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ChatGPT has hit a new milestone of $3 billion in worldwide consumer spending on mobile as of this week, according to estimates from app intelligence provider Appfigures. This figure represents the total spending on iOS and Android devices since the app’s launch in May 2023, when it first arrived, then only on iOS. Image Credits:Appfigures What’s notable is that the bulk of that spending took place this year. Worldwide, consumers spent an estimated $2.48 billion in the ChatGPT mobile app in 2025, representing a 408% year-over-year increase from the $487 million spent in 2024. In 2023, the app’s first year…

The AI talent wars show no signs of slowing, with companies making headlines weekly for their latest high-profile hires. This includes engineers they are poaching from each other or acqui-hiring but also, increasingly, senior executives that can support them as they scale up. Less than 10 days after Slack CEO Denise Dresser became OpenAI’s chief revenue officer, former British finance minister George Osborne announced he was joining Sam Altman’s company. Shortly thereafter, the crypto exchange Coinbase separately appointed Osborne to lead its internal advisory council. The announcements drew particular attention in the U.K., where commenters noted that Osborne joins a…

Recent claims of a major Bitcoin mining crackdown in China’s Xinjiang region rippled through the digital asset industry this week, but data by TheMinerMag suggests the actual impact was far smaller than early narratives implied.According to the latest Miner Weekly report, the Bitcoin network initially experienced a short-term hashrate decline, which was linked to developments in Xinjiang. However, the drop also coincided with power curtailments in the United States.Most major mining pools recovered to near pre-dip levels within days, resulting in a net decline of roughly 20 exahashes per second, which is significantly lower than the approximately 100 EH/s loss…

Recent claims of a major Bitcoin mining crackdown in China’s Xinjiang region rippled through the digital asset industry this week, but data by TheMinerMag suggests the actual impact was far smaller than early narratives implied.According to the latest Miner Weekly report, the Bitcoin network initially experienced a short-term hashrate decline, which was linked to developments in Xinjiang. However, the drop also coincided with power curtailments in the United States.Most major mining pools recovered to near pre-dip levels within days, resulting in a net decline of roughly 20 exahashes per second, which is significantly lower than the approximately 100 EH/s loss…

Representatives of the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), a nonprofit Bitcoin advocacy organization, warned that US lawmakers have not included a de minimis tax exemption for Bitcoin transactions below a certain threshold.“De Minimis tax legislation may be limited to only stablecoins, leaving everyday Bitcoin transactions without an exemption,” Conner Brown, BPI’s head of strategy, said on X, adding that the decision to exclude Bitcoin (BTC) is a “severe mistake.”In July, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a bill proposing a de minimis tax exemption for crypto transactions of $300 or less, with a $5,000 annual limit on tax-free transactions and sales. The…

Bitcoin’s price may look deceptively familiar, but according to onchain analyst James Check, the market beneath the surface has changed far more than most investors realize.In a new interview with Cointelegraph, Check revisits a question he was asked earlier this year: Are we in a bull market or a bear market? While Bitcoin (BTC) is trading near similar price levels, Check says that leverage, investor cost base, and sell-side behavior are now very different, and all those shifts matter. In fact, a majority of the capital currently invested in Bitcoin was acquired at higher prices, leaving many holders underwater and…

Update (Dec. 18 at 7:27 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from Intuit.Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp, announced a “multi-year, strategic partnership” with stablecoin issuer Circle involving its stablecoin infrastructure and USDC (USDC).In a Thursday notice, Intuit said the agreement with Circle would allow “faster, lower-cost” payments through their platforms, which focus on business transactions, tax refunds and marketing. According to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, the deal will “extend the speed, power and efficiency of USDC for everyday financial transactions.” Source: CircleUSDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, trailing…

SoFi Technologies has launched SoFiUSD, a fully reserved US dollar stablecoin issued by its banking subsidiary, SoFi Bank.According to Thursday’s announcement, SoFiUSD is backed one-to-one by cash held by SoFi Bank, a nationally chartered and insured depository institution, and is redeemable on demand. It is designed to support low-cost settlement for banks, fintechs and enterprise platforms.A SoFi spokesperson told Cointelegraph that SoFiUSD will initially be issued on the Ethereum network, with plans to add support to other blockchains over time.The company said SoFiUSD can be used across a range of payment and settlement functions, including card networks, retailers, remittances through…

A US court is once again being asked to weigh in on maximal extractable value (MEV) practices after a judge allowed new evidence to be added to a class-action lawsuit tied to a memecoin platform.The judge granted a motion to amend and refile a class-action lawsuit to include new evidence against memecoin launch platform Pump.fun, MEV infrastructure firm Jito Labs, Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation and others.The motion said over 5,000 pieces of evidence in the form of internal chat logs were submitted by a “confidential informant” in September that were previously unavailable. The filing said:“Plaintiffs assert that the logs…

Key takeaways:US-listed Ether ETFs saw heavy outflows, signaling fading institutional interest as network fees, staking and leverage demand declined.ETH futures premiums and open interest declined, indicating cautious positioning and limited confidence, without a clear shift to outright bearishness.Ether (ETH) plunged to $2,800 on Wednesday, triggering $165 million in liquidations across bullish futures positions. The 13% weekly decline in the ETH price was accompanied by strong outflows from Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as risk aversion intensified amid concerns about the artificial intelligence sector. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 1.8% on Wednesday, reinforcing fears among Ether investors that further downside could follow. ETH/USD…