Day: April 2, 2025

Bitcoin miner Bitfarms secures up to $300M loan from Macquarie

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Bitfarms, a global computer infrastructure company known for its Bitcoin mining operations, has entered into a $300 million loan agreement with Macquarie Group to finance the development of its high-performance computing (HPC) data centers. According to an April 2 announcement, Macquarie’s private debt facility will provide $50 million in initial funding for Bitfarms’ Panther Creek data center project in Pennsylvania.  The remaining $250 million will be released once Bitfarms achieves “specific development milestones at its Panther Creek location,” the announcement said. Once developed, Panther Creek will have a nearly 500-megawatt…

Ripple debuts RLUSD on Kraken as the stablecoin’s market cap approaches $250M

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Key Takeaways Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is now integrated into Kraken and supports cross-border payment solutions. The token is progressing towards a market valuation of $250 million. Share this article Ripple has announced the launch of its flagship stablecoin, RLUSD, on Kraken, a well-established crypto exchange. The expansion comes as the token is close to achieving a $250 million milestone following its launch last December. Kraken now joins a list of other platforms already supporting RLUSD, including LMAX Digital, Zero Hash, Bitstamp, and Bullish. Ripple states it plans to partner with…

Justin Sun urges users to exit First Digital Trust amid insolvency concerns

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Key Takeaways Justin Sun said First Digital Trust is insolvent and called on users to withdraw funds and regulators to intervene. The warning came hours after filings revealed Sun bailed out TUSD when $456M in reserves were frozen in unauthorized investments. Share this article Justin Sun issued a public warning earlier today, declaring that Hong Kong-based First Digital Trust (FDT) is insolvent and unable to fulfill redemptions. Protect users and protect HK First Digital Trust (FDT) is effectively insolvent and unable to fulfill client fund redemptions. I strongly recommend that…

Sentient open-source AI search outperforms GPT-4o and Perplexity

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Sentient, an artificial intelligence development platform backed by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, has released an open-source AI search framework that it says outperforms leading closed-source competitors. The company announced the public release of Open Deep Search (ODS) on April 2, describing it as a high-performance, developer-friendly alternative to platforms like Perplexity AI and OpenAI’s GPT-4o. Sentient’s ODS aims to empower developers with open-source “Loyal AI” models, which Sentient says preserve the original intent of their developers. The firm’s fingerprinting technology allows developers to protect intellectual property while maintaining model openness…

SMBC, Ava Labs, Fireblocks sign MoU for stablecoin framework in Japan

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC), a Japanese banking and financial services conglomerate, along with business systems firm TIS Inc, Ava Labs — the developer of the Avalanche network — and digital asset infrastructure company Fireblocks, have signed an agreement to explore a framework for commercializing stablecoins in Japan. Under a Memorandum of Understanding, the companies will focus on developing strategies around issuing and circulating stablecoins pegged to the US dollar and Japanese yen, according to a joint announcement. Additionally, the collaboration will explore stablecoins as a settlement mechanism for tokenized…

Bitcoin breaks $86K as US tariff ‘Liberation Day’ risks 11% BTC price dip

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Bitcoin (BTC) reached new April highs at the April 2 Wall Street open as markets braced for US “Liberation Day.” BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView Bitcoin teases breakout in US tariff countdown Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed local highs of $86,444 on Bitstamp, the best performance for BTC/USD since March 28. Volatility remained in the run-up to US President Donald Trump announcing a sweeping round of reciprocal trade tariffs. The measures would be unveiled in an address from the White House Rose Garden at 4 pm Eastern…

What could go wrong and what could go right?

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Opinion by: James Strudwick, executive director, Starknet Foundation The outlook surrounding the use of new technologies has shifted in Washington. Tesla CEO and presidential adviser Elon Musk’s proposition to incorporate blockchain technology into the US Treasury has placed blockchain and its use for state finances at the forefront of the global debate. According to Musk, much of this drive is rooted in the concern over the unsustainability of current government spending. With its immutable ledgers and transparent audit trails, blockchain is waiting in the wind, offering a potential solution to…

Justin Sun provides emergency liquidity to stabilize troubled TrueUSD

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Key Takeaways Justin Sun provided emergency funding to stabilize TrueUSD amid a $456 million liquidity crisis. TUSD issuer Techteryx claims large-scale fraud led to unauthorized investments by its fiduciary. Share this article Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, quietly provided emergency funding to stabilize TrueUSD (TUSD) after $456 million of the stablecoin’s reserves became illiquid, Hong Kong court documents have revealed. The details were first reported by CoinDesk. TUSD’s owner, Techteryx, after acquiring TrueUSD in 2020, entrusted First Digital Trust (FDT) to manage the stablecoin’s reserves, according to the filings. FDT…

Seamless Protocol migrates lending infrastructure to DeFi protocol Morpho

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Key Takeaways Seamless Protocol has migrated its lending infrastructure to the Morpho DeFi protocol, enhancing borrowing and lending operations. The Seamless ecosystem manages $70 million in TVL and serves over 200,000 wallets, focusing on innovation with leverage tokens and real-world asset integrations. Share this article The DeFi lending protocol Seamless, today announced the migration of its entire infrastructure to Morpho, a decentralized lending protocol managing over $500 million in liquidity on Coinbase-incubated Base and $2.4 billion on Ethereum. The transition, approved by the Seamless DAO in early 2025, transforms Seamless…

No Password Reset? How Frostr Saves Your Nostr Identity

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Born out of a hackathon at TABCONF 2024, Frostr may have just solved Nostr’s most pernicious issue: the inability to reset your password if your private key gets compromised. Started in October of 2024, Frostr just announced the alpha release of Igloo and Frost2x, a desktop and accompanying browser extension key signers for the Nostr ecosystem.  The project was founded by Topher (cmdruid) who made his name as a Bitcoin engineer for developing Tapscript — a popular library for managing Taproot, Schnorr signatures, and Bitcoin transactions — and Austin (bitcoinplebdev)…