Dissatisfaction within the Ethereum community has intensified following the departure of several prominent researchers and developers from the Ethereum Foundation. The organization has not provided clear explanations, and critics have linked the situation to issues in governance, strategy, and a growing "brain drain" from the ecosystem.

Alibaba has announced Qwen3.7-Max, a new flagship model the company positions as a foundation for the “era of autonomous agents.” According to the announcement, the model is designed not only for dialogue, but also for long-running, multi-step task execution using tools.

Workday, Zoom, and IBM stocks surge in Friday premarket trading on earnings beats, quantum foundry news, and AI adoption growth. The post Friday Premarket Winners: Workday (WDAY), Zoom (ZM), and IBM (IBM) Stock Rally on Strong Results appeared first on Blockonomi.

The U.S. dollar climbed to six-week highs driven by Iran conflict uncertainty and strong jobs data, while the yen and emerging currencies weakened. The post Greenback Surges to Six-Week Peak Amid Iran Tensions and Robust Economic Indicators appeared first on Blockonomi.

Alibaba has announced Qwen3.7-Max, a new flagship model that the company positions as the foundation for the "era of autonomous agents." According to the announcement, the model is designed not only for dialogue but also for the extended execution of multi-step tasks using tools.

Former Ethereum Foundation (EF) researcher Dankrad Feist has proposed the creation of a new organization to support the Ethereum ecosystem. The structure is to receive initial funding of $1 billion. The way to save Ethereum: The community needs to create an organization that's economically aligned with Ethereum and accountable to it.The EF now holds less than 0.1% of all ETH. There is no flow of Ethereum staking or fee revenues to it. If we want to get Ethereum back to…— Dankrad Feist (@dankrad) May 21, 2026   According to him, the organization is intended to "save Ethereum." Feist stated that the EF currently controls less than 0.1% of the ETH supply and does not receive a steady cash flow from staking or network fees. His vision for the new structure is that it should be economically tied to Ethereum and accountable to the community. He also suggested forming a council of people who "want ETH to grow" and appointing a "competent leader who wants to fight." Signs of Crisis in EF Intensify The initiative comes amid criticism of the EF and a series of departures from the organization. In February, Tomasz Stanczak left his position as co-executive director, which he held for less than a year. In April, Josh Stark ended his five-year career in the foundation's leadership team. In May, leading developers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko resigned from the organization's technical division, and Alex Stokes took a "creative break." Subsequently, two researchers left the organization — Karl Bick and Julian Ma. Part of the community believes that the EF is too focused on ideological issues and complex technical improvements instead of ecosystem development and promoting ETH. In its updated mandate, the organization enshrined the principle of minimal intervention in network development. Some tenets of the document explicitly indicated the EF's reluctance to focus on increasing the cryptocurrency's value. "Our main goal is not profit, organizational growth, or blind implementation at any cost," one section states. In the autumn of 2025, Feist left the EF and joined the development of the private blockchain Tempo by Stripe and Paradigm. This move puzzled some commentators, as the corporate network is an ideological antithesis to Ethereum. In March, the EF presented its new vision for the roles of the base layer and rollups, as well as a roadmap for protecting the network from quantum threats by 2029.

In 2025, stablecoins settled more transactions than Visa. Real-world stablecoin payments doubled to $400 billion. Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, PayPal, and Western Union all turned on stablecoin rails inside their existing products. The GENIUS Act became U.S. law. And almost no…

This is far from the first time the team has claimed this is a major crypto problem but Pi does it better.

The outage highlights the vulnerability of DeFi systems to validator failures, potentially impacting market stability and user trust. The post Pyth Network price feeds go dark after Pythnet validators stop producing blocks appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Warsh's pro-crypto stance at the Fed could reshape regulatory dynamics, potentially boosting institutional crypto adoption and market growth. The post Trump swears in Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, marking a pro-crypto shift at the central bank appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

China's humanoid robot deployment could revolutionize domestic care, addressing labor shortages and aging populations, while reshaping global markets. The post China rolls out 100 humanoid robots into employee homes this month appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The petition's success highlights growing political pressure and potential shifts in South Korea's crypto policy, impacting global markets. The post South Korea reviews crypto tax plan after petition hits 50,000 signatures appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

XRP Ledger activity surges with 4,300 new wallets created in 24 hours, but strong resistance keeps XRP price capped.

XRP is back at the growth trajectory as institutional investors are finally moving funds in.

The incident highlights the critical need for robust security measures in decentralized platforms to maintain user trust and financial integrity. The post Polymarket says user funds safe after admin wallet compromise triggers $700,000 theft appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Crypto community remembers legendary Bitcoin transaction that sparked financial revolution.

• #bitcoin

Amid total ETF silence, Dogecoin whales accumulate 525 million DOGE in 96 hours to front-run a major 200-day moving average breakout for the first time in 2026.

