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U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that the recent lawsuit against Tether for freezing $42.4 million in USDT highlights the regulatory gaps in the current crackdown on illegal financial activities in the cryptocurrency industry. She pointed out that stablecoin issuers and trading platforms may face civil litigation risks if they freeze related assets due to suspicions of illegal activities.Lummis indicated that Section 305 of the "Digital Asset Market Structure Clear Act" would grant stablecoin issuers and trading platforms the necessary authority to promptly freeze stablecoins suspected of being involved in illegal activities while avoiding civil liability as a result.She believes that this provision can help the cryptocurrency industry more effectively prevent the flow of illegal funds and address the legal risks faced by issuers and trading platforms when taking compliance measures.

CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. stated that short-term holders of Bitcoin, holding for no more than 6 months, have transferred a total of 549,300 BTC to exchanges.During the same period, the price of Bitcoin rose from $64,000 to $78,000, an increase of about 21%; after reaching a local high of $81,800, it fell by about 4.1%, but still retained most of the gains.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has released a proposed announcement to suspend the acceptance of new applications for registration of payment system operators (OPS) for 12 months and to implement stricter controls on payment arrangements involving virtual asset service providers (VASP). The BSP stated that this move aims to conduct a comprehensive review of its classification and licensing framework.According to the draft, during the suspension period, the BSP will stop accepting and processing OPS applications. Applications submitted prior to the suspension can continue to be evaluated, but will not be approved or rejected until the suspension ends. Relevant entities are prohibited from conducting business activities that require OPS registration unless they obtain special authorization from the regulatory agency. In addition, BSP-regulated entities providing merchant acquiring services must connect licensed VASPs through direct merchant arrangements, and such relationships will be subject to enhanced due diligence, transaction and settlement limits, and other risk control measures.This requirement applies to virtual asset enterprises licensed, registered, or authorized by the BSP, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines, or other regulatory agencies, with VASPs being categorized alongside betting, gaming, adult industry, and money service businesses. If the draft is ultimately approved, it will take effect 15 days after publication, and the BSP is currently seeking public comments.

According to BeInCrypto, two Thai merchants have sued Tether, claiming that their $42.4 million USDT wallet was blacklisted at the informal request of U.S. government agents without a search warrant or court order.The plaintiffs are seeking to lift the freeze and are claiming damages from Tether for the profits generated from investing the corresponding reserves during the freeze period.

Protocol Watch founder Christine D. Kim stated that Bitcoin Core v32 has completed feature freeze on August 20, and developers are currently focusing on bug fixes and small optimizations, with the official version expected to be released in October this year.The main updates in v32 include increasing block validation speed by up to approximately 3 times through multi-CPU core parallel processing; introducing a global transaction queue and rate limiting to improve node stability during sudden surges in transaction volume; and adding a fee estimation mechanism based on Mempool status to reduce overestimation of fees. This update does not involve changes to the protocol rules at the Bitcoin network level.

The Irish National Police (An Garda Síochána) reported that during a special operation against organized crime in the Galway area, police searched two properties and froze two cryptocurrency accounts worth approximately $900,000 in total. In addition, the police also froze a bank account containing €25,000 (approximately $29,100), and seized €9,300 in cash and drugs valued at approximately €18,300 (including amphetamines and cannabis).A man in his 40s involved in the case has been arrested and charged, and the investigation is ongoing.

Renowned trader Killa stated that from a high time frame structure perspective, there is about an 80% confidence that the bottom for Bitcoin has formed. However, strictly according to technical confirmation standards, the current trend has not yet completed its reversal, as BTC has not yet reclaimed and stabilized above the $83,000 high on a weekly basis.$83,000 is a key position for confirming a substantial trend change. If Bitcoin breaks through and gains market recognition above this range, traders should be cautious about blindly shorting subsequent rises, as shorts may face strong squeezes, pushing the price towards around $95,000. In the short term, he expects the market to remain volatile.

According to Fortune, Bitcoin surged significantly this week, breaking through the previous range of $62,000 to $67,000 that lasted for several weeks, and rising above $77,000 on Friday. The important turning point in the market occurred after the U.S. Treasury announced an expansion of its long-term Treasury bond repurchase program, leading to a decline in long-term U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar, while alternative assets like Bitcoin and gold strengthened simultaneously.The U.S. Treasury stated that it would at least double the scale of long-term Treasury bond repurchases to alleviate the ongoing selling pressure in the bond market. Meanwhile, the total amount of U.S. Treasury debt surpassed $40 trillion, combined with inflation and energy price pressures, raising concerns in the market about the purchasing power of the dollar and long-term fiscal conditions. Funds began to flow into the so-called "debasement trade," with Bitcoin accumulating a rise of over 20% this week.Previously, many traders bet that BTC would continue to be constrained around $67,000, but after the Treasury's actions pushed yields and the dollar down, Bitcoin broke through that price level, forcing short sellers to cover. Since covering positions requires buying BTC, this further drove up the price and triggered more liquidations. According to CoinGlass data, over $4 billion in cryptocurrency short positions have been liquidated during this rally as of Friday.Additionally, Trump urged Congress to advance the CLARITY Act at a cryptocurrency conference held at the White House this week. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig subsequently stated that he would use existing authority to promote the government's cryptocurrency policy agenda, which also provided a policy-level catalyst for this market rally.

