Odaily News: When asked about Iran's Supreme Leader, U.S. President Trump stated, "I don't think he's dead; he may have been seriously injured." (Jin10)

Odaily News Cryptocurrency exchange OKX's latest survey this month shows that 90% of US college students and 87% of parents support universities offering cryptocurrency and blockchain courses, with 27% of students and 32% of parents believing such courses should be mandatory.

A 2025 review of 533 US universities with accredited business schools found that approximately 28% offer blockchain courses. Among surveyed students, 33% cited social media or influencers as their most important source of cryptocurrency information—nearly five times the number who chose schools, teachers, or professors; parents' primary source of information was cryptocurrency platforms and applications, accounting for 21%.

OKX surveyed 500 students and 500 parents via the online survey platform Pollfish, with respondents not recruited from OKX's customer base. OKX did not disclose the survey's weighting methodology, margin of error, or the proportion of respondents holding cryptocurrencies. (Cointelegraph)

Odaily News: Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad has written an article rebutting the American Bankers Association's concerns about stablecoin rewards, stating that existing data does not support the claim that stablecoin platforms paying rewards will lead to deposit outflows from community banks and weaken local credit. Current law already permits such rewards, and Coinbase has been paying rewards to USDC users for over four years. Faryar Shirzad noted that from June 2019 to March 2026, community bank deposits grew by 26%, an increase of approximately $482 billion; research by Charles River Associates and the Council of Economic Advisers similarly found no significant relationship between stablecoins and bank deposits. The modification the American Bankers Association is requesting does not concern technical details in the CLARITY Act. The current text prohibits users from receiving returns solely for holding idle funds, but allows rewards for genuine activity; the amendment proposed by the American Bankers Association could expand restrictions to ordinary stablecoin use cases, and leave questions such as whether merchant rebates constitute bank interest to be decided by regulators and litigation. Faryar Shirzad calls for maintaining the existing compromise and passing the CLARITY Act, stating that the bill would grant banks new authorities in custody, staking, lending, payments, clearing, and market making.

Odaily Blocknews: The U.S. July inflation report shows that while price growth met expectations, actual consumer spending has stalled. Market pricing for a September Fed rate hike has notably rebounded, putting the Fed's decision-making under stricter scrutiny.

The U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.2% month-over-month in July, with a year-over-year increase of 3.7%, both exceeding market expectations. The core PCE price index, excluding food and energy, performed steadily, up 0.2% month-over-month and holding at 3.3% year-over-year, in line with market expectations. Following the data release, market expectations for a Fed rate hike next month have significantly rebounded. Interest rate futures data show the probability of a September hike jumped from 36% before the release to 42%.

As inflation enters its "long-tail phase," Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is set to speak at the Jackson Hole Global Central Bank Symposium this Friday. For Warsh, Friday's speech presents a critical opportunity to strike a balance within a complex data landscape. He must chart a clear path for global investors between the determination to combat stubborn inflation and the need to avoid pushing the economy into a deep recession.

According to Odaily, based on MSX.COM data, Meta Platforms (META.O) shares rose over 4% in US pre-market trading.

Court documents show that Meta Platforms has agreed to settle allegations that its platform harmed children, with Meta agreeing to pay states up to $16.68 billion as part of the agreement.

Odaily News: Coinbase announced on the X platform that U.S. borrowers can now use Bitcoin as collateral for mortgage down payments, without needing to sell Bitcoin or face margin calls. Coinbase One members can receive up to $10,000 in rewards upon closing a transaction.

Odaily News: Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that this transaction marks only the second acquisition in Vanguard's history. Vanguard has rarely pursued acquisitions in the past, and upon completion of the deal, it will become a custodian and expand its advisory business coverage. Vanguard's advisory fees are lower than the industry average, ranging from 5 to 25 basis points depending on the minimum asset threshold; the vast majority of its clients are existing Vanguard fund investors rather than new external clients. Salim Ramji noted that advisory services are a "luxury" and expressed a desire to broaden the scope of these services to make them accessible to more people.

Odaily News: Amazon has officially announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire data infrastructure company DuckLabs. The transaction is expected to close after satisfying customary closing conditions, and upon completion, the DuckLabs team will join Amazon Web Services (AWS).

