According to Axios, the Trump administration is in talks with Venezuela’s interim government to obtain ownership interests in part of the country’s oil fields, covering more than a dozen producing fields. In exchange, private companies, including U.S. firms, would take part in developing the fields to raise output and bring in more oil revenue for Venezuela. The talks are being led by U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez. The report outlines a proposed exchange centered on oil asset interests and field development, with both ownership and production increases forming the core of the discussions.

The US State Department has designated the Italian tech collective Autistici/Inventati as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, freezing its assets and barring all transactions involving the group within the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the move on August 26, saying the organization had provided digital infrastructure support to far-left violent extremism. Founded in 2001, Autistici/Inventati offers encrypted communication tools, email services, and web hosting, and manages about 16,000 mailboxes and 1,500 websites. The sanctions notice specifically highlighted a shift in counterterrorism tactics by targeting an infrastructure provider rather than individual users. The announcement did not mention any cryptocurrency assets or digital financial tools linked to the group. The item was cited by Techub News from CryptoBriefing.

Bitget UEX’s Aug. 26 market daily put three developments at the center of trading: a drop in crude after reports that the U.S. and Iran may restart talks, a sharp jump in South Korea’s DRAM export prices, and Nvidia’s rebound before its earnings release. According to the report, WTI and Brent both fell 2.12% as expectations of renewed negotiations reduced the geopolitical premium tied to the Strait of Hormuz. The same note said South Korea’s August DRAM export unit price climbed 401% year over year to $92,183 per kilogram, reinforcing a tight-supply narrative that lifted semiconductor and storage names. Nvidia rose 2.19% to $213.05, ending a seven-session losing streak ahead of its second-quarter results. In crypto, BTC traded around $78,770, ETH was down 1.37%, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.73 trillion, and 24-hour liquidations reached $624 million. The report also flagged continued spot ETF inflows and highlighted key macro events this week, including U.S. core PCE data and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s upcoming Jackson Hole speech.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday as lower long-dated Treasury yields gave technology shares room to recover, while traders also reacted to easing signals around the Strait of Hormuz and a fresh rally in both Bitcoin and gold. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.30% to 53,577.40, the S&P 500 gained 0.32% to 7,677.28, and the Nasdaq advanced 0.66% to 26,151.30. The CBOE Volatility Index fell 1.77% to 16.13. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield dropped 7.13 basis points to 4.625%, with the 2-year at 4.170% and the 30-year at 5.164%. According to the article, the decline in long-end yields extended the impact of Treasury General Account-related long-bond buybacks tied to Bessent, helping ease valuation pressure on growth stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.44%, and Nvidia gained 2.19% to $213.05, ending a seven-day losing streak ahead of its earnings report due after Wednesday’s close. Elsewhere, Iran and Oman said they planned to establish a secure maritime passage in the Strait of Hormuz, sending a de-escalation signal that coincided with a second straight drop in oil prices. WTI crude fell 2.4% to $85.01 a barrel. Bitcoin briefly touched $80,000 for the first time since May and has climbed more than 27% this month, while spot gold rose as much as 1.7% and the world’s largest gold ETF saw $1.3 billion in one-day inflows.

According to Odaily, the United States has recently asked the South Korean government and companies to build memory semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the US and help ensure stable memory chip supply, as Washington steps up pressure over the execution of Korean investment plans in America. The report said the US also informally expressed dissatisfaction with Seoul’s push for an about 800 trillion won semiconductor cluster in Hunan, arguing that South Korea has been actively supporting domestic chip investment while taking a relatively passive stance toward new investment in the US. It marked the first time the American side had mentioned the South Korean government-led "super project" while pressing for investment. South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jeong-gwan discussed the matter during a recent trip to the US for investment talks. Seoul’s position is that the new semiconductor investment demands are separate from the previously agreed $350 billion investment arrangement between the two countries. The South Korean government plans to announce its first US investment project in September, while domestic chipmakers are said to be worried that moving ahead with the Hunan cluster and formally taking on a US plant commitment at the same time could create a double burden.

The US has asked South Korea’s government and companies to build memory semiconductor production facilities in the United States and ensure stable memory chip supply, according to a report by The Chosun Daily cited by ChainCatcher. The request came as Washington stepped up pressure on Seoul over the implementation of investment commitments. The report said the US also informally expressed dissatisfaction with South Korea’s plan to push ahead with a roughly 800 trillion won semiconductor cluster in Honam, arguing that Seoul has been actively backing domestic chip investment while taking a relatively passive stance toward new investment in the US. It was described as the first time Washington had raised a South Korean government-led “super project” while pressing for investment. Industry, Trade and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-gwan reportedly discussed the matter during a recent US visit for investment talks. Seoul’s position is that the new semiconductor investment demands are separate from the previously agreed $350 billion investment arrangement between the two countries. South Korea plans to announce its first US investment project in September. Domestic chipmakers are said to be concerned that moving ahead with the Honam cluster while also formally taking on US plant requests could create a double burden.

Iran and the United States are publicly describing their current contacts in sharply different terms, leaving the outlook for the Strait of Hormuz unresolved. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Aug. 9 that Washington is handling the Iran issue "quietly" and described the process as a form of "half-negotiation," while signaling a preference for economic pressure over another major military escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, said there are currently no direct talks between Tehran and Washington and that any exchange of messages is taking place through intermediaries. The dispute matters well beyond diplomacy. The Strait of Hormuz carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments, and the waterway has been largely closed since the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28, sending oil prices into sharp swings. Brent crude settled above $83 a barrel last week as markets continued to price in the possibility of progress. At the same time, Tehran has paired its refusal to resume talks with a harder public line on reopening the strait, while also saying negotiations with Oman over a new shipping channel are close to completion. Iran stressed that such a channel would be a technical and legal arrangement, not a reopening of Hormuz itself.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the conflict between Washington and Tehran is no longer in its opening phase and has moved into what he called the “middle game,” with the White House using diplomatic, economic, and military tools at the same time. According to Xinhua, citing CNN, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine has privately argued that the U.S. needs an “off-ramp” from the Iran campaign, warning that airstrikes alone are unlikely to achieve all of President Donald Trump’s stated objectives while escalation carries clear downsides. The report also said U.S. munitions inventories have come under strain, including THAAD interceptors, Patriot missiles, and Tomahawk cruise missiles. On the Iranian side, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Zolghadr laid out six conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including a military withdrawal, the lifting of all sanctions, and compensation for war losses. Tehran is also in technical talks with Oman over a temporary shipping route, but Iranian officials said that would not amount to a full reopening of the strait.