International crude oil prices continue to rise, while vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz drops to its lowest point in three weeks.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, a whale address that previously accumulated over $290 million worth of Bitcoin through Galaxy Digital last year has added to its holdings, receiving 1001 BTC valued at approximately $64 million. The relevant addresses include the main wallet bc1qexplq4mlp7umxavr2qceaqzc2w8fzc9enpty55 and its associated address 39aNzneDLY6oHifvRpxwXaeCPkP9gcZxNx.

Analyst Serenity published a note stating that Goldman Sachs has raised its price target for China Unichip to 2,581 yuan, representing around 163.6% upside from the current share price. Serenity pointed out that, rather than the price target, what deserves more attention is Goldman Sachs’ sharp upward revisions to China Unichip’s 2026–2028 earnings forecasts, by 65%, 108%, and 119% respectively. Goldman Sachs attributes this to key drivers including surging shipments of silicon optical modules, ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure, higher average selling prices (ASPs) and margins from 1.6T/3.2T optical modules, and sustained growth in AI capital expenditure. Serenity views China Unichip as a critical barometer for the optical communication sector’s prosperity, analogous to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for semiconductor capital spending. If silicon photonics penetration continues to rise, it will further expand demand in niche segments such as continuous wave (CW) lasers and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, while higher ASPs for next-generation high-speed optical modules will also benefit the entire optical communication industry chain. Additionally, Serenity noted that China Unichip previously disclosed in communications that demand for 800G optical modules has exceeded expectations, meaning upcoming earnings results from optical communication firms including Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) and Lumentum (LITE) also merit close attention. Serenity concluded that, amid a sharp sector pullback, Goldman Sachs’ large upward earnings revisions reflect the robust fundamentals of the AI optical communication industry chain, and the entire photonics ecosystem is poised to benefit from the new wave of AI infrastructure development.

Bank of America has appointed Sonali Theisen as head of its global digital assets platform and Kevin Milsom as head of AI transformation to advance the bank’s digital asset and AI strategic development. Theisen will oversee the design, development, expansion and governance of the bank’s digital assets platform, while continuing to serve as head of electronic trading and strategic investments for its fixed income, foreign exchange and commodities (FICC) business. Her key work includes integrating blockchain products into Bank of America’s existing financial market infrastructure, and collaborating with Adam Dixon, head of digital asset transformation, to advance tokenized deposits, stablecoins, digital collateral circulation, crypto trading settlement and custody services. Milsom will lead the application of AI across Bank of America’s global markets platform. Reports note that this move follows the trend of Wall Street financial institutions accelerating their expansion into digital assets and AI. Earlier, Vanguard launched a search for its first head of digital assets, and Morgan Stanley appointed Amy Oldenburg as head of digital asset strategy earlier this year to drive the integration of crypto assets and asset tokenization with traditional financial infrastructure.

According to GMGN market data, Base-based meme token Brain (Coinbase Man) briefly surged past $35 million in market cap yesterday before plummeting to $1.4 million as of now—down over 93% in 24 hours, with a 24-hour trading volume of $21 million. Brain adopts the native B20 token standard rolled out via Base’s Beryl upgrade, and its name is derived from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Armstrong recently changed his X profile picture, and the new image closely aligns with the Brain token’s icon, sparking community speculation and driving a rapid rise in trading activity. Following Armstrong’s latest X profile picture change, the meme token faced massive sell-offs and is now on track to “go to zero”. BlockBeats reminds users that meme coins are highly volatile, primarily driven by market sentiment, community hype, and narratives, with no solid fundamental support. Investors should pay close attention to risks.

FTX Recovery Trust and FTX announced that the fifth round of creditor distributions will launch on July 31, with roughly $900 million allocated to creditors in the "Convenience" and "Non-Convenience" categories under the restructuring plan. Eligible creditors will receive their payouts via BitGo, Kraken, or Payoneer accounts within 1 to 3 business days starting July 31. Creditors with claims under $50,000 will get a payout equal to 120% of their claim amount, while others are expected to receive between 103% and 105% of their claims. With this round of distributions, the cumulative amount disbursed by the FTX Recovery Trust since FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 will reach approximately $10 billion.

A U.S. federal grand jury has indicted 43-year-old crypto investor Benjamin Paul Wiener of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 29 counts including wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, involving approximately $20 million. Dozens of victims are located across South Dakota and Minnesota. Prosecutors allege Wiener used eight entities he controlled to induce investors to contribute funds and cryptocurrency through false statements, then transferred the assets via banks and crypto exchanges for personal spending. When investors requested redemptions or new capital dried up, he recruited new investors to repay old ones, an alleged Ponzi scheme. Additionally, prosecutors charge that in April 2025, Wiener secured a $1 million line of credit from a bank by forging documents, communications records and stealing others’ personal identifying information. Wiener has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is released on bail pending trial, scheduled for September 15. Under U.S. law, wire fraud and money laundering each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, bank fraud carries up to 30 years, and aggravated identity theft adds a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of at least two years.