📡 8-hour recap | Aug 21 00:00-08:00
RecodeX restructures messages. Over the past 8 hours, Bitcoin broke through $73,000 driven by multiple strong positives, reaching a recent high. At the same time, the total U.S. Treasury debt balance first surpassed $4 trillion, drawing market attention. The AI sector has been unusually active, with major developments at companies including Broadcom, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
🤖 AI and Technology
1. Nvidia plans to ship China-specific AI chips by the end of the year to respond to U.S. export controls.
2. Broadcom is in talks to raise more than $60 billion through debt financing to support expansion of its AI chip business. The total could reach $100 billion, with Blackstone and Apollo participating.
3. OpenAI offers API customers an option to retain zero data, previews new security mechanisms, and also rolls out a new feature allowing users to control Apple’s iMessage service via ChatGPT.
4. Anthropic plans to launch a security system this year, requiring enterprise customers to retain data for 30 days and allowing them to choose to store data on their own cloud infrastructure. There are also reports that it will prepare IPO filing documents as early as late August.
5. Google’s open-source AI model Gemma has surpassed 1 billion downloads, and over the past two years external developers have released more than 100,000 variants.
💰 Cryptoassets and Finance
1. Bitcoin broke through $73,000, up 5.40% intraday. It has gained 15% year-to-date this week, posting its biggest weekly positive candle since November 2024, and its market cap rose to $1.45 trillion.
2. Over the past 24 hours, the total liquidation amount across the market reached $1.772 billion. Of that, $1.552 billion came from liquidation of short positions. Globally, 146,990 people were liquidated.
3. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $517.19 million on Wednesday, the strongest single-day inflow since May 4, and the third consecutive day of net inflows.
4. Ethereum surged 18% in a single day. Spot trading volume jumped sharply; about 1.5 million ETH flowed out of exchanges, while ETFs attracted new capital inflows.
5. Standard Chartered Bank expects Bitcoin to rise to $100,000 by year-end.
🏛️ Macros and Policy
1. The total U.S. Treasury debt balance first surpassed $4 trillion for an all-time high, roughly equivalent to about 140% of GDP, with per-capita liabilities of around $120,000.
2. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said a news conference will be held on the 24th to lay out its action plan toward Iran, and that it will impose the harshest sanctions on Iran in history, calling on China to cooperate.
3. The probability the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in September is 65.4%, while the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike is 34.6%.
4. The U.S. Treasury will raise the long-term Treasury buyback limit from $2 billion to $4 billion, effective September 9. The 30-year yield rose to 5.25%.
5. Citigroup cut its forecast for the U.S. Dollar Index over the next three months to 98.34, turning bearish on the near-term dollar outlook.
📈 Enterprises and Markets
1. Walmart’s stock price fell by more than 9% on Thursday. Same-store sales growth was the weakest in six years, showing U.S. consumer spending pressure.
2. Alibaba’s quarterly earnings show revenue up 9% year over year, but net profit fell 75% due to AI investments, while cloud business external revenue grew 45%.
3. SK hynix announced a share buyback of 400 trillion Korean won and cancellation. The stock surged 12.73%, setting a record for the largest-scale inventory-share cancellation in South Korea.
4. Charter Communications completed its merger with Cox Communications valued at $34.5 billion, becoming the largest cable television operator in the U.S.
5. Shein plans to launch its Hong Kong IPO on Monday, targeting a listing date of September 1. Anchor investors include UBS Asset Management.
🌍 International and Security
1. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted 17 members of Iran’s Mabna Institute, accusing them of breaching 144 U.S. universities and other institutions. Some individuals are suspected of Bitcoin ransomware targeting HBO.
2. The FBI arrested 35-year-old Jessica Boyle, accusing her of plotting an attack on the New York State Capitol and swearing allegiance to “ISIS.”
3. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and the UK issued a joint statement opposing tenders for settlement project in the E1 area of the West Bank by Israel.
4. China’s earthquake monitoring network formally recorded a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Peru at 2:00 AM on August 21, with a source depth of 100 kilometers.
Editor’s observation: Bitcoin’s strength and the ballooning of U.S. Treasuries exist side by side, and the market is looking for balance amid both celebration and concern.
