Binance's latest Launchpool has received over 18.4 million BNB

Coinbase’s platform lead Rob Witoff stated that currently 95% to 100% of the company’s code is written or assisted by large language models (LLMs), and nearly all employees use AI on a daily basis. This figure has more than doubled from the roughly 40% of AI-generated code disclosed in February this year. Witoff noted that critical areas such as core cryptography still rely primarily on manual review, while internal prototype development is now almost fully automated. The proliferation of AI has enabled Coinbase to adopt smaller, more senior teams: teams of two to three people can now complete work that previously required over a dozen employees. He also revealed that most of Coinbase’s engineers currently manage five to 10 AI agents each, with the overall AI agent workforce handling coding workload equivalent to roughly 1,200 full-time employees. The company projects this number could rise to the equivalent of 100,000 employees by 2030. Earlier this May, Coinbase laid off around 700 employees, accounting for roughly 14% of its total workforce, with the firm stating that AI has significantly improved work efficiency.

Japan’s largest card network JCB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Circle, with the two parties set to explore using USDC for cross-border payments, merchant settlement, fund management and other services, to drive the adoption of stablecoins in Japan’s daily payment scenarios. JCB has around 140 million users and 40 million merchants globally. The two sides will initially conduct a proof of concept (PoC) centered on JCB’s internal fund transfers, and further research how USDC can boost cross-border payment efficiency, lower remittance costs, and support international tourists in making stablecoin payments at Japanese merchants. This partnership is part of Japan’s stablecoin commercialization process. Earlier, Circle announced it would collaborate with Nomura to develop a USDC-based foreign exchange settlement service; Japanese convenience store chain Lawson also plans to launch a stablecoin payment pilot in August this year.

According to a Financial Times report, newly unsealed court documents show that stablecoin issuer Circle blocked Tether-backed crypto fund Heka Funds at the end of 2023, suspecting it of manipulating markets via large-scale arbitrage operations and helping Tether expand its market share. The documents note that during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis, USDC briefly broke below its $1 peg. Heka continuously purchased large amounts of discounted USDC and redeemed it for U.S. dollars from Circle. Circle deemed Heka’s redemption volume far exceeded that of other market participants, and suspected the funds ultimately flowed to Tether to help grow USDT’s market size. Arbitration documents also disclose that Tether invested approximately $800 million in Heka, accounting for around 75% of the fund’s assets, and waived stablecoin minting fees. Arbitrators found that Heka failed to truthfully disclose Tether’s backing relationship and knew the information would raise concerns at Circle. In 2024, Heka filed an arbitration claim after its account was blocked, seeking around $49 million in lost profits. In February this year, arbitrators rejected all of Heka’s claims, ruling it had engaged in malicious conduct and ordered it to pay Circle approximately $166,000 in legal and expert fees. Heka denied market manipulation and stated it had never faced regulatory investigations over the matter. Circle declined to comment, while Tether did not respond to media requests for comment.

According to China Central Television (CCTV) reports, the Iranian military issued a statement in the early morning of the 15th local time, claiming it has carried out continuous drone strikes on U.S. military bases in the region. The statement noted that several hours ago, the F-18 fighter jet deployment site, accommodation buildings, and large equipment warehouses at the U.S. military base in Azraq, Jordan were attacked by Iranian suicide drones.

South Korean exchanges have activated a temporary trading halt mechanism for the KOSPI index, suspending program trading for five minutes.

US President Donald Trump said that strikes against Iran will continue "until I say enough." Furthermore, Trump announced that the U.S. held talks with Iranian representatives on Tuesday, urging Iran to strike a deal. He added that strikes on Iran’s energy facilities would be held off until the final stage. Trump threatened that the U.S. will destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges next week, and will target all of the country’s power plants and bridges unless Iran returns to the negotiating table.