1. Federal Reserve's Logan Expects Banks to Use Repo Facility to Ease Liquidity Pressure in September
Dallas Fed President Logan stated that the Federal Reserve still has room to reduce excess reserves and expects banks to use the Standing Repo Facility (SRF) to address liquidity pressures during tax day and quarter-end in September. She emphasized that this tool can quickly convert US Treasuries into cash, reducing the risk of liquidity shortages while avoiding the continued expansion of the Fed's balance sheet. -Original
2. UBS Warns Politicization of Fed May Exacerbate US Treasury Risk Premium
Paul Donovan, Chief Economist of UBS Global Wealth Management, said that the increasing politicization of the Federal Reserve could lead to higher risk premiums in the US bond market due to inflation uncertainty. This trend will raise actual borrowing costs, increase the US government's debt repayment pressure, thereby squeezing fiscal stimulus space and suppressing corporate investment. In addition, this situation may weaken the dollar's status as a reserve currency, but will not completely shake its dominance. Last Friday, Fed Chair Powell left room for a rate cut in September at the Jackson Hole meeting, but did not clearly propose a medium-term policy framework or strongly defend the Fed's independence. Meanwhile, US President Trump has recently continued to pressure the Fed to take rate-cutting action. -Original
3. Trump Says US Will Assist Europe in Resolving Russia-Ukraine Conflict as "Backup"
On the 25th local time, US President Trump said that details regarding how the US will participate in security guarantees for Ukraine have not yet been discussed, but the US will assist Europe in playing a major role as a "backup." Trump made these remarks during a media interview at the White House. He said the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the "easiest" among the many conflicts he intends to resolve. The Russia-Ukraine conflict involves some "serious personality conflicts," but the US "will bring this situation to an end." Trump also said that after a series of meetings between US, Ukrainian, and European leaders at the White House last week, he had a phone call with Russian President Putin, and both expressed a desire to promote "denuclearization." He also discussed the issue of reducing US-Russia nuclear arsenals after the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict during a meeting with Putin in Alaska. -Original
4. UAE Marked as Fourth Largest Government Bitcoin Holder, Holdings Worth $740 Million
On August 25, Arkham posted on social media that addresses related to the United Arab Emirates have now been tagged on the Arkham platform. The UAE's bitcoin holdings worth $700 million have now been labeled on the Arkham platform. These holdings originate from Citadel's bitcoin mining business—a listed mining company controlled by the UAE Royal Group through International Holding Company (IHC). Arkham stated that the UAE is the fourth largest government entity holding bitcoin on the platform, with total BTC holdings valued at nearly $740 million. Unlike the US and UK, the UAE's bitcoin does not come from police asset seizures but is generated through mining operations in cooperation with Citadel. To date, approximately 9,300 BTC have been mined, with at least about 6,300 BTC still held. Citadel is 85% owned by 2pointzero, which is 100% owned by IHC. About 61% of IHC is held by the UAE Royal Group, which is controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi royal family. Through cooperation with Phoenix Group (a UAE-listed mining company) and the government-owned IHC, Citadel built an 80,000-square-meter bitcoin mining farm on Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, in six months in 2022. Satellite time-lapse images of the mining farm construction and the on-chain mining activity timeline corroborate each other. On-chain transactions between Phoenix Group and Citadel also match the amounts disclosed by officials. Phoenix Group has also been tagged on the Arkham platform, with BTC holdings valued at $3.2 million. -Original
5. Arrive AI Announces Consideration of Bitcoin as Cash Reserve
Arrive AI announced that it will consider holding bitcoin as a cash reserve and has established a bitcoin-denominated "at-the-market" financing plan to facilitate fundraising. -Original
6. ETHZilla Approves $250 Million Stock Buyback Plan, Holds Over 100,000 ETH
On August 25, the board of ETHZilla Corporation (NASDAQ: ETHZ) approved a stock buyback plan with a maximum repurchase amount of $250 million, effective immediately. In addition, the company announced that it currently holds 102,237 ETH, with an average acquisition price of $3,948.72, currently valued at approximately $489 million. In addition to ETH, ETHZilla also holds about $215 million in US dollar cash equivalents. -Original
7. US Banks Lobby to Block Stablecoin Interest Payments
According to Reuters, US banks are pushing to amend stablecoin regulatory rules, fearing that related regulations could lead to capital outflows. Banking lobby groups have warned lawmakers that regulatory loopholes could allow crypto platforms to indirectly pay interest to stablecoin holders. The "Genius Act" has already prohibited stablecoin issuers from paying interest but allows banks to issue stablecoins. -Original
8. Scam Service Vanilla Drainer Stole Over $5 Million in Crypto Assets Within Three Weeks
Blockchain investigation agency Darkbit revealed that scam service Vanilla Drainer stole at least $5.27 million in cryptocurrency within just three weeks. The service assists fraudsters in stealing funds by providing phishing software and takes a 15%-20% cut. Vanilla Drainer has been active since October 2024, with its advertisements claiming to bypass security detection platform Blockaid. On August 5, the platform's largest single theft resulted in a victim losing $3.09 million in stablecoins, with the scam operator profiting $463,000. The stolen funds are usually converted to ETH or non-freezable DAI and ultimately flow into a fee wallet currently holding tokens worth $2.23 million. To evade tracking, Vanilla Drainer frequently changes domain names and generates new contracts for each malicious website. -Original
