PA Daily’s latest digest spanned regulation, project updates, funding activity, market commentary and data releases. The two biggest items were TUT’s extreme price swing and a new $400 million investment from Situational Awareness into Source Foundry.
TUT surged as much as 6x, with more than $3 billion in combined spot and futures volume
TUT climbed as much as sixfold over the past day, rising from $0.045 to $0.305 at the high. Over the last 24 hours, total spot trading volume reached $570 million, while futures volume hit $2.5 billion.
On-chain data showed market makers or controlling holders mainly shifting tokens among major centralized exchanges. Over a little more than one day, 160 million TUT, equal to 20% of total supply, moved from Binance to Bitget.
In derivatives, total liquidations across the market reached $74.8935 million over the past hour, including $58.2532 million in short liquidations. TUT alone accounted for $34.9932 million in liquidations, made up of $33.5307 million in shorts and $1.4625 million in longs.
After breaking above $0.25 and setting a new high, Tutorial (TUT) briefly fell below $0.13. Even so, its 24-hour gain still stood at 325.8%.
Situational Awareness increased its bet on Source Foundry by $400 million
Situational Awareness, the hedge fund founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, made an additional $400 million investment in chip manufacturing startup Source Foundry. Combined with an earlier $100 million investment, its total commitment now stands at $500 million.
Source Foundry is trying to build a simpler, cheaper and faster chip manufacturing approach based on different physical principles.
At the end of July, Situational Awareness was reportedly close to collapse after large markdowns in its public tech investments. It later reached a deal with Citadel to sell part of its public stock holdings at a 10% discount, which allowed it to remain afloat.
Policy developments in Washington and Brussels
U.S. Senate to vote on Clarity Act procedural motion on Sept. 15
Senate Majority Leader John Thune submitted a cloture motion, clearing the way for the Clarity Act to move into debate. The Senate plans to vote on the motion on Sept. 15, and at least 60 votes will be required.
Republicans hold 53 seats. If all Republican senators vote yes, at least seven Democrats or independents would still need to support the motion. The two parties remain divided over ethics provisions, illicit finance oversight, and whether to include text tied to the Senate Agriculture Committee.
EU plans MiCA revisions focused on access for non-EU stablecoin issuers
The European Union has decided to revise the MiCA framework to address the issue of non-EU stablecoin issuers such as Tether being shut out of the EU market. The passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act and the Trump administration’s active push on stablecoins accelerated that decision.
Patrick Hansen, Circle’s head of EU policy, had previously warned that the current MiCA regime contains major regulatory gaps. The EU is also considering bringing emerging technologies such as tokenized payments and deposits into the revised framework.
An EU diplomat said, “Reopening the discussion on this file at this stage has become unavoidable,” adding that MiCA was approved in May 2023 and that many provisions have already fallen behind the reality of industry development.
Project and platform updates
Binance Alpha to launch DAPPOS (DOS) airdrop on Aug. 10
Binance Alpha said it will launch a DAPPOS (DOS) airdrop on Aug. 10. Eligible users will be able to claim the airdrop with Binance Alpha Points on the Alpha event page once trading opens.
Bitcoin BIP-110 triggered a node split
A small portion of Bitcoin nodes supporting the BIP-110 proposal split from the mainnet at block height 961,632 and created a fork chain backed by only a small share of mainnet hash power.
The Bitcoin main chain has continued to produce blocks normally, while the BIP-110 chain has produced only two new blocks and now trails the main chain by 20 blocks. BIP-110 is a one-year change designed to restrict the insertion of non-financial data into Bitcoin.
Over the past two weeks, only 2.53% of blocks signaled support for BIP-110, well below the 55% threshold.
Strategy founder Michael Saylor also said BIP-110 failed to win broad miner support because only 2.6% of miners signaled in favor. At block height 961,632, his node would reject blocks that did not signal support. Under that setup, BIP-110 would stall or fail as a fork, while Bitcoin itself would continue to run normally.
BitMart founder responds to withdrawal and wind-down concerns
Facing criticism after its shutdown left many users unable to withdraw funds, BitMart founder Sheldon said the company had not run away and would not run away, while urging users not to trust rumors.
He said the core team is still conducting asset checks, consolidating assets and maintaining systems, and that an orderly wind-down remains the goal. Users, he said, should wait for official announcements and notices. He also said there had been no asset misappropriation, no early exit and no withdrawal by insiders, and that court involvement and third-party auditors were under consideration to produce a transparent report.
Official Trump Coins launches “United We Stand” silver bar
Official Trump Coins announced the release of a “United We Stand” commemorative silver bar, using a full-color design to honor a signature salute scene from Trump’s presidency.
