Author: GT

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the creation of the Strategic Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) Reserve and the United States Digital Asset Stockpile. The former will hold Bitcoin — no surprises there. The latter will hold four more of the largest cryptocurrencies: Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA). The fact that the U.S. is stockpiling crypto is exciting news for crypto investors. But are these good cryptocurrency investments? Let’s take a closer look at each one. Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and has also been the most successful. At the time of…

Microsoft is launching a research project to estimate the influence of specific training examples on the text, images, and other types of media that generative AI models create. That’s per a job listing dating back to December that was recently recirculated on LinkedIn. According to the listing, which seeks a research intern, the project will attempt to demonstrate that models can be trained in such a way that the impact of particular data — e.g. photos and books — on their outputs can be “efficiently and usefully estimated.” “Current neural network architectures are opaque in terms of providing sources for…

(Bloomberg) — Rug pulls. Sniping. Trading “cabals.” The niche world of memecoins on the Solana blockchain is rife with danger for those unfamiliar with the machinations that cause token prices to suddenly surge and then crash. Most Read from Bloomberg While the memecoin craze centered on the upstart network initially appeared organic during its onset two years ago, its rapid growth – fueled most recently by high-profile newcomers including Donald and Melania Trump, as well as Argentine President Javier Milei – has given rise to a web of covert participants who control a large slice of the now multibillion-dollar corner…

The Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Michigan, Feb. 24, 2025.Spencer Kimball | CNBCCOVERT, Mich. — A nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Michigan is aiming to make history this fall by becoming the first reactor in the U.S. to restart operations after shutting down to be eventually dismantled.The effort to restart the Palisades plant near South Haven, which shut down three years ago, is a precedent-setting event that could pave a path for other shuttered reactors to come back online.But Palisades needs major repairs to restart safely, highlighting the challenges the industry will face in bringing aging…

Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall sees promise in bringing his autonomous vehicle startup’s tech to market. That is, if Wayve sticks to its strategy of ensuring its automated driving software is cheap to run, hardware agnostic, and can be applied to advanced driver-assistance systems, robotaxis, and even robotics.  The strategy, which Kendall laid out during Nvidia’s GTC conference, begins with an end-to-end data-driven learning approach. This means that what the system “sees” through a variety of sensors (like cameras) directly translates into how it drives (like deciding to brake or turn left). Moreover, it means the system doesn’t need…

In the corners of social media dominated by wellness content, influencers recommend an assortment of treatments and products to support weight loss, fight exhaustion or promote other desired health outcomes. Some of the endorsed approaches may be helpful. Many play into fads with scant evidence to back up enthusiasts’ claims, medical experts say. Some influencers encourage their followers to avoid specific food items, such as seed oils, while others advocate going all in on certain foods, such as the meat-heavy carnivore diet. There are video pitches for berberine, a chemical compound that’s been touted online as “nature’s Ozempic,” and for…

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users. 2024 was a big year for OpenAI, from its partnership with Apple for its generative AI offering, Apple Intelligence, the release of GPT-4o with voice capabilities, and the highly-anticipated launch of its text-to-video model Sora. OpenAI also faced its share of internal drama, including the notable exits of high-level execs like co-founder and longtime chief…

By Hannah Lang (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force held its first public meeting with experts on Friday, focusing on how securities laws might apply to digital assets as the Trump administration looks to overhaul cryptocurrency regulations. Among the participants of the roundtable were John Reed Stark, former chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, Miles Jennings, the general counsel for Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z, and former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes. Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is leading the task force, which is charged with developing rules and guidance for crypto. “Spring signifies…

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Before we jump into the news, just a quick bit of housekeeping. I’m putting “This week’s wheels” on hiatus for a few weeks as I get into more EVs, hybrids, e-bikes, and robotaxis. Stay tuned! A little bird Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Waymo reached a deal with the San Francisco Airport Commission — and by extension the city — to use its vehicles to map the airport roadways. That news received widespread coverage…

Katie Haun is back on the fundraising circuit. The former federal prosecutor, who raked in $1.5 billion for her record-breaking debut venture funds in 2022, is targeting $1 billion across two new crypto-focused funds, according to people familiar with the fundraise. Her firm, Haun Ventures, is expected to close the raise in June. A spokesperson for Haun Ventures declined to comment. Haun launched her venture firm at the height of the last crypto bull market, raising $1.5 billion—the largest ever by a first-time female VC. At the time, it was the latest in a series of mega-raises by blockchain-focused firms,…