Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering key news, mining information, project updates, technological advancements, and other industry dynamics. This article is part of the weekly newsletter, providing an overview of the week's major blockchain industry events.
Headlines
Circle Has No Plans to Issue a Korean Won Stablecoin
This past week, Circle President Heath Tarbert visited South Korea and held talks with the Bank of Korea and South Korea's four largest commercial banks: KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, and Woori Bank. Multiple media reports have stated that Circle has no intention of participating in the issuance of a Korean won stablecoin. Mr. Tarbert's purpose was to explore how banks can utilize its USDC token.
▌Avalanche transaction volume surged 66% this week to 11.9 million transactions
According to a chart released by Cointelegraph, Avalanche transaction volume surged 66% this week to 11.9 million transactions, driven by on-chain US GDP data-related activities and the resubmission of the AVAX ETF application.
▌Vance: Ready to take over if Trump has an accident
U.S. Vice President Cyril Vance said he is ready to take over the presidency if Trump encounters a "serious tragedy." In an interview with USA Today, Vance said of Trump's health, "If, God forbid, a serious tragedy were to occur, I can't think of a better training experience than the past 200 days on the job." However, he stated that the 79-year-old Trump is in good health and, despite recent questions about his health, maintains "remarkable energy." Matrixport: Bitcoin is at a delicate juncture where technical and macro factors collide. Matrixport released a daily chart analysis stating that Bitcoin is at a delicate juncture where technical and macro factors collide. August already saw a rare negative return, and September's historical performance offers little comfort. A series of key policy dates, including employment data, CPI, and the Federal Reserve meeting, make this month particularly important. However, even if the Fed cuts interest rates, the market may not necessarily experience the expected rebound. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is hovering near the price level that has historically marked the boundary between bull and bear markets, raising the question of its future trajectory. The real question is: Is this consolidation just "noise" or is it setting the stage for a rally that could catch traders off guard?
We expect Bitcoin's consolidation phase to continue for another two to three weeks, until a meaningful catalyst emerges to reintroduce upward volatility. In previous reports, we have highlighted potential triggers and also noted that Bitcoin "could consolidate for one to two months" last month. This view remains valid. So far in August, Bitcoin is down 3.9%, while the historical average return for August is just 0.5%. Seasonal factors also struggle to improve the outlook: September has an average historical decline of 2.5%, with four of the past ten years ending in the red.
▌Circle CEO: USDC's circulation volume has increased by approximately 61% so far this year, and by approximately 103% year-on-year.
According to Circle's CEO, USDC's current circulation volume is US$70.63 billion, with a circulation volume increase of approximately 61% so far this year and an increase of approximately 103% year-on-year.
Policy
▌U.S. Senators hope to consider a new cryptocurrency market structure bill by the end of September
U.S. Senators hope to consider a new cryptocurrency market structure bill by the end of September. Binance Helps Freeze Approximately $50 Million in Fraudulent Funds Through Collaboration with Chainalysis and APAC Authorities According to Binance CEO Richard Teng, we are proud of our team's work on a major international operation. By collaborating with Chainalysis (@Chainalysis) and APAC authorities, we helped freeze approximately $50 million in fraudulent funds, protecting vulnerable victims from sophisticated scams. This is what it means to build a safer ecosystem for everyone. According to market news released by The Bitcoin Historian, the Florida State Retirement Fund, which manages $205 billion in assets, disclosed that its allocation to MicroStrategy (stock code MSTR) reached $80 million. Another state-level fund indirectly invested in Bitcoin (BITCOIN). According to the South China Morning Post, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in an exclusive interview that Hong Kong has the conditions to become a virtual asset hub on par with the United States and the UAE, but the key is for regulators to act quickly.
CZ noted that the Hong Kong government has demonstrated a clear embrace of Web3. He suggested expanding the currently restricted range of tradable cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avalanche, and Chainlink, and suggested that exchanges should follow the Japanese model and decide on their own whether to list tokens.
