Trump criticizes oil giants for "earning excessive profits", demanding that they return a portion of their profits and lower gasoline prices.

Hashdex announced plans to close and liquidate its Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI). As of July 30, the fund’s assets under management (AUM) stood at roughly $14.7 million, making it the only fund under the Hashdex Commodities Trust. The firm noted its other products for U.S. investors still hold over $200 million in AUM. Investors may sell their fund shares via NYSE Arca by the close of trading on August 17. After that date, the fund will halt subscription orders from authorized participants, then cease trading and delist. Shareholders holding positions through the August 17 close are expected to receive cash liquidation proceeds around August 28. Following the last trading day, the fund will sell its remaining Bitcoin holdings, abandon its original investment goals, and only proceed with liquidation, liability repayment, and distribution of remaining assets to shareholders. Liquidation proceeds will be calculated based on the fund’s net asset value (NAV) on the liquidation date, minus fund closure and transaction costs. Hashdex cautioned that during the fund’s Bitcoin sale period, crypto prices could experience significant volatility, which may affect the final distribution amount.

Mastercard announced it has completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK to enhance its global stablecoin service capabilities. Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer stated that in a multi-currency world where fiat currencies, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits coexist, next-generation payment models will be determined by the connectivity efficiency across different payment rails. BVNK’s on-chain infrastructure and stablecoin-native technology will help financial institutions, fintech firms, and enterprises expand stablecoin use cases including cross-border B2B payments, remittances, settlements, and fund flows.

According to Chosun Ilbo, the supercycle for memory chips may be extended from the previously expected 2028 to 2029–2030. While Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron are significantly ramping up AI-related capacity investments, it typically takes 3 to 5 years to move from plant construction and equipment installation to actual output, so supply tightness is unlikely to ease in the short term. Deloitte projects that the three firms’ combined capital expenditure will reach $146 billion in 2027, roughly 3.4 times the $43 billion in 2024, accounting for 56% of the $260 billion global semiconductor capital expenditure that year. However, Deloitte notes that even if memory makers expand production rapidly, new supply will not be able to enter the market on a large scale until 2029–2030. Data from SemiAnalysis shows that the share of memory procurement in hyperscalers’ capital expenditure has risen from 8% in 2023–2024 to 30% in 2026, and may climb further to 36% in 2027. Based on projected 2027 hyperscaler capital expenditure of $1.14 trillion, around $410 billion will be spent on memory products. It forecasts that DRAM prices will more than double in 2026 and post double-digit growth in 2027, while HBM’s structural shortage is likely to persist until 2027. SK Hynix CEO Koo Roung-hoe previously stated that 2027 could be the tightest supply year in the industry’s history, and customer demand may still outstrip supply capacity after 2030. Samsung Electronics also noted that clients needing to build large-scale AI infrastructure after 2029 are continuously requesting multi-year supply contracts.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin’s monitoring, Ethereum treasury firm BitMine (BMNR) staked around 150,120 ETH approximately two hours ago, worth roughly $280 million. Currently, BitMine holds a total of 5.7978 million ETH, with 5.0673 million staked, making up 87% of its total holdings. At the current annual yield of 2.66%, its staked assets are projected to generate approximately 134,800 ETH annually, valued at around $250 million.

SK Hynix announced that it has partnered with SanDisk to release the first standard specification for next-generation high-bandwidth flash (HBF) storage technology. According to reports, this specification is the first outcome of SK Hynix and SanDisk’s HBF standardization collaboration, which kicked off in August last year, followed by the establishment of an alliance in February this year and took approximately six months to finalize. The specification defines two capacity configurations, utilizing 8-layer and 16-layer NAND chip stacking respectively, with a maximum supported capacity of 512GB. It also sets bandwidth standards across three grades (Grade 1 to 3), with data transfer capabilities ranging from roughly 0.4TB/s to 3.0TB/s.

An FBI agent was arrested last Friday on suspicion of stealing approximately $1 million in crypto assets from "hostile crypto accounts". The affidavit states that Patrick Yaroch began transferring funds in late 2024 or early 2025. After discovering he could control the keys to the relevant digital wallets, he made around 12 transfers. Yaroch, a former senior special agent in the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division at FBI Headquarters, previously worked at the Boston Field Office and was fired on July 31. He told investigators that he mixed his personal funds with the crypto assets involved, admitting to "making some very bad decisions" regarding crypto wallets. The FBI noted that Yaroch used ChatGPT for advice on how to dispose of or invest the $1 million, and on moving to a European country. Based on his family situation, his need to purchase a 2 to 5 hectare estate, and his interest in collecting vintage wine, ChatGPT listed Portugal as the top choice. The affidavit also shows Yaroch has purchased round-trip tickets to Portugal for September 3. Court documents indicate Yaroch has been charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, as well as receiving stolen goods, securities, and funds.