settlement

According to official news, the prediction market Polymarket announced a significant adjustment to its settlement mechanism for cryptocurrency price fluctuation markets starting from August 7, to protect market integrity. From midnight UTC on that day, the affected markets will no longer settle based on a single price snapshot at a specific time but will instead use a time-weighted average price.Markets of different durations correspond to different TWAP windows: all cryptocurrency 5-minute markets will use a 30-second TWAP, 15-minute markets will use a 60-second TWAP, and 4-hour markets will also use a 60-second TWAP. The previous single snapshot settlement method was prone to price manipulation during periods of low liquidity, and this change is a proactive reinforcement of the market integrity system by Polymarket after facing regulatory scrutiny.To support this transition, Polymarket will inject $1 million in liquidity rewards into all affected markets throughout August. On the technical side, Chainlink TWAP testnet data streams are now available, and mainnet data streams along with Polymarket real-time data stream services will go live on August 4, at which point developers can access TWAP prices directly through Chainlink Data Streams or Polymarket's public WebSocket.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC falls below $60,964, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $1.344 billion. Conversely, if BTC breaks above $67,283, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $1.113 billion.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC falls below $61,404, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $1.371 billion. Conversely, if BTC breaks above $67,320, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on major CEXs will reach $745 million.

AI Agent Economic Settlement Agreement AEON has announced its expansion into the South Asian market of Bangladesh and successfully integrated with the two major local mobile payment wallets, bKash and Nagad. Local consumers can directly use mainstream cryptocurrencies and mainstream Web3 wallets for offline retail and online consumption. The AEON payment network will automatically convert and settle local currency with local merchants in the backend.AEON has covered over 50 million merchants and more than 10,000 brands globally, accelerating the construction of a localized digital financial fiat settlement network across multiple countries, paving the way for the implementation of the agent economy in high-frequency payments in the real world.

According to the latest weekly report from Gate Ventures, global risk assets are under pressure due to adjustments in technology stocks, fluctuations in the energy market, and changes in macro expectations, with the cryptocurrency market showing a volatile recovery trend. BTC rose 1.1% over the week, ETH rose 4.4%, pushing the ETH/BTC ratio up by 2.2%, and the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased by 1.03%. In terms of capital flow, the net inflow for spot BTC ETFs was only $33.8 million for the week, the lowest level since their launch; the net inflow for spot ETH ETFs during the same period was $103.9 million, indicating an improvement in market sentiment, with the Fear and Greed Index rising to 30, but still in the "fear" range. Meanwhile, the price of STRC under Strategy remained around $86, trading below par for the ninth consecutive week, with the institutional holding ratio continuing to increase, and the market is paying attention to its subsequent performance.In terms of industry development, stablecoin payments and the construction of blockchain financial infrastructure are continuing to advance. KB Kookmin Bank is collaborating with Kinexys, a subsidiary of JPMorgan, to explore blockchain-based cross-border payment services, further promoting traditional financial institutions' layout in on-chain payment scenarios; Kakao and Circle are exploring the payment infrastructure for a Korean won stablecoin, accelerating the application exploration of stablecoins in retail payments and cross-border settlements. In terms of investment and financing, a total of 8 financing transactions were completed last week, with a disclosed total financing amount of $196.5 million, among which the financing scale in the infrastructure sector was the highest, reaching $193 million, and the stablecoin clearing infrastructure project Augustus completed $180 million in financing. Overall, the market's short-term risk appetite remains cautious, but stablecoin payments, on-chain clearing, and financial infrastructure construction continue to attract capital attention.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks through $66,861, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on major CEX will reach $1.362 billion. Conversely, if BTC falls below $60,537, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on major CEX will reach $1.228 billion.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC falls below $62,133, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $893 million. Conversely, if BTC breaks above $68,253, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $755 million.

According to Coinglass data, if ETH falls below $1,818, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $720 million. Conversely, if ETH breaks above $2,001, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $342 million.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks through $67,456, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $614 million. Conversely, if BTC falls below $61,627, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $614 million.

