Indirect crypto securities holdings across Dutch households, institutions, and companies have expanded sharply over the past five years, according to central bank data. The increase reflects wider use of exchange-traded products linked to digital assets, while overall exposure remains limited.
Total indirect investments climbed from around €81 million at the end of 2020 to €1.2 billion by October 2025. Even with that increase, crypto-linked securities remain marginal, accounting for just 0.03% of overall securities holdings in the Netherlands.
Value growth has largely reflected rising prices of underlying crypto-assets rather than widespread new investment. Bitcoin, for example, recorded substantial gains before experiencing a sharp decline in late 2025, which influenced the valuation of related products.
Households hold the largest share of crypto ETFs and ETNs, while pension funds dominate crypto treasury shares. Holdings are highly concentrated, with seven foreign-issued securities accounting for roughly 70% of total Dutch indirect crypto exposure.
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Russia’s telecom watchdog is preparing to expand its use of AI to monitor and restrict access to prohibited online content, a move expected to affect parts of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Roskomnadzor plans to invest more than 2 billion rubles in machine-learning tools designed to analyse internet traffic and improve enforcement against banned websites and VPN services. Blocking activity has already accelerated, with hundreds of VPNs and more than a million websites restricted during 2025.
Industry observers warn that stronger filtering could disrupt access to foreign-based crypto exchanges, mining pools, and information services. Major platforms are not currently blocked, but wider AI use is expected to accelerate detection of mirror sites and circumvention tools.
Regulatory changes under discussion could further reshape market access. Proposals would allow licensed domestic institutions to handle crypto transactions while imposing separate rules on specialised exchanges, potentially limiting the operations of foreign providers.
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The European Commission has signalled readiness to escalate action against Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, following concerns over the spread of non-consensual sexualised images on the social media platform X.
The EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told Members of the European Parliament that existing digital rules allow regulators to respond to risks linked to AI-driven nudification tools.
Grok has been associated with the circulation of digitally altered images depicting real people, including women and children, without consent. Virkkunen described such practices as unacceptable and stressed that protecting minors online remains a central priority for the EU enforcement under the Digital Services Act.
While no formal investigation has yet been launched, the Commission is examining whether X may breach the DSA and has already ordered the platform to retain internal information related to Grok until the end of 2026.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also publicly condemned the creation of sexualised AI images without consent.
The controversy has intensified calls from EU lawmakers to strengthen regulation, with several urging an explicit ban on AI-powered nudification under the forthcoming AI Act.
A debate that reflects wider international pressure on governments to address the misuse of generative AI technologies and reinforce safeguards across digital platforms.
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UK regulators and the Treasury face MP criticism over their approach to AI, amid warnings of risks to consumers and financial stability. A new Treasury Select Committee report says authorities have been overly cautious as AI use rapidly expands across financial services.
More than 75% of UK financial firms are already using AI, according to evidence reviewed by the committee, with insurers and international banks leading uptake.
Applications range from automating back-office tasks to core functions such as credit assessments and insurance claims, increasing AI’s systemic importance within the sector.
MPs acknowledge AI’s benefits but warn that readiness for large-scale failures remains insufficient. The committee urges the Bank of England and the FCA to introduce AI-specific stress tests to gauge resilience to AI-driven market shocks.
Further recommendations include more explicit regulatory guidance on AI accountability and faster use of the Critical Third Parties Regime. No AI or cloud providers have been designated as critical, prompting calls for stronger oversight to limit operational and systemic risk.
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Apple has issued a renewed warning to iPhone users, urging them to install the latest version of iOS to avoid exposure to emerging spyware threats targeting older versions.
Devices running iOS 26 are no longer fully protected by remaining on version 18, even after updating to the latest patch. Apple has indicated that recent attacks exploit vulnerabilities that only the newest operating system can address.
Security agencies in France and the United States recommend regularly powering down smartphones to disrupt certain forms of non-persistent spyware that operate in memory.
A complete shutdown using physical buttons, rather than on-screen controls, is advised as part of a basic security routine, particularly for users who delay major software upgrades.
While restarting alone cannot replace software updates, experts stress that keeping iOS up to date remains the most effective defence against zero-click exploits delivered through everyday apps such as iMessage.
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OpenAI’s annualised revenue has surpassed $20 billion in 2025, up from $6 billion a year earlier. The company’s computing capacity and user numbers have also continued to grow.