AmericanFortress has unveiled a post-quantum signature scheme aimed at safeguarding existing crypto assets, including "dormant" wallets from the Satoshi era containing 1.1 million BTC, as reported by CoinDesk. The protocol involves a backward-compatible soft fork and the use of zero-knowledge proofs. According to the developers, this mechanism will allow for the freezing and protection of vulnerable old-type Bitcoin addresses without the need for mass fund migration. This primarily concerns BIP-32 addresses, including wallets associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. AmericanFortress believes that once such coins are locked, the network's governance can decide their future. Options mentioned by the company's head, Michal Pospieszalski, include transferring, burning, or redistributing the funds. The topic gained renewed attention following a recent publication by Google Quantum AI. Researchers stated that many blockchains and cryptocurrencies still use ECDLP-256, and their assessments are directly applicable to secp256k1—the elliptic curve underpinning Bitcoin and Ethereum. Google added that post-quantum cryptography remains one of the most comprehensible paths for the long-term protection of such systems. Amidst this, the Bitcoin community is already discussing various network protection options. One of these is BIP-360, which proposes a new type of Pay-to-Merkle-Root outputs. The initiative's authors claim that this format retains functionality similar to Taproot, but eliminates vulnerability to quantum attacks of the key path spending type. CoinDesk notes that AmericanFortress's proposal differs from similar initiatives. The company focuses not on new addresses but on existing and long-inactive wallets. According to the developers, this will protect millions of coins without forcing owners to transfer funds. In May, AmericanFortress announced raising $8 million to develop quantum-resistant blockchain infrastructure. Earlier in May, BNB Chain developers reported the results of testing the network's transition to post-quantum cryptography. The experiment confirmed the blockchain's theoretical readiness for future threats but revealed a significant performance decrease.

• #bitcoin

The US Department of Commerce has allocated $2 billion to American companies engaged in quantum computing. The US administration will acquire minority stakes in these projects, reports WSJ. Half of the funds will go to IBM "to aid in the creation of supercomputers capable of solving some of the world's most pressing problems." The company will receive $1 billion through the CHIPS Act to establish Anderon—a separate enterprise for launching the first specialized quantum foundry in the US, located in Albany. IBM has also committed to invest an additional $1 billion of its own funds. Other recipients of government funds include: GlobalFoundries — $375 million; Rigetti — $100 million; D-Wave — $100 million; Infleqtion — $100 million; PsiQuantum — $100 million. Diraq — $38 million. The program will cover a total of nine companies. Rigetti separately confirmed signing a letter of intent with the US Department of Commerce for up to $100 million. The company stated that the funds will be directed towards research and development related to scaling superconducting quantum computers. The announcement also mentions that the department expects to receive a stake in the company proportional to the funding amount. PsiQuantum also announced a letter of intent for $100 million. It stated that, along with its own funding, the funds will be used to develop photonic components, packaging, and other technologies for scalable quantum systems and the American semiconductor industry. The program is part of Washington's broader strategy to support critical technologies and local supply chains. The US authorities are also preparing a separate directive to support the quantum industry. The government views this direction as key in technological competition with China. Sources from WSJ added that the scheme involving government participation is expected to benefit taxpayers if the companies' valuations increase. Back in May, Keeper Security CEO Darren Guccione stated that AI and quantum technologies will threaten existing security systems.

The rapid asset accumulation in HYPE ETFs highlights growing institutional interest in diversified crypto exposure, signaling potential market shifts. The post ETF clients buy $16M in HYPE as total assets climb to $81M in just nine days appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The investigation into Binance's compliance could lead to stricter regulatory oversight across the crypto industry, impacting costs and operations. The post US DOJ probes Iran’s use of Binance for sanctions evasion, reopening old wounds for the exchange appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin DeFi platforms on Rootstock simplify staking, rBTC rewards, and DeFi access for mainstream users. Bitcoin DeFi is no longer reserved for technical experts. Platforms built on Rootstock make it simple to stake RIF, earn rBTC rewards, and participate in…

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Bitcoin Pizza Day has once again drawn attention to the first known real-world Bitcoin transaction, a 2010 pizza purchase that later became one of the most referenced moments in cryptocurrency history. According to archived posts on the Bitcointalk forum, early…

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SkyBridge's continued losses highlight the risks of heavy crypto exposure, underscoring the volatility and uncertainty in digital asset markets. The post Scaramucci’s SkyBridge posts second straight quarterly loss on crypto bet appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is assembling a new team to develop Code Harness, a tool for autonomous programming. This was announced by the company's engineer, Deli Chen. 🚀 We’re hiring! DeepSeek is forming a new Harness team to build Code Harness from the ground up—may be you can call it DeepSeek Code or something like this hhh🤣🤣🤣📍 Based in Beijing. Two roles open:🧠 Harness Product Manager → https://t.co/vb3aWbYV9L👨‍💻 Harness R&D;…— Deli Chen (@victor207755822) May 20, 2026 The developer posted two job openings on social media: a product manager and a research and development engineer. Both positions are based in Beijing. The new solution will directly compete with Claude Code from Anthropic and Codex from OpenAI. According to Chen, the team will build Code Harness "from scratch." He described the project as "DeepSeek Code or something like that." The job descriptions use the formula "model + harness = agent." By harness, they mean a layer on top of the LLM. It is responsible for managing context, planning steps, memory, tool invocation, file handling, terminal operations, testing, and feedback. DeepSeek aims to offer not just a code generation assistant, but an agent product for executing multi-step tasks in a development environment. Candidates are expected to have experience with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Manus, and OpenClaw. Requirements also include understanding agent cycles, MCP, multi-agent systems, context management, and vibe coding. The team will work closely with DeepSeek researchers. DeepSeek V4 supports integration with Claude Code through an Anthropic-compatible API. The V4 Flash version, introduced on April 24, costs $0.14 per 1 million input tokens. In comparison, Claude Opus 4.7 is priced at $15 for the same volume. Back in February, Anthropic accused three Chinese AI startups—DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax—of a large-scale campaign to use Claude to enhance their own models.

Bitget launched SPCXUSDT, a SpaceX-linked pre-IPO perpetual with 5x leverage, as crypto venues race to price the possible IPO early now.

