Media – CNBC – Animalverse.social

Media Gallery

Goldman Sachs and Citadel back crypto firm Digital Asset in $135 million funding round Crypto company Digital Asset said Tuesday that it's netted $135 million in funding from a raft of major names in banking and finance. The firm, which touts itself as a regulated crypto player, said it raised the fresh cash in a funding round co-led by DRW and Tradeweb, with Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas and Ken Griffin's Citadel Securities also investing. The investment highlights how large financial institutions are embedding themselves in the once murky world of cryptocurrencies. Previously associated with fraud, money laundering and other illicit activities, digital assets have become a more mainstream asset class over the years as big names like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley warmed to the space. Just last week, JPMorgan launched its own version of a stablecoin, a deposit token called "JPMD." "With growing participation from global financial institutions and market participants, we expect this funding round to help us solidify our role as the backbone of digital finance," Yuval Rooz, Digital Asset's CEO and co-founder, told CNBC. Digital Asset sells a number of digital asset services to its clients, which include major Wall Street players like Goldman Sachs, Citadel and Virtu. Co-founded in 2014 by trader-turned-entrepreneur Yuval Rooz, it competes with the likes of Ripple, R3 and Consensys. The firm will use the new funding to advance adoption of the Canton Network. Initially developed by Digital Asset but now open-source, Canton is a public blockchain designed for financial institutions to move assets and data around while meeting regulatory and privacy requirements. Banks and trading firms are using Canton to tokenize real-world assets such as bonds, commodities and money market funds. "This raise will allow us to build upon the continuing momentum around the Canton Network and accelerate the onboarding of more high-quality assets, finally making blockchain's transformative promise an institutional-scale reality," Rooz told CNBC. The network now supports trillions of dollars in tokenized assets, according to Digital Asset's CEO

CNBC
Goldman Sachs and Citadel back crypto firm Digital Asset in $135 million funding round Crypto company Digital Asset said Tuesday that it's netted $135 million in funding from a raft of major names in banking and finance. The firm, which touts itself as a regulated crypto player, said it raised the fresh cash in a funding round co-led by DRW and Tradeweb, with Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas and Ken Griffin's Citadel Securities also investing. The investment highlights how large financial institutions are embedding themselves in the once murky world of cryptocurrencies. Previously associated with fraud, money laundering and other illicit activities, digital assets have become a more mainstream asset class over the years as big names like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley warmed to the space. Just last week, JPMorgan launched its own version of a stablecoin, a deposit token called "JPMD." "With growing participation from global financial institutions and market participants, we expect this funding round to help us solidify our role as the backbone of digital finance," Yuval Rooz, Digital Asset's CEO and co-founder, told CNBC. Digital Asset sells a number of digital asset services to its clients, which include major Wall Street players like Goldman Sachs, Citadel and Virtu. Co-founded in 2014 by trader-turned-entrepreneur Yuval Rooz, it competes with the likes of Ripple, R3 and Consensys. The firm will use the new funding to advance adoption of the Canton Network. Initially developed by Digital Asset but now open-source, Canton is a public blockchain designed for financial institutions to move assets and data around while meeting regulatory and privacy requirements. Banks and trading firms are using Canton to tokenize real-world assets such as bonds, commodities and money market funds. "This raise will allow us to build upon the continuing momentum around the Canton Network and accelerate the onboarding of more high-quality assets, finally making blockchain's transformative promise an institutional-scale reality," Rooz told CNBC. The network now supports trillions of dollars in tokenized assets, according to Digital Asset's CEO

CNBC
Pompliano’s ProCap raises over $750 million, goes public via SPAC background of header Anthony Pompliano: Gold, crypto divergence shows investors aren't used to going Bitcoin for safety The race to create publicly traded bitcoin treasuries is accelerating — and so is the capital pouring in. ProCap Financial, the latest entrant, has raised more than $750 million and is going public through a special acquisition company, or SPAC, with Columbus Circle Capital Corp. I, according to an announcement Monday. Led by investor and podcast host Anthony Pompliano, ProCap raised more than $750 million in its funding round, including $235 million in convertible debt, with equity making up the rest. The new firm aims to hold up to $1 billion in bitcoin on its balance sheet and generate revenue through a full-stack, bitcoin-denominated financial services platform. The rush into bitcoin treasuries — inflated by cheap capital, yield promises, and brand name endorsements — is starting to resemble a bubble. "There's an old George Soros quote that goes, 'When I see a bubble forming, I rush in to buy, adding fuel to the fire,'" Pompliano said. "There's a reason the bubble forms — because the trend works." ProCap joins a growing cohort of bitcoin-heavy ventures using reverse mergers and blank-check vehicles to tap into public markets. From Trump Media's $2.5 billion bitcoin treasury plan to Jack Mallers' Twenty-One and the Nakamoto fund, a growing number of firms are racing to offer stock market exposure to bitcoin. Some, like Tron founder Justin Sun, are using reverse mergers to take crypto businesses public — in Sun's case, folding his blockchain platform into a Nasdaq-listed toy manufacturer. Others, like Mallers, are launching purpose-built bitcoin holding firms backed by heavyweight investors including Tether and SoftBank. While Trump Media isn't a crypto-native firm, it has embraced the playbook of raising money to buy bitcoin and promoting the asset through affiliated ventures. All are following a path blazed by Strategy's Michael Saylor: Turning public companies into bitcoin proxies. But ProCap says it's pushing beyond that model, aiming not just to hold bitcoin but to build a financial services platform on top of it. "Most other firms raised capital that's just sitting in cash while they wait for deals to close," Pompliano told CNBC. "We're buying bitcoin immediately." He added that ProCap's equity investors are getting direct exposure from day one. Anthony Pompliano: Circle 'may be more of a stablecoin story than it is a crypto story' The structure gives ProCap a rare first-mover edge in a space where many deals are still weeks or months from closing, with some yet to even file their S-4s — the regulatory documents required to complete a merger. It also sets the stage for a new phase of the bitcoin proxy trade: not just holding bitcoin, but generating yield from it. "We want to build the leading bitcoin-native financial services company," Pompliano said. "Like a traditional Wall Street firm, but on top of a bitcoin balance sheet instead of dollars." ProCap plans to offer services like lending, trading, and capital markets — all denominated in bitcoin. The goal is to recreate the architecture of a Goldman Sachs or Cantor Fitzgerald, rebuilt from the ground up in crypto. "The goal is to look and feel like a traditional financial institution," he added. "That resonates very differently with capital allocators." ProCap's pitch to investors is that it's not just chasing momentum. It's building the infrastructure for what Pompliano calls a new financial system — one that runs on bitcoin, but looks and feels familiar to the institutions still sitting on the sidelines. "Many companies don't care about the cost of capital. We do," he added. "We're traditional capital allocators — we care about building a sustainable business that generates cash flow."

CNBC
Pompliano’s ProCap raises over $750 million, goes public via SPAC background of header Anthony Pompliano: Gold, crypto divergence shows investors aren't used to going Bitcoin for safety The race to create publicly traded bitcoin treasuries is accelerating — and so is the capital pouring in. ProCap Financial, the latest entrant, has raised more than $750 million and is going public through a special acquisition company, or SPAC, with Columbus Circle Capital Corp. I, according to an announcement Monday. Led by investor and podcast host Anthony Pompliano, ProCap raised more than $750 million in its funding round, including $235 million in convertible debt, with equity making up the rest. The new firm aims to hold up to $1 billion in bitcoin on its balance sheet and generate revenue through a full-stack, bitcoin-denominated financial services platform. The rush into bitcoin treasuries — inflated by cheap capital, yield promises, and brand name endorsements — is starting to resemble a bubble. "There's an old George Soros quote that goes, 'When I see a bubble forming, I rush in to buy, adding fuel to the fire,'" Pompliano said. "There's a reason the bubble forms — because the trend works." ProCap joins a growing cohort of bitcoin-heavy ventures using reverse mergers and blank-check vehicles to tap into public markets. From Trump Media's $2.5 billion bitcoin treasury plan to Jack Mallers' Twenty-One and the Nakamoto fund, a growing number of firms are racing to offer stock market exposure to bitcoin. Some, like Tron founder Justin Sun, are using reverse mergers to take crypto businesses public — in Sun's case, folding his blockchain platform into a Nasdaq-listed toy manufacturer. Others, like Mallers, are launching purpose-built bitcoin holding firms backed by heavyweight investors including Tether and SoftBank. While Trump Media isn't a crypto-native firm, it has embraced the playbook of raising money to buy bitcoin and promoting the asset through affiliated ventures. All are following a path blazed by Strategy's Michael Saylor: Turning public companies into bitcoin proxies. But ProCap says it's pushing beyond that model, aiming not just to hold bitcoin but to build a financial services platform on top of it. "Most other firms raised capital that's just sitting in cash while they wait for deals to close," Pompliano told CNBC. "We're buying bitcoin immediately." He added that ProCap's equity investors are getting direct exposure from day one. Anthony Pompliano: Circle 'may be more of a stablecoin story than it is a crypto story' The structure gives ProCap a rare first-mover edge in a space where many deals are still weeks or months from closing, with some yet to even file their S-4s — the regulatory documents required to complete a merger. It also sets the stage for a new phase of the bitcoin proxy trade: not just holding bitcoin, but generating yield from it. "We want to build the leading bitcoin-native financial services company," Pompliano said. "Like a traditional Wall Street firm, but on top of a bitcoin balance sheet instead of dollars." ProCap plans to offer services like lending, trading, and capital markets — all denominated in bitcoin. The goal is to recreate the architecture of a Goldman Sachs or Cantor Fitzgerald, rebuilt from the ground up in crypto. "The goal is to look and feel like a traditional financial institution," he added. "That resonates very differently with capital allocators." ProCap's pitch to investors is that it's not just chasing momentum. It's building the infrastructure for what Pompliano calls a new financial system — one that runs on bitcoin, but looks and feels familiar to the institutions still sitting on the sidelines. "Many companies don't care about the cost of capital. We do," he added. "We're traditional capital allocators — we care about building a sustainable business that generates cash flow."

