Eutelsat shares surged by over 60% on Tuesday, continuing a remarkable rise that saw them increase by 68% the day before. This spike came after geopolitical tensions raised the possibility of OneWeb satellites, owned by the French satellite operator, replacing Elon Musk’s Starlink service in Ukraine. Since Friday, Eutelsat’s stock has nearly tripled in value following a public dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former US President Donald Trump, which has cast doubt on the future of Starlink in the country.
Analysts suggest that the surge in Eutelsat’s stock is driven by the potential for OneWeb to secure the Ukrainian military’s satellite contract, with OneWeb being seen as a viable alternative to Starlink. The situation gained further momentum after a White House official revealed that Trump would pause military aid to Ukraine, potentially allowing Europe to increase its support. On Tuesday, the European Commission unveiled an ambitious 800 billion euro defense plan, further strengthening Europe’s role in the region.
Eutelsat has recently committed to increasing its satellite capacity for Ukraine, highlighting its growing importance for European defence. The French satellite operator has faced challenges, including concerns over rising debt and strong competition from US companies like SpaceX’s Starlink. Despite these hurdles, recent developments have rekindled investor confidence, with shares rising sharply after hitting all-time lows in February due to ongoing financial difficulties.
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Australia’s government has ruled out creating a strategic cryptocurrency reserve, despite the US pressing with plans to hold assets like Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. The Albanese government remains focused on regulating the digital asset sector rather than following the US lead. A spokesperson for the Assistant Treasurer confirmed that efforts are concentrated on developing a clear regulatory framework rather than acquiring crypto.
Meanwhile, the opposition coalition, which could return to power in the upcoming election, has not yet decided whether it would reconsider the decision. Some industry experts believe that while a crypto reserve is an interesting concept, it carries risks due to market volatility and concentration concerns. Others suggest a sovereign wealth fund investing in crypto could be a more viable alternative.
Despite rejecting a national reserve, Australia remains a growing player in the crypto space. Regulators have ramped up oversight, with new anti-money laundering measures and proposed authorisation rules for crypto firms. The country has also become a hub for Bitcoin and crypto ATMs, now ranking third globally with over 1,453 machines.
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SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son is planning to borrow $16 billion to expand the company’s investments in AI, with a possible additional $8 billion loan in early 2026.
The financing plan was discussed with banks last week, according to sources cited by The Information.
The Japanese tech conglomerate has already committed $15 billion to the Stargate venture, a partnership with Oracle and OpenAI aimed at maintaining United States dominance in AI development.
Reports suggest SoftBank may invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI, further solidifying its position in the sector.
DeepSeek’s progress is a clear sign of the growing influence of Chinese companies in the AI sector, according to a spokesperson for China’s parliament. Lou Qinjian, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, praised the achievements of DeepSeek’s young team, describing their work as ‘commendable’.
He highlighted the company’s open-source approach and its efforts to spread AI technology globally, contributing ‘Chinese wisdom’ to the world.
The AI startup has been widely celebrated in China, particularly for rolling out AI models that offer a significantly lower cost than those developed by US rivals like OpenAI.
While some countries, including South Korea and Italy, have removed DeepSeek’s chatbot from their app stores over privacy concerns, it has been embraced within China, where local governments and tech firms are integrating it into their systems.
Based in Hangzhou, DeepSeek is rapidly advancing its next-generation model, set to succeed its R1 release from January, as it continues to make waves in the global tech sector.
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Binance has announced it will delist nine stablecoins in the European Economic Area (EEA) on 31 March, as part of its efforts to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Among the stablecoins being removed are Tether’s USDT and Dai (DAI). Despite the delisting, users will still be able to hold and withdraw these tokens, but they will be unable to use them for other products or services on the platform.
The exchange has assured users that MiCA-compliant stablecoins, like USDC and Eurite (EURI), will remain available. Binance is also encouraging affected users to convert non-compliant stablecoins into MiCA-approved alternatives, or fiat currencies, to continue accessing Binance’s full range of services.
While Binance is still working on obtaining a MiCA licence, the delisting process aligns with regulations that require all non-compliant tokens to be removed by March 2025. However, questions remain about how the platform will handle these assets once the MiCA licence is granted.
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Taiwan has announced its support for TSMC’s plans to invest in the US, while also ensuring that the most advanced semiconductor technology remains within the country.
The statement, made by the presidential office on Tuesday, reassured that Taiwan would assist the semiconductor giant in its future US investments.
However, the government emphasised that Taiwan would retain its cutting-edge chip technologies to secure its position as a leader in the global semiconductor industry.
