stablecoin issuance and circulation, digital asset business rules, exchange listing requirements, information disclosure, internal controls, and system resilience standards. Currently, there are 10 pending bills related to digital assets and stablecoins in the South Korean National Assembly. The FSC has yet to decide on the timing and method for submitting the unified bill. Major points of disagreement include whether banks should hold a majority stake in issuers of Korean won-pegged stablecoins, and whether major crypto exchanges should be subject to ownership restrictions. The National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee plans to deliberate on a proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act put forward by the opposition party, which aims to abolish the crypto income tax before its implementation on January 1, 2027. Under the current arrangement, income exceeding 2.5 million Korean won from the transfer or lending of crypto assets each year is subject to a 20% tax plus a 2% local income tax.
According to Korean media Asiae, six top Silicon Valley VC firms, including Sequoia Capital, a16z, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and NEA, announced the signing of a strategic investment cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South Korean National Pension Service (NPS), planning to jointly explore investment opportunities, share investment information, and strengthen their global venture capital layout. Additionally, with the South Korean government accelerating policies to attract overseas venture capital, coupled with the launch of the 200 trillion won "National Growth Fund," the market expects the Korean venture capital sector to see simultaneous inflows of policy funds, private capital, and overseas capital, with strategic industries such as AI and semiconductors expected to receive more investment. However, industry insiders warn that if a large amount of capital concentrates on a few popular enterprises, it may push up corporate valuations and create bubbles, potentially facing valuation correction pressure during future IPO and M&A exits, affecting fund return rates.
Odaily News Japanese regulators are advancing adjustments to the legal framework for digital asset investments, with spot Bitcoin ETFs potentially receiving approval for listing as early as 2028. However, the timeline remains subject to progress in regulation, product review, and tax reform. On July 15, Japan's Diet approved the transfer of Bitcoin and approximately 105 other crypto assets from the framework of the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, removing a major legal barrier for related funds to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Major Japanese financial groups such as SBI Holdings and Nomura are preparing digital asset products. Japan also plans to adjust the crypto asset tax system from a miscellaneous income tax of up to 55% to a separate self-assessment tax rate of approximately 20.315%.
Odaily Planet Daily reported that South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone announced on July 22 that it had received approval from the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to complete its major shareholder change declaration, formally establishing a new shareholder structure centered around Korea Investment & Securities, OKX Ventures, and Com2uS Holdings. Coinone stated that it will leverage the enhanced compliance and technical capabilities of its new shareholders to upgrade digital asset trading services and accelerate its transition into a comprehensive blockchain financial platform. (EDaily)