Uphold weighs IPO or sale at $1.5B+ valuation

Bitcoin and most altcoins showed mixed performance in the first five months of the year, with Bitcoin reaching a record high twice. Bitcoin (BTC) initially jumped to a record high of $109,300 in January and set a new one at $111,900 in May.  Other meme coins initially surged in January following the launch of Official Trump (TRUMP), but retreated over the first quarter. Most staged a strong recovery in April, with some soaring more than 200% from their lowest levels this year. The question is whether Bitcoin and other altcoins will continue rising in June, or if a new crypto winter is about to start. Historically, June is usually one of the worst months in the crypto market. Most cryptocurrencies drop during the month, while volume typically slips as many investors take a summer holiday break. You might also like:Vitalik Buterin confirms Ethereum’s layer 1 to scale tenfold within 12 Months The average Bitcoin return in June since 2013 is minus 0.34%, while the median is minus 0.23%. This makes it the worst month after September. Also, Bitcoin has posted negative returns in June in most years since 2013. Ethereum’s performance in June is also not encouraging, as it has had a negative return in most years. Its average return since 2016 is minus 6.8%, its worst month of the year. ETH price action by month | Source: CoinGlass Therefore, if history repeats itself, a crypto winter may likely occur in June. This period is characterized by falling or stalling prices and reduced trading activity. It is also marked by a neutral fear and greed index. Bitcoin price action to determine crypto winter BTC price chart | Source: crypto.news Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, will determine whether the crypto winter happens. A strong surge to new record highs may lead to renewed demand for altcoins, including meme coins. The daily chart shows that BTC has pulled back from its all-time high of $111,900 in May to $104,000. This pullback is likely part of the handle formation in a cup-and-handle pattern, a common continuation setup. The cup has a depth of about 32%, suggesting the coin may eventually surge to over $144,600. This target is derived by measuring the same distance from the upper side of the cup. Therefore, Bitcoin may drive a crypto winter as it continues forming the handle section. If this occurs, most altcoins may continue falling in June. Fortunately, due to the cup-and-handle pattern, the crypto winter will likely give way to a crypto spring once Bitcoin rebounds. You might also like:James Wynn offloads $4.12M HYPE and takes another $100M 40x-leveraged long bet on Bitcoin

Blockchain.com appears to be betting on Africa’s crypto future, where regulations could transform a once-restrictive market. Crypto wallet and exchange platform Blockchain.com is reportedly looking to grow in Africa as some countries begin introducing regulations for digital assets, Bloomberg reports. According to Owenize Odia, Blockchain.com’s general manager for Africa operations, the company is focusing on Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, with plans to open a physical office in Nigeria in Q2. Nigeria is Blockchain.com’s “fastest-growing market” in West Africa, Odia said, adding that the country “has taken meaningful steps toward creating a clear framework for crypto.” While most African nations still ban or tightly control crypto trading, a few are slowly changing their approach. Nigeria recently passed a new investment law that allows licensing for crypto exchanges. You might also like:Ripple teams up with Chipper Cash to expand cross-border payments in Africa Ghana may also introduce rules soon as Odia noted that Ghana’s central bank has draft guidelines showing “its intention to begin regulating cryptocurrency and related platforms by the end of September 2025.” Meanwhile, Kenya is still studying how to oversee crypto before making decisions. Africa is quickly becoming a hotspot for crypto adoption, and South Africa appears to be leading the charge. A new report by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority highlights growing opportunities in South Africa’s decentralized finance sector. While still small globally, South Africa’s DeFi market is expanding quickly, with total value locked exceeding $27 million and projections reaching $180 million by 2028. Payments remain the most common use case (over 50%), followed by lending/borrowing (47.6%) and decentralized exchanges (33%). Read more:Amidst speculations of the possible Tether exile from the US, the company’s CEO hints at a high-scale project in Africa

