Binance News

At the morning open, most of China's main domestic futures contracts fell, with SC crude down nearly 7%, low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) down more than 6%, fuel oil down nearly 6%, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) down more than 5%. According to Jin10, styrene (EB) and pure benzene fell nearly 4%, synthetic rubber dropped more than 3%, and asphalt fell nearly 3%, while Shanghai silver rose more than 3%, caustic soda gained more than 2%, and platinum, palladium, Shanghai tin, apples, lithium carbonate, Shanghai gold, and glass rose more than 1%; ferrosilicon rose nearly 1%.

Gold rose after a pause in fighting between the US and Iran over the weekend reduced oil supply risks and eased inflationary concerns, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reported that CXMT Corp.'s shares rose 472% when they began trading in Shanghai on Monday, making the memory chipmaker China's largest listed firm onshore. The robust debut came after the company raised 66.6 billion yuan ($9.8 billion) in the second-largest IPO in China's history.
Formerly known as ChangXin Memory Technologies, CXMT sold 6.688 billion shares at 8.66 yuan apiece. At its opening price of 49.50 yuan, the company is valued at about 3.3 trillion yuan. The deal was surpassed only by Agricultural Bank of China's $10 billion share sale in 2010.
As the world's fourth-largest DRAM maker, CXMT has emerged as Beijing's best hope of reducing dependence on foreign suppliers in high-bandwidth memory, a critical component for AI data centers. The Hefei-based company is buttressed by retail investor demand, attractive valuations, and state-backed support for markets.
The retail portion was 212 times oversubscribed, with individual investors submitting 9.4 million orders for 7.07 trillion yuan worth of shares, about 10 times the retail order book of SpaceX's IPO. Regulators remain cautious about IPO valuations, requiring comparison against peers globally.
The IPO price implies 2.4 times book value, a 56% discount to global DRAM peers SK Hynix, Micron and Nanya, and a 77% discount to Chinese chipmakers SMIC and Hua Hong, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

BitMart announced in an official notice that it will commence an orderly wind-down of its trading platform operations, citing operating conditions, market environment, and future strategic direction.
Starting July 26, 2026, at 01:30 UTC, BitMart will gradually stop accepting new user registrations, suspend all cryptocurrency and fiat deposits, and halt new positions and orders. Futures accounts will enter Reduce-Only mode, and spot trading will stop accepting new orders. Copy Trading, Grid Trading, and API Trading will be gradually discontinued.
Beginning August 26, 2026, at 01:00 UTC, BitMart will discontinue all spot, futures, and other trading services. Remaining futures positions may be settled by the platform based on applicable mark price, index price, or settlement rules. BitMart Earn, Staking, Lending, and Launchpad products will be discontinued in phases.
BitMart plans to officially cease trading platform operations at 15:59 UTC on January 31, 2027. Users will still be able to log in for a specified period to access accounts and submit withdrawal requests.
The withdrawal service will remain available. BitMart strongly recommends that all users complete identity verification, close all trading positions before 01:00 UTC on August 26, 2026, and submit withdrawal requests before 05:00 UTC on August 26, 2026.
Certain withdrawals may be subject to compliance review including KYC verification, account security checks, blockchain transaction risk assessment, Travel Rule compliance, and sanctions screening. Processing times may vary and could be extended due to high volume.
BitMart warned users to remain vigilant against scams during the wind-down period, stating it will never ask for expedited processing fees, account unfreezing fees, or security deposits through unofficial channels.

According to the announcement from Binance, the exchange is launching a new Word of the Day (WOTD) game with the theme “Binance AI Agent.” The activity period runs from 2026-07-27 00:30 (UTC) to 2026-08-02 23:59 (UTC). Participants who complete 5 Words can unlock a share of 15 BNB in rewards. Binance said the game is an educational word-guessing activity designed to help users build crypto vocabulary and follow market developments. Eligible users may play up to two WOTD games per day during the activity period. Those who answer at least five questions correctly will share a 12 BNB reward pool based on their proportion of correct answers among all eligible users, with a maximum reward cap of 0.01 BNB per user.
Binance also said users who achieve at least five correct answers and join the WOTD game on five or more separate days during the activity period will be eligible to share an additional 3 BNB reward pool equally. All rewards are scheduled to be distributed by 2026-08-16 23:59 (UTC) directly to users’ Rewards Hub. The announcement also outlined access to a second WOTD game, which becomes available after users click the “Get A New WOTD” button, share the featured link on social media, and have the shared link clicked by a logged in user. In addition, new users who register for a Binance account using the “WOTD” referral code or the referral link during the activity period will receive 10% off Spot trading fees. These new users may also qualify for additional welcome rewards by completing tasks in the Rewards Hub within 14 days after registration.

