Industry News

Tracks company news, strategic changes, funding activities, and personnel adjustments across the blockchain and crypto industries, delivering a full-spectrum industry overview for our users.

Morgan Stanley's First Bitcoin ETF One-Week Review: Defying the Trend to Attract Capital, a Signal of Institutional Accumulation

Morgan Stanley launched its first spot Bitcoin ETF, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), on April 8, becoming the first major U.S. bank to issue such a product. With the lowest annual fee among U.S. Bitcoin ETFs at 0.14%, it is custodied by Coinbase and administered by BNY Mellon. In its first week, MSBT saw consistent inflows despite overall market outflows. On its debut, it attracted $30.6 million while the broader Bitcoin ETF market bled $93.9 million. It continued to see inflows in subsequent days, even as major ETFs like Fidelity’s FBTC experienced significant outflows. By the end of the week, MSBT had accumulated $37.5 million in net inflows, with assets under management (AUM) around $64–70 million, holding roughly 960 BTC. The launch timing—amid a 44% Bitcoin price correction from its 2025 high—suggests institutional accumulation at lower levels. Morgan Stanley’s wealth advisors are reportedly recommending up to a 4% Bitcoin allocation to high-net-worth clients, signaling potential sustained inflows from its $7 trillion client assets. Shortly after, Goldman Sachs filed for its own Bitcoin ETF—a covered call strategy product aimed at generating income from option premiums, catering to yield-seeking institutional investors. Analysts see MSBT’s steady inflows as a sign of institutional confidence despite bearish sentiment, making it a key indicator of Wall Street’s growing engagement with Bitcoin.

Odaily星球日报04/16 08:56

Morgan Stanley's First Bitcoin ETF One-Week Review: Defying the Trend to Attract Capital, a Signal of Institutional Accumulation

Odaily星球日报04/16 08:56

Dialogue with a16z Co-founder: The Physical Laws of the Old World Are Dead, Crypto Becomes Key Infrastructure for AI

At a16z Fintech Connect, Ben Horowitz discusses how AI revolution is fundamentally rewriting the rules of software competition. He argues that traditional moats like data lock-in and UI familiarity are vanishing, as AI can easily replicate code, transfer data, and interact flexibly with software. CEOs of legacy companies must recognize these shifts and pivot towards delivering unique value beyond outdated advantages. Horowitz highlights that while some businesses face obsolescence, others with complex, entrenched operational networks (like travel platforms) may retain relevance. The conversation also covers critical infrastructure bottlenecks in the AI boom—from GPU shortages and power constraints to supply chain issues—emphasizing the need for massive investment in physical and digital infrastructure. Horowitz strongly links AI and blockchain, arguing that crypto is essential for solving AI-generated problems: identity verification, content authenticity, fraud prevention, universal basic income distribution, and enabling AI economic agency. Looking ahead, he speculates on VC’s evolving role—whether it scales up alongside mega-companies or adapts to a decentralized compute landscape—and strikes an optimistic note on AI’s long-term impact, foreseeing unprecedented improvements in global living standards despite transitional disruption.

marsbit04/16 08:13

Dialogue with a16z Co-founder: The Physical Laws of the Old World Are Dead, Crypto Becomes Key Infrastructure for AI

marsbit04/16 08:13

Dragonfly Survey on Current State of Crypto Recruitment: Compliance Roles +340%, Data Science +74%, Crypto Enters the Era of On-Demand Hiring

Dragonfly's 2026 crypto talent report reveals a fundamental shift in hiring: companies now recruit based on actual need rather than market hype. In 2025, the industry saw a net reduction of 472 roles, but compliance positions surged by 340% and data science roles grew by 74%. The second half of 2025 brought discipline and recovery, with hiring stabilizing. Candidates are now more cautious, prioritizing company durability, clear role definition, and tangible impact over broad narratives. Engineering, AI/ML, and security roles remain highly competitive. Founders are advised to hire based on milestones—not cycles—and provide clear value propositions to attract talent. Remote work remains common, but key hubs like New York and the Bay Area dominate. AI's influence is significant, but its unclear impact in crypto may slow hiring. The outlook for 2026 is flat to moderate growth, driven by execution-focused teams with credible stories.

marsbit04/16 06:59

Dragonfly Survey on Current State of Crypto Recruitment: Compliance Roles +340%, Data Science +74%, Crypto Enters the Era of On-Demand Hiring

marsbit04/16 06:59

Ripple Lands Major Korea Deal With Top Insurance Giant Kyobo

Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance, one of Korea's largest insurers, to develop the country's first tokenized government bond settlement workflow on blockchain. The collaboration will utilize Ripple Custody to hold, transfer, and settle transactions within a regulated framework, aiming to replace manual process with on-chain execution that could compress the standard two-day settlement cycle to near real-time. This initiative is positioned as infrastructure for a broader institutional stack. Both companies aim to assess the technical and regulatory feasibility, reduce counterparty risk, and explore stablecoin-based payment rails for 24/7 transactions. Ripple described this as a strategic entry into Korea's institutional financial market and a signal that proven digital asset infrastructure is ready for deployment.

