Meta faces a $1.4 trillion fine, while Nvidia temporarily abandons its TSMC plan

Headlines

▌Meta faces $1.4 trillion in fines, accused of harming minors’ rights

Four U.S. states jointly accuse Meta of using addictive algorithms to lure minors and concealing their negative impact on teenagers’ mental health, with claims reaching as high as $1.4 trillion; as of now, 29 states nationwide have filed lawsuits on this matter. Meanwhile, the European Commission released a preliminary report under the Digital Services Act, requiring Meta to modify addictive design features such as “autoplay” and “infinite scrolling,” or face a massive global annual fine of 6% of revenue. Meta denies the allegations and says it will continue to fight them.(Global Times)

▌Nvidia has decided to temporarily abandon using TSMC’s COUPE technology方案

According to people familiar with the matter, Nvidia has decided to temporarily drop the use of TSMC’s COUPE (compact universal photonic engine) technology方案. The reason is that TSMC’s progress in advancing silicon nitride (SiN) technology has been slow, and the development of two-dimensional grating couplers has not met expectations. Nvidia’s earlier “Plan A”方案 was based on TSMC COUPE co-packaged optical platforms, while the latest “Plan B” pivots to Tower Semiconductor’s silicon photonics platform.

Markets

As of press time, according to CoinGecko:

BTC is $63,748.21, 24-hour change -0.5%;

ETH is $1,804.58, 24-hour change -0.5%;

BNB is $573.63, 24-hour change -1.0%;

SOL is $76.69, 24-hour change -1.5%;

DOGE is $0.07265, 24-hour change -2.6%;

XRP is $1.09, 24-hour change -2.0%;

TRX is $0.3312, 24-hour change +0.4%;

WLFI is $0.05751, 24-hour change -1.6%;

HYPE is $67.23, 24-hour change -0.6%.

Policy

▌The U.S. Senate plans to push the Senate-wide review of the “CLARITY Act” on July 20

On July 12, the “Clarity Act,” which provides a regulatory framework for the digital asset industry, is facing a crucial legislative window. Bipartisan negotiations in the U.S. are still not aligned on key issues such as government officials’ ethics rules and illegal finance. If the bill cannot advance before the August recess, there will be almost no window before the midterm elections, potentially sending the legislative process back to square one. The Republican leadership’s target is to push for consideration during the week of July 20, but at least seven Democratic senators’ support is needed for passage.

▌Coinbase: The CLARITY Act will strengthen crypto regulation and protect national security

On July 11, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad responded on X to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s criticism of the CLARITY Act, saying the bill would not weaken national security, but would bring digital asset platforms under stronger regulation. Elizabeth Warren previously said on July 8 that the current draft of the CLARITY Act could provide an opportunity to evade sanctions. Faryar Shirzad said the bill would require crypto platforms to follow stricter national security standards and would allow platforms to freeze suspicious transactions when law-enforcement agencies request it. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis previously said the CLARITY Act includes 16 illicit finance safeguards and warned that this bill could be the last major opportunity for the U.S. Congress to pass comprehensive digital asset rules before 2030.(Bitcoin.com News).

▌Iran strikes targets of the U.S. in the Middle East

On July 12, according to Iranian media, Iranian media reported that Iran carried out a series of strikes against U.S. targets in the Middle East.(Xinhua)

▌Explosions reported in Iran’s Abbas Port and along the coast of Qeshm Island

Iranian media Fars News reported that several explosions were heard in areas east of Iran’s Abbas Port and along the coast of Qeshm Island; the cause remains unclear.(Jin10)

▌Trump: Iran agreed to a “perfect deal” yesterday, but then opened fire

On July 12, according to reports from overseas media, Trump said in an interview about the Iran issue: “They agreed yesterday to reach an agreement. For us, that’s a perfect deal. No nuclear weapons. They gave up all conditions. But then, they left the room, and within less than an hour they used drones to attack a ship.”

