PANews’ weekly selection brought together a wide spread of stories across AI leadership changes, crypto regulation, market structure, tokenized real-world assets, and protocol governance. A major thread this week was the turbulence around Google’s AI division, including reports that Hassabis stepped down as CEO and Jeff Dean left to start a new venture with four senior figures, while Gemini faced pressure between commercialization and AGI ambitions. The roundup also tracked the collapse of the crypto-AI project ai16z, the move of Move creator Sam Blackshear from Sui to Anthropic, and broader concerns that core crypto talent is drifting toward AI. On the policy side, the U.S. Senate’s decision to delay the CLARITY Act vote until September stood out, alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren’s opposition to the bill. Other headline items included Thailand confirming a capital gains tax exemption for crypto trading through the end of 2029, Wintermute registering as an SEC broker-dealer in the U.S., and Tether raising its gold holdings to 146 tons. The selection also covered Binance’s $472.8 million claim against RedotPay, debate over Ethereum proposals EIP-8363 and EIP-8361, MetaMask’s new self-custodial AI wallet, and Binance bStocks surpassing xStocks in seven weeks with $680 million tied to the tokenized stock race.

Spot gold surged in overnight trading, touching an intraday high of $4,328.20 an ounce before settling at $4,308, up 4.20% on the day, or $173.80. The move marked the biggest single-day gain in five months and pushed bullion above a descending triangle formation that had capped prices for more than six weeks, while also lifting it back above its 20-day and 50-day moving averages. The rally was driven by a mix of geopolitical, central bank, and macro factors. Market attention turned to comments from Donald Trump on talks tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after Xinhua cited an Axios report saying the US, Iran, and Oman were close to a temporary agreement. At the same time, World Gold Council data showed global central banks bought 288.9 tonnes of gold in the second quarter, up 62% year over year, with Poland and China among the buyers and South Korea returning to the market after 13 years. A softer rate outlook also added support. CME FedWatch showed the probability of the Federal Reserve holding rates unchanged in September rising to 45%, the highest level in more than a month. Analysts cited in the source pointed to $4,400 as the next key resistance area, while support levels were seen near $4,243, $4,200, and roughly $4,070.

Bitcoin traded near $64,830 on Thursday, according to CoinDesk data, up 0.8% over the past 24 hours and 1.3% for the week while staying stuck in a tight range. Ether gained 2.1%, but most other major tokens were little changed, leaving the broader market in a holding pattern rather than a full rally. The report said support under bitcoin is coming mainly from macro expectations instead of fresh crypto demand. U.S. President Donald Trump pointed to strong employment, firmer manufacturing data and easing inflation, and also raised the possibility of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That matters because a reopening could push oil prices lower, soften inflation worries and open the door for Treasury yields and the dollar to decline, a combination often seen as supportive for risk assets. CoinDesk added that bitcoin’s roughly 63% correlation with the S&P 500 means equity sentiment may matter more than crypto-native flows in the near term. Traders are now watching real yields and the dollar to judge whether bitcoin can move decisively above its recent range.

Gold moved higher in early August even as oil prices softened on expectations that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could resume, a setup that would usually cool demand for traditional safe-haven assets. Reuters reported on Aug. 6 that spot gold was quoted at $4,285.84 an ounce, marking a fourth straight daily gain and its highest level since mid-June. The move, however, was not simply framed as a geopolitical trade. As oil fell, the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields also weakened, prompting markets to recalculate how much further the Federal Reserve might need to raise rates. Reuters said pricing for another rate hike in September dropped to 55% from 67% over two days. Data from the St. Louis Fed’s FRED database also showed the 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities yield falling to 2.40% from 2.47%, lowering the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset such as gold. At the same time, World Gold Council figures suggested the rally was not matched by a broad surge in physical demand volumes. Average LBMA afternoon gold prices rose 37% year over year in the second quarter, while total demand including OTC stayed roughly flat at 1,269 tonnes. ETF outflows, official-sector buying and OTC expansion together point to a market where positioning and holder mix changed faster than headline tonnage.

