Tron, Tether, and TRM Labs have announced the expansion of their T3 Financial Crime Unit (T3 FCU) with Binance as the first T3+ partner. The unit has frozen over $250 million in illicit crypto assets since its launch in September 2024.
The T3 FCU works with global law enforcement to tackle money laundering, investment fraud, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes. The new T3+ programme unites exchanges and institutions to share intelligence and tackle threats in real time.
Recent reports highlight the urgency of these efforts. Over $3 billion in crypto was stolen in the first half of 2025, with some hacks laundering funds in under three minutes. Only around 4% of stolen assets were recovered during this period, underscoring the speed and sophistication of modern attacks.
Debate continues over the role of stablecoin issuers and exchanges in freezing funds. Tether’s halt of $86,000 in stolen USDt highlights fast recovery but raises concerns over decentralised principles amid calls for stronger industry-wide security.
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Nvidia now accounts for more than 8% of the S&P 500, the largest share ever held by a single stock since records began in 1981. The company’s market value reached about $4.5 trillion on Monday, driven by unprecedented demand for its AI chips.
Its share price surged 239% in 2023, 171% in 2024, and 36% in 2025.
While investor sentiment remains strong, analysts warn of mounting risks. Political tensions with China, potential export restrictions, and reliance on overseas resellers could threaten sales.
Over the weekend, reports emerged of an agreement with the US government allowing Nvidia and AMD to give 15% of Chinese chip revenue in exchange for export licences, potentially boosting growth by more than 20%.
Infrastructure is another concern. Analysts say customers now face delays from chip shortages, limited power grid capacity, and data centre cooling systems.
Some of Nvidia’s biggest clients could become direct rivals, challenging its 75% profit margin and long-term dominance in AI infrastructure.
Nvidia’s unprecedented weight in the S&P 500 closely ties the index’s performance to its fortunes. While demand for AI hardware remains high, the company’s growth trajectory depends on navigating political, infrastructure, and competitive pressures.
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All adults in the West Midlands will be offered free training on using AI in daily life, work and community activities. Mayor Richard Parker confirmed the £10m initiative, designed to reach 2.3 million residents, as part of a wider £30m skills package.
A newly created AI Academy will lead the programme, working with tech companies, education providers and community groups. The aim is to equip people with everyday AI know-how and the advanced skills needed for digital and data-driven jobs.
Parker said AI should become as fundamental as English or maths and warned that failure to prioritise training would risk deepening a skills divide. The programme will sit alongside other £10m projects focused on bespoke business training and a more inclusive skills system.
The WMCA, established in 2017, covers Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and 14 other local authority areas in the UK. Officials say the AI drive is central to the region’s Growth Plan and ambition to become the UK’s leading hub for AI skills.
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eBay is introducing a new AI-powered feature to help sellers respond to buyer questions, continuing its AI strategy to streamline selling. Over 10 million sellers have used these tools to create over 200 million listings, with about 500,000 AI-assisted listings generated daily.
The company has launched several AI tools over the past two years, including generative video, listing assistants, bulk upload features and photo background enhancements.
Executives see AI as a way to increase seller retention, expand inventory, and drive buyer traffic, particularly in a competitive market where Amazon, Etsy, and Poshmark offer similar capabilities.
While adoption is optional, eBay tests features with its seller community, making adjustments based on feedback to ensure tone and presentation feel authentic. The company views AI as essential to maintaining its place at the forefront of online marketplaces.
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Hackers have stolen personal and medical information from nearly 500,000 participants in the Netherlands’ cervical cancer screening programme. The attack targeted the NMDL laboratory in Rijswijk between 3 and 6 July, but authorities were only informed on 6 August.
Data includes names, addresses, birth dates, citizen service numbers, possible test results and healthcare provider details. For some victims, phone numbers and email addresses were also stolen. The lab, owned by Eurofins Scientific, has suspended operations while a security review occurs.
The Dutch Population Screening Association has switched to a different laboratory to process future tests and is warning those affected of the risk of fraud. Local media reports suggest hackers may also have accessed up to 300GB of data on other patients from the past three years.
Security experts say the breach underscores the dangers of weak links in healthcare supply chains. Victims are now being contacted by the authorities, who have expressed regret for the distress caused.
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Ethereum developer Federico Carrone, known as Fede’s Intern, was detained in Turkey over allegations of helping misuse the Ethereum network. The incident happened at Izmir airport, where authorities informed him of a pending criminal charge likely linked to his privacy protocol work.
