Category: Web3

NEAR Surges 42%, Nearing $20 Mark with Deutsche Telekom’s Support

NEAR’s price has managed to pop by over 42% this week. This recent pop led the token to near a $20 mark which is also said to be highly assisted by the involvement of Deutsche Telekom as a validator. This collab also overall boosted blockchain adoption hype. It currently holds a $1.6B trading volume and solid support at $2.74. Analysts are predicting NEAR hitting $15-20 in 3-6 months.

NEAR protocol is on a bullish ride right now and the momentum doesn’t seem to slow down any time soon. Over just past seven days, this token has managed to surge by over 42%. Coincidently so, they had made a massive collaboration with a German Telecommunications firm  Deutsche Telekom, which was said to support NEAR protocol in coming days.

Read more about their partnership: Deutsche Telekom Partners with Meta Pool to Advance Decentralized AI on NEAR Protocol

In short, NEAR’s like the ultimate plug-and-play blockchain for building DApps that can handle millions of users while, Deutsche Telekom is all about decentralization and keeping your data yours, so this collab just vibes perfectly.

While this partnership was buzzing all over with good vibes, the token still dipped by 5% in the past 24 hours. landing at $5.16, but no biggie as graph shows it is still up by 42% this week. Trading volume also hit a wild $1.6B, meaning investors are all over it. NEAR’s overall market cap is now $6.2B, with $1.2B tokens circulating.

The charts are giving traders a lot of information, at the fire support level of $2.74, buyers continue to intervene. On the other hand, NEAR needs to break beyond the $6.20 barrier in order to make more money. According to analysts, if it breaks that, it might soar to $15–$20 within the following three to six months.

Read more: Thumzup Allocates $1M for Bitcoin Treasury Reserve

Polymarket Whale Loses $3.6M in Tyson Bet Gone Wrong

Polymarket whale “zxgngl,”, the one who once bagged $11M keeping all bets on Trump. Now he faces defeat as he just lost $3.6M betting on the most anticipated Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul. Paul absolutely dominated throughout and Tyson also looked very tired to begin with, this zxgngl’s gamble backfired bigtime. But even with this L, they’re still top 4 on Polymarket, where the fight saw a wild $63M in bets.

Zxgngl, a high stakes bettor and a prominent figure on Polymarket, which is a popular prediction platform, has just dumped out loads of money after losing the bet on Tyson vs Paul boxing match on November 15.

He has a record of winning bets, the most recent one was when he bet on U.S. presidential election 2024, where he bet on Trump’s victory and bagged a profit of whopping $11 million. Sadly, this victory was immediately followed by a massive loss on the recent boxing match. Zxgngl heavily favored Mike Tyson, even weeks before the match he was praising Tyson continuously. However the odds for the match showed that Jake Paul had a 63.5% chance of winning and Tyson had just 29.5% chance, the remaining 8.5% was the possibility for a draw. Despite all the odds against him, zxgngl decided to support for Mike and the results were awful for him.

You might also like: XRP Rallies 15% as Speculation Grows Over Gary Gensler’s Exit

By the end, Jake Paul was awarded a unanimous decision victory, and Tyson’s hopes of securing a win were dashed. This news shocked the world and more to zxgngl as he lost  $3.6 million on it. This is near to one third of the previously won bet on elections. However, despite these losses, zxgngl still remains a prominent figure on Polymarket’s leaderboard.

Read more: Greenidge Generation Wins Legal Battle to Operate in New York

Arkham Unveils Points Program to Attract Derivatives Traders

Arkham has launched a crypto derivatives exchange with an exciting 30-day points program that converts into ARKM tokens. Targeting major retail traders, it offers onchain audits and PoR but excludes U.S. users. Crypto derivatives trading is absolutely booming, just recently it hit a milestone of $3T+ volume with platforms like CME and Crypto.com baking it up for with futures tied to popular coins.

