Anthropic has confirmed that it is assembling an internal silicon team to build custom artificial intelligence chips for Claude, as demand for the company’s AI models climbs, according to Business Insider.
The company said it wants hardware and model design to work in tandem so Claude can run faster and more efficiently at the scale customers require. Even so, Anthropic said it will keep using a “multi-chip approach,” with hardware from Amazon Web Services, Google, Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices remaining central to its ability to scale.
Earlier reports had said Anthropic was also exploring self-developed chips and had held talks with Samsung Electronics about possible manufacturing cooperation.
ElizaOS founder says ai16z token is dead
Eliza Labs founder Shaw Walters said the ai16z/ElizaOS token is officially “dead” and that the related foundation will be shut down.
Walters said the move followed a class action filed on behalf of holders by Burwick Law. The foundation chose to settle because it could not afford the legal costs, and its remaining treasury funds will be used in full for compensation. He added that he has never sold ai16z tokens and never profited from them, saying he only took the same base salary as engineers and is currently living off his savings.
He also said development of Eliza’s underlying technology will continue, but no future token will be tied to Eliza. Holders were told to make their own decisions, and the foundation will not offer any buyback support.
Ansem points to bottoming signals and bull market markers
Crypto analyst Ansem, posting from @blknoiz06, said the market is showing several signs of bottoming.
- Prices are no longer making extended downside moves on negative news. He cited BTC printing a higher low during Saylor’s selling period.
- Crypto-native applications are starting to break out. Pump.fun’s weekly revenue rose 20% week over week, while FOMO added more than 100,000 users in a single week.
- Institutional interest is returning, with Robinhood launching a public chain and PTJ publicly turning bullish on BTC.
- Social media attention is picking up again, with related posts reaching 30 million views and @blknoiz06 gaining 200,000 followers this month.
For trend confirmation, Ansem listed a separate set of signals: major on-chain tokens making higher highs after their first high-volume peaks, steady growth in holder addresses, warmer coverage from mainstream media, active on-chain innovation from developers, and top protocols distributing airdrops to communities as “liquidity stimulus.”
DeepSeek restarts second fundraising round
Multiple trading sources said large-model company DeepSeek has restarted its second fundraising round. The round is targeting 50 billion yuan at a pre-money valuation of about 500 billion yuan, with signing expected to be completed in late August.
Several investors said the second round had already begun by at least mid-July, but it was suddenly paused at the end of July. Some investors on standby in ongoing talks were told at the time that plans to sign financing agreements had been put on hold.
According to a July 26 media report, one reason for the pause was founder Liang Wenfeng’s dissatisfaction with widely circulated online commentary centered on what was described as a leaked “meeting transcript for investors.” DeepSeek and investors still at the table now want the restarted fundraising process to proceed quietly.
Some institutions that had been actively engaged earlier said they still have not been informed that the fundraising has resumed, and their channels remain paused.
Arthur Hayes buys 11.74 million ENA in four days
On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain said Arthur Hayes bought another 2.69 million ENA about two hours earlier, worth roughly $246,000. Over the past four days, he accumulated 11.74 million ENA worth about $1.02 million, with an average entry price of $0.087.
Unitree Robotics schedules online IPO roadshow
Unitree Robotics said its application for an initial public offering and listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market has been approved by the Shanghai Stock Exchange Listing Review Committee and registered with the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
The company plans to issue 40.4464 million new shares, representing 10.00% of total share capital after the offering. The deal will combine strategic placement, offline placement, and online issuance. The issuer and lead underwriter CITIC Securities will hold an online roadshow on Aug. 7, 2026, from 14:00 to 17:00, with senior management and underwriter representatives taking part.
Circle reports $701 million in Q2 revenue and reserve income
Circle’s financial results for the second quarter of 2026 showed total revenue and reserve income of $701 million, up 7% year over year. Net income came in at $48.21 million, a marked improvement from a loss of $482.1 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA reached $143.5 million, up 8%.
By the end of the quarter, USDC circulation had risen to $73.3 billion, up 19% from a year earlier. On-chain transaction volume reached $14.8 trillion, up 151%. Effective wallets totaled 7 million, up 24%, and Circle put its stablecoin market share at 27%.
For full-year guidance, Circle raised its forecast for other income from $150 million-$170 million to $310 million-$330 million, including presale revenue from the Arc token. Its RLDC margin guidance was lifted from 38%-40% to 41.7%-43.7%.
On operations, Circle said it has received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank and from the New York Department of Financial Services to establish a digital asset trust company. The Arc blockchain is set to launch its public mainnet on Sept. 16. Its first validator nodes include BlackRock, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Galaxy, Mastercard, Visa, and Standard Chartered. Circle’s payments network reached an annualized transaction volume of $14.7 billion, up 76% quarter over quarter. Agent Stack, its agent payments product, is now live with more than 900 paid services integrated, and 99.3% of x402 agent payments are settled in USDC.
Strategy-linked wallet moves another 1,030 BTC
Lookonchain said a wallet tied to Michael Saylor’s Strategy transferred out another 1,030 BTC about two hours earlier, worth roughly $66.14 million. Over the prior week, Strategy had already sold 1,638 BTC for about $102.4 million.
The company still holds 842,138 BTC valued at about $52.65 billion.
Clarity Act vote still waiting on procedural next steps
Journalist Eleanor Terrett, posting from @EleanorTerrett, said Senate leader Thune did not file cloture on the Clarity Act motion tonight because of procedural issues and a lack of votes.
Once issues tied to the continuing resolution process are resolved, Thune could file as soon as tomorrow. If that happens, a formal vote on the Clarity Act would take place within 30 hours of the filing.
The bill still faces major hurdles, including the lack of a bipartisan ethics agreement, continued silence from the White House, and unresolved differences around BRCA. Even so, several people involved said they still want members on the record with a public vote even if the bill does not ultimately pass.
