in Economy
Janet Yellen warns China against clean energy dumping
Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the More
Aurelia Butler
More stories
- in Economy
Lower inflation pressure enabled rate cut: SNB vice chairman
The SNB last week became the first major central bank to cut interest rates, reducing its policy rate to 1.5%. It also lowered its inflation forecasts, saying it now expects price rises of 1.4% for 2024, 1.2% for 2025 and 1.1% for 2026.”The lower inflation pressure has allowed us to reduce interest rates to 1.5% from 1.75%,” Schlegel told an event in the northeastern city of St. Gallen.Had the SNB not cut its key rate by 25 basis points, its inflation forecasts would have been lower, he added.The cut – the first by the SNB in nine years – came after inflation eased to 1.2% in February, the ninth month in a row the rate was within the central bank’s target range of 0-2%.The SNB has also used the strength of the Swiss franc to shield Switzerland from inflation by making imports cheaper.Schlegel said the exchange rate played an important role in fighting inflation and noted that the franc appreciated last year when adjusted for inflation.Swiss industry has complained about the appreciation of the currency, which makes their products more expensive abroad.”The national bank looks at the exchange rate very closely. If necessary, we also intervene in the foreign exchange market,” Schlegel said, saying the SNB had worked in the past to prevent too fast or too strong a rise in the currency.”But the national bank does not have an exchange rate target,” he said. “Our target is price stability.”Economists expect the SNB to reduce its key rate by 50 additional basis points in coming quarters, a Reuters poll showed this week. More
GoMining to Introduce Updated In-Platform Voting Mechanics
GoMining, a world-leading firm widely recognized for its groundbreaking concept of seamlessly mining Bitcoin via the ownership of NFTs backed by computing power, is pleased to announce the introduction of an updated community-driven in-platform voting system.From now on, every community member will have the opportunity to influence platform development by submitting ideas and participating in a decentralized voting process to determine the most desired features to be added to the GoMining roadmap.The voting process will occur bi-weekly, allowing every veGOMINING token holder to contribute to the platform’s development by selecting the most significant option from their perspective and casting their vote. Following the conclusion of the voting period, the most popular feature will be prioritized for immediate technical implementation.The inaugural voting round will remain active until April 3rd, after which a new list of potential features will be introduced for the subsequent period. Authors of propositions that garner community support will be rewarded with an access key for a utility-backed digital avatar from the esteemed GoMiners collection.The veGOMINING votes required for participation in the voting process are distributed in exchange for GOMINING tokens staked on the platform. The flexible lock period ranges from 1 week to 4 years, enabling stakeholders to earn rewards in GOMINING tokens while also utilizing veGOMINING votes for governance purposes.When reached for a comment, GoMining CEO Mark Zalan emphasized the importance of further community engagement in product development processes, stating: “The GoMining platform was initially built with a great focus on our users and their needs, so the launch of advanced voting mechanics is just the next step towards building an even more community-driven ecosystem for us. The newly introduced functionality will not only drive user engagement to a whole new level but also provide our development team with valuable first-hand insights from our platform users.”About GoMining GoMining is a global bitcoin mining company with nine data centers worldwide. Leveraging over 6 years of expertise in the crypto industry, GoMining facilitates seamless access to daily BTC mining rewards through the ownership of GoMining NFTs, backed by real computing power.GOMINING, the native token of the GoMining ecosystem, is accessible on both the Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) networks. The GOMINING token is currently available on several major DEXs and CEXs, including PancakeSwap, Uniswap, MEXC, Bitfinex, and Gate.io.Trusted by more than 18,000 GoMining NFT holders, the platform is available to both desktop users and via a seamless application on iOS and Android devices. For more information about the company and NFT miners, please refer to the official GoMining website and check out the GoMining reviews on Trustpilot and mobile app stores.ContactSeva [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
MyShell Raises $11 Million for its Decentralized AI Consumer Layer
