US authorities are investigating Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware giant Bitmain over potential national security risks tied to alleged remote capabilities, according to Bloomberg. The leading Bitcoin mining application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) manufacturer, Bitmain, which is based in China, is reportedly under investigation in the US over national security concerns. According to a Friday Bloomberg report, an unspecified US official and six other anonymous people familiar with the matter said that Bitmain’s hardware is at the center of a federal investigation known as “Operation Red Sunset.” The investigation, led by the US Department of Homeland Security, reportedly seeks to determine whether the ASICs could be remotely controlled for spying or to sabotage the US power grid. US authorities previously investigated Bitmain-linked Chinese chip designer Xiamen Sophgo over an alleged business relationship with US-sanctioned company Huawei in October 2024. This was followed by the US Customs and Border Pro...
Japan’s stimulus package has shaken global markets, including Bitcoin, while the UK cracks down on Russian money laundering and sanctions evasion with crypto. On Friday, the Japanese government approved a $135-billion (21.3 trillion Japanese yen) stimulus package, mainly aimed at price relief and subsidizing gas and household electricity bills. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her cabinet believe the plan will dampen inflation by 0.7 percentage points on average from February to April. But markets, including crypto markets, are concerned. The yen has significantly weakened against the US dollar, hitting 10-month lows; Japanese government 10-year bond yields reached 1.84% on Thursday, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Major government spending like this stimulus package is likely to lead to the issuance of more bonds, further weakening the yen, which would prompt the Bank of Japan to intervene with rate hikes. That could trigger mass sell-offs in the US. Read more
An Indian fighter aircraft, the indigenously developed Tejas, crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai Air Show on Friday. A fireball was seen immediately after the aircraft impacted the ground, with thick black smoke rising from the site of the incident. In a post on X, the Indian Air Force (IAF) confirmed the death of the pilot in the incident. This is not the first time an IAF jet has been destroyed in an accident. Here’s a list of crashes reported over the past five years. 2020 February 23: MiG-29K An IAF MiG-29k crashed off the coast of Goa, The Times of India reported, quoting an Indian Navy spokesperson. The aircraft had been on a routine training sortie. An image of an Indian Air Force MiG-29K. — Photo courtesy The Times of India/File 2021 March 17: MiG-21 Bison An IAF pilot was killed when his MiG-21 Bison aircraft crashed in central India. Group Captain A Gupta had taken off for a combat training mission from an airbase before he experienced the fatal accident, an IAF statement said. It ad...