CNBC
How the Israel-Iran standoff took a turn and what's next after a pivotal 24 hours Lim Hui Jie ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 22: An operational timeline of a strike on Iran is displayed during a news conference with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. U.S. President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation last night after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images The past 24 hours have been pivotal in the Israel-Iran conflict, with the U.S. entering the war — a move that has left investors and world leaders on edge. On Saturday night, American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and submarines struck three of Iran's most critical nuclear sites: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. The strikes represented the first direct action that the U.S. had taken against Iran since the country was hit by Israeli attacks earlier in June. Israel and Iran had been trading strikes since Israel preemptively attacked it on June 13, killing key Iranian military figures and nuclear scientists. Since then, the world has seen reactions from around the globe over the strikes, including from Iran itself, which has called the strikes "outrageous" and vowed "everlasting consequences". Iran's parliament has also voted to close the critical Strait of Hormuz, endangering energy supplies. Here's a roundup of the events since the U.S. attacks happened, and what could happen next. U.S. enters Israel-Iran war At 7.50 p.m. Eastern Time, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. had conducted a "very successful attack" on the three nuclear sites, and said "NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!". About an hour later, a U.S. official told Reuters that B-2 Spirits were involved in the bombings. These bombers are believed to be the only planes which have the capability to deliver the weapons powerful enough to penetrate the underground facility at Fordo. The International Atomic Energy Agency later confirmed that all three sites were hit. Following the strikes, world leaders reactions poured in, among which was Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who thanked Trump for the strikes, calling it a "bold decision." The IAEA released two updates after the strike, saying that Director General Rafael Grossi would call an emergency meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors to discuss the decision. The agency said it was also informed by Iranian regulatory authorities that there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels after the attacks. The UN Security Council also met on Sunday to discuss the attack, as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed that the UNSC adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East. China strongly condemned the U.S. attack on Iran and on nuclear facilities supervised by the IAEA, China's U.N. Ambassador Fu Cong said at a UNSC meeting on Sunday. While U.S. officials, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the attacks were not meant to enact regime change in the Islamic Republic, Trump himself raised the possibility of that happening. The U.S. president posted on Truth Social that "It's not politically correct to use the term, "Regime Change," but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Oil rises on Hormuz closure news Oil prices jumped more than 2% on Sunday evening, and continued to rise to just under $80 per barrel for Brent crude, and just under $75 for West Texas Intermediate crude. The rise comes after Iran's parliament backed closing the critical Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world's oil transits. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has described it as the "world's most important oil transit chokepoint." However, the final decision to close the Strait lies with Iran's national security council, according to the report. The Strait currently remains open, but analysts have told CNBC that oil prices could test $100 a barrel if Iran closes the Strait and Western forces try to reopen it by force. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday had also called for China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait. China is Iran's largest oil customer, accounting for the bulk of Iranian oil exports, and maintains friendly relations with the country. Bracing for Iran's response The world now waits for Iran's response, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on X that his nation "reserves all options" in responding to the attack. "The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," Araghchi said. Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht Ravanchi told German media that the country will continue its uranium enrichment program, and that "no one can tell us what to do", according to Reuters citing Iranian media Tasnim News. Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at Australian bank AMP, said in a Monday note that if Iran only undertakes "a few token moves" and "surrenders unconditionally" as Trump demands, "then oil prices will quickly settle down and shares will rally." Oliver noted that this was basically what happened when the U.S. led-coalition entered the first and second Gulf Wars. However, if Iran undertakes actions such as hitting U.S. bases in the region, the U.S. is likely to retaliate and this would keep markets on edge, he added. Vandana Hari, founder of energy intelligence firm Vanda Insights, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday that the risk of closure remains "absolutely minimalistic." This is because if Iran follows through, it runs the risk of alienating its neighboring oil-producing countries and customers, including China, which accounts for the majority of Iranian oil exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. There is "so very, very little to be achieved, and a lot of self-inflicted harm that Iran could do" if it closed the Strait, Hari said.

CNBC
Trump says US has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites The United States has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, President Donald Trump says, joining an Israeli air campaign as Tehran promises to retaliate. The move means the US has directly joined Israel’s effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. In a post on social media, Trump announced the apparent military strike. He wrote: "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. "Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound. bunker buster bomb, they alone can carry, offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joins the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.

CNBC
Trump says US has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites The United States has attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, President Donald Trump says, joining an Israeli air campaign as Tehran promises to retaliate. The move means the US has directly joined Israel’s effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. In a post on social media, Trump announced the apparent military strike. He wrote: "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. "Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!" The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country’s air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound. bunker buster bomb, they alone can carry, offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joins the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.

CNBC
Why ether ETF inflows have come roaring back from the dead Ether ETFs have finally come to life this year after some started to fear they may be becoming zombie funds. Collectively, the funds tracking the price of spot ether are on pace for their sixth consecutive week of inflows and eight positive week in the last nine, according to SoSoValue. The second largest cryptocurrency has become more attractive to institutions in recent weeks largely due to recent regulatory momentum in the U.S. around stablecoins – many of which run on the Ethereum network – the successful IPO of Circle, the issuer of the second-largest stablecoin; and new leadership at the Ethereum Foundation. “What we’re seeing is institutional recalibration,” said Ben Kurland, CEO at crypto charting and research platform DYOR. “After the initial ETH ETF approval fizzled without a price pop, smart money started quietly building positions. They’re betting not on price momentum but on positioning ahead of utility unlocks like staking access, options listings, and eventually inflows from retirement platforms.” The first year of ether ETFs, which launched in July 2024, has been characterized by weak demand. While the funds have had spikes in inflows, they’ve trailed far behind bitcoin ETFs in both inflows and investor attention – amassing about $3.9 billion in net inflows since listing versus bitcoin ETFs’ $36 billion in their first year of trading. “With increasing acceptance of crypto on Wall Street, especially now as a means for payments and remittances, investors are being drawn to ETH ETFs,” said Chris Rhine, head of liquid active strategies at Galaxy Digital. Additionally, he added, the CME basis on ether – or the price difference between ether futures and the spot price – is higher than that of bitcoin, giving arbitrageurs an opportunity to profit by going long on ether ETFs while shorting futures (a common trading strategy) and contributing to the uptrend in ether ETF inflows. Ether/USD Coin Metrics ETH.CM=:Exchange Ether (ETH) 1 month Despite the uptrend in inflows, the price of ether itself is negative for this month and flat over the past month. For the year, it’s down 25% as it’s been suffering from an identity crisis fueled by uncertainty about Ethereum’s value proposition, weaker revenue since its last big technical upgrade and increasing competition from Solana. Market volatility driven by geopolitical uncertainty this year has not helped. In March, Standard Chartered slashed its ether price target by more than half. However, the firm also said the coin could still see a turnaround this year. Since last week’s big spike in inflows, they’ve “slowed but stayed net positive, suggesting conviction, not hype,” Kurland said. “The market looks like a heart monitor, but the buyers are treating it like a long-term infrastructure bet.”

CNBC
DOJ seizes record $225 million in crypto tied to global 'pig butchering' scams Pig butchering scams surge 40% as crypto sanctions evasion hits $15.8 billion The Justice Department announced Wednesday the largest-ever U.S. seizure of cryptocurrency linked to so-called "pig butchering" scams that have cost victims billions globally. Federal prosecutors filed a civil forfeiture action targeting more than $225 million in cryptocurrency traced to a sprawling web of fraudulent investment platforms. Victims were tricked into believing they were investing in legitimate crypto ventures, only to be scammed by criminal networks often operating overseas. "This seizure of $225.3 million in funds linked to cryptocurrency investment scams marks the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. Secret Service history," said Shawn Bradstreet, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service's San Francisco Field Office, in a statement. Authorities said the network was connected to at least 400 suspected victims worldwide, including dozens in the U.S. Crypto fraud was responsible for more than $5.8 billion in reported losses last year, according to FBI data. The seized funds are now subject to forfeiture proceedings aimed at eventually returning money to victims. The U.S. Secret Service and FBI used blockchain analysis and other tools to trace the cryptocurrency back to stolen assets. The DOJ credited Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, for assisting in the operation. According to the complaint, the funds were linked to the theft and laundering of money from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, commonly known as confidence scams that often involve romance. The network relied on hundreds of thousands of transactions to obscure the origin of the funds, using sophisticated blockchain maneuvers to conceal the flow of stolen assets.

CNBC
SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center Shares in South Korea's SK Hynix extended gains to hit a more than 2-decade high on Tuesday, following reports over the weekend that SK Group plans to build the country's largest AI data center. SK Hynix shares, which have surged almost 50% so far this year on the back of an AI boom, were up nearly 3%, following gains on Monday. The company's parent, SK Group, plans to build the AI data center in partnership with Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, according to domestic media. SK Telecom and SK Broadband are reportedly leading the initiative, with support from other affiliates, including SK Hynix. SK Hynix is a leading supplier of dynamic random access memory or DRAM — a type of semiconductor memory found in PCs, workstations and servers that is used to store data and program code. The company's DRAM rival, Samsung, was also trading up 4% on Tuesday. However, it's growth has fallen behind that of SK Hynix. On Friday, Samsung Electronics' market cap reportedly slid to a 9-year low of 345.1 trillion won ($252 billion) as the chipmaker struggles to capitalize on AI-led demand. SK Hynix, on the other hand, has become a leader in high bandwidth memory — a type of DRAM used in artificial intelligence servers — supplying to clients such as AI behemoth Nvidia.

CNBC
The CEOs of two major energy companies, Baker Hughes and Woodside, are monitoring the developments between Iran and Israel — but they aren’t about to make firm predictions on oil prices.