Whale trader Loracle deposited and rapidly sold 616,675 Hyperliquid tokens worth $36.76 million, using the proceeds to defend a short position carrying over $103 million in notional exposure as the token trades near its all-time high. Loracle Offloads HYPE to Defend Massive Short as Squeeze Risk Mounts Onchain data shows that Loracle, the trader holding […]

Iran's jurisdiction claim in the Strait of Hormuz may escalate regional tensions, impacting global oil trade and maritime security dynamics. The post Iran asserts control over UAE, Oman waters in Strait of Hormuz appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Stagflation fears in Europe could lead to tighter monetary policies, impacting economic growth and increasing market volatility. The post EU Economy Commissioner Dombrovskis warns of inflation response as stagflation fears grip Europe appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Trump administration announces $2B in quantum computing grants to IBM, D-Wave, Rigetti and six others, sparking stock rallies as high as 42% on equity deals. The post Trump Administration Unveils $2 Billion Quantum Computing Initiative for IBM (IBM), D-Wave and Others appeared first on Blockonomi.

Nvidia's NVentures invests in quantum startup Alice & Bob's €100M round. Analysts target NVDA at $299.97, suggesting 36.6% upside potential. The post Nvidia (NVDA) Quantum Investment: NVentures Backs Alice & Bob in €100M Round appeared first on Blockonomi.

Solana price has recovered from recent market weakness, with bulls now attempting to overcome double-top resistance near the $100 level. Across the crypto market, risk appetite improved modestly after Bitcoin reclaimed ground above $77,000 following several sessions of macro-driven weakness…

This Friday, we examine Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid in greater detail. Ethereum (ETH) Ethereum closed the week in the red with a 6% loss after the price fell from its ascending channel. This is a bearish breakdown that could see the asset revisit the support at $2,000 in the coming week. If […]

The proposed legislation could stifle Bitcoin's growth and adoption in the US, affecting its market dynamics and future price potential. The post US legislation proposal to lock Bitcoin for 20 years impacts market outlook appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

• #bitcoin

Polymarket said user funds and market resolution were safe after a suspected private key compromise tied to top-up operations.

Polymarket is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid falling trading volumes and rising regulatory scrutiny, targeting approval by 2030.

India's crackdown on prediction markets may prompt global regulatory shifts, impacting crypto platforms and international compliance strategies. The post India blocks Polymarket, prepares to target Kalshi next appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

X's Creator Connect could redefine influencer marketing by streamlining brand-creator partnerships, potentially boosting ROI and democratizing access. The post X launches Creator Connect, an AI-powered matchmaking service for brands and creators appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ken Paxton is getting half a million dollars from a crypto-backed political committee. The Fellowship PAC, an $11 million fund supported by Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage Digital, disclosed to the Federal Election Commission that it plans to spend $500,000 backing the Texas attorney general in his bid for a US Senate seat. Related Reading: SpaceX […]

With digital entertainment platforms evolving constantly, security is now one of the main foundations of user trust. In the case of online gaming, where players’ personal data and financial transactions are involved, games are using advanced technologies to create a safe and uninterrupted user experience. Recognized for its poker gaming, IgnitionCasino is now focusing more […]

Micron's AI-driven growth faces potential risks as increased industry capex may lead to oversupply, impacting future pricing power. The post Micron Technology rides the AI memory supercycle, but Reuters says the party might be over for latecomers appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ross Stores (ROST) stock surges 5% after reporting exceptional Q1 results with 17% same-store sales growth and EPS beating estimates by 17%. The post Ross Stores (ROST) Stock Soars 5% on Record-Breaking Q1 Performance appeared first on Blockonomi.

Verus successfully recovers 4,052 ETH from bridge hacker by paying 1,350 ETH ($2.8M) bounty, demonstrating effective DeFi asset recovery strategies. The post Verus Bridge Hack Resolved: 4,052 ETH Recovered Through $2.8M Bounty Deal appeared first on Blockonomi.

Marvell (MRVL) stock reached its 15th record high of 2026 at $190.69, gaining 125% YTD on AI chip demand. Analysts raise targets ahead of May 27 earnings. The post Marvell (MRVL) Stock Soars to Fresh Record Before Quarterly Results Drop appeared first on Blockonomi.

Rocket Lab (RKLB) stock advances after securing a $90M U.S. Space Force contract for geostationary satellites, marking a key milestone for the company. The post Rocket Lab (RKLB) Stock Climbs on $90M U.S. Space Force Satellite Contract Win appeared first on Blockonomi.

Oil prices jumped 3% Friday as U.S.-Iran negotiations stall. Brent crude hit $106 with the Strait of Hormuz closed, tightening global energy markets. The post Crude Oil Surges as U.S.-Iran Peace Agreement Remains Elusive appeared first on Blockonomi.

Liminatus Pharma (LIMN) stock soared 31% after Nasdaq delisting warning, then tumbled pre-market. Company has until May 27 to appeal compliance failure. The post Liminatus Pharma (LIMN) Stock: Nasdaq Delisting Warning Sparks Volatile Trading Session appeared first on Blockonomi.

The Wall Street Journal published a report on May 22 alleging that a covert payments network linked to Iran moved approximately $850 million through Binance — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — with activity continuing as recently as December 2025, as a military confrontation between the US and Iran escalated. Binance CEO Richard Teng rejected […]

Heightened US-Iran tensions could disrupt global oil markets and alter geopolitical dynamics, impacting international economic stability. The post Trump weighs military options against Iran amid rising tensions appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Deckers Outdoor (DECK) stock rallied after record fiscal 2026 results. Hoka hit all-time highs while UGG exceeded forecasts. Full analysis inside. The post Deckers Outdoor (DECK) Stock Climbs on Record Quarterly Performance appeared first on Blockonomi.

