Discover what’s happening in the tech world, and uncover the stories behind the headlines.
1. Bitcoin briefly rises to record high over $70,000
The leading cryptocurrency topped the $70,000 mark for the first time, boosted by investor demand for new U.S. spot exchange-traded crypto products and expectations for global interest rates to fall. It rose to as high as $70,105 before quickly dropping, and was last trading at $68,317.72. (Reuters)
2. Binance must face revived investor lawsuit in US over crypto losses
A federal appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit where investors accused Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, of violating U.S. securities laws by selling unregistered tokens that lost much of their value. (Reuters)
3. Vitalik Buterin proposes a quantum-resistant hard fork for Ethereum
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a hard fork strategy. This preemptive measure is designed to protect user funds in the event that quantum computers become capable of breaking current cryptographic defences. (Blockchain News)
4. Larry Fink bets bitcoin ETFs are just the beginning as Wall Street eyes $10tn tokenisation play
Larry Fink should be happy. The CEO of BlackRock has seen the Wall Street giant’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund cross $10 billion in flows since its January launch. However, Fink’s ultimate goal is “the tokenisation of every financial asset,” he said in January. (DL News)
5. Solidify Audit enhances blockchain security with multi-layered approach
Solidify Audit, a prominent security firm specialising in blockchain technology has recently unveiled its adoption of a comprehensive multi-layered security approach. This strategic move aims to fortify the integrity and resilience of blockchain projects through a combination of automated analysis, manual review, and strict adherence to industry best practices. (Cointrust)
6. TSMC to win more than $5 billion in grants for a US chip plant, Bloomberg reports
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is set to win more than $5 billion in federal grants to support a chipmaking project in Arizona, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would mark a major milestone in President Joe Biden’s effort to revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing. (Reuters)
7. China prepares $27 bln chip fund to counter growing US restrictions, Bloomberg reports
China prepares $27 billion chip fund to counter growing US restrictions. China is in the process of raising more than $27 billion for its largest chip fund to date, accelerating the development of cutting-edge technologies to counter a US campaign to thwart its rise. (Reuters)
8. US mulls blacklisting CXMT to curb China’s chip advance, Bloomberg News says
The Biden administration is weighing sanctions on several Chinese tech companies, including memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, in a fresh bid to restrain the Asian country’s development of advanced semiconductors. (Reuters)
9. 1 little-known cloud computing stock to buy hand over fist before it soars 43%
The market may reward DigitalOcean with a higher sales multiple if its growth indeed accelerates. But even if it trades at its current sales multiple after three years and generates $1 billion in revenue, the company’s market cap could increase to $5 billion — a 43% jump. (Yahoo)
10. Ubicloud plans open source cloud platform by combining bare-metal services
Ubicloud plans open source cloud platform by combining bare-metal services. Startup Ubicloud is looking to develop an open source cloud offering. Ubicloud’s offering will provide cloud computing services on top of bare-metal servers from existing providers such as OVHcloud, Leaseweb and AWS, TechCrunch reports. (Data Centre Dynamics)
11. Sam Altman will return to OpenAI’s board with three new directors
OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman will return to the ChatGPT-maker’s board along with three new directors, the world’s most prominent artificial intelligence company said on Friday. (Reuters)
12. Nvidia on cusp of overtaking Apple as second-most-valuable company
Nvidia is nipping at the heels of Apple to become the world’s second-most-valuable company, as investors cannot get enough of the semiconductor maker whose chips power popular artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT. (Reuters)
13. Biden says he would sign TikTok crackdown, Trump raises concerns
President Joe Biden said on Friday he would sign legislation that gives China’s ByteDance about six months to divest the popular TikTok short video app as his rival Donald Trump raised concerns about a ban of the service used by 170 million Americans. (Reuters)
14. Microsoft warns Russian hackers still trying to break into its systems
Microsoft said on Friday that hackers linked to Russia’s foreign intelligence were trying again to break into its systems, using data stolen from corporate emails in January to gain new access to the tech giant whose products are widely used across the U.S. national security establishment. (Reuters)
15. Alibaba’s Lingxi Games says management to step down to make way for younger execs
Lingxi Games, Alibaba Group’s video games arm, has told staff its leadership team will step down to make way for younger management, according to an internal memo. (Reuters)