According to Coinglass data, the "8.19" surge resulted in a cumulative liquidation of $2.739 billion in short positions and $248 million in long positions. The total liquidation amount in a single day ranks eighth in crypto history, with the single-day short position liquidation amount being the highest ever.It is worth noting that among the top 10 and even the top 30 liquidation events in crypto history, "8.19" is the only event dominated by short position liquidations, while the others were all caused by declines in crypto leading to long position liquidations.

Arthur Hayes reposted his interview video on the X platform, stating that the Ethena (ENA) ecosystem is currently facing a downturn, but as the market environment improves, its yield mechanism may restart. The ENA price has dropped about 99% from its historical high, with pressure from venture capital firms and a sluggish crypto market leading to a decline in yields, causing the entire mechanism to stagnate.Arthur Hayes indicated that if Bitcoin rises and triggers a massive short squeeze, the market basis may quickly widen, and a higher basis would drive Ethena's yield from the current approximately 4% up to 8%-9%. Once yields rebound, Ethena's yield-driven mechanism may re-establish a positive cycle, revitalizing the ecosystem.

CryptoQuant analyst BorisD stated that the main driving force behind this round of Bitcoin's rise is not spot buying, but rather passive buying triggered by the concentrated liquidation of short positions in the Binance futures market.Data shows that Binance's short squeeze value reached 6.94 this week, higher than the 5.38 in November 2024, marking the highest level since then. If there is a lack of sustained spot demand to support it, the futures-driven rebound may still face the risk of a pullback after the momentum weakens.

"BTC OG insider whale" agent Garrett Jin analyzed that Bitcoin's recent breakthrough of $70,000 was driven by multiple positive factors, including the expansion of the U.S. Treasury's bond buyback, the SEC's proposed regulatory framework for crypto assets, and the White House crypto summit. The current price has entered a dense area of trapped positions between the latter half of $60,000 and the lower range of $80,000, with the first resistance level showing signs of loosening.Garrett Jin pointed out that over the past two months, a large amount of new holding costs has accumulated in the area just above $60,000, providing bottom support for this breakthrough. Although the short squeeze triggered by short liquidations may push Bitcoin above $80,000 in the short term, the $80,000 to $82,500 range is a key resistance area to watch, and the short squeeze momentum is difficult to sustain in the long term. If effective absorption of chips can occur below $80,000 before the breakthrough, it would be more beneficial for the healthy development of subsequent trends.On the same day, SK Hynix announced the largest stock buyback and cancellation plan in South Korea's history, committing to return at least 50% of the expected free cash flow before 2027 to shareholders. The stock price surged more than 10% at one point, triggering the buyer's circuit breaker mechanism for the KOSPI index. Analysts believe this move can alleviate market concerns about the declining risk appetite for South Korean semiconductor stocks, but it cannot change the cyclical trend of the memory industry itself.

GnosisDAO approved the transformation of the blockchain network Gnosis Chain from an independent Layer 1 network to a zero-knowledge proof Ethereum Economic Zone (EEZ) Rollup. The network will eliminate the independent validator set and instead have Ethereum validators complete transaction settlements.The proposal received support from 123,158 GNO, 115 against, and 151 abstentions, with voting involving 54 participants and a total participation of 123,425 GNO, exceeding the quorum threshold of 75,000 GNO. The upgrade is tentatively planned to start at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027, depending on the readiness of EEZ technology.After the upgrade, Gnosis Chain's native smart contracts can call Ethereum in the same transaction and use the returned results, while also accessing Ethereum mainnet assets and liquidity. Gnosis Chain will become the first deployed EEZ instance and will retain existing applications, balances, and xDAI fuel tokens.

On August 20, the Bitcoin market suddenly rebounded, with prices rising nearly 8% at one point, briefly breaking through $70,000, reaching a new high since early June, and triggering the largest short liquidation wave since 2021. Over $1 billion in Bitcoin short positions were liquidated within about an hour, as months of bearish trades concentrated on closing positions, driving a rapid rebound in BTC. Analysts pointed out that this increase reflects an overly crowded short position in the market, and as prices turned upward, forced buying to cover further amplified the rally.This rebound was driven by multiple factors. U.S. President Trump met with executives from crypto companies such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Blockchain.com at the White House, and the market expects the U.S. government to continue promoting a more friendly regulatory framework for digital assets. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules for crypto asset issuance this week, intending to exempt certain digital asset issuance from registration requirements. On the macro front, the U.S. Treasury announced an expansion of long-term Treasury bond repurchase operations, at least doubling the scale of repurchase operations for 10 to 30-year Treasury bonds to enhance market liquidity and alleviate pressure on long-term U.S. Treasury yields, further boosting sentiment for risk assets.The rebound spread throughout the entire crypto market, with Ethereum rising 19% at one point, marking the largest single-day increase since March. Crypto-related stocks also surged, with Coinbase rising about 10%, Bitcoin reserve company Strategy increasing about 13%, and stablecoin issuer Circle rising nearly 10%. Analysts stated that Bitcoin's next key step lies in whether it can convert this short squeeze into real buying pressure and break through the resistance area above $70,000.