由于主要代币暴跌，整体加密货币市值已下跌逾 8％，尚未从最近的市场崩盘中恢复过来。 根据 crypto.news 的数据，市值最大的五种代币未能从 2 月 24 日发生的加密货币市场崩盘中恢复过来。因此，加密货币整体市值在过去 24 小时内下跌了近 8.8%，跌至 2.73 万亿美元。 TradingView 的数据显示，2 月初，加密货币总市值仍为 3.1 万亿美元，但在 2 月 24 日暴跌至 2.5 万亿美元的低点。自那以后，加密货币总市值尚未回升至 3 万亿美元的门槛，表明市场尚未从最近的崩盘中恢复过来。 除了跌破 80,000 美元大关的比特币 (BTC) 外，以太坊 (ETH)、瑞波币 (XRP)、币安币 (BNB) 和 Solana (SOL) 等其他主要代币仍在受到市场崩盘的影响。市值最大的代币的价格跌幅从 10% 以上到 7% 左右不等，不包括稳定币 USDT (USDT) 和 USDC (USDC)。 在过去 24 小时内，以太坊下跌了近 11%。截至发稿时，市值第二大的加密货币交易价格为 2,091 美元。ETH 的市值下跌了 10.8%，至 252 万亿美元。 过去 24 小时内，市值最高的加密货币均有所下跌（2025 年 2 月 28 日）| 来源：crypto.news 阅读更多：比特币崩盘导致 21.6 亿美元损失，主要来自近期买家 Solana 跌幅更大，过去一天下跌超过 11%。SOL 目前的股价为 126.29 美元，较之前的历史高点 293.31 美元下跌超过 50%。Solana 的市值已下跌 11%，至 62 万亿美元。 跟随加密货币市场的下跌趋势，XRP 在过去一天下跌了 10.5%，在过去一周下跌了近 25%。Ripple Labs 代币目前的交易价格为 1.99 美元。其市值下跌 10.3% 至 115 万亿美元。 Binance Coin suffered the least compared to the other major tokens, as BNB went down by 7.4% to $570.20 in the past 24 hours. In the past week, BNB has decreased by 12.7%. BNB’s market cap currently stands at $83 trillion, having gone down by 7.3%. 你可能还喜欢：2 月 27 日币安上线公告发布后，SHELL 创下历史新高 披露：本文不代表投资建议。本页内容和材料仅供教育之用。

一名法官拒绝了马斯克停止 OpenAI 业务转型的请求，但同意明年加快审判速度，从而使针对该公司的诉讼继续有效。 目录马斯克再次开火法律纠纷凸显更广泛的问题OpenAI bets big on premium AI agents Musk fires again Elon Musk’s legal battle against OpenAI has entered a new phase after a U.S. judge denied his request for an immediate injunction to halt the company’s transition into a for-profit entity.  While the ruling allows OpenAI to continue operating under its current structure, the case is far from over, with the court granting a fast-tracked trial set for the fall of 2025. Musk’s lawsuit, filed earlier this year, accuses OpenAI of abandoning its original mission to develop artificial intelligence for public benefit in favor of private investors. OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, have rejected Musk’s allegations, arguing instead that transitioning to a for-profit model is necessary to raise the substantial capital required to compete effectively in the costly AI industry.  该公司还坚称，马斯克的诉讼主要是出于竞争动机，而不是真正的道德考虑。 美国地区法官伊冯娜·冈萨雷斯·罗杰斯裁定，马斯克的证据（主要是内部电子邮件）未达到禁令的法定门槛。不过，她承认，该案件提出了有关 OpenAI 转型的重要法律问题。 她写道：“考虑到公众利益所面临的风险以及如果发生违法侵占可能造成的损害，法院准备将审理时间提前到 2025 年秋季，仅针对该诉讼以及可能相关的基于合同的诉讼。” 这项裁决是在高风险的金融操纵中做出的。最近，奥特曼断然拒绝了马斯克及其同事提出的 974 亿美元收购要约，并直截了当地回应说“不，谢谢”。 不用了，不过如果你愿意的话我们可以以 97.4 亿美元收购 Twitter— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025 Meanwhile, reports indicate that SoftBank is in talks to lead a $40 billion investment round that could push OpenAI’s post-money valuation to $300 billion — dwarfing the $75 billion valuation that Musk’s rival AI startup, xAI, is reportedly seeking. Despite the setback, Musk’s legal team remains optimistic. “We look forward to a jury confirming that Altman accepted Musk’s charitable contributions knowing full well they had to be used for the public’s benefit rather than his own enrichment,” said Marc Toberoff, Musk’s attorney. Legal dispute highlights broader questions 马斯克的诉讼引发了更深层次的问题：谁控制着人工智能，以及以非营利形式起步的公司是否可以合法地转向营利模式。 马斯克声称，OpenAI 从非营利组织向“利润上限”模式的转变——现在又向没有利润限制的结构转变——违反了其最初的使命。 当 OpenAI 于 2015 年成立时，马斯克是其最大的捐助者之一，捐赠了数百万美元来支持其非营利愿景。其目标是为公众利益开发人工智能，避免可能导致不计后果的商业化的以营利为目的的动机。 然而，2018 年，董事会拒绝了马斯克将公司营利部门并入特斯拉的提议，随后马斯克离开了 OpenAI。 自那时起，OpenAI 越来越依赖外部投资者，其中包括据报道微软投资的 130 亿美元，巩固了其向私营部门的转变。 OpenAI has framed the lawsuit as an attempt to stifle competition, noting that Musk only began criticizing its structure after launching his own AI startup, xAI.  The company has also pointed to Musk’s past emails, which show he once explored merging OpenAI’s for-profit arm into Tesla. OpenAI 向《商业内幕》表示：“这对他个人来说非常有利，但不利于我们的使命或美国利益。” 除了诉讼之外，该案件还反映了人工智能开发成本的不断增加。训练像 GPT-4 这样的高级模型需要花费数千亿美元，这使得非营利性资助模式难以维持。 OpenAI 大力投资优质人工智能代理 在与马斯克的法律纠纷中，OpenAI 继续进行营利性扩张，为软件开发、研究和专业服务开发人工智能代理，价格从每月 2,000 美元到 20,000 美元不等。 据 The Information 报道，OpenAI 即将推出的 AI 代理将根据复杂性和能力针对不同的细分市场进行定制。 The first tier targets “high-income knowledge workers,” offering advanced analytical tools at $2,000 per month.  更高级的版本专为软件开发人员设计，提供自动编码支持和调试帮助，每月费用为 10,000 美元。 据报道，在最高层级，OpenAI 正在研发能够进行“博士级研究”的人工智能代理，其收费为每月 20,000 美元，处于业界领先水平。 虽然具体的发布时间表仍不确定，但据报道，OpenAI 的投资者软银仅今年一年就已向 AI 代理计划投入 30 亿美元，凸显了对其盈利能力的信心。 除了人工智能代理之外，OpenAI 还推出了 Deep Research，这是一种旨在将大量信息综合成研究级报告的人工智能工具。 与此同时，该公司已向 ChatGPT Pro 订阅者推出了 GPT-4.5，称其是迄今为止最先进的语言模型。 Today we’re releasing a research preview of GPT-4.5—our largest and best model for chat yet.现在向所有 ChatGPT Pro 用户推出，下周向 Plus 和 Team 用户推出，然后是 Enterprise 和 Edu 用户。pic.twitter.com/br5win5OEB— OpenAI (@OpenAI) 2025 年 2 月 27 日 GPT-4.5 具有改进的模式识别、增强的情商和更少的幻觉（错误信息实例）。 然而，规模的扩大使得运营成本更高，OpenAI 将 API 定价调整为每百万输入代币 75 美元，每百万输出代币 150 美元。 尽管取得了这些进步，但 GPT-4.5 的表现并未超越所有竞争对手。AI 基准测试表明，DeepSeek 和 Anthropic 等公司的模型在某些推理任务中已经超越了 OpenAI 的最新版本。

