Arthur Hayes: I bet that Bitcoin will surpass $110,000 before retracing to $76,500

Canadian retail trader Akshay Sapra recently disclosed that he earned over C$1.7 million trading AMD and NVIDIA between 2024 and 2025, but nearly lost all those gains through high-risk trades. This year, Sapra bet on SpaceX, buying thousands of call options and thousands of shares after the company was added to the Nasdaq 100 Index. SpaceX’s stock price subsequently dropped from $158.92 to $149.47, resulting in a single loss of over C$200,000. He then bought 2,200 put options as a reverse position, losing most of his remaining capital, with total losses exceeding C$350,000 in just one week. Sapra noted he had previously lost nearly C$200,000 betting on Beyond Meat, and completed three weeks of treatment for gambling addiction. Though he has since returned to work as a software engineer and plans to publicly document his trades on YouTube to rein in his behavior, he still wants to keep trading, admitting his actions "too easily veer into gambling". Sapra said he once built his account from negative balances to holding C$350,000, only to fall into a cycle of "earning it back, then losing it again". He believes trading does require some skill, but if you keep making high-risk, emotional trades, it can be no different from gambling.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for digital assets built on the Ontology network, citing ongoing network checks on the Ontology blockchain. Affected assets include Ontology (ONT), Ontology Gas (ONG), and MovieBloc (MBL). The suspension takes effect immediately upon the announcement and will remain in place until Upbit confirms the security of network-based deposits and withdrawals; the exact resumption time will be announced separately. Upbit noted that trading services for the affected assets remain unaffected, but deposit/withdrawal address registration and refund processing are temporarily halted during the suspension. It also warned that deposits of these assets to Upbit during the period may not be credited normally and could carry a risk of unrecoverable loss.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), US energy stocks rallied broadly in pre-market trading amid rising international crude oil prices. Specifically: Halliburton (HAL.N) rose 2.27%, Valero Energy (VLO.N) gained 2.17%, Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) increased 1.79%, Chevron (CVX.N) was up 1.58%, ExxonMobil (XOM.N) climbed 1.3%, and Marathon Oil (MRO.N) gained 1.55%. As of press time, both WTI and Brent crude oil futures rose over 3% intraday, currently trading at $85.54 per barrel and $90.86 per barrel respectively.

Beating AI News: AI video is expanding beyond short films to enter mainstream TV dramas. Mango TV’s AIGC-powered full-length drama *The Later Journey to the West* will premiere on Hunan TV’s prime time drama slot tonight. The first season has a planned total of 30 episodes (each 40 minutes), with the initial "Huaguo Mountain Arc" consisting of 5 episodes. It will first launch on Mango TV at 18:00, then air on Hunan TV at 20:00. This marks China’s first AI-powered full-length drama to be broadcast on a satellite TV channel. The drama features no live actors; all visuals and character performances are generated via AIGC. The entire production is supported by Seedance 2.0 and Seedance 2.5, with the director, art team, and AI production crew collaborating to complete the series. It is also the first "simultaneous review and broadcast" drama in China since the release of the "Radio and Television 21 Rules". Production, review, and airing proceed in parallel, and subsequent storylines can be adjusted based on review feedback and audience input.

According to official sources, the screening period for all versions of the film *Niu Lai* has been extended to 23:59 on October 4, 2026. As of press time, the film’s cumulative box office (including pre-sales) totals 59.672 million yuan, with AI projections forecasting its total box office will exceed 69 million yuan. Data from GMGN shows that the film-derived meme coin *Niu Lai* surged to $144 million overnight before consolidating at a high level; it is currently trading at $114 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of $72.6 million.

This week’s crypto market preview is as follows: U.S. August employment data will be a key macro event shaping crypto market trends in early September. The U.S. August Non-Farm Payrolls report is due September 4, with market projections of 58,000 new jobs, compared to a prior decline of 23,000. The unemployment rate is expected to hit 4.1%, versus the previous reading of 4.2%. Earlier, U.S. July non-farm payrolls fell by 23,000, and May and June employment data were revised down by a combined 103,000, further boosting the importance of this month’s jobs figures. Additional economic releases include U.S. ADP employment data, JOLTS job openings, ISM manufacturing and services PMIs, and initial jobless claims, which will roll out sequentially. If employment data shows notable weakness, it could reduce market expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, pushing U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar lower; a rebound in employment, meanwhile, may reinforce expectations of sustained high interest rates or further monetary tightening. On the crypto front, Russia will kick off the first large-scale promotion phase of the digital ruble on September 1, while closing its public consultation on the regulatory framework for ruble stablecoins. A UK parliamentary inquiry into how bank and payment restrictions impact crypto firms will also wrap up on August 31. Separately, Kraken will liquidate remaining user balances in 21 delisted assets between September 1 and 5. This week also brings a packed schedule of governance and token events: Ethena will vote on activating a fee switch, with related revenues earmarked to repurchase ENA based on USDe supply milestones; Arbitrum DAO will hold a vote on launching a paid Fast Feed transaction data stream; Sushi will vote on restructuring its token economic model and deploying protocol liquidity to Robinhood Chain; Lisk will vote on shutting down its DAO, burning 100 million LSK tokens, and eliminating staking penalties.