Economic

Visa and Yellow Card launch new digital dollar system

Visa is stepping up efforts to improve cross-border payments in Africa by partnering with Yellow Card Financial to roll out stablecoin settlements across 20 markets. The pilot will start later this year in an undisclosed country, offering faster and cheaper transactions.

The collaboration promises near-instant, low-cost stablecoin transfers by combining Visa Direct’s payment network with Yellow Card’s licences in Africa and the broader CEMEA region.

These services come at a critical time, as local currency volatility and shortages of US dollars have hampered trade and remittances across the continent.

Visa’s stablecoin infrastructure has already processed over $225 million in USDC settlements since 2023. Yellow Card, which has handled over $6 billion in crypto transactions, offers Visa immediate access to a mature crypto corridor.

The partnership seeks to modernise traditional payment rails by reducing fees, improving liquidity management, and boosting resilience.

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South Korea to investigate crypto exchange fees

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced an investigation into the transaction fees charged by domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. The regulator will assess if fees are too high and consider ways to reduce trading costs.

The inquiry aligns with President Lee Jae-myung’s pro-crypto agenda. Lee promised during his campaign to reduce trading fees, notably to support younger investors.

The FSC intends to survey local exchanges about their current fee systems and compare them with overseas platforms to set future policy standards.

Earlier this year, South Korea’s regulator introduced a 0.6% supervision fee on exchanges’ operating revenues.

The fees collected from major exchanges like Upbit and smaller players such as Bithumb and Coinone contribute significantly to the overall industry revenue. The FSC has yet to comment on the investigation’s next steps.

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Oakley unveils smart glasses featuring Meta technology

Meta has partnered with Oakley to launch a new line of smart glasses designed for active lifestyles. The flagship model, Oakley Meta HSTN, will be available for preorder from 11 July for $499.

Additional Oakley models featuring Meta’s innovative technology are set to launch later in the summer, starting at $399.

https://twitter.com/1Kapisch/status/1936045567626617315

The glasses include a front-facing camera, open-ear speakers, and microphones embedded in the frame, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. When paired with a smartphone, users can listen to music, take calls, and interact with Meta AI.

With built-in cameras and microphones, Meta AI can also describe surroundings, answer visual questions, and translate languages.

With their sleek, sports-ready design and IPX4 water resistance, the glasses are geared toward athletes. They offer 8 hours of battery life—twice that of the Meta Ray-Bans—and come with a charging case that extends usage to 48 hours. Video capture quality has also improved, now supporting 3K resolution.


Customers can choose from five frame and lens combinations with prescription lenses for an added cost. Colours include warm grey, black, brown smoke, and clear, while lens options include Oakley’s PRIZM and transitions.

The $499 limited-edition version features gold accents and gold PRIZM lenses. Sales will cover major markets across North America, Europe, and Australia.

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Publishers lose traffic as readers trust AI more

Online publishers are facing an existential threat as AI increasingly becomes the primary source of information for users, warned Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince during an Axios event in Cannes.

As AI-generated summaries dominate user queries, search engine referrals have plunged, urgently pushing media outlets to reconsider how they sustain revenue from their content.

Traffic patterns have dramatically shifted. A decade ago, Google sent a visitor to publishers for every two pages it crawled.

Today, that ratio has ballooned to 18:1. The picture is more extreme for AI firms: OpenAI’s ratio has jumped from 250:1 to 1,500:1 in just six months, while Anthropic’s has exploded from 6,000:1 to a staggering 60,000:1.

Although AI systems typically include links to sources, Prince noted that ‘people aren’t following the footnotes,’ meaning fewer clicks and less ad revenue.

Prince argued that audiences are beginning to trust AI summaries more than the original articles, reducing publishers’ visibility and direct engagement.

As the web becomes increasingly AI-mediated, fewer people read full articles, raising urgent questions about how creators and publishers can be fairly compensated.

To tackle the issue, Cloudflare is preparing to launch a new anti-scraping tool to block unauthorised data harvesting. Prince hinted that the tool has broad industry support and will be rolled out soon.

He remains confident in Cloudflare’s capacity to fight against such threats, noting the company’s daily battles against sophisticated global cyber actors.

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Hidden privacy risk: Meta AI app may make sensitive chats public

Meta’s new AI app raises privacy concerns as users unknowingly expose sensitive personal information to the public.

The app includes a Discover feed where anyone can view AI chats — even those involving health, legal or financial data. Many users have accidentally shared full resumes, private conversations and medical queries without realising they’re visible to others.

Despite this, Meta’s privacy warnings are minimal. On iPhones, there’s no clear indication during setup that chats will be made public unless manually changed in settings.

Android users see a brief, easily missed message. Even the ‘Post to Feed’ button is ambiguous, often mistaken as referring to a user’s private chat history rather than public content.

Users must navigate deep into the app’s settings to make chats private. They can restrict who sees AI prompts there, stop sharing on Facebook and Instagram, and delete previous interactions.

Critics argue the app’s lack of clarity burdens users, leaving many at risk of oversharing without realising it.

While Meta describes the Discover feed as a way to explore creative AI usage, the result has been a chaotic mix of deeply personal content and bizarre prompts.

Privacy experts warn that the situation mirrors Meta’s longstanding issues with user data. Users are advised to avoid sharing personal details with the AI entirely and immediately turn off all public sharing options.

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France appeals porn site ruling based on EU legal grounds

The French government is challenging a recent decision by the Administrative Court of Paris that temporarily halted the enforcement of mandatory age verification on pornographic websites based in the EU. The court found France’s current approach potentially inconsistent with the EU law—specifically the 2002 E-Commerce Directive—which upholds the ‘country-of-origin’ principle.