Here's how much the attacker has siphon off the platform so far.

Increased ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz may signal temporary regional stability, impacting market expectations and geopolitical dynamics. The post Iran approves transit of 35 ships through Strait of Hormuz in 24 hours appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

AI-driven content platforms like Grokpedia could influence public perception and market dynamics by embedding biases in information dissemination. The post Grokpedia leans on right-wing sources for sensitive topics, academic study finds appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The postponement highlights the complex balance between fostering innovation and ensuring national security, impacting global AI leadership dynamics. The post Trump postpones AI executive order to protect US competitiveness against China appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Introduction to the Bold A cryptocurrency billionaire has just revealed plans for the first private Starship flight to Mars. The mission is a flyby that could change how people see space travel forever. Yet the big question remains when this […] The post Crypto Billionaire Chun Wang Books SpaceX Starship Mars Flyby But No Launch Date Yet appeared first on Blockmanity.

Hyperliquid trades near $59 and Zcash near $646 as analysts warn crowded rallies may face exhaustion after sharp weekly gains as of May 22.

XRP Ledger has moved into fourth place on RWA.xyz’s network rankings, according to RippleX, marking a rapid climb for the blockchain in the tokenized real-world asset sector. The move puts XRPL behind Canton, Ethereum and Provenance by total distributed RWA value, while placing it ahead of BNB Chain, zkSync Era, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche. XRP […]

A wallet linked to Trump Media & Technology Group has moved 2,650 bitcoin to crypto exchange Crypto.com, a transfer worth approximately $204.93 million that has prompted fresh questions about the company’s bitcoin treasury management. Trump’s Treasury Strategy Draws Scrutiny Onchain data shows a Trump Media-linked address depositing 2,650 BTC, valued at roughly $204.93 million, to […]

• #bitcoin

Oracle (ORCL) stock gains as Q3 revenue hits $17.2B, cloud grows 44%, and AI backlog reaches $553B. Analysts raise targets amid massive OCI expansion. The post Oracle (ORCL) Stock Jumps as $553B AI Cloud Backlog Powers 22% Revenue Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

France's cautious stance on oil reserves amid the Iran conflict heightens market volatility, impacting energy costs and crypto asset stability. The post France refuses to tap oil reserves without clarity on Iran war, and crypto markets are feeling the heat appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The hacker behind the Verus bridge exploit returned 75% of the stolen funds as part of a recovery deal negotiated with the protocol days after the incident.

Pump.fun's USDC pools may attract diverse investors by reducing volatility, but higher costs could shift speculative activity elsewhere. The post Pump.fun introduces USDC-paired liquidity pools for token creators appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

SEC's tokenized stock exemption may fragment trading liquidity and shift revenue offshore as blockchain platforms capture market share with 24/7 access. The post SEC’s Tokenized Equity Initiative Sparks Market Fragmentation Concerns appeared first on Blockonomi.

F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang will join SpaceX’s planned two-year Starship Mars flyby after commanding the Fram2 polar orbit mission.

Nebius (NBIS) stock surged 14.69% on news of a Bloom Energy partnership to power AI data centers with clean fuel cells. Full analysis and outlook. The post Nebius (NBIS) Stock Surges 15% on Bloom Energy Partnership for AI Data Centers appeared first on Blockonomi.

ARK Invest purchased $5.14M in Bullish (BLSH) shares while trimming its Taiwan Semiconductor position for $867K on May 21, continuing a pattern of accumulation. The post ARK Invest Accumulates Bullish (BLSH) Stock While Reducing TSMC Holdings appeared first on Blockonomi.

The conflict-induced inflation and market volatility challenge G7's economic stability, complicating central banks' policy decisions. The post G7 debt market faces volatility as Iran war drives oil past $100 and reshapes inflation outlook appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

ListaDAO's integration of Pendle PTs as collateral could drive DeFi's shift towards more stable, cross-chain fixed-income strategies. The post ListaDAO adds new Pendle Principal Token markets with $2.5M caps appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Google's AI integration in Workspace could redefine enterprise productivity, intensifying competition and impacting AI infrastructure investments. The post Google integrates Gemini AI into Workspace chat for automated document creation appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

SoftBank (SFTBY) stock jumped 32% in two days on strong Nvidia earnings, Arm's 16% surge, and reports of OpenAI preparing for an IPO filing. The post SoftBank Group (SFTBY) Stock Soars 32% in 48 Hours Amid AI Boom and OpenAI IPO Buzz appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR: Arthur Hayes warns AI is replacing high-earning workers, creating dangerous credit risks for global lending institutions. Hayes calls the AI-driven lending threat the “new subprime crisis,” comparing it directly to the 2008 financial collapse. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s balance sheet focus is neutral for liquidity, not the bearish signal markets feared. Commercial bank [...] The post Arthur Hayes Warns AI Could Spark the Next Major Banking Crisis Worse Than 2008 appeared first on Blockonomi.

Estée Lauder (EL) stock jumped 10%+ after ending merger talks with Puig. Charlotte Tilbury stake issues derailed the proposed $40B beauty deal. The post Estée Lauder (EL) Stock Surges 10% After Walking Away From Puig Merger appeared first on Blockonomi.

Zoom (ZM) stock surged 7.8% premarket after beating Q1 earnings estimates with $1.55 EPS and raising full-year guidance above analyst expectations. The post Zoom (ZM) Stock Soars 7.8% Following Strong Q1 Results and Raised Outlook appeared first on Blockonomi.

Softcat (SCTS) stock climbed nearly 10% after upgrading full-year profit guidance to mid-teens growth, fueled by AI infrastructure demand and chip shortages. The post Softcat (SCTS) Stock Jumps 10% as Company Boosts Profit Forecast on AI Demand appeared first on Blockonomi.

