According to the European Commission, Apple unveiled comprehensive EU App Store reforms on Tuesday, lowering standard commission rates from 30% to 26% and replacing its controversial Core Technology Fee with a 5% transaction commission on digital transactions in apps distributed via alternative marketplaces. The move resolves prolonged regulatory friction over the company's compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and follows a prior €500 million fine in 2025. The revised framework takes fu

According to the company announcement on Tuesday, Kraken's payment app Krak has launched a multi-asset debit card in the US, supporting over 600 currencies and assets. The card offers up to 2% cashback in dollars or Bitcoin, with holdings converted to US dollars at point of sale. The card is issued by Lead Bank on Visa's network and powered by Stripe Issuing, available in physical and virtual versions to eligible US customers. Kraken's Krak has already issued over 135,000 multi-asset cards acros

According to state media CCTV, on August 18, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that countries without U.S. military bases suffer less damage from recent conflicts, and U.S. military bases are unable to protect their own interests against resistance forces. Araghchi also noted that Qatar and Pakistan have played effective mediating roles between Iran and the United States, with Tehran-Doha relations currently in very good standing. He emphasized that a new regional security framework

According to the Israeli Defense Force, Israel struck a Hamas Nukhba commander in response to an earlier attack on Gaza today (August 18).

According to CryptoQuant data, Bitcoin whales have accumulated approximately 43,000 BTC over the past 60 days, valued at around $2.75 billion at current prices. Large holders resumed buying as Bitcoin began trading near $60,000, with medium-sized holders also increasing their positions.

According to ChainCatcher, sh0edog (Joe), former General Counsel of Magic Eden, joined fomo as General Counsel. With a background in crypto law since 2016, including roles at Day One Law and Fenwick West, sh0edog brings extensive legal expertise to the consumer crypto finance application. Fomo has achieved significant traction, with daily spot trading volume exceeding $100 million, over 61,000 daily active traders, and a ranking of 5th in the U.S. App Store finance category. The platform has rai

According to News1, on 18 August 2026, South Korea's Broadcasting, Media and Communications Standards Commission voted to order domestic internet service providers to block access to Polymarket, classifying the crypto prediction market as illegal gambling under Korean law. The action concludes a regulatory review that began in May and follows a criminal investigation opened on 5 June by the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency into Korean traders. The probe was triggered by more than $52 million in

According to SEC 13F filing, Jane Street purchased approximately $630 million worth of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the second quarter of 2026, bringing its total Bitcoin ETF holdings to $1.06 billion. The move marks a sharp reversal from Q1, when the market maker reduced its Bitcoin ETF positions by approximately 71 percent as it adopted a cautious stance toward the cryptocurrency market.

According to Kraken, on Aug. 18, the exchange launched trading access to more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks for eligible customers across the European Economic Area under its Markets in Financial Instruments Directive authorization. Eligible customers pay no trading commissions. The service is available on Kraken Pro (desktop and mobile) and standard Kraken mobile app. Alongside traditional shares, Kraken offers over 700 xStocks (tokenized U.S. equities backed 1:1 by underlying shares) and 600+

According to Jin10 and UN General Assembly President spokesperson Collins, on August 18, Ecuador's diplomat Ivonne Baki launched her bid for the next UN Secretary-General position, with her candidacy nominated by Tonga. Other candidates include Chile's former President Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's former UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Argentina's current International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica's current UN Trade and Development Conference Sec

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has received a report of an incident occurring 40 nautical miles southeast of Mocha Port, Yemen, recently. No additional details were disclosed by the authority.

According to CBC News, Canadian and U.S. trade negotiators are expected to meet again before the midnight tariff deadline.

According to UK Maritime Trade Operations, an unmanned cargo ship was struck by multiple rounds of unknown ammunition, sustaining damage.

According to CNN and Reuters, Google agreed to pay $10 million for Spirit Airlines' business data to improve its AI models. The purchase includes internal communications, spreadsheets, booking records, frequent-flyer information, employee data, and Microsoft Teams messages. Google said it will not receive personal information; data will be stripped of identifying details before delivery. Mercor, an AI data company, submitted a competing bid of $7.5 million for the same dataset. The transaction r

According to analyst Amr Taha, XRP net wallet flows turned heavily negative across major exchanges as of August 18. Coinbase recorded the largest outflow with -14,300 net wallets, accounting for 47.3% of the total absolute 7-day net wallet imbalance—its highest level since July 2024. Binance reported -3,270 net wallets, while Crypto.com saw -2,680, with both exchanges first moving below zero on July 18.

According to Jin10, on August 18, UAE President Mohamed spoke with U.S. President Trump to discuss bilateral cooperation and strengthening ties between the two nations. The call came as the U.S.-Iran conflict continues and a two-month peace negotiation window recently ended without progress. The U.S. stated Iran declined to make concessions in indirect talks.

On Tuesday (August 18), the Federal Reserve's overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) usage fell to $155 million, down sharply from $2.55 billion recorded in the previous trading day. The facility had only 6 counterparties participating in the operation.

On August 18, the U.S. Department of Treasury released new sanctions measures related to Venezuela.

According to the Cleveland Federal Reserve's SoFIE survey released today (August 18), U.S. corporate CEOs expect consumer price inflation to reach 3.3% over the next year, marking a 0.4 percentage point decline from Q2's 3.7% expectation. The survey of manufacturing and service sector executives shows inflation expectations remain notably above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

Overnight on August 18, base metals declined broadly on the Shanghai Futures Exchange and international markets. International copper fell 1.06%, while Shanghai copper dropped 0.89%, aluminum 0.75%, and zinc 1.07%. Shanghai nickel lost 0.25% and tin fell 1.21%. Lead rose 0.47%. Among derivatives, aluminum oxide declined 0.07% and aluminum alloy 0.46%, while stainless steel gained 0.25%.