05 Feb 2025 - 3:45pm (GMT +1)Previous: 4.8%Becslés: 712K Source: forexfactory.com Previous data Impact on markets A general market effect that is constantly changing depending on the current economic environment. Summary - Analysis Long term trend of data: Increasing Most expected effect: Forex ( DXY ), US Stocks If new data is higher than previous: Positive ( Forex:DXY, US Stocks: Services sector ) If new data is lower than previous: Negative ( Forex:DXY, US Stocks: Services sector ) Effect-balancing with other data: Yes More on TOTM PROConclusion Conclusions based on the new data will be included in the TOTM PRO level live stream announcements every Monday and Thursday.

Galaxy Digital Holdings is establishing a $100 million fund for early-stage crypto startups. The Galaxy Ventures Fund will primarily focus on financial applications, software infrastructure, and protocol development over a three-year period, with plans to support up to 30 ventures.

Core Chain, a Bitcoin-based, EVM-compatible blockchain, has announced its partnership with ZAN, a brand under the Chinese payment giant Alipay. Under the collaboration, ZAN will operate as a validator on the network, proving crucial for Core as it can leverage ZAN's technological expertise to enhance scalability and reinforce its commitment to decentralization.

The OPEC+ group is scheduled to continue cutting output at least until the end of the first half of 2024, the JMMC has not proposed changes in output policy. Their next meeting will be held on June 1, where they will decide whether to continue or modify the current reduction level. Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank, said the OPEC+ decision would keep markets tight and potentially boost prices. Several OPEC+ members, including Russia, have pledged to reduce crude oil production and exports in the first half of 2024, with further voluntary reductions also being implemented. Russia plans to cut oil production instead of exports in the second quarter of 2024 so that all OPEC+ producers contribute equally to the cuts.

According to today's ISM survey, the new orders index stood at 54.4% in March, indicating continued growth in the sector. However, the employment index shrank for the third time to 48.5%, raising concerns about the stability of the labour market. The services sector continues to play a key role in the economic recovery, but addressing employment challenges is essential for sustainable growth.

KuCoin, the cryptocurrency broker, experienced a significant outflow in recent days after being charged by the US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. According to data from Kaiko, daily trading volume dropped by approximately 75% from $2 billion to $520 million, and since March 26th, over $1.2 billion worth of assets have left the platform.

Eurostat flash estimates that annual inflation in the euro area is expected to be 2.4% in March 2024, down slightly compared with the previous month. Services prices remain stable, while food and energy prices continue to fall.

NewsBecause of the potential risks, the company has so far only allowed testing of the system in a limited number of strictly controlled circumstances and has not yet begun wider roll-out. The main risk is that people could use the voice generator for dubious purposes: to scam people, to imitate the voices of famous people or politicians without their consent, contributing to the not inconsiderable damage caused by the increasingly lifelike deep fakes.With the ChatGPT chatbot and the Sora video generator, OpenAI has already shown the extraordinary possibilities that artificial intelligence offers users: with ChatGPT, a disembodied assistant answers all your questions and solves many tasks for you, in a very "human" way, and the video generator creates almost movie-like short films on any topic, in a realistic style, after a few words. For OpenAI, the most important aspect of the development is to test and show what artificial intelligence can do, where the limits of the technology are and how to push these limits as far as possible.This is the purpose of their latest app, Voice Engine, a voice generator that synthesises anyone's voice into a sound very similar to the original, based on the samples presented. The realistic effect is mostly due to the speech style, which is strikingly well intoned and mimics emotions well, meaning the AI-generated sounds feel less artificial. Voice cloning technology can therefore produce real clones, rather than drab and monotonous artificial speech.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" content_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" image_height="200px" date_spacing="0px" date_icon_size="0px" date_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" excerpt_spacing_top="0px" author_spacing="0px" author_icon_size="0px" author_icon_color="#ffffff"...

Nick Van Eck, the son of Jan Van Eck, CEO of investment firm VanEck, is the co-founder of Agora stablecoin issuer, which raised $12 million led by Dragonfly Ventures in the financing round. Among the investors are General Catalyst and Robot Ventures. The company's token will be pegged to the USD, backed by cash and US Treasury bonds. The reserves will be managed by VanEck Asset Management.

Web3 venture capital firm Paradigm is planning to establish a new crypto fund and is currently in talks with investors to raise approximately $750 million for the fund. This wouldn't be Paradigm's largest fund; in 2021, it already set up a $2.5 billion fund. However, due to the collapse of FTX, it suffered significant losses, prompting it to consider transitioning from the crypto industry to artificial intelligence.