CNBC
Google, Scale AI's largest customer, plans split after Meta deal Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23rd, 2025. Alphabet's Google, the largest customer of Scale AI, plans to cut ties with Scale after news broke that rival Meta is taking a 49% stake in the AI data-labeling startup, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Google had planned to pay Scale AI about $200 million this year for the human-labeled training data that is crucial for developing technology, including the sophisticated AI models that power Gemini, its ChatGPT competitor, one of the sources said. The search giant already held conversations with several of Scale AI's rivals this week as it seeks to shift away much of that workload, sources added. Scale's loss of significant business comes as Meta takes a big stake in the company, valuing it at $29 billion. Scale was worth $14 billion before the deal. Scale AI intends to keep its business running while its CEO, Alexandr Wang, along with a few employees, move over to Meta. Since its core business is concentrated around a few customers, it could suffer greatly if it loses key customers like Google. In a statement, a Scale AI spokesperson said its business, which spans work with major companies and governments, remains strong, as it is committed to protecting customer data. The company declined to comment on specifics with Google. Scale AI raked in $870 million in revenue in 2024, and Google spent some $150 million on Scale AI's services last year, sources said. Other major tech companies that are customers of Scale's, including Microsoft, are backing away as well. Elon Musk's xAI is also looking to exit, one of the sources said. OpenAI decided to pull back from Scale several months ago, according to sources familiar with the matter, though it spends far less money than Google. OpenAI's CFO said on Friday that the company will continue to work with Scale AI, as one of its many data vendors. Companies that compete with Meta in developing cutting-edge AI models are concerned that doing business with Scale could expose their research priorities and road map to a rival, five sources said. By contracting with Scale AI, customers often share proprietary data as well as prototype products for which Scale's workers are providing data-labeling services. With Meta now taking a 49% stake, AI companies are concerned that one of their chief rivals could gain knowledge about their business strategy and technical blueprints. Google, Microsoft and OpenAI declined to comment. xAI did not respond to a request for comment. Rivals see openings The bulk of Scale AI's revenue comes from charging generative AI model makers for providing access to a network of human trainers with specialized knowledge — from historians to scientists, some with doctorate degrees. The humans annotate complex datasets that are used to "post-train" AI models, and as AI models have become smarter, the demand for the sophisticated human-provided examples has surged, and one annotation could cost as much as $100. Scale also does data-labeling for enterprises like self-driving car companies and the U.S. government, which are likely to stay, according to the sources. But its biggest money-maker is in partnering with generative AI model makers, the sources said. Google had already sought to diversify its data service providers for more than a year, three of the sources said. But Meta's moves this week have led Google to seek to move off Scale AI on all its key contracts, the sources added. Because of the way data-labeling contracts are structured, that process could happen quickly, two sources said. This will provide an opening for Scale AI's rivals to jump in. "The Meta-Scale deal marks a turning point," said Jonathan Siddharth, CEO of Turing, a Scale AI competitor. "Leading AI labs are realizing neutrality is no longer optional, it's essential." Labelbox, another competitor, will "probably generate hundreds of millions of new revenue" by the end of the year from customers fleeing Scale, its CEO, Manu Sharma, told Reuters. Handshake, a competitor focusing on building a network of PhDs and experts, saw a surge of workload from top AI labs that compete with Meta. "Our demand has tripled overnight after the news," said Garrett Lord, CEO at Handshake. Many AI labs now want to hire in-house data-labelers, which allows their data to remain secure, said Brendan Foody, CEO of Mercor, a startup that in addition to competing directly with Scale AI also builds technology around being able to recruit and vet candidates in an automated way, enabling AI labs to scale up their data labeling operations quickly. Founded in 2016, Scale AI provides vast amounts of labeled data or curated training data, which is crucial for developing sophisticated tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. The Meta deal will be a boon for Scale AI's investors including Accel and Index Ventures, as well as its current and former employees. As part of the deal, Scale AI's CEO, Wang, will take a top position leading Meta's AI efforts. Meta is fighting the perception that it may have fallen behind in the AI race after its initial set of Llama 4 large language models released in April fell short of performance expectations.

CNBC
Here's how to keep Meta AI from sharing your prompts on Facebook, Instagram Artificial intelligence-generated images of women kissing while mud wrestling and President Donald Trump eating poop are some of the conversations users are unknowingly sharing publicly through Meta's newly launched AI app. The company rolled out the Meta AI app in April, putting it in direct competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT. But the tool has recently garnered some negative publicity and sparked privacy concerns over some of the wacky — and personal — prompts being shared publicly from user accounts. Besides the mud wrestlers and Trump eating poop, some of the examples CNBC found include a user prompting Meta's AI tool to generate photos of the character Hello Kitty "tying a rope in a loop hanging from a barn rafter, standing on a stool." Another user whose prompt was posted publicly asked Meta AI to send what appears to be a veterinarian bill to another person. "Sir, your home address is listed on there," a user commented on the photo of the veterinarian bill. Meta AI chats are private by default and can only be shared publicly through a four-step process that includes a pre-post preview, a company spokesperson said. This includes a feature to hide posts. The spokesperson also said the Discover feed is meant to offer "inspiration and AI hacks" to users. Users can adjust settings on the app to protect their privacy and keep the app from sharing their queries on Meta's other apps. Here's how to do it To start, click on your profile photo on the top right corner of the screen and scroll down to data and privacy. Then head to the "suggesting your prompts on other apps" tab. This should include Facebook and Instagram. Once there, click the toggle feature for the apps that you want to keep your prompts from being shared on. After, go back to the main data and privacy page and click "manage your information." Select "make all your public prompts visible only to you" and click the "apply to all" function. You can also delete your prompt history there. Meta has beefed up its recent bets on AI to improve its offerings to compete against megacap peers and leading AI contenders, such as Google and OpenAI. This week, the company invested $14 billion in startup Scale AI and tapped its CEO Alexandr Wang to help lead the company's AI strategy.

CNBC
Scale AI's Alexandr Wang confirms departure for Meta as part of $14.3 billion deal Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang told employees in a memo on Thursday that he's leaving for Meta, confirming reports from earlier in the week about his departure and a large investment from the social networking company. Meta is pumping $14.3 billion into Scale AI as part of the deal, and will have a 49% stake in the artificial intelligence startup, but will not have any voting power, a Scale AI spokesperson said. "As you've probably gathered from recent news, opportunities of this magnitude often come at a cost," Wang wrote in the memo that he shared on X. "In this instance, that cost is my departure. It has been the absolute greatest pleasure of my life to serve as your CEO." Scale AI is promoting Jason Droege, the chief strategy officer, to the CEO role. Droege was previously a venture partner at Benchmark and an Uber vice president. A small number of Scale AI employees will also join Meta as part of the agreement, Wang wrote. A Meta spokesperson confirmed that the company has finalized its "strategic partnership and investment in Scale AI. "As part of this, we will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts," the spokesperson said. "We will share more about this effort and the great people joining this team in the coming weeks." Meta's big bet on Wang fits into CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plans to bolster his company's AI efforts amid fierce competition from OpenAI and Google-parent Alphabet. Zuckerberg has made AI his company's top priority for 2025, but has grown increasingly frustrated with his team, particularly as Meta's latest version of its flagship Llama AI models received a tepid response from developers, CNBC reported earlier this week. Although Zuckerberg has traditionally placed long-standing employees into high-ranking position, he decided that the outsider Wang would be better suited to oversee AI initiatives deemed crucial for the company. Scale AI counts a number of Meta rivals as customers, including Google, Microsoft and OpenAI. Meta is one of Scale AI's biggest clients. The Scale AI spokesperson said that Meta's investment and hiring of Wang will not impact the startup's customers, and that Meta will not be privy to any of its business information or data.

CNBC
Coinbase beefs up subscription plan by offering it with American Express credit card background of header Coinbase on Thursday introduced its first branded credit card in partnership with American Express. The card will be available exclusively to U.S. members of Coinbase One, the cryptocurrency platform's monthly subscription product that offers zero trading fees, increased staking rewards and other perks. Additionally, Coinbase is also creating a lower-cost "Basic" subscription tier. Cardholders will be able to earn between 2% and 4% back in bitcoin, beginning this fall, and take advantage of experiences, protections and other benefits that are offered alongside the American Express network. Coinbase One costs $29.99 a month while a Basic tier with fewer rewards will cost $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. "We see real potential in the combination of Coinbase and crypto with the powerful backing of American Express, and what the card offers is an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now," Will Stredwick of American Express global network services said at the Coinbase State of Crypto Summit in New York City. Coinbase's crypto exchange for retail and institutional investors is its core business, but the company has been building its subscription and services offering, comprised of stablecoins, staking, subscriptions like Coinbase One and custody, which supports the majority of bitcoin and ether ETFs. William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey said Wednesday that subscription revenue growth "will be the reason long-term investors own the stock." Trading revenue totaled $1.26 billion in the first quarter, while subscription and services revenue came in at $698.1 million for the quarter. Coinbase One launched in 2023 and has grown to more than one million members since. The company also operates a developer platform called Base and a self-custody wallet. The launch of the Coinbase One card comes as the crypto industry prepares for a boom in product launches and rollouts thanks to the pro-crypto policies of the Trump administration and more clearly defined crypto regulations expected from Congress in coming months. This is the first credit card launch for Coinbase, although it introduced a prepaid debit card in partnership with Visa in 2020. American Express has previously partnered with trading platform Abra on a crypto-back card that was due to hit the market in 2022 but never materialized. Other crypto-back cards have been discontinued or removed crypto as a redemption option. Of the remaining offerings, Gemini, the Winklevoss brothers' 11-year-old crypto trading platform that confidentually filed to go public last week, offers a crypto-back credit card, while PayPal-owned Venmo allows users to "earn" crypto from its credit card through an automated "Cash Back to Crypto" function.