Arkham Intelligence is a blockchain analytics firm that primarily specializes in tracking and analyzing cryptocurrency transactions. It provides all tools essential in order to identify the entities behind crypto wallet addresses, and hence offers insights into blockchain activity. This blockchain analytics firm has started a points program to woo traders to its newly launched cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, according to an announcement made on Nov. 14.

You might also like: Bitfinex Hacker Lichtenstein Gets 5-Year Prison Sentence

This basically means traders can earn points from trading spot crypto and perpetual futures contracts. The program is set to last for overall 30 days and the points thus earned will be converted into Arkham’s native token, ARKM. On November 6, they even launched a digital assets derivatives exchange. This exchange will reportedly target retail traders and compete with existing platforms such as Binance. In short, it mixes their research with onchain audits and proof-of-reserve (PoR). But heads up, it’s not available for U.S. users. This is likely due to regulatory restrictions and compliance issues around crypto trading platforms in the country.

Read more: Hamster Kombat Surpasses $5.3B in Volume, Gains 11M Token Holders

Bitfinex Hacker Lichtenstein Gets 5-Year Prison Sentence

Ilya Lichtenstein, the man behind the infamous 2016 Bitfinex hack which resulted in $71M (now billions) being stolen, has got 5 years in prison for laundering with his wife, Mrs. Heather Morgan. They used every shady techniques like creating fake ID’s, darknet markets, and NFTs to hide their funds. After finally being caught Lichtenstein cooperated and helped solve cybercrime cases while his wife is also facing sentences soon.

Ilya Lichtenstein from Russia is has been sentenced to five years in prison for working together with his wife to steal and launder billions of cryptocurrency. His wife is a rapper who goes by the name  “Razzlekhan” on her social media and she also pleaded guilty last year for their heinous crimes. Reportedly, Morgan has faced an 18 month sentence recommendation and that will be finalized on November 18.

You might also like: Pennsylvania Looks to Build Bitcoin Reserve

This case dates back to 2016, the time when Lichtenstein managed to hack into the Bitfinex exchange, stealing 119,754 Bitcoin worth $71 million at the time. The recent surge of Bitcoin makes the overall stolen amount rise to billions of dollars. The scale of this money and the complexity involved in the case has made this one of the most infamous heist in crypto.

Judge somewhat praised Lichtenstein by calling his Bitcoin heist super calculated. He and his wife both, used fake IDs, crypto exchanges, and even bought NFTs to hide stolen funds. However, after pleading guilty he cooperated with cyber police force and is also helped them solve other cybercrime cases. He showed remorse and promised to fight against cybercrimes. This case really highlights how wild crypto crimes can get.

Bhutan Sells $33M in Bitcoin Amid Price Surge

Bhutan has just sold $33.5M worth of Bitcoin at its peak price, this added to the previously sold $66M overall becomes $100M and this is just the data of this month. Well, even after this the country still holds 12,206 BTC, that totals about $1.11B. Bhutan mines bitcoins using its epic hydro power. Their strategic moves are inspiring other nations, with talks of a U.S. “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” gaining major buzz.

The kingdom of Bhutan has just recently sold about  367 Bitcoin, worth around $33.5 million, through Binance. Arkham Intelligence says that the transfer took place exactly  at 12:06 a.m. UTC. Bitcoin’s price was high, above $90,000 at that time. Two weeks earlier Bhutan had sold  $66 million worth of Bitcoin, that time it was just $70K which is still lot but after the elections BTC has really surged like never seen before.

Read more: Trump’s World Liberty Financial Integrates Chainlink for Offchain Data

Overall Bhutan still has about 12,206 BTC, considering current price that amounts to about $1.11 billion. These Bitcoins holdings are managed by Druk Holding & Investments. Bhutan seems to sell them strategically so as to make as much profit possible. The recent rally of Bitcoin was the right moment for them to sell out some of the BTC and hence profit is all theirs.

Conclusion

Bhutan’s killing it as the 5th biggest Bitcoin-holding government, leveraging its hydro power energy source instead of seizures to mine BTC. Their high sell-strategy is attracting every major global organizations. Even the US. is thinking of creating a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” with recent buzz from Trump and Senator Lummis.

