tis

SSI received $2 billion in funding last year from top venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, with a valuation of $32 billion at that time.

According to Bloomberg, DeepSeek announced the suspension of its second round of financing and verbally notified some potential investors that it would not sign investment agreements as expected. This suspension partly stems from founder Liang Wenfeng's dissatisfaction with the leak of a 4-hour internal transcript during its first financing deal, where he made 52 statements in an investor meeting regarding DeepSeek's organizational culture, open-source logic, technology roadmap, and views on the competitive landscape of the industry. The nearly 4-hour meeting record recently went viral on social media, including statements such as "The biggest gap between China and the U.S. in AI is computing power resources." Both DeepSeek and Liang Wenfeng have not confirmed the authenticity of the leaked record.DeepSeek stated that it may still choose to resume the transaction process in the future and has begun preparations for an initial public offering, with the IPO potentially being filed as early as this year.DeepSeek completed its first round of external financing in June 2026, raising over 50 billion yuan, approximately 7.4 billion dollars, with a post-investment valuation of about 50-59 billion dollars. It adopted a special structure, with most funds entering a limited partnership managed by Liang Wenfeng, where investors have no voting rights and are locked in for 5 years. Liang Wenfeng himself contributed about 20 billion yuan as the largest contributor, with participation from Tencent, CATL, JD.com, NetEase, and the Chinese National AI Fund. DeepSeek subsequently initiated discussions for its second round of financing in mid-July, targeting a valuation of about 71 billion dollars.

According to IT Home, ByteDance announced today the official launch of the Seed STEM Scientist Program, inviting 100 outstanding scholars from the forefront of scientific fields to collaborate on real research problems and promote AI-accelerated scientific discovery.This program is initiated by the Seed Edge research team, providing ample computing resources and competitive salaries. Participation is divided into two categories: scientific advisors and doctoral interns. The first phase of the program is expected to last about 6 months, with the work location in Haidian District, Beijing. The application deadline is September 30, 2026.

According to The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_), White House officials recently stated that negotiations on the crypto clarity bill are progressing positively. The consistent strategy of the Democrats is not to express their stance in advance, but they often reach an agreement at critical moments.The official stated that "we are very close to passing it," and bipartisan support is continuing to grow.

According to market news, the U.S. Congress is engaged in bipartisan discussions on ethical issues. Negotiators are also discussing DeFi provisions, but ethical issues remain the main obstacle.When asked about the ethical proposal, Sen Lummis's spokesperson stated that the dialogue with the White House last week "went smoothly," and the ethical text to be released in the coming days will reflect this productive conversation.

According to Protos, a gang in the UK disguised as police officers and created a fake police website, convincing cryptocurrency holders over the phone to transfer funds into so-called "safe accounts," stealing $5.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, and were sentenced this week. 23-year-old Hamza Bashir, 25-year-old Kevin Nwamma, and 29-year-old Anthony Ikenwe were sentenced to six years and nine months, eleven years, and eleven years in prison, respectively.The stolen funds were used to purchase luxury items, including a £60,000 car, vacation trips to Thailand and Japan, and products from brands such as Harrods, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Rolex. The police also discovered £500,000 in cash in a safe and determined that most of the stolen cryptocurrency had been converted into payment cards. Gang members also falsely reported their annual income, with one declaring only £444. The Metropolitan Police began investigating the gang after receiving reports from victims in January 2025.

According to monitoring by Catcher Predict, in the market prediction event "PGA Tour: British Open Champion" on Polymarket, the "Yes" option for the sub-market "Louis Oosthuizen" experienced a dramatic fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 0.05% an hour ago to the current 29.6% (a fluctuation of 29.55%). Please note the impact of relevant breaking news.