According to Yonhap, Naver Corp. has agreed to form a strategic partnership with U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp. to jointly build a global artificial intelligence factory. Under the deal, Naver will lead the site acquisition, construction and operation of the data center, while Nvidia will supply graphics processing units.
Naver said the project is designed to capture opportunities in the global AI computing market and create new revenue streams. The company plans to expand the initial NVIDIA DSX AI factory at the GAK Sejong data center from 55 megawatts to 200 megawatts by 2028, with a longer-term goal of extending the infrastructure outside the Asia-Pacific region.
Nvidia plans to invest about US$1 billion by buying Naver common shares through a third-party private placement. Brookfield is expected to provide $9 billion worth of computing infrastructure through project financing, and Naver will name the Toronto-based asset manager as preferred bidder for the next 12 weeks as talks continue to finalize the agreement.

Michael Saylor, founder and executive chairman of Strategy, has again posted Bitcoin Tracker-related information. According to ChainCatcher, Strategy has typically disclosed changes in its Bitcoin holdings the day after such posts.

According to CNBC, Intel closed down nearly 8% on Friday after a broad technology selloff that also hit Advanced Micro Devices and Alphabet. Jim Cramer said the move reflected growing investor resistance to heavy AI spending, while noting that Intel stock traded up more than 10% in Thursday after-hours trading after its latest results. He said Nvidia remains strong and expected the company to deliver a solid quarter, but added that the market is increasingly focusing on returns from spending rather than the spending itself. Cramer also said Apple is having its best month in three years and argued that the company benefited by not spending hundreds of billions on AI. He pointed to upcoming earnings from Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Apple this week.

The latest CLARITY draft would prevent inactivity-based ownership claims over self-custodied digital assets as Noah Doe and two companies seek title to 3.799 million BTC. According to NS3.AI, Section 20216 says lawfully self-custodied assets cannot be treated as abandoned, unclaimed, forfeited, or subject to finder’s title solely because an owner has not moved them.
The draft would still preserve state unclaimed-property rules for custodial holdings kept at exchanges, brokers, and custodians. The provision remains subject to Senate negotiation and to how a court interprets evidence beyond wallet silence.

Oil prices fell sharply at the start of Monday's trade as traders assessed Middle East supply risks. According to Jin10, Brent crude futures dropped about 6% to around $91 a barrel after settling lower on Friday, while WTI crude futures fell below $84 a barrel.
European natural gas prices also fell as much as 7.8%. The United States paused airstrikes on Iran over the weekend, while the Houthis said they attacked targets inside Saudi Arabia.
After 13 days of sustained strikes on Iran, the United States paused operations late Friday, raising questions about U.S. President Donald Trump's next move. Iran's army said Tehran had suspended its response.
The Houthis in Yemen said they struck Saudi Aramco facilities in the Red Sea port cities of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday, though Riyadh and Saudi Aramco did not immediately confirm the claim. Brent crude has risen about 30% this month and briefly topped $100 a barrel last week as the conflict between the United States and Iran spread from the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea.