CNBC
Nvidia's first GPU was made in France — Macron wants the country to produce cutting edge chips again French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday made a pitch for his country to manufacture the most advanced chips in the world, in a bid to position itself as a critical tech hub in Europe. The comments come as European tech companies and countries are reassessing their reliance on foreign technology firms for critical technology and infrastructure. Chipmaking in particular arose as a topic after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was doing a panel talk alongside Macron and Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch, said on Wednesday that the company's first graphics processing unit (GPU) was manufactured in France by SGS Thomson Microelectronics, now known as STMicroelectronics. Yet STMicroelectronics is currently not at the leading edge of semiconductor manufacturing. Most of the chips it makes are for industries like the automotive one, which don't required the most cutting-edge semiconductors. Macron nevertheless laid his ambition out for France to be able to manufacture semiconductors in the range of 2 nanometers to 10 nanometers. "If we want to consolidate our industry, we have now to get more and more of the chips at the right scale," Macron said on Wednesday. The smaller the nanometer number, the more transistors that can be fit into a chip, leading to a more powerful semiconductor. Apple's latest iPhone chips, for instance, are based on 3 nanometer technology. Very few companies are able to manufacture chips at this level and on a large scale, with Samsung and Nvidia provider Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) leading the pack. If France wants to produce these cutting-edge chips, it will likely need TSMC or Samsung to build a factory locally — something that has been happening in the U.S. TSMC has now committed billions of dollars to build more factories Stateside. Macron touted a deal between Thales, Radiall and Taiwan's Foxconn, which are exploring setting up a semiconductor assembly and test facility in France. "I want to convince them to make the manufacturing in France," Macron said during VivaTech — one of France's biggest tech events — on the same day Nvidia's Huang announced a slew of deals to build more artificial intelligence infrastructure in Europe. One key partnership announced by Huang is between Nvidia and French AI model firm Mistral to build a so-called "AI cloud." France has looked to build out its AI infrastructure and Macron in February said that the country's AI sector would receive 109 billion euros ($125.6 billion) in private investments in the coming years. Macron touted the Nvidia and Mistral deal as an extension of France's AI buildout. "We are deepening them [investments] and we are accelerating. And what Mistral AI and Nvidia announced this morning is a game-changer as well," Macron told CNBC on Wednesday.

CNBC
Asia is progressively moving away from the U.S. dollar, as a mix of geopolitical uncertainties, monetary shifts and currency hedging prompt de-dollarization across the region.

CNBC
Zuckerberg makes his biggest AI bet as Meta nears $14 billion stake in Scale AI, hires founder Wang Mark Zuckerberg arrives before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States takes place inside the Capitol Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Mark Zuckerberg is so frustrated with Meta's standing in artificial intelligence that he's willing to spend billions of dollars to convince Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to join his company, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. Meta is finalizing a deal to invest $14 billion into Scale AI, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the terms are confidential. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that an investment could top $10 billion, and a story from The Information on Tuesday said Meta would pay close to $15 billion. As a founder of one of the most prominent AI startups, Wang has built a reputation as an ambitious leader who both understands AI's technical complexities and how to build a business that's not merely focused on research, according to two former Meta AI employees who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. Zuckerberg will be counting on Wang to better execute Meta's AI ambitions following the lukewarm launch of the company's latest Llama AI models. By not directly acquiring Scale AI, Meta appears to be taking a similar strategy as companies like Google and Microsoft, which have brought in prominent leaders in AI from the startups Character.AI and Inflection AI by taking large stakes in those companies rather than buying them outright. Meta is currently on trial against the Federal Trade Commission for antitrust claims, and the company doesn't want to further upset regulators by acquiring Scale AI, multiple people familiar with the matter said. As part of the deal, Meta will take a 49% stake in the data-labelling and annotation startup, The Information reported, while Wang will help lead a new AI research lab at the social networking company and will be joined by some of his colleagues. The New York Times was first to report about the new AI lab. Alexandr Wang, CEO of ScaleAI speaks on CNBC's Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23, 2025. Gerry Miller | CNBC Scale AI, founded in 2016, has made a splash in the era of generative AI by helping major tech companies like OpenAI, Google and Microsoft prepare data they use to train cutting-edge AI models. Meta is one of Scale AI's biggest customers, according to two people familiar with the matter. The startup, valued in a funding round about a year ago at $14 billion, is number 28 on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list. In mid-2024, the company signed one of the biggest recent commercial leases in San Francisco, gobbling up about 180,000 square feet of space in a downtown building that had been occupied by Airbnb. Scale AI has increasingly made in-roads into the defense industry, and in March announced a multimillion dollar deal with the Department of Defense. In November, it collaborated with Meta on Defense Llama, a custom version of Meta's open-source Llama foundation model designed specifically to "support American national security missions," the company said in a blog post. Meta and Scale AI declined to comment. Meta's AI challenges Heading into 2025, AI was one of Meta's top priorities. But Zuckerberg has grown agitated that rivals like OpenAI appear to be ahead in both underlying AI models and consumer-facing apps, current and former Meta employees said. Zuckerberg has been deprioritizing its Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit, or FAIR, in favor of its more product-oriented GenAI team to help Meta make headway in AI and improve its Llama family of AI models, CNBC previously reported. Meta's release of its Llama 4 AI models in April was not well received by developers, further frustrating Zuckerberg, the people said. At the time, Meta only released two smaller versions of Llama 4 and said it would eventually release a bigger and more powerful "Behemoth" model. That model has yet to be made available due to Zuckerberg's concerns about its capabilities relative to competing models, the people said. In particular, there is concern about how Behemoth stacks up against the latest from companies like OpenAI and China's DeepSeek, whose models are preferred by the wider developer community. Following Llama 4's lackluster debut, Meta conducted a reorganization of its GenAI unit, splitting it into two. Connor Hayes, a longstanding Meta employee, was put in charge of AI Products, while AGI Foundations was given to Amir Frenkel, previously a vice president of engineering and product for Meta's Reality Labs hardware unit, and Ahmad Al-Dahle, the previous head of GenAI. Al-Dahle's new position as a co-leader was seen as a sign that Zuckerberg had lost confidence in him, the people said. Ahmad Al-Dahle, VP and Head of GenAI at Meta. Courtesy: Meta Zuckerberg admires Wang and considers him capable of a major role at Meta as an AI leader, the people said. A dropout from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wang has built a sizable business and is familiar with AI's technical intricacies. The people described Wang as a "wartime CEO" who is in line with Zuckerberg's position that the U.S. faces increasing competition from China, thus requiring help from the tech industry. Wang told CNBC in January that he believes there is an "AI war" between the U.S. and China, and that the U.S. will need more computing power in order to compete. "The United States is going to need a huge amount of computational capacity, a huge amount of infrastructure," Wang said at the time. "We need to unleash U.S. energy to enable this AI boom." It's an unusual move for Zuckerberg, who has traditionally put loyalists in high-ranking positions. But it shows the magnitude of the moment and Zuckerberg's belief that a prominent outsider like Wang may be better positioned than any current Meta employee to bolster the company's position in AI, the people said. Wang also brings a lot of outside knowledge of how competitors like OpenAI are building their consumer chatbots and AI models. Data labelling and training has become more complicated in recent years as the capabilities of AI models has increased, said Vahan Petrosyan, the CEO of SuperAnnotate, one of Scale AI's competitors. "I would say Scale have covered probably 70% of all the models that are built," Petrosyan said. With Wang and others from Scale AI, Meta could gain "collective intelligence on how to build a better ChatGPT."

CNBC
Crypto CEO accused of laundering $500 million linked to sanctioned Russian banks Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., August 29, 2020. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have charged the founder of a U.S.-based cryptocurrency payments firm with operating what they allege was a sophisticated international money laundering scheme that moved over half a billion dollars on behalf of sanctioned Russian banks and other entities. Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old Russian national living in Manhattan, was arrested and arraigned Monday and ordered held without bail pending trial. Gugnin faces a 22-count indictment accusing him of wire and bank fraud, violating U.S. sanctions and export controls, money laundering, and failing to implement legally required anti-money laundering protocols. "The defendant is charged with turning a cryptocurrency company into a covert pipeline for dirty money, moving over half a billion dollars through the U.S. financial system to aid sanctioned Russian banks and help Russian end-users acquire sensitive U.S. technology," Assistant Attorney General Eisenberg said in a statement. Prosecutors said Gugnin used his companies — Evita Investments and Evita Pay — to process about $530 million in payments while concealing the origins and purposes of the funds. Between June 2023 and January 2025, he allegedly funneled the money through U.S. banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, primarily using tether, a widely used, dollar-pegged stablecoin. Clients included individuals and businesses linked to sanctioned Russian institutions such as Sberbank, VTB Bank, Sovcombank, Tinkoff, and the state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom. To carry out the scheme, Gugnin allegedly misrepresented the scope of his business, falsified compliance documentation, and lied to banks and digital asset platforms about his ties to Russia. Prosecutors say he masked the source of funds through shell accounts and doctored more than 80 invoices, digitally erasing the identities of Russian counterparties. Investigators also cite internet searches indicating he knew he was under scrutiny, including queries like "how to know if there is an investigation against you" and "money laundering penalties US." The Justice Department said Gugnin maintained direct ties to members of Russia's intelligence service and officials in Iran — countries that do not extradite to the U.S. He is also accused of helping the export of sensitive U.S. technology to Russian clients, including an anti-terrorism-controlled server. Gugnin was profiled last fall in a Wall Street Journal article about high-net-worth renters in Manhattan, where he reportedly paid $19,000 per month for an apartment. If convicted on bank fraud charges, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but if convicted on all counts, Gugnin could be given a consecutive maximum sentence significantly longer than his lifetime.