According to Caixin, the case involving 60,000 bitcoins belonging to Qian Zhimin held a three-day hearing from July 7 to 9, 2026. Blue Sky Ge Rui Company officially joined the battle for bitcoin rights through the litigation administrator. The bitcoin dispute has transformed from a "two-party confrontation" into a "three-party competition": 1. The UK prosecution (DPP) claims that the assets should be recovered by the state; 2. The Chinese victims assert that they have property rights to the bitcoins that can be traced and have significantly appreciated in value; 3. The litigation administrator representing Blue Sky Ge Rui Company argues that the bitcoins are substitute assets formed after Qian Zhimin misappropriated company funds.It is reported that the estimated value of the bitcoins involved in the case is about 427,000 yuan each as of July this year, a 152-fold increase from the purchase price when Qian Zhimin acquired them in 2014 (2,815 yuan each). If the applicant can successfully assert their property rights to the relevant bitcoin assets, the amount they can recover will not be limited to the original investment loss but can also extend to the appreciation gains of the bitcoins. The litigation administrator representing Blue Sky Ge Rui Company believes that the bitcoins in question are essentially transformed from misappropriated company property, and the company has the right to trace them and assert property rights.Meanwhile, the Director of the UK Crown Prosecution Service (DPP) continues to insist that Chinese law should apply, while the leading law firm representing individual victims has proposed four complementary legal arguments to avoid the victims' claims being entirely dismissed due to any single legal pathway: 1. Bitcoin in the UK should be governed by UK law; 2. The investment contract is a scam, and upon cancellation, the rights revert to the victims; 3. The tracing mechanisms under POCA Sections 305 and 306 should also apply to the victims; 4. A "mixed structure" should break the binary choice between Chinese and UK law.

According to Protos, prosecutors in Wisconsin and New York have expressed dissatisfaction with the stablecoin issuer Circle, citing that Circle has repeatedly hindered law enforcement's attempts to recover stolen funds. Law enforcement agencies in various locations have sought Circle's cooperation to help victims of fraud and hacking incidents recover losses by destroying and reissuing USDC tokens, but Circle has refused these requests based on policy positions.Circle believes that modifying the blockchain ledger to reverse transactions would undermine the fundamental attributes of the USDC stablecoin and set a dangerous precedent for the entire cryptocurrency industry. This position highlights the deep-seated conflict between the immutability of blockchain and law enforcement needs. Prosecutors argue that Circle, as a regulated stablecoin issuer, should bear more social responsibility, while Circle insists on upholding the core principles of blockchain technology, making it difficult for both sides to bridge their differences on this issue in the short term.

According to Reuters, nearly 1,700 British investors are suing the cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in the High Court of London, seeking at least £150 million (approximately $200 million) in damages.The plaintiffs accuse Binance of selling high-risk and complex cryptocurrency derivatives, such as leveraged products, to UK retail investors without regulatory authorization since the end of 2019, and violating the UK's Financial Services and Markets Act in related promotions. Some plaintiffs claim they have suffered losses of tens of thousands of pounds as a result. It is reported that the defendants in this lawsuit include Binance Holdings, registered in the Cayman Islands, Nest Exchange, registered in the UAE, Changpeng Zhao, and other unknown operators of the Binance trading platform.In response to these allegations, a Binance spokesperson declined to comment specifically on the ongoing litigation but stated that the company would actively defend itself and emphasized that Binance is always committed to fulfilling its obligations to users and operating within the applicable legal framework. Background information shows that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) explicitly prohibited cryptocurrency firms from offering derivative services to retail customers in 2021.

