Sweden and Norway are urging citizens to keep using cash amid rising fears of cyberattacks and geopolitical instability. Once global leaders in cashless transactions, both countries are now rethinking their heavy reliance on digital payments.
The move comes as concerns grow over potential network failures and the need for resilient offline alternatives.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has weighed in on the issue, highlighting the risks of centralised systems. He argued that the fragility of such infrastructures makes physical cash essential during crises.
However, he also sees a future role for Ethereum, if the network becomes robust, private, and decentralised enough to function as a reliable alternative.
For Ethereum to support national payment systems in emergencies, Buterin noted that it must improve its resilience and privacy. The platform has added upgrades, but challenges like scalability and high transaction costs still hinder mass adoption.
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Google researchers have revealed that breaking RSA encryption—the technology securing crypto wallets—requires far fewer quantum resources than previously thought. The team found cracking 2048-bit RSA could take under a week using fewer than a million noisy qubits, 20 times less than previously estimated.
Currently, quantum computers like IBM’s Condor and Google’s Sycamore operate with far fewer qubits, so crypto assets remain safe for now. The significance lies in the rapid pace of improvement in quantum computing capabilities, which calls for increased vigilance.
The breakthrough stems from improved algorithms that speed up key calculations and smarter error correction methods. Researchers also enhanced ‘magic state cultivation,’ a technique that boosts quantum operation efficiency by reducing resource waste.
Bitcoin relies on elliptic curve cryptography, similar in principle to RSA. If quantum computers can crack RSA sooner, Bitcoin’s security timeline could be shortened.
Efforts like Project 11’s quantum Bitcoin bounty highlight ongoing research to test the threat’s urgency.
Quantum threats extend beyond crypto, affecting global secure communications, banking, and digital signatures. Google has begun encrypting more traffic with quantum-resistant protocols in preparation for this shift.
Despite rapid progress, challenges remain. Quantum computers must maintain stability and coherence for long periods to execute complex operations. Currently, this remains a major hurdle, so there is no immediate threat.
It seems likely the first quantum-resistant blockchain upgrades will arrive well before any quantum attack on Bitcoin’s network.
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Coinbase has introduced eight new cryptocurrencies for its users in Germany, expanding access to assets through its website and mobile apps. The supported tokens include Rocket Pool (RPL), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), Renzo (REZ), Reserve Rights (RSR), Aethir (ATH), Syrup (SYRUP), Pendle (PENDLE), and Layer3 (L3).
Users can now buy, sell, convert, and store these tokens using the exchange’s licensed platform.
Some tokens saw notable price movement following the announcement. Aethir’s token surged more than 12% to $0.052, while Rocket Pool rose by roughly 3% to $4.71. However, Syrup and Pendle, which had surged recently, declined despite the news.
Pendle remains a top 100 token by market capitalisation, with a value exceeding $700 million.
Coinbase’s expansion follows its 2021 approval by Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin. It became the first exchange to receive a crypto custody licence in the country.
The company has since continued to grow in Europe, acquiring Cyprus-based brokerage Bux in January 2025 to secure a MiFID II licence and enhance its regional presence.
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The strategic collaboration aims to develop interoperable digital platforms that enable seamless, secure, and paperless exchange of trade-related data across borders.
By aligning their digital infrastructures, the partnership seeks to set a new standard for digital trade within the ASEAN region, facilitating smoother cross-border trade flows and supporting the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).
That initiative promotes mutual recognition of digital identities, electronic trade documents, and regulatory credentials, all of which are crucial to accelerating trade facilitation and supply chain resilience.
A key focus of the collaboration is the technical integration of MYEG’s Zetrix blockchain platform with SGTraDex’s systems, ensuring secure, immutable, and traceable exchange of verified trade information between governments and businesses.
The use of blockchain technology underpins the transition from traditional paper-based trade processes to fully digital trade flows, enhancing transparency and security in cross-border transactions.
The partnership aims to expand regional digital trade integration, potentially involving China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Both parties plan to explore new business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2B2G) use cases, joint product development, regulatory knowledge exchange, and sandbox coordination to foster innovation and interoperability.
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Pakistan has named Bilal Bin Saqib special assistant to the prime minister on blockchain and cryptocurrency. He is also chief advisor to the finance minister and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council.
Bin Saqib studied at the London School of Economics and was honoured with an MBE.
The government plans to use 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity for Bitcoin mining. The move aims to generate revenue, create tech jobs, and attract foreign investment.
Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao joined the crypto council as an advisor in April.
Despite the push, concerns remain. Foreign direct investment dropped sharply last year. Pakistan has hired a US lobbyist and engaged with World Liberty Financial, a crypto project linked to Donald Trump.
