Hyperliquid Policy Center, or HPC, has submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission arguing that eligible equity perpetual contracts can be treated as securities futures. In the filing, HPC said this category already sits within a shared regulatory structure overseen by the two agencies, which would let exchanges compete on execution quality rather than on which regulator has jurisdiction. The group also said a core legal question remains unsettled in the United States: whether perpetuals should be classified as futures or swaps. HPC argued that perpetual contracts share several futures-like traits, including standardized terms, the ability to offset positions, and forward value, even though they do not have a fixed expiration date. Instead, prices continue to converge through a funding-rate mechanism. The letter set out four recommendations, including confirming that the securities futures definition can cover cash-settled equity perpetuals with futures characteristics, preserving listing flexibility for trading venues, keeping classification consistent across both agencies, and updating the securities futures framework for newer product structures. HPC added that Hyperliquid perpetuals have recorded more than $480 billion in trading volume over the past 10 months.

Analysts said on Aug. 22 that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to force Iran to end the war on Washington’s terms through a new round of sanctions, a maritime blockade, and heavier economic pressure on Iran’s trading partners. They said the strategy aims to achieve what tens of thousands of bombs and missiles failed to deliver. The report also pointed to a major constraint on that approach: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has effectively taken control of the Strait of Hormuz and has repeatedly launched large numbers of attack drones toward the Persian Gulf. According to the analysis, the Guard is largely insulated from economic pressure and still has a wide range of retaliatory options. A key moment is expected on Monday, when Treasury Secretary Bessent is set to release details of a new plan. The proposal would shift the conflict from mutual airstrikes in the Middle East to full economic isolation. Analysts added that if the pressure campaign starts to work, Iran could answer with military strikes on energy facilities along the Persian Gulf coast in an effort to push up oil prices, raise the cost of U.S. action, and force Trump to change course again.

BTC.TOP founder Jiang Zhuoer said in a post on X that his earlier bearish market view was "completely wrong" and that he now has 90% confidence the bear market has ended. He also said he expects Ether (ETH) to outperform Bitcoin (BTC) in the current cycle and plans to use all of his remaining funds to buy ETH. According to the input, Jiang is one of China’s best-known miners, and his public comments are often treated by parts of the market as a gauge of sentiment. The latest statement points to a more optimistic view among some veteran industry participants, particularly toward Ethereum’s prospects in the broader crypto market.

A commentary by Tencent Research Institute senior expert Yan Deli argues that artificial intelligence is advancing through a set of unresolved paradoxes rather than along a clean, linear path. The piece identifies five of them: forecasting, quantifying AI’s effect on jobs, the productivity puzzle, the mismatch between data’s strategic importance and its balance-sheet value, and the tendency to label each new wave of technology as the start of a new industrial revolution. The article revisits well-known AI forecasts from figures including Marvin Minsky, Geoffrey Hinton and Demis Hassabis, noting how predictions have repeatedly proved either premature or impossible to verify in real time. It also compares labor-market studies from institutions such as the OECD, IMF, World Economic Forum, World Bank, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and Pew, saying their estimates vary so widely that they are hard to compare directly. Yan also points to weak productivity readings in the European Union after the launch of ChatGPT, contrasting them with stronger but still historically average U.S. figures, and argues that data remains difficult to price or monetize despite its central role in AI systems. The final section questions the repeated use of “the Fourth Industrial Revolution” to describe technologies ranging from microelectronics and the internet to blockchain, quantum computing and AI.

UBS Group’s latest 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed a steep rise in its call option exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), with the position increasing from about 80,000 shares to 1.95 million shares in a single quarter. The filing also showed that UBS increased its direct IBIT holdings by 12% over the same period, while its put option position fell 53%. The report also stressed that 13F filings have clear limits and should not be read in isolation. These disclosures show purchased options but not written ones, do not clarify whether positions belong to the bank itself or to client accounts, and provide no detail on the purpose of the trades. A position could reflect hedging activity or market-making rather than a straightforward directional bet. On that basis, the report said investors should be careful when interpreting the filing and avoid drawing conclusions from incomplete data alone.

A draft internal letter obtained by Reuters shows the US State Department is preparing to tell 35 countries that they cannot stay in both Washington’s and Beijing’s AI camps at the same time. Under the draft, any country that joins China-backed WAICO would be excluded from cooperation under Pax Silica, a US-led framework focused on semiconductors, AI models, and critical minerals. The letter is expected to go to the 35 signatories of the June “AI Opportunity Statement,” a group that includes countries such as Japan, South Korea, Australia, the UK, Germany, India, Singapore, Israel, the UAE, Qatar, and Kazakhstan. Reuters said it could not confirm when the letter would be sent or whether the text would change before release. The State Department declined to comment on what it called a leaked internal document. Reuters identified Kazakhstan as the immediate trigger for the move. The country, which holds large reserves of critical minerals, joined Pax Silica in June but also entered Beijing’s orbit, making it the only known country currently tied to both sides. The report also contrasted the pace of the two blocs: WAICO, launched in mid-July and headquartered in Shanghai, signed up 29 countries within a month, while Pax Silica has taken more than half a year to attract about 25 signatories.

Ark Invest, Cathie Wood's firm, purchased 192,702 shares of Securitize (SECZ) through its ARKF fund at a value of $1.09 million. Securitize is a platform for tokenized assets. The company posted $14.4 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2026, a year-over-year decline of 5% and below market expectations. Its net loss for the quarter was $21.7 million. SECZ shares fell 27.5% on Thursday. ChainCatcher reported the details.

China’s three major A-share stock indexes pulled back in afternoon trading on Aug. 13, according to a BlockBeats news flash. The Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index both turned negative after earlier moves, while the ChiNext Index remained up but saw its gain narrow to 0.58%. The update was published as a 7X24 H flash item by BlockBeats. No additional market figures or drivers were provided in the source note.