Bitcoin has secured a new all-time high, with its price momentarily climbing above USD 124,000 and capturing headlines again. The milestone has solidified its upward trajectory, even with modest daily gains.
At the same time, Ethereum has also experienced a stellar month. It is now positioned less than two percent away from breaking its previous all-time high for the first time in nearly four years.
The broader cryptocurrency market is thriving alongside these two giants. Many of the top 100 digital assets are basking in double-digit weekly gains, with Solana up by 23 percent and Ethereum’s rise of 30 percent particularly noteworthy.
A combination of positive regulatory shifts and economic optimism in the United States drives the robust market momentum.
A return to high-growth investments is the primary theme, with institutional investors increasingly flocking to Ethereum as a treasury asset.
Following favourable inflation data, the shift is fuelled by expectations of a September interest rate cut in the US. The anticipated monetary easing has encouraged a move toward ‘risk-on’ assets within the cryptocurrency sector.
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Coinbase development staff realise that autonomous AI agents will become Ethereum’s most significant user base, leveraging a long-dormant web standard to make real-world payments in cryptocurrency.
The programme is powered by the HTTP 402 ‘Payment Required’ status, a web standard that was defined thirty years ago. It has now been combined with Ethereum Improvement Proposal 3009 to enable automated stablecoin transfers.
Developers are already experimenting, proving the programme is moving from a theoretical possibility to a practical reality.
The shift could be transformative, as it allows AI agents to autonomously pay for services, eliminating the need for human oversight of API calls or data storage. Potential applications range from self-driving taxis covering their own costs to AI models creating content on demand.
Ethereum’s trustless settlement layer makes it the ideal blockchain for this new payment protocol.
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Law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad have coordinated a raid to dismantle the BlackSuit ransomware operation, seizing servers and domains and approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency linked to ransom demands.
The action, led by the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, the IRS and the FBI, involved cooperation with agencies across the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Ukraine, Ireland and Lithuania.
BlackSuit, a rebranded successor to the Royal ransomware gang and connected to the notorious Conti group, has been active since 2022. It has targeted over 450 US organisations across healthcare, government, manufacturing and education sectors, demanding more than $370 million in ransoms.
The crypto seized was traced back to a 2023 ransom payment of around 49.3 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.4 million. Investigators worked with cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze and recover roughly $1 million of those funds in early 2024.
President Lee Jae-myung has announced a sweeping national megagrowth plan that positions South Korea at the forefront of AI and energy transformation.
The initiative includes the creation of an ‘AI expressway’, starting with the Ulsan AI data centre, underpinned by bold tax incentives and regulatory reforms to attract private sector investment. Complementing this is a proposed investment of 100 trillion won to accelerate AI innovation, next-generation semiconductors, and the development of AI infrastructure and innovation zones.
On the energy front, the government has launched a dedicated task force to develop an AI-powered next-generation power grid. This ‘electric highway’ aims to integrate AI technology into renewable energy distribution and grid modernisation without needing vast new infrastructure.
Complementing the power grid overhaul, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) plans to invest around 73 trillion won by 2038 to expand transmission lines and upgrade the power infrastructure serving major semiconductor complexes.
Together, these measures form a robust blueprint that aligns digital transformation with energy security, aimed at keeping South Korea globally competitive while responding to rising electricity demands from AI and other tech industries.
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Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov established a digital transformation group, or digital headquarters, to advance AI integration across Kazakhstan, following President Tokayev’s directives on 11 August 2025.
The group includes senior officials, such as the deputy prime minister, the head of strategic planning, the minister of digital development, innovation, and aerospace industry, and the presidential digitalisation advisor. The group is tasked with implementing nine priority areas outlined by the president.
These span AI deployment in the economy, public administration, and healthcare; digital strategy development; IT architecture modernisation; cybersecurity; support for IT startups; the national QazTech platform; and innovative city initiatives.
A significant plan component involves crafting a roadmap with the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund to embed AI in production and boost labour productivity. AI solutions are expected to improve diagnostics, personalise treatment, enable continuous patient monitoring, and streamline workflows in healthcare. Startups will gain access to the Ministry of Health infrastructure and integration into a unified medical database.
Consolidating government communication via the Aitu national messenger, IT modernisation, and strengthened cybersecurity aims to create a seamless, safe digital environment for citizens. The emphasis is swift collaboration to address AI integration challenges across all sectors.
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Chrome security update fixes six flaws that could enable arbitrary code execution. Stable channel 139.0.7258.127/.128 (Windows, Mac) and .127 (Linux) ships high-severity patches that protect user data and system integrity.
