Binance launches Bitcoin-collateralized "Lite Loan" micro-loan product.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), US-listed optical communication concept stocks rallied sharply in pre-market trading, with the following gains: Pure Photonics ETF (FOTO) rose 7.85%; Corning (GLW) climbed 8.5%; Marvell Technology (MRVL) advanced 7.3%; AAOI (Applied Optoelectronics) jumped 14.12%; LITE (Lumentum Holdings) gained 10.7%; COHR (Coherent Corp) rose 14.2%; and CIEN (Ciena Corporation) added 8.5%.

Elon Musk's net worth shrank by $363 billion in July alone — a drop larger than the entire net worth of any of the world's 2nd to 10th richest billionaires. The massive volatility stemmed mainly from SpaceX's sharp stock correction of nearly 50% from its peak following its successful IPO in June, paired with Tesla's underwhelming earnings that triggered a sharp decline in its share price, causing a rapid evaporation of the value of Musk's stakes in both companies. Musk briefly became the first person in history to hit a $1 trillion net worth in mid-June when SpaceX went public, peaking at nearly $1.45 trillion. His wealth then quickly retreated amid a broader tech stock correction, Starship launch setbacks, and market jitters over high valuations. Still, he retains his position as the world's richest person.

South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb will list the SQUID (QUID) KRW trading pair.

According to the official X account of self-custody stablecoin digital bank AllScale, the platform has launched the Claim Link feature. Users can generate a claim link from their account balance and send it to any recipient. Recipients have two claim options: input a 0x address for direct on-chain transfer, or create an AllScale wallet via email verification code to receive funds. The entire process requires no app installation and incurs no gas fees—gas is prepaid by the sender. The feature supports USDT and USDC, covering six EVM chains: BNB Chain, Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Per-transaction amounts range from $0.1 to $10,000. The links adopt a self-custody architecture, and unclaimed funds will be automatically fully refunded to the sender within 14 days. Besides the web version, merchants can create links in bulk via API calls.

According to a Reuters report, a senior Iranian source disclosed that Tehran and Oman have reached a temporary plan for the Strait of Hormuz, which will grant Iran full control over all incoming shipping. Additionally, under the proposed arrangement, Oman can only clear outgoing vessels after notifying Iranian officials, ensuring Tehran stays informed and retains the right to intervene. The senior source stated that Iran is unlikely to accept any other plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Barclays said that 85% of S&P 500 constituent companies beat Q2 earnings estimates, well above the long-term average of 76%. Revenue rose 11.2% year-over-year, and earnings per share jumped 25.1% driven by large-cap tech stocks. Despite the strong performance, Barclays noted that both earnings beats and misses have triggered negative reactions in stock prices. This rare pattern indicates that investors had already priced in most of the positive news beforehand.