Tether is ready to operate in the U.S., OpenAI will launch GPT-5

Headlines

▌Tether CEO: Tether is ready to operate in the US market and will target the institutional market

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said Tether is ready to operate in the US market. A week ago, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins in the United States and publicly thanked Ardoino for his work in the bill. Ardoino said that we are developing an internal strategy for the United States and plan to announce it in the next two months. The new US stablecoin will target the institutional market. Ardoino finally reiterated that Tether has no intention of going public like its US competitor Circle.

▌OpenAI prepares to launch GPT-5 in August

Microsoft engineers prepare server capacity for OpenAI's next-generation GPT-5 model, which is expected to be launched as early as the end of May. After some additional testing and delays, sources familiar with OpenAI's plans say GPT-5 is now expected to be released as early as next month. OpenAI founder Sam Altman recently revealed at X that "we will be releasing GPT-5 very soon" and even demonstrated some features on a podcast with Theo Von earlier this week. Earlier this year, Altman called GPT-5 "a system that integrates many of our technologies" because it will include o3 reasoning capabilities rather than being presented as a separate model. This is part of OpenAI's ongoing efforts to simplify and integrate its large language models, with the goal of building a more capable system that will eventually achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Market

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $118,332, 24-hour increase or decrease -0.3%;

ETH price is $3,705.52, 24-hour increase or decrease +2.1%;

BNB price is $772.60, 24-hour increase or decrease -0.4%;

-3.5%;

DOGE price is 0.2323 US dollars, with a 24-hour increase or decrease of -3.8%;

XRP price is 3.14 US dollars, with a 24-hour increase or decrease of -1.6%.

TRX price is 0.3141 US dollars, with a 24-hour increase or decrease of +1.4%.

Policy

▌Trump visits the Federal Reserve and asks Powell to cut interest rates in person

U.S. President Trump was interviewed by the media together with Federal Reserve Chairman Powell during his visit to the Federal Reserve headquarters. In response to how to retract his criticism of Powell, Trump said that he hoped Powell would cut interest rates and would pay attention to the committee's interest rate decision. Trump also said that in general, I would fire a project manager who exceeds the budget. When Trump quoted the budget data for the renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters, Powell kept shaking his head, and Trump also mocked that the renovation of the building was a difficult task.

▌The U.S. House of Representatives Committee launched an investigation into the renovation of the Federal Reserve

According to Punchbowl, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee launched an investigation into the renovation of the Federal Reserve.

Blockchain Applications

▌Christie's International Real Estate Establishes Crypto Department to Support Cryptocurrency Real Estate Transactions

According to the New York Times, Christie's International Real Estate, a luxury real estate brokerage in the United States, has established a special department to handle real estate transactions conducted in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, becoming the first major real estate brokerage company to establish such a crypto department.

▌Crypto custodian Anchorage Digital launches stablecoin issuance platform

US crypto custodian Anchorage Digital announced the launch of a stablecoin issuance platform to help clients seize the expected growth boom in asset-backed tokens after the passage of US stablecoin legislation.

▌Swiss Digital Intelligence approved HK$80 million to develop Web3.0 business and invest in cryptocurrency assets

Swiss Digital Intelligence (03680.HK) issued an announcement that the board of directors decided to formally deploy Web3.0 and cryptocurrency assets while consolidating the group's existing artificial intelligence and big data businesses, and approved a total budget of HK$80 million to be used for the group's development of Web3.0 business and investment in cryptocurrency assets over the next two years.

Cryptocurrency

▌IMF: El Salvador Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund accumulates Bitcoin in line with program conditions

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the El Salvador Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Fund accumulates Bitcoin in line with program conditions. El Salvador's Bitcoin holdings are in line with the country's program commitments. The total amount of Bitcoin held in the Salvadoran government wallet remains unchanged.

▌Strategy plans to increase its financing scale from $500 million to $2 billion to purchase Bitcoin

According to market news, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) plans to increase its financing scale from $500 million to $2 billion to purchase Bitcoin.

▌BlackRock has increased its holdings by more than 1 million ETH in July

According to official data, BlackRock has accumulated 1,035,653 ETH (worth approximately $3.76 billion) since July 1, and as of July 23, BlackRock has held more than 2.8 million ETH (worth approximately $10.22 billion).

▌ETHA's asset size exceeds $10 billion

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that ETHA's asset size has just exceeded $10 billion in a year, making it the third fastest ETF in history to reach this milestone, second only to two Bitcoin ETFs: IBIT and FBTC. It soared from $5 billion to $10 billion in just 10 days, and the fund is currently among the top five in terms of capital inflows in the past month and week.

▌Tether minted 1 billion USDT

According to Whale Alert, Tether minted 1 billion USDT on the Ethereum network. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said this was an authorized but unissued transaction, which means it will be used as inventory for the next issuance request and on-chain exchange.

