[Today’s Key Economic and Crypto Events] US Weekly Jobless Claims, Philadelphia Fed Index Due

Today’s Key Economic Events ▶ Thursday, Aug. 20: △US August Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (9:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time) △US weekly initial jobless claims (9:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time) △US July Conference Board Leading Economic Index (11 p.

Ether Jumps 8.5% in a Day as $736.53 Million in Shorts Are Liquidated in Four Hours

Ether climbed more than 8% in a day and briefly rose above $2,300, triggering a wave of short liquidations across the broader crypto market. Wu Blockchain said on Aug. 19 that Ether on Binance had briefly topped $2,300 and was recently trading around

Bitcoin Holds Above $64,000 as Chip Stocks Slide, Leaving Crypto Market Largely Unscathed

Bitcoin and the broader digital-asset market remained relatively steady even as global semiconductor stocks slumped under pressure from rising bond yields. Bitcoin traded around $64,250 on August 19, up slightly from a day earlier, according to CoinD

BounceBit Launches Borobudur, Offering 0% Loans Backed by Franklin Templeton’s BENJI

BounceBit, a CeDeFi platform, has launched a new credit layer designed to offer zero-interest borrowing using tokenized money market funds and crypto investment strategies. Wu Blockchain reported on Aug. 18 that BounceBit rolled out the credit layer,

Kospi Drops as Much as 6.8% as Rising Yields Hit AI Trade; Samsung, SK Hynix Fall More Than 8%

South Korea’s Kospi tumbled as concern mounted that rising global bond yields could make it harder for big technology companies to sustain heavy artificial intelligence spending. The Kospi fell as much as 6.8% in intraday trading on Aug. 19 before pa

Oil Rises for Fourth Straight Session as US-Iran Talks Stall; WTI Tops $85

Oil rose for a fourth straight session as the war between the US and Iran neared the six-month mark, with no progress in talks between the two sides. Bloomberg reported on August 18 that West Texas Intermediate climbed above $85 a barrel. WTI had gai

Bitcoin Reclaims $64,000, Lone Gainer Among Major Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin climbed back above $64,000, showing relative strength against other major cryptocurrencies. CoinDesk reported on Aug. 18 that Bitcoin was trading above $64,000, up more than 1% from a day earlier. It also posted a slight weekly gain, making i

Bitcoin Rebound Fails to Lift Mining Output as CleanSpark, BitFuFu, Canaan Extend Declines

Bitcoin rebounded in July, but Bitcoin production at major publicly traded miners fell for a second straight month. The Block reported on August 17 that CleanSpark mined 586 BTC in July, down about 5% from 614 BTC in June. Over the same period, BitFu

Kospi Opens 2.15% Higher at 7,127.77, Back Above 7,100 for First Time in 17 Sessions

OCC Conditionally Approves Trust Bank Charter for Trump-Linked World Liberty, Reviving Conflict Concerns

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved an application from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company linked to President Donald Trump’s family, to establish a national trust bank, reviving concerns over poten

Goldman Sachs Says Markets Are Too Hawkish on Fed, Sees Little Chance of September Rate Hike

As U.S. inflation eases, Goldman Sachs says financial markets remain overly hawkish in their pricing for Federal Reserve rate increases. Bloomberg reported on Aug. 17 that Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius sees a rate increase at the Federal

Crypto Investors Shift to Revenue, Usage in Picking Winning Tokens

Crypto investors are increasingly selecting tokens based on fundamentals such as protocol revenue, real usage and a token’s value-capture structure, rather than simply following market-cap rankings, according to an analysis. CoinDesk reported on Aug.

SanDisk Stock Perpetual Futures Open Interest Tops $1.7 Billion, Largest in Crypto Market

Open interest in stock perpetual futures tied to SanDisk (SNDK) has surpassed $1.7 billion, making it the largest equity-linked perpetual product traded in the cryptocurrency market. Wu Blockchain reported on Aug. 16 that open interest in SanDisk sto

Crypto Scams Surge After EU’s MiCA Rollout as Fraudsters Pose as Regulators

Crypto scams are rising after the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, regime took full effect, as fraudsters exploit confusion among users leaving unlicensed platforms. CoinDesk reported on Aug. 16 that more than 1,700 unlicensed cryp

Key Economic, Crypto Events This Week: Fed’s July FOMC Minutes Due Aug. 20

Key economic events this week ▶︎Aug. 17 (Mon.): △South Korean markets closed for a substitute holiday marking Liberation Day △New York Fed Empire State Manufacturing Index for August (9:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time) △NAHB Housing Market Index for Augu

UBS Increases BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Call Options 24-Fold, Expands IBIT Exposure

UBS Group AG increased its call-option position tied to BlackRock Inc.'s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund by more than 24-fold from the previous quarter. CoinDesk reported on August 15 that UBS disclosed to regulators a call-option position equivale

Trump to Meet Crypto, Prediction-Market Executives Near White House

President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with senior figures from the cryptocurrency and prediction-market industries at the White House complex. The Block reported on August 15 that Trump will meet industry representatives on August 19 at 2:30 p.