▌The Bank of Korea proposed to provide central bank support for stablecoins
At a joint event that brought together industry and academia and focused on the issue of stablecoins, the head of the Digital Currency Research Laboratory of the Bank of Korea expressed his views on stablecoins and proposed that stablecoins need to obtain support and guarantees from the central bank. Yun Sung-guan, an official from the Bank of Korea, stated, "Stablecoins are not a new type of currency, but rather the tokenization of existing currencies on a distributed ledger." He further added, "To achieve stable operation, they ultimately require the support and guarantee of the central bank." Blockchain Applications: Meta Considers Collaboration with Google or OpenAI According to market sources, Meta, a platform company, is considering partnering with Google or OpenAI to enhance the artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities of its applications. Discussions within Meta Superintelligence Labs include adopting Google's Gemini model and OpenAI's model to provide technical support for the Meta AI chatbot. PetroChina: Closely Monitoring Hong Kong Stablecoins and Initiating a Feasibility Study for Cross-Border Settlements. PetroChina (00857.HK) revealed at its semi-annual earnings conference that it is closely monitoring the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's stablecoin licensing policy and plans to initiate a feasibility study on using stablecoins for cross-border settlement and payments. As one of China's largest state-owned energy companies, PetroChina became one of the first traditional energy giants to publicly respond to Hong Kong's Stablecoin Ordinance. Chinese construction company Sunac China plans to raise tokenized debt. According to Bloomberg, Chinese construction company Sunac China Holdings Limited plans to issue tokenized private placement bonds by the end of the year as part of its entry into Hong Kong's digital asset sector. The company announced its strategy for exploring such assets on Friday. The company expects to establish a digital asset management division by the end of the year and launch non-fungible token products tied to its Wuyue Plaza investment properties.
▌Kalshi expands Solana prediction market, allowing direct deposits in USDC or SOL
Kalshi expands Solana prediction market, allowing direct deposits in USDC or SOL. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today that it will begin publishing real gross domestic product (GDP) data on a blockchain, starting with data from July 2025. According to a revised estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.3% in July 2025. This marks the first time a federal agency has published economic statistics on a blockchain in this manner and the latest initiative by the Department of Commerce to leverage innovative technologies to protect federal data and promote public access. The Department of Commerce has published official hashes of its 2025 quarterly GDP data (and, in some cases, aggregate GDP data) on nine blockchains: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, TRON, Stellar, Avalanche, ArbitrumOne, Polygon PoS, and Optimism. Meanwhile, this data was further disseminated through coordination with Pyth and Chainlink oracles.
Cryptocurrency
Michael Saylor has released Bitcoin Tracker information again, and may disclose increased holdings next week
Michael Saylor has released Bitcoin Tracker information again on the X platform. Based on previous experience, Strategy firms typically disclose increased Bitcoin holdings the day after he releases Bitcoin Tracker information.
A Bitcoin whale sold 1,000 BTC and bought ETH spot
According to on-chain analysis platform Lookonchain, a Bitcoin OG deposited 1,000 BTC ($109 million) into Hyperliquid, selling and buying ETH spot. He has purchased 740,570 ETH ($3.4 billion) and staked it. The total market capitalization of stablecoins has increased by 2.63% over the past seven days, exceeding $283.4 billion. According to DefiLlama data, the current total market capitalization of stablecoins across the entire network is $283.493 billion, up 2.63% over the past seven days, of which USDT holds a market share of 59.12%. According to Dune Analytics, Pump.fun has spent over $62.6 million on the buyback of its native PUMP token. The buyback has absorbed over 16.5 billion tokens at an average price of $0.003785, aiming to stabilize price action and reduce selling pressure.
This buyback strategy utilizes platform revenue, primarily fees from user-generated tokens (particularly meme tokens), to fund daily token buybacks. Dune Analytics data shows that daily buybacks have consistently ranged between $1.3 million and $2.3 million over the past week.
