The U.S. government has transferred nearly $600 million worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase. On August 15, 10,000 BTC, valued at over $593 million, were moved to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet.
Analysts suggest that the transfer is more likely for secure custody rather than an imminent sale. Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Research, points out that this move may be part of a partnership between the US Marshals Service and Coinbase Prime to safeguard large digital assets.
The Bitcoin in question was seized during the 2022 Silk Road raid, which resulted in the confiscation of 50,000 BTC from the dark web marketplace. The assets have remained dormant since their seizure, attracting attention due to their potential impact on the market.
Donald Trump, a presidential candidate, has pledged not to sell government-held Bitcoin if elected. This promise reflects his campaign’s strategy to appeal to cryptocurrency supporters.
The U.S. Bitcoin mining industry faces challenges post-Bitcoin halving, which reduced rewards and tightened profit margins. Publicly listed mining companies have raised over $2.2 billion in 2024 through debt financing to maintain operations.
Mining firms, including Bitdeer and Marathon Digital, have turned to debt financing to address financial pressures. Notable deals include Core Scientific’s $400 million private offering and Marathon’s $250 million offering.
Debt financing activities of public miners (Source:Miner Weekly)
With a potential Harris administration, there is concern among Bitcoin miners about future regulatory stances. Some in the industry worry about a possibly hostile approach towards digital assets, while others are diversifying revenue streams, such as Core Scientific’s agreement with CoreWaeve.
The American economy is divided between two contrasting visions: Joe Biden’s stabilising approach, focused on international cooperation and supporting the middle class, and Donald Trump’s bold reforms, driven by protectionism and tax cuts for the wealthy.
CatherineSEC Chair Gary Gensler has intensified scrutiny of Elon Musk, targeting Neuralink with a 48-hour settlement ultimatum. Musk responded with satire, portraying Gensler as a snail in a suit. Is this Gensler’s last move before his expected resignation?
KikyoThis initiative, funded by OpenAI and Microsoft, leverages nearly one million digitised books from Google Books to expand resources for AI training, advancing the use of public-domain literature in AI development.
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KikyoSuchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on 26 November, with authorities ruling it a suicide. Before his death, Balaji had been a vocal critic of AI companies' use of copyrighted material, raising concerns about the ethical practices of generative AI systems like ChatGPT.
AnaisMark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk oppose OpenAI's shift to a for-profit model, citing ethical and legal concerns over the misuse of charitable resources. This raises a broader question: When does AI cross ethical boundaries?
CatherineChina has formed a 41-member AI standards committee led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to set industry-wide rules for AI development, testing, and deployment. Key members include top executives from Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, SenseTime, and iFlyTek, along with academic and telecom experts.
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KikyoDrake's X account was hacked to promote a fake Solana-based meme coin, “Anita,” exploiting his ties to the gambling platform Stake. The scam tricked followers into investing over $5 million before the posts were removed.
Anais