Elon Musk: AI is expected to significantly boost productivity, which could lift the global economy by 20% to 30%.

21 international financial institutions have announced plans to establish a new company in the second half of 2026 to advance the issuance of a stablecoin, with its specific name to be disclosed later. The new entity will initially focus on USD-denominated stablecoins, with plans to expand to additional G7 currencies in the future, prioritizing euro-denominated stablecoins. Participating institutions include Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Wells Fargo, BBVA, Santander, MUFG Bank, and others. The stablecoin is targeted at wholesale, institutional, and retail markets, and will be applied to scenarios such as cross-border payments and digital asset settlement. The group stated that the stablecoin scheme will combine bank-level compliance, governance, and institutional risk management capabilities, and plans to meet relevant regulatory requirements including the U.S. GENIUS Act and EU MiCA. The project aims to officially launch the stablecoin product in the first half of 2027.

Cybersecurity firm Morphisec reports that a malware program disguised as Anthropic’s Claude desktop application is spreading the Windows malware RevStealer, with attackers luring users to download and install it under the name "Claude Opus 5 Free Desktop". According to reports, RevStealer can steal browser passwords, cookies, password manager data, VPN and remote access configurations, instant messaging data, screenshots, and specific documents, targeting more than 50 cryptocurrency wallets. The malware also features anti-analysis mechanisms, which determine if it is operating in a real user environment by checking device memory, CPU core count, username, hostname, and graphics card details; if a debugging or virtualization environment is detected, it may halt subsequent malicious activities. Morphisec added that RevStealer has previously spread via GitHub repositories and game cheat-related websites. Researchers warn users to avoid downloading AI apps like Claude from unofficial sources, and to be especially cautious of installers claiming to offer "free premium versions" or "cracked versions".

Alkemya Metacore announced it has completed a $50 million pre-IPO financing round, and plans to raise additional capital via the issuance of tokenized equity ALKN. The round was led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, with participation from firms including Maven 11, Metalayer, Joint Effects, and Tribe Capital. Alkemya Metacore holds approximately 7 million meters of ultra-high-purity nickel wire with 99.99% purity and a diameter of just 0.025 mm. Independent verification values this asset at roughly $1.64 billion, which is currently held by an institution based in Lugano, Switzerland. The company intends to use the financing to process the nickel wire into engineered mesh products, which will be applied in sectors including electromagnetic shielding, aerospace and defense, marine and desalination, power and industrial operations, semiconductors, green hydrogen energy, and precious and rare metal recycling. The ALKN token will be issued by Luxembourg-based Alkemya Metacore SCSp, and is planned to trade on regulated platforms including Bitfinex Securities. The new ALKN issuance is priced at $1 per token, targeting institutional and professional investors, with a closing date of October 15. Under the revenue distribution mechanism, investors will first receive a full return of their capital, plus a preferred return calculated at 6% annual compound interest. Profits from commercial operations will be split between token holders and partners at an 80:20 ratio. The company stated that tokenized securities will help it reach global investors and provide round-the-clock on-chain trading channels for traditional physical assets.

Serenity published a post stating that action camera maker GoPro ($GPRO) plans to merge with photonics firm Starman Optical to enter the AI data center 800G/1.6T optical module market. Following the announcement, GoPro’s share price surged over 80%. Serenity commented, “GoPro competing against AAOI is absolutely outside my expectations.” It noted that GoPro’s shift from action cameras to the AI data center optical communications sector is quite unexpected, and the market has reacted strongly to this transformation plan.

On the first trading day of September, the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower across the board: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.64%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.71%, the Nasdaq slid 1.31%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index once plunged more than 3%. Intel and Qualcomm declined nearly 3%, AMD and Meta fell over 2%, while Tesla, Alibaba, and Nvidia dropped nearly 2%. The core factor pressuring the market is the simultaneous rise in oil prices and global bond yields. Brent crude oil broke above $92 per barrel during the session; market concerns over Middle East tensions and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are expected to push up energy prices and inflation, further strengthening expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Currently, CME’s FedWatch Tool shows the probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike in September to a range of 3.75%-4.00% has risen to 66%. Paul Ciana, technical strategist at Bank of America, stated the S&P 500’s upward breakout starting in August remains intact, provided it holds above 7,500 points. Meanwhile, neither the RSI nor MACD has confirmed the recent price highs, indicating upward momentum is weakening. Ciana noted seasonal headwinds, election uncertainty, and rising front-end U.S. Treasury yields are posing greater challenges to the market, with higher yields increasing the risk that stocks will enter a consolidation phase rather than rallying at an accelerated pace. Matt Maley, strategist at Miller Tabak, also warned the stock market has so far been able to ignore rising yields, but this does not mean the pressure from high yields will not eventually surface. JPMorgan Chase, meanwhile, argues rising yields may not be an insurmountable obstacle for the bull market, as they could reflect stronger economic activity momentum.

DeFi protocol Firelight Protocol has secured an $8 million funding round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, with participation from Maven 11, Metalayer, Joint Effects, Tribe Capital, and other investors. The project aims to build an on-chain risk protection layer for DeFi, planning to launch its protocol and first set of coverage products in September, while expanding its insured asset base from XRP to include Bitcoin (BTC) and Stellar (XLM). Incubated by DeFi infrastructure provider Sentora, Firelight targets the smart contract vulnerability risks that fintech companies face when entering the on-chain yield market. It has developed an on-chain protection mechanism where users’ insured positions are represented as NFTs. In the event of a vulnerability exploit, an alliance of independent risk firms—GFX Labs, Hypernative, Credora, Native, and Cyfrin—will evaluate claim eligibility, with a goal of completing reviews in 3–4 days and payouts within 10 days. Firelight CEO Anthony DeMartino stated that the product is not geared toward crypto-native speculators, but rather intends to act as a "protective layer" to drive the next wave of capital into on-chain spaces. Currently, roughly $80 billion is locked in DeFi, yet less than 1% of that total has on-chain risk coverage. Firelight identifies fintech firms, digital banks, and payment platforms as its core potential clients.