CNBC
UK finance watchdog teams up with Nvidia to let banks experiment with AI Images LONDON — Britain's financial services watchdog on Monday announced a new tie-up with U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to let banks safely experiment with artificial intelligence. The Financial Conduct Authority said it will launch a so-called Supercharged Sandbox that will "give firms access to better data, technical expertise and regulatory support to speed up innovation." Starting from October, financial services institutions in the U.K. will be allowed to experiment with AI using Nvidia's accelerated computing and AI Enterprise Software products, the watchdog said in a press release. The initiative is designed for firms in the "discovery and experiment phase" with AI, the FCA noted, adding that a separate live testing service exists for firms further along in AI development. "This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so," Jessica Rusu, the FCA's chief data, intelligence and information officer, said in a statement. "We'll help firms harness AI to benefit our markets and consumers, while supporting economic growth." The FCA's new sandbox addresses a key issue for banks, which have faced challenges shipping advanced new AI tools to their customers amid concerns over risks around privacy and fraud. Large language models from the likes of OpenAI and Google send data back to overseas facilities — and privacy regulators have raised the alarm over how this information is stored and processed. There have meanwhile been several instances of malicious actors using generative AI to scam people. Nvidia is behind the graphics processing units, or GPUs, used to train and run powerful AI models. The company's CEO, Jensen Huang, is expected to give a keynote talk at a tech conference in London on Monday morning. Last year, HSBC's generative AI lead, Edward Achtner, told a London tech conference he sees "a lot of success theater" in finance when it comes to artificial intelligence — hinting that some financial services firms are touting advances in AI without tangible product innovations to show for it. He added that, while banks like HSBC have used AI for many years, new generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT come with their own unique compliance risks.

CNBC
Bitcoin Family' hides crypto codes etched onto metal cards on four continents after recent kidnappings The Taihuttus on a ski trip to Sierra Nevada in southern Spain. They sold everything they owned in 2017 to bet on bitcoin — and now travel full-time as a family of five. A wave of high-profile kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency executives has rattled the industry — and prompted a quiet security revolution among some of its most visible evangelists. Didi Taihuttu, patriarch of the so-called "Bitcoin Family," said he overhauled the family's entire security setup after a string of threats. The Taihuttus — who sold everything they owned in 2017, from their house to their shoes, to go all-in on bitcoin when it was trading around $900 — have long lived on the outer edge of crypto ideology. They travel full-time with their three daughters and remain entirely unbanked. Over the past eight months, he said, the family ditched hardware wallets in favor of a hybrid system: Part analog, part digital, with seed phrases encrypted, split, and stored either through blockchain-based encryption services or hidden across four continents. "We have changed everything," Taihuttu told CNBC on a call from Phuket, Thailand. "Even if someone held me at gunpoint, I can't give them more than what's on my wallet on my phone. And that's not a lot." CNBC first reported on the family's unconventional storage system in 2022, when Taihuttu described hiding hardware wallets across multiple continents — in places ranging from rental apartments in Europe to self-storage units in South America. The Taihuttu family dressed up for Halloween in Phuket, Thailand, where they recently moved homes after receiving disturbing messages pinpointing their location from YouTube videos. Didi Taihuttu As physical attacks on crypto holders become more frequent, even they are rethinking their exposure. This week, Moroccan police arrested a 24-year-old suspected of orchestrating a series of brutal kidnappings targeting crypto executives. One victim, the father of a crypto millionaire, was allegedly held for days in a house south of Paris — and reportedly had a finger severed during the ordeal. In a separate case earlier this year, a co-founder of French wallet firm Ledger and his wife were abducted from their home in central France in a ransom scheme that also targeted another Ledger executive. Last month in New York, authorities said, a 28-year-old Italian tourist was kidnapped and tortured for 17 days in a Manhattan apartment by attackers trying to extract his bitcoin password — shocking him with wires, beating him with a gun, and strapping an Apple AirTag around his neck to track his movements. The common thread: The pursuit of crypto credentials that enable instant, irreversible transfers of virtual assets. Exodus CEO: U.S. buying bitcoin would be a global signal — but taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill "It is definitely frightening to see a lot of these kidnappings happen," said JP Richardson, CEO of crypto wallet company Exodus. He urged users to take security into their own hands by choosing self-custody, storing larger sums on hardware wallets, and — for those holding significant assets — exploring multi-signature wallets, a setup typically used by institutions. Richardson also recommended spreading funds across different wallet types and avoiding large balances in hot wallets to reduce risk without sacrificing flexibility. That rising sense of vulnerability is fueling a new demand for physical protection with insurance firms now racing to offer kidnap and ransom (K&R) policies tailored to crypto holders. But Taihuttu isn't waiting for corporate solutions. He's opted for complete decentralization — of not just his finances, but his personal risk profile. As the family prepares to return to Europe from Thailand, safety has become a constant topic of conversation. "We've been talking about it a lot as a family," Taihuttu said. "My kids read the news, too — especially that story in France, where the daughter of a CEO was almost kidnapped on the street." Now, he said, his daughters are asking difficult questions: What if someone tries to kidnap us? What's the plan? One of the steel plates the Taihuttu family uses to store part of their bitcoin seed phrase. Didi etched it by hand using a hammer and letter punch — part of a decentralized storage system spread across four continents. Didi Taihuttu Though the girls carry only small amounts of crypto in their personal wallets, the family has decided to avoid France entirely. "We got a little bit famous in a niche market — but that niche is becoming a really big market now," Taihuttu said. "And I think we'll see more and more of these robberies. So yeah, we're definitely going to skip France." Even in Thailand, Taihuttu recently stopped posting travel updates and filming at home after receiving disturbing messages from strangers who claimed to have identified his location from YouTube vlogs. "We stayed in a very beautiful house for six months — then I started getting emails from people who figured out which house it was. They warned me to be careful, told me not to leave my kids alone," he said. "So we moved. And now we don't film anything at all." "It's a strange world at the moment," he said. "So we're taking our own precautions — and when it comes to wallets, we're now completely hardware wallet-less. We don't use any hardware wallets anymore." To throw off would-be attackers, Didi Taihuttu encrypts select words from each 24-word seed phrase — then splits the phrases into four sets of six and hides them around the world. Didi Taihuttu The family's new system involves splitting a single 24-word bitcoin seed phrase — the cryptographic key that unlocks access to their crypto holdings — into four sets of six words, each stored in a different geographic location. Some are kept digitally through blockchain-based encryption platforms, while others are etched by hand into fireproof steel plates using a hammer and letter punch, then hidden in physical locations across four continents. "Even if someone finds 18 of the 24 words, they can't do anything," Taihuttu explained. On top of that, he's added a layer of personal encryption, swapping out select words to throw off would-be attackers. The method is simple, but effective. "You only need to remember which ones you changed," he said. Part of the reason for ditching hardware wallets, Taihuttu said, was a growing mistrust of third-party devices. Concerns about backdoors and remote access features — including a controversial update by Ledger in 2023 — prompted the family to abandon physical hardware altogether in favor of encrypted paper and steel backups. While the family still holds some crypto in "hot" wallets — for daily spending or to run their algorithmic trading strategy — those funds are protected by multi-signature approvals, which require multiple parties to sign off before a transaction can be executed. The Taihuttus use Safe — formerly Gnosis Safe — for ether and other altcoins, and similarly layered setups for bitcoin stored on centralized platforms like Bybit. Didi Taihuttu during a recent visit to Sierra Nevada, Spain. The family’s lifestyle — unbanked, nomadic, and all-in on bitcoin — makes them outliers even in the crypto world. Didi Taihuttu About 65% of the family's crypto is locked in cold storage across four continents — a decentralized system Taihuttu prefers to centralized vaults like the Swiss Alps bunker used by Coinbase-owned Xapo. Those facilities may offer physical protection and inheritance services, but Taihuttu said they require too much trust. "What happens if one of those companies goes bankrupt? Will I still have access?" he said. "You're putting your capital back in someone else's hands." Instead, Taihuttu holds his own keys — hidden across the globe. He can top up the wallets remotely with new deposits, but accessing them would require at least one international trip, depending on which fragments of the seed phrase are needed. The funds, he added, are intended as a long-term pension to be accessed only if bitcoin hits $1 million — a milestone he's targeting for 2033. The shift toward multiparty protections extends beyond just multi-signature. Multi-party computation, or MPC, is gaining traction as a more advanced security model. Didi, Romaine, and their three daughters live largely off-grid, managing crypto through decentralized exchanges, algorithmic trading bots, and a globally distributed cold storage system. Didi Taihuttu Instead of storing private keys in one place — a vulnerability known as a "single point of compromise" — MPC splits a key into encrypted shares distributed across multiple parties. Transactions can only go through when a threshold number of those parties approve, sharply reducing the risk of theft or unauthorized access. Multi-signature wallets require several parties to approve a transaction. MPC takes that further by cryptographically splitting the private key itself, ensuring that no single individual ever holds the full key — not even their own complete share. The shift comes amid renewed scrutiny of centralized crypto platforms like Coinbase, which recently disclosed a data breach affecting tens of thousands of customers. Taihuttu, for his part, says 80% of his trading now happens on decentralized exchanges like Apex — a peer-to-peer platform that allows users to set buy and sell orders without relinquishing custody of their funds, marking a return to crypto's original ethos. While he declined to reveal his total holdings, Taihuttu did share his goal for the current bull cycle: a $100 million net worth, with 60% still held in bitcoin. The rest is a mix of ether, layer-1 tokens like solana, link, sui, and a growing number of AI and education-focused startups — including his own platform offering blockchain and life-skills courses for kids. Lately, he's also considering stepping back from the spotlight. "It's really my passion to create content. It's really what I love to do every day," he said. "But if it's not safe anymore for my daughters ... I really need to think about them."