That rule limits an EU country’s authority to regulate online services hosted in another member state unless it follows a formal process involving both the host country and the European Commission. The dispute’s heart is whether France correctly followed the required legal steps.

While French authorities say they notified the host countries of porn companies like Hammy Media (Xhamster) and Aylo (owner of Pornhub and others) and waited the mandated three months, legal experts argue that notifying the Commission is also essential. So far, there is no confirmation that this additional step was taken, which may weaken France’s legal standing.

Digital Minister Clara Chappaz reaffirmed the government’s commitment to enforcing age checks, calling it a ‘priority’ in a public statement. The ministry insists its rules align with the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

However, the court’s ruling highlights broader tensions between France’s national digital regulations and overarching the EU law. Similar legal challenges have already forced France to adjust parts of its digital, influencer, and cloud regulation frameworks in the past two years.

The appeal could have significant implications for age restrictions on adult content and how France asserts digital sovereignty within the EU. If the court upholds the suspension, other digital regulations based on national initiatives may also be vulnerable to legal scrutiny under the EU principles.

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SoftBank plans $1 trillion AI and robotics park in Arizona

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is planning what could become his most audacious venture yet: a $1 trillion AI and robotics industrial park in Arizona.

Dubbed ‘Project Crystal Land’, the initiative aims to recreate a high-tech manufacturing hub reminiscent of China’s Shenzhen, focused on AI-powered robots and next-gen automation.

Son is courting global tech giants — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung — to join the vision, though none have formally committed.

The plan hinges on support from federal and state governments, with SoftBank already discussing possible tax breaks with US officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

While TSMC is already investing $165 billion in Arizona facilities, sources suggest Son’s project has not altered the chipmaker’s current roadmap. SoftBank hopes to attract semiconductor and AI hardware leaders to power the park’s infrastructure.

Son has also approached SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio companies to participate, including robotics startup Agile Robots.

The park may serve as a production hub for emerging tech firms, complementing SoftBank’s broader investments, such as a potential $30 billion stake in OpenAI, a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ampere Computing, and funding for Stargate, a global data centre venture with OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX.

While the vision is still early, Project Crystal Land could radically shift US high-tech manufacturing. Son’s strategy relies heavily on project-based financing, allowing extensive infrastructure builds with minimal upfront capital.

As SoftBank eyes long-term AI growth and increased investor confidence, whether this futuristic park will become a reality — or another of Son’s high-stakes dreams remains to be seen.

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In-app investing coming soon to X

Elon Musk’s plan to turn X into a social and financial hub is moving forward, with in-app investing and payments on the way. X CEO Linda Yaccarino said the new financial features, including a possible X debit card, will launch soon.

According to the Financial Times, users can carry out transactions ranging from splitting bills to making investments—all within the app. Yaccarino described it as a future where users manage their financial lives directly through X.

A limited beta version of ‘X Money’ was quietly launched in May.

Despite Musk’s well-known enthusiasm for Dogecoin, memecoin and other cryptocurrencies were not mentioned. Musk has frequently promoted Dogecoin, but X’s financial plans currently leave out crypto integration.

The move reflects Musk’s long-term vision of building an ‘everything app.’ Originally co-founding X.com in 1999, which became PayPal, Musk later revived the X brand when acquiring Twitter in 2022.

The platform is now inching closer to merging social media with finance—without, for the moment, embracing crypto.

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Over $4 billion in crypto options expire today

Over $4.1 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire today, stirring expectations of price swings across the crypto market. The bulk comes from Bitcoin contracts valued at $3.5 billion, while Ethereum options account for around $565 million.

Data from Deribit shows 33,972 BTC and 224,509 ETH contracts reaching expiry. Traders are watching the market closely, as options expiration often triggers short-term volatility.

Bitcoin’s put-to-call ratio of 1.0 suggests a neutral stance among traders, while Ethereum’s lower 0.69 ratio indicates a tilt toward bullish expectations. Both assets currently trade below their respective ‘max pain’ points.

Analysts note that prices often move toward max pain levels, causing short-term shifts. Broader sentiment remains cautious amid geopolitical tensions and recent US Federal Reserve remarks.

Traders are increasingly hedging against downside risk, particularly concerning possible Middle East conflict and shifting interest rate expectations.

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EU AI Act challenges 68% of European businesses, AWS report finds

As AI becomes integral to digital transformation, European businesses struggle to adapt to new regulations like the EU AI Act.

A report commissioned by AWS and Strand Partners revealed that 68% of surveyed companies find the EU AI Act difficult to interpret, with compliance absorbing around 40% of IT budgets.

Businesses unsure of regulatory obligations are expected to invest nearly 30% less in AI over the coming year, risking a slowdown in innovation across the continent.

The EU AI Act, effective since August 2024, introduces a phased risk-based framework to regulate AI in the EU. Some key provisions, including banned practices and AI literacy rules, are already enforceable.

Over the next year, further requirements will roll out, affecting AI system providers, users, distributors, and non-EU companies operating within the EU. The law prohibits exploitative AI applications and imposes strict rules on high-risk systems while promoting transparency in low-risk deployments.

AWS has reaffirmed its commitment to responsible AI, which is aligned with the EU AI Act. The company supports customers through initiatives like AI Service Cards, its Responsible AI Guide, and Bedrock Guardrails.

AWS was the first primary cloud provider to receive ISO/IEC 42001 certification for its AI offerings and continues to engage with the EU institutions to align on best practices. Amazon’s AI Ready Commitment also offers free education on responsible AI development.

Despite the regulatory complexity, AWS encourages its customers to assess how their AI usage fits within the EU AI Act and adopt safeguards accordingly.

As compliance remains a shared responsibility, AWS provides tools and guidance, but customers must ensure their applications meet the legal requirements. The company updates customers as enforcement advances and new guidance is issued.

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