According to BBX data, last weekend Japan's largest financial group completed the most important cryptocurrency acquisition, and U.S. bipartisan senators launched a new regulatory offensive against prediction market platforms. The core developments are as follows:SBI Holdings, Inc. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 8473) announced the acquisition of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank (privately held) for approximately $289 million. After the transaction is completed, SBI's cryptocurrency business will surpass all competitors, creating Japan's largest cryptocurrency exchange. SBI Holdings is one of Japan's largest independent financial services groups, already owning cryptocurrency-friendly network bank SBI Shinsei Bank, cryptocurrency asset custodian SBI Digital Asset Holdings, and multiple Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency venture capital investments. Bitbank is one of Japan's largest spot BTC exchanges and holds an official cryptocurrency exchange license from the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan. This acquisition marks a shift for traditional Japanese financial institutions from "strategic trial" in the cryptocurrency sector to "scale acquisition dominance," alongside the joint stablecoin plan of the three major banks: Mitsubishi UFJ ($MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui ($SMFG), and Mizuho ($MFG) (targeting March 2027), forming the most intensive wave of cryptocurrency layout in Japan's financial industry by 2026.U.S. Senators John Curtis (Republican, Utah) and Adam Schiff (Democrat, California) reported on June 28 that they jointly sent a letter to the CFTC, urging it to conduct a formal investigation into the prediction market platform Polymarket (privately held), citing a "concerning" investigative report regarding Polymarket's "deceptive marketing" practices, which accused it of systematic misleading in user acquisition and risk disclosure. This is the third regulatory offensive against prediction market platforms initiated by Congress this year (previously, the House Oversight Committee launched an insider trading investigation on May 22); the two senators come from different parties, which is significant. For Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: $HOOD), this investigation poses indirect pressure—Robinhood's prediction market/event contract business (which achieved a record daily trading volume in June) faces the same regulatory qualitative disputes as Polymarket; however, Robinhood's defensive advantage lies in its ongoing application for a CFTC Designated Contract Market (DCM) license, providing a clearer compliance path compared to Polymarket.

According to the Wall Street Journal, several U.S. lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the prediction market platform Polymarket, as its advertising is alleged to potentially contain misleading content.It is reported that the lawmakers believe Polymarket may not clearly disclose the nature of its products and associated risks in its marketing, which could mislead users. Some legislators have requested regulatory agencies to intervene and assess the compliance of its advertising and information disclosure standards.

According to The Block, a survey by CoinShares of 261 wealth management professionals in Europe shows that 52% of UK wealth advisors indicate that most of their clients' crypto asset exposure is outside their management scope (with a management gap exceeding 50%), while the overall percentage in Europe is one-quarter.The report points out that this "management blind spot" is primarily driven by company policies rather than a lack of advisor knowledge or client demand. In companies with explicit restrictions or a lack of internal guidance, the proportion of advisors actively recommending crypto assets is only 1%, while the management gap reaches 34%; in contrast, in companies with clear support, the recommendation rate is 48%, and the management gap is only 4%.The survey also found that the changes advisors most want to see are regulatory recognition of digital assets as a mainstream asset class (45%) and access to exchange-traded products (ETPs) (43%), rather than purely educational training.Currently, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed allowing authorized funds to hold up to 10% in crypto ETPs, and the European regulatory environment is gradually shifting towards support, which may help narrow this management gap.

On June 23, five Democratic senators from the U.S. Senate, including Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, jointly sent a letter requesting multiple Senate committees to hold hearings immediately regarding the $500 million investment by UAE officials in the Trump family's cryptocurrency project WLFI, to investigate whether this investment influenced the Trump administration's subsequent policy decisions towards the UAE.According to the letter, an agent for a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family signed an agreement with the Trump family to acquire a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million, with the agreement completed four days before Trump's inauguration. The foreign buyer prepaid $218 million to entities associated with the Trump family and Middle East chief diplomat Steve Witkoff. The deal was reportedly endorsed by UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the senators described this move as "unprecedented in U.S. political history."More concerning is the policy direction following the completion of the deal. The letter lists a series of decisions made by the Trump administration within months of the agreement that were clearly favorable to the UAE: approval of $1.4 billion in arms sales to the UAE; the Treasury Department establishing a "known investor pilot" program, which opened the green light for a fast-track approval process for the UAE that had long been lobbied for by CFIUS; and the Commerce Department lifting chip export restrictions from the Biden era, authorizing UAE AI company G42 to acquire 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips, with a transaction amount exceeding $1 billion. However, U.S. intelligence officials reportedly found that G42 had provided U.S. technology that could enhance missile capabilities to China.The senators demanded that Trump administration officials "explain under oath when they became aware of the payments to the president and his chief regional diplomat's family," and provide clarification on how to restore public trust. Currently, neither WLFI nor the UAE government has responded to this matter.

