Blue Owl led IREN’s $2.4 billion AI computing power funding round, with the funds to be used for purchasing NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs.

Ripple is proactively deploying quantum-resistant capabilities for the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to address the risk that future quantum computers could crack existing blockchain cryptography and steal digital asset private keys. Ayo Akinyele, Ripple’s senior director of engineering, said the goal is not to wait until quantum computing becomes an imminent threat to act, but to ensure critical financial infrastructure is upgraded before the threat arrives. Ripple has mapped out a four-phase plan for XRPL: assessing the network’s potential exposure points, testing quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, running existing and quantum-secure mechanisms in parallel, and finally driving the network’s full migration. An emergency response plan will also be activated if quantum computing advances faster than expected. XRPL currently supports replacing account control keys without changing the account, which is expected to reduce future migration difficulties, though large-scale protocol upgrades still require coordination among network validators. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating cryptography research. Reports noted that last month, an Anthropic model cut the computational effort needed to crack a leading post-quantum signature candidate by around 67 million times, further highlighting the necessity of pre-upgrading financial infrastructure. Bitcoin and Ethereum developers also unveiled their respective quantum-resistant migration plans this week. Ripple holds that while AI and quantum computing are separate technologies, both are driving financial infrastructure toward stronger security, more flexible upgrade mechanisms, and round-the-clock automated payment systems.

According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, large crypto whales have recently been withdrawing SOL from trading platforms in concentrated moves. Address 5p6zPz withdrew 281,446 SOL from Binance approximately 9 hours ago, valued at around $29.68 million. Another address, 3WzfuP, pulled 37,272 SOL from Kraken roughly 1 hour ago, worth about $3.87 million. The two transactions combined total 318,718 SOL withdrawn, with a combined value of approximately $33.55 million.

According to monitoring by TradingBeats (formerly Hyperinsight), the address of crypto figure "Brother Ma Ji" (Huang Licheng) currently holds around 41,000 ETH, valued at approximately $100 million, making it the largest on-chain ETH long position to date. Amid the market pullback, Machi closed out part of its ETH long position roughly 7 hours ago, incurring a loss of about $1.96 million. Its wallet’s core holdings now include: 41,000 ETH (valued at ~$100.01 million), 75,000 HYPE (~$6.03 million), and 45 BTC (~$3.5 million).

According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet transferred a total of 3,000 BTC to Coinbase Prime over the past 24 hours, worth approximately $237 million. Metaplanet has repeatedly moved BTC to Coinbase Prime in prior transactions. It should be noted that transfers to Coinbase Prime do not equal confirmation of a sale, as the platform offers institutional custody, trading, and financing services. Thus, it is currently impossible to conclude that Metaplanet is selling its BTC.

Meta is testing robots to maintain the data centers that support its artificial intelligence (AI) systems, with applications including replacing network cables, rebooting servers, moving racks, and conducting equipment inspections. The robots currently being tested by Meta come from Watney Robotics, Kinova, and ABB. These robots still face challenges such as slow operation, limited battery life, difficulty with visual detection, and struggles navigating dense cables and complex obstacles, requiring human supervision and assistance. However, one Meta employee estimated that if cable-replacement robots become fully mature, up to 80% of tasks in some roles could be automated by machines. This figure is the employee’s personal estimate, not Meta’s official forecast. As AI infrastructure continues to expand, Meta is confronting two key issues: a shortage of data center technicians, and efforts to use robots to reduce operational and maintenance costs. Meta noted that the U.S. is experiencing the largest infrastructure construction boom since World War II, and the company is facing a severe shortage of skilled workers, hence “more workers are needed, not fewer.” But employees worry that robots could reduce demand for experienced technicians, shifting remaining work to lower-paid staff who would carry out tasks based on AI-generated instructions. Currently, Meta’s robots cannot independently complete complex repairs, but their further development may redefine whether the expansion of AI data centers will create more jobs or accelerate automation of technical positions.

After Fed Chair Walsh delivered a hawkish signal at the Jackson Hole Annual Meeting, Bitcoin rallied then pulled back, falling as low as $76,877 on Friday—sharply retreating from its overnight high of $81,455—and closing at $77,557, down 3.39% on the day. Earlier this week, Bitcoin had notched double-digit gains, but the $81,000–$82,500 resistance zone capped its upside again. Walsh noted that U.S. inflation is falling too slowly, and the Federal Reserve "has more work to do" before hitting its 2% inflation target, prompting markets to sharply raise bets on a September rate hike. CME FedWatch data shows the probability of a September rate hike rose to 55.7% from 35.4% the prior day. The hawkish shock also triggered mass liquidations of leveraged positions in the crypto market, with roughly $481 million in total liquidations over the past 24 hours, including more than $360 million in long liquidations. However, the market’s long-term bullish sentiment has not reversed significantly. Prediction market data shows traders currently assign a 77% probability that Bitcoin will hit its next major target of $84,000, and a 23% chance it will fall to $55,000; Friday’s pullback has not altered these odds for now. On the fundamental front, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted net inflows for 8 consecutive trading days as of Wednesday, drawing roughly $2.8 billion in total—marking the longest such inflow streak since April. Technically, Bitcoin’s RSI stands at around 69.7, not yet in the extreme overbought territory that triggered prior pullbacks. Should it fall further, the $73,670–$75,157 zone will act as a key defense level for bulls, while reclaiming the $81,000–$82,500 range is critical to opening up new highs. In the short term, Walsh’s downplaying of forward guidance means markets lack a clear policy path ahead of the next FOMC meeting, and Bitcoin is likely to remain highly volatile amid inflation data and shifting rate expectations.