加密城市 Crypto City

Balaji: The 'verification cost' for AI users becomes the real bottleneck

Former Coinbase CTO Balaji pointed out last month that the AI usage process can be divided into two stages: 'input prompting' and 'verifying output'.

The former is something anyone can do, just type a few lines; but the latter is more difficult and requires professional knowledge, patience, and logical thinking to determine if the AI has produced an error or a 'hallucination'.

Image source: X/@balajis

He notes that this gap is easily handled with images or videos, as the human eye is naturally good at judging visual content. However, when faced with code, technical articles, or logical reasoning, verification work becomes quite tricky.

Arizona influencer assists North Korean infiltration, operates 'laptop farm' to deceive 300 U.S. companies.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced last Thursday (7/24) that Arizona TikTok influencer Christina Marie Chapman was sentenced to 8.5 years in federal prison for assisting North Korean agents in infiltrating U.S. cryptocurrency and tech companies using stolen identities and forged documents. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia stated that Chapman was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The prosecutor pointed out that Chapman collaborated with North Korean (DPRK) agents to help them obtain remote IT positions at over 300 U.S. companies. These North Korean workers disguised themselves as American citizens and residents, and the entire scheme generated over $17 million in illegal income. Chapman pleaded guilty on February 11 of this year and, in addition to imprisonment, was ordered to undergo 3 years of supervised release, forfeit over $284,000 in related funds, and pay nearly $177,000 in restitution.

Foreword

The mediator had just announced the Facebook settlement: $65 million. The room fell silent. Mark Zuckerberg's lawyers waited for a response.

Most people would have taken the money and run. Tyler Winklevoss looked at his brother Cameron Winklevoss, then across the table.

'We choose stock.'

The lawyers may have exchanged glances. Facebook was still a private company at the time, and the stock could be worthless, and the company could fail. Cash was tangible, while stock was a gamble.

This study examines the daily market share of Bitcoin from April 29, 2013, to July 22, 2025, with data sourced from CoinGecko.

How has Bitcoin's market share evolved over the years?

From 2013 to 2025, Bitcoin's market share in the cryptocurrency market has experienced significant fluctuations, oscillating between a historical low of 31.1% and an early high of 99.1%. During this period, Bitcoin's daily market share was above 50.0% for two-thirds of the time. In other words, Bitcoin dominated the cryptocurrency market for a total of 8 years during these 12 years.

If Aravind Srinivasan had received the answers he wanted from Google Search when he first started his company, the now $18 billion AI search service Perplexity might never have emerged, thus threatening a business that contributes over 50% of Google's revenue.

In 2022, when Srinivasan and two co-founders started their venture, they were still undecided about what exactly to do, but they hired an engineer first. The engineer needed health insurance, but Srinivasan, new to running a company, had no concept of how to go about it, so he did what many people do when faced with questions: he asked Google.

Fuego, founder of Fuego Labs and ApeSpirits, stated on X that the last founder of BAYC and CEO of Yuga Labs, Greg Solano, expressed his confusion as to why, after five years, they haven't made a dime but still retain the Bored Apes?! If three of the four co-founders have already left, and now the last one is also exiting, what will happen next?

Will Apes go to zero? Just a few days ago, Yuga Labs sold Telegram stickers worth $500,000, sold Moonbirds and CryptoPunks, but even with profits, the price of BAYC NFTs still can't rise. Will BAYC really go to zero? After FUEGO's post, Greg Solano blocked him! Here, we specifically picked out a few past NFTs that were claimed to be blue-chip to see if there are any signs of revival in the current market.

One thing is clear: the view that cryptocurrencies have yet to produce any noteworthy innovations is a thing of the past.

In the eyes of conservative figures on Wall Street, the 'application' of cryptocurrencies is often discussed with a tone of ridicule. Veterans have seen it all. Digital assets come and go, often in a blaze of glory, exciting those investors who are keen on memecoins and NFTs. Beyond being used as tools for speculation and financial crime, their other uses are frequently found to be flawed and inadequate.

Visa expands its stablecoin platform, adding three tokens and two blockchains.

