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In brief Ireland published its first National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy on Thursday, with crypto-asset rules among the reforms it sets out. The final elements of the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation will bring enhanced checks on transfers involving private crypto wallets and stricter due diligence on overseas crypto firms. The strategy builds on a 30-point action plan published in June that promised enhanced safeguards around crypto-assets and digital finance. Ireland published its first national anti-money laundering strategy on Thursday, including crypto measures targeting wallets held outside regulated firms.Most of the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation has already been implemented in Ireland,…

Netflix shares present substantial upside potential based on current market pricing relative to fundamentals, according to the CEO of wealth management firm Capital Wealth Planning, Kevin Simpson. The streaming leader trades significantly below its intrinsic value, reports CNBC. Says Simpson, “If you look at the subscribers… 325 million subscribers is more than Disney, it’s more than HBO, it’s more than Max, all combined. So I think there’s a lot to like here……I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that the stock is down almost 40%. It’s down for a reason. There’s a lot of things that Netflix needs…

In brief A Washington judge has ordered Kalshi to stop offering wagers on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, and “mentions” in the state. Kalshi must have an IP and residency geofence running by August 19, and a multi-source solution by September 2. The order lands two days after the CFTC used emergency powers to order the exchange to keep operating. A King County Superior Court judge has issued a final order requiring Kalshi to shut down most of its Washington business, after finding the exchange likely broke the state’s Gambling Act and Consumer Protection Act by running…

Younger Americans increasingly treat sports betting as a serious element in their wealth-building efforts, per a survey conducted by the personal finance platform Betterment. A survey reveals that 26% of Gen Z investors view it as an ongoing component of their financial plans, far exceeding rates among millennials at 14%, Gen X at 6% and baby boomers at 1%, reports AdvisorHub. More than half of these young investors have moved money originally set aside for stocks into betting over the past year. Fourteen percent make such shifts multiple times each month. Only one-third of Gen Z respondents skip sports betting…

In brief Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum on Aug. 12 creating a program for private firms to disrupt foreign cybercriminal networks. Participating companies operate under DOJ and DHS direction, post a bond of at least $1 million, and face annual review. Americans reported more than $20.8 billion in losses to cyber-enabled crime in 2025, the White House said. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Tuesday directing the federal government to enlist vetted U.S. companies in offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks. The National Security Presidential Memorandum, dated Aug. 12, stands up a program inside the National…

The issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin is completing its first full independent financial statement audit, resulting in an unqualified clean opinion from a major firm. Tether says the audit of Tether International, S.A. de C.V.’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, was conducted by KPMG U.S. and delivered the highest possible result under the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards. KPMG physically counted and inspected every individual gold bar held by the company while examining the full balance sheet, including reserves and liabilities, as well as the income statement, changes in equity, and cash…

In brief Tether said KPMG issued an unqualified opinion, the best outcome, on Tether International’s 2025 financial statements. The company called it the “largest inaugural financial audit in history.” The audit follows years of scrutiny over USDT’s backing and Tether’s push to expand in the U.S. Tether said Thursday that Big Four accounting firm KPMG issued an unqualified audit opinion—industry jargon for the best possible result—-on the 2025 financial statements of Tether International, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT.In a post announcing the audit, Tether called the review the “largest inaugural financial audit in history,” saying KPMG examined…

In brief Google launched Gemini 3.7 Flash on Thursday, a low-cost coding-and-agents model now generally available. OpenAI previewed GPT-5.6 Sol Ultrafast, a Cerebras-powered tier running its most capable model up to 14× faster. The speed race has shifted from raw intelligence to real-time agents, but only Google’s model reaches every developer today. Google and OpenAI both pushed the same message today: AI is now fast enough to feel impressive for those who use AI agents, each company announcing ultra fast models.The two launches are built differently, and only one is actually in your hands today.Myriad: When will OpenAI release GPT-6?…