Funds from the Pre-Series A round led by Dragonfly will further develop MyShell’s open-source models and agent platform for empowering AI creatorsMyShell, a decentralized AI consumer layer, announced today that it has raised US$11 million in a Pre-Series A round, with participation from a cohort of high-profile investors, including Dragonfly, Delphi Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Maven11 Capital, Nascent, Nomad Capital, OKX Ventures, etc. Prominent angel investors, such as former Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) CTO Balaji Srinivasan, NEAR Protocol Co-Founder Illia Polosukhin, former Paradigm Investment Partner Casey K. Caruso, and ex-Parafi partner Santiago R. Santos also joined the round, which brought MyShell’s total amount raised to date to $16.6 million.”MyShell is poised to revolutionize the AI creator ecosystem,” MyShell CEO Ethan Sun said. “With this new funding, we’re not just scaling our operations, we’re catalyzing a movement towards a more open, collaborative, and democratic AI landscape.”MyShell, an AI consumer layer that empowers users to build, share, and own AI agents, is home to over 1 million registered users and 50,000 creators. The company plans to use the new funding to add resources to develop its open-source foundational model; empower AI creators; AI assets trading platform; and further support the open-source community.In contrast to most dominant AI companies such as OpenAI, MyShell is committed to decentralization and open-source development. This focus has already facilitated the growth of several successful projects on the platform, including OpenVoice, which has earned over 15,000 stars on Github; MeloTTS, a pioneering open-source text-to-speech solution that closely mimics the human voice and supports a wide range of languages and accents; and Allice, the open-source agent framework for complicated AI development workflow.“The demand for personalized AI experiences has grown explosively in the last year, but right now, most of those experiences are centralized with gatekeepers,” said Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi. “MyShell uses crypto and decentralization to put the power over the AI ecosystem back into the hands of users and allows open-source creators and communities to work together to create magical experiences and capture the fruits of their labor. There’s a lot of unfounded hype right now at the intersection of crypto and AI, but Ethan and the MyShell team have the technical chops with research backgrounds that allow them to execute their vision.”The funding reflects MyShell’s position as a pioneer in the AI consumer layer with its open-value network that deploys a revenue-share economic model. MyShell also provides unique toolkit features such as the “Workshop” where users build AI agents through prompts, and “Makerspace,” a no-code AI workflow builder for creators.The investment enables MyShell to deepen its commitment to lower the barrier for AI creation, fostering a community where openness and collaboration are paramount. By championing decentralization and supporting the creator economy, MyShell is not just building tools; it is nurturing an ecosystem where every voice has the power to shape the AI landscape.About MyShellMyShell is the AI consumer layer that empowers users to build, share, and own AI agents. It’s Features include an interactive AI app store that stands on multiple open-source foundation models, and integrates other models into a robust model hub, offering a dynamic and engaging user experience.ContactCo-founderEthan [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
- in Economy
Xi tries to restore investor confidence in China
This article is an on-site version of our Disrupted Times newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox three times a weekToday’s top storiesFormer UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes failed in his attempt to overturn his conviction for rigging an interest rate benchmark in a London appeals court. Hayes became the first person in the world to be found guilty by a jury over the Libor scandal and served five-and-a-half years in prison.Piero Cipollone, the European Central Bank’s newest board member, warned against an “excessive focus” on waiting for slower wage growth before it starts cutting interest rates, suggesting he may argue for a reduction at the ECB’s April meeting.Five of Germany’s top research institutes slashed their growth forecasts for Europe’s largest economy as exports and domestic demand remain weak. They predict growth this year of 0.1 per cent, down from their earlier expectation of 1.3 per cent six months ago. For up-to-the-minute news updates, visit our live blogGood evening.China’s economy has not “peaked” and its growth prospects remain “bright”. That was the message delivered by President Xi Jinping today to US business leaders gathered in Beijing amid concerns that the country is investing heavily in manufacturing to overcome a deep property slowdown, leading to oversupply and potential dumping in international markets.As our latest Big Read details, Xi is betting big on a “made in China” strategy but it is unclear whether the rest of the world would accept more Chinese-made goods. Industrial oversupply could even lead to a “slow-motion train accident for world trade”, according to the president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.Xi also promised that “China’s reforms will not stall, and our opening up will not stop” after IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva had warned on Sunday that his country was at a “fork in the road”, where it must choose between past policies or “pro-market reforms” to unlock growth.Georgieva and a host of western guests were in Beijing for the China Development Forum, the country’s flagship international business conference. US executives are back in greater numbers in a sign that bilateral tensions have eased slightly after falling to new lows last year due to a spy balloon incident. Apple boss Tim Cook is among those trying to build bridges, emphasising China’s “critical” role in its business.Beijing has been at pains to present a more welcoming picture to investors after data showed foreign direct investment at its lowest level in decades. Xi also met US business leaders in San Francisco in November during his summit trip to meet US President Joe Biden in an attempt to allay some of the national security concerns expressed by China hawks in Congress. Tensions continue to flare however over subjects such as Chinese electric vehicle imports. A report yesterday suggested a quarter of EVs sold in the EU this year will be made in China, including western brands such as Tesla. Chinese-branded vehicles, led by BYD, are set to take around 20 per cent of the market by 2027. China this week filed a World Trade Organization case against US EV subsidies, after being on the receiving end of similar charges from the US and EU.Other points of conflict include shipbuilding, the solar industry and social media platform TikTok, which lawmakers insist should be divested by Chinese parent company ByteDance if it is to continue operating in the US.Xi’s pivot to manufacturing may pose a threat to western interests through a wave of high-tech low-cost exports, but some economists doubt it will be enough to deliver on China’s growth targets. Others say the plan makes sense in terms of Xi’s aims for regime stability and national security. “The long-term goal is a world economic order that really favours China,” says one academic. “We are just at the very beginning.”Disrupted Times is taking a short Easter break and will be back in your inboxes on Friday April 5.Need to know: UK and Europe economyThe Bank of England warned of the risks to British businesses by a potential reversal of the long-running private equity boom, with implications for leverage, transparency and valuations. It said that the likelihood of a “sharp correction” in some markets had increased since December.Whatever happened to “Global Britain”? Politicians are failing to champion UK trade and inward investment, argues the British Chambers of Commerce, because they are frightened of reawakening old divisions on Brexit.Gloom also surrounds Europe’s second-largest economy after France’s budget deficit widened more than expected. Finance minister Bruno Le Maire said the fiscal hole was caused by tax revenues falling as inflation slowed, but argued that spending was not out of control and growth had been maintained. Bulgaria’s government has collapsed after coalition problems, heralding a likely sixth election in three years. Our Europe Express newsletter (for Premium subscribers) explains what it means for the rest of the EU.Need to know: global economyThe US faces a Liz Truss-style market shock if the government ignores the country’s surging federal debt, warned the head of Congress’s independent fiscal watchdog. The debt pile shot up following Donald Trump’s tax cuts in 2017 and huge stimulus spending during the pandemic. You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.BlackRock chief Larry Fink said the world faced a looming “retirement crisis” that requires a rethink of pensions and working patterns as people live longer. One in six people globally will be older than 65 by 2050, up from one in 11 in 2019.The FT revealed that Russia has started supplying oil directly to North Korea in defiance of UN sanctions, dealing a new blow to international efforts to contain Pyongyang. Recent shipments are the first documented direct seaborne deliveries from Russia since the UN Security Council — with Moscow’s approval — imposed a cap on oil transfers in 2017 in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons tests.The price of cocoa surged past $10,000 a tonne for the first time thanks to poor harvests in Africa. The “out of control” market means higher price tags on the way for chocolate bars. Chief economics commentator Martin Wolf turns his mind to global politics to send out a warning: we may not be witnessing a return of fascism in the historical sense, but we are seeing the rise of authoritarianism with fascistic characteristics, he argues.Need to know: businessInsurers and carmakers are bracing for the impact of the Baltimore bridge disaster, where at least six people are presumed dead. Motor suppliers face bottlenecks in a crucial entry point for vehicles while repair estimates are soaring. Read our explainer on what happened and what it says about the quality of US infrastructure.Donald Trump may be mired in legal problems but the US presidential hopeful has received a huge boost from his social media business after it soared more than 50 per cent on its New York stock market debut, making his stake worth more than $4.6bn. Here’s