Blockchain and AI applications

▌OpenAI’s hardware launch and IPO plans face uncertainty due to Apple lawsuit

The Information disclosed that the rift between OpenAI and Apple is widening. Apple’s lawsuit may cast a shadow over OpenAI’s upcoming first hardware device, which could be released as early as February next year. Analysts believe this legal dispute could also affect OpenAI’s listing plans, increasing uncertainty for potential investors. It is understood that OpenAI has secretly submitted IPO application documents to regulators, but the exact timing of the listing remains undecided.

▌Samsung to advance mass production timeline for South Korea’s first Gyeongin/ Yongin fab by two years

According to Korean media, Samsung Electronics plans to advance mass production for the first wafer fab in South Korea’s Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Park by two years to October 2029, far earlier than the original target of 2031. Industry insiders say that although there are concerns in the market about the chip industry reaching its peak, the current global semiconductor situation of tight supply and strong demand is still worsening. Against the backdrop of intensifying competition in the AI era, rapidly expanding chip production capacity has become the industry’s most urgent task.

Cryptocurrencies

▌Stablecoin market sees its largest monthslump since the Terra crash in June, but the long-term growth logic remains unchanged

The stablecoin market saw its largest-scale pullback in June in recent years. Total market value fell by $7.7 billion that month, the biggest single-month decline since the Terra-Luna crash in May 2022. Since the May peak, the stablecoin market has cumulatively shrunk by about $10 billion, driven mainly by two major stablecoin issuers: Tether’s USDT, with market value dropping from about $190 billion in May to $184 billion, a decrease of about $6 billion; Circle’s USDC falling from a near $80 billion high in March 2026 to about $73 billion, a drop of about $7 billion. However, compared with the cumulative decline of more than 26% during the 2022 crypto winter, the adjustment in this cycle is still relatively mild. Wall Street institutions continue to be optimistic about the long-term outlook for stablecoins. Citigroup previously estimated that the global stablecoin market size in 2030 would reach $1.9 trillion under a baseline scenario, and could rise to $4 trillion under a more optimistic scenario.

▌Michael Saylor posts Bitcoin Tracker updates again

On July 12, Michael Saylor, founder and Executive Chairman of Strategy, the Bitcoin treasury company, posted information related to the Bitcoin Tracker again. Following the established pattern, Strategy always discloses changes in its Bitcoin holdings the second day after relevant updates are published.

▌Tom Lee: Robinhood Chain further highlights ETH’s currency attribute

Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine, said Robinhood Chain has rapidly grown into a phenomenon-level product, with its trading volume surpassing many established crypto decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Tom Lee noted that Robinhood Chain uses ETH as its native gas token; all transaction fees are denominated in ETH and ultimately settled to the Ethereum Layer 1 network. This design further underscores ETH’s central role in on-chain economic systems—“ETH is money,” and that point is becoming increasingly clear.

**▌ Fidelity: Bitcoin is nearing the bottom support line of its “power-law model,” and may enter a historical accumulation zone

Jurien Timmer, global head of macro at Fidelity, said Bitcoin is nearing the bottom support line of its “power-law model” built from the complete historical price of Bitcoin. This long-term support level is currently about $58k, while Bitcoin’s current price is about $62.7k, gradually moving closer to that region and possibly already entering the “accumulation zone” defined by the model. However, Jurien Timmer did not confirm that the market has already bottomed out. Instead, he believes Bitcoin may not see a quick rebound immediately, but could trade sideways for months near the long-term support line. The funds that left in the short term have shifted through rotations from Bitcoin to gold and then to the semiconductor sector; currently, market attention chasing hotspots remains focused mainly on semiconductors.

▌Uniswap’s average daily fee revenue is about $5.2 million, exceeding most crypto protocols

In a post on X, Hayden Adams said Uniswap currently generates about $5.2 million in daily fee revenue. Among all crypto protocols, it ranks near the top, only behind stablecoin issuer-related protocols such as USDC and USDT. Measured by daily fee revenue, Uniswap has surpassed most mainstream DeFi and on-chain application projects.