Job openings in the US increased in February, although labour market conditions are gradually easing, underpinning expectations that the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates this year. According to the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, report on Tuesday, there were 1.36 job openings for every unemployed person in February, up from 1.43 in January. The drop in the vacancy/unemployment rate reflected a spike in unemployment at the beginning of the year.

The modular blockchain project Celestia has introduced its new product, Blobstream, which is a data availability solution for the Arbitrum ecosystem. Blobstream allows developers to create customizable Orbit chains for data availability using Celestia. These chains can be layer 2 chains directly connected to Ethereum or layer 3 chains built on top of Arbitrum's own layer 2, Arbitrum One.

UBS announced on Tuesday that it will launch a new share buyback program of up to $2 billion, up to half of which will be completed in 2024. The programme will start on Wednesday, said the Swiss bank, which announced a $1 billion buyback in February with its annual results.

Deribit FZE, the Dubai-based entity of the world's leading crypto derivatives options platform, has announced that it has received conditional approval from the Dubai Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) for both spot and derivative trading. However, several regulatory requirements still need to be met for full operation. The company plans to relocate its global headquarters to Dubai.

Crypto.com, the cryptocurrency broker, has announced that it will launch its retail trading services in South Korea on April 29th. The new unit will replace the local OK-BIT brokerage platform, which was acquired in 2022. The Crypto.com App service will allow South Korean residents to trade cryptocurrencies, but it will not serve institutional clients, as South Korean-based institutions are prohibited from investing directly in cryptocurrencies.

The official liquidators of FTX Digital have outlined the schedule for refunds to customers, with the first sums of money expected to be distributed to claimants by the end of 2024. The bankruptcy of FTX involves two separate, parallel processes: one in a Delaware court in the United States and the other the winding-up of FTX Digital, the Bahamian-based entity of FTX. However, both parties cooperate in the liquidation process to compensate former clients jointly.

Members of the decentralized financial platform dYdX community have approved with over 90% voting majority a plan to establish a foundation in the Cayman Islands to support the protocol's operation and governance, providing legal benefits to supporters. This move could shield dYdX users from legal threats, as U.S. securities regulators show signs of tightening regulations on DeFi protocols.

Renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has announced plans to invest $30 million in multiple startups over the next 45 days through the a16z Speedrun program. The Games Fund One primarily invests in various technologies related to gaming, including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other technologies, but now sees fit to finance web3 startups as well.

The manufacturing PMI showed a strong increase in March, rising 2.5 percentage points from February to 50.3 percent. The economy as a whole has continued to expand for 47 months, signalling solid growth. The new orders index moved back into expansion territory at 51.4 percent, above the February reading. In addition, the production and price index also rose, contributing to the positive economic outlook.

United Parcel Service will become the primary air freight carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS), the company announced Monday. Rival FedEx, which had USPS as the largest customer in its air-based express segment, said it is seeking a more lucrative contract with the postal service. FedEx's contract with the USPS expires on Sept. 29.

China's Xiaomi is advising potential buyers of the SU7 electric sedan to expect a wait of four to seven months, indicating strong demand for its first vehicle. The maker of smartphones and other consumer electronics began taking orders on Thursday, placing 88,898 pre-orders in the first 24 hours.

The Chinese government has launched a new large-scale blockchain project aimed at creating a robust blockchain foundation platform to support cross-border collaboration in economic, trade, and cultural domains. The development of the public blockchain infrastructure will be led by the Conflux Network, with the participation of numerous research institutes and universities.

NewsQUICK OVERVIEW SEC would fine Ripple nearly $2 billion Binance to discontinue support for USDC on Tron blockchain United States Department of Justice charges KuCoin Formation of Artificial Superintelligence Alliance SEC vs. Coinbase lawsuit continues Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison Bybit opens new platform in the Netherlands Farcaster media protocol receives unicorn status RegulationsThe UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning to financial influencers that advice must be fair, clear, and not misleading. Unauthorized individuals, such as "finfluencers" promoting regulated financial products including cryptocurrencies without FCA approval, could commit a criminal offense and face up to two years in prison, unlimited fines, or both.Financial Institutions and Crypto BrokersStarting April 5, Binance crypto broker will no longer support USDC stablecoin on the Tron network. This change applies only to USDC issued on the Tron blockchain and does not affect deposits and withdrawals on other networks such as Ethereum. DigiFT, a Singapore-based digital asset manager with licensing, announced the introduction of new tokens based on US Treasury bonds. The new product will have a structure similar to treasury notes, offering users direct beneficiary rights to AA+ rated and short-term T-Bills, as well as providing legal yield from underlying securities. Avalanche blockchain organization Ava Labs announced a partnership with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Chainlink to assist in on-chain asset settlement infrastructure. The collaboration aims to bridge the Avalanche network and the Ethereum blockchain, enabling global circulation and settlement of tokenized assets.London Stock Exchange announced the launch of trading for BTC and ETH-traded bonds on May 28. The products will initially be available only to professional investors, with issuers required to submit applications for planned products by April 15....