a new Big Read on Trump’s new inner circle.WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the first customs duties on digital products such as online films and software downloads will hit consumers and businesses in 2026, increasing prices in some countries. China’s Longi Green Technology, the world’s largest solar manufacturer, is laying off thousands of workers as it grapples with overcapacity and fierce competition, piling pressure on billionaire founder Li Zhenguo. Robin Zeng, China’s “battery king”, told the FT that the much-hyped solid-state battery for electric was still years away. Japanese carmaker Toyota has trumpeted its progress, pledging to deliver the technology as early as 2027.Artificial intelligence is helping speed up the energy transition, say industry leaders, as it transforms key functions such as lowering carbon emissions, dealing with cyber attacks and predicting mechanical failures. Read more in our special report: The Future of AIThe World of WorkPandemic predictions of the death of the commute were greatly exaggerated, according to FT analysis of transit data, but new hybrid work options still pose challenges to policymakers and transport authorities.You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.Managing people is normally a prerequisite for climbing the corporate ladder, but is it possible to dodge it? Listen to the new Working It podcast.Some good newsDamage to the optic nerve can lead to irreversible blindness but US researchers have shown that a protein previously thought unimportant can stimulate regrowth of nerve cells, giving hope to sufferers of diseases such as glaucoma.Recommended newslettersWorking it — Discover the big ideas shaping today’s workplaces with a weekly newsletter from work & careers editor Isabel Berwick. Sign up hereThe Climate Graphic: Explained — Understanding the most important climate data of the week. Sign up hereThanks for reading Disrupted Times. If this newsletter has been forwarded to you, please sign up here to receive future issues. And please share your feedback with us at [email protected]. Thank you More
“BloodLoop Levels Up: $4M Raise Fuels Blockchain Gaming Adoption”
7 Digital Labs, the Swiss gaming studio that owns and produces BloodLoop, announced today that it has raised $4 million in seed funding. The company, which has been in the industry for over three years, is producing a free-to-play hero shooter integrated into the web3 gaming world.BloodLoop – the company’s first product – is poised to immediately establish itself at the forefront of the next-generation hero shooter market and has garnered immediate interest from the web3 gaming community, reaching more than 350,000 registered users in just two weeks who are eager to try out the game in the closed beta version that will be available in the coming months. Well-known funds and companies, including the Avalanche Foundation, Merit Circle, and Citizen Capital, led the investment round to raise the funds needed to complete the game’s development and launch.According to CEO & Co-founder Luca Menale, “The company aims to create gaming platforms that engage users in a fluid, next-generation gaming experience, allowing them to fully and seamlessly take advantage of all the benefits made available by blockchain technology”.BloodLoop, a 5v5 third-person shooter, offers players a vivid virtual world to immerse themselves in bloodthirsty battles with their favorite hero, juggling several unique maps and game modes. At the end of each game, players extract materials and fragments – NFTs over which they have full control – that form the cornerstone of the game’s economy: at the Forge, materials can be combined to create unique, limited edition skins and artifacts that can be used in-game or resold to other players. There is also a strong emphasis on competitive game modes, where players can compete against each other to climb weekly and monthly leaderboards and earn $BLS rewards.The entire infrastructure is powered by an Avalanche Subnet, a game-specific blockchain within the Avalanche network, designed to make exchanges between users instantaneous and secure, eliminate in-game transaction fees, and generally reduce friction for players who are not native to the blockchain world.Ed Chang, Head of Gaming at Ava Labs, said, “We have been watching and following the development of BloodLoop since the team behind the game took their first steps, and it is amazing to see the progress they have made over the past three years. We are very excited that the team has decided to entrust the game’s blockchain infrastructure to Avalanche’s network. Bloodloop is a game that has all the ingredients to become one of the best up-and-coming web3 hero shooters on the market. They have our full support, and we are thrilled to be among their investors”.BloodLoop Links:X (Formerly Twitter)TelegramDiscordWebsitePlay2Airdrop campaignContactCMOPasquale [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
Zircuit Launches Build to Earn Program to Reward Ecosystem Contributors