Polymarket’s UMA CTF Adapter on Polygon was reportedly exploited for over $520K, with stolen funds partly sent to ChangeNOW, analysts say.

A suspected exploit tied to Polymarket’s Polygon infrastructure may have drained more than $520,000 in assets.

Zero Network, Ethereum's gasless Layer 2 platform, is shutting down. Users have until July 31, 2026, to withdraw ETH, tokens, and NFTs before closure. The post Zero Network Announces Closure: Ethereum Layer 2 Platform Sets July 2026 Deadline appeared first on Blockonomi.

A social media move by Ripple veteran David Schwartz has unexpectedly revived an XRP mystery from 2013, touching on long-standing lore and Brad Garlinghouse rumors.

In AI, a new current has emerged in which decentralisation and open source let users step beyond popular commercial products. Local LLMs allow private data handling, flexible tuning for specific tasks and full control over the runtime environment. Launching such models, however, demands familiarity with the basics—from repositories and model weights to cloud runtimes and hardware specs. In this ForkLog guide we explain how to start exploring autonomous AI models at no cost, which resources suit beginners and what developers of OS solutions provide. First steps Two main platforms serve developers of open AI models: GitHub and Hugging Face. The former is the traditional home for source code, documentation and install scripts; the latter has become a global hub for model weights, datasets and ready-made ML solutions. Hundreds of thousands of trained neural networks appear on Hugging Face, from tiny on-device language models and alternative media generators to specialist algorithms for researchers and hobbyists. Community-activity metrics help you choose: on GitHub look at star counts, frequency of commits and time to resolve issues. It is also vital to check provenance and repository authenticity. Popular OS builds regularly lure cybercriminals who spread malware disguised as well-known AI tools. The next step with local AI models is hands-on testing. For users without powerful hardware, there are free and freemium cloud platforms. The most popular option is Google Colab, a cloud environment that offers access to GPUs in the browser. The free tier typically runs on an Nvidia Tesla T4 for two to four hours depending on load. Alternatives include Kaggle Notebooks and Hugging Face Spaces; the latter lets you interact with models via ready-made web interfaces such as Gradio or Streamlit. There is also a legal angle to federated solutions. Many popular projects use classic licences such as MIT or Apache 2.0, allowing commercial use with minimal restrictions. Some vendors take a different tack. Meta distributes its flagship models under the Llama 3.1 Community License, which requires special permission if a service’s monthly audience exceeds 700m users. Strict copyleft licences such as the GNU General Public License also appear, obliging developers to open-source any derivative works. My own ChatGPT Among the many autonomous general-purpose LLMs (akin to ChatGPT or Gemini), independent rankings based on blind testing and performance metrics—such as Open LLM Leaderboard and Chatbot Arena—help you choose. Dashboard of open LLMs. Source: llm-stats. The gold standards are Meta’s Llama family and Alibaba’s Qwen. They handle long context, multi-step prompts and are apt for vibe-coding and programming. Thanks to the open Ollama framework, installation is a one-liner. In tests for this article, the qwen3.5:2b model ran on a laptop with no discrete GPU, a Core i7, 8GB of RAM and an SSD, after closing heavy apps such as messengers and browsers. Source: Ollama. “2b” denotes 2bn parameters. The higher the number, the more intricate the relations a network can capture. A 2b model will learn basic grammar and simple commands; a 122b one will recall facts from quantum physics, nuances of legal documents and plan ten steps ahead. Each parameter consumes disk space and, crucially, RAM. The 2b model used roughly 4–5GB of RAM and was the upper limit for that machine. Even a simple “hello!” took nearly three minutes to generate. Screenshot: ForkLog. An approximate breakdown of models: 0.5b–2b. Fast; can run on old laptops and smartphones. Ideal for simple tasks (command routing, basic summarisation, short code autocomplete). Prone to hallucinations on harder prompts; 3b–4b. A balance of speed and quality. Good for mobile devices, smart homes and automation. For instance, a chatbot can be asked to dim the lights, switch on the AC or raise a barrier gate; 7b–9b. Need about 6–8GB of free RAM. Capable models with contextual understanding and deeper reasoning; suitable for programming and long-form text. In a recent study of vibe-coding in Web3, Vladimir Sliper found that on a MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM the following fit: qwen2.5-coder:7b, qwen3:8b, llama3.2:3b, deepseek-r1:8b. More powerful models demand a beefy PC with high-end GPUs or rental servers. Private data processing, 3D printing and user protection Ways to use open AI models vary with user skill and hardware. Some projects ship as friendly installers (.EXE) or mobile apps that work out of the box. Others are abandoned GitHub repos where installation becomes hours of wrestling with stale-library conflicts. Applied AI today goes far beyond text generation. Even a cursory scan of the ecosystem reveals dozens of specialised tools for specific tasks. Video and 3D: CogVideoX. An open model from Zhipu AI for text-to-video generation. It can create realistic short clips, ships with open weights and runs in environments such as Jupyter or Colab given sufficient VRAM; DepthCrafter. A tool for extracting depth information from video. Useful for VFX and 3D-modelling specialists, it produces high-precision depth maps for every frame of a dynamic scene; TRELLIS (Morfx 3D). A cutting-edge system for generating 3D assets. It produces high-quality 3D models from images or text prompts and optimises them for game engines. Turning a train photo into a 3D object for processing and 3D printing via the web version of Morfx 3D. Screenshot: ForkLog. Audio and recognition: CosyVoice. A multilingual text-to-speech model with voice cloning. It generates realistic audio, preserving the source speaker’s intonation and emotional tone; Whisper-WebGPU. An implementation of OpenAI’s speech-recognition model rewritten to run directly in the browser using the WebGPU API. Transcription happens locally, ensuring full privacy without uploading audio to third-party servers; BirdNET-Analyzer. A neural network from Cornell University that identifies bird species by song. Unlike the popular Merlin Bird ID app, which relies substantially on cloud processing for some functions, BirdNET-Analyzer gives full local control and can batch-process gigabytes of field recordings. Source: BirdNET. Programming and user protection: Screenshot-to-Code. A utility that converts a screenshot of a web page or mobile app into clean HTML, Tailwind or React code. Although it often works with paid APIs (Claude, GPT-4), the architecture supports open multimodal models; MinerU/Magic-PDF. A project for accurate extraction of structured data from PDFs. It recognises text, maths and tables, converting complex layouts into Markdown; Fawkes. Applies imperceptible changes to images to thwart facial-recognition systems. It installs locally on a PC via an .EXE and can be used for social-media avatars; Nightshade. “Poisons” image pixels to confuse models trained without permission. Ask for a “dog” and the model may output a cat. Portrait of US President Donald Trump before using Fawkes. Source: Библиотека Конгресса США. After processing with Fawkes. Screenshot: ForkLog. Wrangling libraries, then a first win After installing AI models with clear UI/UX, the next question was how easily a heavy repository could be deployed in the cloud for free. FLUX.1 from the startup Black Forest Labs is a leading image-generation model that competes with corporate Midjourney and Nano Banana. With the right hardware it can run fully offline and sidestep censorship. The test used the lightest free variant, FLUX.1 Schnell. To simplify work with open solutions, developers build target frameworks such as Ollama. For image generation, ComfyUI and Forge are popular GUIs. Attempts to install the Forge implementation—cagliostro-forge-colab—consumed an entire Google Colab GPU session. The culprit was a classic rookie error: mismatched Python, cloud runtime and model versions. Four hours of vibe-coding with Gemini 3 Flash still yielded no success. In the end, the framework was dropped in favour of deploying FLUX.1 directly, in the next free session on a different day. In practice, free Google Colab is easier to use at weekends: the platform often grants longer sessions then. The model itself took roughly 34GB on the cloud SSD. All ancillary install processes eventually pushed usage to about 86GB. Resource usage on a Google Colab instance. Screenshot: ForkLog. Initially FLUX.1 Schnell ran out of VRAM on the Nvidia Tesla T4. The unadapted setup hit GPU limits until a few simple code experiments—and help from Gemini 3 Flash—introduced staged loading and memory cleanup. As a result, only about 3GB of the available 16GB VRAM was used during generation. Screenshot: ForkLog. Each image took around seven minutes to produce. For a free, open model, the results were pleasantly surprising. An image generated with FLUX.1 Schnell. Source: ForkLog.  When asked several times to draw rock singer Marilyn Manson in a Victorian style, FLUX.1 Schnell likely failed to detect the reference to a specific person and produced only a generic visual template. Image generated to the prompt “draw Marilyn Manson in a Victorian style” using FLUX.1 Schnell. Source: ForkLog. Ambitious and unlikely Open neural networks now serve not only text and image generation but narrower, quirkier tasks. A striking example is GameNGen, a model able to recreate DOOM gameplay in real time. Source: GameNGen/Github.  GameNGen does not simulate the game in the usual sense; it generates video frame by frame. The model predicts what the next frame should look like after a user action (a movement or a shot). Enemies, objects and scene changes are not computed by an engine but rendered as the most probable outcome. Among autonomous systems, Voyager stands out—an AI agent for Minecraft. It explores the world, gathers resources and learns continuously. Academia is adapting open AI too, for instance to decode history. Researchers from Tel Aviv and Munich universities trained the Akkademia model to translate ancient Akkadian cuneiform directly into English, enabling the processing of thousands of damaged clay tablets and accelerating archaeological work by orders of magnitude. Another curiosity is MinD-Vis. It analyses fMRI data and attempts to reconstruct the images viewed by a subject during scanning—that is, it generates an interpretation of what a person sees from patterns of brain activity. Such initiatives show AI has become a universal instrument for understanding and modelling reality. The shift from closed corporate APIs to open source is creating a new technological paradigm. Today any researcher, developer or enthusiast can deploy infrastructure that only a few years ago would have required multi-million-dollar server farms. As the ecosystem matures, user experience improves: intuitive interfaces and automated deployment replace brittle scripts. Tools such as Ollama and Forge show that privacy, the absence of censorship and high performance can coexist in one package. The future of the AI industry now depends on how strong, scalable and independent the open ecosystem remains.

