The People's Bank of China's Payment and Settlement Department released the Q2 2025 payment system operation data. By the end of Q2, China had 15.238 billion bank accounts, 10.068 billion bank cards, and 775,700 ATMs. Non-cash payment transactions reached 149.789 billion, totaling 1365.36 trillion yuan. Bank-processed electronic payments included 18.217 billion online payments (707.85 trillion yuan) and 58.386 billion mobile payments (136.06 trillion yuan). Non-bank payment institutions handled 333.845 billion online payments worth 82.11 trillion yuan. The payment system processed 392.751 billion transactions totaling 3084.83 trillion yuan. Specific breakdowns include the PBOC clearing center (5.543 billion transactions, 2295.71 trillion yuan), UnionPay interbank system (97.641 billion, 66.71 trillion yuan), NetsUnion (283.18 billion, 145.58 trillion yuan), and CIPS (2.1212 million, 45.94 trillion yuan).

B.AI, an AI infrastructure platform, said its daily token throughput has exceeded 1.1 trillion for the first time, a milestone reached roughly five months after launch. The company said its user base has passed 2.28 million and that daily token processing rose from 21.1 million on April 9 to more than 1.1 trillion in 145 days. In its comparison, B.AI said OpenRouter took about 2 years and 9 months to reach a similar daily throughput level, putting B.AI’s pace at roughly seven times faster based on that public timeline. The article also said that from Aug. 17 to Aug. 31 alone, B.AI’s daily throughput grew about 242-fold, while cumulative processed volume hit 6.86 trillion tokens and the platform added more than 196,000 API users. B.AI framed the growth as evidence that it is moving beyond a unified model access point toward routing, metering, payments, settlement and Agent infrastructure, a direction it describes as building an “intelligent global settlement layer.” The platform currently supports domestic model providers including DeepSeek, GLM, Qwen, Kimi, MiniMax, Tencent Hunyuan and Xiaomi MiMo, while also offering traditional payment methods and crypto top-ups across TRON, BNB Chain and Ethereum.

A MarsBit analysis argues that the biggest misunderstanding around the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework is not whether a crypto-asset service provider, or CASP, can expand across borders after authorization. It can. The real issue is what exactly gets carried into other member states through passporting, and what does not. Under MiCA, a CASP authorized in its home state may extend approved crypto-asset services into other EU countries through a branch or on a freedom-of-services basis, without setting up a separate licensed entity in each market. But the scope remains limited to the services already listed in the authorization. A cross-border notification does not automatically add fiat conversion, trading venue operations, order execution, or investment advice. The article also says many business models, especially crypto payments, sit partly outside CASP authorization. Stablecoin flows may overlap with payment regulation, and the European Banking Authority has discussed how MiCA interacts with PSD2, particularly for EMT-related transfers and some custodial wallet functions after transitional arrangements end on March 2, 2026. It also highlights ESMA’s 2025 warning about the “halo effect,” where users may wrongly assume that all products in a group app are MiCA-regulated just because one EU entity holds a CASP license. The broader point is that passporting removes duplicate licensing, not every local, product, and group-structure compliance issue.

Stablecoin payment cards processed $1.076 billion in spending in August, with roughly 10.67 million transactions and 283,653 active card addresses, according to data cited by MarsBit from PaymentScan. The article argues that the significance lies not only in higher volume, but in the fact that transaction count and active addresses also rose, pointing to broader user adoption and a wider set of spending scenarios. MarsBit says this marks a shift in how stablecoins are being used. Rather than serving mainly as settlement assets inside crypto markets for exchange transfers, trading, and DeFi activity, stablecoins are starting to connect with everyday consumption through card infrastructure that handles conversion, authorization, and parts of settlement behind the scenes. That setup allows users to spend without first moving funds back into bank accounts, while merchants can keep using existing payment acceptance systems. The report also highlights market concentration. RedotPay handled about $390.1 million in August, or around 36% of total stablecoin card volume for the month. At the same time, the piece says the sector still depends heavily on traditional payment networks and faces issuer, depegging, regulatory, fraud, and custody risks. In that framing, the next question is less whether stablecoin cards can replace bank cards and more whether users will choose to use them every day.