▌Tether: Tether Gold tokens have reached nearly 250,000, backed by 7.66 tons of physical gold

Tether announced that in the second quarter of 2025, its issued Tether Gold tokens have reached nearly 250,000, backed by a total of 7.66 tons of physical gold. Each Tether Gold token is backed by 1 ounce of physical gold and stored in a Swiss vault. The current market value of the token is approximately US$830 million.

▌USDC Treasury minted 100 million USDC on the Ethereum chain

According to Whale Alert monitoring, USDC Treasury minted 100 million USDC on the Ethereum chain.

▌Injective tokenizes SharpLink's stock SBET

Injective announced that it will tokenize SharpLink's (ETH treasury company supported by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin) stock SBET on the chain. SharpLink currently holds 360,000 ETH and is the second largest Ethereum treasury company after BitMine. SBET tokens are based on Injective's iAssets framework and can be used for on-chain financial operations such as lending, mortgages, and derivatives, promoting the deep integration of traditional equity and crypto assets. SBET currently has a market value of approximately US$2.6 billion. Injective is supported by Binance, Jump, Pantera, etc.

▌Satsuma Technology raises $135 million to build a Bitcoin treasury

According to Cointelegraph, London-based artificial intelligence company Satsuma Technology has raised £100 million (about $135 million) to build a Bitcoin treasury, setting a record for UK Bitcoin treasury fundraising. The company said it had successfully completed fundraising exceeding the target amount and expected all committed funds to be in place within the next two weeks. If all funds are converted into Bitcoin, the acquisition will make Satsuma the second largest corporate Bitcoin holder in the UK, second only to The Smarter Web Company, which holds 1,600 BTC (worth about $190 million).

▌TON Foundation plans to raise $400 million for the Toncoin treasury

TON Foundation and Kingsway Capital plan to raise $400 million for the Toncoin treasury.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Trump: There is no need to fire Powell, this move is too noisy

U.S. President Trump said during his visit to the Federal Reserve building on Thursday that he had a "good talk" with Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, and the discussion atmosphere was not tense. Powell's relationship with Senator Scott was more tense. He discussed interest rates with Powell. Firing Powell is too noisy, and I don't think it is necessary at all. I already have candidates in mind to replace Powell, maybe three people, and I haven't put pressure on Powell."

▌U.S. Treasury Secretary: The Fed has an undue influence on the economy

U.S. Treasury Secretary Benson: The Fed should return to basics. The Fed has an undue influence on the economy. The Fed's other actions may affect monetary independence, and the Fed's footprint has become too large.

▌"Fed Mouthpiece": Trump's visit to the Fed is equivalent to a political show

"Fed Mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos published an article saying that Trump visited the renovation site of the Federal Reserve building on Thursday afternoon, which is equivalent to a political show aimed at increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve. This is part of an unconventional campaign to tarnish the public image of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and promote interest rate cuts. Trump's rare visit to the Federal Reserve represents his showmanship in governing. For a president who has built his brand on real estate projects and reality shows, this visit provides a good opportunity to go on TV and portray Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman selected by Trump himself eight years ago, as an incompetent bureaucrat who presided over a $2.5 billion renovation project with cost overruns. Stifel strategist Brian Gardner said that the focus on the renovation of the Federal Reserve building could also divert attention from Epstein's case.

▌Former Fed Governor Warsh: We need leadership change at the (Federal Reserve)

Golden Finance reported that former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh: No new laws are needed, we need leadership change at the (Federal Reserve). It's up to Trump to be ready to serve the public. We must prove to the market that we are serious about cutting spending.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What role do gold, oil, and BTC play in US reserves?

The US government has long relied on gold and oil as reserve assets, but with the growing popularity of Bitcoin among institutions, its potential role as a strategic reserve has been greatly enhanced. While gold has historically been the backing of the monetary system and oil remains an important economic and security asset, Bitcoin represents a new type of digital reserve that challenges the traditional financial paradigm. The United States has large reserves of gold and oil, but its Bitcoin holdings are relatively small, acquired primarily through asset seizures. Gold, oil, and Bitcoin each exhibit unique liquidity and market dynamics, with gold being the most stable, oil driven by geopolitical factors, and Bitcoin characterized by high volatility and 24/7 accessibility. Gold, oil, and Bitcoin all play a strategic role in the global economy, with gold being a hedge and oil influencing geopolitical stability. All of these assets have strategic and macroeconomic significance over time. Their narratives related to the broader capital markets may be just what is needed to attract investor interest. As institutional adoption grows, Bitcoin's strategic value as a hedge against inflation and government debt is increasingly recognized. Policy initiatives suggest that building strategic Bitcoin reserves could allow it to stand alongside traditional assets such as gold and oil in the future.