Runes, a new protocol from Casey Rodarmor behind Ordinals, introduces a token standard using the UTXO model. Runes aims to streamline the process of creating fungible tokens on Bitcoin. The main difference between Runes and BRC-20s is that Runes, like Bitcoin itself, utilizes a UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) model and will operate entirely on-chain. In an interview, Rodarmor clarified that the protocol serves no purpose other than creating speculative assets, providing a platform where people can create shitcoins.

Thanks to a financing round led by Paradigm cryptocurrency venture capital, Merkle Manufactory, the operator of the Farcaster web3 social media protocol and its Warpcast client, has achieved unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Farcaster, running on Ethereum and OP Mainnet, as well as its off-chain system consisting of peer-to-peer servers called Farcaster Hubs, already boasts tens of thousands of users, with Vitalik Buterin himself endorsing it, suggesting it surpasses X in many aspects.

Google's search service has expanded its features, allowing users to now search for balances across multiple blockchain wallets. Following initial support for the Ethereum network, wallets for Bitcoin, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, Polygon, and Fantom are now supported. When entering a wallet address, search results display the token balance for each network along with the timestamp of the last update. However, not everyone welcomed the news with enthusiasm, as Bitcoin proponents focusing on privacy are highly critical of such centralized data collection.

According to a judicial decision, the Federal Reserve is not required to provide Custodia, a bank dealing with digital assets, access to the reserve account, as the Fed has discretion over who gets a master account. This decision came as a blow to the crypto sector once again, as a master account would enable direct access to the U.S. money supply. Those without a master account must rely on partner banks with master accounts to provide services, which is currently one of the most significant issues for cryptocurrency trading providers.

The development led by Xizheng Liu is not the first and not the only implantable battery that has been developed recently, but it is concluded that the sodium-oxygen battery has huge potential for powering implantable devices, as it is not only compatible with living organisms and can be used for long term applications, but also offers a cheap alternative to the types of batteries currently in use.

Crypto index fund manager Bitwise has also filed its application for the issuance of a spot ETH exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, joining the ranks of asset managers waiting for approvals inspired by the success of spot BTC ETFs. However, there is increasing uncertainty regarding when regulatory authorities may give the green light to such products.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.6% in January. Services sectors grew 0.7% in January, led by a rebound in education services following the Quebec public sector strikes in November and December. Goods-producing sectors rose 0.2% in January 2024, while utilities and manufacturing rebounded after declining the previous month. Overall, there was broad-based growth, with 18 of the 20 sectors expanding in January.

Prisma Finance, a decentralized lending protocol, fell victim to a hacker attack resulting in the theft of over $11 million worth of cryptocurrencies by the exploiter. The team behind the project acknowledged the incident, and the core developers immediately halted the protocol. They urge their users who connected their wallets to the protocol to sever all ties.

Bybit cryptocurrency broker announced that it is expanding its operations to the Netherlands with the introduction of Bybit.nl. The new platform has been developed as a result of collaboration with SATOS, one of the leading Bitcoin-based companies in the Netherlands. This partnership plays a significant role in creating a secure, user-friendly, and regulated environment for Dutch users to trade cryptocurrencies.

Former CEO of the bankrupt FTX cryptobroker, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. Additionally, Judge Lewis Kaplan imposed an $11 billion fine. The judge announced his decision after a two-hour hearing in a Manhattan courtroom, stating that SBF showed no remorse and that his publicly projected positive and selfless personality was merely a facade.

The UK economy went into a shallow recession last year, official figures confirmed on Thursday, leaving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with the challenge of reassuring voters that the economy is safe with him ahead of elections expected later this year. Gross domestic product shrank 0.1 percent in the third quarter and 0.3 percent in the fourth, unchanged from preliminary estimates, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday.

Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday it will invest 68 trillion won over three years to ramp up its electric vehicle production and new mobility business in South Korea, hiring 80,000 new employees separately, doubling efforts at a time when other established automakers are slowing efforts.

