Leopold Aschenbrenner, the founder of hedge fund Situational Awareness, has seen his leveraged positions liquidated following a swift downturn in AI stocks. Aschenbrenner, a former member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Future Fund team, launched his fund in 2024 and ran it up 1,000% by May this year. However, CNBC reported Thursday that Situational Awareness had
In the U.S., the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index showed a limited decline in June, but inflation remained above the Fed’s 2% target. The strong recovery in consumer spending in the second quarter indicated that the U.S. economy remains resilient despite high interest rates and rising energy prices. According to data released by the
Some of the world’s biggest banks have completed real cross-border payments using tokenized money in a test led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), another sign that tokenization is moving into the plumbing of global finance. Project Agorá, which brings together five central banks and 28 commercial lenders including JPMorgan, Citi, UBS, Deutsche Bank
A day before the Bank of Japan (BoJ) announces its interest rate decision, the Japanese yen gained nearly 3% against the dollar. The sharp movement in the currency market fueled speculation that the Japanese government may have intervened again to support the yen. The USD/JPY pair fell by over 400 points during the day, dropping
Tokenized asset specialist Ondo Finance is evaluating a potential acquisition of between $250 million and $500 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The New York-based company is considering wealthtech targets, among other subsectors, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Ondo has not yet
Chipmakers Back AI Data Center Boom In a Bernstein research note published Thursday, analyst Gautam Chhugani said the 530 megawatts contracted capacity agreement highlights a broader shift in AI infrastructure financing. Major chipmakers increasingly backing long-term data center leases signed by former Bitcoin miners. Bernstein argues that chipmakers are increasingly using their balance sheets to
$BNB Plus, formerly known as Applied DNA Sciences, now pairs a $BNB treasury strategy with its LineaRx biotechnology business. The company agreed to pay $1 million in cash and issue 200,000 preferred shares to end its relationships with Cypress, which had held discretionary authority over company-designated crypto accounts and wallets. The July 23 deal followed
The US GDP and inflation data releasing Thursday carry more weight than usual. With the Federal Reserve locked in a tense standoff over rates, three dissenting members calling for hikes, and the Middle East crisis pushing oil prices higher, the numbers landing at 13:30 GMT could either validate the Fed’s cautious stance or crack it
Situational Awareness, the hedge fund founded in 2024 by ex-OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, has approached investors and lenders for fresh capital after suffering heavy losses in the recent artificial intelligence stock sell-off, the Financial Times reported Thursday. The fund, which the Wall Street Journal said had around $20 billion in assets under management as of