TREE NEWS update: Utah has become the first US state to target VPNs in its age-verification crackdown, raising First Amendment concerns. Privacy advocates argue the law poses constitutional questions that courts have yet to resolve, potentially setting a precedent for other states.
TREE NEWS reports: Local government bond issuance surged to 1.19 trillion yuan in August, a record high for the year. New special bonds totaled 518.8 billion yuan, second only to June, while new general bonds reached 122.7 billion yuan, second to February. Funds are split between stabilizing investment and debt resolution, with over half of special bonds for projects and Guizhou issuing the year’s first refinancing general bond for existing debt.
TREE NEWS update: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet Mexico’s trade minister on the afternoon of September 3. The meeting was announced without further details on agenda or location.
TREE NEWS update: The CFTC has asked a judge to dismiss CME’s challenge to its classification of perpetual futures as futures rather than swaps. At an Unchained panel, lawyers from Hyperliquid Policy Center, WilmerHale, and Temporal supported the CFTC’s stance, arguing that perps are futures. The move could shape regulatory oversight of crypto derivatives.
TREE NEWS update: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the US cannot meet Canada’s demands in trade negotiations, having hoped Ottawa would offer more tariff relief. He noted receiving text messages and engaging with Canada, but no dialogue has occurred since talks recently broke down.
TREE NEWS update: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on March 3 in Yerevan that Armenia will not abandon the bill on starting EU accession, which was passed by parliament earlier. He said the bill reflects the will of the Armenian people, and if anyone suggests dropping it, his answer is “impossible.”
TREE NEWS reports: Tesla’s stock reversed course to trade lower in after-hours trading on the US market. The move follows the regular session’s close. Details on the extent of the decline were not immediately available.
TREE NEWS update: Brazil’s Senate has approved legislation eliminating taxes on small-value imported goods. The measure now moves to the lower house for further consideration. If enacted, it would reduce costs for consumers purchasing low-priced items from abroad, potentially impacting e-commerce and cross-border trade.
TREE NEWS reports: US long-term Treasury yields have climbed to near 20-year highs, driving yields higher across many countries. A German scholar told state media that US debt growth shows no sign of slowing, and the rise in Treasury yields is transmitting through international financial markets. The higher financing costs add extra pressure on Germany as it expands defense and infrastructure spending.
TREE NEWS update: A Bitcoin miner has abandoned its mining site to pursue an AI deal that could generate over $1.2 billion in projected revenue, the company said. The revenue estimate depends on two contract extensions, with an option for additional computing capacity potentially pushing the total above $3 billion. The move underscores the growing trend of miners pivoting to AI infrastructure.
TREE NEWS reports: FTSE China A50 index futures rose 0.40% in the overnight continuous session, closing at 14,613 points. The gain reflects positive sentiment in Chinese equities amid global market moves.
TREE NEWS update: Coinbase has filed notices with the SEC in a bid to offer single-stock perpetual futures to US customers, expanding its equity-derivatives lineup beyond thematic stock indexes. The exchange still needs CFTC product approval, which it states as the next step.
TREE NEWS update: Revolut announced that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has conditionally approved its proposed US national bank charter. The fintech still requires clearances from the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and final OCC approval before a planned 2027 launch, which will offer insured deposits, credit, and crypto access.
TREE NEWS reports: Trading terminal volume crossed $1 billion on Sept. 2, the first time since January 2025, with GMGN accounting for nearly half. Of GMGN’s trades, 91% settled on Robinhood Chain. DEX volume across all networks rose 26% over 30 days, while GMGN’s Solana volume stayed flat.
TREE NEWS update: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed to dismiss a lawsuit brought by CME Group over crypto perpetual futures. The CFTC’s lawyers called the suit “much ado about nothing,” arguing that CME lacked standing to file and contesting its claims regarding the agency’s oversight of such products.
TREE NEWS reports: The US Rate-Cut Winners Index rose 1.27% to 94.04 points on Thursday (September 3), after an initial surge that peaked at 94.80 points at 21:36 Beijing time before retreating. The index tracks stocks likely to benefit from Federal Reserve rate cuts.
TREE NEWS reports: US stock index futures closed higher Thursday night in New York. S&P 500 futures rose 0.97%, Dow futures gained 1.13%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.08%. Russell 2000 futures added 0.41%.
TREE NEWS reports: The offshore yuan (CNH) traded at 6.7175 per dollar late Thursday in New York, down 5 pips from Wednesday’s close. The currency traded in a range of 6.7207-6.7162 during the session.
TREE NEWS update: Sophos will integrate OpenAI’s GPT models into its managed risk services. The move aims to enhance threat detection and response capabilities for clients. Details on the specific use cases and deployment timeline were not disclosed.
TREE NEWS reports: Robinhood Chain gas fees jumped 82-fold in 11 days, reaching $4.45 million on Sept. 2, surpassing Ethereum, Solana, and Tron combined. The base fee rose 23 times off its 0.02 gwei floor. Robinhood absorbs the cost in its wallet app until Sept. 29.