Revolut has started a phased rollout of EURR, its first euro-denominated stablecoin, beginning with selected eligible customers in Denmark, Poland and Portugal. The company said the token will later expand to other markets across the European Economic Area during 2026 and will be integrated into the Revolut retail app to connect euros, crypto assets, external wallets and supported blockchain networks. Despite carrying the Revolut brand, EURR is not legally issued by Revolut Bank or another Revolut group crypto entity. The legal issuer is Luxembourg-registered Bridge Building S.A., which also handles minting, burning, reserve management and fiat redemptions. Under the white paper, EURR is classified as an e-money token under MiCA and is designed to maintain a value equivalent to €1 per token. Each circulating EURR must be backed by €1 or equivalent euro-denominated reserve assets. The rollout also adds a new layer to Revolut’s existing crypto stack, which already includes its retail app, the Revolut X trading platform and Revolut Ramp. At launch, media checks and Bridge’s reserve page showed live deployment on Ethereum and Polygon, while the white paper listed a broader set of supported networks.

A MarsBit article argues that the European Union’s Crypto-Asset Service Provider, or CASP, authorization is moving from a nice-to-have credential to a core market-access requirement for firms serving EU crypto clients. The shift is tied to July 1, 2026, when MiCA’s longest transition period for existing crypto-asset service providers ends across the bloc. Firms that had operated under older member-state rules but failed to secure MiCA authorization are expected to carry out orderly exit plans, stop providing unauthorized crypto-asset services to EU customers, and properly handle existing client relationships and asset transfers. The piece says MiCA changes more than the label on a license. It replaces Europe’s fragmented model of separate national registrations with a framework built on unified authorization, common standards, and cross-border operations through formal notification procedures. At the same time, CASP does not function as a blanket permit. Its scope depends on the actual services provided, and it does not automatically cover areas such as payments, e-money activity, fiat account services, card issuance, or products that fall under securities rules such as MiFID II. The article also notes that ESMA expects a narrow reading of reverse solicitation, making it harder for non-EU firms to rely on offshore structures while still targeting European users.

Hong Kong police arrested 147 people and dismantled a money laundering network that used mule accounts to move nearly HK$600 million, the force said. The two-day operation on August 7-8 targeted a center that coordinated mule accounts and processed funds. Officers raided multiple locations and seized bank cards, cash, and electronic devices. The investigation showed the syndicate recruited individuals to supply bank accounts, then used those accounts to split funds, make frequent transfers, and layer transactions to hide the source of money. Some account holders were paid hundreds to thousands of Hong Kong dollars for handing over their online banking credentials. Police described a "segmented" management model in which the alleged masterminds issued orders through close associates and avoided direct contact with the funds. Processed money was moved into accounts of related persons to further obscure the trail. The operation also recovered about HK$3.65 million in cash and property including luxury watches, gold jewelry, and vehicles worth about HK$5 million. Police said the funding chain has been severed and they are tracing the people behind the scheme and the flow of funds. They urged the public not to sell, rent, or lend personal bank accounts, warning that doing so could be used for illegal transfers and lead to legal liability.

PA Daily compiled a wide-ranging set of crypto and tech developments, led by two headline items: token TUT’s sharp price spike and a fresh funding round for chip startup Source Foundry. TUT rose from $0.045 to $0.305 at its peak over the past day, with spot trading volume at $570 million and derivatives volume at $2.5 billion across the market. On-chain activity showed 160 million TUT, equal to 20% of supply, moving from Binance to Bitget over a little more than a day. Liquidations also surged, with TUT accounting for $34.99 million over the past hour. On the investment side, hedge fund Situational Awareness, founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, added $400 million to Source Foundry after a previous $100 million investment, bringing the total to $500 million. The digest also covered U.S. and EU policy moves, the Bitcoin BIP-110 split, BitMart’s response to withdrawal concerns, Santiment’s Bitcoin wallet data, and a series of market, macro and treasury-related research notes.