bitcoinist04/16 06:29

Ripple Lands Major Korea Deal With Top Insurance Giant Kyobo

bitcoinist04/16 06:29

Bloomberg Terminal Earns Billions Annually from Data Intermediation, Now 6 Institutions Are Putting Data Directly On-Chain

Six major financial institutions — Fidelity, Euronext, Tradeweb, OTC Markets Group, Singapore Exchange (Forex), and Exchange Data International — have begun publishing proprietary market data directly on-chain via Pyth Network. This move bypasses traditional data intermediaries like Bloomberg, which has long dominated the financial data market with annual revenues of approximately $10 billion from its terminal business alone. The shift enables developers on over 100 blockchains to access high-quality, real-time financial data — including ETF valuations, fixed income data, FX rates, and OTC securities — without long-term contracts, steep fees, or proprietary hardware. This development is critical for the scalability of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization in DeFi, as reliable, institutional-grade data must be available on-chain before assets can be traded or used as collateral in decentralized protocols. Pyth’s model differs from earlier oracle solutions like Chainlink by sourcing data directly from institutional traders and exchanges rather than aggregating from third-party sources. While this approach offers higher speed and accuracy, it also involves a more centralized network of known publishers. The move challenges the decades-old monopoly of data middlemen and could significantly reduce barriers to entry for developers building DeFi products tied to traditional financial markets.

marsbit04/16 05:49

Bloomberg Terminal Earns Billions Annually from Data Intermediation, Now 6 Institutions Are Putting Data Directly On-Chain

marsbit04/16 05:49

From "Silicon Valley's Sacred Shoes" to "GPU Computing Power": The Absurdity and Logic Behind Allbirds Renaming to NewBird AI

From "Silicon Valley's Favorite Shoe" to "GPU Computing Power": The Absurdity and Logic Behind Allbirds' Rebranding to NewBird AI On April 15, Allbirds, the maker of merino wool running shoes, announced a radical pivot from footwear to AI compute, rebranding as "NewBird AI." The move triggered a 582% surge in its stock price the same day. This followed the sale of its shoe business for $39 million—a fraction of its $4 billion IPO valuation in 2021. Allbirds rose to fame in 2016 with its comfortable, eco-friendly minimalist shoes, becoming a status symbol in tech circles. But after rapid expansion and failed attempts to attract Gen Z, revenue declined, losses mounted, and its value plummeted. By early 2026, all its U.S. stores had closed. Now, under CEO Joe Vernachio, the company is attempting a reboot. It secured $50 million in convertible notes from an undisclosed investor to purchase high-performance GPUs and offer "GPU-as-a-service" to AI developers. The company cites real market shortages in compute capacity, but questions remain about how a $50 million entry can compete in a capital-intensive industry dominated by giants like NVIDIA and CoreWeave. The move echoes past market frenzies, such as Long Island Iced Tea’s pivot to blockchain in 2017—a hype-driven strategy that ended in delisting and SEC action. While AI compute demand is real, NewBird AI’s operational capacity and execution plan remain unproven. The timing is suggestive: the stock soared based on a narrative, before any shareholder vote or operational results. The company plans a special dividend in Q3, raising questions about who benefits from the short-term market enthusiasm. NewBird AI exemplifies a broader trend: companies with broken business models turning to AI for revival. Whether this is a legitimate transformation or a market play remains to be seen.

marsbit04/16 04:52

From "Silicon Valley's Sacred Shoes" to "GPU Computing Power": The Absurdity and Logic Behind Allbirds Renaming to NewBird AI

marsbit04/16 04:52

Memory Card Prices Double in Four Months: How Long Will the Surge Last?