The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $2.2T, up by 0.93% over the last day, according to CoinMarketCap data.Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading between $63,925 and $64,600 over the past 24 hours. As of 09:30 AM (UTC) today, BTC is trading at $64,530, up by 0.92%.Most major cryptocurrencies by market cap are trading mixed. Market outperformers include EUL, DIA, and QI, up by 70%, 42%, and 35%, respectively. From the Red Sea to the Chip Fabs, Markets Weigh Energy Fear Against the AI TradeA second consecutive night of paused US strikes on Iran offered no reassurance as the conflict widened, with Houthis targeting Aramco sites in Jizan and Yanbu and Brent closing Friday at $96.78. In sharp contrast, the AI complex is minting records: SK Hynix is projected to post an all-time-high quarterly operating profit on data-center memory demand, while Samsung's chairman and OpenAI's Sam Altman met to discuss chip and AI cooperation. The tension sharpens with Michael Burry expanding bearish bets against Nvidia, Micron, Caterpillar, and semiconductors, even as crypto holds firm with Bitcoin near $64,530. Top stories of the day:US Pauses Iran Strikes for Second Night as Houthis Open Red Sea FrontKey Takeaways:13-day strike campaign halted without explanationHouthis target Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and YanbuBrent crude up 27% in two weeks to $96.78Summary:The US paused its nearly two-week run of strikes against Iran for a second consecutive night without official explanation, as the conflict broadened to a second front with Iran-backed Houthi militants firing missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco-linked facilities in the port towns of Jizan and Yanbu, prompting a Saudi-led coalition retaliatory strike on Houthi military positions. The pause follows 13 consecutive days of US attacks on Iran and comes as Iranian and Omani officials held weekend talks on Strait of Hormuz navigation, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei describing the discussions as constructive with some progress made. The Red Sea escalation compounds a severe energy flow disruption, with Hormuz traffic nearly halted and Brent crude soaring approximately 27% over two weeks to close Friday at $96.78 a barrel. President Trump said the US is "locked and loaded" for major strikes but has not decided whether to proceed, while White House spokesman Steven Cheung stated Trump prefers a diplomatic solution, as rising energy prices put Republicans in a difficult position ahead of November midterms. AI TRENDS | DeepSeek Pauses Second Funding Round After Founder's Viral Comments Key Takeaways:Round targeted 10B yuan at 480B yuan valuationFounder frustrated by leaked investor commentsIPO preparations underway, filing possible this yearSummary:DeepSeek has informed prospective investors in its second fundraising round that it is suspending the deal for now, after comments widely attributed to founder Liang Wenfeng regarding China's reliance on Nvidia chips and its persistent AI lag relative to the US went viral online, prompting Liang's frustration over leaked details from his first financing round. The Chinese AI pioneer was targeting at least 10 billion yuan at a pre-money valuation of 480 billion yuan, up from roughly $50 billion in its June first round that raised $7 billion with backers including Tencent and CATL. Bloomberg has not verified the authenticity of the leaked transcript, negotiations remain fluid, and the company may resume the process at a later date. DeepSeek has also begun IPO preparations and may file as soon as this year, while founder Liang's net worth has more than doubled to $36 billion following the first round, making him the world's richest AI model creator. AI TRENDS | Lee Jae-yong and OpenAI Hold Talks on AI and SemiconductorsKey Takeaways:Talks held July 25 at OpenAI HQDiscussion focused on AI and semiconductor cooperationNo specific agenda details disclosedSummary:Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong met OpenAI founder Sam Altman at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters on the morning of July 25 to discuss cooperation in artificial intelligence and semiconductors, as confirmed by an OpenAI statement on July 26. Neither party disclosed the specific content or agenda of the talks, leaving the scope and potential outcomes undisclosed. The meeting comes amid intensifying competition among AI model developers for secure semiconductor supply chains, with Samsung positioned as a leading global memory and foundry provider. SK Hynix Seen Posting Record Q2 Operating Profit on HBM Demand Key Takeaways:Q2 operating profit exceeds full-year 2025 recordOperating margin forecast at 75%–77%AI data center sales drive 70% of revenueSummary:SK Hynix is expected to report an all-time high second-quarter operating profit of 64.1 trillion won ($43.7 billion) on sales of 84.1 trillion won, based on forecasts from 14 local brokerages compiled by Yonhap Infomax, surpassing the company's previous annual operating profit record of 47.2 trillion won set in 2025. The operating margin is projected at approximately 75%–77%, driven by higher memory chip prices and surging demand for high bandwidth memory and solid-state drives used in AI data centers, with KB Securities researcher Kim Dong-won estimating that sales to global tech companies and AI data center operators will account for 70% of SK Hynix's total second-quarter revenue. The results, combined with Samsung Electronics' projected record quarterly operating profit of 89.4 trillion won earlier this month, would see the two Korean memory chipmakers generate over 150 trillion won in combined operating profit, reinforcing the unprecedented profitability of the AI-driven semiconductor upcycle. Michael Burry Increases Short Positions in Micron, Nvidia, Caterpillar, and SOXXKey Takeaways:Shorts increased on MU, NVDA, CAT, and SOXXLongs expanded in FLUT, DKNG, and MOHTSLA, PLTR, and QQQ shorts unchangedSummary:Investment tracking account Michael Burry Stock Tracker disclosed on X that Michael Burry increased short positions in Micron Technology, Nvidia, Caterpillar, and the Semiconductor ETF SOXX, expanding his bearish bets on AI-linked semiconductor and industrial names at a time when the sector is posting record profits. The latest filing also showed increased long positions in Flutter, DraftKings, and Molina Healthcare, while shorts in Tesla, Palantir, and the Nasdaq 100 ETF were maintained unchanged, suggesting a rotation toward defensive and consumer-leisure exposure alongside deeper conviction against chip and equipment makers. Wise to Resubmit US Charter Application Under GENIUS Act After OCC RejectionKey Takeaways:Initial charter denied on AML/CFT groundsNew application to leverage GENIUS Act frameworkCross-border cost reduction remains core focusSummary:Payments company Wise plans to resubmit its application for a national trust bank charter with the OCC under the GENIUS Act framework after the regulator denied its initial application this week, citing an inadequate Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism compliance program and other illicit finance risks. Wise said it will file a new application under the stablecoin legislation signed into law in July 2025, with investment banking group William Blair noting the company is unlikely to alter its payment stablecoin positioning, as its core focus remains lowering cross-border transaction costs regardless of rail. The OCC's rejection came despite approving similar charters for digital asset companies over the past year, while the broader GENIUS Act implementation timeline remains uncertain after regulators missed the July 18 deadline to finalize implementing rules ahead of the law's January 2027 effective date. Bankr Developer Urges Users to Enable MFA Inside Bankr Accounts After X Account BreachKey Takeaways:X account breached despite passkey protectionFake airdrop link posted from compromised accountIn-app MFA urged as social login MFA insufficientSummary:Bankr developer deployer urged all users to enable multi-factor authentication directly within their Bankr accounts, warning that MFA on X or other social login platforms alone is insufficient to protect funds after Bankr's X account was compromised and used to post a fraudulent airdrop link despite having device-side passkey protection enabled. The developer said a request has been submitted to X to remove the malicious post and that an assisted investigation is underway to determine how the account was breached, highlighting the persistent security gap between social platform credentials and self-custodial wallet protections. Market movers:NVDAB: $208.02 (+0.41%)MSFTB: $382.87 (+0.57%)TSMB: $408.71 (+1.00%)GOOGLB: $321.27 (+0.91%)AVGOB: $385.42 (+0.43%)METAB: $599.73 (+0.49%)SPCXB: $111.54 (-1.62%)MUB: $938.49 (+1.62%)TSLAB: $314.18 (+0.90%)AMDB: $532.31 (+1.29%)