Zircuit, a fully EVM-compatible ZK rollup with parallelized circuits and AI-enabled security, today launched its Build to Earn program to incentivize builders, founders, and community members who contribute to the Zircuit ecosystem. Backed by Pantera Capital, Dragonfly Capital, and Maelstrom, Zircuit currently has over $800M staked.Zircuit is a playground for new applications and open experimentation, and projects that launch on Zircuit will benefit from higher security guarantees and protection from hacks through its groundbreaking AI-enabled security features. Zircuit launched its Build to Earn program that supercharges the developer experience for new builders onboarding onto the Zircuit Network. Developers and ecosystem contributors who participate in Zircuit’s Build to Earn program stand to receive rewards for approved contributions. Developers and ecosystem contributors can participate in Build to Earn in the following ways:The Build to Earn program follows the successful launch of Zircuit’s staking program. Zircuit Staking allows users to pre-commit assets to the network that will be migrated upon Zircuit mainnet launch. Users can deposit ETH, liquid staking tokens (LSTs), liquid restaking tokens (LRTs), USDe (Ethena USD) to earn Zircuit Points. Zircuit most recently partnered with Pendle to bring even more yield to Renzo Protocol’s ezETH.To participate in Build to Earn, users can visit: https://build.zircuit.com/ To participate in Zircuit Staking, users can visit: https://stake.zircuit.com/ About ZircuitZircuit is a fully EVM-compatible ZK rollup with parallelized circuits and AI-enabled security at the sequencer level. Built by a team of web3 security veterans and PhDs in computer science, algorithms, and cryptography, Zircuit is backed by Pantera Capital, Dragonfly Capital, and Maelstrom. To learn more visit zircuit.com or follow us on Twitter/X @ZircuitL2ContactJessica [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
XCAD Announces Multiple Governments’ Backing for New Initiative to Expand Web3 Education
XCAD Network – a tokenisation platform for YouTubers to connect and reward their viewers with crypto tokens – today announced it has signed MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with multiple governments to expand incentivised Web3 education to millions of people across the globe.By securing the support of several governments, XCAD aims to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, and enable more people to partake in the Web3 Space. XCAD Network has announced the first government agreement, which is with Pakistan. Under this partnership, XCAD will distribute and incentivise the consumption of educational media among Pakistani citizens. Education is the first step in bringing new people into the Web3 space. As part of the MOUs, XCAD Network will work with governments to launch pilot campaigns to educate their citizens on Web3. These campaigns will be joint campaigns launched by governments and the XCAD team alongside select content creators from that country’s jurisdiction. Users will have to download the XCAD Network application to watch interactive educational content on various Web3 topics. Upon completing the modules and consuming content, users are rewarded with tokens.Blockchain, cryptocurrency and the Web3 world will be the key focus areas. However, governments can also focus education on other subjects, such as financial literacy. Oliver Bell, the Chief Executive Officer of XCAD Network, commented, “Working directly with Government entities is incredibly exciting for the XCAD project and the Web3 Space as a whole. What we’re doing aligns with the government’s vision towards digitisation and global blockchain adoption” Another way that XCAD plans to work with Government entities, is by leveraging the XCAD platform to boost travel and tourism engagement in their country. They want to partner with creators and citizens to create engaging educational content around tourism in their country. Those who consume the content are then rewarded.XCAD Network has already onboarded some of the biggest YouTubers in the world to issue creator tokens on its platform. However, getting governments involved gives the project more credibility. This allows XCAD Network to attract even bigger names to issue creator tokens, stay on top of regulatory requirements and drive more users to the XCAD platform.About XCAD NetworkXCAD Network allows YouTube creators to launch personalised tokens and generate dedicated economies around their loyal fan-base It also offers new upstart creators a way to earn tokens and generate income even before the creator generates traction on YouTube itself.In addition to helping generate new revenue, XCAD Network fosters deeper engagement through gamification and rewards. Fans benefit monetarily from the growth of their favourite creators, thus strengthening the bonds between creators and their followers.The platform is backed by famous YouTubers such as KSI and Mr Beast, and is home to 100+ celebrity influencers globally with a combined audience of over 800M.The XCAD ecosystem consists of DEXs, a governance portal, a browser plugin with Youtube integration, cross-chain bridges, staking pools, and creator swap, which lets users exchange creator tokens.For more information, please visit: https://xcadnetwork.com/ContactRoelien Vd [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
