Jina has heavily modified DeepSeek-OCR, ranking first in page throughput among 14 models in self-conducted tests.

Beating AI Express News: Y Combinator (YC) S25 edge AI startup Cactus Compute has launched Needle 3, a model focused on tool calling and structured extraction rather than general chat. For instance, when a user says "Set the living room light to 30%", Needle 3 only needs to locate the corresponding function and input "living room" and "30%" into the parameters. It is similar to the recently popular Jev but takes a different approach: Jev directly scores candidate decisions, while Needle 3 still generates outputs token-by-token, with its outputs restricted to executable tool calls. Needle 3’s single set of weights can be pruned to 2 to 20 layers. The 2-layer version is approximately 9MB, and the full 20-layer version is about 35MB, allowing selection based on the computing power of different devices such as smartwatches, Raspberry Pi, and mobile phones. After being fine-tuned specifically for Android operation commands, the 4-layer, 29-million-parameter version achieved a self-test score of 62.5, outperforming DeepSeek V4 Flash’s score of 60.5.

Beating AI Express: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently told CBS News that he rejects predictions AI will cause human extinction before 2030, stating "2030 cannot be the end of the world" and the probability of AI ending the world by 2030 is "0%". Huang noted AI technology can be safely managed, adding the industry should not slow development over potential risks. "We should move forward as quickly as possible," he said, but stressed products must never be launched to market before they are ready or have security flaws. Earlier, Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon warned in his resignation that AI researchers "genuinely believe AI could kill all of us by the end of this decade", sparking a new round of discussions on AI safety risks. Huang has repeatedly addressed AI safety issues publicly lately, while opposing slowing AI development due to potential risks. Bloomberg reported that as CEO of NVIDIA, the world's top AI chip supplier, Huang has long opposed AI doomsday claims.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X that The Wall Street Journal is preparing a report blaming Coinbase and him personally for the failure of the U.S. CLARITY Act. Armstrong noted that the WSJ’s prior coverage of the CLARITY Act was “clearly hostile” and echoed the views of banking lobbying groups. He explained that in January this year, he opposed a draft version of the CLARITY Act from advancing to a committee vote, as that draft had significant flaws in areas including DeFi, tokenization, CFTC regulatory authority, and stablecoin reward mechanisms—flaws that could harm the crypto industry. He added the bill also lacked sufficient support to pass at that time. Armstrong stated that afterward, Coinbase collaborated with multiple parties to push for revisions to the bill, and all four aforementioned issues were resolved in the version submitted to the committee roughly four months later. The final version of the CLARITY Act sent to the Senate is “good,” he said, and he strongly supports it. Armstrong emphasized that his opposition to the early draft does not mean he is against the CLARITY Act itself; rather, it was aimed at advancing a more comprehensive crypto regulatory framework, and he will continue to push for fair, clear rules for the crypto industry going forward.

Cronos Labs has launched a governance proposal on GitHub, proposing to allocate 100% of product revenue generated by Ult and Cronos Launch to open market repurchases of CRO, followed by token burning. The proposal calls for monthly on-chain repurchases and burns, with each transaction hash made public, to establish a direct "product revenue — CRO repurchase — supply reduction" mechanism. It notes that Ult launched on September 17, while Cronos Launch went live on September 15. The previously approved "New CRO Era" proposal originally planned to distribute product revenue across multiple areas: staking rewards, growth and user acquisition, repurchases and burns, as well as R&D and operations. This new proposal would eliminate those allocations, directing all revenue to CRO repurchases and burns instead, with operations, infrastructure, and growth expenses covered by existing funds. Separately, Cronos Labs intends to use its strategic reserve to support future Cronos POS staking rewards. As CRO’s inflationary emissions gradually decline per prior plans, the reserve will be used to supplement staking rewards to maintain current Cronos POS reward parameters, with staking methods, lock-up periods, and reward structures unchanged. The proposal is currently in the discussion phase and will later be submitted for on-chain governance voting. The voting period is 14 days, with a quorum requirement of 33.4% of staked CRO; approval requires more than 50% of non-abstention votes.

Stablecoin infrastructure firm Bastion has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to apply for a national trust bank charter, paving the way for its partnerships with large enterprises and financial institutions. Founded in 2023 by two former a16z crypto executives, Bastion provides enterprises with white-label stablecoin issuance, reserve custody, client wallets, and payment infrastructure. Its investors include Coinbase Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, and Samsung Next, with the latest funding round last year totaling $14.6 million. Last year, Bastion became a stablecoin partner of Japan’s Sony Bank, responsible for stablecoin custody, payment infrastructure, and issuance. Sony plans to further integrate stablecoin payments into its gaming and entertainment businesses. Bastion CEO Nassim Eddequiouaq stated that with the federal regulatory qualification, the company can serve as a regulated partner for large financial institutions in the U.S. and abroad to launch stablecoin products. This approval comes amid the rapid expansion of the U.S. stablecoin market. Companies including Visa, BlackRock, Google, and DoorDash have all entered the stablecoin space, while more than a dozen financial institutions—such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander—are advancing their own stablecoin projects. The OCC has approved multiple crypto-focused trust bank applications this year. Bastion’s approval also follows days after the Senate procedural vote on the CLARITY Act failed. Eddequiouaq noted that the GENIUS Act, signed into law last year, has already established a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

On Friday, around $96 million in short-term call options flooded Sandisk (SNDK), Micron Technology (MU), Intel (INTC), and Marvell Technology (MRVL), with Sandisk surging over 11% at one point. All these options expire on October 2. Trading data shows roughly 10,000 call contracts for Micron, 4,200 for Sandisk, 20,000 for Intel, and 3,500 for Marvell, with total premiums amounting to around $96 million. CNBC host Jim Cramer posted on X that the trading pattern "looks exactly like Leopold is back," referring to AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner and his fund Situational Awareness. According to regulatory filings, Situational Awareness’s two largest previous holdings were Sandisk and Micron, with positions of roughly $5.7 billion and $5.6 billion respectively at the end of June. On September 11, the Financial Times reported that Aschenbrenner had rebuilt positions in assets including AMD, Intel, SK Hynix, Sandisk, and CoreWeave via flex options. Nomura strategist Charlie McElligott noted at the time that roughly $315 million in option premiums had flowed into AI and semiconductor assets over several days. Aschenbrenner previously drew attention for his highly leveraged bets on AI and semiconductor stocks. His fund plunged 67% during the AI sector correction in July this year, after which he drastically cut positions. At the end of July, he wrote in a letter to investors that he would "learn the necessary lessons" and pledged that future public market investments would be managed on a "fully paid basis." To date, SEC filings have not disclosed the identity of the buyer of the nearly $100 million in options, so it remains unconfirmed whether the trades originated from Aschenbrenner. Unlike his previous use of total return swaps (TRS) for leverage, the market speculates he used fully paid options this time, with maximum theoretical losses limited to the premiums paid. However, the short term of the options means high time value decay and gamma risk.