CVE-2025-8879 is a heap buffer overflow in libaom’s video codec. CVE-2025-8880 is a V8 race condition reported by Seunghyun Lee. CVE-2025-8901 is an out-of-bounds write in ANGLE.
Detection methods included AddressSanitizer, MemorySanitizer, UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer, Control Flow Integrity, libFuzzer, and AFL. Further fixes address CVE-2025-8881 in File Picker and CVE-2025-8882, a use-after-free in Aura.
Successful exploitation could allow code to run with browser privileges through overflows and race conditions. The automatic rollout is staged; users should update it manually by going to Settings > About Chrome.
Administrators should prioritise rapid deployment in enterprise fleets. Google credited external researchers, anonymous contributors, and the Big Sleep project for coordinated reporting and early discovery.
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Google has introduced a new ‘Preferred Sources’ feature that allows users to curate their search results by selecting favourite websites. Once added, stories from these sites will appear more prominently in the ‘Top Stories’ section and a dedicated ‘From your sources’ section on the search results page.
Now rolling out in India and the US, the feature aims to improve search quality by helping users avoid low-value content. There is no limit to the number of sources that can be chosen, and early testers typically added more than four.
While preferred outlets will appear more often, search results will still include content from other websites.
To set preferred sources, users can click the icon next to the ‘Top Stories’ section when searching for a trending topic, find the outlet they want, and reload results.
Google says the change may also benefit publishers, offering them more visibility when AI-driven search engines sharply reduce traffic to news websites.
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Tesla is recruiting drivers in Queens, New York, to operate vehicles fitted with automated driving systems. The company has not yet secured the permits required for autonomous vehicle testing in the city.
The roles involve driving specially equipped cars for extended periods while collecting audio and video data to train Tesla’s self-driving technology. However, the New York City Department of Transportation confirmed Tesla has yet to apply for the necessary authorisation.
By law, any approved operator must have a trained safety driver ready to take control at all times.
Tesla is advertising similar roles in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Orlando, Miami and Palo Alto, hinting at a nationwide expansion of its Full Self-Driving trials. In Texas, the company has approval to run a driverless robotaxi service, now limited to Austin employees but likely opening to the public soon.
The company’s push into autonomous driving faces significant hurdles, including regulatory scrutiny, legal disputes and safety concerns. Meanwhile, electric vehicle sales have slowed, with critics blaming product missteps and CEO Elon Musk’s divisive remarks.
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Perplexity AI has made a surprise US$34.5 billion offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, which could align with antitrust measures under consideration in the US.
The San Francisco-based startup submitted the proposal in a letter of intent, claiming it would keep Chrome independent while prioritising openness and consumer protection.
The bid arrives as Google awaits a court ruling on potential remedies after being found to have maintained an illegal monopoly in online search.
US government lawyers have suggested Chrome’s divestment instead of allowing Google to strengthen its dominance through AI. Google has urged the court to reject such a move, warning that a sale could harm innovation and reduce quality.
Analysts at Baird Equity Research said Perplexity’s offer undervalues Chrome and may be intended to prompt rival bids or influence the judge’s decision. They added that Perplexity, which already operates its browser, could gain an advantage if Chrome became independent.
Google argues that most Chrome users are outside the US, meaning a forced sale would have global implications. The ruling is expected by the end of August, with the outcome likely to reshape the competitive landscape for browsers as AI increasingly shapes how users access the internet.
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Zenity Labs warned at Black Hat USA that widely used AI agents can be hijacked without interaction. Attacks could exfiltrate data, manipulate workflows, impersonate users, and persist via agent memory. Researchers said knowledge sources and instructions could be poisoned.
Demos showed risks across major platforms. ChatGPT was tricked into accessing a linked Google Drive via email prompt injection. Microsoft Copilot Studio agents leaked CRM data. Salesforce Einstein rerouted customer emails. Gemini and Microsoft 365 Copilot were steered into insider-style attacks.
Vendors were notified under coordinated disclosure. Microsoft stated that ongoing platform updates have stopped the reported behaviour and highlighted built-in safeguards. OpenAI confirmed a patch and a bug bounty programme. Salesforce said its issue was fixed. Google pointed to newly deployed, layered defences.
Enterprise adoption of AI agents is accelerating, raising the stakes for governance and security. Aim Labs, which had previously flagged similar zero-click risks, said frameworks often lack guardrails. Responsibility frequently falls on organisations deploying agents, noted Aim Labs’ Itay Ravia.
Researchers and vendors emphasise layered defence against prompt injection and misuse. Strong access controls, careful tool exposure, and monitoring of agent memory and connectors remain priorities as agent capabilities expand in production.
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