CNBC
Britain wants to lift a ban on a key crypto product — and catch up to the U.S. LONDON — The U.K. is set to lift a ban on a key type of crypto debt security in a bid to catch up to the U.S. and other financial hubs as it looks to become a global hub for digital assets. On Friday, the Financial Conduct Authority, the U.K.'s main regulator for financial services, announced a proposal to reverse its ban on offering crypto exchange-traded notes to retail investors. Exchange-traded notes are a type of debt instrument that are linked to one or more specified assets — cryptocurrencies, in this case. In essence, they allow investors to gain exposure to digital tokens through the use of a regulated exchange. Sales of crypto ETNs to retail investors have been prohibited in the U.K. since the FCA put in place a ban in 2019 due to concerns over the potential harms they pose to consumers. On Friday, however, the FCA said it proposed lifting the ban on crypto ETNs "to support UK growth and competitiveness." A restriction on crypto derivatives will remain in place, the watchdog added. "This consultation demonstrates our commitment to supporting the growth and competitiveness of the UK's crypto industry," David Geale, executive director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, said in a statement. "We want to rebalance our approach to risk and lifting the ban would allow people to make the choice on whether such a high-risk investment is right for them, given they could lose all their money." 'Major milestone' The development was swiftly praised by crypto firms as a significant moment for the industry in the U.K. Britain is often perceived as falling behind the U.S., European Union and other global players when it comes to digital assets. Spot crypto exchange-traded funds have been available in the U.S. since the Securities and Exchange Commission approved rule changes to allow the creation of the first bitcoin-linked ETFs early last year. In April, the U.K. government published draft legislation for the crypto sector with the goal of making the country a "world leader in digital assets." The FCA is separately working through a detailed roadmap of consultations and discussion papers with a view to implement a regulatory regime for crypto by 2026. "Until now, the UK has been an outlier on ETNs. We hope this move will improve consumer protections and we will continue to make the case for lifting the ban on retail investors from accessing highly-regulated derivative products," said Ian Taylor, board advisor to crypto trade body CryptoUK. Kraken's U.K. General Manager Bivu Das said that the proposal to approve sales of crypto ETNs to consumers marked a "major milestone for the UK's crypto ecosystem." The FCA is "acknowledging that the market has matured significantly and that outdated restrictions no longer serve their intended purpose," Das added. "Regulatory moves like this are critical if the UK is to stay competitive in the race to lead in digital assets."

CNBC
Donald Trump and Elon Musk traded barbs in a rather public feud, with the U.S. president threatening to pull back billions of dollars in government contracts for Musk’s companies, while the Tesla CEO suggested Trump could not have won the election without him.

CNBC
Palantir CEO Karp says AI is dangerous and 'either we win or China will win' Alex Karp, Palantir CEO, and Chris Johnson, Teletracking co-CEO, joins CNBC's ‘Squawk on the Street’ on June 5, 2025. Palantir CEO Alex Karp said the artificial intelligence arms race between the U.S. and China will culminate in one country coming out on top. "My general bias on AI is it is dangerous," Karp told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. "There are positive and negative consequences, and either we win or China will win." Karp has been a vocal advocate for U.S AI dominance. He told CNBC in January that the country needs to "run harder, run faster" in an "all-country effort" to develop more advanced AI models. In a recent letter to shareholders, he also touted Palantir's commitment to equipping and enhancing U.S. defense interests. The billionaire tech CEO said Thursday that the U.S. currently has a leg up in the AI race and Palantir is leading the way in making companies more secure and efficient with its tools. Read more CNBC reporting on AI "There is no economy in the world with this kind of corporate leadership which is willing to pivot, which understands technologies, which is willing to look at new things, but also has deep domain expertise," he said. "Our allies in the West, in Europe, are going to have to learn from us." Shares of the Denver-based data analytics and AI software firm outperformed in 2024 and have continued their ascent in 2025 as investors bet on their software and work with key government contractors and agencies. The stock is up 74% this year, but investors have to shell out on a higher earnings multiple than its tech peers. "You don't like the price, exit," Karp said on Thursday in response. Karp also asserted that the company is "not surveilling Americans" in response to recent New York Times report that Palantir is helping the Trump administration gather data on Americans.

CNBC
Trump holds call with Xi, Chinese media says President Donald Trump held a phone call with China President Xi Jinping, Chinese media outlet Xinhua reported Thursday. The call was initiated by Trump, Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a subsequent statement. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the report. U.S. stock futures rose on news of the call. Trump has reportedly been eager to speak with Xi, as strained trade relations between the two countries frayed further in the past week. While Washington and Beijing temporarily lowered tariffs on each other's goods following constructive talks in Switzerland last month, that tentative agreement has since come under threat. The Trump administration has publicly accused Beijing of slow-walking its pledge to approve the export of more critical minerals, a result of the negotiations in Geneva. China, meanwhile, has expressed deep frustration with a recent decision to impose new restrictions on Chinese student visas. It has also accused the Trump administration of undermining recent trade progress by issuing an industry warning against using Chinese semiconductors. The Trump administration has also imposed additional export restrictions on chips. The White House claims the actions are required to protect national security, but Beijing views them as punitive. The conversation was only the second time this year that the two leaders have held a one-on-one call. Trump and Xi previously spoke on Jan. 17, prior to the U.S. president's inauguration. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

CNBC
Trump's Truth Social takes step toward launching bitcoin ETF with NYSE Arca filing President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform moved a step closer to having a bitcoin exchange-traded fund available to everyday investors. NYSE Arca, the all-electronic arm of the New York Stock Exchange that handles most ETF trading, filed on Tuesday to list a bitcoin fund linked to the president's media company, the latest sign of Trump's expanding push into the crypto world. Known as a 19b-4 form, the filing is required before regulators can decide whether to allow the fund to launch and trade on a U.S. exchange. Called the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, the fund is designed to track the price of bitcoin and offer a simpler way for investors to gain exposure without holding the asset directly. The filing follows an announced partnership between Trump Media and Crypto.com in March to bring a suite of digital asset products to market later this year, pending regulatory approval. Those planned offerings include baskets of cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and Crypto.com's native Cronos token, combined with traditional securities. The products will be branded under Trump Media and made available to global investors through major brokerage platforms and the Crypto.com app, which serves more than 140 million users worldwide. Since the January 2024 launch of spot bitcoin ETFs, the market has swelled to more than $130 billion in total assets. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounts for the lion's share, with nearly $69 billion in assets, making it the largest digital asset manager in the world. Trump is the majority owner of Truth Social's parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, which has made a series of crypto-aligned moves in recent months — from trademarking digital asset products to unveiling a $2.5 billion bitcoin treasury plan last week in Las Vegas. If approved, the ETF would represent one of the most politically connected entries into the booming market for bitcoin funds.

CNBC
Economic growth forecasts for the U.S. and globally were cut further by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as President Donald Trump’s tariff turmoil weighs on expectations.

CNBC
Trump and China's Xi will likely talk very soon, White House official says President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to speak this week, a senior White House official told CNBC's Eamon Javers on Monday. The expected discussion follows a series of flare-ups between Washington and Beijing that threaten to derail a tentative trade agreement that the two economic superpowers reached just weeks earlier. The two leaders could speak one-on-one "very soon," though probably not today, the official said on condition of anonymity. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

CNBC
Stock futures inch lower to kick off start of the new trading month: Live updates Stock futures fell on Sunday as Wall Street looks to the start of a new month of trading following a strong performance in May. S&P 500 futures traded down 0.3%, along with Nasdaq-100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined 108 points, or 0.3%. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed out the month of May with a more than 6% gain, its best monthly performance since November 2023. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged more than 9% for the month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 4%. That said, Morgan Stanley’s Chris Toomey is skeptical about whether May’s market momentum will continue. “We’re probably still range-bound,” the managing director told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Friday. “The concern we’ve got is that while I think we’ve taken [out] the worst-case scenario with regards to the ‘liberation day’ [tariffs], we’re in a situation where I think the market’s right now probably pricing in the best-case scenario.” He added: “Everyone’s talking about the fact that there’s probably going to be 10% tariffs across the board, 30% for China. I think that’s kind of baked in.” President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been in legal limbo following two key court rulings last week. The U.S. Court of International Trade struck down much of the president’s steep levies Wednesday, ordering his administration to stop collecting them. A day later, however, a federal appeals court granted the administration’s request to temporarily pause that ruling, effectively reinstating the duties. Trump’s top economic advisors have remained optimistic in the tariffs even with the recent legal challenge, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Fox News over the weekend that the tariffs are “not going away.” Additionally, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told ABC News that he’s “very confident that the judges will uphold this law.” Hassett also suggested that Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping could discuss trade as early as this week, though he said no date for the talks has been set. His comments come as trade tensions between the U.S. and China ramped up last week, with Trump writing in a Truth Social post Friday that China has “TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.” Meanwhile, investors will be eyeing a slew of reports due this week that could provide insight into how tariffs have affected the U.S. economy, including the key May nonfarm payrolls reading on Friday.

