Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced plans to establish a State Digital Asset Fund to consolidate the country’s position in digital finance. The fund will accumulate a strategic crypto reserve through the National Bank’s Investment Corporation.
Crypto adoption in Kazakhstan has surged, doubling ownership from 4% in 2022 to 8% in 2024. Mining generated over $10 million in taxes, while licensed providers contributed $367,000 in the first eight months 2024.
Tokayev warned of rising online fraud, highlighting the need for anti-fraud centres, biometric ID systems, and enhanced legislation to protect citizens and state finances. He connected digital finance to urban development, unveiling Alatau City, a $7.2 billion fully digitalised smart city with crypto payments.
The initiative positions Kazakhstan as a regional leader in crypto strategy, combining economic growth, technological innovation, and digital infrastructure development.
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Yevgeny Masharov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, said a national crypto bank would bring vast sums of crypto into the legal economy. He added that lawmakers also aim to ban quasi-legal exchanges while exploring the launch of state-run trading platforms.
Masharov suggested that a crypto bank could be a tool against online fraud, particularly schemes involving ‘droppers’ who launder cash and crypto for criminals. He argued that by keeping transactions within an official system, authorities would have more control over illicit flows.
The initiative follows similar moves in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed officials to accelerate work on a national crypto bank. Moscow also views such a project as a way to support miners, enable safer cross-border payments, and reduce reliance on Western-controlled financial networks.
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Meta has plans to spend at least $600 billion on US data centres and AI infrastructure by 2028. The forecast, reported by The Information, was shared by CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a dinner with President Donald Trump and other technology leaders.
Capital expenditure is set to rise sharply over the next three years. Meta projects spending of $66–72 billion in 2025, nearly 70% higher than 2024, with another significant increase expected in 2026.
The company said the surge in investment will be driven primarily by the need to expand AI computing power.
Zuckerberg confirmed that Meta aims to deploy more than one million GPUs to train its next generation of AI models.
The company is also investing heavily in talent and infrastructure as it builds a dedicated team focused on developing artificial super intelligence, a concept referring to AI systems with capabilities beyond those of humans.
The spending commitment highlights how major US technology companies are racing to secure computing capacity for AI. Meta is pledging ‘hundreds of billions of dollars’ towards expanding its data centre footprint in the years ahead.
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Uber and Chinese startup Momenta will begin robotaxi testing in Munich in 2026, marking their first public deployment in continental Europe. The trials will start with human safety operators, with plans to expand across additional European cities.
Founded in 2016, Momenta is one of China’s leading autonomous vehicle companies, having tested self-driving cars since 2018. The company is already collaborating with automakers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW to integrate advanced driver assistance systems.
Uber is broadening its global AV network, which already spans 20 partners across mobility, delivery, and freight. In the US, Waymo robotaxis operate via Uber’s app, while international partnerships include WeRide in the Gulf and Wayve in London.
Competition in Europe is intensifying. Baidu from China and Lyft plan to roll out robotaxis in Germany and the UK next year, while Uber has chosen Munich, Germany, as its engineering base and a strong automotive ecosystem.
German regulators must still certify Momenta’s technology and approve geo-fenced operating areas. If successful, Munich will become Momenta’s first European launchpad, building on its Shanghai robotaxi service and global ADAS deployment.
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Sam Altman, X enthusiast and Reddit shareholder, has expressed doubts over whether social media content can still be distinguished from bot activity. His remarks followed an influx of praise for OpenAI Codex on Reddit, where users questioned whether such posts were genuine.
Altman noted that humans are increasingly adopting quirks of AI-generated language, blurring the line between authentic and synthetic speech. He also pointed to factors such as social media optimisation for engagement and astroturfing campaigns, which amplify suspicions of fakery.
The comments follow OpenAI’s backlash over the rollout of GPT-5, which saw Reddit communities shift from celebratory to critical. Altman acknowledged flaws in a Reddit AMA, but the fallout left lasting scepticism and lower enthusiasm among AI users.
Underlying this debate is the wider reality that bots dominate much of the online environment. Imperva estimates that more than half of 2024’s internet traffic was non-human, while X’s own Grok chatbot admitted to hundreds of millions of bots on the platform.
Some observers suggest Altman’s comments may foreshadow an OpenAI-backed social media venture. Whether such a project could avoid the same bot-related challenges remains uncertain, with research suggesting that even bot-only networks eventually create echo chambers of their own.
