Ethereum fell by 25.2% in Q2, marking the first time in its history that it has closed lower for three consecutive quarters.

Beating AI Express: OpenAI has fixed a series of quality issues following the launch of Astra. The most notable problem stemmed from legacy Skills: some Skills written for previous models were triggering incorrectly on Astra, even preventing the model from auditing its own work. Another issue related to context management experiments, which caused Astra to terminate responses early or revert to replying to earlier messages. OpenAI has shut down these experiments, affecting an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 users. The team also decommissioned a batch of misconfigured inference engines that degraded model quality. Post-fixes, Astra is expected to be more stable in following the latest instructions and performing self-checks. OpenAI also announced an additional user reset.

Beating AI Express: According to two people familiar with the matter, humanoid robot data startup Mecka AI is nearing the completion of a new financing round led by Sequoia Capital, with a valuation of approximately $500 million. The round’s size and specific terms have not yet been finalized and remain subject to change. Mecka AI primarily collects data on human daily movements via body sensors and smartphones, then uses this data to train humanoid robots and other robotic systems. Founded in 2024, the company just closed a $60 million funding round in June this year, led by Framework Ventures with participation from Menlo Ventures, SV Angel, and Kindred Ventures. Notably, Mecka AI’s founding team previously worked primarily in food and beverage fintech and crypto startups, and has no prior background in the robotics sector.

According to a Financial Times report, former Huobi founder Li Lin recently sold The Holme, a luxury mansion in London’s Regent’s Park, for approximately ￡190 million. Li purchased the property in 2024 for ￡139 million; after holding it for nearly two years, he realized a paper profit of around ￡51 million. The Holme features 40 bedrooms and roughly four acres of private gardens, and has long been leased to the UK’s Crown Estate. The seller’s identity had remained undisclosed prior to the transaction, and Li’s actual ownership stake was not reflected in UK public property registries. Li founded cryptocurrency exchange Huobi in 2013 and sold his stake in the firm in 2022. His family office, Avenir Group, is headquartered in Hong Kong and focuses on digital asset investments. Li is currently the largest shareholder of crypto wealth management group Bitfire Group, holding a 30% stake.

According to a report by the Financial Times, the UK crypto industry is entering a phase of regulatory implementation. Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Zumo, stated that the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will open its crypto asset authorization application window on September 30, with the new regulatory regime expected to take effect in October 2027. He noted that for a long time, regulatory uncertainty and counterparty risk have made financial institutions cautious about the UK crypto market, not due to a lack of interest in digital assets. As the regulatory path becomes clear, traditional financial institutions including Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK’s largest retail investment platform, are starting to enter the crypto market. The industry will gradually move away from offshore operations, startup-style business processes, and unregulated models, while the importance of compliant infrastructure and local service providers will further increase.

According to the Financial Times, the United States has ordered oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz to sail only during specific time windows to secure military protection. This follows Iran’s stepped-up attacks on vessels sailing at night. Since May, Washington has been providing air defense to ships taking the route along the strait’s southern side near Oman’s coast, aimed at countering Iran’s attacks and sustaining partial oil exports from the Gulf. Vessel owners must apply to the U.S. Navy Coordination Center (NCAGS), which then provides crews with required coordinates and grants access to a relatively broad nighttime time window, during which they are protected by U.S. aircraft. Emails sent by NCAGS to maritime consultants show that this window was cut to two specific daily time slots around early September, with vessels required to depart at the designated time. One email noted that NCAGS offers daily varying recommended transit times, which are not mandatory but advised to follow. Another email stated that given the threats facing commercial ships, "transiting during dark hours has proven not to be the safest time of day."

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and ex-girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has joined nonprofit charity Manifund, where she is responsible for developing its funding platform and participating in charitable projects. Manifund co-founder Austin Chen said Ellison has been working there on a trial basis since July this year, officially becoming a full-time employee in August, and has published related work under the pseudonym "Carol". Chen noted he wanted to give Ellison a "second chance to start over", adding that she has admitted her faults, assisted in compensating creditors' losses, and served her sentence. Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to fraud and conspiracy charges related to the FTX collapse, and testified against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during the trial. She was originally sentenced to two years in prison, incarcerated in November 2024, and released early in January 2026. Manifund focuses primarily on AI safety and effective altruism projects. Ellison expressed gratitude to Chen for giving her a "second chance", saying she is glad to work at an organization that aligns with her mission.