Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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Vals AI raises $40M Series A from a16z for AI model evaluation
Vals AI raised $40 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz to build independent evaluation benchmarks and monitoring tools for enterprise AI deployments. The company's flagship Vals Index ranks frontier language models on real-world business tasks.
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AI Boom Could Redirect Capital to Bitcoin, Former Bitwise Advisor Says
Jeff Park, a former Bitwise portfolio manager, argues that artificial intelligence's wealth creation could eventually redirect capital toward Bitcoin as financial structures supporting the AI boom become unstable.
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Trezor Data Breach: 13,689 Customers Exposed via ShipMonk
Trezor disclosed a breach at ShipMonk, its shipping provider, exposing names, emails, phone numbers and addresses of 13,689 customers across seven countries. The hardware wallet maker said its own systems were not compromised.
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Cleveland Fed's Hammack Renews Call for Higher Interest Rates
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack called for higher interest rates at a Dayton Chamber event, arguing the central bank must restrain growth and investment to bring inflation below 3% to its 2% target amid rising business demand for capital.
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Trezor Shipping Partner Breach Exposes 13,600 Customer Addresses
A data breach at Trezor's shipping partner ShipMonk exposed the names, phone numbers, email addresses and home addresses of over 13,600 customers. Trezor says its devices and backups remain untouched, but the leaked data poses phishing and physical attack risks.
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Bullish reports $280M Q2 net loss amid crypto trading slowdown
Bullish, the crypto platform and parent company of CoinDesk, posted a $280 million second-quarter net loss on softer digital asset volumes, though adjusted revenue and subscription services hit records.
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USENIX study identifies 65,340 risky crypto addresses with $574.8M in losses
Researchers at USENIX Security '26 identified 65,340 risky addresses across Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain, with $574.8 million in associated losses. Two active attack vectors account for $15.7 million of the total.
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Lazarus Group Moves $16.6M Bitcoin in Holdings Restructure
North Korean hacking group Lazarus transferred 262.2 BTC ($16.6 million) between addresses in what analysts describe as fund redistribution, not liquidation. The movement shows no exchange destination and triggered no measurable Bitcoin price response.
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Crypto valuations could double as protocols adopt token buybacks
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said crypto valuations could at least double as protocols increasingly use revenue to fund token buybacks and burns, with revenue-capture mechanisms expected to spread across DeFi and layer-1 networks over the next 12 to 24 months.
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Metaplanet CEO clarifies $322M Bitcoin transfer as routine custody operation
Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich confirmed the company moved 5,014 BTC between custodial addresses for about $8 in fees, dismissing speculation that the transfer signaled a sale.
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Goldman Sachs to acquire NEOS for $2.25B, scaling Bitcoin ETF business
Goldman Sachs agreed to buy options-income specialist NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion in a cash-and-equity deal, folding in its $1 billion Bitcoin covered-call fund and instantly scaling Goldman's crypto ETF business ahead of regulatory approval expected in Q1 2027.
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Rumble's Bitcoin Holdings Surge to 293 BTC Amid AI Expansion
RUM Group, parent of video platform Rumble, increased its Bitcoin treasury by 82.32 BTC in Q2 2026, reaching 293.14 BTC worth $17.2 million. The accumulation coincides with the company's acquisition of Northern Data and 61% revenue growth.
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IEA warns of deepening global oil supply crisis in 2026
The International Energy Agency projects global oil supply will fall 4.3 million barrels per day in 2026—its lowest forecast for the year—amid Middle East conflict and shipping disruptions, opening a 1.27 million bpd deficit against demand.
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Kalshi refers 32 insider trading cases to CFTC in three months
Kalshi, a CFTC-registered prediction market platform, referred 32 cases of suspected insider trading to federal regulators during the first half of 2026, underscoring its compliance-first approach amid broader regulatory scrutiny of the sector.
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Fed rate hike odds fall to 45% as inflation, jobs data clash
Market pricing shows a 45% probability the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 25 basis points in September, caught between sticky inflation at 4.2% and a softening labor market that's pulling expectations lower.
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Goldman Sachs acquires NEOS Investments for $2.3 billion
Goldman Sachs is acquiring NEOS Investments, a specialist in options-based income ETFs, in a deal valued at up to $2.3 billion. The transaction will add $30 billion in assets to Goldman Sachs Asset Management's ETF business and position the combined entity as the eighth-largest active ETF manager.
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SEC and CFTC Sue Goliath Ventures Over $400M Ponzi Scheme
Regulators filed separate civil suits against Goliath Ventures and founder Christopher Delgado, alleging a $400 million Ponzi scheme where investors' funds were diverted to earlier investors and luxury spending instead of crypto liquidity pools as promised.
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AI hyperscalers' earnings volatility reshapes options markets as straddles surge 23%
During August 2026 earnings, AI hyperscalers including Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta produced volatility typically seen in smaller stocks, pushing first-week options straddles up 23% on average—a sharp reversal from the 2% loss that trade had averaged over the prior 12 quarters.
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Tim Draper Predicts Bitcoin Could Go "Infinite" as Adoption Accelerates
Venture capitalist Tim Draper reiterated his long-standing bullish thesis on Bitcoin, predicting the cryptocurrency could eventually go "infinite" against the U.S. dollar as merchant adoption accelerates. His forecasting track record, however, has faced scrutiny after repeated timeline delays.
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Pokémon card tokenization hits $124.5M trading volume in August 2025
Tokenized Pokémon card trading reached $124.5 million in August 2025 as blockchain platforms enable fractional ownership and lower fees. Platforms like Courtyard.io and Collector Crypt are scaling a market that's generated 3,000% returns over two decades, though rapid growth raises concerns about speculative excess.
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Pudgy Penguins co-founder Villemain's Spritehood NFT sells out for $1.28M
Cole Villemain, co-founder of Pudgy Penguins, launched Spritehood, a 44,444-piece NFT collection on Robinhood Chain that sold out in under an hour, generating approximately $1.28 million in proceeds.
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Shipfinex and ADI Chain tokenize $500M maritime vessel pipeline
Shipfinex and ADI Chain are partnering to tokenize approximately 35 vessels worth $500 million, bringing real-world asset tokenization into the maritime industry as the sector explores blockchain-based financing channels.
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eToro posts 77% profit surge, acquires TradeZero for $231M
eToro reported strong Q2 2026 earnings with GAAP net income climbing 77% to $53 million, while announcing a $231 million acquisition of US-focused brokerage TradeZero as the platform shifts away from volatile crypto revenues.
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Trump Media's $890M Bitcoin stash faces options exposure and counterparty risk
Trump Media held 14,139 BTC worth $890.5 million as of July 31, but has pledged collateral for options strategies and lending arrangements that expose the company to liquidation risk and counterparty insolvency, according to recent SEC filings.