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Quantum computers could become more efficient with a new quantum router that directs data more quickly within machines. Researchers at Stanford have built the component, which could eventually form the backbone of quantum random access memory (QRAM).
The router utilises superconducting qubits, controlled by electromagnetic pulses, to transmit information to quantum addresses. Unlike classical routers, it can encode addresses in superposition, allowing data to be stored in two places simultaneously.
In tests with three qubits, the router achieved a fidelity of around 95%. If integrated into QRAM, it could unlock new algorithms by placing information into quantum states where locations remain indeterminate.
Experts say the advance could benefit areas such as quantum machine learning and database searches. It may also support future ideas, such as quantum IP addresses, although more reliable designs with larger qubit counts are still required.
The Stanford team acknowledges the device needs refinement to reduce errors. But with further development, the quantum router could be a vital step toward practical QRAM and more powerful quantum computing applications.
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A malvertising campaign is targeting IT workers in the EU with fake GitHub Desktop installers, according to Arctic Wolf. The goal is to steal credentials, deploy ransomware, and infiltrate sensitive systems. The operation has reportedly been active for over six months.
Attackers used malicious Google Ads that redirected users to doctored GitHub repositories. Modified README files mimicked genuine download pages but linked to a lookalike domain. MacOS users received the AMOS Stealer, while Windows victims downloaded bloated installers hiding malware.
The Windows malware evaded detection using GPU-based checks, refusing to run in sandboxes that lacked real graphics drivers. On genuine machines, it copied itself to %APPDATA%, sought elevated privileges, and altered Defender settings. Analysts dubbed the technique GPUGate.
The payload persisted by creating privileged tasks and sideloading malicious DLLs into legitimate executables. Its modular system could download extra malware tailored to each victim. The campaign was geo-fenced to EU targets and relied on redundant command servers.
Researchers warn that IT staff are prime targets due to their access to codebases and credentials. With the campaign still active, Arctic Wolf has published indicators of compromise, Yara rules, and security advice to mitigate the GPUGate threat.
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Microsoft confirmed that its Azure cloud platform was briefly affected after several undersea cables were cut in the Red Sea.
The disruption caused latency for traffic moving through the Middle East and connecting Asia to Europe. Microsoft said engineers rerouted data to reduce customer impact.
By Saturday evening, the company reported that Azure was running normally. NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, noted broader connectivity issues in countries including India and Pakistan.
The cause of the cuts remains unclear. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have attacked Red Sea infrastructure in the past, denied targeting the cables.
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Stablecoins have become central to the digital economy, with billions in daily transactions and stronger regulatory backing under the GENIUS Act. Yet experts warn that advances in quantum computing could undermine their very foundations.
Elliptic curve and RSA cryptography, widely used in stablecoin systems, are expected to be breakable once ‘Q-Day’ arrives. Quantum-equipped attackers could instantly derive private keys from public addresses, exposing entire networks to theft.
The immutability of blockchains makes upgrading cryptographic schemes especially challenging. Dormant wallets and legacy addresses may prove vulnerable, putting billions of dollars at risk if issuers fail to take action promptly.
Researchers highlight lattice-based and hash-based algorithms as viable ‘quantum-safe’ alternatives. Stablecoins built with crypto-agility, enabling seamless upgrades, will better adapt to new standards and avoid disruptive forks.
Regulators are also moving. NIST is finalising post-quantum cryptographic standards, and new rules will likely be established before 2030. Stablecoins that embed resilience today may set the global benchmark for digital trust in the quantum age.
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The United States, Japan, and South Korea held two Trilateral Quantum Cooperation meetings this week in Seoul and Tokyo. Officials and experts from government and industry gathered to discuss securing quantum ecosystems against cyber, physical, and intellectual property threats.
The US State Department stressed that joint efforts will ensure breakthroughs in quantum computing benefit citizens while safeguarding innovation. Officials said cooperation is essential as quantum technologies could reshape industries, global power balances, and economic prosperity.
The President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, described the partnership as entering a ‘golden era’, noting that Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo must work together both to address North Korea and to drive technological progress.
The talks come as Paul Dabbar, the former CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology, begins his role as US Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Dabbar brings experience in deploying emerging quantum network technologies to the new trilateral framework.
North Korea has also signalled interest in quantum computing for economic development. Analysts note that quantum’s lower energy demand compared to supercomputers could appeal to a country plagued by chronic power shortages.
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