Bubblemaps identified on Polymarket 80 wagers on U.S. military action against Iran with such precision that “one stroke of luck does not explain it.” Nicolas Waisman, CEO of the analytics platform, told CoinDesk that if unusual trades are visible to outside observers, America’s adversaries can track them too. “To speak plainly — this can put many people’s lives at risk,” he said. He said wagers on military operations have topped $1bn this year amid geopolitical tension. That is creating a new kind of insider trading. Large bets were placed days ahead of the February 28 strikes on Iran, the elimination of the country’s supreme leader, and the announcement of a ceasefire. Nine accounts on Polymarket earned more than $2.4m almost exclusively from wagers on U.S. military operations. “They bet not only on strikes days before they were carried out, but also on later dates to maximize profit,” Waisman noted. To avoid drawing attention, these accounts also placed small losing bets on February 20. Their accuracy reached 98%. Waisman added that during the strikes on Iran, civilians checked Polymarket to decide whether to spend the night in bunkers. Asked directly about a link between the insiders and the U.S. government, Waisman replied: “We have no evidence that they are military or Americans at all. The data are suspicious and point to someone with an unfair information advantage.” Congressman Mike Levin wrote on X that “the insider trading problem on prediction markets is bigger than any of us could have known.” Together with Senator Adam Schiff, he introduced the DEATH BETS Act to ban war-related contracts. The insider trading problem with prediction markets is bigger than any of us could have known. The New York Times found 80+ Polymarket accounts showing signs of insider trading, many tied to U.S. military operations, including seven that collectively won $1.4 million on the…— Rep. Mike Levin (@RepMikeLevin) May 15, 2026 Waisman also suggested prediction markets could be used for manipulation: “The government can deliberately place bets to create a false signal and mislead adversaries. Prediction markets are an intelligence and information-warfare tool.” He added that such platforms not only forecast the future but also change it. At the same time, he stopped short of blaming the platform itself: “I do not want to attack Polymarket. Anyone can use a cheap VPN or buy an account that has passed KYC. This is not a problem of Polymarket alone, but of the entire internet.” 400 suspicious trades Since the start of the year, Kalshi has reviewed and flagged more than 400 suspicious trades — twice as many as in all of last year, Reuters reports, citing its own sources. Some were passed to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). On Polymarket, the volume of anomalous contracts has also risen markedly. “In the world of classic insider trading it is usually not hard to determine who has access to non-public information. In prediction markets, assembling such data is often impossible,” said Stanford Law School professor and former SEC commissioner Joseph Grundfest. Turnover keeps climbing: Kalshi’s trading volume over half a year has more than tripled to $178bn. At Polymarket, the monthly notional volume of the offshore and U.S. venues in April was about $10.3bn, up from $3.8bn a year earlier. In parallel, platforms are tightening their rules. They recently barred federal employees from betting on political campaigns in which they are involved. Regulation of prediction markets has become a tussle between the CFTC, which wants to police them as derivatives, and individual states. Investor interest has lifted valuations: Kalshi closed a $1bn round at a $22bn valuation. Polymarket is in talks for new funding at a $15bn valuation. Earlier, CFTC chair Michael Selig said the regulator would crack down on insider trading. In response, Kalshi and Polymarket updated their rules and explicitly banned wagers based on confidential information and illegal tips. Polymarket also removed some war-related contracts. “If a person has inside information, he is more likely to use it on a prediction market than on the stock market,” said University of Toronto business-school professor Charles Martino. Investors are increasingly checking prediction markets before making trades. Such venues sometimes forecast election outcomes and economic decisions more accurately than traditional polls. Users buy and sell binary yes-or-no contracts on the outcomes of events — from economic policy to sport. “These markets allow you to trade not on the market’s reaction to a piece of news, but on the news itself. The risk is lower,” explained HEC Montreal business-school professor Vincent Grégoire. In April, the U.S. Department of Justice charged active-duty service member Gannon Kane Van Dyke, who is suspected of using classified information to place bets on Polymarket.

