Tom Lee: Four Key Catalysts Could Trigger Ethereum (ETH) Rally; If Bitcoin (BTC) Rises to $150,000 and ETH/BTC Returns to 0.04, ETH Could Reach $6,000

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that Tether is advancing the "decentralized holding" of US Treasuries via stablecoin technology, enhancing the security of the US debt holding structure. Ardoino noted that if hostile nations hold hundreds of billions of dollars in US Treasuries in a concentrated manner, a single decision-maker could offload large volumes in a short period, creating risks to the US financial system. By contrast, the number of Treasury holders backing Tether’s stablecoins is massive: roughly 650 million people currently hold related US Treasury assets indirectly. Since investors will not make sell decisions simultaneously, this mitigates the risk of concentrated sell-offs. Ardoino added that traditional finance, despite decades of so-called "financial innovation", has failed to resolve this issue, while stablecoin technology has for the first time enabled more widespread, decentralized holding of US Treasuries.

CryptoRank reported that as on-chain credit demand rebounds, the active loan volume of major DeFi lending protocols has risen from $20.1 billion in June 2026 to $26.1 billion in August, marking a nearly 30% cumulative increase over the summer. Aave remains dominant with an active loan volume of $12.5 billion, holding around a 48% market share; Morpho ranks second at $5.1 billion, while Spark takes third place with $2.1 billion. The data indicates that the DeFi lending market continues to expand, reflecting a notable recovery in on-chain financing and credit demand.

According to Bitget market data, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 17.8 points, or 0.07%, at 25,566.99 on Monday, August 31. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Tech Index, by contrast, rose 14.72 points, or 0.32%, to end the day at 4,619.87.

Beating AI News Flash: Apple will officially announce a leadership change tomorrow. John Ternus, set to take over as Apple’s CEO, has long been skeptical of the Vision Pro, arguing the headset is too heavy, too expensive, and unlikely to become a mass-market product. By contrast, he favors Apple’s continued focus on lightweight smart glasses, and this shift is already underway. Apple recently laid off a number of employees working on Vision Pro, with cuts extending beyond gaming and immersive video to roles in device security, audio, Siri integration, testing, and operating systems. AppleInsider previously reported that at least 60 staff on the Vision project were affected. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in June that Ternus had personally approved a major revision to the headset roadmap. Multiple original Vision and smart glass projects have been scaled back, with only two smart glasses models visible to supply chain partners now: a display-less AI glasses set to launch in 2027, and a display-equipped model expected in 2029. However, the Vision Pro has not been entirely scrapped. Apple is still developing a new Vision Pro under the codename N224, with a possible launch as early as late 2028, and some within the company are urging Ternus to maintain investment in the product.

South Korea’s LS Securities has significantly adjusted its target prices for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix: it raised Samsung Electronics’ target price from 400,000 won to 450,000 won, a 12.5% increase; it maintained its "Buy" rating for SK Hynix, but cut the target price from 3.3 million won to 2.4 million won, a roughly 27.3% decrease. LS Securities noted that the adjustment does not signal weakening demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), but rather a shift in the HBM4 supply landscape. Data shows Samsung’s HBM4 shipments as a share of its total HBM shipments rose from around 5% in Q1 this year to roughly 35% in Q2, alongside sustained improvements in production yield, as Samsung recovers its HBM4 mass production competitiveness at a faster pace. Meanwhile, as Samsung expands its supply, the high "supplier premium" SK Hynix previously enjoyed due to supply concentration may gradually narrow. LS Securities cut its 2027 HBM operating margin forecast for SK Hynix from around 80% to roughly 60%, leading to the target price adjustment. The firm emphasized that this revision is not a bearish view on the HBM cycle, but rather a belief that supplier competition is returning to normalization. The key focus of the future HBM market will shift from pure demand growth to whether Samsung can continue expanding its market share, and whether SK Hynix can maintain its technological leadership and core customer supply share.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted two AI-generated videos on Truth Social late Sunday, with the caption "Khark Island was blown to smithereens". The videos show oil fields, storage tanks and docks being hit by missile strikes and exploding. However, there is currently no evidence that the U.S. military actually attacked Khark Island. U.S. Central Command stated that the U.S. military carried out "limited and precise" strikes on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) mine-laying unit on Sunday, targeting the area near Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, aimed at eliminating an imminent threat to commercial shipping and civilian vessels. Notably, Khark Island and Larak Island are far apart; the former, located deep in the Persian Gulf, is Iran’s main oil export hub. It remains unclear whether the AI videos posted by Trump were produced by his team, or whether he confused Larak Island with Khark Island. The IRGC subsequently claimed it had launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. military bases in Jordan. Jordan’s authorities said its air defense systems intercepted 8 missiles, with no casualties reported. Hamid Bovard, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, said Monday that oil operations at Iran’s Khark Island have not stopped, denying Trump’s earlier post claiming the island’s key oil hub was destroyed.