TSMC, Taiwan’s largest chipmaker, revealed plans for a significant $100 billion investment in the US to expand its presence and build five new chip manufacturing facilities over the coming years.
The announcement was made during a meeting between TSMC’s CEO and US President Donald Trump on Monday.
Move like this one is part of a broader push to bolster semiconductor production in the US, particularly in response to global supply chain issues and national security concerns surrounding chip dependence on foreign markets.
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Britain’s media regulator, Ofcom, has set a 31 March deadline for social media and online platforms to submit a risk assessment on the likelihood of users encountering illegal content. This move follows new laws passed last year requiring companies such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as ByteDance’s TikTok, to take action against criminal activities on their platforms. Under the Online Safety Act, these firms must assess and address the risks of offences like terrorism, hate crimes, child sexual exploitation, and financial fraud.
The risk assessment must evaluate how likely it is for users to come across illegal content, or how user-to-user services could facilitate criminal activities. Ofcom has warned that failure to meet the deadline could result in enforcement actions against the companies. The new regulations aim to make online platforms safer and hold them accountable for the content shared on their sites.
The deadline is part of the UK‘s broader push to regulate online content and enhance user safety. Social media giants are now facing stricter scrutiny to ensure they are addressing potential risks associated with their platforms and protecting users from harmful content.
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Footballing legend Ronaldinho Gaúcho has launched a new cryptocurrency, Star10 (STAR10), on the BNB Chain, promising exclusive benefits and signed collectables for holders.
The token soared to a $397 million market cap within hours before dropping back to $274 million, drawing immediate scrutiny from analysts and investors. Concerns have been raised over its tokenomics, particularly the 35% insider allocation, with 20% reserved for Ronaldinho himself.
Security experts initially flagged the token as a potential risk, warning that its creator had the power to burn investor assets. However, blockchain security firm SlowMist later confirmed that ownership of the token contract had been renounced, reducing the risk of malicious intervention.
Despite this, the broader meme coin market remains under the spotlight, especially after high-profile failures like Libra (LIBRA), which collapsed after insiders withdrew millions in liquidity.
Regulatory experts warn that investors must be cautious, distinguishing between meme coins as digital collectables and outright scams. With celebrity-backed tokens becoming more common, closer scrutiny of transparency and security is growing, as past failures continue to shake confidence in the sector.
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Eric Trump has warned Wall Street to adapt to the growing crypto movement or risk becoming irrelevant. Speaking on Sunday, he praised his father’s announcement of a Strategic Crypto Reserve (SCR) for the US, calling the timing ‘genius’ and criticising traditional finance. The market responded swiftly, with Bitcoin surging 10% to $94,343 and Ethereum climbing 13%, while altcoins like Cardano and Solana saw massive gains. This move, announced by Donald Trump on Truth Social, confirmed that BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA would be at the heart of the reserve.
The SCR aims to elevate the crypto industry, which Trump believes has faced years of attacks from the Biden administration. In his posts, Trump clarified that the reserve would involve active purchases of crypto over time, as opposed to simply holding onto seized assets, a distinction that sparked debate in the crypto community. While many saw the reserve as a positive development, some questioned the inclusion of specific coins like XRP and ADA, and others voiced concerns about the potential destabilising effects on the US dollar.
Despite differing opinions, the announcement has reinvigorated market confidence, with Bitcoin recovering from recent lows. Trump’s upcoming White House Crypto Summit on Friday will likely provide more details on the reserve’s structure, leaving investors eager to see how the move impacts both crypto and traditional finance in the long term.
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Amazon has announced plans to use AI to help reduce flood risks in Spain’s northeastern region of Aragon, where it is building new data centres.
As part of its $17.9 million investment, Amazon’s cloud computing unit AWS will modernise infrastructure and optimise agricultural water use to tackle flood concerns.
The move follows catastrophic floods that impacted large areas around Valencia and comes as AWS continues its €15.7 billion expansion in the region’s cloud infrastructure.
The region is prone to flooding, especially along the Ebro River, highest-flow river in Spain, which crosses through Aragon on its way to the Mediterranean.
Amazon will deploy advanced cloud computing technologies to create an early warning system combining real-time data collection, sensor networks, and AI-powered analysis.
However, this system will help Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon, monitor flood risks more effectively and provide timely warnings to emergency services.
In addition to its technological investment, local authorities in Zaragoza are building flood defences at the Barranco de la Muerte, or Death Ravine, to mitigate future flood damage.
With these combined efforts, Amazon aims to contribute to reducing the region’s vulnerability to floods while supporting its own expanding data infrastructure.
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