According to DefiLlama, Pump.fun has generated over $775 million in revenue since its launch. Notably, the platform experienced a significant drop in revenue between July 28 and August 3. During this period, Pump.fun generated only $1.72 million in weekly revenue, its lowest level since March 2024. Meanwhile, the buyback program appears to be working. PUMP has risen over 12% over the past month and approximately 9% over the past week. The token is currently trading at $0.003522, a 54% increase from its August low of $0.002282. US spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows of $3.8 billion in August, the second-largest monthly inflow since launch. Trade T released its August monthly report for US spot Ethereum ETFs:
Net inflows: $3.8 billion (+800,000 ETH)
ETH price: rose from $3,698 to $4,363 (18%)
Second-largest monthly inflow since launch
ETH price reached a new all-time high of $4,956
BlackRock ETHA received $3.4 billion in inflows (87% of total inflows for the month)
Fidelity saw inflows of $493 million.
Important Economic Developments The cryptocurrency market experienced a considerable sell-off this week, but this followed a strong performance last week. With volatility declining and key data due next week, this was not too surprising, with some relatively weak highs already formed. Bitcoin faces the risk of a double top and has not offered much to counteract its impact, while Ethereum has retreated further after hitting a new high last Saturday. Ethereum's prospects are better than its "big brother" Bitcoin, but its performance will still depend on the performance of Bitcoin. The following are key market highlights for the new week:
Wednesday, 9:00 PM: 2025 FOMC voting member and St. Louis Fed President Moussallem will deliver a speech on the U.S. economy and monetary policy;
Wednesday, 10:00 PM: July U.S. JOLTs job vacancies and July U.S. factory orders;
Thursday, 1:30 AM: 2026 FOMC voting member and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will participate in a fireside chat;
Thursday, 2:00 AM: The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book on economic conditions;
Thursday, 8:30 PM: U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending August 30 and July U.S. trade balance;
Thursday, 11:30 PM: 2025 FOMC voting member and New York Fed President John Williams will deliver a speech at the Economic Club of New York;
Friday, 7:00 AM: 2025 FOMC voting member and Chicago Fed President Chris Goolsbee will deliver a speech. At 8:30 PM on Friday, the U.S. unemployment rate for August, seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls for August, and the annual and monthly average hourly wage rates will be released.
Continued labor market weakness will not only reinforce market expectations for a September rate cut, but also rekindle hopes for a third 25 basis point rate cut this year. In his speech at the Jackson Hole conference, Powell emphasized that inflation risks are tilted to the upside in the short term, while employment risks are tilted to the downside. Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly hinted at a September rate cut, citing tensions between the two objectives. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said policymakers will soon be ready to cut interest rates and that inflation caused by tariffs is likely to be temporary. "The time will soon be to recalibrate policy to better align it with the economy," she wrote in a social media post shared by the San Francisco Fed on Friday. Daly said tariff-related price increases "will be one-time." "It will take time to know for sure," she wrote, "but we cannot risk damaging the labor market while waiting for complete certainty." Daly said, "There is currently a tension between the Fed's dual goals: tariffs have pushed up inflation, while the labor market is showing signs of slowing."
▌Nasdaq 100 index declines extend to 1%
The market shows that the Nasdaq 100 index declines extend to 1%.
▌U.S. PCE data met expectations and the three major stock indexes opened lower
U.S. stocks opened with the Dow down 0.15%, the S&P 500 down 0.18% and the Nasdaq down 0.36%. Alibaba (BABA.N) surged 7.65% after releasing its latest financial report, showing a 2% year-over-year increase in Q1 revenue and a 12% year-over-year increase in its instant retail business revenue in the first half of the year. Nvidia (NVDA.O) continued its decline from yesterday, opening down 1.36%. U.S. debt increased by $550 billion over the past month, according to charts released by ZeroHedge, a well-known financial news and analysis website.
Anais
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