NAND flash memory prices have entered a rapid upward cycle, with consumer-grade storage products like microSD cards seeing significant retail price increases. For example, a SanDisk Extreme 128GB microSD card rose from $17 in October 2025 to nearly $40 by February 2026—a 130% surge in under four months. This price surge is driven by structural shifts in the NAND market, primarily due to soaring demand from AI data centers. These large-scale buyers are securing the majority of NAND wafer supply through long-term contracts, leaving limited inventory for the consumer market. According to TrendForce, NAND contract prices rose 55–60% in Q1 2026, with enterprise SSD prices climbing 53–58%. Retail prices rose even more sharply due to constrained supply in the distribution channel. Unlike the 2016–2017 price cycle caused by production transitions, the current spike is demand-led. AI data centers are consuming NAND capacity at an unprecedented rate, with 2026 demand growth estimated at 20–22% against supply growth of only 15–17%. Manufacturers are prioritizing high-margin enterprise products over consumer-grade storage, further tightening retail availability. New production capacity from major suppliers like Samsung, Micron, and Kioxia is not expected until late 2027 or 2028. Until then, consumer storage prices are likely to remain high, with no significant price relief anticipated in the near term.

marsbit04/16 03:13

Memory Card Prices Double in Four Months: How Long Will the Surge Last?

marsbit04/16 03:13

The Allbirds, the Internet-Famous Shoes That Took Silicon Valley by Storm, Are Now All in on AI

Allbirds, the once-popular sustainable shoe brand favored by Silicon Valley elites and celebrities, has announced a drastic pivot from footwear manufacturing to AI infrastructure. On April 15, 2026, the company revealed plans to abandon its shoe business entirely, rebrand as "NewBird AI," and focus on GPU-as-a-service and AI cloud solutions. The move caused its stock to surge over 800% in a single day. The brand, known for its wool-based eco-friendly shoes, had struggled financially in recent years. Revenue fell from a peak of $298 million in 2022 to $152 million in 2025, with cumulative losses of $419 million over five years. In March 2026, Allbirds sold its intellectual property and footwear assets for just $39 million—a fraction of its former $4.1 billion valuation. The company secured up to $50 million in convertible notes to fund the acquisition of GPU hardware for AI compute leasing. However, the announcement lacked details about technical capacity, clients, or infrastructure plans. Critics highlight the high execution risks in the competitive AI infrastructure market, dominated by major cloud providers. The shift reflects a broader trend of companies rebranding around AI to attract investor interest, despite uncertain fundamentals. Allbirds also removed its "public benefit" corporate mission, signaling a departure from its original sustainability ethos. The move underscores the power of AI narrative in today’s capital markets, where storytelling often precedes substance.

marsbit04/16 02:13

The Allbirds, the Internet-Famous Shoes That Took Silicon Valley by Storm, Are Now All in on AI

marsbit04/16 02:13

Hyperliquid Founder's Circle of Friends Exposed: This Group of 'Olympic Gold Medalists' is Dominating Silicon Valley's AI Scene

This article profiles a group of former Olympiad medalists, now prominent AI entrepreneurs, who first connected through a Hudson River Trading (HRT) internship and high school competitions. The circle includes Jeff Yan (founder of Hyperliquid), Alexandr Wang (head of Meta's AI division after selling Scale AI), Scott Wu (CEO of Cognition, creator of AI engineer Devin), Johnny Ho (CSO of Perplexity), Jesse Zhang (CEO of Decagon), Demi Guo (CEO of Pika), and Steven Hao (CTO of Cognition). Their shared background in elite math and programming contests forged a powerful network. Now, they are leading some of Silicon Valley's most valuable AI companies, with several ventures achieving multi-billion dollar valuations. The piece draws a parallel to the "PayPal Mafia," highlighting their collective focus on engineering excellence, efficiency, and a shared vision for shaping the future with AI.

marsbit04/16 00:32

Hyperliquid Founder's Circle of Friends Exposed: This Group of 'Olympic Gold Medalists' is Dominating Silicon Valley's AI Scene

marsbit04/16 00:32

Breaking: Claude Introduces Mandatory Real-Name Verification, Requires Live Selfie with ID, Otherwise Immediate Account Ban

Claude, the AI assistant by Anthropic, has introduced a mandatory real-name verification system, requiring users to submit a government-issued photo ID and a real-time selfie. This move aims to prevent misuse, enforce usage policies, and comply with legal obligations. The verification process, handled by third-party provider Persona, is triggered for certain use cases, platform integrity checks, or security measures. Users from unsupported regions, those under 18, or those violating terms of service risk account suspension—even after successful verification. The policy has sparked significant user backlash, with concerns over increased surveillance, loss of privacy, and potential disruption to workflows. Many fear the stricter controls will drive users to competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is perceived as more stable and user-friendly. The announcement emphasizes data protection, stating that verification data is not used for model training or shared with third parties. However, users are advised to backup their data and avoid using personal subscriptions for unauthorized purposes like proxy services or multi-user setups to minimize risks.

marsbit04/16 00:28

Breaking: Claude Introduces Mandatory Real-Name Verification, Requires Live Selfie with ID, Otherwise Immediate Account Ban

marsbit04/16 00:28

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