Empery Digital has sold nearly half of its Bitcoin reserves, cashing out $87.1 million to invest in AI data centers.

Tensions in the Middle East remain high. U.S. President Donald Trump said he has agreed to continue negotiations with Iran, but the temporary ceasefire has ended. The U.S. has demanded Iran commit to halting attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz by Saturday, adding it will continue strikes on Iran if necessary. Iran responded that it has never put forward a negotiation demand with the U.S., but agreed to allow mediators to visit the country. Iran’s parliamentary speaker stated that Iran will not surrender and will adopt comprehensive defense measures if the U.S. "breaks its trust". Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will lead a delegation to Oman on Saturday for talks on the Strait of Hormuz issue and bilateral relations. Additionally, sources said the U.S., Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar may hold a four-way call, with a Qatari envoy already arriving in Iran for emergency mediation. Israeli sources said Trump currently does not want Israel to join direct combat to avoid further escalation of tensions, but other reports indicate Israel still intends to participate in strikes on Iran and is waiting for the U.S. side’s position. Meanwhile, the U.S. announced a new round of sanctions targeting financial backers linked to Mojtaba and Iran’s currency exchange networks. France called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally open the Strait of Hormuz and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect relevant nuclear facilities.

According to EmberCN’s monitoring, an early whale address for "Binance Life" that once delivered roughly 5000x returns sold another 2.5 million tokens approximately 5 hours ago, valued at around $1.7 million. Data indicates the address now holds only its remaining 2.5 million tokens, and at the current pace, full liquidation is expected to be completed by tomorrow morning. The whale initially spent just about $2,480 to acquire 18.5 million "Binance Life" tokens, and has cumulatively sold 16 million tokens to date, netting approximately $11.12 million in total proceeds.

Serenity issued a statement addressing recent discussions about OpenAI’s MRC network architecture optimization and Amazon (AMZN)’s RNG architecture potentially leading to a drop in optical module demand. The firm maintains that even if the number of optical modules needed per XPU decreases, the rapid expansion of AI computing power will continue to drive sustained growth in overall optical communications demand. Serenity notes that with a significant increase in XPU deployments, total optical module demand is still projected to rise. On CPO (Co-packaged Optics) laser solutions, it holds that VCSELs are better suited as a transitional technology for NPO (Near-packaged Optics) and short-range interconnection stages, while long-term, ultra-high-power continuous wave (UHP CW) lasers will be the superior choice for CPO—a view aligned with Broadcom’s prior public remarks.

According to monitoring by EmberCN, Tether allocates 15% of its quarterly profits to its Bitcoin reserve address. Approximately 5 hours ago, this address made a test transfer of 4 BTC to Binance, valued at roughly $250,000. EmberCN stated that this same address previously transferred 204.3 BTC to Bitfinex a month ago, worth approximately $14.36 million at the time, when Bitcoin’s price stood at around $70,000. It remains unclear whether these assets have been sold. Additionally, Tether appears to have not yet completed the on-chain withdrawal of new Bitcoin for Q2 2026. Per its usual practice, Tether typically transfers BTC purchased in the quarter to its reserve address on the last day of each quarter. However, more than 10 days have elapsed since the end of Q2, and no new Bitcoin deposits to this reserve address have been observed on-chain, sparking market concerns over whether it has adjusted its Bitcoin accumulation pace.

According to CBS, senior U.S. officials disclosed that Iranian officials privately informed Trump administration advisors that Iran’s firing on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz was a "mistake", with the attacks attributed to a "hardline rogue faction" seeking to derail negotiations. Iran reportedly stated its willingness to continue talks. The White House demands Iran publicly acknowledge the error. The Trump administration considers the attacks on commercial vessels a violation of the bilateral ceasefire arrangement. U.S. officials said Trump has tasked a team including Vice President Vance, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to advance negotiations, which will take place in Oman. U.S. officials noted that if Iran persists in hostile actions, the U.S. will respond with military and economic measures.

According to Axios, the Trump administration has demanded that Iran issue a public statement by Saturday at the latest, confirming the Strait of Hormuz remains open and pledging to stop firing at commercial vessels. U.S. officials said the demand was conveyed to Iran via direct channels and regional mediators. The U.S. argues that recent attacks on commercial ships by Iran in and around the Strait of Hormuz violate the memorandum of understanding signed by both sides weeks ago, putting the fragile ceasefire agreement at risk of collapse. The report adds that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi are set to meet in Muscat, Oman’s capital, on Saturday to discuss the Strait of Hormuz situation. The U.S. wants Iran to release a public statement after the meeting, pledging to halt attacks and confirming the strait’s waterways are open and toll-free. U.S. officials noted that while recent U.S.-Iran nuclear talks have made some progress, the Hormuz crisis has sparked U.S. concerns over Iran’s ability to fulfill more complex agreements. The U.S. has warned that if Iran rejects the demands, it will take further action.