Web3 surges with billion-dollar moves while AI faces lawsuits, new models, and misinformation. Here’s your weekly crypto + AI digest.
What’s up, Pasar Crew?
This week brought major developments across Web3 and artificial intelligence, with regulators, institutions, and innovators all making headlines.
In Web3, the Bank of England’s proposed stablecoin caps are under fire, Coinbase’s Base network eyes its own token and a Solana bridge, and Bitcoin ETFs just notched over US$2.3 billion in inflows. Meanwhile, Solana gets a major boost as Forward Industries unveils a US$1.6 billion treasury, MetaMask launches mUSD, and PayPal rolls out crypto-friendly links. Even meme coins are shaking things up with Pump.fun creators cashing in on leaked tracks.
Over in AI, the UK is developing a bilingual model to support Welsh and English, while MIT debuts a 3D tool to improve foetal health imaging. At the same time, lawsuits mount; Britannica targets Perplexity, and Rolling Stone’s parent sues Google over AI summaries.
News about the Web3 and AI landscapes neve sleeps. Here are all the details you need to know in a minute.
Crypto and Web3
BoE Stablecoin Caps Face Backlash, UK Regulatory Concerns
The Bank of England’s proposal to cap individual stablecoin holdings at £10,000 to £20,000, and business holdings at £10 million has drawn sharp criticism from crypto firms including Coinbase. Industry leaders argue such limits would damage UK savers, the City of London, and sterling competitiveness, especially compared with the US’s more flexible GENIUS Act. While the BoE claims the caps are necessary to prevent financial instability, critics warn they could stifle innovation and trigger capital flight.
Base Network Weighs Native Token & Solana Bridge
Coinbase’s Layer-2 (L2) network, Base, is considering the launch of a native token to further decentralisation, though no timeline or structure has been confirmed. At BaseCamp 2025, the team also revealed an open-source bridge to Solana, designed to enhance cross-chain interoperability and provide developers with wider liquidity access. Since its 2023 launch, Base has become the most-used Ethereum L2.
Bitcoin ETFs Record $2.3 Billion Inflows, Demand Surges
US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of around US$2.3 billion last week, the strongest since mid-July. BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC accounted for the majority of allocations. Analysts describe this as a demand impulse, pointing to rising institutional interest and expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, a momentum that may continue into Q4.
Ethereum Foundation Creates ‘dAI’ Team for AI Integration
The Ethereum Foundation has launched a dedicated ‘dAI’ team headed by Davide Crapis to explore blockchain–AI integration. Its mission is to position Ethereum as the primary settlement layer for AI systems while developing decentralised AI infrastructure. The team’s first focus will be ERC-8004, a new standard for AI agent identity and transactions, intended to improve trust and utility for intelligent agents.
Forward Industries Unveils US$1.6 Billion Solana Treasury
Nasdaq-listed Forward Industries has begun implementing its Solana treasury strategy, acquiring 6.82 million SOL worth approximately US$1.58 billion at an average price of $232. This marks the first deployment from its recent $1.65 billion PIPE financing. The firm intends to actively manage its SOL holdings through staking, liquidity provisioning, and market-making, aiming to boost SOL-per-share value.
MetaMask Launches mUSD Stablecoin to Expand Services
MetaMask has introduced its own stablecoin, mUSD, issued by Stripe-owned Bridge and minted via M0’s decentralised infrastructure. Fully backed 1:1 by high-quality dollar reserves, mUSD is positioned to become the default digital dollar within the MetaMask ecosystem. Users will be able to on-ramp, hold, swap, transfer, and bridge funds, with plans to enable card spending at Mastercard merchants by year-end.
PayPal Introduces ‘PayPal Links’ for Easy Crypto Transfers
PayPal has announced ‘PayPal Links’, a peer-to-peer payment feature built for messaging apps, which will soon support direct transfers of Bitcoin, Ethereum, PYUSD, and other crypto assets. Initially launched in the US for dollar transfers, it will expand to the UK, Italy, and other regions, with crypto support to follow. Notably, transfers between friends and family will be exempt from 1099-K tax reporting.
