OP surges over 23% amid market downturn, market cap hits $524 million.

Patriarch Chairman Eric Schiffer warns that Binance’s $6.3 billion hack may signal a larger wave of cyberattacks, noting that as artificial intelligence capabilities continue to advance, enterprises will face increasingly complex cybersecurity threats. “The bloodbath of AI-driven cyberattacks is still ahead, with more losses to come,” he stated. Schiffer argues the incident underscores the cybersecurity challenges facing large financial institutions, adding that companies can no longer treat cybersecurity as a problem to resolve only after an attack occurs. He expects Binance will restore its financial position via its balance sheet, but the event may erode user trust, leading some asset holders to exit the platform. Binance has set aside more than $6.34 billion in corporate funds to cover losses: roughly $5 billion in equivalent assets are already available, while approximately $3 billion in stolen assets have been frozen on-chain. TRM Labs attributes the attack to North Korea-state-backed hacking group TraderTraitor, confirming that around $6.36 billion in assets were transferred across 10 blockchains, with most of the transfers taking place in roughly 20 minutes. The U.S. Secret Service is working with the private sector to track and recover the funds.

Tasnim News Agency stated that Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist and reporter for Axios, is a well-known member of the Israeli military’s Unit 8200. In multiple reports published early this morning, Ravid attempted to launch a large-scale psychological warfare campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran. On one hand, Ravid claimed that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are still ongoing; on the other, he amplified tensions by highlighting the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran, seeking to create an atmosphere where the "best and final opportunity" to reach an agreement is "now". Tasnim News Agency added that Ravid further claimed in his psychological warfare propaganda that Tehran has demanded the U.S. lift its maritime blockade to continue negotiations, while Washington has set Iran’s concessions on the nuclear issue as a condition for resuming dialogue. However, according to statements from Iranian officials, the nuclear issue was not on the agenda in the current round of indirect talks with the U.S. (Jinshi)

According to Bloomberg, AI startup Baseten is seeking a new funding round targeting around $2 billion, with its valuation projected to surge from $13 billion in June this year to a maximum of $30 billion, more than doubling. The round is expected to be split into two tranches, with the first tranche valuing the company at $26 billion and the second at $30 billion. Existing investor Sands Capital is set to lead the financing. Baseten last secured a $1.5 billion funding round in June, when it was valued at $13 billion. Founded in 2019, Baseten mainly offers AI model inference platforms for enterprises, assisting clients in deploying and running various AI models. As AI applications gain popularity, market demand for inference computing power continues to rise, prompting investors to ramp up investments in related infrastructure firms. Its rival Fireworks AI closed a $1.5 billion funding round in July this year at a $17.5 billion valuation.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin today published an article titled "Digital Minimalism," proposing that in the AI era, people should consciously reduce their reliance on social media, mobile internet, and website interfaces to regain control over their digital lives. Buterin shared three practices: First, he reduced direct use of X, instead using Firefly to manage X, Bluesky, Farcaster, and Lens simultaneously to avoid information interference from algorithmic recommendations; Second, he kept his phone in airplane mode by default for 100 consecutive days, only connecting via Wi-Fi, to reduce location data leaks and cultivate offline living habits; Third, he reduced reliance on websites and web applications, switched to command-line tools to handle some on-chain operations, and leveraged AI to lower usage barriers. Buterin believes that websites and web applications carry privacy and security risks, while the development of local AI, offline applications, and modular tools allows users to operate computers via natural language, reducing dependence on complex platform interfaces. He refers to this trend as digital minimalism, arguing that AI can not only improve people's efficiency in using the internet but may also make the internet unnecessary in more scenarios.

FLAP founder Cedric issued a statement noting that the project’s official website domain is currently pointing to an abnormal address. The risk only affects users who accessed the anomalous site, connected their wallets, or signed authorization within the dozens of minutes before the announcement was released. Users who have previously connected to the normal FLAP official website are not impacted by this incident and do not need to change their wallet addresses. Cedric emphasized that FLAP does not store users’ private keys, mnemonics, or wallet data, and such information is not retained in the project’s backend. Until the official website is restored, users should temporarily avoid accessing it. If any user recently connected their wallet to the anomalous site, it is recommended to contact the team for assistance via Cedric’s provided Telegram. After the website is restored, the team will release notifications through its official account.

According to recent disclosures from China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate, a man surnamed Wang in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, aware that USDT transactions are illegal in China, resorted to fraudulent means to defraud others of USDT. Wang had previously purchased USDT from victim Xiao twice via cash, before gathering multiple accomplices to plot a scam: they pretended to buy USDT again, agreeing to a 1.2 million yuan cash deal. On the transaction day, after Xiao verified the cash, he transferred the equivalent USDT to Wang’s designated address. Wang and his group then lied that they had not received the USDT. While Xiao was checking the transfer record, the group threw the travel bag containing 1.2 million yuan in cash from a second-floor window; accomplices waiting below retrieved the bag and fled by car, while others blocked Xiao from giving chase. The procuratorial organ found that the 1.2 million yuan cash was always controlled by Wang’s group, serving only as a fraud tool rather than the object of robbery. Accordingly, it adjusted the charge from robbery (as determined by the public security organ when referring the case) to fraud, and filed a public prosecution with the court. The defense argued the case should be classified as contract fraud, but the prosecutor maintained that virtual currency transactions are illegal financial activities explicitly prohibited by the state, thus falling outside the scope of contract fraud regulations. The court hearing has concluded, and a verdict will be announced at a later date.