UK Unveils Crypto Regulations to Rival US Leadership in Blockchain

United Kingdom just came up with new rules this month, focusing more on stablecoins and staking. This act is all to stay relevant with Trump’s pro Bitcoin US. Some delays have put them behind but there is still a shot to lead if they move fast enough. Clear regs = more crypto startups staying in the UK.

UK government is planning to introduce new crypto regulations this month to reassure businesses and especially to compete with Donald Trump’s sharp progress in crypto firms with a clear stance on the sector. A report says, UK treasury will reveal two pieces of legislation which are primarily focused on stablecoins and its staking services.

Read more about Bitcoin: Bitcoin Trading Volume Reaches All-Time High on Retail Demand

The major step up by UK comes with new crypto rules for stablecoins and staking to keep up with Trump’s crypto-friendly US and the EU. Stablecoins will get industry input on rules, and staking won’t face heavy regulations anymore. There are delays however, that have put the UK behind, but there’s chance for bounce back as there’s plenty left for them but they must act fast. With newly elected president Trump hyping up Bitcoin reserves and mining, United Kingdom needs clear and chill regulations to keep crypto status from bouncing.

Italy Weighs Lowering Crypto Tax from 42% to 28%

Italy is planning to implement 42% price hike on crypto trades according to a statement made by the Vice Economy Minister last month. It has taken major backlash though, so there’s a chance they might drop it to 28%. Some want to scrap the hike entirely, while others push for better crypto education. Whatever the outcome is, this could reshape Italy’s place in the crypto game.

The government of Italy is more tilted towards approving a proposal  to reduce the planned tax hike on cryptocurrency trading. A junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition suggests crypto tax limit to be 28% instead of the originally planned 42% according to last month’s budget.

Crypto Industry leaders argue that this absurd proposed tax would certainly make Italy less competitive in the field of crypto, compared to other European Union countries. It is sure to get a major pushback, they quoted. The law currently beholds  26% tax rate for crypto.

Read more: Google Cloud Partners with ZetaChain to Enhance Cross-Chain Connectivity

The EU is also reportedly rolling out some major crypto rules soon, so Italy’s case becomes even more heated debate than anticipated. Forza Italia, a center-right political party in Italy, wants to cancel the hike entirely and ditch the tax break for gains under €2,000. The League also suggests teaming up with crypto firms to educate investors. The decision is in hands of Italy’s government and this decision is crucial as it would reshape its crypto future forever.

Amazon Accelerates AI Chip Development to Reduce Nvidia Reliance

Amazon is cooking up its own AI chips to cut costs and break free from Nvidia’s grip. Their brand new chip Trainium 2 drops in next month with big names such as Anthropic and Databricks already hopping on to test it. Amazon claims its Inferentia chips will save 40% on AI model costs, which makes it ready for big-time massive budgets. They’re pouring billions into tech, but with Nvidia’s still being the top dog, with its rank staying as much as Amazon’s entire AWS division.

Amazon is busy on developing its new artificial intelligence chips which is supposed to boost returns on its semiconductor investments and result in overall reduce in dependency on Nvidia. Its development is being led by Annapurna Labs, it acquired this lab in 2025 for $350 million.

Amazon says, this chip development aims to improve data centers efficiency and offers customers with tailored options in the cloud AI market. It will do so by optimizing chips for specific tasks, unlike Nvidia’s which focuses more on general purpose tools. Amazon claims their “Inferentia AI chips” to be 40% cheaper to run for general AI models response generation. This may actually not sound like it matters for small stuffs but is actually huge for budgets in the millions. They are also spending a lot, $75B on tech in 2024. Additionally, this is still lot more considering their 2023 budget, and it is probably going to have gone up even further the next year. According to an Annapurna official, maintaining smooth operations requires developing entire systems from the ground up rather than merely designing chips.