CNBC
Saylor's bitcoin buying strategy is 'exploding' globally, but Wall Street is skeptical Watch CNBC's full interview with Strategy's Michael Saylor from Bitcoin 2025 LAS VEGAS — The bitcoin treasury play that lifted Strategy's market cap past $80 billion is now being mimicked by meme stock companies, media firms, and multinational conglomerates. But Wall Street isn't buying all the hype. This week, Trump Media announced plans to raise $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin, and GameStop revealed a $500 million allocation. Meanwhile, Tether, SoftBank, and Strike's Jack Mallers unveiled Twenty One, a bitcoin-native public company expected to launch with more than 42,000 bitcoin on its balance sheet, enough to make it the third-largest corporate holder of the asset globally. For now, the market doesn't see the next Strategy in any of them. Trump Media shares have dropped more than 20% since the announcement, while GameStop is down nearly 17%. Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has multiplied by 26 times since the end of 2022, amassing a bitcoin stake worth over $60 billion. "Maybe the market wanted them to buy more bitcoin," said Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor in an interview at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas. "But these are short-term dynamics. Over the long term, bitcoin on the balance sheet has proven to be extraordinarily popular." Saylor called Trump Media's move "courageous, aggressive, and intelligent" — and said the flood of similar announcements marks a global shift in corporate finance. "Everywhere I go at this conference, someone says, you know, I'm working on a bitcoin treasury company in Hong Kong. I'm doing this thing in Korea. I've got this thing I'm working on in Abu Dhabi. We're going to do this in the Middle East, you know, we've got this in the U.K.," he said. "There's an explosion of interest right now." Saylor said bitcoin ambassadors are "planting the orange flag everywhere on earth." Trump sons, top lawmakers descend on Bitcoin 2025 ahead of key legislation What began as a fringe financial maneuver is quickly becoming a geopolitical race. Under the Biden administration, corporate bitcoin adoption was often treated as a regulatory red flag. But under President Donald Trump, the tone has changed. In March, Trump signed an executive order establishing a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, instructing federal agencies to treat bitcoin as a long-term store of value. The reserve will be funded entirely through bitcoin seized in criminal and civil forfeiture cases, according to White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks. The order also empowers the government to explore additional budget-neutral mechanisms for acquiring more bitcoin. For the first time, the federal government will conduct a full audit of its digital asset holdings, currently estimated at more than 200,000 bitcoin. The order explicitly prohibits the sale of any bitcoin from the reserve, cementing its role as a permanent sovereign asset. 'No force on Earth' Vice President JD Vance this week became the first sitting vice president to address the bitcoin community directly, framing crypto as a hedge against inflation, censorship, and "unelected bureaucrats." And in a further move to boost bitcoin, the Department of Labor rolled back guidance that had discouraged bitcoin investments in retirement plans. "No force on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come," Saylor said. "Bitcoin is digital capital and maybe the most explosive idea of the era." Some corners of the corporate world are still resistant. Late last year, Microsoft shareholders rejected a proposal to use some of the software company's massive cash pile to follow Saylor's lead. In a video presentation supporting the effort, Saylor told investors that "Microsoft can't afford to miss the next technology wave." While Strategy has reaped the rewards of early adoption, Saylor suggested the market's cooler reaction to Trump Media and GameStop may stem more from structural financing dynamics than from skepticism toward bitcoin itself. He pointed to GameStop's initial announcement that it was considering a bitcoin strategy, which led to a 50% pop in the stock and tenfold increase in trading volume. The company quickly capitalized on the momentum with a $1.5 billion convertible bond raise — a move he described as "extraordinarily successful." Trump Media took a similar approach, raising capital through a large convertible bond offering. Saylor said those financing methods can create short-term downward pressure, but that over time investors will benefit. When it comes to Strategy, Saylor said there's no ceiling to his bitcoin accumulation plans. His company is already by far the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. "We'll keep buying bitcoin," he told CNBC. "We expect the price of bitcoin will keep going up. We think it will get exponentially harder to buy bitcoin, but we will work exponentially more efficiently to buy bitcoin." For critics who worry that state and media actors embracing bitcoin will undermine its decentralized ideals, Saylor argues the opposite. "The network is very anti-fragile, and there's a balance of power here," he said. "The more actors that come into the ecosystem, the more diverse, the more distributed the protocol is, the more incorruptible it becomes, the more robust it becomes, and so that means the more trustworthy it becomes to larger economic actors who otherwise would be afraid to put all of their economic weight on the network."

CNBC
EU 'prepared to impose countermeasures' after Trump doubles steel tariffs to 50% The European Union on Saturday criticized President Donald Trump's move to double tariffs on steel imports, warning that it "undermines" efforts to reach a "negotiated solution" in the ongoing trade war. "We strongly regret the announced increase of U.S. tariffs on steel imports from 25% to 50%," an EU spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News. "This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic," the spokesperson continued. The spokesperson added that the EU is "prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest U.S. tariff increase." Trump on Friday announced that he was doubling tariffs on steel imports to 50% from 25%, increasing the pressure on manufacturers dependent on industrial metals for production. The new import duties are set to go into effect June 4. His announcement, made at a rally at U.S. Steel in Pennsylvania, came after the president signaled earlier this month that he would approved a controversial deal between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. Trump highlighted an "agreement" between Nippon and U.S. Steel during the Friday rally, but said that the deal was not yet final. The EU, which said that it had paused its countermeasures against the U.S. on April 14 "to allow time and space" for negotiations, said it is prepared to instate those measures "if no mutually acceptable solution is reached." "The European Commission is currently finalizing consultations on expanded countermeasures," the spokesperson said. "If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both existing and additional EU measures will automatically take effect on 14 July — or earlier, if circumstances require."

CNBC
Trump aims to exceed first term's weapons sales to Taiwan, The American flag, left, and the Taiwanese flag in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images The United States plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taipei to a level exceeding President Donald Trump's first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the democratic island, according to two U.S. officials. If U.S. arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump's commitment to the island. It would also add new friction to the tense U.S.-China relationship. The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they expect U.S. approvals for weapons sales to Taipei over the next four years to surpass those in Trump's first term, with one of the officials saying arms sales notifications to Taiwan could "easily exceed" that earlier period. They also said the United States is pressing members of Taiwan's opposition parties not to oppose the government's efforts to increase defense spending to 3% of the island's economic output. The first Trump administration approved sales of approximately $18.3 billion worth of weapons to Taiwan, compared with around $8.4 billion during Joe Biden's term, according to Reuters calculations. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between Washington and Taipei. Even so, many in Taiwan, which China claims as its own, worry that Trump may not be as committed to the island as past U.S. presidents. On the election campaign trail, Trump suggested Taiwan should pay to be protected and also accused the island of stealing American semiconductor business, causing alarm in Taipei. China has vowed to "reunify" with the separately governed island, by force if necessary. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future. The U.S. officials said administration officials and Trump himself were committed to "enhancing hard deterrence" for Taiwan. "That's where the president is. That's where all of us are," one U.S. official said, adding that they were working closely with Taiwan on an arms procurement package to be rolled out when Taiwan secured domestic funding. Taiwan's Presidential Office told Reuters the government is determined to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and pointed to its proposals to increase defense spending. "Taiwan aims to enhance military deterrence while continuing to deepen its security cooperation with the United States," Presidential Office spokesperson Wen Lii said. Taiwan's defense ministry declined to comment on any new arms sales, but reiterated previous remarks by the island's defense minister, Wellington Koo, about the importance of "solidarity and cooperation of democratic allies." UBS GWM: Taiwan's security means it needs to remain relevant to the world, including China 'Don't get in the way' Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) aim to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP this year through a special defense budget. But the island's parliament, controlled by opposition parties the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), passed budget cuts earlier this year that threatened to hit defense spending. That triggered concerns in Washington, where officials and lawmakers have regularly said the U.S. cannot show more urgency over Taiwan's defense than the island itself. "We're messaging pretty hard (in Taipei) to the opposition. Don't get in the way of this. This isn't a Taiwanese partisan question. This is a Taiwanese survival question," one of the U.S. officials told Reuters. Three people in Taiwan with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed that the U.S. government and U.S. congressional visitors have been pressing the opposition parties in Taiwan not to block defense spending, especially the coming special defense budget, which is expected to be proposed to parliament later this year. "As long as they knew there were people from the opposition in the room, they directly asked them not to cut the defense budget," one of the people said. Alexander Huang, director of the KMT's international department, told Reuters it was "beyond question" that the party firmly supports increasing the defense budget and its "doors are open" to the U.S. government and the ruling DPP for consultations. "Supporting an increased budget does not mean serving as a rubber stamp, nor does it preclude making adjustments or engaging in negotiations regarding the special budget proposals put forth by the DPP administration," he added. The much smaller TPP said it has "always had smooth communication with the U.S. side and has continued to engage in in-depth dialogue on issues such as national defense and regional security." Reuters reported in February that Taiwan was exploring a multi-billion dollar arms purchase from the U.S., hoping to win support from the new Trump administration. New weapons packages are expected to focus on missiles, munitions and drones, cost-effective means to help improve Taiwan's chances of rebuffing any military action by China's much larger forces. For years, China has been steadily ramping up its military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims over the island that is home to critical chip manufacturing vital to the global economy. Separately, one of the U.S. officials said the Trump administration would not object to a transit this year through U.S. territory by Lai, whom Beijing labels a "separatist." Past visits to the United States by Taiwanese officials have triggered angry objections by China, which sees such trips as inappropriate given that the United States has diplomatic relations with Beijing, not Taipei. Taiwan's presidential office spokesperson Lii said there are currently "no plans for a presidential transit through the United States at the moment."

CNBC
Court strikes down Trump reciprocal tariffs A federal court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority with his reciprocal tariffs, dealing a blow to the president's economic plan that has roiled markets. Trump is all but certain to appeal, but the ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade could bring the plan that sparked a , at least temporarily. The judges wrote that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law that Trump invoked to justify the tariffs, does not actually give the president the power to implement the sweeping duties initiated last month. "The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs. The Trafficking Tariffs fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders," the judges wrote. The suit was brought on behalf of five U.S. businesses that rely on imports to some extent. The judges said that Trump's tariff orders were "unlawful as to all," not just those plaintiffs' companies, so there would be "no question here of narrowly tailored relief." The judges ordered the challenged tariffs to be "vacated and their operation permanently enjoined." Lawyers for the White House could appeal the matter, but the case and decision put President Donald Trump's economic agenda under pressure.