On August 6, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi said an agreement between Iran and Oman on the passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is near finalization. The two sides are planning to establish a new transit model different from that of the past 60 years. Gharibabadi also noted that Iran and the US are not currently in direct negotiations, although Tehran has received messages from Washington indicating the US is prepared to resume honoring commitments under a previously signed memorandum of understanding. Markets continue to watch how the situation around the Strait of Hormuz evolves, particularly its potential impact on crude oil, gold, and safe-haven assets.

Precious metals extended an advance for a second straight session on Aug. 6, with capital rotating around safe-haven demand, according to WEEX TradFi market data. Gold, silver and platinum all moved higher over the latest 24-hour window: GOLD (PAXG) gained more than 4.88%, SILVER (XAG) rose more than 4.71%, and PLATINUM (XPT) climbed more than 2.30%. The synchronized move put all three metals on an uptrend at the same time. WEEX Labs said the rally is mainly driven by repair trading after a recent pullback. Market participants are weighing geopolitical risks as well as moves in the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, which has brought renewed focus to gold's safe-haven and portfolio diversification attributes. WEEX TradFi's trading carnival is now live, with zero-slippage execution, first-order compensation, and a 200 USDT reward for new users. The data was flagged by ChainCatcher on Aug. 6, citing WEEX TradFi's market snapshot.

Bitget UEX’s Aug. 6 market note tracked a session defined by sharp cross-asset divergence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at another record high, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 retreated, reflecting continued separation inside U.S. equities. Spot gold climbed to about $4,283 an ounce and moved closer to the $4,300 mark as safe-haven demand and a softer dollar outweighed the effect of lower oil prices. In commodities, markets focused on developments around the Strait of Hormuz after Iran and Oman said they had agreed on geographic coordinates for a new commercial shipping route, though Tehran stressed that this did not mean an immediate return to safe passage. In crypto, BTC traded around $64,100 and ETH around $1,909, with total market capitalization at roughly $2.29 trillion. Bitcoin spot ETFs posted a net inflow of $212 million the previous day and a dynamic net inflow of $47 million on the day, while total liquidations over 24 hours reached about $252 million. The report also highlighted growing attention on SpaceX, which is set for its first large-scale post-listing share unlock, and on U.S. macro data including jobless claims and nonfarm payrolls. Among single names, SanDisk fell in after-hours trading despite strong quarterly results because guidance missed elevated expectations, Nvidia rose after SpaceX said future AI services would run exclusively on its Vera Rubin architecture, and Alphabet dropped following a major AI leadership reshuffle.

Deutsche Bank is warning that two market shocks quickly dismissed as isolated noise may reflect the same structural weakness built during more than a decade of low and stable interest rates. One was the forced unwinding of $16 billion in equity positions by Situational Awareness, a hedge fund tied to the so-called “AI stock guru,” after a leveraged bet on AI companies went wrong. The other was a violent swing in South Korea’s KOSPI, which fell more than 20% within 48 hours, then rebounded 25% from its lows and finished the week roughly flat. In a report dated Aug. 3 and cited by China-based financial outlet Zhuifeng Trading Desk, Deutsche Bank Research analysts led by Luke Templeman argued that the market’s focus on the flat weekly close misses the real damage. Forced liquidations in leveraged and margin accounts can destroy household wealth even if an index later recovers. The bank linked the Korean episode to the April launch of leveraged single-stock ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, and said similar products are expanding in the U.S. and Europe. The report also said VIX spikes have become more frequent since 2022, while traditional hedges such as gold, the dollar, the Swiss franc, the yen, U.S. Treasuries and German bunds have often failed to offset shocks since 2020. Deutsche Bank said private equity holdings and inefficient assets still sitting on listed companies’ balance sheets remain areas where risk may still be building.