You might also like: AI Firm Genius Group Chooses Bitcoin as Primary Treasury Asset

Amazon has made numerous tries, but it has yet to match Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips. According to reports, Nvidia made $26.3 billion in sales from AI data center chips in just its second fiscal quarter of 2024, which is equal to the whole revenue for Amazon’s AWS division during the same time frame.

AI Agents Take on Minecraft: SingularityNET’s Proto-AGI Learns in Virtual World

Summary

SingularityNET and ASI alliance has dropped a next-generational experiment, a self-learning robot, or proto AGI that learns and levels up in minecraft by itself. They are currently testing on how this AI could think and learn like us humans. Its just like giving an AI its own playground and us monitoring over it to see how it adapts to its environment. The experiment’s pretty wild and could be a huge step towards building smarter and more ethical AI in real life.

A decentralized artificial intelligence network called SingularityNET and the ASI Alliance, also a team focused on advancing artificial superintelligence have together lunched their first self-learning proto-AGI within Minecraft. This AI could be very powerful if it works as expected in minecraft.

So basically, this AI is let to play minecraft and explore its features on its own. Minecraft is a survival game, in which users are spawned in a random terrain with absolutely nothing. Users then have to navigate through the world find essentials for survival by themselves. This proto-AGI launched by SingularityNET and ASI alliance is supposed to navigate their way to survival by itself.

This sort of AI is called Autonomous Intelligent Reinforcement Inferred Symbolism (AIRIS), it functions outside of its pre-set rules and hence evolves as it encounters new challenges. An ASI Alliance spokesperson quoted minecraft is perfect fit for this purpose. This working style of AIRIS aligns well with Minecraft’s open-ended, unpredictable sandbox world, providing an expansive environment for which the proto-AGI can test the limits of autonomous AI learning.

If this functions as expected, it will be a huge leap for artificial general intelligence development as this same AI could be placed in real life scenarios and it could find a solution that we couldn’t.

Read how SingularityNET Revolutionizing AI with Adaptive Learning

Kraken, Galaxy Digital, and Robinhood Back New USDG Stablecoin via Global Dollar Network

Summary

Paxos created USDG, a regulated stablecoin that is supported by well-known cryptocurrency companies Kraken, Galaxy Digital, and Robinhood. As a member of the Global Dollar Network, the stablecoin is expected to face competition from big heavyweights like Circle and Tether.

USDG Launch with Industry Support

Prominent crypto companies including Kraken, Galaxy Digital, and Robinhood are supporting USDG, a newly launched dollar-backed stablecoin from Paxos. According to a Nov. 5 announcement, the Global Dollar Network—a consortium of firms backing USDG—has been formed, with partners like Anchorage Digital, Bullish, Nuvei, and DBS Bank. USDG is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and backed by liquid U.S. dollar reserves.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Polkadot Teams Up with SP Negócios to Boost Crypto Economy Growth

Compliant and Globally Expandable

USDG began operations on the Ethereum blockchain on October 31 and intends to spread to other networks as stablecoin laws change. Managed by DBS Bank in Singapore, the stablecoin is redeemable for fiat currency and is compliant with Singapore’s regulatory framework.

Addressing Market Gaps

In order to assist the stablecoin market reach its full potential, the consortium intends to solve “the lack of competition,” according to Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi. Sethi believes USDG will foster mainstream adoption and “accelerate new use cases” for digital assets.

Growth Driven by Consortiums

The USDG reserve yields will be used to reward consortium members, promoting worldwide adoption. Exchanges, banks, fintech companies, and payment providers are among the areas the network plans to onboard partners from, even though it is presently in an invite-only phase.

Going up against Circle and Tether

Since USDG is Paxos’s second stablecoin, it can rival well-known stablecoins like Tether and Circle’s USDC. With the planned entry of new players like Ripple with RLUSD and Stripe through its acquisition of stablecoin provider Bridge, the competition is anticipated to get more fierce.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: JPMorgan to Launch Dollar-Euro FX Settlements on Kinexys Blockchain

Exit mobile version