Global payment giant Visa announced on Thursday (7/31) a significant expansion of its stablecoin settlement platform, adding support for three stablecoins and two blockchains, further consolidating its leadership in the digital asset payment space. This expansion enables Visa's stablecoin infrastructure to now support four stablecoins and operate across four blockchain networks.

The newly added stablecoins include $PYUSD issued by PayPal, $USDG issued by Paxos, and the euro stablecoin $EURC issued by Circle. These new tokens join the existing $USDC to form Visa's stablecoin support portfolio. In terms of blockchain, Visa added Stellar and Avalanche, forming a four-chain parallel structure with existing Ethereum and Solana.

Cryptocurrency investment company The Ether Machine announced on Wednesday that it has spent $56.9 million to purchase 15,000 Ether, with an average price of $3,809 each, as part of the company's cryptocurrency allocation strategy.

After the transaction is completed, The Ether Machine's total Ether holdings will reach 334,757, officially surpassing the Ethereum Foundation (which holds about 234,000 Ether), becoming the third largest institutional holder of Ether globally, second only to Bitmine and SharpLink Gaming.

According to the announcement, the funds used by The Ether Machine for this purchase come from cash obtained through private placement, and approximately $407 million will be reserved for further purchases of Ether in the future.

The Senate committee narrowly passed the bill 8-7, banning congressional members from trading stocks and digital assets.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs passed the 'Preventing Elected Leaders from Holding Securities and Investments Act' (also known as the Pelosi Act) with a narrow margin of 8 votes in favor and 7 against. This bill will prohibit congressional members and their spouses from trading individual stocks and digital assets such as cryptocurrencies during their terms.

This bill, proposed by Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley, received support from all Democratic committee members, but only one Republican, Hawley himself, voted in favor.

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced its Q2 2025 financial report, which showed a 6.8% year-over-year decrease in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), down to $79.7 million, compared to $85.5 million in the same period of 2024, and a significant downward revision of nearly 57% from $187 million in Q1 of this year.

Kraken stated that the second quarter is traditionally a low season for trading activity in the cryptocurrency market. Additionally, U.S. President Trump has introduced a new wave of tariffs, causing a rise in market risk aversion and general pressure on cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin also hit a yearly low in early April this year, approaching $76,000, significantly undermining market confidence.

The Osaka Exchange (OSE), under Japan's largest exchange group JPX, stated on July 30 that it is considering listing futures and options products for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). On the other hand, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced on July 31 that it would maintain interest rates unchanged while raising inflation expectations across the board.

Cryptocurrency futures and options products are expected to be listed, and the feasibility of an ETF is under assessment.

According to Bloomberg, OSE President Takayuki Yokoyama stated in an interview that they will continue to study the contract specifications and frameworks abroad to see if they are suitable for introducing futures and options products related to cryptocurrencies such as BTC, while also observing the policy direction of the Financial Services Agency of Japan.

The U.S. SEC launches a crypto initiative in response to the vision of becoming a crypto capital.

This SEC is different! Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced yesterday (7/31) the launch of the 'Crypto Initiative' (Project Crypto).

This initiative is jointly promoted with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, modernizing securities rules and regulations, allowing the U.S. financial market to shift to on-chain operations, directly responding to President Trump's vision of making the U.S. the global capital of cryptocurrency.

Atkins emphasized that this initiative will be based on the recommendations of the Presidential Working Group (PWG) report, aiming to ensure that the U.S. maintains a global leadership position in business creation, cutting-edge technology development, and capital market participation.

UI UX design collaboration software company Figma officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange (stock code FIG) on Thursday (7/31), with its stock price rapidly soaring 250%, leading to a hundredfold return for venture capital investors, expected to bring in billions of dollars. Figma's market capitalization on its first day reached $56.3 billion, easily exceeding the $20 billion in the sale agreement Figma reached with Adobe in 2023.

Image source: (Chain News)

Figma's stock surged 250% on its first day, with a market value of $56.3 billion easily surpassing Adobe's acquisition price.

The San Francisco-based company closed at $115.50 per share in New York on Thursday, up 250% from the $33 IPO price. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows that Figma's stock price set a record for the largest first-day increase for a company listed in the U.S. with funding exceeding $1 billion in at least thirty years.

