Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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Bonsai 27B: 27-Billion-Parameter AI Model Runs on iPhone
PrismML released Bonsai 27B, a 27-billion-parameter AI model compressed to 3.9 GB, small enough to run on an iPhone. The model runs at 11 tokens per second on iPhone 17 Pro Max and achieves 94.6% of full-precision performance on reasoning benchmarks.
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DOJ launches permanent trade fraud unit after $1 billion recovery
The Department of Justice upgraded its trade fraud operation to a permanent unit on July 14, building on a task force that recovered over $1 billion in less than a year. The move signals stricter criminal enforcement of tariff evasion, import misreporting, and supply-chain violations.
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DTCC Launches Tokenized Stock Pilot With BlackRock, Goldman, JPMorgan
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation is testing blockchain-based versions of stocks, ETFs, and U.S. treasuries with nearly 40 financial institutions, targeting a scalable launch in October.
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Ostium halts trading after oracle exploit drains $23.7M USDC
Ostium halted all trading on July 15 after a compromised oracle signer key allowed an attacker to fabricate price data and drain up to $23.7 million from its liquidity vault, highlighting critical gaps in DeFi protocol security beyond smart contract audits.
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India-UK trade pact cuts tariffs, sidelines crypto and digital assets
The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement officially took effect on July 15, 2026, slashing tariffs on whisky and automobiles and unlocking billions in GDP growth for both nations. Yet the landmark accord remains silent on digital assets and cryptocurrency, potentially hampering fintech innovation across the corridor.
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DTCC launches tokenization trial in October with Microsoft, QQQ, SPY
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation is launching its DTC Tokenization Service in October 2026, tokenizing major stocks and ETFs with participation from Vanguard, BlackRock, and JPMorgan in a move toward blockchain-based settlement.
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DTCC executes first live tokenized securities trades on blockchain
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation processed its first live production trades using tokenized securities on Wednesday, with more than two dozen major financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs participating in the initiative.
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Bitcoin Clears $64K Resistance Amid Death Cross Warning
Bitcoin broke through a key resistance level Tuesday, reaching $65,511, but technical indicators reveal a death cross formation and weakening bearish momentum that traders are watching closely.
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BitMine's $46M Ethereum staking gain wiped by $92M derivatives loss
BitMine generated nearly $46 million from Ethereum staking in its third fiscal quarter, but a $92.1 million loss on Ethereum-linked derivatives more than doubled that gain, resulting in an $83.6 million net loss.
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Morgan Stanley: Solana outperforms ether as crypto portfolio diversifier
Morgan Stanley's Denny Galindo argues that despite higher volatility, Solana has historically been a better portfolio diversifier than ether, with lower correlation to bitcoin and traditional assets over the past four years.
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White House to meet senators on Clarity Act ethics section before August recess
Senior White House officials, potentially including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, are expected to meet with U.S. senators Thursday to resolve the most contentious remaining piece of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act—a restriction on senior government officials' personal crypto interests, primarily aimed at addressing President Trump's sector ties.
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$111M Crypto Shorts Liquidated as CPI Surprise Sparks Rally
Approximately $111 million in short positions were liquidated within 60 minutes after the July 14 US inflation report showed headline CPI at 3.5%, below expectations, sending Bitcoin past $64,000 and triggering a broader market squeeze.
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Fed's Williams warns low-rate mortgage lock-in will persist for years
New York Fed President John C. Williams said the structural imbalance created by pandemic-era low mortgage rates will take years to resolve, constraining housing supply and limiting the Fed's rate-cutting room.
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BNB Chain Completes 36th Quarterly Burn, Destroying $932M in Tokens
BNB Chain completed its 36th quarterly token burn, sending 1,615,827.795 BNB to dead wallets worth $931.7 million. The burn reduces total supply toward a target of 100 million BNB via an auto-burn system adjusted quarterly by price and block generation.
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Binance $800K XRP Airdrop Requires Full KYC, Excludes Europe and Key Nations
Binance launched an $800,000 XRP airdrop with strict eligibility rules including full identity verification, regional bans covering most of Europe and countries like Canada and Japan, and complex balance-calculation mechanics that penalize borrowed stablecoins.
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US July Empire State Factory Index hits 15.6, beats estimates
New York manufacturing printed at 15.6 in July, nearly double the consensus estimate of 8.8, signaling healthy regional expansion and complicating the Fed's rate-cut case.
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DTCC launches tokenization platform in live production with major financial firms
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has begun live production of its tokenization service, allowing eligible securities to move between traditional and blockchain formats while retaining full legal rights. The pilot follows testing with over 50 financial firms and precedes an official October launch.
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BlackRock's crypto assets fall 39% despite $15B net inflows
BlackRock's digital asset products declined to $48.8 billion from $79.6 billion year-over-year, despite attracting $15.1 billion in net inflows. Market depreciation of $45.8 billion offset the inflows as Bitcoin and Ether prices fell sharply in the second quarter.
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Bitcoin's Great Distribution Slows as Whale Activity Drops 50% in 2026
Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn presented on-chain data showing Bitcoin's two-year whale selling cycle has sharply decelerated in 2026, with old wallet activity dropping more than 50% year-over-year, suggesting long-term holders have largely locked in profits.
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Emergent reaches unicorn status with $130M Series C, $120M ARR
Emergent, an AI-powered software development platform founded by twin brothers Mukund and Madhav Jha, closed a $130 million Series C round that pushes it into unicorn territory with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. The company now boasts $120 million in annualized revenue and more than 200,000 paying customers.
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UK Fraud Review Urges Judge Training on Crypto Laundering and AI Scams
A government-backed review recommends judges and magistrates be trained to handle a surge in cryptocurrency money laundering and AI-enabled fraud cases, warning that courts lack equipment and expertise for cases of unprecedented scale.
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Noxa shuts down after $12M fee haul, CASHCAT crashes 33%
Robinhood Chain's largest token launchpad Noxa stopped operations after accumulating roughly $12 million in fees, citing low-quality tokens, and announced it would redirect all future revenue to creators. CASHCAT, the memecoin that built Noxa's reputation, dropped 33% in 24 hours following the shutdown.
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Japan reclassifies crypto as financial asset, cuts tax to 20%
Japan's Parliament approved legislation Wednesday reclassifying cryptocurrencies as financial instruments rather than payment tools, reducing the tax burden from as much as 55% to 20% and clearing the path for spot bitcoin ETFs starting in 2027.
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EthSystems Launches Privacy Layer for Ethereum Institutional Assets
The team behind the Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force has launched EthSystems, a for-profit firm offering banks and asset managers privacy and compliance technology for on-chain settlement. Backed by Bitmine and Joe Lubin, the startup argues institutions won't move real capital onto Ethereum without built-in confidentiality tools.