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Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, is committing up to $2 billion in Polymarket, valuing the event-prediction platform at about $8 billion before the investment. ICE will serve as a global distributor of Polymarket’s event-driven data and will collaborate on tokenisation and related infrastructure.

Polymarket is gearing up for its return to U. S. markets following a multi-year regulatory hiatus. The firm acquired QCEX, a derivatives exchange and clearinghouse with CFTC licensure, for $112 million, enabling it to operate under U. S. regulation. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has granted a no-action letter for event contracts, clearing a path for U. S. users to trade again.

Born in 2020 under the leadership of CEO Shayne Coplan, Polymarket permits users to wager on outcomes by purchasing “Yes” or “No” tokens. The market price implies a probability. Winning tokens settle at $1, while losing ones expire worthless. All trades occur via peer-to-peer smart contracts built on the Polygon blockchain.

Polymarket saw a surge in profile during the 2024 U. S. presidential campaign, when trading volume on election markets surpassed $3 billion. Its probability signals have since been picked up by mainstream outlets and financial analysts as indicators of public sentiment and forecasting.

ICE’s strategic investment reflects growing institutional interest in prediction markets. With control over NYSE infrastructure and deep data capabilities, ICE aims to monetise sentiment analytics and integrate such signals alongside traditional financial indicators. ICE has maintained that the investment will not materially affect its 2025 financials.

Coplan has acknowledged the significance of the tie-up, saying the partnership “marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream.” Jeffrey Sprecher, ICE’s CEO, praised the union as an alignment between legacy market infrastructure and next-generation decentralised finance innovation.

Observers suggest that navigating regulatory risk is central to Polymarket’s success. Its three-year exit from U. S. users followed a 2022 settlement with the CFTC over unregistered derivatives operations. That settlement barred U. S. users from accessing the platform, and investigations into U. S. usage had been a cloud over the company. With the regulatory clearance and ICE backing, Polymarket is now executing a comeback in the U. S. domain.

Polymarket also attracted backing from 1789 Capital, a venture fund backed by Donald Trump Jr., which joined its advisory board earlier this year. Kalshi, a peer prediction market, won a favorable court ruling against the CFTC last year, setting precedents that influence Polymarket’s legal and operational landscape. The broader industry is watching closely, as the success or failure of this bet by ICE may signal whether prediction markets can transition from niche crypto tools to mainstream financial instruments.

Shayne Coplan, born in 1998 and a former dropout from New York University, is now recognised as the youngest self-made billionaire under the Bloomberg index following the deal. His trajectory illustrates the accelerating nexus among finance, tech and speculative market platforms.

By Nitya Chakraborty There is a big possibility of renewal of India-US bilateral ties impacting the ongoing trade talks following the proposed one on one meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.S. President Donald Trump during their presence in Kuala Lumpur to attend the summit of ASEAN members on October 26 […]

The article Trump-Modi Meet At ASEAN Summit In Malaysia Can Remove Irritants In Indo-US Ties appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Cryptocurrency markets endured a historic collapse as leveraged positions were liquidated en masse – over 1.6 million traders wiped out $19.13 billion in bets within 24 hours, data from Coinglass shows.

The crash accelerated sharply after U. S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports and threatened export controls on critical software, heightening fears of a full-blown trade war. Bitcoin plunged more than 12 per cent from its recent highs, briefly sliding below $102,000 before rebounding above $113,000.

Before the sell-off, Bitcoin had breached a new all-time peak above $125,000, buoyed by institutional inflows into crypto exchange-traded funds. Governments and institutional investors had viewed digital assets as a hedge amid macroeconomic uncertainty.

Today’s market rout, however, exposed the fragility of overleveraged positions in a thinly capitalised market. In a single hour on Friday, more than $7 billion of liquidations occurred. The top losses were seen among long positions, particularly in Bitcoin and Ethereum derivatives, which accounted for a substantial share of the forced unwinds.