CNBC
Trump’s EU tariffs delay is no guarantee trade tensions won't escalate, market watchers say President Donald Trump meets with European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen at the World Economic Forum, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, in Davos, Switzerland. Investors should "buckle up" for more volatility as the potential for a trade war has not completely dissipated despite U.S. President Donald Trump's delay of rolling out 50% tariffs on the European Union, analysts warn. Trump announced on Sunday that he had agreed to push the rollout of the punitive import duties back to July 9, following a call with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The president had initially called for a 50% tariff on EU goods to begin on June 1. He accused the bloc in a social media post of being "very difficult to deal with," and said trade negotiations with the EU were "going nowhere." European stocks rebounded Monday morning, moving into positive territory, after previously sinking on Friday in response to Trump's fresh tariffs threats. Von der Leyen said in a post on X over the weekend that the EU was "ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively." "The EU and US share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship," she said. "To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9." European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said in a post on X later Monday that he had "good calls" with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and that they would "continue to stay in constant contact." But while Trump's announcement of the delay has granted the two parties some more breathing space, market watchers warned Monday that a lot remains at stake. Shock tactics Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding told CNBC that the six-week window until tariffs kick in was probably not enough time to "settle all detailed questions" – but he argued it should be sufficient to put the framework of a trade agreement in place. "It should be enough to get an agreement like the one between the U.S. and the U.K.," he said on CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Monday. "[It] is basically a matter of political will, and that depends a bit on the U.S. side," he added. "If they do have the political will, we should really be able to have such an agreement with, probably in the end, a 10% tariff from the U.S. on all EU imports, hardly any EU retaliation, and [scaling back] a few sector-specific things … with some of the details to be finalized after July 9." However, Schmieding noted that if the end result were a 20% or 30% blanket tariff on EU goods, "the EU would have no choice" but to impose "significant countermeasures" against the United States. Labeling Trump "an interesting negotiator," Schmieding argued that the president often tries to shock those with whom he's negotiating into agreeing to concessions. But the EU, he said, was unlikely to capitulate to these tactics. "We just have to stay calm, and from the European side, we just have to negotiate – we have to remember from the European side that our market is big, that we do matter in economic terms to the U.S. quite a lot, not just vice versa," he added. "So these negotiations should be negotiations among equals. The European Union is not a region which can be scared into just throwing in the towel." 'Unclear' what Trump administration wants from Europe Guntram Wolff, senior fellow at Bruegel, told CNBC that despite the extension of the tariffs deadline, "massive uncertainty" remained. "This uncertainty is bad for business, it's bad for consumers, and frankly it's an unnecessary step in the negotiations," he told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition." "It's very unclear what exactly the U.S. President wants," Wolff added. "That's the biggest obstacle at this stage, that in the negotiations the EU has made offers, has made proposals, but it doesn't really know what the president wants." 'It's very unclear' what Trump wants out of EU tariff negotiations, says analyst According to Wolff, the EU is "playing it rather well." "The U.K. has given in on all kinds of demands, China is the other extreme, [it] has really escalated … to a point where the U.S. had to blink, had to give in," he explained. "Europe sort of tries to take a middle path." The EU does have capacity to retaliate should massive tariffs be levied on its exports by the Trump administration, Wolff added, pointing to the importance of its pharmaceutical products to the U.S., and the potential for retaliatory measures to be implemented in the services sector. "But the EU so far has decided not to do it, really to keep a climate of de-escalation," he said. "But at the end of the day, that might not be enough now." 'This ride's far from over' Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at London's Zaye Capital Markets, told CNBC on Monday the tariffs delay had sparked a "tentative risk-on rally" – but like Wolff, he cautioned that much remained at stake. "Looking ahead, the EU-US trade dance is a high-stakes tango, with July 9 as the next flashpoint," he said in an email. "The EU's dangling phased tariff cuts and "mutual respect" talks, but Trump's America-first bravado could turn negotiations into a slugfest, rattling supply chains and fanning inflationary flames." Aslam added that sectors like tech and industrials were particularly "braced for whiplash." "Markets will hang on every tweet and trade talk whisper, with investors betting on whether this delay is a genuine olive branch or just Trump reloading for a bigger tariff showdown," he said. "Buckle up; this ride's far from over."

CNBC
Tencent and Baidu, two of China’s largest technology companies, revealed how they’re keeping in the global artificial intelligence race even as the U.S. tightens some curbs on key semiconductors.

CNBC
At Trump's $148 million meme coin dinner, 'the food sucked' and security was lax, attendee says Crypto investor Nicholas Pinto attends President Donald Trump's gala dinner for people who spent the most money on Trump's meme coin, $TRUMP, in a contest, at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, May 22, 2025. Nicholas Pinto The price of President Donald Trump's meme coin plunged 16% as of Friday morning, just hours after he hosted a black-tie gala at his Virginia golf club for its biggest buyers — an elite crowd that spent a combined $148 million on the token for the chance to be there. It was billed as "the most exclusive invitation in the world." Among the 220 attendees were crypto influencers, industry executives such as Sandy Carter of Unstoppable Domains, and former NBA star Lamar Odom, who used the occasion to praise Trump as "the greatest president" and promote his own token, $ODOM. The top 25 wallets were promised a private reception and guided tour. Others, such as 25-year-old Nicholas Pinto — whose dad drove him to the event in his Lamborghini — left underwhelmed and still hungry. "The food sucked," Pinto said. "Wasn't given any drinks other than water or Trump's wine. I don't drink, so I had water. My glass was only filled once." Trump made only a brief appearance, Pinto said. "He didn't talk to any of the 220 guests — maybe the top 25," he said. All in, the president was there for 23 minutes, Pinto said. Trump delivered a brief address rehashing old crypto talking points then left on a helicopter before taking any questions or pictures with his meme coin contest winners, he said. Phones weren't locked in RFID pouches, and security was lax, according to Pinto. "Once Trump left, they didn't really worry about anything else," Pinto added. Contest winners who spent the most on $TRUMP meme coins added their signatures to a poster-sized printout of the leaderboard at a gala dinner at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, May 22, 2025. Nicholas Pinto The crowd's opulence was on full display. "Richard Mille watches weren't even rare," Pinto said. "I saw at least 16 people wearing them. I never see that unless I'm at a high-end restaurant in Miami or Dubai." But the vibe was more muted than expected, he said: "Lots of people didn't even hold the coin anymore. They were checking their phones during dinner to see if the price moved." CNBC has reached out to Trump representatives for comment on the dinner and attendees. Protests For lawmakers and regulators, the dinner set off alarm bells. The #1 token holder was Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun, who is currently facing Securities and Exchange Commission fraud charges that were recently paused, with the agency citing "the public interest." Sun holds over $22 million in the $TRUMP token and another $75 million in World Liberty Financial's native token. "As the top holder of $TRUMP and proud supporter of President Trump, it was an honor to attend the Trump Gala Dinner," Sun posted on Friday. "Thank you @POTUS for your unwavering support of our industry!" Outside the gates of Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, about a hundred protesters gathered, according to NBC News. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined them, backing a new End Crypto Corruption Act with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Signs read "Crypto Corruption" and "Trump is a traitor." Crypto on Capitol Hill "The Trump family activity in the memecoin space makes my work in Congress more complicated," Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., told CNBC on Friday. Hill, who's leading negotiations on a bipartisan stablecoin regulation bill known as the GENIUS Act, called the gala "a distraction from the good work we need to do." Now, the GENIUS Act is at risk. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently added a controversial rider to the bill that would cap credit card late fees — what's seen as a poison pill that could alienate banking allies and stall final approval. President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner for meme coin contest winners at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, May 22, 2025. Nicholas Pinto On Thursday night as the meme coin contest dinner was underway, a bloc of Senate Democrats announced they'd be pushing for a new provision that would ban presidents and senior officials from profiting off crypto ventures while in office — a direct challenge to the Trump-linked stablecoin USD1 that launched in the spring. In Washington, there's growing concern that political infighting over Trump's crypto ventures could derail the stablecoin bill altogether. That poses an even bigger risk. According to The Wall Street Journal, major banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi are in early talks to issue a unified digital dollar to compete with Tether, the foreign-controlled stablecoin that now commands over 60% of global market share. Those plans hinge on legal clarity. If the GENIUS Act stalls, the U.S. could lose its window to regain ground in the global race for digital payments. The White House has tried to draw a line between Trump the president and Trump the private businessman. "The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters when pressed on attendee transparency. President Trump holds controversial private dinner for top investors in his meme coin The administration declined to release a guest list. But blockchain data — and a patchwork of guest photos — tell part of the story. A Bloomberg News analysis found that all but six of the top 25 wallets used foreign exchanges, ostensibly off-limits to U.S. users. More than half of the top 220 wallets were linked to similar offshore platforms. One Nasdaq-listed penny stock, Freight Technologies, disclosed in an SEC filing that it spent $2 million on Trump's token to push U.S.-Mexico trade policy. It didn't make the cut for the dinner — finishing 250th. Since its January debut, the $TRUMP coin has generated more than $324 million in trading fees. Roughly 80% of the $TRUMP token supply is controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliates, according to the project's website. WLFI, the Trump's parallel token, has sold $550 million in two token sales. President Trump holds meme coin dinner Still, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks remained bullish on "significant bipartisan support" for stablecoin legislation. "We already have over $200 billion in stablecoins — it's just unregulated," Sacks told CNBC's "Closing Bell Overtime" on Wednesday. "If we provide the legal clarity and legal framework for this, I think we could create trillions of dollars of demand for our Treasurys practically overnight, very quickly." "We have every expectation now that it's going to pass," added Sacks, though he didn't answer a question about concerns from Democrats that there aren't sufficient safeguards in place to keep the president and his family from profiting from legislation. While Sacks sold $200 million in crypto-related holdings before taking his White House job, according to a disclosure filing, Trump and his family have been leaning into building a crypto empire. The Trumps are financial backers of World Liberty Financial, which is behind the USD1 stablecoin that is backed by Treasurys and dollar deposits. Abu Dhabi's MGX investment fund recently pledged $2 billion in USD1 to Binance, the world's largest digital assets exchange. It's the company's largest-ever investment made in crypto.

CNBC

Load More