WTI crude oil futures fell 8.00% at the open to $83.23 per barrel. According to Jin10, that was the latest quoted price.

The S&P 500 is up 8.28% this year, but 10 index stocks have lost more than 40% as investors dump names they think AI could disrupt. According to BeInCrypto, software, consulting and advertising shares led the decline, with Intuit, Accenture, Cognizant, Gartner and The Trade Desk among the hardest hit.
CoStar Group and Boston Scientific were the two biggest losers for non-AI reasons, while chipmakers including Sandisk, Dell Technologies and Micron Technology surged.

CITIC Securities Investment Banking said gold's downside looks limited at current levels and is more likely to remain range-bound, while copper prices are easier to rise than fall as global tariff disputes continue and supply chains keep being reshaped. Jiemian News reported that the firm said the next catalyst for a gold rally may come from unexpectedly strong fiscal and monetary easing in the U.S.
The report said the year-start U.S.-Iran conflict pushed up oil prices and changed expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy path, ending the earlier rally in nonferrous metals. It added that last year's surge in gold was driven mainly by expectations of easier liquidity and related ETF buying in Europe and the U.S., but that demand has quickly faded after oil prices turned volatile at elevated levels. Gold has since returned to pricing based on fundamentals, chiefly central bank purchases. CITIC Securities Investment Banking said copper and gold now offer a relatively attractive risk-reward profile.

Shiba Inu jumped 36% in a mystery rally that had no apparent announcement behind it, while other dog tokens failed to match the move. Korean venues are carrying the volume, according to CoinDesk, as traders on South Korean platforms appear to be driving the surge.