Institutional players and high-net-worth traders were swept up in the cascade. Market watchers noted that order books lacked the depth to absorb such a severe shock, triggering knock-on effects through futures and perpetual swap markets.

Beyond crypto, equity indices faltered under the weight of renewed global risk aversion. The S&P 500 dropped 2.7 percent, while tech stocks, sensitive to trade tensions, bore steep losses.

Some analysts likened the event to a “black swan” moment for crypto markets — a sudden shock revealing systemic vulnerabilities in a still nascent asset class. Traders operating with high leverage, little hedging, and aggressive margin policies found themselves particularly exposed.

Efforts to assess contagion effects to traditional finance are underway. Banks offering crypto derivatives and prime brokers are now scrutinising counterparty risks. Regulators in several jurisdictions may use today’s crash to justify stricter margin and leverage rules for crypto trading.

Reviewing policy implications, the tariff escalation marks a sharp pivot in U. S.–China trade strategy. Trump framed the measures as retaliation for China’s export curbs on rare earth metals, which are critical for tech manufacturing. The move signals willingness to escalate economic confrontation, with markets already pricing in broader disruption to global supply chains.

Despite the volatility, some investors are still betting on long-term resilience of digital assets. The week before the crash saw a record $5.95 billion flow into global crypto ETFs, led by U. S. allocations, suggesting that capital rotation into crypto remains strong over medium timeframes.

Liquidity providers and market makers face fresh trials. Some have temporarily withdrawn from funding markets or widened spreads to mitigate risk exposure. In highly volatile hours, arbitrage desks and algorithmic liquidity engines contributed to exaggerated price swings.

Wider sentiment has turned cautious: on-chain analytics show a rise in stablecoin inflows to exchanges, possibly reflecting flight from risk. Options markets registered growing demand for deep out-of-the-money puts, as traders brace for further downside.

Saudia’s inaugural direct passenger flight from Riyadh to Moscow landed on Friday at Sheremetyevo airport, signalling a new chapter in Saudi–Russian air connectivity. The airline plans to operate three weekly round-trip services, integrating tourism, business and diplomatic traffic between the two capitals.

The launch positions Saudia alongside Flynas, which commenced direct operations between Riyadh and Moscow’s Vnukovo airport in August with three weekly flights. Flynas is also slated to begin a Jeddah–Moscow route come December. The twin developments reflect a concerted push by both states to deepen bilateral ties through aviation links.

The Riyadh–Moscow air bridge is underpinned by the Saudi Tourism Authority and the Air Connectivity Program, designed to promote cross-border mobility and support Saudi Vision 2030. Saudia officials say ticketing and scheduling are aligned to accommodate business travellers, diplomats and leisure tourists. The route’s launch was celebrated in both capitals, where it was honoured with a water cannon salute at Sheremetyevo and a gala in Moscow attended by diplomatic representatives and aviation executives.

Russia has experienced a surge in travellers from Saudi Arabia. In 2024, over 52,400 Saudis visited Russia, a leap from just 9,300 the previous year, following Moscow’s August 2023 e-visa reform that enabled Saudis easier access. Likewise, Russian visitors to the Kingdom have grown steadily, aided by anticipatory visa liberalisation and reciprocal travel facilitation efforts.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during talks with his Saudi counterpart, described the launch as an enabler of “tourist exchanges and business contacts,” citing that growing demand warranted direct air links. On the ground, Sheremetyevo’s scheduling system already lists flights to Riyadh beginning mid-October, operating up to five times weekly.

The timing dovetails with a broader recalibration in Saudi foreign policy and energy diplomacy. The personal rapport between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Vladimir Putin has been instrumental in facilitating cooperation within the OPEC+ framework. Cooperation in trade, energy and security has steadily flourished in recent years, and aviation ties now offer a tangible bridge between economies.

Saudia’s fleet expansion and network strategy underscore that the Moscow link is more than symbolic. The airline now serves over 100 destinations across four continents, with plans to expand to 145 destinations by 2030. Performance figures underscore ambition: in the first half of 2025, Saudia carried 17.5 million passengers and operated 100,000 flights.