DuckLabs is the development company behind the open-source analytical database DuckDB. AWS stated that the two parties have been collaborating since 2024, and this acquisition aims to combine DuckLabs' technical capabilities in database engineering to further enhance the speed, ease of use, and cost efficiency of AWS's data analytics services.

DuckDB co-founders Hannes Mühleisen and Mark Raasveldt will continue to lead the team after joining AWS and will oversee the technical direction of the open-source project. Amazon emphasized that this transaction does not include the acquisition of the DuckDB open-source project itself; DuckDB will continue to be maintained by the independent DuckDB Foundation and will remain freely available under the MIT license. Amazon stated that DuckDB users will experience no changes before or after the transaction closes, and the project will continue to operate as open source. AWS will announce further details regarding the integration of DuckLabs with AWS's business in the future.

Odaily News: According to Gate data, spot gold has fallen below $4,610 per ounce, down 1.04% on the day.

Odaily reported that according to Gate data, U.S. and Brent crude oil prices briefly rose by about $0.5 in the short term, and have now partially pulled back, standing at $80.2 per barrel and $85.5 per barrel, respectively.

A senior Iranian source earlier stated that the agreement with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz has not yet been finalized.

Odaily News: The official website of the President of Ukraine published a presidential decree announcing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded American billionaire Elon Musk the "Medal of Freedom." Market analysis generally suggests that Zelensky is seeking a favor from Musk as he bestows this honor. The Ukrainian government is reportedly seeking authorization to expand its military's use of SpaceX's "Starlink" satellite internet communications. Ukraine is currently seeking Musk's approval to use Starlink satellites over deep Russian territory to strike targets within Russia.

Odaily News: According to Reuters, a senior Iranian source stated that the agreement with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz has not been finalized.

Odaily News: Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank's (ECB) Executive Board, stated that the digital euro will provide the highest level of privacy currently achievable with existing technology. For offline payments, transaction details are visible only to the payer and payee; for online payments, the Eurosystem cannot identify the parties involved in the transaction, while relevant banks retain the ability to do so.

The digital euro will still be distributed by commercial banks, which must continue to fulfill existing identity verification and reporting obligations, including anti-money laundering requirements. The European Parliament established its negotiating position on the relevant regulations in July, and EU member states plan to reach an agreement by the end of 2026.

The ECB has selected 36 payment service providers to participate in a 12-month pilot program, which is slated to launch in the second half of 2027. The first issuance of the digital euro is targeted for 2029. In contrast, U.S. law prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency before the end of 2030, and any subsequent issuance would require explicit authorization from Congress. (Decrypt)

Odaily News: Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted on X that ETF closures have increased 65% year-over-year, with nearly 200 shut down so far this year, on pace to break records. Meanwhile, new ETF launches are about five times the number of closures, also set to easily set a record, as issuers are closing zombie funds at a faster pace.

Odaily News The U.S. PCE price index has been released, serving as the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. The annual PCE inflation rate stands at 3.7%, unchanged from June. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the core PCE inflation rate is 3.3% year-over-year, also flat compared to June. Since this report incorporates other inflation data previously released, PCE figures typically align closely with investor expectations. However, amid the Fed's ongoing inflation concerns, this report further clarifies the inflation picture, and Fed Chair Warsh is set to deliver a key speech on Friday.

The U.S. CPI data brought good news in July, with core CPI falling to a relatively moderate 2.5%. But the PCE inflation rate weights different spending categories differently, so it has consistently shown notably stronger performance. At this point, there remain many uncertainties regarding how Warsh views the inflation challenge he has inherited. He has yet to add his own economic projections to the quarterly "dot plot," which summarizes Fed officials' forecasts for the economy and interest rates. Additionally, he has not indicated whether he might support rate hikes at upcoming meetings — an issue that has already caused divisions among Fed officials. (Jin10)

Odaily News: Nick Timiraos, the "Fed Whisperer," posted on X platform that core PCE rose 0.25% month-over-month in July, translating to an annualized rate of 2.99%. This increase remains largely unchanged from July 2025, keeping the year-over-year core PCE growth at 3.34% (compared to 2.86% in July 2025). On an annualized basis, the 3-month annualized growth rate of core PCE is 3.0%, while the 6-month annualized growth rate is 3.5%.