▌Coinbase Bitcoin premium index stays negative for 55 straight days, setting a new longest “continuous negative” record

According to Coinglass data, the Coinbase Bitcoin premium index has been in the negative premium range for 55 consecutive days (from May 19 to now), with the latest value at -0.0072%. Previously, the index was continuously in negative premium from January 16 to February 24 this year for 40 days, setting the longest “continuous negative” streak since the metric was introduced, exceeding the roughly 30-day streak of continuous negative premiums during the “1011 crash” period. Historical data shows that long-lasting negative premiums often accompany U.S. institutional capital exiting; investors should watch for short-term pullback pressure.

▌CZ donation address will burn 700 million CZ and 400 million TCC

On July 12, chain analyst Ai Yi monitored that the CZ donation address will burn 700 million CZ and 400 million TCC. Both tokens have shown varying degrees of price increases now due to the burning actions.

Major economic developments

▌U.S. military: Hormuz Strait shipping is operating normally; Iran does not control the waterway

On July 12, the U.S. Central Command posted on a social platform that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ships seeking to transit legally through this international waterway. Despite Iran’s baseless aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary statements, the U.S. military has deployed and is ready to ensure freedom of navigation. Iran does not control the strait, and traffic is moving.

▌Iranian scholar: Iran seeks to push a new framework for managing the Strait of Hormuz

On July 12, Mohammed Eslami, a senior researcher at the University of Tehran, said that under Article 5 of a memorandum of understanding, the U.S. has accepted arrangements for Iran and neighboring countries to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz. Eslami said Iran’s position on the Strait issue is “very clear,” namely to advance a “new management” model. He emphasized that “Iran does not want to block the Strait of Hormuz,” and revealed that Tehran has engaged the U.S., Oman, and some European countries on this new framework. He added that if the U.S. side disputes its interpretation of Article 5 of the memorandum, it should negotiate with Iran.

▌CITIC Securities: Computer sector first-half earnings previews are being released in sequence; AI compute hardware stays in high-demand momentum

A research report from CITIC Securities stated that the first-half earnings previews of China A-share computer sector companies, together with overseas model iterations, jointly validate that the AI industry chain’s momentum remains strong. On one hand, hardware chains such as AI servers and smart computing infrastructure show prominent earnings resilience; software and AI application firms are also beginning to show operational recovery and revenue realization. On the other hand, overseas models such as OpenAI, xAI, and Meta continue to strengthen Agents, Coding, multimodal capabilities, and office entry points. Model competition is shifting from proving capabilities to rolling out in high-frequency real-world scenarios; on the inference side, compute consumption, infrastructure investment, and the commercialization of AI applications are expected to continue to move in sync.

▌Serenity: A new “bearish shorting pattern” targeting companies worth trillions like Nvidia is emerging in the market

“White-haired Bull God” Serenity said that recently a new “bearish shorting pattern” targeting trillion-dollar market-cap companies such as Nvidia and TSMC has appeared in the market: some people magnify details of certain technologies or supply-chain issues, and then claim that the overall project progress is hindered. Under this pattern, if a company chooses to stay silent, its stock price and market sentiment may be hit; if the company comes out to respond, because supply-chain information involves trade secrets, it often can’t disclose too many details, and market skepticism is still hard to quell. This approach of manufacturing controversy to gain traffic and attention is being imitated by more and more people, and related incentive mechanisms may further fuel such behavior, which is not healthy for the market ecosystem.

Golden Knowledge

▌In a geopolitical crisis, can Bitcoin still be called “digital gold”?

Every time a geopolitical crisis hits, gold prices rise while Bitcoin prices crash. After six tests, the claim of “digital gold” has never been verified by data. Countries stockpile gold but exclude Bitcoin from reserves. For investors, Bitcoin is asymmetric: it falls when stocks fall, but it does not rise when stocks rise. Three structural asymmetries prevent Bitcoin from obtaining a safe-haven status: excess derivatives (market structure), dominance of leveraged traders (participant composition), and lack of repeated behavioral records (behavioral accumulation).

Bitcoin is not a safe-haven asset, but it is a “useful asset during crises.” When borders close and banks fail, it can indeed play a role. If these three asymmetries shrink, Bitcoin may no longer be a replica of gold, but instead become a brand-new “next-generation gold.” Generational turnover and the widespread adoption of algorithms are key factors that could accelerate this process.