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Benchmark partner Chetan Puttagunta posted on X, expressing confusion over Anthropic's public call for stricter regulation on AI model distillation. He noted that Anthropic is currently a company valued at approximately $1 trillion with vast technical and financial resources. At the scale described, so-called "large-scale distillation attacks" should theoretically be easier to identify and track. If Anthropic chooses to restrict such activities, the real cost may not be a lack of technical capability, but rather the sacrifice of some API revenue. "The only cost required seems to be reducing revenue from related API businesses."Previously, AI companies like Anthropic have been paying close attention to the issue of model distillation. Model distillation typically refers to using the output of a large model (the teacher model) to train another model (the student model), aiming to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Some AI companies are concerned that competitors might obtain model outputs by calling a large number of APIs, which could then be used to train their own models, thereby bypassing the original R&D investment. According to Puttagunta's perspective, the controversy surrounding model distillation in the AI industry essentially involves the balance between commercial interests, open competition, and intellectual property protection. For leading AI companies, finding the balance between protecting core technology and maintaining an open ecosystem will become an important issue for future industry competition.
According to the UK's Financial Times, AI concept stocks have recently continued to correct, and Wall Street banks have required some hedge funds with concentrated positions and high leverage to post additional collateral to maintain existing financing levels. The Nasdaq 100 Index fell by as much as 10% from its early June highs, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has cumulatively dropped about 25% since the end of June. Against the backdrop of sharp declines in related individual stocks, long-short and multi-strategy hedge funds recorded significant single-day drawdowns, reflecting that risks from crowded AI trades and leverage are being exposed at an accelerated pace.
According to people familiar with the matter, Beijing OceanBase Technology Co., Ltd. (OceanBase) is in talks with investors and plans to conduct a Series A financing round, raising approximately 2 billion to 3 billion yuan (approximately $295 million to $443 million). The financing aims to enhance the company's independent operational capabilities and provide financial support for its expansion into the AI database service sector.
Bitget releases the rToken Institutional Cross-Asset Capital Management Guide, detailing how market makers, hedge funds, quantitative trading firms, prime brokers, and asset management companies can utilize its Unified Trading Account (UTA) to enhance capital efficiency between cryptocurrencies and tokenized US stocks. The guide focuses on portfolio construction and financing strategies, covering core trading scenarios such as cross-asset collateralization, dividend arbitrage, and lending structures that balance capital efficiency with risk isolation, providing a practical framework for institutions to optimize multi-asset allocation. Currently, Bitget's Unified Trading Account (UTA) supports over 370 collateralizable assets, including 105 tokenized US stocks. Eligible crypto assets and tokenized stocks can enter the same margin system, sharing collateral and offsetting margin requirements, helping institutions reduce idle funds scattered across exchange and brokerage accounts. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen stated that institutions do not lack access to the stock market; the real challenge lies in how to make capital operate efficiently between different markets. As tokenized assets gradually enter institutional portfolios, managing crypto assets and tokenized stocks under a unified framework will provide more possibilities for risk management and asset allocation.
Grayscale stated HYPE's forward P/E ratio is approximately 15 to 18 times. Hyperliquid possesses real cash flow and can therefore be valued like a stock, but the valuation is based on earnings per token rather than earnings per share. Based on this, compared with fintech peers such as Coinbase, Robinhood, and Circle, HYPE still appears inexpensive. Market data shows that HYPE is currently trading at $55.32, down 1.5% in the past 24 hours.
134 officials and executives from U.S. banking associations and banks are urging the Senate to amend Section 10404 of the CLARITY Act before its final passage, in order to strengthen restrictions on the payment of interest and returns on payment stablecoins. The banking representatives hope lawmakers will broaden the scope of these restrictions, preventing companies from providing similar economic benefits for holding stablecoins through rewards, incentives, or other arrangements. They argue that if stablecoins can attract and retain balances through interest-like rewards, the funding base supporting local loans could be weakened by hundreds of billions of dollars. The letter asserts that deposits form the foundation for lending to families, small businesses, farmers, and local employers. The signatories state that clear rules would allow payment stablecoins to develop while preserving access to funding that supports community lending.
Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi said that as mature networks become harder for startups to challenge, crypto venture capital may eventually enter a "last funds" phase. He noted this does not mean the crypto industry is disappearing, but rather that scale, liquidity, and network effects are increasingly concentrated among a few mature platforms. Qureshi stated that by 2030, most important companies in the crypto space may already be established. While large platforms will continue to grow, the room for new entrants to disrupt the market will be limited. He believes investors may underestimate the possibility that continued growth in the crypto market will not necessarily translate into investable startups. Cryptorank data shows that as of July 28, only 150 independent venture capital firms participated in crypto funding rounds in July, the lowest level since November 2020 and down from a peak of 1,177 active investment firms in May 2022. Qureshi is cautious about startups built around single financial products on platforms like Hyperliquid. He stated that if Hyperliquid controls the distribution channels, such companies are essentially closer to dealers than to businesses with lasting durability.
OdailyOdaily News Bitcoin mining enterprise and AI infrastructure company Ionic Digital today made its direct listing debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker IOND. The stock opened at $50, with a reference price of $53, and surged over 25% during trading to nearly $63, implying a valuation of approximately $2.75 billion. Founded in January 2024, Ionic Digital acquired most of the mining assets from the bankruptcy restructuring of crypto lending platform Celsius Network, including mining machines, infrastructure, approximately $195 million in cash, and 540 BTC. Currently, Ionic Digital holds 2,861 BTC and is shifting more power capacity toward long-term AI lease agreements.
Birdai Labs 宣布完成 400 万美元种子轮融资，本轮由 Castle Island Ventures 领投，Metalayer Ventures 和 The Venture Dept. 参投。公司专注于构建链上交易执行的中立型基础设施，用于衡量、验证并改善高性能区块链上的交易执行质量，同时提升市场透明度，并将部分价值返还给产生交易流的参与者。
According to TechCrunch, AI voice model company Fish Audio announced the completion of a $50 million seed funding round, led by Coreline Ventures and Capital Today, with participation from institutions including 359 Capital, Parable, and Play Time. The company stated that its open-source and hosted models have currently accumulated over 8 million users, and annual recurring revenue has reached $21 million.
: Global payments company PayPal reported its second-quarter earnings, with earnings per share of $1.26, compared to $1.30 in the same period last year, falling short of the analyst consensus estimate of $1.28. Revenue reached $8.68 billion, surpassing last year's $8.29 billion and exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. PayPal recorded a non-GAAP adjustment of $81 million, related to gains and losses from strategic investments and crypto assets held for investment purposes. PayPal stated that since the company does not actively trade these assets and does not rely on them to fund ongoing operations, it excludes the related gains and losses from non-GAAP results. In its second-quarter investor presentation, PayPal stated that the company is leveraging its payments network, risk infrastructure, and trust capabilities to expand agent-based payments, stablecoins, identity, and biometric technologies. PayPal also noted that its PayPal World platform facilitated approximately $200 million in total payment volume between Venmo and PayPal.
Axis Robotics has announced the completion of a $12 million seed funding round, led by Hack VC, with participation from Nomad Capital, Pi Core Team Ventures, 10K Ventures, and several angel investors.According to the introduction, Axis Robotics primarily addresses the data needs for Physical AI and robotic models. It leverages large-scale simulation, first-person real-world data collection, and human-in-the-loop post-training to build a closed-loop data workflow, enabling the scalable production of structured and diverse robotic data. This funding will be used to accelerate the development of a massive, parallel, human-in-the-loop global data engine.
According to Bloomberg, UK real estate tech startup Dwelly announced it has completed $170 million in financing to acquire more real estate businesses and integrate artificial intelligence into its operations. The round was led by EQT Growth and General Catalyst and included $95 million in equity financing and a $75 million debt facility provided by Trinity Capital. The company did not disclose its valuation.
In its financial system stability assessment report released this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that Brazil's cryptocurrency-based cross-border fund flows have been growing steadily since 2017, with their scale now exceeding traditional capital movements. The report indicates that these fund flows are largely driven by stablecoins, which are utilized by both corporations and retail investors for efficiency and tax-related reasons. Stablecoin flows are correlated with international and local investment indicators such as the S&P 500, VIX, and Bitcoin prices, and are also influenced by exchange rates, interest rates, policy uncertainty, and changes in tax policies. The IMF noted that the Central Bank of Brazil has taken measures to regulate the virtual asset service provider (VASP) industry, but gaps remain in areas such as customer legal protection and the segregation of custodial assets. Comprehensive implementation of international standards, including the Travel Rule, is still necessary for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The report points out that Brazil's crypto system is interconnected with the traditional financial system, and regulators need to collaborate with domestic and international counterparts to establish a more robust reporting framework. The Brazilian Congress is preparing to deliberate on Bill 4308/2024, aimed at regulating the status of stablecoins.
