Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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Tom Lee: AI debt is infrastructure investment, not bubble risk
Fundstrat cofounder Tom Lee argued via social media that AI-related debt reflects genuine demand and productive investment, not financial distress, positioning AI spending as infrastructure that supports long-term economic growth.
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ByteDance Revenue Hits $120B as AI Spending Crushes Profit
ByteDance posted $120 billion in first-half 2026 revenue, up 30% year-over-year, but net profit declined as the company poured billions into AI infrastructure. The privately held firm raised $29.6 billion in September to fund planned 2026 capital expenditures potentially reaching $70 billion.
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T1 Esports Academy's Haetae signs with Shadow Corporation
Haetae, top laner for T1 Esports Academy, has signed with Shadow Corporation, a prominent esports talent agency representing over 100 players across Korea's and China's premier League of Legends leagues. The move positions him for contract negotiations as his T1 deal approaches expiration.
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Tonkeeper rebrands to Keeper, expands to Bitcoin and Ethereum
Tonkeeper, the largest self-custodial wallet in the TON ecosystem, rebranded to Keeper on Tuesday and now supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Base, Arbitrum, and TRON. The wallet's Battery system enables gasless transactions across networks.
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Bitcoin needs $82,900 to offset miner difficulty squeeze
A projected 4.70% Bitcoin difficulty increase could cut hashprice by 4.49%, pushing older mining equipment below breakeven unless BTC reaches $82,900.
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UEFA confirms Johan Cruyff Arena and Astana Arena for 2027-28 Super Cup
UEFA's Executive Committee locked in venues for its next two Super Cup finals: Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff ArenA in 2027 and Kazakhstan's Astana Arena in 2028, signaling the federation's strategy to diversify football's geographic reach across Europe and beyond.
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Chris Land leads Senate crypto bill negotiations as regulatory clarity looms
Chris Land, newly appointed staff director of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, has assumed lead negotiator role for a Senate cryptocurrency bill. His Wyoming legislative background on digital assets signals potential progress toward clearer U.S. crypto regulation.
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US Calls for Release of $43M Frozen Belarusian Citibank Funds
Special Envoy John Coale returned to Minsk for the first face-to-face talks with President Lukashenko in six months. The US is calling on banks to release roughly $43–44 million in frozen Belarusian assets as negotiations over sanctions relief and political prisoner releases continue.
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House crypto tax bill omits mining and staking reward deferral
The House Ways and Means Committee will consider a 114-page crypto tax package on Wednesday that restructures treatment of fees, stablecoins, and loans but excludes provisions allowing miners and stakers to defer taxation of rewards until sale.
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Zcash $570M from Hyperliquid; 3% rally could trigger top-10 shift
Zcash's market cap of $19.3 billion trails Hyperliquid by roughly $570 million. A 3% price move to $1,178–$1,180 could push ZEC into the top 10, though the outcome hinges on both tokens' independent price movements.
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Fin Raises $17M Seed for Stablecoin Enterprise Payments
Fin, a stablecoin-powered payments platform co-founded by former Citadel engineers, raised $17 million in seed funding led by Pantera Capital to simplify cross-border enterprise transactions and compete directly with traditional banking networks.
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Sri Lanka GDP growth slows to 5.1% as Middle East conflict raises oil prices
Sri Lanka's real GDP grew 5.1% year-on-year in Q1 2026, above central bank expectations but below broader forecasts, as rising oil prices from Middle East conflict increase import costs and inflationary pressures.
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Ethereum and Base end account abstraction standard talks, pursue separate designs
Ethereum and Base ended efforts to align on a shared account abstraction standard, with each network now pursuing separate designs. The divergence could require wallet developers to support multiple transaction formats across chains.
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Munich's Allianz Arena to host 2028 Champions League final
UEFA confirmed Munich's Allianz Arena as the sole bidder for the 2028 Champions League final on October 31, 2025. Barcelona's renovated Camp Nou and London's Wembley Stadium are now competing for the 2029 edition, with formal ratification scheduled for September 2026.
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Strive Reaches 25,000 Bitcoin After $36.6M Stock-Funded Purchase
Strive purchased 469 Bitcoin for $36.6 million between September 8 and 11, bringing its total holdings to 25,000 coins. The entire purchase was funded through SATA preferred stock, pushing the stock's notional value past $1 billion for the first time and raising Strive's amplification ratio to 53.5%.
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CoinEx Closes After 9 Years; CZ Praises Orderly Shutdown vs QuadrigaCX
CoinEx announced it will close after nine years, citing market decline and regulatory costs. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao praised the exchange's orderly wind-down, distinguishing it from past catastrophic failures like QuadrigaCX where users lost access to funds.
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Institutional lending gains traction on XRP Ledger with RLUSD loans
Clearpool Finance highlighted institutional lending on the XRP Ledger gaining traction with RLUSD-denominated loans. Prediction markets and market observers view the development as a positive signal for Ripple's ecosystem, though lending features remain in testing.
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Rodri joins Barcelona on €60M deal after Spain's 2026 World Cup win
Rodri joined Barcelona on a four-year deal worth roughly €30 million per season after leading Spain to the 2026 World Cup. The midfielder said sporting considerations, not finances, drove his decision to favor Barcelona's project and playing style over Real Madrid's approach.
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Coinbase Removes Eight Trading Pairs on September 15
Coinbase is suspending eight non-USD cryptocurrency trading pairs on September 15, including BAT-BTC, BAT-ETH, COMP-BTC, and others, as part of its effort to consolidate liquidity and improve market health.
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BlackRock's IBIT absorbs $1B in 20 days as Grayscale hemorrhages outflows
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accumulated $1.08 billion in net inflows over 20 days while Grayscale's flagship Bitcoin Trust shed $254.7 million, underscoring a widening fee-driven migration toward lower-cost spot Bitcoin ETFs.
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Orlen loses $400M in Venezuelan oil scheme routed through crypto
Poland's state oil refiner Orlen lost approximately $400 million in a failed crude purchase from Venezuela, with money converted to cryptocurrency and routed through Dubai intermediaries. Three former executives face charges of negligent supervision.
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TrueMoney embeds THBT wallet via Fireblocks for Bank of Thailand CBDC pilot
TrueMoney, Thailand's largest e-wallet with 27–32 million users, has partnered with Fireblocks to embed a wallet for THBT, a Bank of Thailand-backed digital baht. The pilot is expanding to 20,000 participants and tests whether consumers can use blockchain payments without managing private keys directly.
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Kyrgyzstan's Central Bank Partners With CertiK for Digital Som Launch
Kyrgyzstan's National Bank and blockchain security firm CertiK signed a strategic partnership to oversee the country's digital som rollout and strengthen virtual asset regulation through security assessments and compliance monitoring.
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China's factories surge 5.2% as retail sales stall at 0.4%, widening economic divide
China's industrial output surged 5.2% in August while retail sales crawled at 0.4%, revealing a widening gap between production and domestic demand. Property investment plunged nearly 20%, eroding household wealth and consumer spending power.