Oil fell and Asian stocks gained as the US and Iran held back from retaliatory strikes, easing fears of disruption to Middle East energy supplies after a recent escalation in the conflict, according to Bloomberg.
The moves reflected a softer risk tone as traders assessed the lower chance of immediate fallout for oil markets and regional equities.

South Korean authorities are stepping up pressure on exporters to bring home overseas dollar earnings after a rebound in the won, helped in part by SK Hynix Inc.’s record U.S. listing, according to Bloomberg.
The currency’s strength has given officials fresh impetus to encourage repatriation of foreign-exchange holdings.

Bloomberg reported that the US paused its almost two-week run of strikes against Iran for a second night as skirmishes between Yemen's Houthi militants and Saudi Arabia ratcheted up tensions near a global energy chokepoint in the southern Red Sea.
The Iran-backed Houthis fired missiles and drones at facilities linked to Saudi Aramco in the port towns of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday. Saudi authorities briefly issued emergency warnings before saying the danger had passed. A Saudi-led coalition responded by striking Houthi military positions later Saturday.
After attacking Iran for 13 days, the US has apparently held off since Friday night without explanation or announcement, raising questions over President Donald Trump's war strategy. Iran's media and government have not reported any incoming attacks either.
Iranian and Omani officials met over the weekend to discuss navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the flashpoint that caused the collapse of a ceasefire agreed in mid-June. Islamic Republic Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the talks were constructive and some progress was made.
The Red Sea escalation compounds a severe squeeze on regional energy flows caused by the near-total stoppage of traffic via Hormuz, previously the conduit for a fifth of global crude supplies. Brent crude has soared around 27% in the past two weeks, closing Friday at $96.78 a barrel.
Trump said late Friday the US is "locked and loaded" for major strikes on Iran but has not made a decision on whether to go ahead. White House spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump prefers a diplomatic solution but continues to retain all options.
One ally described the president as being in revenge mode against Iran, while others said he is looking to exact a cost from Tehran for the war, which has driven up energy prices and put Republicans in a tough spot politically ahead of November midterms.

According to Yonhap, South Korean stocks turned lower late Monday morning as major chip shares declined despite eased Middle East tensions. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 55.63 points, or 0.83 percent, to 6,634.99 as of 11:20 a.m. after opening 1.73 percent higher.
Foreign investors sold nearly 1.7 trillion won, outweighing a combined 1.6 trillion won in buying by retail and institutional investors. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.6 percent and SK hynix lost 0.8 percent, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 1.06 percent and SK Square sank 5.59 percent. SK innovation dropped 9.15 percent and Hanwha Aerospace retreated 8.17 percent. The won was trading at 1,468.1 to the U.S. dollar, down 9.6 won from the previous session.

TRON (TRX) is showing improving technical and on-chain signals after a 16% drop from its May high, with price now above its 7-day and 30-day moving averages. According to BeInCrypto, the token has gained 2.2% over the past week, recovered 6% from its lows and trades near $0.33, still 11% below its May peak and about 23% under its record high.
Nasdaq-listed Tron Inc. bought another 150,742 TRX on Sunday, lifting holdings above 706.9 million TRX, while TRON hosts about $90 billion in circulating USDT and roughly $24 billion in daily transfer volume.

China’s DRAM chip leader CXMT (688825.SH) listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market on July 27 with an offering price of 8.66 yuan per share and gross proceeds of 57.919 billion yuan, setting a STAR Market IPO fundraising record, according to Jiemian News. The stock closed at 47.65 yuan in the report, up 450.23% from the issue price, giving CXMT a market value of 3.19 trillion yuan and making it the largest A-share company by market capitalization.
Jiemian News also reported that demand around the listing spilled over into hotels near CXMT’s Hefei campus, with some properties near full occupancy and room rates rising sharply. A Hampton by Hilton near Hefei Xinqiao International Airport said it had been about 90% full recently, while nearby hotels were often sold out or had only a few rooms left.
CXMT was founded in Hefei in 2016 and is the only company in mainland China that has achieved large-scale mass production of DRAM chips across the full IDM chain. Its prospectus showed net losses of 8.328 billion yuan in 2022, 16.34 billion yuan in 2023 and 7.145 billion yuan in 2024, before turning a profit of 1.875 billion yuan in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue was 50.8 billion yuan and net profit reached 24.762 billion yuan; for January-June 2026, the company forecast revenue of 110 billion yuan to 120 billion yuan and net profit of 50 billion yuan to 57 billion yuan.

