Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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UK Tightens Election Funding Rules on Crypto Billionaire Donors
The UK government extended caps on overseas donations to cover a donor's first year of residency, directly targeting billionaire Tether investors and crypto-linked financiers backing Reform UK, amid investigations into undeclared gifts to Nigel Farage.
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Ethereum preparing "biggest rebuild" since Merge, Buterin reveals
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined Lean Ethereum, a three-to-four-year protocol redesign that will replace nearly every major component while elevating quantum resistance and privacy to top priorities.
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Bitcoin touches $63,882 overnight, retreats as sellers step in
Bitcoin briefly climbed to $63,882 early in the week before reversing to around $62,900 as sellers moved in. A weaker-than-expected jobs report lifted crypto markets, though upcoming CPI data could cap further gains.
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Vitalik's Lean Ethereum Plan Sets 4-Year Roadmap for Institutional Adoption
Vitalik Buterin published a roadmap for Ethereum's third major iteration, setting a three- to four-year timeline for institutional adoption. The plan targets seconds-level finality and teragas-scale capacity, but institutions now face a clearer checklist for doubt.
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Stablecoin transaction volume hits record $1.79 trillion in June
Stablecoin transaction volume reached $1.79 trillion in June 2026, up 63% from May and surpassing the prior record of $1.78 trillion in February, with USDC and USDT dominating the market and Base network leading blockchain activity.
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Ill Bloom Vulnerability Drains $5M From Thousands of Crypto Wallets
Coinspect identified a critical vulnerability affecting thousands of wallets across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, and other chains. The "Ill Bloom" exploit stems from weak recovery phrase generation in certain software wallets, with at least $5 million drained since May 27.
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Central bankers warn agentic AI poses systemic financial risk
UK, ECB, and IMF officials warn that rapid advances in agentic AI could amplify market volatility and trigger systemic financial instability, calling for new regulatory frameworks and guardrails to manage AI-driven trading risks.
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Dollar hits two-week lows as rate-hike bets fade, boosting Bitcoin and Ether
Weak June jobs data sent the dollar tumbling and rate-hike odds falling, triggering a sharp rally in Bitcoin and Ether as investors rotated back into risk assets.
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US Tech Funds Pull $14.3B in Week, Pace $152B Record Year
US technology funds absorbed $14.3 billion in inflows during the week ending July 1, the second-largest weekly inflow on record. At the current pace, 2026 is projected to deliver $152 billion in total tech fund inflows for the year, shattering all previous records and highlighting an unprecedented concentration of capital into a single sector.
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Robinhood stock climbs 4% on blockchain launch and tokenized equities
Robinhood Markets shares rose nearly 4% on July 3 after announcing Robinhood Chain, tokenized equities of major companies, and a new stablecoin lending product. The moves position the brokerage to tap global markets and diversify revenue, though regulatory clarity remains uncertain.
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Anthropic commits $200B to Google Cloud, intensifying AI data center competition
Anthropic pledged approximately $200 billion to Google Cloud services over five years, representing over 40% of Alphabet's cloud revenue backlog. The deal signals deepening ties between the AI maker and Google while intensifying competition for data center capacity with cryptocurrency miners and blockchain validators.
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Bell Canada launches $300M AI compute deal with Hive Digital
Bell Canada signed a $300 million AI infrastructure agreement with Hive Digital Technologies, Cohere, Hypertec, and BUZZ HPC to build domestically sovereign compute capacity for Canadian enterprises and government agencies, positioning the deal as the private-sector answer to Canada's Sovereign AI Compute Strategy.
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SBI Crypto shuts Bitcoin mining pool; Russia launches digital ruble Sept 1
SBI Crypto is closing its Bitcoin mining pool after five years of operation, while Russia's central bank confirmed a September 1 digital ruble launch despite EU sanctions. Meanwhile, India's central bank urged lawmakers to isolate banks from crypto exposure.
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OPEC+ raises crude output as oil prices fall, easing inflation pressure
OPEC+ is boosting crude oil production by 188,000 barrels per day despite prices falling from $112 to $89 per barrel. Lower energy costs reduce inflation, giving central banks room to cut rates—historically favorable for Bitcoin and crypto markets.
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MPKBK stages four CIS LAN tournaments ahead of Singapore Major 2026
Esports organizer MPKBK announced four offline Counter-Strike 2 LAN tournaments for CIS-region teams scheduled before the PGL Singapore Major 2026, which runs November 25 to December 13 with a $1.25 million prize pool.
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Djed Spence injury ripples across fan tokens, NFT cards, and fantasy platforms
England's Djed Spence's injury ahead of the Mexico last-16 tie exposes how a single player's fitness update ripples across multiple crypto and sports markets simultaneously, from fan token sentiment to Sorare NFT card values and betting odds.
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Foxconn Q2 2026 revenue surges 40%, AI servers eclipse iPhone
Foxconn's Q2 2026 consolidated revenue hit $78.71 billion, a 39.8% year-on-year increase driven by AI server and cloud infrastructure demand. The Taiwanese manufacturer now generates nearly half its revenue from cloud and networking products, signaling a structural shift in tech supply chains away from consumer devices.
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England faces Mexico's Estadio Azteca fortress in 2026 World Cup
England will play Mexico at Estadio Azteca on July 5, 2026, in a World Cup group stage match. Mexico's record at the venue is nearly impenetrable: 70 wins, 17 draws, and just two defeats since 1966. The 2,200-meter altitude poses an additional challenge for unacclimatized players.
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Clarity Act stalls as Congress breaks for summer; ethics fight heats up
The Clarity Act, crypto's most anticipated regulatory bill, missed its July 4 deadline and now faces a race against the midterm election. Lawmakers remain optimistic, but time is running out—and Trump's $1.4 billion crypto income has triggered fresh ethics demands from Democrats.
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Bitcoin nears $63.5K as traders warn of Monday weakness pattern
Bitcoin consolidated near two-week highs over the weekend, reaching $63,450 on Saturday amid short liquidations and thin holiday order books, but traders flagged a concerning pattern: the past seven Mondays have seen major price weakness.
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Polymarket: $571M in U.S. political bets despite IP ban
U.S.-linked wallets traded $571 million on Polymarket's political markets over the past year, exceeding any other country despite IP restrictions. The traders favored geopolitical and war-related bets over elections, diverging sharply from global market preferences.
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Banks Race to Become Stablecoin Gateways as Volumes Surge
Standard Chartered and BNY Mellon have announced direct institutional access to stablecoin minting and redemption, signaling a fundamental shift in how global systemically important banks view digital assets. Chainalysis projects stablecoin settlement volumes could reach a quadrillion dollars annually by 2030.
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Crypto hacks hit record 207 in H1 2026, but smart contracts aren't the main target
The first half of 2026 saw 207 separate crypto hacks—the most in any six-month period—yet total losses fell to $972 million, less than half of H1 2025's $2.3 billion, as attackers increasingly target infrastructure and operational systems rather than smart-contract code.
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SARS Publishes Draft Crypto Tax Guidance Under Existing Framework
South Africa's Revenue Service published draft guidance on how crypto assets are taxed under existing income and capital gains tax rules, opening a public comment period through August 31.