After intervention from the Ethereum community and legal support, Carrone was released and allowed to leave. The case seems tied to blockchain privacy tools, which face rising government scrutiny.
Carrone’s team previously came under attention for Tutela, a study on Ethereum and Tornado Cash user privacy. He emphasised that creating privacy code does not make developers criminals, comparing it to blaming software creators for misuse.
Growing legal challenges face developers building privacy and self-custody tools. Tornado Cash co-founder Alexey Roman recently received a criminal conviction and may face prison.
Crypto advocates warn lawsuits against developers risk stifling innovation and highlight ongoing legal uncertainty.
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Blue Origin has opened its doors to cryptocurrency enthusiasts, allowing passengers to pay for suborbital spaceflights in Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, USDt and USDC. Partnering with Shift4 Payments, Blue Origin will take direct wallet transfers from MetaMask and Coinbase for New Shepard flights.
The move adds to a growing trend of blockchain ventures in aerospace. Past projects have ranged from NFTs sent to space to the launch of satellites hosting decentralised networks.
Spacecoin XYZ recently began building an orbital blockchain network. World Mobile is also rolling out a decentralised 5G system using hydrogen-powered drones to deliver affordable, high-speed internet to underserved regions.
Blue Origin’s ties to crypto go back years. In 2021, Tron founder Justin Sun purchased a $28 million ticket for a Blue Origin flight, with the funds benefiting 19 space-related charities.
Following the journey, Sun called for global action to protect Earth, a message that resonates as technology and space exploration continue to intersect.
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OpenAI has rolled out GPT-5 as the default AI model powering ChatGPT, bringing new features designed to boost productivity for personal and business users.
The new model seamlessly switches between quick search and in-depth reasoning, allowing more fluid and intelligent responses. Users can prompt ChatGPT to ‘think hard’ to trigger the deeper reasoning mode.
ChatGPT Plus users now benefit from double the previous message limit, with 160 messages allowed every three hours. Meanwhile, Team and Pro plan subscribers enjoy unlimited GPT-5 access unless accounts are misused.
Free users have a limit of 10 messages every five hours and one daily ‘Thinking’ mode message. Older GPT models such as GPT-4.1 and GPT-3 have been discontinued but remain accessible via web settings for paying customers.
All built-in tools are automatically enabled according to user needs, removing the need to toggle features like web search, image generation, or data analysis on and off. OpenAI also revealed plans to support third-party plugins to expand ChatGPT’s development capabilities further.
The new voice mode now follows instructions more accurately and will be available to all users.
Overall, GPT-5 marks a significant leap forward, improving reasoning, creativity, and alignment with user intent. OpenAI aims to make ChatGPT an even more powerful assistant by integrating enhanced capabilities and streamlining the user experience.
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GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke has announced his decision to step down later in the year to pursue new entrepreneurial ventures.
Instead of appointing a new CEO, Microsoft will integrate GitHub more closely into its CoreAI division. Since Microsoft acquired GitHub in 2018, the platform has operated chiefly independently, but with this change, leadership will report directly to several Microsoft executives.
Under Dohmke’s leadership since 2021, GitHub’s user base more than doubled to over 150 million developers, supporting over one billion repositories and forks.
The platform has become essential to Microsoft’s AI and developer strategy, especially with growing competition from Google, Replit, and others in the AI coding market.
GitHub recently launched advanced AI tools like Copilot, which suggest code and automate programming tasks, helping developers work more efficiently.
Microsoft’s investment in AI is shaping the future of coding, with GitHub playing a central role by providing direct access to developers worldwide.
Dohmke will remain with Microsoft until the end of the year to assist with the transition, emphasising GitHub’s importance to Microsoft’s broader ambitions in AI and cloud computing.
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Elon Musk has announced plans to sue Apple, accusing the company of unfairly favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his xAI app Grok on the App Store.
Musk claims that Apple’s ranking practices make it impossible for any AI app except OpenAI’s to reach the top spot, calling this behaviour an ‘unequivocal antitrust violation’. ChatGPT holds the number one position on Apple’s App Store, while Grok ranks fifth.
Musk expressed frustration on social media, questioning why his X app, which he describes as ‘the number one news app in the world,’ has not received higher placement. He suggested that Apple’s ranking decisions might be politically motivated.
The dispute highlights growing tensions as AI companies compete for prominence on major platforms.
Apple and Musk’s xAI have not responded yet to requests for comment.
The controversy unfolds amid increasing scrutiny of App Store policies and their impact on competition, especially within the fast-evolving AI sector.
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