Workday (WDAY) stock surged 12% after hours following a strong Q1 earnings beat with $2.66 adjusted EPS and $2.35B in subscription revenue growth. The post Workday (WDAY) Stock Soars 12% on Strong Q1 Results and AI Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

Bitcoin has fallen back toward the $77,000 region after losing a key ascending trendline support that had guided its recovery from April lows. According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price traded near $77,200 during Friday’s session after briefly losing…

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Brian Armstrong’s role in the crypto regulation push became a flashpoint when BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes called out the Coinbase CEO by name during a recent interview. Hayes said Armstrong is acting in the best interest of his shareholders — not the wider crypto community. Related Reading: Singapore Shuts Down Bsquared’s Crypto Payment Operations – […]

A bipartisan group of more than a dozen U.S. representatives has introduced legislation to enshrine a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in federal law, mandate a minimum 20-year holding period, and direct the Treasury Department to acquire up to 1 million bitcoin over five years. Bipartisan ARMA Bill Targets 1 Million Bitcoin Reserve Congressman Nick Begich (AK-AL) […]

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Lenovo stock jumped 20% after reporting $21.6B quarterly revenue and $521M profit, beating forecasts as AI-driven sales doubled year-over-year. The post Lenovo (LNVGY) Stock Rockets 20% on Record-Breaking Quarterly Results appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR: Binance Bitcoin futures Open Interest climbed from $6.4B in March to $8.96B, topping the 180-day moving average. The eight-month deleveraging phase mirrors conditions last seen in 2022, just before the FTX collapse hit markets. Speculative traders returned to Bitcoin derivatives despite a continued deterioration in the global macro environment. Analysts warn the recovery trend [...] The post Bitcoin Traders Return to Derivatives Markets After 8 Months of Deleveraging appeared first on Blockonomi.

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Europe's energy security is at risk, potentially leading to higher gas prices, demand destruction, and increased market volatility. The post Equinor warns Europe gas stocks could face critical shortages if Hormuz shut for 1 to 3 months appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Japan's swift budget reversal highlights economic volatility, signaling potential shifts in fiscal policy and investor sentiment amid inflation. The post Japan’s extra budget expected to reach $19B as government reverses course on spending appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin rallied for 90 days after its dip below $60,000, breaking the record for the longest uptrend within a bear market in BTC price history.

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UBS Global Wealth Management increases S&P 500 target to 7,900 for 2026, driven by AI data center demand and resilient consumer spending patterns. The post UBS Boosts S&P 500 Forecast to 7,900 on AI Infrastructure and Consumer Resilience appeared first on Blockonomi.