The British financial regulator (FCA) has issued a warning to financial influencers that advice must be fair, clear, and not misleading. Unauthorized individuals, such as those appearing as "finfluencers" on social media, who advertise regulated financial products including cryptocurrencies without FCA approval, could commit a criminal offense and may face up to two years' imprisonment, unlimited fines, or both.

Japan's Nissan Motor will invest in Renault's electric vehicle unit Ampere, even after its IPO plans fell through, while also valuing its partnership with Honda Motor to further build its global EV expansion. "We want to be a global EV player in the world," Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida told reporters at a press conference in Chennai, southern India, on Wednesday, adding that the company is keen to deepen its partnership with Renault and through it its presence in Europe.

VeChain has announced the launch of its code-free asset tokenization platform, MaaS, in collaboration with the MotoGP champion team, Gresini Racing, and with support from ExPlus. The Marketplace-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform enables businesses and individuals to tokenize digital assets without the need for complex coding expertise. The full rollout of the project is expected in the second quarter.

21Shares AG, the issuer of the world's first and largest crypto-traded products, has launched the Toncoin staking ETP. Named TONN, the ETP was introduced on the SIX Swiss Exchange, where 21Shares already offers numerous similar crypto products. TONN will track Toncoin's performance, reinvesting staking yields back into the ETP.

Judge Failla rejected Coinbase's request to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit against the crypto broker. In June 2023, the SEC sued Coinbase, alleging that the crypto broker violated federal securities laws by listing 13 tokens that the SEC claims are securities. The company sought to have the case dismissed, questioning the SEC's authority over crypto brokers.

The Arbitrum Foundation, Azuki, and the Weeb3 Foundation jointly announced plans to launch a new blockchain-based anime network. Named AnimeChain, the new project aims to serve anime enthusiasts worldwide with new realms and services using web3 technology.

Three blockchain-based data and AI projects, Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol, are joining forces to create the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance. As part of the agreement, their existing tokens will merge to create a common ASI token, with an estimated diluted market value of around $7.5 billion. The aim of the deal is to establish the largest open-source, independent player in artificial intelligence research and development.

NewsResearchers at Aston, in an international collaboration with Japan's National Institute of Information and Communication Technology and Nokia Bell Labs in the US, have successfully transmitted an astonishing 301 terabits per second (Tbps) of data over a single conventional optical fibre. That number is clearly gigabit, but for context, the average home broadband speed in the UK in September 2023 was 69.4 Mbps, according to Ofcom.Optical fibres are essentially thin glass tubes that transmit information in the form of light - a much faster method than is possible with traditional copper cables. The team has therefore taken this method one step further: they have discovered new wavelengths that have not previously been used to transmit data over the internet. These wavelengths correspond to different colours of light, which means that it is as if several different 'colours' of light are used simultaneously to transmit data. It can also be thought of as if sunlight passing through a prism breaks down into the colours of the rainbow - each colour carrying different information. And using the new wavelengths has allowed researchers to transmit much more data at once than ever before. But this technological breakthrough means not just faster internet, but much more. Of course, this development can indeed improve internet connectivity for end-users by increasing the data-carrying capacity of the internet backbone, but the good news is that it can also make existing infrastructure more efficient, as it can already transmit more data without the need to lay new cables - extending the life and value of fibre.The key to the team's success was the development of two new devices, optical amplifiers and optical gain controllers, which enabled the new wavelengths to be achieved and used. These devices are essentially a kind of light amplifiers: they help to increase the signal of light in optical fibres so that more data can be transmitted over...

Robinhood, a renowned name in the world of online trading, has issued its own credit card specifically for Robinhood Gold subscribers, offering 3% cashback on all purchases without any annual or transaction fees. This new opportunity aligns with Robinhood's strategic move last year when they acquired X1 for $95 million, a company that offers a similar fee-free credit card service. The new card, introduced at an online event, supplements the benefits of the Robinhood Gold subscription package. According to Vlad Tenev, the company's co-founder and leader, this innovation contributes to ensuring more equitable access to the financial system. Cardholders can enjoy additional benefits, such as a 5% cashback on travel bookings made through Robinhood's new travel platform. Reward points can be redeemed for travel, gift cards, or shopping at renowned retailers like Apple and Nike. The points can also be converted into cash, which then can be used for investments through the users' own brokerage accounts.

The banking giant HSBC has launched tokenized gold products for retail customers in Hong Kong. The bank has already established its own platform called HSBC Orion, built on distributed ledger technology, through which the HSBC Gold Token will be accessible, alongside previously issued digital bonds. Retail investors in Hong Kong can access tokenized gold through the HSBC online banking website and mobile application.

The award-winning Munchables gaming platform by Blast Big Bang received $62 million worth of ETH back into a multisig wallet after it was stolen from them yesterday. It emerged from the news feed that one of their lead developers was a North Korean hacker. The project's centralized control within smart contracts provided the developer with the ability to transfer funds under their control, which they exploited in this case. Shortly afterward, they returned the stolen 17,412.6 ETH and resigned.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday he was ready to use his powers to requisition industrial capacity or prioritise arms manufacturers to speed up the production of weapons and ammunition needed for Ukraine and other battlefields. "These issues ... are clearly on the agenda," Lecornu told a news conference, adding that inventories and production lines are particularly stretched for anti-aircraft missiles and artillery shells.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, in a final judgment proposal filed on Monday, asked Judge Analisa Torres, who presided over the SEC v. Ripple case, to approve a nearly $2 billion fine as Ripple directly sold to institutional investors. The fine includes $876 million in disgorgement, $198 million in prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty of $876 million. The SEC urges the New York court to consider the severity of the company's misconduct.

The US federal prosecutor's office has filed charges against the KuCoin crypto broker and its two founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang, for violating anti-money laundering laws. The US Department of Justice alleged in the indictment that KuCoin intentionally circumvented US AML and KYC regulations by falsely claiming that it had no US customers, while in reality, they had a significant US customer base, enabling them to facilitate laundering of over $9 billion.

Global banking network SWIFT is planning to launch a new platform in the next year or two that will link the wave of central bank digital currencies now under development to the existing financial system, Reuters reported. The move, which would be one of the most significant for the nascent CBDC ecosystem given SWIFT's key role in the global banking system, is likely to be fine-tuned to coincide with the launch of the first major ones.

The London Stock Exchange announced that trading of bonds traded on BTC and ETH will start on May 28. These products will initially be available only to professional investors, and issuers must submit applications for the planned products by April 15.

The Fantom Foundation announced that they are preparing to launch the next version of the blockchain project. The new iteration, named Sonic, is planned to function as a common sequencer between layer 1 and layer 2 chains, aiming to process a large volume of transactions, up to 2000 transactions per second. The introduction of Sonic also includes the expansion of Fantom DeFi activities with support for liquid staking tokens.

Northrop Grumman Corporation, a key player in global aerospace and defence technology, is embarking on a major project with the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to revolutionise lunar exploration and commercialisation, according to a company announcement. The company is developing a conceptual design for a lunar rail network as part of DARPA's Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) project - an initiative to build a sustainable lunar infrastructure over the next decade. The goal is exactly what it sounds like: to build a rail network on the Moon to transport supplies and resources, or even lunar crew.

"Self-driving cars were once the unimaginable future, but now tens of thousands of people are using them every week," Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in announcing the launch of a self-driving taxi service in Los Angeles, following Phoenix and San Francisco. In a move typical of the Alphabet subsidiary, the redesigned Jaguar I-Pace will be gradually rolled out in the second largest city in the US, initially covering an area of around 163 square kilometres, from Santa Monica through Beverly Hills and South Hollywood to downtown, with fewer than 50 self-driving cars. By comparison, Waymo already has more than 250 cars in San Francisco, covering a smaller area of about 120 square kilometres.

Ava Labs, the organization behind the Avalanche blockchain, announced a partnership with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Chainlink to assist them in building on-chain asset settlement infrastructure. The collaboration aims to bridge the Avalanche network and the Ethereum blockchain, enabling global circulation and settlement of tokenized assets.

DigiFT, a Singapore-based digital asset manager with regulatory approval, announced the introduction of new tokens backed by US Treasury bonds to the market. The new product will have a structure similar to depositary receipts, offering users direct ownership of AA+ rated and short-term T-Bills, as well as providing legal yield from the underlying securities.

Starting April 5th, the Binance cryptocurrency exchange will no longer support the USDC stablecoin on the Tron network. This change only affects USDC issued on the Tron blockchain; transactions involving the stablecoin on other networks, such as Ethereum, remain unaffected. The decision comes more than a month after the issuer, Circle, ceased token minting on Tron.

China has introduced guidelines to phase out U.S. microprocessors from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) from government personal computers and servers, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favour of domestic options, the report said. Earlier, in 2022, the United States introduced a law called the "CHIPS and Science Act," aiming to boost domestic semiconductor production and reduce dependence on China and Taiwan.