What if one pitch changed everything? The last time TechCrunch brought Startup Battlefield to Sydney, two little-known startups stepped onto the stage. What happened next led to more than $85 million raised. If you want your shot, applications close in just a few days on July 6. In 2017, Manuri Gunawardena was a final-year medical…
Strategy did not sell $1.25 billion of Bitcoin. It gave itself permission to do so, as part of a wider capital overhaul. The real driver of the stock is the premium to its Bitcoin holdings, and that premium has been shrinking. Summary On June 29, 2026, Strategy’s board authorized a BTC Monetization Program allowing it…
Claude Sonnet 5 brings stronger agentic AI features, lower pricing, and updated safety protections. Here’s what IT leaders need to know. The post Claude Sonnet 5: Everything to Know About Anthropic’s New Model appeared first on TechRepublic. Source link
Key Takeaways Circle shares fell 16.5% on June 30, 2026, after Open Standard unveiled the OUSD stablecoin. Coinbase and Blackrock are among 140 backers of OUSD, pressuring Circle’s USDC reserve income. Circle’s Coinbase distribution deal renews in August as OUSD targets a launch later in 2026. The stock CRCL closed down approximately 16.5%, trading as…
Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5 on Tuesday, confirming months of speculation about an upgrade to its mid-tier AI model. According to the company’s official announcement, the new model is designed to be its “most agentic Sonnet model yet.” Meaning it is capable of planning, using tools like browsers and terminals, and operating autonomously — all…
Nasdaq has expanded its blockchain strategy by making its TotalView order book data available to blockchain applications through the Pyth Network. Summary Nasdaq has started distributing its TotalView order book data to blockchain applications through the Pyth Network. The integration gives developers access to first-party market data for trading platforms, exchanges, and prediction markets. The…
Bitdefender VPN was reliable in my time using it, as well. I didn’t experience any connection drop-outs or periods of unusually slow performance. These are solid results, though not the best. For example, I saw slightly better speeds (up to 540 Mbps, the same as when not connected to the VPN) while using IVPN with…
Key Takeaways Flare scheduled a July 6-13 governance vote to deploy Confidential Compute on its Songbird network. The update adds programmable execution to the XRP Ledger, unlocking DeFi utilities for Ripple assets. Testing on Songbird will gather critical operational data before launching on the primary Flare mainnet. Enhancing Cross-Chain Consensus Blockchain platform Flare has scheduled…
Guo Wengui, the self-exiled Chinese billionaire also known as Miles Guo, was sentenced to 30 years in US federal prison on June 29, 2026, for running a cryptocurrency fraud that stripped more than $1Bn from thousands of followers. US District Judge Analisa Torres also ordered $889M in forfeiture and restitution, capping off one of the…
Binance has officially announced the listing of Re (RE), bringing one of the newest real-world asset (RWA) projects to the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The listing marks an important milestone for Re Protocol, a blockchain infrastructure project focused on connecting on-chain capital with the global reinsurance market. The announcement has generated significant attention among crypto…