Multicoin Capital has exited its disclosed stake in Forward Industries, the largest Solana treasury company, according to SEC filings.The crypto investment firm had been one of the three lead investors, alongside Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto, behind the $1.65 billion financing that launched Forward’s Solana treasury strategy in September 2025. The three sponsors collectively committed more than $300 million, while Multicoin co-founder Kyle Samani became Forward’s chairman.Less than eight months later, Multicoin Capital Management, Multicoin Capital Master Fund and managing partner Tushar Jain reported zero beneficial ownership in Forward. A May 8 Schedule 13D amendment marked the filing as the…

In brief Anthropic’s Frontier Red Team set Claude agents to work together and recorded them sabotaging, colluding, and waging what it calls “turf wars.” In one test, agents deployed self-replicating malware and locked each other out; newer models often “win” by revoking access first. The behavior tracks real incidents Decrypt covered: Claude hacked three companies during internal testing, and price-fixed in a business simulation. Anthropic’s own AI agents turned on each other and proved they like to go rogue—again.In a test the company’s Frontier Red Team published Aug. 13, groups of Claude models were handed shared coding work, and quickly…

In brief The Bitcoin Red Team is using Chinese AI models to search Bitcoin projects for security flaws. Calle said developers have confirmed numerous critical and high-severity vulnerabilities. They warned that unmaintained projects should not be trusted. The Bitcoin Red Team is using Chinese AI models to search nearly the entire Bitcoin open-source ecosystem for security flaws, according to pseudonymous developer and Red Team lead Calle.The volunteer group combines AI tools with human review to examine wallets, Lightning applications, software libraries, and other Bitcoin projects. Researchers privately report credible findings to developers so the flaws can be fixed before details…

Crypto and prediction market bigwigs are set to gather at the White House next week, according to a Thursday report from POLITICO.  The report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, said the industry officials would meet one day before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission holds a meeting for its new Innovation Advisory Committee. The committee will feature a panel of experts also from the crypto, prediction market and traditional finance spheres.  Despite the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act being delayed, regulators are moving ahead with pro-crypto initiatives.  POLITICO’s report did not mention if President Trump would attend the event.  Last…

In brief New Claude models launched in the EU on or after August 2, 2026 embed a machine-readable watermark in every piece of generated text, applied at the model level. The markings apply worldwide across Claude, the API, Claude Code, and cloud partners. Open-source projects to remove them appeared within days. Anthropic has begun embedding an imperceptible watermark in all text its newest Claude models generate. The change took effect for models launched in the EU on August 2, 2026, and Anthropic says it will apply worldwide.Anthropic laid out the plan in a support article after signing the EU AI…

Stablecoin giant Tether has announced that KPMG U.S. completed the first independent audit of its reserves after years of struggling to get a Big Four accounting firm to do so. The San Salvador-based company, which issues the largest stablecoin in existence, USDT, said the audit was “the largest inaugural financial audit in history.” Tether for years was criticized for being coy about its reserves and not having an independent audit of what it holds behind its flagship token. Tether said over the years that it was eager to work with a Big Four firm for an audit.  “For years, some…

Switzerland’s largest bank has upped its exposure to Bitcoin, according to regulatory filings.  UBS bought more shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, bringing its total position to over $83 million across 2.5 million shares, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  The bank has slowly upped its exposure to the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap since BlackRock’s top fund got approved back in 2024.  The filings are the latest examples of traditional institutions seeking exposure to Bitcoin. ETFs like BlackRock’s Bitcoin Trust — which trades as IBIT — allow investors to buy exposure to the leading…

In brief The Blockchain Association filed an amicus brief supporting Custodia Bank’s petition for Supreme Court review. Custodia is challenging a ruling that upheld the Fed’s denial of its master account application. The group says the case could shape how much power federal regulators have over state-chartered banks. The Blockchain Association is urging the Supreme Court to take up Custodia Bank’s fight with the Federal Reserve, arguing the central bank should not have the broad power to deny payment system access to eligible state-chartered banks.In the amicus brief filed on Wednesday supporting Custodia’s petition, the crypto trade group said a…