Gate Crypto Flash News and Market Updates

According to prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, on Friday they opposed former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky's motion to vacate his fraud conviction and 12-year prison sentence, arguing his claims lack merit. Mashinsky, representing himself after May, claimed ineffective assistance of counsel and raised issues involving former colleague Roni Cohen-Pavon and FTX. Prosecutors said he submitted no sworn declaration and was largely repeating arguments already considered during his May 2

According to Xinhua, Syria's interim government condemned Israeli airstrikes on the Abu Zuhour air base on Aug 18, calling the attacks "unjustified aggression." The foreign ministry statement described the strikes as an "overt violation" of Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity, warning that the action represents a "dangerous escalation" threatening regional security and stability.

According to BlackRock's analysis, adding 1-2% Bitcoin to a traditional 60/40 portfolio improved risk-adjusted returns based on rolling 10-year periods through May 2026. A 1% Bitcoin allocation raised the Sharpe ratio from 0.81 to 0.9, while a 2% allocation increased it to 0.96 and generated 1.85% alpha. The maximum drawdown for the 2% Bitcoin portfolio was 20.9%, slightly higher than the traditional 60/40 portfolio's 20.3%. BlackRock noted Bitcoin remains a unique portfolio diversification tool

According to White House adviser Patrick Witt, speaking Tuesday at the SALT conference in Wyoming, he expressed optimism about the Clarity Act becoming law ahead of a scheduled Sept. 15 cloture vote. "We'll be sitting down with Democrats and really trying to hash out the areas where there are disagreements and get a solid vote on the 15th. But I am truly optimistic and bullish about it," Witt said. The dispute over stablecoin yield has resurfaced as a key obstacle. Under a May compromise reached

According to Coinglass, Bitcoin rose to $65,000 on Tuesday, up 0.5% on the day and over 2% for the week, with market cap near $1.3 trillion. The price surge triggered $56 million in leveraged short liquidations and $4 million in long liquidations over the past 24 hours, while broader market long liquidations totaled $108 million during the same period.

According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Singapore-listed Bitcoin miner Canaan Inc recently added 2 BTC to its holdings, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 1,917 BTC. The company currently ranks 35th among the top 100 Bitcoin holders.

According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, CAN was authorized earlier this month to sell digital assets for stock buybacks. The company's stock price has risen 24% since August 1.

According to Jin10, citing an official UAE Foreign Ministry statement, the United Arab Emirates suspended all trade, commercial, and financial transactions with Iran on August 19 due to escalating regional tensions. The suspension remains in effect until further notice, as confirmed by Afra Al Hameli, director of strategic communication at the UAE Foreign Ministry.

On Tuesday (Aug 18), emerging markets ETF fell 2.94%, while gold ETF declined 1.71% and Nasdaq 100 ETF dropped 1.69%. Barclays U.S. Convertible Bond ETF fell 1.92%, Russell 2000 Index ETF declined 1.26%, and S&P 500 ETF, U.S. real estate ETF, and Dow Jones ETF retreated by up to 0.68%. Soybean fund closed flat; long U.S. dollar index rose 0.14%, U.S. Brent crude oil fund gained 0.27%, U.S. 20+ year Treasury ETF increased 0.38%, and VIX call ETF advanced 0.77%.

Block released Berd, a native desktop application for managing AI agents, files, skills, and sessions, on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license in August 2026. Built on Tauri 2 and React 19, the app runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, connecting to Block's Goose AI agent framework through ACP WebSocket. Goose, launched on January 28, 2025, has accumulated over 45,000 GitHub stars with 500+ contributors, supporting more than 15 LLM providers and over 70 MCP extensions. Block retains control over the

U.S. crude oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) for the week ending August 14 will be released shortly.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund saw its assets under management decline by $10 billion in 2025, falling to approximately $900 billion from around $910 billion the previous year.

The S&P 500 Energy sector closed at a record high of 972.345 points today, up 1.79%, surpassing its previous closing record of 962.270 points set on March 27. The sector is approaching the intraday record of 976.539 points reached on March 30.

According to Korea Exchange, foreign investors made net purchases of 8.156 trillion won in KOSPI stocks over the past 5 trading days through August 18, driving the benchmark index to rise more than 500 points. The index closed at 6,800 on August 18, rebounding from earlier gains above 7,200 amid buying appetite, though oil price surges and rising global bond yields limited further upside. SK Hynix was the most purchased stock, with foreigners accumulating 3.6488 trillion won, followed by Samsung

According to Politico, citing informed sources, the United States and Canada have reached a temporary agreement to avoid 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods, with the proposal submitted to Trump for approval on August 19. The tariffs are set to take effect at midnight on August 19, local time. During recent intensive negotiations, the U.S. has demanded Canada cancel retaliatory measures on American automobiles and alcohol, and adjust dairy supply management policies. Canada seeks tariff reduct

According to China Earthquake Networks Center, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan at 3:51 AM on August 19, with its epicenter located at 36.45°N, 70.80°E. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 200 kilometers.

According to ChainCatcher, U.S. stock indices fell on August 18. The Dow Jones dropped 116.2 points to 53,343.58, down 0.22%; the S&P 500 fell 53.15 points to 7,691.91, down 0.69%; the Nasdaq Composite declined 355.2 points to 26,289.71, down 1.33%, according to Gate's market data.

On Tuesday, August 18, most U.S. sector ETFs declined. The semiconductor ETF fell 4.09%, the global technology stock index ETF dropped 3.08%, and the technology sector ETF decreased 2.47%. Energy sector ETF was the sole gainer, rising 1.76%.

According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records as of Tuesday, Protect Progress PAC, an affiliate of crypto-funded Fairshake, has spent more than $2 million on ads opposing Democratic candidate Oliver Gilbert in Florida's 24th congressional district primary. The PAC is primarily funded by Coinbase and Ripple Labs. Voters in Florida and three other states will decide on congressional candidates on Tuesday to determine matchups for the November general election.

According to Bloomberg, the Electric Vehicle Price Return Index fell 2.50% to 3453.81 points on Tuesday, August 18. The index remained in downward momentum throughout the day, with declines accelerating around 10:00 a.m. Beijing time and continuing to expand following the U.S. market open.