Half-year review reveals the flow of $11.2 billion in financing: The crypto industry’s most valuable assets are shifting from code to licenses.

By Xiao Bing: Dubai-based crypto lawyer Irina Heaver and her team at NeosLegal undertook a simple yet impactful exercise: they meticulously reviewed all publicly disclosed financing deals in the crypto industry for the first half of 2026, totaling 377 transactions with an aggregate value of approximately $11.2 billion. The conclusion can be summarized in one sentence: every disclosed financing round flowed into businesses that require regulatory licenses to operate. The top three sectors were payments and stablecoins ($3.7 billion), prediction markets ($2.0 billion), and exchanges and trading platforms ($1.7 billion). These three areas have one

TechFlow10:56

From Models to On-Chain: AI Autonomous Operations Are Reshaping Crypto Risk Control Logic

By Sean Stein Smith, Forbes; Compiled by AididiaoJP, Foresight News. In recent years, the discourse on AI risks has evolved at a breathtaking pace. The challenges facing enterprises today have long since moved beyond minor issues such as chatbots occasionally generating nonsensical or biased outputs, or employees inadvertently pasting sensitive information into public tools. The true qualitative shift lies in the fact that AI agents now possess the capability to take direct action—they can invoke external systems, write code autonomously, and even operate with minimal human oversight.

Foresight10:53

The Bank of England conducts cross-border trade payment tests for the digital pound and stablecoins.

(Source: Digital Fiat Currency Research Society) Mobile Payment News: Recently, the Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab launched a specialized experiment in trade finance to test the feasibility of using stablecoins in conjunction with a simulated digital pound to facilitate cross-border trade payments. The initiative focuses on addressing industry pain points such as delays in cross-border trade settlement and capital tie-up for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Conducted in collaboration with NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet, and Polygon Labs, the experiment establishes a new cross-border payment workflow wherein exporters receive advance payments via stablecoins, while UK importers complete final settlements using the simulated digital pound. The primary objective is to validate the timeliness mechanisms for trade finance disbursement and cross-border settlement. This test

Sina Finance09:30

Galaxy Digital: Hopes for the Passage of the CLARITY Act Are Slim as Regulators Intensify Countermeasures

As the likelihood of the CLARITY Act being passed in 2026 continues to decline, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had initially planned to introduce significant exemption rules to foster innovation in the crypto industry within a controlled framework, has since shifted its stance and shelved the related plans.

Jinse Finance09:15

Express News | Cardano Unveils Dijkstra Era Roadmap: Phase One to Launch in Q4 2026

On August 17, Cardano announced a phased hard-fork roadmap for the Dijkstra Era. The first phase is scheduled for completion of code development and entry into mainnet readiness by the fourth quarter of 2026, upgrading to protocol version 12. Key features to be implemented include Ouroboros Linear Leios, Nested Transactions, and PlutusV4 Script Context, along with the early integration of block structures and protocol parameters required for Peras. The second phase plans to activate Ouroboros Peras through an internal hard fork within the Dijkstra Era in the second quarter of 2027, aiming to accelerate transaction finality. The aforementioned timelines represent targets for code completion and mainnet readiness; actual mainnet deployment will still require testing in Preview and Pre-production environments, as well as approval through on-chain governance by Delegated Representatives (DReps), Stake Pool Operators (SPOs), and the Constitutional Committee.

Breakings05:07

Volatility Exits Crypto, TradFi Markets Even as U.S.-Iran Risks Linger, Sovereign Debt Rises: Crypto Daybook

Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, has dropped back to a 2026-low near 36%, reversing the minor pop to nearly 38% earlier this week, according to data source TradingView.

CoinDeskAug 14 19:33