The company recently confirmed it will begin showing advertisements in ChatGPT to some users in the United States. The move is part of a broader effort to generate additional revenue to cover the high costs of developing and running advanced AI systems.
OpenAI’s platform now spans text, images, voice, code, and application programming interfaces. CFO Sarah Friar said the next phase of development will focus on agents and workflow automation that can operate continuously, retain context over time, and take action across multiple tools.
Looking ahead to 2026, the company plans to prioritise what it calls ‘practical adoption’, with a particular emphasis on health, science, and enterprise use cases. The aim is to move beyond experimentation and embed AI more deeply into real-world applications.
Friar also said OpenAI intends to maintain a ‘light’ balance sheet by partnering with external providers rather than owning infrastructure outright. Contracts will remain flexible across hardware types and suppliers as the company continues to scale its operations.
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A new ‘Answer Now’ button has been added to Gemini, allowing users to skip extended reasoning and receive instant replies. The feature appears alongside the spinning status indicator in Gemini 3 Pro and Thinking/Flash, but is not available in the Fast model.
When selected, the button confirms that Gemini is ‘skipping in-depth thinking’ before delivering a quicker response. Google says the tool is designed for general questions where speed is prioritised over detailed analysis.
The update coincides with changes to usage limits across subscription plans. AI Pro users now receive 300 Thinking prompts and 100 Pro prompts per day, while AI Ultra users get 1,500 Thinking prompts and 500 Pro prompts daily.
Free users also gain access to the revised limits, listed as ‘Basic access’ for both the Thinking and Pro models. Google has not indicated whether the Fast model will receive the Answer Now feature.
The rollout follows the recent launch of Gemini’s Personal Intelligence feature, which allows the chatbot to draw on Google services such as Gmail and Search history. Google says Answer Now will replace the existing Skip button and is now available on Android, iOS, and the web.
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Adobe says generative AI is rapidly reshaping India’s creator economy, with 97% of surveyed creators reporting a positive impact. Findings come from the company’s inaugural Creators’ Toolkit Report covering more than 16,000 creators worldwide.
Adoption levels in India are among the highest globally, with almost all creators reporting that AI tools are embedded in their daily workflows. Adobe is commonly used for editing, content enhancement, asset generation and idea development across video, image and social media formats.
Despite enthusiasm, concerns remain around trust and transparency. Many creators fear their work may be used to train AI models without consent, while cost, unclear training methods and inconsistent outputs also limit wider confidence.
Interest in agentic AI is also growing, with most Indian creators expressing optimism about systems that automate tasks and adapt to personal creative styles. Mobile devices continue to gain importance, with creators expecting phone output to increase further.
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Exiger has launched a free online tool designed to help organisations identify links to forced labour in global supply chains. The platform, called forcedlabor.ai, was unveiled during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The tool allows users to search suppliers and companies to assess potential exposure to state-sponsored forced labour, with an initial focus on risks linked to China. Exiger says the database draws on billions of records and is powered by proprietary AI to support compliance and ethical sourcing.
US lawmakers and human rights groups have welcomed the initiative, arguing that companies face growing legal and reputational risks if their supply chains rely on forced labour. The platform highlights risks linked to US import restrictions and enforcement actions.
Exiger says making the data freely available aims to level the playing field for smaller firms with limited compliance budgets. The company argues that greater transparency can help reduce modern slavery across industries, from retail to agriculture.
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Researchers at Yale University have developed an AI platform that accelerates chemical discovery by turning scientific knowledge into practical laboratory guidance. The system, known as MOSAIC, generates detailed experimental procedures across chemistry, including drug design and materials science.
MOSAIC differs from existing AI chemistry tools by combining thousands of specialised AI ‘experts,’ each representing a distinct area of chemical knowledge.
Instead of a single model, the platform draws on diverse reaction expertise to guide complex syntheses, including the synthesis of previously unreported compounds.
Early results suggest the approach significantly improves experimental outcomes. Using MOSAIC, researchers successfully synthesised more than 35 new compounds, spanning pharmaceuticals, catalysts, advanced materials, and other chemical domains.
The system also provides uncertainty estimates, helping scientists prioritise experiments most likely to succeed.
Designed as an open-source framework, MOSAIC aims to move AI beyond prediction and into hands-on laboratory support. Developers say the platform could cut research bottlenecks, improve reproducibility, and widen access to advanced chemical synthesis.
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