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
EU Bitcoin Adoption Hindered by Fragmented Regulations
1️⃣ Corporate BTC adoption in Europe lags behind the United States due to fragmented regulations, lower liquidity, and conservative investment policies; analysts highlight complex compliance requirements, slower institutional uptake, and cautious investment mandates as key barriers.
FDIC Approves Bank Crypto Activities Without Prior Approval
2️⃣ The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reversed its 2022 policy, now allowing banks to engage in cryptocurrency activities and other legally permitted operations without needing prior regulatory approval, provided they manage associated risks appropriately.
Crypto Prices Fall as Traders Reduce Risk Exposure
3️⃣ Cryptocurrency markets suffered a sharp decline, with Bitcoin falling by approximately 3%, while major altcoins lost between 4% and 5% over the past 24 hours. Analysts attribute the drop to traders de-risking in response to Trump’s proposed tariffs.
Bitcoin Dominance Reaches Highest Level Since Early 2021
4️⃣ Bitcoin’s market dominance has surged to 58.8%, marking its highest level since early 2021, despite expectations of an altcoin season. This increase is attributed to corporate BTC accumulation, and the dilution of altcoin capital due to a proliferation of new tokens.
Senators Raise Concerns Over Trump’s WLFI Stablecoin
5️⃣ Five Democratic senators questioned the OCC and Federal Reserve leadership regarding the potential risks posed by WLFI, a stablecoin backed by Donald Trump’s family. The senators are seeking clarity on how regulators plan to oversee WLFI and its USD1 coin.
Sonic Labs Abandons USD Stablecoin in Favour of UAE Dirham
6️⃣ Sonic Labs scrapped its plans for a USD-backed algorithmic stablecoin, shifting focus to a dirham-denominated alternative. This decision follows the United Arab Emirates’ announcement that it will launch its own digital dirham CBDC by late 2025.
Trump Pardons BitMEX Co-Founders in AML Case
7️⃣ President Donald Trump has issued full pardons to the co-founders of BitMEX who had pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws. The trio had paid significant fines as part of their settlement. The case was seen as a landmark enforcement action against a crypto exchange.
CZ Donates BNB to Earthquake Relief Efforts
8️⃣ Binance co-founder CZ pledged 500 BNB each to Thailand and Myanmar in response to a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that caused severe destruction. Zhao intends to distribute the funds through Binance and Binance Thailand, or via a third-party platform if required.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Krisp’s AI Tackles Accent Bias in Hiring
1️⃣ Krisp launched an AI Accent Conversion tool designed to promote inclusive hiring by modifying voices to reduce accent bias. While the tool shows promise, concerns remain regarding cultural identity and the potential for misuse by cybercriminals.
Musk Merges X and xAI into a $113 Billion AI Giant
2️⃣ Elon Musk merged X with his AI company, xAI, in an all-stock deal valuing the combined entity at $113 billion. This strategic move aims to integrate data, AI models, computing power, and talent, enhancing AI-driven experiences for X’s 600 million active users.
Grok AI Chatbot Expands to Telegram’s Billion Users
3️⃣ Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, is now available on Telegram, which recently surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. This marks Grok’s first expansion beyond X, though it remains exclusive to Telegram Premium subscribers.
Ghibli AI Art Trend Raises IP Concerns
4️⃣ A viral trend generating images in the Studio Ghibli style has overwhelmed OpenAI’s GPU capacity and forcing temporary rate limits on image generation. The trend reignited debates about AI’s impact on artists, intellectual property rights, and fair compensation.
OpenAI Faces Intensifying Chinese Competition in AI
5️⃣ OpenAI expects its revenue to triple to $12.7 billion by 2025, fuelled by growing demand for paid AI subscriptions. However, Chinese AI companies, including DeepSeek, Baidu, and Alibaba, are rapidly advancing, introducing powerful yet cost-effective models.
Robinhood Launches AI-Driven Wealth Management
6️⃣ Robinhood has unveiled three new wealth management products leveraging AI and crypto tokenisation to offer low-cost, sophisticated financial management solutions. The expansion aligns with Robinhood’s goal of diversifying its revenue streams.
Solana’s Star Atlas Integrates SingularityNET AI
7️⃣ Solana-based game Star Atlas is partnering with SingularityNET to introduce advanced AI-driven gameplay. By leveraging SingularityNET’s AIRIS and OpenCog Hyperon, the game aims to create a more immersive virtual world, featuring intelligent, evolving AI agents and NPCs.
OpenAI Imposes Limits After Ghibli Trend Strains Resources
8️⃣ Following a surge in users generating Studio Ghibli-style images, OpenAI has implemented temporary restrictions on ChatGPT’s image generation capabilities. CEO Sam Altman stated that the unexpected GPU demand led to resource constraints.
