Digital business models

Kurant pauses Bitcoin ATM operations in Germany

Kurant, Europe’s leading Bitcoin ATM installer, will temporarily halt its services across Germany from 1 July. The Austrian company is awaiting a new licence under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations.

Over half of its 300-plus machines operate in Germany, meaning most Bitcoin ATMs in the country will be out of service during this pause.

Transactions initiated before the halt will be completed as usual, but no new purchases or sales of cryptocurrencies will be possible until the licensing process is finalised. Kurant described the break as a responsible step to prepare for significant technical and legal changes required by the new EU rules.

No exact timeline for resumption was given, though customers will receive updates.

Operations in other European countries, including Austria and Spain, will continue unaffected. Europe’s Bitcoin ATM network is growing steadily but remains much smaller than the United States, which leads globally with over 30,000 machines.

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Police investigate rising crypto-related crimes in Russia

Police in St. Petersburg have dismantled an illegal crypto mining farm operating near Mitrofanievsky Highway. The facility caused around 10 million rubles ($127,873) in damage to the city’s power grid.

Dozens of mining rigs and tampered meters were seized from the unmanned warehouse.

Authorities believe the farm spanned several hundred square metres and was powered through a nearby substation. A manhunt is under way for those responsible.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has warned of a new scam using foreign call centres. Fraudsters pose as trading experts and convince victims to invest in crypto after fake training sessions.

Once trust is gained, scammers take control of victims’ accounts and transfer funds to their own wallets. The warning follows the sentencing of influencer Valeria Fedyakina, known as Bitmama, for a $21 million crypto fraud.

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Grammarly invests in email with Superhuman acquisition

Grammarly announced on Tuesday that it has acquired email client Superhuman to expand its AI capabilities within its productivity suite.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed by either company. Superhuman, founded by Rahul Vohra, Vivek Sodera and Conrad Irwin, has raised over $114 million from investors such as a16z and Tiger Global, with a last valuation of $825 million.

Grammarly CEO Shishir Mehrotra said the acquisition will enable the company to bring enhanced AI collaboration to millions more professionals, adding that email is not just another app but a crucial platform where users spend significant time.

Superhuman’s CEO Rahul Vohra and his team are joining Grammarly, promising to invest further in improving the Superhuman experience and building AI agents that collaborate across everyday communication tools.

Recently, Superhuman introduced AI-powered features like scheduling, replies and email categorisation. Grammarly aims to leverage the technology to build smarter AI agents for email, which remains a top use case for its customers.

The move follows Grammarly’s acquisition of productivity software Coda last year and the promotion of Shishir Mehrotra to CEO.

In May, Grammarly secured $1 billion from General Catalyst through a non-dilutive investment, repaid by a capped percentage of revenue generated using the funds instead of equity.

The Superhuman deal further signals Grammarly’s commitment to integrating AI deeply into professional communication.

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Arizona governor vetoes Bitcoin reserve bill

Governor Katie Hobbs of Arizona has vetoed a bill that aimed to establish a state-managed Bitcoin reserve using cryptocurrencies seized from criminal activities. The bill passed the Arizona House but was vetoed over concerns it would discourage local law enforcement from cooperating on digital asset forfeiture.

It marks Hobbs’ third veto on Bitcoin-related legislation. Earlier this year, she vetoed bills letting state funds invest in Bitcoin and allowing agencies to accept crypto for fines and taxes.

Hobbs has consistently expressed caution due to the volatility of cryptocurrency markets, stating that such fluctuations make it unwise to allocate general fund dollars to crypto.

Despite her vetoes, Hobbs did approve legislation permitting the state to hold unclaimed cryptocurrencies in their native form rather than converting them to cash. While states like Texas and New Hampshire have embraced Bitcoin reserves, Arizona continues to exercise strict oversight.

Experts suggest future governors may take a different approach, potentially opening the door to more crypto-friendly policies.

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DDN gears up for AI boom with next-gen storage systems

DataDirect Networks (DDN) is positioning itself at the heart of the coming AI boom, projecting that enterprise adoption of AI will soon surge — and with it, demand for powerful storage systems.

The company, a veteran in high-performance computing (HPC) storage, expects orders from existing HPC clients to triple or quadruple by 2027. DDN co-founder Paul Bloch highlighted Elon Musk’s xAI cluster in Memphis, which currently uses 200,000 GPUs — a number he says could grow to one million.

DDN has upgraded its core storage systems with the AI400X3, delivering up to 140GBps read speeds and major improvements in resilience and fault tolerance. The system supports NVMe-over-TCP and integrates seamlessly with Nvidia’s SpectrumX and Blackwell GPU architectures.

The company also released Infinia 2.1, a revamped object storage platform designed for enterprise AI. It offers a 100x speed boost, supports major AI frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow, and is now available via Google Cloud.

DDN is already supporting 700,000 GPUs across 7,000 customers, including 4,000 focused on AI. Backed by Blackstone’s recent $300 million investment, DDN plans to expand into new enterprise markets and increase hiring by over 20% this year.

With AI adoption spreading across industries, DDN says the need for scalable, GPU-optimised storage will become mission-critical.

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Senate passes Trump bill without crypto tax breaks

The US Senate approved President Trump’s large reconciliation bill, but key crypto tax exemptions were excluded. Pro-crypto senators, led by Cynthia Lummis, tried to add amendments offering tax relief for miners, stakers, and retail users, but ran out of time.