According to Jin10, U.S. federal funds futures rose as oil prices fell, and the December contract was up 5 points.

China's active equity funds, including ordinary stock, partial-equity hybrid, balanced hybrid and flexible allocation funds, generated 1.082937 trillion yuan in profit in the second quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly level on record, according to Jiemian News. The number of active equity funds with assets above 10 billion yuan rose to 72 at the end of June from 32 at the end of March, while the Oriental Artificial Intelligence theme fund, Yongying Technology Select and Yongying Frontier Semiconductor Select each exceeded 30 billion yuan in size. Their first-half returns were 166.72%, 66.45% and 149.90%, respectively.
By cumulative profit, Xingquan Trend Investment was the only active equity fund with more than 20 billion yuan in lifetime gains at the end of the second quarter. Yongying Technology Select, Galaxy Innovation Growth, Oriental Artificial Intelligence Theme, Yongying Frontier Semiconductor Select, Yinhua Integrated Circuit, Huashang Advantage Industry, Xingquan Heyi, Xingquan Heyi, Fulla Emerging Industries and E Fund Information Industry all had cumulative profits above 15 billion yuan. The article also said more than 90% of medical theme funds posted positive returns since June, with 40 products up more than 15%, and Zhong欧 Medical and Health A, managed by Ge Lan, rose 24.90% to rank first among medical theme funds.
Choice data showed that personal pension funds reached 28.492 billion yuan at the end of June, up 4.764 billion yuan from the end of March and nearly 10 billion yuan higher than at the end of 2025. Separately, the China Securities Investment Fund Association said private fund assets under management reached 23.66 trillion yuan at the end of June, a record high, after rising by about 1.5 trillion yuan this year. New private fund filings in June totaled 2,219 funds with 109.167 billion yuan in filings, including 1,466 private securities funds, 154 private equity funds and 599 venture capital funds. In gold, spot prices briefly topped 4,100 dollars an ounce after rising from around 4,000 dollars an ounce on July 17, and were quoted at 4,052.29 dollars an ounce on July 26, up 0.07%.

Global central banks are weighing how to respond to oil prices returning to around $100 a barrel. According to Odaily, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan may show varying degrees of caution as they face an energy-driven inflation outlook, while the European Central Bank has signaled it is prepared to raise rates again. Investors are betting that most of these central banks could act as early as September.
Emkay Global's Madhavi Arora said Brent's rebound is no longer driven only by known risks in the Strait of Hormuz and the latest Red Sea blockade. Visible shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to near zero, global inventories have been depleted, and new supply disruptions are adding to tensions. Russian fuel exports remain constrained after months of Ukrainian drone strikes, and Kazakhstan has started cutting output after a shutdown at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium export terminal.

Bitcoin News posted on X that Fidelity Investments has called on the U.S. Senate to pass the Clarity Act. According to Odaily, Fidelity said clear regulation is necessary to build investor trust and support the United States' leadership in the digital asset industry.

Gold rose as fighting between the U.S. and Iran paused over the weekend, easing some immediate market tension. Wall Street Journal (Markets) posted on X, noting the move in the metal as investors assessed the latest geopolitical developments.
The price increase came amid uncertainty over whether the temporary pause would hold and how markets might respond if tensions resumed. Gold is often seen as a haven asset during periods of conflict and broader geopolitical stress.

According to CNBC, U.S. stock futures rose on Sunday night ahead of a heavy week of megacap earnings and a Federal Reserve meeting. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.2%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 294 points, or 0.6%, and S&P 500 futures added 0.7%. The move came after Ukraine struck an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, prompting Tehran to call it a "hostile and criminal act." U.S. equities are coming off another losing week, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% and the Nasdaq off 2.1% on Friday after back-to-back weekly losses, while the Dow fell 0.4% for a third straight weekly decline. Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are due to report results this week after Alphabet's disappointing earnings last week. Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, said continued AI spending is the biggest risk, while any pullback in that spending could also be unwelcome for the market. The Federal Reserve is set to announce its latest interest-rate decision on Wednesday, with markets pricing in a meaningful chance of a quarter-point hike this week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Brent crude futures were last near $97 a barrel, and the U.S. 10 Year Treasury yield was around 4.68%.

