Day: April 17, 2025

OpenAI sought Anysphere deal before turning its sights on WindSurf

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OpenAI was reportedly in talks to buy Anysphere, the company that produces the Cursor AI coding assistant, before entering into talks with rival company WindSurf. According to CNBC, OpenAI approached Anysphere in 2024 and again in 2025, but talks stalled both times. Failing to arrive at a deal led OpenAI to look elsewhere for potential acquisitions. Sources familiar with the deal also say OpenAI is prepared to pay $3 billion to purchase WindSurf, which would make it the company’s largest corporate acquisition to date. An example of OpenAI’s ChatGPT producing…

Crypto exchange eXch to shut down amid money laundering allegations

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Cryptocurrency exchange eXch announced it will cease operations on May 1 after reports alleged the firm was used to launder funds from a Bybit hack. In an April 17 notice, eXch said the majority of people in its management team voted to “cease and retreat” in response to the allegations that North Korea’s Lazarus Group used the exchange to launder roughly $35 million of the funds stolen in a $1.4 billion exploit on Bybit. The exchange said it was the subject of “an active transatlantic operation” aimed at shutting it…

Justin Sun delivers keynote at Liberland’s 10th anniversary, TRON DAO named gold sponsor

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Share this article LIBERLAND, April 17 2025 — The Free Republic of Liberland proudly celebrated its 10th Anniversary Conference from April 11–13, 2025, held at the Liberland Ark Village in Apatin, Serbia. Among the distinguished supporters of this milestone event was TRON DAO, joining as a gold sponsor in recognition of Liberland’s decade-long journey in advancing freedom, innovation, and blockchain adoption. Founded on the principles of personal and economic freedom, Liberland has become a vibrant hub for innovation, blockchain advancement, and libertarian values.  Its 10th Anniversary Conference brought together leaders,…

Ripple acquisition Hidden Road secures FINRA registration

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Prime brokerage Hidden Road, which was recently acquired by Ripple for $1.25 billion, has secured a broker-dealer license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — a move that enhances its capacity in the fixed-income markets.  As a FINRA broker-dealer, Hidden Road can further develop its fixed-income prime brokerage services and extend its capabilities in traditional markets, the company announced on April 17. This includes offering institutional clients regulatory-compliant clearing and financing services across fixed-income securities.  Membership in FINRA is considered a significant commitment to compliance and investor protection. It…

US jobless claims hint at stability as Bitcoin reaches ‘inflection point’ at $85K

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The latest US initial jobless claims data came at 215,000, below the estimated expectation of 225,000, on April 17. The dip in jobless claims indicated that the US labor market remained stable, with fewer people being affected by the uncertainty of US tariffs. Initial jobless claims are a leading economic indicator that measures the health of the US economy and it often impacts investor sentiment around risk assets like Bitcoin (BTC). US jobless claims data. Source: Investing.com Resiliency in the labor market comes on the back of Federal Reserve Chair…

A16z doubles down on LayerZero with $55M investment

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Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, announced a $55 million investment in LayerZero, a Web3 company that runs a crosschain messaging protocol. The investment was disclosed in an April 17 X post by Ali Yahya, a general partner in the firm. A16z has made previous investments in LayerZero, including an initial investment in March 2022 and a subsequent investment during LayerZero’s Series B funding round in April 2023. The companies have not disclosed the funding round’s valuation. Source: Ali Yahja | alive.eth The Canada-based LayerZero was valued at $3…

Ethena Labs, Securitize unveil ‘Converge’ network roadmap

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Ethena Labs, the developer of the USDe synthetic dollar (USDe), and financial technology company Securitize, released a preliminary roadmap for their upcoming Converge network, a high-throughput blockchain focused on real-world assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). According to the announcement, a testnet will be live in the coming weeks, with a mainnet launch later in 2025. Converge will feature a 100 milliseconds (ms) native block time, with plans to reduce block times to 50ms by Q4 2025. The developers also plan to achieve at least one gigagas of potential throughput during…

4 reasons why Bitcoin price could rally to $90K in April

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Key points:  Monetary stimulus in China and Europe increases investors’ focus on Bitcoin price. The US Federal Reserve is under political pressure to cut rates, as the DXY weakens. Bitcoin’s decoupling from traditional markets continues to gain attention.  Bitcoin (BTC) traders are somewhat puzzled by BTC price jumping to $85,000, especially since the S&P 500 index has dropped 5.7% in April, and this move came after the cryptocurrency managed a 14% rebound off its trade-war induced crash to $74,400. Investors are cautiously optimistic, but multiple events and data points to…

Trump blasts ‘too late’ Powell for not cutting interest rates

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US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of being too slow to cut interest rates and escalating a long-running conflict that risks undermining the central bank’s political independence. With the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting interest rates again on April 17, “Too Late” Powell has failed to act appropriately in the United States, even with inflation falling, Trump said on Truth Social on April 17.  “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump said. Source: realDonaldTrump Florida Senator Rick Scott agreed with the…

Wyoming commission floats whether stablecoin is ‘covered’ by SEC rules

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The Wyoming Stable Token Commission, a body authorized by the US state to issue a stablecoin, has suggested that it may clarify its language to better comply with potential guidelines from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In an April 17 meeting in the extension of the Wyoming Capitol building, Commissioner Joel Revill suggested the body could reduce the risk of the state’s proposed WYST stablecoin qualifying as a security under SEC rules. The discussion among the commissioners and Executive Director Anthony Apollo followed the SEC issuing guidelines that certain…