Bitcoin once fell to 114,000, and the entire network liquidated over 600 million magnesium

Bitcoin ($BTC) fell this morning, dropping from a 24-hour high of $118,922 to $114,313. It currently sits at $115,318, a drop of 2.34%. Ether ($ETH) also fell, currently trading at $3,686, a drop of 4.01%.

CoinGlass liquidation data shows that in the last 24 hours, a total of 158,629 people were liquidated in the global cryptocurrency perpetual contract market, with a total liquidation amount of US$631.79 million. Of this, long positions (buy orders) accounted for US$570 million in liquidations, making up the majority of the total liquidation volume.

Trump signs executive order, Taiwan's tax rate is 20%, higher than Japan and South Korea

On August 1, Taipei time, US President Trump signed an executive order officially announcing reciprocal tariff rates for various trading partners. Taiwan will be subject to a 20% tariff, higher than the 15% tariffs for Japan and South Korea, and slightly higher than Thailand's 19%. According to the White House executive order, the new tariffs will take effect at 12:01 PM Taipei time on August 7.

In his executive order, Trump reiterated that the United States' long-term and large annual trade deficit in goods poses an abnormal and significant threat, endangering the national security and economy, so he declared a national emergency and imposed reciprocal tariffs.

Immigration policy inadvertently fostered a blockchain giant, leading the U.S. to miss out on a trillion-dollar ecosystem.

On July 30, ten years ago, Ethereum officially launched, but this blockchain empire, now worth hundreds of billions of dollars, was born out of a visa denial case. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that in 2013, he wanted to hire the then 19-year-old Vitalik Buterin (later known as V God), but was forced to abandon the idea due to U.S. visa issues, leading V God to return to Canada and create Ethereum.

Source: X/@brian_armstrong. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shares anecdotes from the early days with Vitalik Buterin on the occasion of Ethereum's tenth anniversary.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing rise in the topic of 'Korean won stablecoins', the Bank of Korea has adjusted its internal organizational structure to comprehensively strengthen its policy layout for virtual assets.

South Korean media (News1) cited an announcement from the Bank of Korea on July 29, stating that starting from the 31st, the 'Digital Currency Research Laboratory' under the 'Financial Settlement Bureau' will officially be renamed 'Digital Currency Office', symbolizing a transition from theoretical exploration and academic research to a practical unit for promoting related policies.

The various teams within the 'Digital Currency Office' are also undergoing adjustments, with a clearer system structure; 'Digital Currency Technology Group 1' has been renamed to 'Digital Currency Technology Group'; while 'Digital Currency Technology Group 2' has been changed to 'Digital Currency Infrastructure Group'.

Public television's Independent Correspondent introduces stablecoins: The GENIUS Act and trends in international adoption.

The term 'stablecoin' began to attract increasing attention after U.S. President Trump signed the GENIUS Act. The latest episode of the public television program 'Independent Correspondent' introduces stablecoins to the public and invites experts and scholars to discuss why stablecoins could spark a financial revolution.

While many outsiders still do not know what stablecoins are, they have already become part of daily life in some regions, especially in countries where fiat currency values fluctuate sharply and access to the U.S. dollar is limited. Wen Hongjun, vice chairman of the Taiwan Fintech Association, stated that in Nigeria, over 60%-70% of the population uses cryptocurrency for payments.

Following Bitcoin, Ethereum is becoming the new favorite for corporate asset allocation. According to a research report from Standard Chartered, institutional enterprises currently hold about 1% of the circulating supply of Ethereum, and over time, this is expected to increase tenfold to 10%, with Ethereum being favored as a mainstream allocation asset.

Standard Chartered pointed out in its report that the pace of corporate buying in this wave is almost on par with the capital inflow speed of Ethereum spot ETFs, which have recently seen a record influx of funds.

Recently, several listed companies have announced financial strategies involving Ethereum and are earning passive income through staking Ethereum. Representative companies include BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) and SharpLink Gaming (SBET). By including Ethereum in their balance sheets, they can not only obtain about 3% annualized returns from staking but also participate in the leverage and yield opportunities provided by DeFi.