Pump.fun Streamers Go Viral, Cash In on Leaked Tracks
Livestream duo ‘Bagwork’ have gone viral on Pump.fun after allegedly leaking unreleased tracks from Drake and Future. Their Solana meme coin surged to a US$53 million market cap, earning them more than $83,000 in creator fees. The case highlights the explosive rise of ‘creator capital markets’ on Pump.fun, driven by a new model that rewards coin creators with a share of transaction fees.44,000, showing resilience amid rising centralisation concerns.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Mythos AI Deploys Radar-First Navigation System on Cargo Ship
Mythos AI, in partnership with Lomarlabs, has launched its Advanced Pilot Assistance System (APAS) on the CB Pacific chemical cargo ship for a year-long trial. Unlike traditional navigation systems, APAS takes a radar-first approach, directly connecting to the ship’s radar to streamline data and alert crews. The system is designed to reduce cognitive load, improve situational awareness, and keep human judgement central, while validating performance at scale and ensuring compliance with international COLREG maritime rules.
UK-LLM AI Model to Support Welsh and Other UK Languages
The UK-LLM initiative, a collaboration between University College London, NVIDIA, and Bangor University, is developing a new AI model based on NVIDIA Nemotron that can reason in both Welsh and English. Trained on the Isambard-AI supercomputer and powered by NVIDIA NIM microservices for data translation, the model aims to improve public services such as healthcare and education for Welsh speakers. The project also supports the Cymraeg 2050 goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by mid-century.
Britannica Sues Perplexity AI for Copyright Infringement
Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, accusing it of copyright and trademark infringement. The case claims Perplexity’s ‘answer engine’ scrapes their websites, diverts traffic, and republishes copyrighted material without permission. A key example cited is the identical reproduction of Merriam-Webster’s definition of ‘plagiarise’.
Google’s Essex Datacentre to Emit 570,000 Tonnes of CO₂ Each Year
Google’s planned hyperscale datacentre in Thurrock, Essex, is projected to emit nearly 570,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually once operational, comparable to around 500 short-haul flights each week. The project comes as the UK government pushes for greater AI capacity. Campaigners, however, have raised serious concerns about the environmental impact, citing rising greenhouse gas emissions and added pressure on limited power and water resources, despite Google’s claim that the site will have only a ‘minor adverse’ effect.
New AI Tool Delivers Detailed 3D Fetal Health Imaging
Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed ‘Fetal SMPL’, a machine-learning tool capable of producing highly detailed 3D models of fetuses from MRI scans. Trained on 20,000 MRI volumes, the system accurately models body shapes and movements, overcoming the limitations of traditional 2D ultrasounds and hard-to-interpret 3D scans. The innovation promises more precise measurements and improved early detection of potential health abnormalities.
Grok AI Falsely Accuses Metropolitan Police of Misrepresentation
Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot, integrated with X, falsely claimed that London’s Metropolitan Police had misrepresented footage from a recent far-right rally ,suggesting it was taken from a 2020 anti-lockdown protest in Trafalgar Square. The Met quickly refuted the claims, confirming the footage was correctly identified as from Whitehall and Horse Guards Avenue. The incident highlights both Grok’s ongoing struggles with misinformation and the wider challenge law enforcement faces in countering false narratives amplified through social media.
Rolling Stone Parent Company Sues Google Over AI Summaries
Penske Media Corporation (PMC), publisher of Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming that its ‘AI Overviews’ feature is damaging its business. According to PMC, the AI-generated summaries in search results reduce incentives for users to click through to original articles, resulting in sharp declines in website traffic and affiliate revenue. The move adds PMC to a growing list of media companies accusing AI firms of undermining their content rights.
That’s all for this week’s Pasar Pulse. Want more insights? Stay tuned to our site or subscribe via email!
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