Scott Bessent Announces $130 Million Crypto Freeze Targeting Iran Central Bank
The US Treasury froze over $130 million in cryptocurrency connected to Iran's Central Bank through sanctions on multiple wallets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the action via a post on X, with OFAC sanctioning the wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran.
CFTC Orders Fulfilment of Pending Trades on Kalshi Following a Michigan State Court Order
The CFTC ordered Kalshi to fulfill pending trades after overriding a Michigan state court order that had canceled them. The agency asserted its authority as the federal regulator of designated contract markets over state court decisions.
Fed’s Bowman Says Tailored AI Supervision Drives Financial Inclusion
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman stated that AI supervision should be tailored to avoid hindering bank implementation of artificial intelligence technology. Bowman argued that AI can expand credit availability to underserved populations through careful regulatory approaches.
Stablecoin Enabler Velocity Raises $38 Million Series A
Velocity, a stablecoin enablement firm, raised $38 million in Series A funding led by FirstMark and Dragonfly. The round included investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Ripple.
New QR Standard Unlocks US Instant Payments at Checkout
A new American national standard called X9.150 for merchant-presented payment QR codes was published Tuesday by the Accredited Standards Committee X9. The specification creates a common structure for dynamically generated codes to provide a universal interface to existing US instant payment systems.
PrismML Releases Bonsai 27B: 1-bit and Ternary Builds of Qwen3.6-27B That Run on Laptops and Phones
Ternary Bonsai 27B uses weights of negative one, zero, and positive one at 1.71 bits per weight, achieving an ideal size of 5.9GB. A 1-bit variant with binary weights also ships under Apache 2.0 license for running on laptops and phones.
OpenAI’s first hardware device is reportedly a screenless speaker that can move
OpenAI is developing a screenless speaker with mechanical elements that can move independently. The device is designed to function as a physical companion that manifests ChatGPT capabilities.
Velocity Raises $38 Million as Stablecoins Reshape Mainstream Business Finance
A stablecoin payments and treasury platform for enterprises raised $38 million in Series A funding. The platform reduces settlement times and enables companies to manage treasury operations while accessing stablecoin benefits.
Three US senators oppose CLARITY Act on ethics grounds with vote expected soon
Three US senators oppose the CLARITY Act on ethics grounds, with a Senate vote expected before August 10. The crypto market structure bill lacks confirmed Democratic support needed for passage.
Business Applications Jump 24% as AI Lowers Startup Costs
U.S. business applications reached 5.6 million in 2025, up 24% since ChatGPT's launch. Median employees at seed-stage startups dropped from five to four in Q1 2023, the quarter following ChatGPT's release.
Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan has slashed 40% of jobs in some departments, thanks to AI
JPMorgan Chase has reduced headcount by 30% to 40% in certain departments through artificial intelligence adoption. Most affected employees were offered positions elsewhere in the company, though the bank expects AI token expenses to increase in the second half of the year.
Anthropic commits $10 million to Canadian AI research across eight institutions
Anthropic allocated $10 million CAD across eight Canadian institutions to support research on beneficial and responsible AI applications. The funding targets three regional AI institutes,Amii, Mila, and Vector Institute,plus CHEO, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Université Laval.
Microsoft’s emissions rose 25% last year. Experts say they’ll surge even more dramatically in the years ahead
Microsoft's total emissions increased 25% in 2025, driven primarily by growth of its AI data centers and pausing use of certain renewable energy certificates. Three upcoming gas power plant projects totaling 4.75 gigawatts of capacity are expected to emit over 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Apple opens its new Siri AI to everyone with the iOS 27 public beta
Apple released iOS 27 public beta, making its revamped AI-powered Siri available to iPhone owners ahead of the official fall launch. The public beta gives users early access to the new assistant and other features before the software's official release.
Transatlantic Task Force Provides Recommendations for UK-US Collaboration on Digital Assets
A transatlantic task force published recommendations for US-UK collaboration on digital asset regulation, initiated during President Donald Trump's September 2025 visit to the UK. The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future outlined how the two countries should work together on this regulatory framework.
Michelle Obama worried her $50 brooch was too modest for the Queen. Elizabeth wore it the next night.
Michelle Obama gave Queen Elizabeth a fifty-dollar brooch and worried it was insufficiently fancy for the occasion. The Queen wore the brooch the following evening.