According to The Block, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has written to the Treasury Department, requesting the maintenance of states' authority to regulate stablecoins under the GENIUS Act. The act allows stablecoin issuers with a market capitalization of no more than $10 billion to be regulated by states, provided that state-level rules are "substantially similar" to federal rules. The Treasury Department released proposed rules in April, suggesting broad principles for determining whether state systems are "substantially similar," but did not clarify the timeline and standards for state regulation. The senators stated in their letter that the lack of clarity "creates uncertainty for the states," and therefore requested the Treasury Department to issue guidance that clarifies the application, review, and certification processes for state systems. The New York State Department of Financial Services proposed formal rules last week to align its stablecoin framework with the GENIUS Act.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Cynthia Lummis has written to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, requesting that the Treasury maintain states' regulatory authority over certain stablecoin issuers when formulating implementation rules for the GENIUS stablecoin bill. The GENIUS Act was signed into law last year, establishing a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States, requiring that stablecoins be fully backed by U.S. dollars or similar high-liquidity assets, and mandating that issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion undergo annual audits, while also setting rules for offshore issuance.The bill allows stablecoin issuers with a market capitalization of no more than $10 billion to be regulated at the state level, as long as the relevant state regulatory systems are "substantially similar" to federal requirements. The senators believe that the rules previously proposed by the Treasury do not clearly outline the timeline and standards for state regulatory system applications, reviews, and certifications, creating uncertainty for the states. The letter points out that there are significant differences in legislative cycles across states, with some states even adopting a biennial legislative cycle, thus requiring a flexible and continuously open certification mechanism to ensure that states can apply for certification when demand arises, rather than being constrained by timing mismatches that limit innovation and competition.

According to CoinDesk, bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a bill on Thursday to establish a federal cryptocurrency theft task force led by the Attorney General, aimed at coordinating and leading investigations into cryptocurrency theft, fraud, and hacking.The bill was jointly initiated by Republican member Lance Gooden of the House Judiciary Committee and Democratic member Josh Gottheimer of the House Financial Services Committee.The task force will encompass multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury, aiming to address the $11 billion theft and fraud issues caused last year and provide a unified federal response mechanism for victims.

According to Jinshi, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the non-farm payroll employment for March was revised from 201,000 to 214,000; the non-farm payroll employment for April was revised from 115,000 to 179,000.After the revisions, the total number of new jobs for March and April is 93,000 higher than before the revisions.

British teenager Alexander Browder stated that he has been placed on a sanctions list by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and banned from entering the country for writing a report exposing a cryptocurrency money laundering network supported by Russia.The report indicates that countries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea launder approximately $350 billion, with a ruble stablecoin named A7A5 being one of the main issues facing Western anti-money laundering efforts. The UK Foreign Office stated that Russia uses tokens like A7A5 to evade Western sanctions and fund its military. The UK government imposed sanctions on individuals related to this network in May, which transferred over $90 billion last year. Alexander Browder expressed pride in being the first high school student globally to be sanctioned by an authoritarian regime for exposing corruption.

Jason Smith, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' fundraising committee, stated that digital asset tax legislation must receive bipartisan support; otherwise, the related bill process will not advance. Subsequently, U.S. Representatives Steven Horsford, Max Miller, Suzan DelBene, and Mike Carey jointly proposed the "Digital Asset Protection, Accountability, Regulation, Innovation, Taxation, and Revenue Act" (PARITY Act). The bill aims to update digital asset tax rules, provide a clearer regulatory framework for the market, while enhancing investor protection and preventing market manipulation.Representative Steven Horsford stated that the bill will help ordinary investors participate more safely in the digital asset market and promote wealth accumulation opportunities. Max Miller believes that the current U.S. tax laws are unable to adapt to the rapid development of digital assets and modern financial technology. Currently, the PARITY Act and the advancing CLARITY Act are seen as important components of establishing a comprehensive regulatory system for crypto assets in the United States.The U.S. Congress released a tax policy discussion draft in March this year and held a bipartisan roundtable in May to discuss the tax framework for crypto assets. The market is closely watching whether the CLARITY Act can be passed by 2026. Analysts believe that if both the CLARITY Act and the PARITY Act are ultimately legislated and combined with the subsequent rule-making of the GENIUS Act, the U.S. crypto industry will welcome a clearer regulatory environment, further promoting Web3 and DeFi into the mainstream financial system.