The bar is framed with the presidential seal and the words “UNITED WE STAND,” and will be available in 1-ounce and 10-ounce versions, with delivery expected on Aug. 12.
Trump had previously promoted the commemorative coin several times, calling it “the only official coin designed by me.” But a U.S. Treasury design image for a $1 Trump commemorative coin drew criticism from lawmakers because of its association with the meme coin TRUMP.
BitMEX moved 367 BTC into a hot wallet
BitMEX transferred 367.65 BTC, worth about $23.92 million, from its cold wallet into a hot wallet. The exchange has been making similar transfers over the past week.
The movement was likely intended to handle retail withdrawal demand after the exchange announced its closure last month.
Fraud and enforcement
Police in Hengli, Dongguan, intercepted a crypto investment scam and preserved RMB 1.1 million in cash just five minutes before the victim was due to meet the fraudsters offline.
The victim, identified as Ms. Li, had previously met a stranger online. The person lured her with what was described as an “internal virtual currency investment channel,” promising a low threshold and high returns, and used fabricated profit screenshots to create a false impression.
The fraudsters later told her she needed to exchange cash offline into U.S. dollars for account funding, prompting her to withdraw RMB 1.1 million in cash in preparation for the handover. After spotting a risk signal, police activated a warning and interception mechanism and stopped the transfer in time.
Research, views and analysis
KPMG: nearly half of executives cut back AI agent deployment because costs outweighed returns
KPMG said nearly half of executives had delayed or reduced AI agent deployment because costs exceeded benefits. The survey covered 2,145 corporate executives across 20 countries and regions, each from companies with annual revenue above $50 million.
Among them, 49% said they had scaled back AI agent deployment because operating costs exceeded returns. AI remained the top investment priority for 79% of respondents, with average AI spending holding at $188 million. The share of organizations treating AI as part of daily work rose from 13% in the first quarter to 22%.
Santiment: Bitcoin on-chain volume and new wallet creation both jumped
Santiment Intelligence said Bitcoin on-chain transaction volume had surged, with 2.27 million new wallets created over one week, the highest reading in the past year. Active wallets reached 751,000, the highest level in 10 months.
It said the main catalyst was confusion triggered by the Coldcard wallet incident. The security issue pushed users to move funds, create new wallets, rotate custody settings and recheck risk exposure, driving wallet creation and activity higher.
Santiment said polarized events often lead to strong on-chain reactions, with fear and greed prompting more people to trade and rebalance positions, which can reignite demand after a soft market period. Large holders often accumulate during periods of confusion, and rising usage combined with large-holder accumulation has historically been positive for prices over the following weeks or even months.
Abbas Khan: foundations cannot find PMF for founders
Former Ethereum Foundation member Abbas Khan wrote that good founders understand a foundation cannot help them find product-market fit, or PMF.
He said truly strong founders usually already know what they want to build, where their weaknesses are and what they need, and when they approach a foundation they ask for specific, limited forms of help. No foundation can make someone successful, he said; building a good product, solving distribution and finding PMF ultimately depend on the founder.
Khan also said critics who argued that the Ethereum Foundation lacked a founder support team were right, but added that asking a foundation to support developers is different from expecting it to make a startup succeed.
In his view, a foundation should focus on basic work such as introducing liquidity, connecting teams with investors, running startup schools and offering guidance when teams get stuck. He also cited Elon Musk, saying the people who complain the loudest are often the worst.
Grayscale: odds of the Clarity Act passing this year are low, but impact is limited
Grayscale head of research Zach Pandl said that while a technical agreement on the Clarity Act remains possible, the Senate calendar and election-year political realities have made passage this year unlikely, though the impact would be limited.
He said failure to pass the bill would not immediately affect the operation of major blockchains, demand for Bitcoin as a store of value, or growth in stablecoin payments, since the industry has developed for 17 years without the act.
Still, the lack of comprehensive market-structure legislation could hold back new investment activity in the U.S., including the development of tokenized securities markets and a regulatory framework for digital asset intermediaries. Under the current administration, guidance has already supported the industry through new institutional custody rules, better banking access, staking policy and the crypto ETP framework, and the SEC and other regulators are expected to keep filling gaps through rulemaking. Without a full framework, more startup activity could move offshore.
Nansen founder says Bitcoin will not fall below $60,000 again
Nansen founder and CEO Alex Svanevik said Bitcoin will not fall below $60,000 again, adding that $60,000 may be the bottom for this cycle.
He said the crypto industry is moving from a “toy world” into a “real world” era, where on-chain markets no longer consist only of crypto assets and where tokenized stocks and indexes such as the S&P 500 are becoming mainstream.