According to CNBC, Nvidia has secured a memory supply agreement with SK Hynix that could be worth up to $500 billion as the chipmaker looks to ease supply concerns during a global memory shortage. The source also said the S&P 500 industrials sector is trading above a price-to-earnings ratio of 30, while cocoa futures were last at $5,327 per metric ton, down 34% over the past year after surging to almost $12,000 per metric ton at the end of 2024.

According to Yonhap, President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday told senior officials to keep oil price caps in place until price uncertainty fully eases, citing renewed conflict in the Middle East. He said authorities should act quickly to limit the effect of volatile oil prices on domestic prices and also keep related measures such as oil tax cuts, adding that further steps should be considered if conditions worsen.

Rocket Companies declined to extend its Rocket Classic title sponsorship past 2026 after the Detroit event raised more than $10 million for local nonprofits. According to NS3.AI, the decision comes as the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund maintain a $500 million, ten-year commitment to Detroit.

Nasdaq futures opened up 1.4% on Monday, and S&P 500 futures rose 0.76%. According to Jin10, the moves were reported at the open.

Senators released a new draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act that merges versions from the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees. According to NS3.AI, the draft adds an ethics provision that would bar senior government officials from sponsoring or issuing their own cryptocurrencies.
The bill is not yet at the finish line, and further legislative steps are still needed.

The Senate has two weeks left in session, and proponents of the Clarity bill need movement before lawmakers leave town. The article says key action is still required for Clarity to advance, according to CoinDesk, with the clock now ticking on the current Senate schedule.

ChangXin Technology’s stock contract on trade.xyz rose sharply in the five minutes before its official listing on July 27 and briefly broke above $7. It was last quoted at $6.97, up 9.44% over the past hour. According to Odaily, the move came less than two hours before ChangXin Technology’s formal listing.

Goldman Sachs said Brent crude's upside risk now far outweighs its downside, as summer inventory draws are supporting prices in the near term, according to 36Kr. In an extreme scenario in which shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted until 2027, Gulf oil output would not fully recover until the end of 2027, and Brent could rise above $120 a barrel in Q4 2026 and average above $100 in 2027. If the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal are also blocked for a prolonged period, oil prices could climb another $25 a barrel.

Hong Kong new consumer concept stocks continued to strengthen, with Xiaomi Group (01810.HK) rising nearly 7%, Auntea Jenny (02589.HK) rising more than 4.5%, and Laopu Gold (06181.HK), Weilong (09985.HK), Mixue Group (02097.HK), Pop Mart (09992.HK), and Shangmei Group (02145.HK) all gaining more than 2%. According to Jin10, the move also included several other stocks.

European natural gas prices fell sharply after the United States paused airstrikes on Iran over the weekend, with Dutch TTF gas futures dropping as much as 8.3% to 58.280 euros per megawatt hour, or $66.39, according to Jiemian News. The move marked the steepest intraday decline since June 15 and the biggest drop in more than a month.

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery have agreed to pause their $110bn (£82.8bn) merger until June 2027 while a judge considers a legal challenge to the tie-up, according to BBC. The pause follows lawsuits from 12 US states and the Writers Guild of America, which say the deal would harm competition and raise prices for consumers. Paramount called the agreement a "significant win" and said it creates a path to a trial based on the evidence. The US Department of Justice approved the deal in June, and European regulators approved it days ago on condition that Paramount end a major film distribution partnership with Universal Pictures in the region. With the US case on hold, emergency court hearings have been cancelled. The companies remain separate while legal teams submit a proposed trial schedule by 31 July.

Spot gold opened higher at $4,090 an ounce and was up 0.94% on the day. According to Jin10,

According to Axios, Digital Realty is planning a Digital Dulles campus near Ashburn, Virginia, that could eventually include 13 data centers and require more than $10 billion of investment over the next decade. The company also opened an innovation lab in Northern Virginia in September to let customers, lawmakers and journalists see how data centers work, and it opened a similar lab in London in June. Axios said the campus will likely use cooling that relies more on energy than water, avoiding the large cooling towers seen at some other facilities, and one building had nearly 40 diesel generators attached for backup power and testing. Digital Realty is also considering additional innovation labs in Singapore, São Paulo and Johannesburg.