Gate Crypto Flash News and Market Updates

Moderna and Merck announced on Wednesday (August 19) that their mRNA therapy successfully halted recurrence or spread of melanoma in over 1,000 patients during late-stage clinical trials, lifting the healthcare sector to its best weekly performance since June 26. The healthcare index rose over 4% for the week through Friday (August 21). Moderna's stock surged over 9% on Friday, while Merck advanced more than 2% during the same period.

According to the U.S. State Department, on August 21, the United States approved the sale of 103 AIM-9X Sidewinder BlockII air-to-air missiles worth $125 million to South Korea. The package also includes 10 tactical guidance sets and related equipment and services. The State Department said the sale will enhance South Korea's air defense and deterrence capabilities.

According to OpenAI, the company will reduce API and credit pricing for GPT-5.6 Sol by over 20% within the next three months. The API is now available for use, with gradual rollout to eligible ChatGPT Work and Codex credit plans. Pricing for Pro, Plus, and Business subscriptions will remain unchanged.

According to Kalshi, gold has just surpassed U.S. Treasury securities to become the largest reserve asset held by central banks globally.

According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) reduced their net short positions in natural gas by 3,405 contracts during the week ended August 18, bringing the total to 66,836 contracts.

According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, WTI crude oil futures speculators reduced their net long positions by 3,584 contracts to 102,274 contracts for the week ending August 18.

According to Ann Miletti, head of equity investments at Allspring Global Investments, the upcoming Jackson Hole Economic Symposium next week presents a bigger concern for Wall Street than Nvidia's earnings. Miletti said the firm focuses on factors within its control, including identifying companies with strong balance sheets and operational flexibility to navigate various market conditions.

According to the CFTC, in the week of August 18, speculators' net long positions in NYMEX WTI crude oil increased by 320 contracts to 104,035 contracts, marking a three-week high.

According to the CFTC, as of the week ending August 18, COMEX gold speculator net long positions increased by 4,054 contracts to 145,922. Silver speculator net long positions rose by 456 contracts to 10,768, while copper speculator net long positions fell by 1,655 contracts to 79,225.

According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, Bitcoin rallied to $79,000 since August 19, gaining approximately 23% in value, driven by short position liquidations and spot market demand. Ki Young Ju stated that the recent recovery signals the market remains strong and the bear market may have effectively ended, with such rallies typically indicating the bottom has been reached. LD Capital founder Jack Yi also confirmed the bear market has officially ended, citing Bitcoin's breakthrough above 120-da

According to BitcoinTreasures.NET, SATA purchased 223 BTC on Thursday and an additional 183 BTC today (August 21). The institution's weekly funding is sufficient to support total acquisitions of 400 BTC, with purchases continuing.

According to Odaily, on August 19, crypto analysis platform Sandmark found that Binance still allows users from Austria, France, Germany, Spain, and Belgium to register and complete identity verification, with or without VPN. Verified accounts received no warnings about missing MiCA licenses and can still use services including receiving cryptocurrency deposits. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) required unauthorized institutions to stop opening EU customer accounts by July 1.

On August 21, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to continue construction of the White House banquet hall project, temporarily halting a judicial order that would have stopped most of the work. The Court's administrative stay measure gives the justices additional time to review the administration's formal request to permit the $400 million project to proceed during ongoing litigation.

Onshore Chinese yuan appreciated to 6.7215 per U.S. dollar in overnight trading on Aug 21, up 45 points from Thursday's close. Trading volume reached 29.963 billion U.S. dollars.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed down 0.50% overnight at 25,895, while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.78% to 4,731.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is cutting more than 200 employees from its Siri digital assistant, Vision Pro headset, and intelligent systems experience teams as it realigns priorities toward AI and new devices. Vision Pro department cuts account for approximately 100 positions, while Siri and software teams account for 100 positions. Apple also closed its Vision Pro gaming team and reduced its immersive video content team. Apple said in a statement that the company is "reorganizing some teams t

According to FinanceFeeds, five U.S. federal agencies—FinCEN, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)—close their comment window on a joint customer identification program (CIP) rule for stablecoin issuers today, August 21, 2026. The proposal requires permitted payment stablecoin issuers to maintain banking-style customer identification procedures, forming a reasonabl

According to Reuters, spot gold reached $4,620.14 on Friday, marking its highest level in three months and extending a weekly gain of more than 5%. U.S. gold futures climbed above $4,670. The rally was driven by a weaker U.S. dollar, which fell nearly 1% this week, and renewed concerns over federal finances as U.S. debt surpassed $40 trillion, prompting investors to seek defensive assets.

According to Jin10 data, the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.09% on August 21 and closed at 98.801 at the end of New York forex trading. The euro strengthened to 1.1683 dollars from 1.1676 the previous day, while sterling climbed to 1.3652 dollars from 1.3628. The dollar weakened against the yen to 159.02 from 159.14 previously.

On August 20, U.S. District Judge James Donato ruled that Justin Sun's personal claims against World Liberty Financial over approximately $45 million in frozen tokens remain in open court, rejecting the Trump family venture's bid to compel arbitration. Claims from Sun's two BVI entities, Blue Anthem Limited and Black Anthem Limited, were also partially exempted from arbitration; the judge ordered both sides to determine which claims belong in court versus private proceedings. Sun's investment in