Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering key news of the week, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress, and other industry dynamics. This article is part of the news weekly, bringing you a glimpse of major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headline
▌Gemini submitted an IPO application to the SEC, intending to list on NASDAQ.
Crypto platform Gemini announced that it has publicly submitted an S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), planning for an IPO, intending to list its Class A common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol 'GEMI.' The number of shares and price range have not yet been determined, and the listing process is subject to market and other conditions. Currently, Goldman Sachs and Citibank are the lead underwriters, with Morgan Stanley and Cantor also participating in the underwriting. Gemini was founded in 2014 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and now offers crypto products and services in over 60 countries worldwide.
▌META's total market value exceeds $2 trillion for the first time.
META rose nearly 2% during trading, setting a new all-time high, with a total market value exceeding $2 trillion for the first time, making it the sixth publicly traded company in the U.S. to reach a total market value of $2 trillion.
▌The U.S. Treasury is considering embedding digital identity verification mechanisms in DeFi protocols.
The U.S. Treasury has initiated public consultations under the (GENIUS Act) to explore the integration of digital identity verification tools in DeFi smart contracts to combat illegal financial activities. Proposals include automatically executing KYC/AML checks on-chain via API interfaces, while using biometric technologies to reduce compliance costs. Banking groups warn that regulatory loopholes in stablecoin interest payments could lead to $6.6 trillion in bank deposit outflows. The public consultation will last until October 17, 2025, after which the Treasury will submit a report to Congress and may issue new regulations.
▌Emirates, Travala, and Arab Airlines support Bitcoin, Ether, USDT, etc., for booking flights.
According to Cointelegraph, travelers in the UAE can use Bitcoin, Ether, USDT, etc., to book flights through Emirates, Travala, and Arab Airlines.
▌Tiger Global disclosed that it has built a position in stablecoin issuer Circle's approximately 125,000 Class A shares in Q2.
According to disclosures from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tiger Global submitted its second-quarter holding report (13F) as of June 30, 2025, showing that Tiger Global's total holdings for the second quarter reached $34.1 billion, including the new purchase of 125,000 Class A shares of stablecoin issuer Circle. Circle's stock performed strongly when it was listed in June this year, and its market value has increased nearly five times since its IPO price. However, just two months after completing one of the most notable public listings in recent years, stablecoin issuer Circle reported a loss in the second quarter while revenue exceeded expectations. Circle previously reported a net loss of $482 million (equivalent to $4.48 per share), primarily impacted by significant non-cash expenses related to the IPO.
Policy
▌The Federal Reserve has closed the 'Novel Activities Supervision Program' established in 2023.
The Federal Reserve announced on Friday local time that it has closed its 'Novel Activities Supervision Program' established in 2023, which originally aimed to strengthen the regulation of cryptocurrency operations in the banking sector.
▌U.S. SEC chair: SEC does not need to wait for Congress (legislation) to formulate blockchain-related rules.
According to market news from @Cointelegraph: SEC chair Atkins stated that the SEC does not need to wait for Congress (legislation) to formulate blockchain-related rules.
▌Banking groups urge the U.S. Senate to close the loopholes in the (GENIUS Act).
The American Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, and more than 50 state banking groups are urging Congress to close the 'loopholes' in the (GENIUS Act) that allow interest on stablecoins to be paid through exchanges and third-party payments. Banking groups warn of a $6.6 trillion risk of deposit outflows that could disrupt traditional lending operations and raise borrowing costs.
▌Solana co-founder has successfully evaded delivery of the pump.fun lawsuit documents from Burwick Law nine times.
Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has successfully evaded delivery of a lawsuit against him related to the pump.fun platform nine times. The lawsuit accuses him of participating in the fraudulent 'casino' operations of the meme coin platform. Law firms Burwick Law and Wolf Popper recently submitted revised lawsuit documents listing crypto companies Solana and Jito and multiple executives as defendants, with the case targeting pump.fun. The legal team began delivering the lawsuit to defendants, including Solana Labs and Jito Labs, last week. However, after multiple 'due diligence' efforts, they still failed to deliver the lawsuit to Yakovenko, Solana co-founder Raj Gokal, Solana Foundation chair Lily Liu, Jito CEO and COO Lucas Bruder, and Brian Smith.
▌Brazil's sixth-largest city passed a bill to become the country's 'Bitcoin capital.'
According to @pete_rizzo_, Brazil's sixth-largest city passed a bill in the second round of voting to become the country's 'Bitcoin capital.'
Blockchain Applications
▌Galaxy completes $1.4 billion financing to accelerate Helios AI data center development.
Digital asset provider Galaxy Digital Inc. announced today that it has completed a $1.4 billion project financing ('debt financing') to support its ongoing development of the Helios data center park. Under a long-term agreement with CoreWeave Inc., this debt financing will fully fund the initial renovations and expansions of Helios, providing power support for the first phase of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) operations. Galaxy has provided $350 million in equity financing, with the remaining construction costs covered by debt financing. This $1.4 billion debt financing is secured at an 80% loan-to-value ratio, with a term of 36 months, and is secured by all assets related to the first phase of Helios construction.
▌Citigroup is considering providing custody and payment services for stablecoins and crypto ETFs.
Citigroup is exploring providing custody, payment, and dollar exchange services for stablecoins and crypto-related ETFs, planning to hold U.S. Treasuries and cash that support stablecoins and potentially issue its own stablecoin. This move is driven by the U.S. Congress passing stablecoin legislation and the Trump administration easing regulations. Citigroup is also considering using stablecoins for cross-border instant payments and discussing application scenarios with clients. Currently, the custody business in this field is dominated by Coinbase.