The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) has ordered the freezing of approximately SGD 75 million worth of Bitcoin and USD Coin, involving a transfer dispute between a global major cryptocurrency exchange operator (the plaintiff and related companies) and a long-term customer. In a ruling made in March 2026 by Singapore High Court Judge Aidan Xu and SICC international judges Anthony Meagher and David Goddard, the court granted the plaintiff a temporary injunction, prohibiting the defendant from disposing of 816,773 USDC and 780 BTC transferred from two dedicated wallets on the platform and the corresponding profits, and required the defendant to disclose the whereabouts of the assets, but did not allow the plaintiff to use that information to apply for similar injunctions in other jurisdictions.The defendant had held 2,500 BTC and 2,500 BCH in the dedicated wallet. The plaintiff claimed that due to technical reasons, the internal ledger did not record the defendant's transfer operation in March 2020, and the wallet appeared empty. Based on this misunderstanding, the plaintiff transferred 2,500 BTC and 2,500 BCH to the defendant's other wallet in July 2024. The defendant subsequently exchanged 20 BTC for approximately 816,773 USDC and transferred it along with 780 BTC to a non-plaintiff custodial wallet between July and November 2024. After discovering the ledger error in January 2025, the plaintiff froze the defendant's wallet and recovered the remaining 1,700 BTC and 2,500 BCH.

Garrett Jin released this week's market report, characterizing the rebound in the South Korean market as a wide-ranging fluctuation rather than a new trend. SK Hynix rebounded continuously after retesting the 1.42 million won area, closing up 5.9% at 1,593,000 won. The KOSPI has risen 20% from the July low, entering a technical bull market, but foreign capital has not shifted to long-term holdings, and the drag from leveraged ETFs remains. Garrett Jin set the first profit-taking level at $1,150 (approximately 1.63 million won), with the next target at $1,300 (1.85 million won).Garrett Jin also noted that gold recorded its strongest weekly gain since January this week at +7.8%, priced at $4,388. The driving factors were a decrease of 23,000 in July non-farm payrolls and a moderate CPI that dampened September rate hike expectations. However, it is currently overbought in the short term, and a pullback could present an opportunity for incremental accumulation. Bitcoin has shown no response to the same macro-positive factors, remaining trapped between the support at $62,500 and resistance at $65,000-$70,000, with the bottom structure since $57,700 gradually being built. Garrett Jin will wait for the next buying opportunity after a pullback.Regarding SpaceX, Garrett Jin believes the recent performance is a classic case of "bad news fully priced in + short squeeze," with the unlocking itself becoming a washout rather than the starting point of a decline. However, the unlocking window has not yet ended, with an additional 319 million shares to be unlocked, approximately 700 million shares each in September and October. The current range up to $160 is a profit-taking zone rather than a high-entry zone.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it has shut down multiple websites of the digital asset platform Yepbit and warned users not to trade with the platform. ASIC received reports from several investors stating that they were unable to withdraw funds from the platform. Yepbit claims to offer digital asset and futures trading services globally, including for Australian investors.ASIC stated that Yepbit fabricated the claim of "ASIC freezing funds" in order to delay investors' refund requests. Yepbit does not hold an Australian financial services license and is not registered with AUSTRAC as a virtual asset service provider. ASIC reminds investors to verify whether the platform holds a license and to exercise extreme caution with investment opportunities that cannot be verified.

Harmony stated that it is collaborating with internal teams and relevant exchanges to attempt to stop and freeze the flow of related funds. A patch and rollback plan are also being developed. Further information will be updated in a timely manner.

According to CryptoSlate, the proposed amendment to the "Civil Execution Rules" by the Supreme Court of South Korea will establish standardized procedures allowing creditors to freeze, identify, and liquidate virtual assets held by debtors. The court may require exchanges to disclose the types and quantities of cryptocurrency assets held by the debtor within seven days of receiving the order and freeze the corresponding assets.The deadline for public comments on the proposal is August 11, and it is expected to take effect on October 1. Once the assets are identified and frozen, the court may designate them for allocation to creditors or order liquidation, to be executed by virtual asset service providers.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has filed a civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, suing North Korea, the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau, and the hacker group Lazarus Group, regarding a theft incident of approximately $1.5 billion in February 2025. Bybit stated that the judge has approved a preliminary injunction prohibiting the transfer or disposal of identified stolen assets during the case proceedings, and believes that Bybit has a high likelihood of success on the merits.The lawsuit also lists unknown individuals and entities holding or transferring the relevant funds as John Doe defendants. Bybit disclosed that approximately $48.4 million has been recovered, and about $30.5 million has been frozen across more than 28 exchanges and custodians, together accounting for approximately 5% of the stolen amount. The attackers transferred about 500,000 ETH from Bybit's cold wallet in February 2025, with most of the funds subsequently exchanged for Bitcoin via Thorchain and transferred through mixing services. Bybit stated that the case is progressing in parallel with a criminal investigation.