We bring you the latest in the Web3 and AI industry, structured in bite-sized news that you can read in a minute!
Here’s what’s happening in Web3 and AI in 1 minute.
Web3
Bitcoin Price Dips Amid Tariff Announcements
1️⃣ Bitcoin experienced a sharp correction following Donald Trump’s surprise announcement of a 50% tariff on EU imports. Despite the pullback, US Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded significant inflows with $934 million on 22 May.
Australian Senator Criticised Over Bitcoin Comment
2️⃣ Australian Senator Gerard Rennick sparked backlash from the Bitcoin community after calling Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme and saying “You can’t eat Bitcoin.” Bitcoiners were quick to respond, some questioning whether he felt similarly about the internet.
Crypto Investor Charged with Kidnapping and Torture
3️⃣ Manhattan-based crypto investor John Woeltz is facing serious charges after allegedly detaining and torturing an Italian man for weeks in an attempt to extract access to his wallet. The victim reported beatings, electric shocks, firearm threats, and being dangled from a building.
Telegram Founder Barred from Oslo Human Rights Forum
4️⃣ Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov will deliver his keynote to the Oslo Freedom Forum remotely, after a French court denied his travel request. Durov recently alleged that French intelligence asked him to censor conservative political content linked to Romanian elections.
Pakistan Allocates 2GW of Power for Bitcoin Mining
5️⃣ Pakistan has earmarked 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity exclusively for Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence centres. The initiative forms part of the country’s digital transformation plan, aiming to attract foreign investment and create employment.
Solana Sees Volatility Amid Heightened Global Tensions
6️⃣ SOL fell 4.5% amidst rising global trade and geopolitical tensions. Despite institutional selling pressure, a new partnership between the Solana Foundation and enterprise tech firm R3 seeks to tokenise $10 billion in assets.
Trump Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Memecoin Event
7️⃣ Trump is facing criticism after reportedly using the official presidential seal at a private dinner for $TRUMP memecoin backers, a potential violation of US federal law. Legal concerns have also emerged around the possible presence of foreign nationals at the event.
Franck Muller Unveils Unique Solana Watch
8️⃣ Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller released phygital luxury watches tied to Solana wallets through embedded QR codes. While the personalised watches cost around US$24,300, the release comes at a time when flaunting one’s crypto wealth could lead to harm and endangerment.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI Doesn’t Understand the Word ‘No’
1️⃣ AI models continue to struggle with negation, with words such as “no” or “not”. This limitation is especially critical in high-stakes fields like healthcare. Experts say the problem lies in AI’s reliance on pattern recognition over logical reasoning.
AI Agents Introduce New Security Risks to Crypto
2️⃣ AI agents are increasingly being deployed in crypto for wallets and trading. However, this introduces new vulnerabilities via plugins, which includes data poisoning, JSON injection, and competitive function overrides, potentially leading to private key leaks.
New AI Tool Claims High Success Against Wallet Poisoning
3️⃣ A new AI-powered tool claims 97% accuracy in detecting crypto wallet address poisoning by employing machine learning trained on transaction data and evolving attack patterns, which goes beyond traditional static detection methods.
Anthropic Releases Claude 4, Faces Privacy Concerns
4️⃣ Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 may outperform rivals like GPT-4.1, but the rollout has sparked backlash due to a controversial feature that reportedly allowed Claude 4 Opus to autonomously report user behaviour to authorities.
Jony Ive Joins OpenAI in $6.4 Billion Acquisition
5️⃣ OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup, io, in a $6.4 billion all-equity deal. Ive was known for his work at Apple, and will spearhead hardware design at OpenAI, focusing on wearable AI devices.
Melania Trump Uses AI Voice to Narrate Memoir
6️⃣ Melania Trump released the audiobook version of her memoir narrated by an AI-generated replica of her own voice, developed by ElevenLabs under her direction. She is the first former US First Lady to use AI for commercial narration.
OpenAI to Mass Produce AI Companion Devices
7️⃣ OpenAI has announced plans to produce and distribute 100 million pocket-sized AI devices, created in collaboration with Jony Ive. These wearable devices represent a new design philosophy aiming to seamlessly integrate AI into daily life.
Study Finds Racial Bias in AI Based on Names
8️⃣ A new study has shown that AI models exhibit racial bias by making ethnic assumptions based on names. Names such as Patel, Nguyen, and Garcia are often interpreted as culturally specific, whereas names like Smith or Williams are treated as neutral.
