Gate Crypto Flash News and Market Updates

According to Jin10, Samsung Electronics will announce a new shareholder return plan worth 110 trillion Korean won ($79 billion) on Friday, August 21. The company's board of directors will meet after South Korean markets close at around 4 p.m. local time, with plan details to be disclosed shortly thereafter. The return program is expected to be sized between 90 trillion and 110 trillion won.

According to the Bank of Korea, Kwon Min-soo took office as deputy governor on August 21, serving a three-year term. Kwon brings over 30 years of experience in foreign exchange and international finance, having worked through the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He previously served as head of the Foreign Exchange Fund Management Division and led key initiatives including South Korea's inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) an

According to Bloomberg, Meta has become one of Microsoft's biggest AI customers, spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on Azure to access AI models for software development and model evaluation. The company processes trillions of tokens weekly through the service. The partnership extends Meta's existing relationship with Microsoft, which brought Meta's Llama 2 to Azure and Windows in 2023, followed by Llama 3 models in 2024. Meta's Azure spending comes as the company expands its AI inf

According to South Korea's customs data, exports grew 56.0% year-on-year and imports rose 19.0% year-on-year during August 1-20, 2026. The country recorded a trade surplus of $13.98 billion for the period.

According to The Block, on Aug 21, Ondo Finance Managing Director John Hoffman stated that tokenized assets are following the same adoption trajectory as early ETFs, with initial skepticism shifting to growth. Tokenized products have adopted faster than stablecoins and Treasury bonds: stablecoins took three years to reach $1 billion, tokenized bonds took 18 months, while Ondo Stocks reached $1 billion total value locked (TVL) in just eight months. Ondo's perpetual contracts platform generated ap

According to Bitget data, on August 21, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and South Korea's KOSPI index both opened down over 1%.

The Nikkei 225 Index opened down 639.56 points on Friday, August 21, representing a 0.97% decline. The index opened at 65,577.23 points.

According to The Block, at Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026, John Hoffman, head of product at Ondo Finance, said tokenized assets are following a development path similar to early ETFs, progressing from initial skepticism to broader market adoption. Hoffman, who spent 18 years in traditional finance and previously led Invesco's American ETF business, noted that early ETF markets faced similar questions about feasibility and real-world utility. Ondo's U.S. Treasury products, which target institu

According to GitLab, the DevSecOps platform released version 19.3 on August 20, enabling GitLab Dedicated customers to run GitLab Duo Agent Platform in the same single-tenant region. The update adds AI and security features for regulated and data-sensitive enterprises. GitLab Dedicated AI Gateway is now generally available, while GitLab Secrets Manager entered limited availability as a paid add-on for GitLab.com customers, and Flow Creator Agent reached general availability.

According to Bitcoin News, Bitcoin spot ETF trading volume hit $5.3 billion today (August 21), with BlackRock accounting for 83.5% of total volume.

According to The Block, Payward, the parent company of Kraken, is exploring becoming a full-service bank outside the United States on August 21, focusing on trading, banking, and asset management. Payward co-CEO Dave Ripley stated that banking services will include payments, lending, yield, and custody—capabilities the company already possesses. Kraken Financial has obtained a special-purpose depository institution charter from Wyoming and secured a simplified primary account with the Federal Re

According to Yonhapinfomax, China has secured dominant control over critical raw materials essential to Korea's semiconductor and battery industries, intensifying supply chain competition. China accounts for approximately 97% of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, 70-80% of refined lithium and precursor cathode materials, and 70-80% of cobalt used globally. Additionally, China implemented export licensing requirements for tungsten in February 2025, controlling over 90% of global supply. Korean manufact

According to CNBC on August 20, Wells Fargo analyst Stan Berensztein issued an Overweight rating for fertility and family-building benefits company Progyny Inc (NASDAQ: PGNY) with a $37 target price. Berensztein highlighted that Progyny is positioned at the center of demographic shifts including increased advanced maternal age, growing corporate wellness benefits, and medical technology innovation. The analyst noted the company's high pregnancy success rates and strong return on investment enabl

According to investment banking sources, KB Securities successfully issued a $300 million Reg S euro bond overnight on August 19, marking its first public dollar debt offering since 2021. The three-year fixed-rate tranche was priced at 85 basis points over comparable U.S. Treasury rates, down from initial guidance of 115bp, after the roadshow accumulated approximately $2.2 billion in orders. The improved pricing reflected strength in broader credit markets following the U.S. Treasury's expanded

According to reports, President Trump met with approximately 20 cryptocurrency industry executives, including Coinbase and Robinhood CEOs, as well as SEC and CFTC leadership at the White House on August 20 to push for passage of the Clarity Act. The legislation has been delayed in the Senate over disagreements regarding ethics provisions that limit government officials' interests in digital assets. Trump also directed the industry to collaborate with regulators on advancing the cryptocurrency se

According to Financial News citing data from Yonhap Infomax, single-stock leveraged ETF trading volume reached 1.0574 trillion Korean won on August 20, up 35.2% from 781.6 billion won the previous day, marking a return above the 1 trillion won threshold. Samsung Electronics surged 9.49% while SK Hynix climbed 12.73%, with their respective 2x leveraged products gaining 16-17% and 23-25%. Retail investors took profit-taking positions, selling 936 billion won worth of SK Hynix and Samsung leveraged

According to Bloomberg, CFTC Chair Michael Selig stated on August 21 that the crypto industry will receive market structure rules even if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act. Selig said the CFTC is evaluating multiple crypto rules and has significant authority to act under existing regulations, including exploring a new type of CFTC-regulated platform called "crypto asset markets." While legislation is "the most reliable way to lock in crypto market structure," Selig stated: "If we must use e

According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent on August 21, the Treasury plans to expand its Treasury buyback program beyond $4 billion starting in September to improve market liquidity amid lower trading volumes. Bessent stated the department has "a large toolkit" of policy options and plans to launch new fiscal consolidation measures, with the possibility of partnering with the Federal Reserve to address market pressures. Bessent indicated plans to work with the White House Office of Management

According to Jin10, Iranian officials announced plans on August 21 to target key petroleum export routes in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia's Yanbu pipeline and the UAE's Fujairah port, ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November. The two facilities collectively process approximately 5.5 million barrels daily. Iranian officials stated the goal is to drive up American gasoline prices and undermine support for Trump's political party. The moves could also target the "shadow fleet" cur

According to Decrypt, on August 21, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 17 Iranian hackers affiliated with the Mabna Institute for a years-long cyber campaign, including a 2017 breach of HBO where they stole data and demanded $6 million in Bitcoin ransom. The group is accused of conducting attacks on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, targeting hundreds of universities, enterprises, and government agencies globally. The hackers stole at least 31.5TB of academic data and inte