Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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Iran mandates insurance for Strait of Hormuz shipping
Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority has required vessels to carry approved insurance policies, initially free but with potential future fees. The move could reshape maritime compliance and energy pricing through one of the world's most critical shipping lanes.
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Jio Platforms files India's largest IPO at $3.8B with Meta, Alphabet backing
Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries, filed draft IPO papers on June 19 targeting $3.8 billion, surpassing Hyundai Motor India's previous record. The company counts Meta and Alphabet among its major shareholders from a 2020 funding round that valued it at $57–65 billion.
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Base Beryl upgrade launches June 25 with native B20 token standard
Base will launch its Beryl upgrade on June 25, introducing B20, a native token standard embedded in node software, alongside faster Ethereum withdrawals and Reth V2 performance gains.
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Barcelona targets Tottenham's Micky van de Ven for 2026 summer transfer
Barcelona has reportedly identified Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven as a defensive target for summer 2026, though no formal bid has been made and Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi has stated the club has no intention of selling.
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Axelar discloses $4.7M theft in Secret Network bridge incident
Axelar reported a security incident on Friday affecting assets bridged to Secret Network over IBC, resulting in the loss of approximately $4.7 million in tokens. The issue was isolated to the Secret-side ICS-20 smart contract, and Axelar's core protocol was not affected.
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Amazon Shelves 'Artificial' Film After $50B OpenAI Investment
Amazon has pulled the nearly completed film "Artificial," which chronicles Sam Altman's 2023 ouster from OpenAI, from its release calendar and is shopping it to rival studios instead—a reversal that comes months after the company invested $50 billion in OpenAI.
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Franklin Templeton Files Bitcoin DRIP ETFs With September 2026 Launch
Franklin Templeton filed registration statements with the SEC on June 19 for two Bitcoin DRIP ETFs that automatically reinvest dividend income into Bitcoin alongside 95% US equities, targeting a September 1, 2026 launch.
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ASML Denies US Claims of EUV Machine Presence in China
ASML, the sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, flatly denies US allegations that one of its systems reached China. The Dutch company says it's shipped zero EUV machines to Chinese clients since 2019, when the Netherlands banned such exports under US pressure.
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MiCA rules allow ECB informal role in Binance licensing, lawyers say
Binance's Greek MiCA application has raised questions about ECB influence, but legal experts say the regulation doesn't bar the central bank from communicating with national regulators during the review process.
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Ethereum Foundation faces core development funding crisis
Former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trenton Van Epps has warned that Ethereum's core development ecosystem requires approximately $30 million annually and faces a funding crisis without new sources within three to nine months, as the Foundation reduces spending and experiences leadership departures.
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Binance returns to Philippines via BlockShoals SEC sandbox arrangement
BlockShoals Technologies says Binance can serve Philippine traders through a Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory sandbox arrangement that permits crypto trading without a local virtual asset service provider license.
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Shiba Inu Burns 12.76M SHIB in 24 Hours, Burn Rate Surges 677%
Shiba Inu recorded its strongest burn activity in weeks, removing 12.76 million SHIB tokens from circulation in a single day as the burn rate jumped 677%. The surge signals strengthening network activity, though price movement hasn't yet followed.
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Michael Gayed Dismisses Shiba Inu $1 Target as Mathematically Impossible
Macro strategist Michael Gayed responded to a post about Shiba Inu reaching $1 with crude humor, dismissing the target as mathematically impossible given the coin would need a market cap exceeding the global dollar money supply.
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Bitcoin Falls Fourth Straight Day as Smart-Contract Coins Weaken
Bitcoin dropped 2.5% in 24 hours to below $62,400 and has declined for a fourth consecutive day, while smart-contract and DeFi tokens fell harder. Concerns about Microstrategy's STRC preferred stock collapsing below par are weighing on broader market sentiment.
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Oil falls 25% as US-Iran deal opens Strait of Hormuz
Brent crude dropped to $75.55 per barrel on June 19 after a US-Iran memorandum of understanding granted toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing Saudi supertankers to resume transit and effectively ending Iran's brief cryptocurrency payment scheme.
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Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs see $102M net outflows on June 18
US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs experienced combined net outflows of $102 million on June 18, with Bitcoin products accounting for $90.7 million of the losses and ending a brief inflow period.
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Digital Credit Market Hit by Sharp Selloff; Strive CEO Blames Leverage Liquidations
Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole attributed a sharp selloff in digital credit products to forced selling by leveraged investors, not weakening fundamentals, as STRC and SATA rebounded from intraday lows.
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XRP Whales Redistribute 30M Tokens as Profit-Taking Pressures Price
XRP whales redistributed over 30 million tokens to the market in a five-day period, with combined holdings falling from 3.82 billion to 3.77 billion XRP. The sell-off coincided with a price decline to $1.1273 after a peak near $1.29, though U.S. spot XRP ETFs continued receiving inflows.
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Mexico clinches World Cup round of 32 with 1-0 win over South Korea
Luis Romo scored in the 50th minute against South Korea on June 18, 2026, earning the Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match award and helping Mexico become the first team to qualify for the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Upbit Lists 9 Tokens Including PEAQ, LIT, AMP on BTC and USDT
South Korea's Upbit exchange listed nine tokens on June 19 across BTC and USDT pairs, with PEAQ surging 21.9% on its first day while GRAM and LIT declined. The listing follows Samsung's $408 million stake acquisition in Upbit's parent company Dunamu.
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Ethereum core development faces 3-9 month funding crisis, warns ex-coordinator
Trent Van Epps, a former Ethereum Foundation development coordinator, warned on June 18 that Ethereum's core development could face a critical funding shortfall within 3 to 9 months as the Client Incentives Program nears its April 2026 end date and the Foundation reduces its direct funding role.
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AllUnity launches SEKAU, first fully reserved Swedish krona stablecoin
Digital asset company AllUnity has debuted SEKAU, a Swedish krona-backed stablecoin regulated under the EU's MiCA framework, launching across five blockchain networks with backing from Luxembourg-based Banking Circle.
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Fidelity launches stablecoin reserve fund, joining BlackRock and JPMorgan
Fidelity Investments launched the Fidelity Reserves Digital Fund on June 18, a money market fund designed to hold stablecoin reserves in short-term Treasury bills and cash. The move follows similar offerings from BlackRock, State Street, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, as the stablecoin reserve management market could expand to $4 trillion.
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Kalshi explores IPO as annualized revenue triples to $2 billion
Prediction market platform Kalshi has engaged in early talks with investment banks about a potential public listing, according to The Information. The move follows a $1 billion funding round at a $22 billion valuation and a sharp surge in trading volume driven by sports betting.