Coffee Associated with Lower Risks of Liver Cancer and Deadly Cirrhosis
A study of hundreds of thousands of people found coffee consumption associated with lower risks of liver cancer and cirrhosis. The research was compiled by Cedars Sinai Medical Center examining outcomes across a large population.
Meta faces discrimination lawsuit over AI use in mass layoffs
Meta's May layoff of nearly 8,000 employees involved AI systems including keystroke monitoring and performance dashboards that allegedly penalized workers on medical or family leave. Current and former staffers filed a federal lawsuit claiming the AI-driven termination process disproportionately targeted employees with disabilities or protected leave status.
NASA Astronaut Anil Menon, Crewmates Arrive at Space Station
Three astronauts arrived at the International Space Station Tuesday aboard Soyuz MS-29, increasing the crew to 10 for approximately two weeks. The spacecraft launched at 10:47 a.m. EDT from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.
‘We’re all going to die’: Scottie Scheffler keeps things in perspective before Open defence
Scottie Scheffler missed his first cut in 79 tournaments at the Scottish Open last week. The world's top-ranked golfer maintains philosophical perspective on golf and mortality before defending his Open Championship title.
Nintendo is pulling a console from Europe over battery rules. Meta’s glasses just got exempted from them.
The European Commission exempted wearable technology from rules requiring user-replaceable batteries, removing a major barrier for Meta's smart glasses in the EU. The delegated act adopted Tuesday added six product categories to the exemption list, including smartwatches and fitness devices.
Meta sued by 26 employees who say its AI systems targeted workers on medical leave for layoffs
Meta is being sued by 26 employees claiming AI systems disproportionately targeted workers with disabilities or on medical leave during layoffs. The lawsuit alleges the company used productivity metrics and AI token usage data to select employees for termination.
Inside PepsiCo’s digital twin revolution
PepsiCo used specialized lasers to scan a factory and create a digital 3D model accurate to within a millimeter, then simulated manufacturing processes to identify bottlenecks and test new layouts before reconfiguring the physical facility. The company generated millions of simulations using AI-powered digital twins to optimize hardware, software, and worker navigation through the space.
‘I have haters’: Pogacar brushes off boos after solo burst extends Tour de France lead
Tadej Pogacar won stage 10 of the Tour de France with a solo attack, extending his overall lead to more than three and a half minutes. Evenepoel finished second, 32 seconds behind the Slovenian on a stage featuring seven categorized climbs.
Kalshi builds a forward curve for computing power as exchanges race to turn GPUs into a tradable commodity
Kalshi created a forward curve tracking future computing power prices using weekly and monthly event contracts extending up to one year. The prediction markets exchange joins other platforms attempting to standardize GPU rental costs into tradable financial instruments.
Nemotron Labs: How Open Models Give Enterprises and Nations AI They Can Trust, Control and Customize
NVIDIA released Nemotron, an open model designed for enterprises to customize and deploy AI systems tailored to specific business needs. The model enables organizations to build domain-specific applications while maintaining control over accuracy, trust standards, and workflow improvements.
Dimon says AI already eliminated 30 to 40 percent of jobs in some JPMorgan divisions
Artificial intelligence has already eliminated 30 to 40 percent of jobs in certain JPMorgan Chase divisions, according to CEO Jamie Dimon. The bank's leadership indicated that competitive market pressures mean these job cuts may not significantly improve profit margins.
AWS and Bluesight build AI for hospital 340B compliance
Bluesight developed an AI layer called Prism that connects hospital pharmacy and compliance data across its product suite. Prism Assistant for ControlCheck is now generally available and operates across 20 health systems.
Why Performance per Watt Is the Ultimate Metric for AI Infrastructure Efficiency
Performance per watt measures how many tokens an AI infrastructure system generates within a fixed power budget. This metric directly determines an AI factory's revenue and profitability since power represents the inescapable constraint limiting token generation.
UK Adopts ‘No Gain, No Loss’ Tax Treatment for Crypto Lending and Liquidity Pools
The UK will introduce "no gain, no loss" tax treatment for crypto lending and DeFi liquidity pool transactions starting April 6, 2027, deferring Capital Gains Tax until users economically dispose of their cryptocurrency. This change allows participants to engage in these activities without triggering immediate tax liabilities on gains from the transactions themselves.