The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has escalated into its fifth week, with significant developments occurring over the weekend. Bloomberg posted on X that Israel launched strikes on Tehran, marking a notable intensification in the regional tensions. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia successfully intercepted nearly a dozen drones, highlighting the growing complexity of the situation. This escalation follows the involvement of Yemen-based Houthi militants, who entered the conflict on Saturday, further complicating the geopolitical landscape in the region.

According to Peter Van Valkenburgh, Executive Director of Coin Center, if the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, fails to pass, a future US government that is unfriendly to the industry may once again strengthen regulation of the crypto sector. If legislation concerning developer protections within the CLARITY Act and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act is rejected, prioritizing short-term commercial interests and the current regulatory environment could potentially place the industry in an unfavorable position.As reported by Cointelegraph, Peter Van Valkenburgh stated that the purpose of passing the CLARITY Act is to legally bind future governments, rather than relying on the stance of the current administration. In the absence of such legal protections, the crypto industry could be impacted by enforcement discretion, policy changes, and uncertainty. He disclosed that the CLARITY Act has been stalled in the Senate due to disagreements among banks, crypto businesses, and lawmakers over key provisions, including whether to allow stablecoin yields. The bill covers a registration framework for crypto intermediaries, digital asset regulation, and token classification, among other things.Furthermore, in the absence of legislative clarity, a future administration's Department of Justice might intensify enforcement against privacy tool developers, treating them as unregistered money transmitters. Concurrently, existing interpretive regulatory guidance could also be rescinded. Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler was previously criticized by the industry for advancing policy through enforcement actions and settlements with crypto firms, rather than through formal rulemaking. Since his departure on January 20, 2025, the SEC has dismissed several long-standing enforcement cases against crypto companies and issued more lenient regulatory guidance.

Shibarium, the layer-2 network associated with Shiba Inu, has garnered significant attention since its launch in August 2023, attracting approximately 1,200 applications. According to NS3.AI, despite the initial lack of a rally in SHIB until late 2024, the network's development and related initiatives like ShibOS are expected to foster wider ecosystem adoption in the future.

A reported plan by the United States for ground operations against Iran has reignited discussions around the "42-day Iraq conquest" model. According to NS3.AI, the strategy is described as a surgical decapitation approach focusing on Kharg Island rather than a full-scale occupation. Various media outlets and think tanks have cautioned that this plan could potentially lead to a new strategic quagmire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's focus on Iran has been a central theme of his political career for the past four decades. Bloomberg posted on X, RAND Israel Policy Chair Shira Efron discussed the motivations behind Netanyahu's decision to engage in conflict with Iran. Efron highlighted that for Netanyahu, Iran represents a significant ideological and strategic challenge, akin to a religious conviction. This perspective has shaped his foreign policy decisions and actions throughout his tenure. The discussion provides insight into the longstanding tensions between Israel and Iran, which have been a focal point in Middle Eastern geopolitics. For more in-depth analysis, listeners can subscribe to The Mishal Husain Show on various podcast platforms.

Hong Kong legislator Ng Kit Chuang and South Korean National Assembly member have initiated the 'Hong Kong-South Korea Web3 Policy Promotion Alliance.' According to Odaily, this alliance aims to focus on digital asset regulation, stablecoin mechanisms, artificial intelligence development, blockchain infrastructure connectivity, and regulatory standards between the two regions. This marks Asia's first cross-regional civil policy cooperation platform.

Hong Kong Legislative Council member Ng Kit-chung and South Korean National Assembly members launched the "Hong Kong-South Korea Web3 Policy Promotion Alliance," focusing on areas such as digital asset regulation, stablecoin mechanisms, artificial intelligence development, blockchain infrastructure interconnection, and regulatory standards between the two places. This alliance is reportedly the first cross-regional non-governmental policy cooperation platform in Asia. (Hong Kong 01)

Ernst & Young, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, announced the launch of the EY Blockchain Privacy Sandbox, a web-based development environment designed to help enterprises and developers experiment with privacy-preserving smart contracts on public blockchains compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The sandbox environment is based on the open-source technology Starlight, allowing developers to convert standard Solidity smart contracts into privacy-preserving applications while retaining the original contract logic. It also provides explorable, replicable, and modifiable sample projects to accelerate proof-of-concept development. Currently, the EY Blockchain Privacy Sandbox is primarily used for experimentation and validation, supporting enterprises in assessing the feasibility of privacy-preserving smart contracts, testing functionality, and validating application scenarios. By providing an easy-to-use web environment, the tool lowers the technical barrier to conducting privacy experiments on public blockchains. Starlight, as the underlying ZKP compiler, is open-source, and developers can integrate privacy features through its GitHub repository. (PRNewswire)

EY has announced the introduction of the EY Blockchain Privacy Sandbox, a web-based development environment designed for enterprises and developers to build and test privacy-protecting smart contracts on EVM-compatible public blockchains. According to PANews, this sandbox utilizes the open-source zero-knowledge proof compiler, Starlight, allowing Solidity contracts to be transformed into privacy applications without the need for a local environment. It also offers sample projects to expedite development verification, significantly lowering the barriers for enterprises experimenting with privacy technologies. EY's global blockchain leader stated that this initiative aims to enable companies to effectively validate the feasibility of privacy applications before large-scale deployment, thereby promoting the widespread adoption of privacy innovations.

News of the US military's preparations for a ground operation against Iran has ignited global interest. Unlike the full-scale invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Pentagon is this time employing a "decapitation strike" tactic—avoiding territorial occupation and a protracted war, targeting Kharg Island, Iran's oil lifeline, in an attempt to replicate the glory of the 1991 Gulf War with a "swift victory in weeks." But can the US military's "old dream" truly become a reality this time? Multiple international media outlets and think tanks have warned that blindly believing in the myth of "destroying Iran in 42 days" could plunge the US into a new strategic quagmire. (China News Service)

Investment, Artificial Intelligence, On-Chain Technology, Institutional Wave: AI Agents and On-Chain Credit: A Conversation with Legendary Investor Santiago Santos (Jinse Finance) - Unveiling the Truth Behind the Legendary Investor's "Tightening His Wages"

This week, 20 blockchain startups raised $809.7 million. Polymarket raised $600 million from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in a funding round, the largest of the week.

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Jinse Finance launches its cryptocurrency and blockchain industry daily news bulletin, "Jinse 8 AM," issue 3010, providing you with the latest and fastest news on the digital currency and blockchain industry.

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering key news, market and contract data, mining information, project updates, technological advancements, and other industry dynamics.

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