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

According to NBC reports, North Korea is using IT workers from third countries including Iran and Lebanon to help it infiltrate U.S. companies and secure funds to support its weapons programs. In July, the U.S. and multiple other nations issued alerts stating that North Korean IT personnel obtain contracts via remote work, remit earnings back to North Korean-linked entities, and may also pose internal security threats involving data theft, cryptocurrency theft, and sensitive information leaks. As the U.S. and other countries step up crackdowns, North Korea has begun leveraging third-country personnel to pass U.S. companies' recruitment interviews. NBC reports that these foreign IT workers are recruited on platforms like LinkedIn, with some earning roughly $500 per month in cryptocurrency as "interview assistants". Once a position is secured, the role is typically taken over by North Korean operatives. According to earlier CrowdStrike data, North Korea-linked hackers and threat actors caused over $2 billion in cryptocurrency losses in 2025, a 51% year-over-year increase.

S&P Global Market Intelligence’s second-quarter “Voice of the Customer” survey shows digital wallets have become a mainstream payment method for U.S. consumers, though cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and AI agents still face significant trust and security barriers. The survey found 67% of respondents used digital wallets in the past 90 days, with 45% using them weekly. By contrast, 68% of U.S. consumers have never used cryptocurrencies, and 59% consider them to have no practical use. Stablecoins have a low awareness rate of just 16%, with top concerns including fraud risk (48%), fund security (46%), and perceived lack of necessity (39%). AI agents also have limited adoption, with 47% of respondents stating they would never allow AI to make purchases on their behalf. Among consumers willing to use AI for payments, most still require manual confirmation or only accept AI-driven recommendation models. S&P Global noted that regulatory clarity alone is unlikely to shift consumer attitudes toward stablecoins, as issuers still need to address core trust issues like fraud and fund security.

BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo has donated ￡36 million (approximately $49 million) to the UK’s Reform UK, after which crypto industry figure Christopher Harborne announced an additional matching donation. The two contributions combined total ￡72 million (roughly $97 million), setting a new record for both single and total donations to a UK political party. Harborne noted Delo’s donation prompted his decision to follow suit, expressing hope that Reform UK is prepared for governance, and stressing he “seeks nothing in return”. Delo said the donation is intended to ensure the next general election is “fair and competitive”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed both donations. Earlier, Farage had been investigated for accepting large donations and gifts linked to the crypto industry. The related funds have also sparked discussions in UK political circles about the influence of crypto assets on politics and the regulation of political donations.

Swiss crypto asset platform Bitcoin Suisse stated in its 2026 Crypto Wealth Management Report that surging AI investments, rising government debt, and growing stock-bond correlation are eroding the risk-diversification ability of the traditional "stock-bond mix", further boosting the necessity of allocating to Bitcoin. The report projects that major U.S. cloud computing companies will exceed $800 billion in AI capital expenditure this year, potentially hitting $1 trillion by 2027. Bitcoin Suisse notes that AI investments are concentrated in a small number of tech firms, while related infrastructure construction is accompanied by large debt financing, which may further amplify concentration risks in investment portfolios. Backtesting of traditional portfolios by Bitcoin Suisse found that adding 1%, 2.5%, 5%, or 10% Bitcoin to portfolios consisting of stocks, bonds, gold, and money market assets improves both absolute returns and risk-adjusted returns. Specifically, when shifting bond allocations to BTC, the annualized yield rises from 6.2% (without BTC) to 7.2% with a 1% BTC allocation and 8.6% with a 2.5% BTC allocation. The report clarifies that Bitcoin is not a traditional safe-haven asset, but its scarcity and return drivers distinct from stocks and bonds are expected to provide a new source of diversification for investment portfolios.

OpenAI founder Sam Altman stated, “I agree with Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, that we need to control the progress of frontier models. This has been a key topic in our recent discussions at OpenAI. The commitment to granting independent evaluators employee-level access is a good idea, and we will do the same. We will share more updates soon.” Earlier, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a lengthy article arguing that the industry must slow the pace of advancing AI model capabilities. Slowing the pace does not mean halting model training or technological progress; rather, it is to ensure companies have sufficient time for AI alignment and model protection. Amodei also proposed that frontier AI companies in democratic countries coordinate to establish common safety standards.

According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, citing informed sources, Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on entry and exit routes and passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz following intensive consultations, with the relevant agreement expected to be formally announced soon. Under the arrangements, routes entering the Persian Gulf will be entirely within Iran's territorial waters, while some routes departing the Persian Gulf will also lie within Iran's territorial waters, and vessels will transit in accordance with Iran's provisions. The source stressed that this understanding does not signify a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; the southern route the US has insisted on opening will remain closed. Furthermore, Iran has submitted seven conditions to the US via intermediaries for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Until these conditions are implemented and approved by Iran's highest-level bodies, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed.