Solana Mobile stands to gross at least $67.5 million in pre-sales of its Seeker device. Solana Mobile, a subsidiary of blockchain technology company Solana Labs, has revealed the next steps for its soon-to-be-shipped Seeker device and the overall ecosystem. The steps include a new, trustless architecture, a native token, and the Seeker ship date. According to the announcement, Solana Mobile will ship the device starting Aug. 4. Seeker is the company’s second-generation device, after the Saga Web3 phone that launched in April 2023. The company unveiled the Seeker phone in September 2024, saying it wouldn’t just be a “memecoin phone.” So far, it has pre-sold 150,000 units. Read more
The digital identification project faces regulatory headwinds in the form of bans and legal scrutiny in several countries. World, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s digital identification project, raised $135 million from venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto, the company said in an announcement. The capital will be used to expand World's network of iris-scanning orbs and infrastructure in the United States, where the company said in April it would operate in six cities, and increase coverage around the globe, according to the announcement. More than 12.5 million individuals in over 160 jurisdictions have been issued a World ID, the company said. Read more
The jury in John Karony's case took a matter of hours to deliberate after a roughly two-week trial, during which he repeatedly claimed he was innocent. A New York jury found Braden John Karony, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, guilty of three felony charges after less than a day of deliberation. According to May 21 reporting from the courtroom, in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, a jury convicted Karony of conspiracy to defraud the United States, money laundering and wire fraud. Prosecutors and defense lawyers presented their cases over the roughly two-week trial that kicked off with jury selection on May 5. Karony, former chief technology officer Thomas Smith and Kyle Nagy, the platform’s creator, were charged in 2023 for having allegedly “diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth” of SafeMoon’s SFM token. Smith testified against Karony at trial, while Nagy reportedly fled to Russia and was at large as of May 21. Read more
Bitcoin reaches a new all-time high amid strong weekly momentum with price targets as high as $320,000, but caution is urged. Key takeaways: Bitcoin’s $109,458 all-time high aligns with seven consecutive green weekly candles since April, highlighting the strength of the current bullish momentum. Analysts expect BTC to reach between $135,000 to $320,000 in 2025. Read more