Svanevik said he is bullish on the Solana ecosystem and called it a ridiculous misunderstanding to label Solana a “meme coin chain.” He described the network as backed by a strong team and one of the most competitive ecosystems over the long run. He also said he is positive on Robinhood Chain, arguing that Robinhood’s user distribution strength is turning it into a credible competitor to Base, though Robinhood does not need to issue a token because all value should accrue to its listed HOOD stock.
On Bitcoin, he said the asset is a hedge against central bank money creation. He does not expect the global monetary expansion cycle to end soon, and on that basis said Bitcoin would not return below $60,000.
Bitwise CIO: institutions may send trillions into Bitcoin over the next decade
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said institutional investors could allocate trillions of dollars to Bitcoin over the next 10 years, as financial advisers, family offices, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds increasingly treat it as a mainstream financial asset.
Hougan said the process will likely take more than a decade. Global institutions control between $100 trillion and $200 trillion in assets, and a 1% allocation alone would be enough to support his long-term price target.
He projected a Bitcoin price target of $1.3 million by 2035. Under his framework, if Bitcoin captures 25% of a store-of-value market that continues to grow at a 13% annual rate, each BTC could reach $1.3 million.
Hougan also said Strategy used to be the biggest buyer, but spot ETFs have weakened its premium advantage and narrowed its room to issue debt, so its future buying pace should slow.
GSR: about 70% of DAO treasuries are concentrated in native tokens
GSR said in a market analysis that many DAO projects hold most of their treasury assets in their own native tokens, with about 70% of DAO treasury assets held in that form.
When markets fall, token prices decline and treasury value evaporates, while operating costs remain denominated in dollars. Projects are then forced to sell more tokens to raise funds, which pushes prices lower and creates a negative loop.
GSR’s OTC desk said projects often seek hedging only after prices have already fallen, when implied volatility has risen and protection is most expensive. The firm said hedging should be treated as an ongoing treasury policy rather than a panic response, and recommended the collar strategy: selling call options to collect premium and using that premium to buy put options, setting a price range for the token and getting downside protection without spending stablecoins.
GSR added that projects that have navigated multiple cycles successfully usually split their treasuries into two parts: an operating reserve held in cash or stable assets to cover payroll and running costs, and a long-term crypto allocation managed with appropriate hedges.
Other notable data points
Berkshire Hathaway’s second-quarter net profit doubled from a year earlier
Berkshire Hathaway reported second-quarter 2026 net profit attributable to shareholders of $25.667 billion, up from $12.37 billion a year earlier. Operating profit for the quarter was $12.983 billion, while investment income was $12.684 billion. Cash reserves fell to $364.7 billion.
As of June 30, the fair value of its fixed-income securities holdings stood at $17.034 billion. Its top five holdings were Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Bank of America and Coca-Cola. Berkshire repurchased about $4.5 billion of shares in the second quarter and about $4.8 billion in the first half.
a16z: monthly crypto card spending has topped $750 million
According to data from a16z, monthly spending through crypto cards has surpassed $750 million as such cards become a more mainstream payment tool. Users can now spend stablecoins anywhere that accepts traditional bank cards, with funds automatically converted into local currency at checkout.
Ethereum ICO participant moved 0.1 ETH to Coinbase after 11 years
An Ethereum ICO participant associated with address “0x6A53” deposited 0.1 ETH to Coinbase after 11 years of dormancy. The address invested $620 in the ICO and received 2,000 ETH, now worth $3.83 million, representing a 6,184x return.
South Korean retail investors bought $4.6 billion of U.S. stocks in July
South Korean retail investors bought $4.6 billion worth of U.S. stocks in July, up 627% from the previous month and marking the highest monthly purchase total since January 2026.
Net selling in April and May came to $469 million and $940 million, respectively. July buying was far above the 2025 monthly average of $2.7 billion. In 2025, South Korean retail purchases of U.S. stocks were more than triple the 2024 level. July also marked the first time since February that purchases of U.S. stocks exceeded purchases of domestic stocks.
At the same time, the KOSPI has fallen 33% from its June high, and about 75% of that drop was attributed to declines in Samsung and SK Hynix shares.
Study: only 32% to 56% of U.S. crypto holders report transactions
A research paper published in March in Accounting Research Review estimated that only 32% to 56% of U.S. cryptocurrency holders reported their transactions to the federal government.
Starting with the 2025 tax year, the Internal Revenue Service will require brokers to send investors Form 1099-DA showing gross proceeds from digital asset transactions. Accountants said tax treatment for digital asset transactions has long been extremely complex, usually much harder than tax calculations for traditional financial assets such as stocks and bonds.