UK Digital Gilt Pilot Moves Toward Blockchain-Based Sovereign Debt The UK Digital Gilt Pilot will use HSBC’s blockchain-based Orion platform to support Britain’s experimental issuance of tokenised government bonds, marking a significant step in the country’s exploration of distributed ledger technology in sovereign debt markets. The initiative, first announced in 2024 under the name “Digital Gilt Instrument” (DIGIT), aims to assess whether blockchain infrastructure can improve efficiency, transparency, and cost-effectiveness in capital markets. HSBC’s Role in the UK Digital Gilt Pilot HSBC confirmed it had been selected to provide the technology backbone for the Digital Gilt Pilot, highlighting Orion’s experience in…
Author: StratNewsGlobal Tech Team
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Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has outlined a roadmap placing the Eastern Coastal Region at the centre of India’s nuclear and marine initiatives. Odisha will host one of the country’s four Rare Earth Corridors, while deep sea fishing reforms are set to create new economic opportunities along the coast. During a meeting with Odisha’s Science & Technology Minister Krushna Chandra Patra, Dr. Singh emphasised that ocean resources are now being systematically harnessed through central-state collaboration, marking a new era of coordinated development. Deep Ocean Mission and Fisheries Reforms The roadmap includes the Deep Ocean Mission and regulatory support for deep…
A fresh analysis of radar data collected more than three decades ago by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft has revealed what scientists say is the first-ever detection of a subsurface geological feature on Venus. The findings point to the presence of a large underground cavity likely formed by volcanic activity, offering new insight into the hidden interior of Earth’s closest planetary neighbour. The study, published in Nature Communications, examined radar observations made between 1990 and 1992 by Magellan’s Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument. Venus’s surface is permanently obscured by thick, toxic clouds, making radar the only viable method for studying its geology. Using…
Azista Space has successfully demonstrated a major Space Situational Awareness (SSA) milestone by imaging the International Space Station (ISS) using its AFR sensor. Conducted under challenging near-horizon and sunlit conditions, this achievement highlights a critical advancement in India’s indigenous capability to monitor, track, and characterize objects in orbit with high precision. The demonstration involved two independent imaging attempts on 3 February 2026. In the first attempt, the ISS was tracked at an approximate range of 300 km, followed by a second attempt at around 245 km. Both operations achieved a 100% success rate, with the AFR sensor capturing the ISS…
South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb caused widespread market turmoil after a Bithumb Bitcoin giveaway accidentally sent more than $40 billion worth of bitcoins to customers, the company said on Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday during a promotional event in which the exchange intended to distribute small cash rewards of 2,000 Korean won ($1.40) or more. Instead, winners received at least 2,000 bitcoins each, media reports noted. Bithumb quickly restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected accounts within 35 minutes and later recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins, valued at roughly $44 billion at current prices. The company emphasised…
China has successfully launched a China reusable spacecraft into orbit, sending an experimental vehicle aloft aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country’s northwest on Saturday, state media Xinhua reported. The mission is aimed at conducting technological verification for reusable spacecraft and supporting the peaceful use of space, though Xinhua did not provide details on the duration of the flight or the specific technologies tested. Chinese Reusable Spacecraft Program Hits Fourth Milestone This marks the fourth launch of a reusable spacecraft by China since 2020, demonstrating a steady progression in the country’s efforts…
Memory Constraints Stall Handset Production Global memory shortages are expected to constrain mobile phone sales for some time, dampening demand for major smartphone chip designers including Qualcomm and Arm Holdings, executives and analysts said after both companies reported results that fell short of investor expectations. Qualcomm, one of the world’s largest suppliers of smartphone processors, said weaker orders reflected customers’ inability to secure sufficient memory supplies to ship complete devices. As a result, the company forecast current-quarter revenue below market estimates, triggering a sharp selloff in its shares. “Industry-wide memory shortage and price increases are likely to define the overall…
Elon Musk’s decision to merge his artificial intelligence startup xAI with SpaceX has reignited serious discussion around a long-theorised idea: building AI data centres in space. Once confined to science fiction and academic speculation, AI data centres in space are now being viewed through the lens of Musk’s expanding technological ecosystem, which spans rockets, satellites, AI systems and digital platforms. The deal has sharpened investor interest in whether Musk can turn a decades-old concept into operational reality. “For the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale,” Musk said on Monday, arguing that even a tiny fraction…
French police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Tuesday, while prosecutors ordered the billionaire to face questioning in April, as scrutiny of the company intensifies across Europe. The move forms part of a year-long criminal investigation into suspected abuse of algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives, in a case that could further strain relations between European regulators and U.S. technology firms. Probe Expanded to Sexualised Deepfakes The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had expanded the scope of its investigation following complaints related to the functioning of Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot,…
U.S. authorities are examining whether cryptocurrency platforms have enabled Iranian officials and state-linked entities to evade international sanctions, according to blockchain researchers, as digital asset activity surges across the Islamic Republic. Iran’s crypto transaction volumes are estimated to have reached between $8 billion and $10 billion last year, driven by both retail investors and groups linked to the state. Data from TRM Labs and Chainalysis show a sharp rise in activity as Iran increasingly turns to digital currencies amid economic isolation and currency depreciation. The U.S. Treasury is assessing whether crypto platforms have been used by Iranian-linked actors to move…