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A German court has ruled in favour of Meta, allowing the tech company to use data from Facebook and Instagram to train AI systems. A Cologne court ruled Meta had not breached the EU law and deemed its AI development a legitimate interest.
According to the court, Meta is permitted to process public user data without explicit consent. Judges argued that training AI systems could not be achieved by other equally effective and less intrusive methods.
They noted that Meta plans to use only publicly accessible data and had taken adequate steps to inform users via its mobile apps.
Despite the ruling, the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Centre remains critical, raising concerns about legality and user privacy. Privacy group Noyb also challenged the decision, warning it could take further legal action, including a potential class-action lawsuit.
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A Manhattan-based crypto investor has been charged with kidnapping an Italian man. He allegedly tortured the victim in an attempt to gain access to his Bitcoin wallet.
John Woeltz, 37, was arrested on 24 May and later appeared in court, where he pleaded not guilty to four felony charges, including kidnapping for ransom.
Police said the 28-year-old victim was held inside a rented townhouse in Soho after arriving in the US on 6 May. He was allegedly beaten, electroshocked, and threatened with a firearm when he refused to give up his wallet credentials.
The man eventually escaped and contacted the authorities. Photographs found at the scene appeared to show signs of ongoing abuse.
A woman was also taken into custody, although no charges were filed against her. Investigators have not confirmed whether any cryptocurrency was taken or what the relationship between the parties may have been.
The case comes as more crypto executives and investors seek private security due to a rise in ransom threats. In France, authorities have introduced extra protections for those in the crypto industry.
These measures follow several kidnapping incidents, including the abduction of Ledger co-founder David Balland earlier this year.
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Latin America is uniquely positioned to lead on AI governance by leveraging its social rights-focused policy tradition, emerging tech ecosystems, and absence of legacy systems.
According to a new commentary by Eduardo Levy Yeyati at the Brookings Institution, the region has the opportunity to craft smart AI regulation that is both inclusive and forward-looking, balancing innovation with rights protection.
Despite global momentum on AI rulemaking, Latin American regulatory efforts remain slow and fragmented, underlining the need for early action and regional cooperation.
The proposed framework recommends flexible, enforceable policies grounded in local realities, such as adapting credit algorithms for underbanked populations or embedding linguistic diversity in AI tools.
Governments are encouraged to create AI safety units, invest in public oversight, and support SMEs and open-source innovation to avoid monopolisation. Regulation should be iterative and participatory, using citizen consultations and advisory councils to ensure legitimacy and resilience through political shifts.
Regional harmonisation will be critical to avoid a patchwork of laws and promote Latin America’s role in global AI governance. Coordinated data standards, cross-border oversight, and shared technical protocols are essential for a robust, trustworthy ecosystem.
Rather than merely catching up, Latin America can become a global model for equitable and adaptive AI regulation tailored to the needs of developing economies.
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X, formerly known as Twitter, has resumed normal operations for most users following a global outage early Friday.
Reports of the disruption surged shortly after 8AM ET, before rapidly declining within the hour. NetBlocks confirmed the outage was not linked to any national internet restrictions.
The incident followed a fire earlier in the week at a data centre in US Oregon reportedly owned by X.
Sources cited by Wired indicated that the blaze involved backup batteries and required a prolonged emergency response. Users had already reported problems in the days prior.
Although service has stabilised, the X developer status page still notes degraded performance with login features.
We're still experiencing issues from yesterday's data center outage. Login and signup services are unavailable for some users, and there may be delays in notifications and Premium features.
Our team is working 24/7 to resolve this. Thanks for your patience—updates soon.
AI agents are becoming common in crypto, embedded in wallets, trading bots and onchain assistants that automate decisions and tasks. At the core of many AI agents lies the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which controls their behaviour and interactions.
While MCP offers flexibility, it also opens up multiple security risks.
Security researchers at SlowMist have identified four main ways attackers could exploit AI agents via malicious plugins. These include data poisoning, JSON injection, function overrides, and cross-MCP calls, all of which can manipulate or disrupt an agent’s operations.
Unlike poisoning AI models during training, these attacks target real-time interactions and plugin behaviour.
The number of AI agents in crypto is growing rapidly, expected to reach over one million in 2025. Experts warn that failing to secure the AI layer early could expose crypto assets to serious threats, such as private key leaks or unauthorised access.
Developers are urged to enforce strict plugin verification, sanitise inputs, and apply least privilege access to prevent these vulnerabilities.
Building AI agents quickly without security measures risks costly breaches. While adding protections may be tedious, experts agree it is essential to protect crypto wallets and funds as AI agents become more widespread.
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