South Korean police have formed a dedicated 41-member virtual asset tracking and investigation unit to crack down on drug trafficking that uses cryptocurrencies, with an intensified focus on Telegram-based sales networks starting August 3. In the first half of the year, a large-scale operation netted 5,203 drug-related arrests and 1,039 detentions, up 1.8% and 7.8% respectively from a year earlier, highlighting the growing use of crypto in narcotics trade.

A scheme posing as a coffee investment but operating as a virtual currency scam under the name “Fun Coffee” has imploded in Hong Kong, drawing warnings from the Securities and Futures Commission. The scam promised annual returns as high as 222% and attracted over 370 victims in one group alone, with total losses across multiple investment groups exceeding HK$1 billion. Police have received 115 reports and the case is now under investigation by the Commercial Crime Bureau.

Centralized exchange Gate topped all platforms in net inflows, pulling in $543 million in the past 24 hours, $615 million over seven days, and $591 million over the past month, according to DefiLlama. The surge underscores the exchange’s growing traction among traders seeking liquidity amid volatile markets.

Combined spot trading volume across Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax plunged 54.6% year-on-year to $366.58 billion in the first half, data from Nexblock shows. In the period from July 1 to 27, volumes fell a further 16.9% month-on-month, though Upbit’s market share climbed from 62.3% to 67.4%, signaling consolidation among Korean traders.

In June, net outflows of stablecoins from South Korea’s five major exchanges to overseas platforms reached 560.3 billion won (~$389 million), extending a streak that has now lasted 18 consecutive months. The persistent drain, equal to 77.6% of the net foreign stock purchases by Korean investors in June, highlights a deepening preference for offshore venues amid domestic regulatory uncertainty.

Gdac, a major Korean exchange, will delist 28 cryptocurrencies including WAVES and POWR on August 9, citing failure to meet new listing standards under stricter guidelines from the Korea Federation of Banks. The move is part of a broader clean-up as exchanges align with real-name account requirements, which have pressured trading platforms to trim assets deemed risky or non-compliant.

The first pure-play DRAM Memory ETF added ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), giving the Chinese chipmaker a 2.52% weighting. The ETF, launched in April 2026 with $24.55 billion in assets, has returned 161.5% even after a sector pullback. CXMT, which has maintained a market cap above RMB 3 trillion on the STAR board, begins regular trading next week, underscoring China’s growing footprint in the global semiconductor race.

Binance recorded $2.2 billion in stablecoin outflows in July alone, pushing year-to-date net outflows to $7 billion, CryptoQuant data shows. The exchange still commands 70% of total stablecoin supply among centralized platforms, but the sustained exodus reflects a broader flight from risk as investors withdraw capital rather than wait for redeployment, even as bitcoin holds above $60,000.

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell to 126.23 T, a 14% drop from January’s all-time high and a roughly 1.1% decline year-on-year, only the second such negative reading in network history. The adjustment reflects compressed margins, with hashprice at $31.7/PH/day and forward markets signaling an average of just $31.85 through December, as some miners divert resources toward AI and high-performance computing.

Iranian military officials dismissed President Trump’s assertion that Iran requested a halt to attacks as a “new lie,” stating their forces remain on highest alert. Separately, Trump confirmed on social media that he agreed to cancel strikes after receiving a framework for a deal that would include opening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran’s nuclear threat, though tensions remain elevated with a new round of U.S. strikes reportedly ordered. The geopolitical flare-up has implications for Gulf energy shipments and broader Middle East stability, which could reverberate across Asian energy markets and crypto risk appetite.