JPMorgan Ends Polymarket Bank Accounts but Stays in Running for IPO Role

JPMorgan Chase & Co. ended some of its banking ties with prediction-market platform Polymarket, but remains interested in winning a role on any future initial public offering, The Block reported on August 15. JPMorgan asked Polymarket in October 2025

Bybit Launches Pre-IPO Perpetual Futures on Unitree, Moonshot AI

Global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has launched pre-IPO perpetual futures tied to Chinese robotics company Unitree and artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI. Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 15 that the contracts are perpetual futures traded an

102 Solana Validators Temporarily Go Offline, Network Remains Operational

Some Solana validators were temporarily knocked offline by an infrastructure outage, but the network continued to operate normally. Wu Blockchain reported on August 13 that Jacob Creech, a technology executive at the Solana Foundation, said an overni

Koscom, NH Investment & Securities Team Up on Tokenized Securities Platform

Koscom and NH Investment & Securities Co. will work together on a shared platform and new business models as South Korea moves to formalize the market for tokenized securities. Koscom said on August 13 that it signed a memorandum of understanding wit

GSR Raises Solana Weight to 43.6% in Model Portfolio, Cuts Bitcoin and Ether

GSR, a global digital-asset investment firm, increased Solana's weighting in its model portfolio to more than 40%, making it the portfolio's largest holding. Wu Blockchain, citing GSR's Core3 model portfolio on Aug. 12, reported that Solana's allocat

Kospi Jumps on Reviving AI Sentiment, Nears Technical Bull Market

South Korean stocks staged a sharp rebound on August 13 as improving sentiment around artificial intelligence pushed the Kospi to the brink of a technical bull market. The Kospi rose as much as 4.8% intraday, leaving it about 22% above its July 30 lo

[Today’s Key Economic and Crypto Events] UK Q2 Preliminary GDP, US July PPI Due

Today’s Key Economic Events ▶ Aug. 13 (Thursday): △ UK preliminary second-quarter GDP (3 p.m. Korea time, 7 a.m.) △ US July producer price index, or PPI (9:30 p.m. Korea time, 8:30 a.m.) △ US initial jobless claims (9:30 p.m. Korea time, 8:30 a.m.) T

Oil Holds Firm as Hormuz Reopening Talks Stall; IEA Warns Supply Deficit Is Widening

Oil remained firm as the market awaited progress in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reported on August 12 that West Texas Intermediate was trading below $83 a barrel. WTI edged lower after climbing about 11% over the past five

SEC Issues No-Action Letter for Franklin Templeton OnChain Government Money Market Fund

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a no-action letter for Franklin Templeton’s OnChain Government Money Market Fund. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said on August 12 that the SEC issued the letter to allow Franklin Templeton’s

US Spot Ether ETFs See $1.7 Million in Net Outflows for Second Straight Trading Day

US spot Ether exchange-traded funds posted net outflows for a second straight trading day. According to Farside Investors, the funds recorded combined net outflows of $1.7 million on Aug. 11. Fidelity's FETH saw $2.3 million leave the fund. BlackRock

Bitmine Stakes $289.4 Million in Ether in a Week, Holds 4.8% of Total Supply

Bitmine, led by Tom Lee, staked about $300 million worth of Ether over the past week. Blockchain analytics platform Arkham wrote on X on Aug. 12 that Bitmine staked $289.4 million worth of ETH during the period. That lifted Bitmine’s staked ETH to 4.

SEC, CFTC Sue Goliath Ventures, Founder Over Alleged $400 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have filed separate civil lawsuits against Goliath Ventures and founder Christopher Delgado over an alleged $400 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Cointelegraph

Bitwise Cuts 14% of Staff as Crypto Slump Enters 10th Month

Bitwise Asset Management, a crypto asset manager, has cut 14% of its workforce as a prolonged market downturn weighs on the industry. Bloomberg reported on August 11 that the San Francisco-based firm reduced headcount to about 155 from roughly 180. E