Articles by Khal
Latest from Khal
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Standard Chartered becomes first G-SIB to offer USDC minting
Standard Chartered and Circle launched a system allowing institutional clients to mint and redeem USDC stablecoin directly through the bank's platform, starting in Dubai's DIFC with plans to expand globally pending regulatory approval.
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Solana Foundation Launches SGP Governance Framework for Validators
The Solana Foundation introduced Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs), a framework enabling validators with at least 100,000 delegated SOL to propose and vote on protocol decisions, with endorsements from 15% of staked tokens required for onchain votes.
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Bitcoin climbs above $61,000 as Fed signals inflation risks have eased
Bitcoin surged more than 4% to trade above $61,000, its strongest level in over a week, after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh signaled that inflation risks had come down. The move defied weakness in Asian equities, where South Korea's Kospi fell 7.9% on AI chip concerns.
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OpenAI proposes 5% equity stake for U.S. government to ease AI regulation
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly discussed offering the U.S. government a 5% equity stake in the company as part of a broader proposal to give Americans direct financial exposure to AI's growth and ease regulatory pressure on the industry.
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Bitcoin holds $60K as Binance faces $2B outflows and EU regulatory pressure
Bitcoin remains above $60,000 as Binance confronts $2 billion in net outflows over seven days and regulatory headwinds in Europe after missing the MiCA authorization deadline.
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Metaplanet acquires 2,823 Bitcoin, surpasses 43,000 BTC holdings
Metaplanet acquired 2,823 Bitcoin in Q2, bringing total holdings to over 43,000 BTC acquired for approximately $4.5 billion. The company reduced its average acquisition cost to $106,500 per coin and reported $10.95 million in revenue from its Bitcoin income generation strategy.
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Metaplanet expands bitcoin treasury to 43,000 BTC with $170.7M purchase
Japanese firm Metaplanet purchased 2,823 BTC for $170.7 million, bringing its total bitcoin holdings to 43,000 BTC ($2.6 billion) and cementing its position as the world's third largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, behind MicroStrategy and Twenty One Capital.
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Google loses €4.125B EU antitrust appeal over Android bundling
Google's challenge to a €4.125 billion European Commission fine for abusing its dominant position in mobile operating systems through bundling practices has been rejected, with the European Court of Justice upholding the penalty and establishing precedent on how tech platforms can violate antitrust law.
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Taiko restores bridge 10 days after $1.7M hack, users made whole
Taiko's layer-2 network brought its cross-chain bridge back online just 10 days after a June 22 exploit that drained $1.7 million through a compromised SGX signing key exposed on GitHub. The protocol completed a multi-stage recovery including patching, reserve replenishment, and independent security review. Every user was made whole.
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Anduril CEO warns defense tech sector faces valuation bubble risk
Anduril Industries CEO Brian Schimpf warned that defense tech firms are raising capital at unsustainable multiples, with some commanding 50 to 100 times forward revenue, threatening future public market exits and investor returns.
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US job growth slows in June as unemployment holds at 4.3%
ADP reported just 98,000 private-sector jobs added in June, falling short of economist expectations and marking a sharp drop from May's 122,000. With unemployment holding at 4.3% for a fourth consecutive month, the labor market slowdown may influence Federal Reserve policy decisions that ripple through crypto markets.
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Bitcoin long-term holders return to net accumulation
Bitcoin's price recovered above $60,000 as long-term holders (wallets holding coins for 155+ days) shifted to net accumulation, with current buying running between 50,000 to 100,000 BTC on a net basis, according to Glassnode data.
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Bitcoin spot ETFs see $296M outflow; Grayscale Mini Trust gains $36M
US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted a net outflow of $296 million on July 1, but Grayscale's lower-cost Mini Trust bucked the trend with $36.3 million in inflows, signaling investor appetite for cheaper fee structures amid market volatility.
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France launches three-part plan as crypto wrench attacks surge to 77 in H1 2026
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced a strengthened security response after 77 kidnapping and extortion incidents linked to crypto hit the country in the first six months of 2026, more than 70% higher than all of 2025.
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Tether Freezes $1.4M USDT in 131 TRON Wallets Linked to ISIS-K
Tether froze over $1.4 million in USDT across 131 TRON wallets designated by the US Treasury as linked to ISIS-K, acting within hours of the sanctions order. The action underscores stablecoin issuers' role in enforcing global financial compliance.
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US Resumes Dollar Shipments to Iraq After Nine-Day Suspension
The United States resumed physical dollar shipments to Iraq on May 1 after a nine-day suspension tied to pressure over Iran-backed militias. The cash freeze blocked roughly $500 million in deliveries, highlighting how Washington weaponizes economic leverage without formal sanctions.
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Japan Shifts Forex Intervention to Target Speculators, Not Yen Levels
Japan deployed $73.6 billion in forex interventions between April and May 2026, marking its largest monthly campaign in two years. The government has signaled a strategic shift toward preventing speculative volatility rather than defending any specific exchange rate level.
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Nvidia shifts to revenue-sharing model with Australian cloud provider SharonAI
Nvidia announced a six-year partnership with Australian cloud provider SharonAI under a new revenue-sharing model, marking a shift toward predictable, subscription-like income streams from AI infrastructure deployments.
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Bank of Japan raises rates to 1%, highest since 1995
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 1% on June 16, 2026—its highest level since September 1995—citing rising energy costs and yen weakness. The 7-1 vote decision paused bond purchase reductions, supporting risk assets including crypto despite historical patterns of rate hike correlation with Bitcoin declines.
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Dollar holds multi-month highs as US payrolls loom, yen slides to 1986 low
The US dollar is holding firm near 101.1-101.2 on the index while the yen has weakened to its weakest level since 1986. June payrolls data due around July 2 could influence Fed policy and drive further currency moves.
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Lummis defends Clarity Act against Warren's illicit-finance claims
Senator Cynthia Lummis countered Elizabeth Warren's criticism of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, saying the bill includes 16 illicit finance safeguards including BSA/AML rules and Iran-related sanctions provisions.
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Tech Profit-Taking Hits Nasdaq, Semiconductors; Meta Surges on AI Cloud Service
US equity markets declined on July 1 as investors trimmed technology positions, with the Nasdaq falling 0.66% and semiconductors hit hardest. Meta Platforms bucked the trend, surging 9% after announcing plans to monetize excess AI computing capacity through a new cloud service.
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Crypto card deposits hit $10B milestone as stablecoins reshape payments
Crypto card deposits surpassed $10 billion for the first time in early July 2026, marking an 82% year-to-date surge and signaling stablecoins' emergence as practical payment infrastructure rather than speculative assets.
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Mohalla Tech seeks $400M IPO in 2027 after achieving profitability
Mohalla Tech, the company behind India's ShareChat and Moj social platforms, plans to raise up to $400 million through a public listing in 2027 after achieving operational profitability in Q1 FY2027. The move signals a shift toward investor confidence based on unit economics rather than growth-at-any-cost narratives.