U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly misled by a Ripple-linked lobbyist into endorsing certain crypto in a Truth Social post about a U.S. crypto reserve in March, leading to the lobbyist’s removal and straining ties with top White House officials. A Truth Social post by U.S. President Donald Trump praising Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Cardano (ADA) as potential components of a U.S. “Crypto Strategic Reserve” has triggered internal conflict in Trump’s circle, not due to market impact, but because of who authored the message. According to Politico, Trump published the post in early March, asserting that his administration would position the U.S. as the “Crypto Capital of the World” by including select tokens like XRP, SOL, and ADA in a new reserve system.  However, the excitement quickly turned into frustration. Trump later learned that the message had been drafted by a lobbyist affiliated with Ballard Partners, a firm whose clients include Ripple Labs, the company most closely associated with XRP. Two anonymous sources told Politico that a Ballard employee handed Trump the draft during a donor event at Mar-a-Lago and encouraged him to publicly support the digital assets. Unaware of the lobbyist’s affiliations, Trump reportedly posted the message without knowing the full context. You might also like:What tariff shock? Bitcoin surges past $100k as market recovery continues Staff firing Once Trump realized Ripple’s connection, he was reportedly furious and ordered his team to sever ties with the lobbyist. “He is not welcome in anything anymore,” one source quoted Trump as saying. While Ripple maintains it does not control XRP, the company is a central player in the token’s ecosystem and has been involved in several legal and regulatory battles. The timing of Trump’s post — and the resulting price spikes in XRP, SOL, and ADA — added fuel to suspicions of market manipulation or political opportunism. Ballard Partners, led by longtime Trump ally Brian Ballard, has held significant sway in Washington since Trump’s 2016 election. The firm reportedly brought in $14 million in lobbying revenue in Q1 2025 and represents high-profile clients including TikTok and BMW. Following the incident, however, Ballard has reportedly been frozen out of Trump’s orbit, with staff instructed to avoid meetings with the firm. Ballard has pushed back on the narrative. In a statement to Politico, he said the firm is “accustomed to false accusations” and denied leveraging his relationship with Trump for business. Still, some close to the president believe the fallout was inevitable. “One way to get yourself in the doghouse is for the president to think you’re trading on his name,” a Trump confidant said. While Trump later clarified that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) would also be included in any strategic reserve, the damage had been done.  The White House declined to comment on the matter. Ripple also has not issued a public statement. You might also like:Ethereum price reclaims $2000: is this the start of a major bull run?