IBM stock jumped 12% after securing $1B in federal funding for quantum chip manufacturing. The company will invest another $1B in the new venture. The post IBM (IBM) Stock Soars 12% Following $2 Billion Quantum Computing Initiative appeared first on Blockonomi.

Verus bridge exploiter returned 4,052 ETH worth $8.5M, keeping 1,350 ETH as bounty after the $11.5M forged-transfer attack.

Europe should not rely on US AI infrastructure and systems like Starlink due to the "dangerous" overdependence. This statement was made by Bouygues CEO Olivier Roussat in a conversation with CNBC. "There are two areas of the future whose importance Europe needs to recognize. These are artificial intelligence and satellite communications," he emphasized. Bouygues is one of the largest French engineering conglomerates. It operates in the construction sector, transportation, and telecommunications. The company aims to consolidate the communications market in France. "I'm not sure we necessarily need Starlink or something similar. Europe needs something to gain some sovereignty," Roussat added. According to him, a single non-state player could independently disable internet connectivity across the continent. Starlink — the Leader SpaceX's Starlink dominates the global satellite internet market. The company operates a fleet of over 10,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit — a region of space located within 2,000 km of the Earth's surface. Musk's company plans to go public on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, conducting the largest IPO in history. It has filed a prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The document states that the firm's communications division, mainly consisting of Starlink, generated $11.39 billion in revenue in 2025 — 61% of total sales. In the first quarter of 2026, the figure rose to 69%. Starlink is the sole source of profit for the space company — the division brought in $4.42 billion for the firm over the year. Meanwhile, the rocket launch department, including contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense, recorded a loss of $657 million. The AI division's financial situation is even worse — -$6.35 billion. In the first quarter, Starlink's user base more than doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 10.3 million people. SpaceX estimates its potential market at $28.5 trillion. The figure includes: broadband access — $870 billion; mobile division — $740 billion; digital advertising — $600 billion.  AI infrastructure — $2.4 trillion; enterprise applications market — $22.7 trillion. "We believe we are still in the early stages of transforming enterprises with artificial intelligence, with AI-based enterprise applications poised to reshape the digital economy," states the SpaceX document. Competition Intensifies In 2026, Starlink entered the Brand Finance ranking of the top 500 brands for the first time. Meanwhile, competitors are closing in: OneWeb, managed by France's Eutelsat, has a constellation of over 600 satellites; Amazon launched over 300 orbital devices last year, approaching the release of its Leo service, which will eventually include a constellation of about 7,700 space objects; Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin plans to deploy around 5,400 satellites starting in the fourth quarter of 2027; China's Guowang, currently with about 163 devices, aims to create a mega-constellation. Data Centers in Space In February, SpaceX acquired Musk's AI startup xAI, creating the world's most valuable private company. The entrepreneur stated that the merger aims to establish data centers beyond the planet. At that time, the combined firm's valuation was estimated at $1.25 trillion. Now the figure is $1.75 trillion. Some media report a figure of $2 trillion. To create data centers in space, SpaceX requested permission from the US Federal Communications Commission to launch 1 million satellites. The project envisions a network of data centers in low Earth orbit, connected by laser channels. The document uses grand phrases like "the first step towards a second-level civilization on the Kardashev scale." Colonization of Mars and the Moon Musk plans to colonize Mars, but for now, this plan has been postponed to create a city on the Moon. Building it will take less than 10 years, according to the SpaceX CEO. The entrepreneur noted that travel to Mars is only possible when the planets align. This event occurs every 26 months, and the journey itself takes six months. People can travel to the Moon every 10 days, and the trip lasts two days. Therefore, creating a city on Earth's satellite can be done much faster. In February, it was revealed that SpaceX is participating in a secret new Pentagon competition to create autonomous drone swarms with voice control.

TLDR: Only 10% of RWA liquidity is currently active inside DeFi protocols, despite rapid sector growth on-chain. Tokenized gold sits at $7B on-chain, yet just $184M is active in DeFi due to heavy compliance restrictions. Protocols like Ondo’s USDY and Maple Finance are building composable RWA products designed for DeFi markets. Regulatory moves like the [...] The post Only 10% of RWA Liquidity Is Active in DeFi Protocols appeared first on Blockonomi.

Binance debuts SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures in USDT. Learn how retail traders can speculate on SpaceX's valuation ahead of its anticipated IPO. The post Binance Introduces Pre-IPO Futures for SpaceX: A Complete Breakdown appeared first on Blockonomi.

Harvard's endowment liquidated its entire $87M Ethereum ETF position in Q1 2026 and slashed Bitcoin ETF holdings, according to new SEC filings. The post Harvard Dumps Complete $87M Ethereum (ETH) ETF Stake Within a Single Quarter appeared first on Blockonomi.

The current value of those Papa John’s pizzas reflects how much Bitcoin as an asset and a network has grown.

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The influx of new equity from SpaceX's IPO could strain market liquidity, prompting volatility and capital reallocation challenges. The post Tom Lee warns SpaceX IPO could flood markets with $2T in new liquidity appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Trump Media & Technology Group has transferred another 2,650 Bitcoin worth about $205 million to Crypto.com, adding fresh scrutiny to the company’s crypto treasury strategy as its holdings remain deeply underwater. According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, the transfer was…

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Hyperliquid (HYPE) reaches all-time high above $62 with 58% weekly gains as Grayscale buys $35M and spot ETFs see $54M inflows in seven days. The post Hyperliquid (HYPE) Surges Past $62 as Grayscale Adds $35M to Holdings appeared first on Blockonomi.