▌AI native platform Sola completes $17.5 million Series A financing, led by a16z.
AI native platform Sola completed $17.5 million in Series A financing, led by a16z. Sola uses AI robots to automate workflows. Their agents observe how users perform tasks on screen and then automatically handle those tasks even in traditional tools without APIs or integrations.
▌MetaMask may announce details of its own dollar stablecoin mUSD this week and expects to officially launch it by the end of this month.
Insiders revealed that the well-known Ethereum ecosystem crypto wallet MetaMask plans to announce details of its dollar-pegged stablecoin mUSD as early as this week and expects to officially launch it by the end of this month. mUSD will be issued with the assistance of Bridge, the payment stablecoin service provider acquired by fintech giant Stripe this year, and the stablecoin issuance protocol M^0, while inviting alternative asset management company Blackstone to provide custody and fund management services. MetaMask has over 30 million monthly active users, and the issuance of the stablecoin aims to share returns from highly liquid assets like short-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
▌Bitcoin is the artificial intelligence transaction achieved through technological deflation in the next 10 years.
According to @IIICapital, Bitcoin is the artificial intelligence transaction achieved through technological deflation in the next 10 years.
Cryptocurrency
▌Over the past month, the supply of stablecoins on Ethereum increased by $16.4 billion.
According to Artemis data, the supply of stablecoins on Ethereum increased by $16.4 billion over the past month.
▌Norway's central bank increased its Bitcoin equivalent exposure from 6,200 BTC to 11,400 BTC in the second quarter.
According to BitcoinNews, Norway's central bank, Norges Bank, increased its Bitcoin equivalent exposure from 6,200 BTC to 11,400 BTC in the second quarter, an increase of 83%. This holding is almost entirely invested in Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), with a small amount also invested in Metaplanet.
▌China Medical plans to invest no more than HK$3 billion to purchase cryptocurrencies.
China Medical (01931.HK) announced that the board believes that purchasing and holding cryptocurrencies is an important measure for the group to solidify its Ethereum (ETH) reserve and accelerate the development of the IVD.xyz exchange ecosystem, and is also an important part of the group's asset allocation strategy. After careful consideration, the board recommends seeking prior approval from shareholders for a purchase authorization, allowing the board to formally pass relevant purchase authorization and potential cryptocurrency purchases at a special shareholder meeting for a period of 36 months, with a total purchase amount not exceeding HK$3 billion.
▌Data: The circulating supply of USDC increased by approximately 2.9 billion over the past 7 days.
According to official data, as of August 14, over the past 7 days, Circle issued approximately 8.6 billion USDC, redeemed about 5.7 billion USDC, and the circulation increased by approximately 2.9 billion. The total circulation of USDC reached 67.5 billion, with reserves around $67.6 billion, including about $10.2 billion in cash, with the Circle Reserve Fund holding approximately $57.4 billion.
▌The Sign Foundation announced the completion of the first $12 million buyback of SIGN tokens.
The Sign Foundation officially announced today that it has completed the first $12 million buyback of $SIGN tokens, with $8 million repurchased through the secondary market, totaling 117 million $SIGN bought back; an additional $4 million was executed via OTC.
Important Economic Dynamics
▌The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose more than 4 basis points this week.
On Friday (August 15) at the New York close, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose by 3.89 basis points to 4.3238%, accumulating an increase of 4.08 basis points this week. It briefly fell to 4.1979% three minutes before the release of the U.S. PPI data on August 14. The yield on 2-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose by 2.44 basis points to 3.7568%, accumulating a decrease of 0.55 basis points this week, showing a V-shaped trend, and it also fell to 3.6513% before the PPI data was released. The yield spread between 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose by 1.449 basis points to +56.485 basis points, accumulating an increase of 4.429 basis points this week.
▌Federal Reserve chair candidate Sumerlin: Supports a 50 basis point rate cut next month.
According to Bloomberg, economist Marc Sumerlin, viewed as a potential candidate for the Federal Reserve chair, stated that policymakers should significantly cut interest rates next month, while also warning that if long-term U.S. Treasury yields rise, they will have to stop cutting rates. Sumerlin is an economist at the management consulting firm Evenflow Macro. He indicated that the federal funds rate of 4.3% is too high, allowing for a reduction of 50 basis points. He supports a 50 basis point cut due to the inverted yield curve.
▌Central Bank: Implement a moderately loose monetary policy in detail.
The central bank released the report on the implementation of China's monetary policy for the second quarter of 2025. In the next phase, it will implement a moderately loose monetary policy in detail. Based on domestic and international economic and financial conditions and the operation of the financial market, it will grasp the strength and pace of policy implementation, maintain ample liquidity, and ensure that the growth of social financing and money supply matches economic growth and the overall price level expectations, continuing to create a suitable financial environment. Promoting a reasonable rebound in prices will be an important consideration in grasping monetary policy, pushing prices to remain at a reasonable level.
▌The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending August 9 was 224,000.
For the week ending August 9, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. was 224,000, with expectations of 228,000, and the previous value was revised from 226,000 to 227,000.
▌Trump: No additional tariffs on China for purchasing Russian oil at this time.
Recently, the U.S. announced additional tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for India purchasing Russian oil. The U.S. also threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Chinese goods imported to the U.S. due to the purchase of Russian oil. According to Reuters, President Trump, after meeting with Russian President Putin on the 15th local time, stated that there are currently no plans to impose tariffs on China for purchasing Russian oil. After ending the meeting in Alaska with Putin, Trump told a Fox News reporter that he would not consider imposing tariffs on China due to purchasing Russian oil at this time. Trump also stated, 'I may have to consider this issue in two or three weeks, but for now, we do not need to consider this matter.' (Global Times)