The proposed changes would have taxed staking and mining rewards only upon sale. They also included allowing mark-to-market accounting for unrealised gains and introducing a de minimis exemption for small transactions.

Industry leaders called the omission a missed opportunity. Senator Lummis remains optimistic, saying discussions with Senate Finance Committee members will continue to address crypto tax issues in future legislation.

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Cloudflare’s new tool lets publishers charge AI crawlers

Cloudflare, which powers 20% of the web, has launched a new marketplace called Pay per Crawl, aiming to redefine how website owners interact with AI companies.

The platform allows publishers to set a price for AI crawlers to access their content instead of allowing unrestricted scraping or blocking. Website owners can decide to charge a micropayment for each crawl, permit free access, or block crawlers altogether, gaining more control over their material.

Over the past year, Cloudflare introduced tools for publishers to monitor and block AI crawlers, laying the groundwork for the marketplace. Major publishers like Conde Nast, TIME and The Associated Press have joined Cloudflare in blocking AI crawlers by default, supporting a permission-based approach.

The company also now blocks AI bots by default on all new sites, requiring site owners to grant access.

Cloudflare’s data reveals that AI crawlers scrape websites far more aggressively than traditional search engines, often without sending equivalent referral traffic. For example, OpenAI’s crawler scraped sites 1,700 times for every referral, compared to Google’s 14 times.

As AI agents evolve to gather and deliver information directly, it raises challenges for publishers who rely on site visits for revenue.

Pay per Crawl could offer a new business model for publishers in an AI-driven world. Cloudflare envisions a future where AI agents operate with a budget to access quality content programmatically, helping users synthesise information from trusted sources.

For now, both publishers and AI companies need Cloudflare accounts to set crawl rates, with Cloudflare managing payments. The company is also exploring stablecoins as a possible payment method in the future.

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Why AI won’t replace empathy at work

AI is increasingly being used to improve how organisations measure and support employee performance and well-being.

According to Dr Serena Huang, founder of Data with Serena and author of The Inclusion Equation, AI provides insights that go far beyond traditional annual reviews or turnover statistics.

AI tools can detect early signs of burnout, identify high-potential staff, and even flag overly controlling management styles. More importantly, they offer the potential to personalise development pathways based on employee needs and aspirations.

Huang emphasises, however, that ethical use is vital. Transparency and privacy must remain central to ensure AI empowers rather than surveils workers. Far from making human skills obsolete, Huang argues that AI increases their value.

With machines handling routine analysis, people are free to focus on complex challenges and relationship-building—critical skills in sales, leadership, and team dynamics. AI can assist, but it is emotional intelligence and empathy that truly drive results.

To ensure data-driven efforts align with business goals, Huang urges companies to ask better questions. Understanding what challenges matter to stakeholders helps ensure that any AI deployment addresses real-world needs. Regular check-ins and progress reviews help maintain alignment.

Rather than fear AI as a job threat, Huang encourages individuals to embrace it as a tool for growth. Staying curious and continually learning can ensure workers remain relevant in an evolving market.

She also highlights the strategic advantage of prioritising employee well-being. Companies that invest in mental health, work-life balance, and inclusion enjoy higher productivity and retention.

With younger workers placing a premium on wellness and values, businesses that foster a caring culture will attract top talent and stay competitive. Ultimately, Huang sees AI not as a replacement for people, but as a catalyst for more human-centric, data-informed workplaces.

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Qantas cyber attack sparks customer alert

Qantas is investigating a major data breach that may have exposed the personal details of up to six million customers.

The breach affected a third-party platform used by the airline’s contact centre to store sensitive data, including names, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth and frequent flyer numbers.

The airline discovered unusual activity on 30 June and responded by immediately isolating the affected system. While the full scope of the breach is still being assessed, Qantas expects the volume of stolen data to be significant.

However, it confirmed that no passwords, PINs, credit card details or passport numbers were stored on the compromised platform.

Qantas has informed the Australian Federal Police, the Cyber Security Centre and the Office of the Information Commissioner. CEO Vanessa Hudson apologised to customers and urged anyone concerned to call a dedicated support line. She added that airline operations and safety remain unaffected.

The incident follows recent cyber attacks on Hawaiian Airlines, WestJet and major UK retailers, reportedly linked to a group known as Scattered Spider. The breach adds to a growing list of Australian organisations targeted in 2025, in what privacy authorities describe as a worsening trend.

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UK urged to prepare for agentic AI in government

Agentic AI, a new generation of AI that goes beyond automation to deliver full task orchestration, could change how government operates. Sharon Moore, CTO Public Sector UK at IBM, argues the UK Government must adopt this technology to drive operational efficiency and better public services.

Departments using AI agents have already recorded significant savings, such as 3,300 hours saved in HR tasks by East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust and 800 hours monthly by a New Jersey agency. IBM itself has cut development costs by billions, showcasing the potential for large-scale productivity gains.

Agentic systems integrate multiple AI models and tools, solving complex problems with minimal human intervention. Unlike traditional chatbots, these systems handle end-to-end tasks and adapt across use cases, from citizen services to legacy software modernisation.

To implement these systems safely, the UK must address risks like data leaks, hallucinations, and compliance failures. Moore emphasises that future governance must shift from overseeing individual models to managing entire AI systems, built on transparency, security, and performance oversight.

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