South Korean AI chip companies Rebellions, FuriosaAI, and DeepX have adjusted their IPO-related plans. Rebellions has rescheduled its listing on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to the first half of next year, FuriosaAI is planning for the second half of 2028, and DeepX is targeting 2027 to 2028.The three companies are currently pursuing Pre-IPO and Series D funding rounds respectively. Based on valuations, Rebellions is valued at 3.4 trillion won, FuriosaAI at approximately 3 trillion won, and DeepX at around 2.85 trillion won.Last year, the three companies recorded revenues of approximately 32 billion won, 5.7 billion won, and 3.3 billion won respectively. Related mass production and customer orders include Rebellions' Rebel 100, Renegade and other next-generation chips.
crypto KOL Phyrex posted on platform X, stating that U.S. investors are pursuing stock market highs with increasingly high leverage. As of June, the net credit balance of U.S. brokerage accounts fell by approximately $70 billion in a single month to a negative $1.061 trillion, hitting a record low. During the same period, margin debt increased by about $86 billion to $1.53 trillion, rising for the third consecutive month and setting a new record.Phyrex pointed out that the continuous deterioration of the net credit balance indicates that investors' cash buffers are shrinking, and their dependence on borrowing to maintain stock positions is increasing. Currently, leverage in the U.S. market is widespread across the entire brokerage system. During an uptrend, rising stock prices increase account net worth, which can further release margin capacity, creating mechanical buying pressure. However, once the market weakens, margin pressure may force investors to add cash or sell stocks, turning the leveraging capital that previously fueled the rally into mechanical selling pressure. Phyrex believes that the U.S. stock market is currently facing both high valuation and high leverage conditions. If the influx of new funds slows down, leveraged positions could further amplify market volatility.
According to Sifted, ETH Zurich spin-off startup ZuriQ announced the completion of a $25.5 million seed funding round. The company is dedicated to developing a new quantum chip architecture, which reportedly offers greater scalability compared to existing solutions and is expected to accelerate the scaling process in the field of quantum computing.
据韩媒 NATE 报道， 韩国金融委员会与韩国交易所公布低市净率（PBR）企业公示制度细则，拟将韩国主板（KOSPI）各行业 PBR 排名后 25%、创业板（KOSDAQ）后 10%的上市公司纳入公示范围，以督促企业提升股东价值。根据方案，披露包含低 PBR 改善措施的企业价值提升计划后，可获得 1 年公示豁免；但连续 6 年处于低 PBR 区间的企业，即使已披露改善计划，仍将被列入名单。 韩国交易所预计，最终公示企业约 220 家，占两大市场上市公司总数的 5%至 10%，其中约 120 家长期低 PBR 企业将无法享受豁免。首批低 PBR 企业名单计划于 11月 2 日公布，并将在交易所公告网站及券商交易系统中标注“低 PBR”标签。
Lighter founder Vladimir Novakovski published an article on X this morning titled "Equity and Tokens."In the article, Novakovski clarified that all economic value generated by Lighter will belong to token holders.Lighter's original intention has always been to use venture capital to bootstrap the project until the moment of token issuance. Lighter is a U.S. company and exists as a single entity — the entity that issued equity in the years leading up to TGE is the same entity that issued tokens at TGE. Apart from converting to a token cap table at TGE, the equity cap table will have no further function in the future.More specifically, Lighter completed its final equity financing round a few months before TGE, which was oversubscribed by approximately 5 times, attracting over $300 million in capital interest against a $68 million allocation. At that time, all equity stakeholders (including early investors and former employees) were informed of the future plan — that their equity value would only be reflected as holdings on the token cap table — and were given the opportunity to sell their equity stakes. Anyone who disagreed with the philosophy that "all value belongs to the token" could easily exit at a higher valuation. Ultimately, less than 1% of equity holders chose to sell their shares, while the rest chose to stay, thereby supporting Lighter's commitment to "value accruing to the token."
SSI secured $2 billion in funding from top venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital last year, at which time its valuation reached $32 billion.