RecodeX restructures messages. Over the past 8 hours, Bitcoin broke through $73,000 driven by multiple strong positives, reaching a recent high. At the same time, the total U.S. Treasury debt balance first surpassed $4 trillion, drawing market attention. The AI sector has been unusually active, with major developments at companies including Broadcom, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
🤖 AI and Technology
1. Nvidia plans to ship China-specific AI chips by the end of the year to respond to U.S. export controls.
2. Broadcom is in talks to raise more than $60 billion through debt financing to support expansion of its AI chip business. The total could reach $100 billion, with Blackstone and Apollo participating.
3. OpenAI offers API customers an option to retain zero data, previews new security mechanisms, and also rolls out a new feature allowing users to control Apple’s iMessage service via ChatGPT.
4. Anthropic plans to launch a security system this year, requiring enterprise customers to retain data for 30 days and allowing them to choose to store data on their own cloud infrastructure. There are also reports that it will prepare IPO filing documents as early as late August.
5. Google’s open-source AI model Gemma has surpassed 1 billion downloads, and over the past two years external developers have released more than 100,000 variants.
💰 Cryptoassets and Finance
1. Bitcoin broke through $73,000, up 5.40% intraday. It has gained 15% year-to-date this week, posting its biggest weekly positive candle since November 2024, and its market cap rose to $1.45 trillion.
2. Over the past 24 hours, the total liquidation amount across the market reached $1.772 billion. Of that, $1.552 billion came from liquidation of short positions. Globally, 146,990 people were liquidated.
3. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $517.19 million on Wednesday, the strongest single-day inflow since May 4, and the third consecutive day of net inflows.
4. Ethereum surged 18% in a single day. Spot trading volume jumped sharply; about 1.5 million ETH flowed out of exchanges, while ETFs attracted new capital inflows.
5. Standard Chartered Bank expects Bitcoin to rise to $100,000 by year-end.
🏛️ Macros and Policy
1. The total U.S. Treasury debt balance first surpassed $4 trillion for an all-time high, roughly equivalent to about 140% of GDP, with per-capita liabilities of around $120,000.
2. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said a news conference will be held on the 24th to lay out its action plan toward Iran, and that it will impose the harshest sanctions on Iran in history, calling on China to cooperate.
3. The probability the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in September is 65.4%, while the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike is 34.6%.
4. The U.S. Treasury will raise the long-term Treasury buyback limit from $2 billion to $4 billion, effective September 9. The 30-year yield rose to 5.25%.
5. Citigroup cut its forecast for the U.S. Dollar Index over the next three months to 98.34, turning bearish on the near-term dollar outlook.
📈 Enterprises and Markets
1. Walmart’s stock price fell by more than 9% on Thursday. Same-store sales growth was the weakest in six years, showing U.S. consumer spending pressure.
2. Alibaba’s quarterly earnings show revenue up 9% year over year, but net profit fell 75% due to AI investments, while cloud business external revenue grew 45%.
3. SK hynix announced a share buyback of 400 trillion Korean won and cancellation. The stock surged 12.73%, setting a record for the largest-scale inventory-share cancellation in South Korea.
4. Charter Communications completed its merger with Cox Communications valued at $34.5 billion, becoming the largest cable television operator in the U.S.
5. Shein plans to launch its Hong Kong IPO on Monday, targeting a listing date of September 1. Anchor investors include UBS Asset Management.
🌍 International and Security
1. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted 17 members of Iran’s Mabna Institute, accusing them of breaching 144 U.S. universities and other institutions. Some individuals are suspected of Bitcoin ransomware targeting HBO.
2. The FBI arrested 35-year-old Jessica Boyle, accusing her of plotting an attack on the New York State Capitol and swearing allegiance to “ISIS.”
3. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and the UK issued a joint statement opposing tenders for settlement project in the E1 area of the West Bank by Israel.
4. China’s earthquake monitoring network formally recorded a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Peru at 2:00 AM on August 21, with a source depth of 100 kilometers.
Editor’s observation: Bitcoin’s strength and the ballooning of U.S. Treasuries exist side by side, and the market is looking for balance amid both celebration and concern.