Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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Bitcoin drops below $63,000 amid AI selloff and Middle East tensions
Bitcoin fell below $63,000 on Friday amid a broader risk-off wave driven by a tech stock selloff across North America and Asia, plus mounting Middle East tensions. The crypto market shed $43 billion in capitalization while technical indicators flashed oversold signals.
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South Dakota crypto investor indicted on $20M fraud, money laundering charges
Federal prosecutors charged Benjamin Paul Wiener, 43, with wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and identity theft over an alleged $20 million investment scheme that used new investor funds to repay earlier participants.
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Argentine judge freezes 25 wallets in LIBRA memecoin fraud probe
A federal judge in Argentina has ordered the identification and freezing of 25 cryptocurrency wallets linked to the LIBRA memecoin scandal, which collapsed after being publicly promoted by President Javier Milei. Investigators estimate losses exceed $250 million.
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Gulf of Aden piracy escalates: unauthorized vessel boarding reported
The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported unauthorized personnel boarded a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden as piracy resurges, with prediction markets pricing an 82.5% chance of successful Houthi targeting by July 31.
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macOS malware hijacks Telegram, targets crypto wallets
A macOS information-stealing malware can hijack Telegram Desktop sessions and compromise cryptocurrency wallets by harvesting credentials from the Keychain, browser cookies, and wallet databases, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist.
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Stellar's Golden Cross Lacks Conviction as Volume Fails
Stellar produced a golden cross technical signal, but weak trading volume and price stalling near $0.183 suggest the bullish indicator hasn't yet translated into sustained upward momentum.
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Ether falls twice as hard as Bitcoin as Asian chip selloff drags crypto lower
Ether dropped 4% on Friday while Bitcoin fell 2%, dragged down by a selloff in Asian semiconductor shares. Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped 5% in its worst session since March, with Taiwan Semiconductor and Kioxia posting sharp declines. Ether remains up 4% on the week, the only major cryptocurrency still green.
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Tanker hit by unknown projectile near Oman; crew unharmed
A tanker sustained minor damage after being struck by an unknown projectile near Oman on Friday, with no injuries reported. Maritime authorities have not attributed the incident to any specific actor, though the region's history of tensions has prompted speculation.
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Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky's X Account Hacked, Posts Crypto Thread
Brian Chesky's X account was compromised earlier this week and used to publish a lengthy thread praising real-world asset tokenization. Chesky responded with a lighthearted remark, though some social media users questioned whether the account had actually been hacked.
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Bitcoin's DOG Mode client sidesteps BIP 110 without miner consensus
Leonidas, co-founder of the Runestone project, announced DOG Mode, an open-source Bitcoin client that raises transaction limits without miner signaling, offering an alternative to the stalled BIP 110 proposal that has drawn zero support.
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Taiwan sentences BitShine ringleader to 22 years for $39M fraud
Taiwan's Shilin District Court sentenced Shi Qiren to 22 years in prison for orchestrating a fraud scheme that victimized over 1,500 people and laundered approximately $75 million through USDT across 45 physical storefronts.
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STAR 50 Index hits lowest sentiment since April 2022, threatening mining supply
The STAR 50 Index fear/greed indicator tracking China's technology hardware sector has fallen to its most bearish reading since April 2022 after a 16% drop from June highs, with potential implications for Bitcoin mining hardware supply chains.
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Bybit Launches Indonesia Platform After NOBI Acquisition
Bybit announced the launch of a locally operated platform in Indonesia after acquiring a majority stake in PT Enkripsi Teknologi Handal, formerly known as NOBI, positioning itself in one of Asia's largest crypto markets with 21.07 million registered users.
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HIMARS Strike on Bandar Abbas from Kuwait Ruled Physically Impossible
Claims that HIMARS missiles struck Iran's Bandar Abbas from Kuwait are physically impossible given the 686-kilometer distance and 150-kilometer range of standard munitions, according to analysis. The debunking has dampened prediction market confidence in imminent Iranian military actions against Gulf states.
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US airstrikes hit Iranian bridges near Strait of Hormuz as tensions escalate
The US military struck multiple bridges in southern Iran on July 15-16, killing nine people. Bitcoin held near $63,800 as Middle East tensions spiked, though traders focused more on macro factors than geopolitical risk.
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SpaceX shares collapse to IPO price, short sellers pocket $8.7B
SpaceX shares collapsed to their June IPO price by mid-July 2026, handing short sellers roughly $8.7 billion in paper profits as short interest climbed to 28% of the float.
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Suno breach leaks training data sources: YouTube, Deezer, Pond5
A hacker obtained Suno's source code documenting how the AI music platform assembled its training library from YouTube, Deezer, Pond5, and other sources, corroborating allegations from the RIAA's ongoing lawsuit.
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Morgan Stanley Launches Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Trading on E*TRADE
Morgan Stanley has rolled out spot cryptocurrency trading on E*TRADE, allowing eligible customers to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana via Zero Hash. Trades carry a 50-basis-point fee, with transfer functionality coming later this year.
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Thinking Machines Lab releases Inkling, 975B parameter open-source AI model
Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab released Inkling, a 975 billion parameter AI model under the Apache 2.0 license on July 15, marking the first fully open-source release from the startup founded in February 2025. The model uses a Mixture-of-Experts architecture with 41 billion active parameters and ships on Hugging Face.
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US Money Market Fund Assets Slip to $7.89 Trillion Amid Caution
US money market fund assets declined modestly to $7.89 trillion, down from $7.95 trillion the prior week, as institutional investors maintain defensive positioning. The shift underscores lingering caution in financial markets.
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Project Eleven proposes quantum-resistant Bitcoin recovery using key derivation proof
Project Eleven unveiled a cryptographic technique that lets Bitcoin users prove wallet ownership after quantum computers break elliptic curve cryptography, using key derivation paths instead of signatures to distinguish legitimate owners from attackers.
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T. Rowe Price launches first actively managed multi-token crypto ETF
T. Rowe Price, which oversees $1.9 trillion in assets, launched TKNZ, an actively managed spot crypto ETF holding bitcoin, ether, and six other digital assets. The fund charges 0.75% through May 2027, then rises to 0.90%.
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Visa Launches Stablecoin Platform for Banks and Fintechs
Visa introduced a stablecoin platform enabling financial institutions to issue, hold, and transfer stablecoins through its payments network, supporting Open USD, USDC, and USDG at launch.
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Citadel Securities invests $400M in Crypto.com at $20B valuation
Market maker Citadel Securities invested $400 million in Crypto.com in the exchange's first institutional funding round since its 2016 founding, valuing the Singapore-based platform at $20 billion and funding expansion into tokenized securities and derivatives.