US stocks traded broadly lower in pre-market hours, with Micron and other memory chip stocks extending their declines, and STRC falling below $73.

Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China, delivered a speech titled “Central Bank Digital Currencies Reshape Cross-Border Payments” at the 2026 Summer Davos Forum. He pointed out that new variables have emerged in the international monetary system, as stablecoins and various cryptocurrencies develop rapidly, driving the global cross-border payment system into a new phase of development. Mu disclosed that since the Currency Bridge successfully entered the continuous real transaction operation phase in June 2024, its cumulative transaction volume hit nearly 500 billion yuan by the end of 2025. The platform’s ultimate goal is to evolve into a new type of financial market infrastructure under a multilateral governance and equal-benefit model, co-built by central banks and participated by financial institutions.

Stéphane Houri, Head of Equity Research at European financial services group ODDO BHF, said the world is currently in a "race" between chips and memory, and strong AI-driven demand will likely keep memory prices elevated over the next two to three years. The core drivers are the rising capital expenditure of hyperscale cloud providers and their AI-related needs. Despite geopolitical and other uncertainties plaguing the chip industry, AI hardware demand remains robust, benefiting the entire semiconductor supply chain rather than just individual segments. Houri noted that Nvidia’s share price has been roughly flat year-to-date, but the AI investment boom is accelerating its spread to broader areas—with sectors like power, connectivity, and CPUs starting to capture capital attention spilling over from GPUs. AI is no longer a single-company narrative, but a long-term structural opportunity covering the entire ecosystem.

Over the past 24 hours, the crypto derivatives market has seen massive liquidations, with total liquidation volume hitting around $1 billion, and Ethereum’s liquidations exceeding Bitcoin’s. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s futures open interest rose for the second consecutive day to 778,000 BTC; the sharp increase in open interest late Thursday indicates Bitcoin traders are adding short positions amid the downtrend. In contrast, Ethereum’s futures open interest has stabilized around 14 million ETH since June 15, with Ethereum traders not actively adding short positions during the decline. The open-interest-adjusted 24-hour cumulative trading volume differential shows that short positions continue to dominate among the top 25 crypto tokens, with only BNB, SOL, and TON as exceptions. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s 30-day annualized implied volatility index jumped to 53%, its highest level since June 7; Ethereum’s volatility index rose to 66%. In the crypto options market, Bitcoin option skew neared 30% last week, with a notable put premium; large trades have seen put options with a $53,000 strike price expiring on July 10, reflecting strong demand for downside hedging.

According to Fortune, crypto venture capital firm Framework Ventures has closed its fourth fundraise, raising $400 million. Investors include Ivy League endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and nonprofits, though specific backer names were not disclosed. Framework co-founders Vance Spencer and Michael Anderson said the new fund will target "cutting-edge technologies" spanning not only crypto but also AI, robotics, energy and other sectors. Roughly half of the fourth fund has already been deployed to date. Founded in 2019, Framework Ventures initially focused on DeFi investments, having participated in early rounds of leading protocols such as Aave and Chainlink. Prior to this, the firm closed its $100 million second fund in 2021 and $400 million third fund in 2022.

According to Fortune, crypto venture capital firm Framework Ventures has announced the final close of its fourth fund, raising $400 million. Limited partners include Ivy League endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and non-profit organizations, though specific names have not been disclosed. Framework co-founders Vance Spencer and Michael Anderson said the new fund will invest in "cutting-edge technologies" spanning not only crypto but also AI, robotics, energy, and other sectors. Roughly half of the fourth fund has already been deployed. Founded in 2019, Framework Ventures initially focused on DeFi investments, backing early rounds of leading protocols such as Aave and Chainlink. Previously, the firm closed its $100 million second fund in 2021 and $400 million third fund in 2022.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, an address linked to BlackRock’s ETFs has deposited 2,700 BTC (valued at approximately $161 million) and 41,996 ETH (worth around $65.16 million) into Coinbase, with more assets likely to be deposited.