Chairman of Bitmine, Tom Lee, posted on the X platform stating that Ethereum is expected to become the most widely used settlement layer for finance and AI agents, "ETH is the on-chain currency."In addition, in the interview content he shared, Tom Lee also responded to the market's concern that Ethereum is being eroded by Layer 2. He expressed disagreement and pointed out that although Layer 2 networks have attracted tens of millions of real-world users into the on-chain ecosystem, the Ethereum mainnet is still further consolidating its position as the primary economic settlement center, with the Fast Confirmation mechanism able to reduce transfer friction by about 98%.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC falls below $61,147, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.01 billion. Conversely, if BTC breaks above $66,823, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.01 billion.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC falls below $62,034, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.555 billion. Conversely, if BTC breaks above $68,175, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.327 billion.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks through $68,421, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on major CEX will reach $1.467 billion. Conversely, if BTC falls below $62,211, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on major CEX will reach $1.371 billion.

According to the Financial Times, after three years of combating cryptocurrency tax evasion, the UK's HM Revenue and Customs has recovered over £8 million in taxes by reaching settlements with hundreds of cryptocurrency investors. Data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request shows that in the past two years, 502 crypto investors reached disclosure settlement agreements with HMRC regarding unpaid taxes. In the 2024/25 tax year, a total of 280 individuals settled with HMRC, paying a total of £3.5 million. In the 2025/26 tax year, the number of settlements decreased to 222, but the total amount increased to approximately £4.8 million.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks through $68,827, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.157 billion. Conversely, if BTC falls below $62,911, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.145 billion.

According to Bloomberg, Bank of New York Mellon is preparing to provide around-the-clock settlement for U.S. Treasury securities in response to the impact of the growth of the digital asset market on traditional financial infrastructure. In a letter to clients, the bank stated that it facilitated after-hours U.S. Treasury trading involving stablecoin issuers earlier this year, with plans to launch tokenized U.S. Treasuries and conduct pilot trading on its private blockchain by the end of 2026, aiming for 24/7 settlement of both traditional and tokenized U.S. Treasuries by 2027.Earlier this year, the bank facilitated after-hours Treasury trading involving stablecoin issuers—after the close of the Federal Reserve's Fedwire Securities Service, involving RLUSD stablecoin issuer Ripple and USDO stablecoin issuer OpenEden, both of which are backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries. BNY stated that the transaction "demonstrates that Treasury market activity related to the digital asset ecosystem can continue beyond traditional cutoff times."

The UK plans to issue its first tokenized sovereign bond by early 2027, with the current key prerequisite being the resolution of on-chain cash settlement issues. This problem has limited the use of digital bonds by institutions for years.Industry experts indicate that the plan may have received sufficient support from the UK Treasury, the Bank of England, and regulators to continue advancing after recent political changes, and it could potentially increase the demand for UK debt. Current progress is constrained by the lack of standardized on-chain payment methods, mature pound stablecoins, and regulatory clarity.

According to Coinglass data, if BTC breaks through $69,188, the cumulative short liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $1.244 billion. Conversely, if BTC falls below $62,909, the cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream CEX will reach $904 million.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal stated that Coinbase has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, with the SEC agreeing to pay $150,000 and amend its record-keeping policies. The lawsuit revealed that the SEC lost nearly a year’s worth of communications from former Chairman Gary Gensler and other senior officials during the peak enforcement period in the cryptocurrency industry.Coinbase had previously requested documents from the SEC regarding how it applies securities laws to digital assets, but the request was denied, leading to a lawsuit that received court support. The SEC claimed that some text messages were lost due to an automatic data deletion process. Grewal pointed out that the SEC has imposed billions of dollars in fines on financial institutions for similar record-keeping issues.In February of this year, Coinbase also reached a settlement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation regarding another Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Coinbase stated that this lawsuit revealed that the FDIC had instructed nearly twenty banks to suspend cryptocurrency-related activities since 2022, which subsequently led to congressional hearings and resulted in a court ruling that the FDIC violated federal law.Grewal stated that both lawsuits revolve around government transparency and due process, emphasizing that the American public has the right to know whether regulatory agencies are restricting legitimate cryptocurrency businesses from accessing banking services through non-public means.