The route is expected to spur ancillary sectors. Saudi tour operators are preparing Russia-focused packages including Moscow, St Petersburg, and beyond, while Russian travel agencies are packaging Saudi cities and pilgrimage circuits. Pilgrim traffic is especially significant: the Moscow launch could funnel more Russian pilgrims directly to Mecca or Medina via Riyadh.

Dubai — Hytera Communications unveiled a slate of artificial intelligence-driven communication tools designed specifically for public safety, law enforcement and defence sectors in the Gulf region, ahead of its showcase at GITEX Global 2025.

At the heart of Hytera’s push is a vision of integrated, mission-critical communications that fuse voice, video, and data streams with AI analytics to improve situational awareness, incident response speed and evidence handling.

The company will debut the P60 Smart PoC Radio, a compact device marrying push-to-talk over cellular capability with 3GPP-aligned mission-critical services. This enables frontline users to stream video, send data, and communicate via voice over a single radio interface. Also on display will be the SC700 LTE Body Camera, built for continuous field operation with extended battery life, high-definition video capture and advanced noise reduction in audio. The SC700 is integrated with Hytera’s upgraded Digital Evidence Management system, which automates evidence ingestion, classification and secure sharing while preserving a chain of custody.

Hytera also plans to demonstrate its Intelligent Mobile Enforcement Solution, an ecosystem combining body cameras, in-vehicle video units and AI models for real-time analytics such as facial recognition and licence plate detection. From command centres, data from multiple sensors can be aggregated and visualised to support dispatch decisions and resource allocation.

According to Stanley Song, Vice President at Hytera, the Middle East market represents one of the fastest growing regions for professional communication technologies. He emphasised that public safety systems must go beyond simple coverage — they must protect the integrity of data, location privacy, and resilience against cyber threats. Given the rising challenges of urban security, cross-border crime and regional instability, Song argued that interoperable, secure, AI-augmented communications can help authorities maintain continuity under stress.

Hytera’s roadmap reflects broader shifts in the mission-critical communications sector. Competing firms are also embedding AI capabilities and federated data architectures so that frontline devices act as sensors, not just radios. In parallel, regional governments in Gulf Cooperation Council states are investing heavily in smart city, surveillance and emergency response infrastructures, creating receptive demand for advanced solutions.

By Nitya Chakraborty The Israel-Hamas peace deal announced by the US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night in Washington is a welcome development, however limited it be at the moment as the agreement between the two warring parties is only for the first phase of Trump sponsored deal involving the release of all hostages by […]

The article Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal Is Welcome But The Follow Up Is Crucial For Enduring Peace appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Kocha village in the Khunti district of Jharkhand has been wired into a 40 kW solar micro-grid with IoT-enabled smart management, marking the third Climate Smart Village established under Schneider Electric India Foundation in partnership with PRADAN. The grid now supports irrigation pumps, agro-processing units, households, street lighting, a primary health centre and an e-vehicle.

The pilot builds on earlier deployments in the Gumla district’s Sehal and Chatti villages, where solar arrays of 40 kW and 45 kW were integrated with load-balancing systems to power productive use in agriculture and local enterprises. That model delivered doubling of household incomes and emission reductions of around 60,000 kg of CO₂ annually for those communities.

Officials at the inauguration in Kocha included Jharkhand’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Dipika Pandey Singh, Khunti MP Kali Charan Munda, Torpa MLA Sudeep Gudhiya, and Damini Chaudhari, Vice President for Strategy, M&A & CSR at Schneider Electric. Deepak Sharma, MD & CEO of Schneider Electric India, emphasised the initiative’s aim to fuse renewable energy with local entrepreneurship and digital systems to empower self-sufficient rural economies.

Before the grid installation, farmers in Kocha were restricted to a single rain-fed cropping cycle each year, lacking the electricity required to operate processing machinery or irrigation pumps. Many households lacked reliable power, and migration was common owing to the scarcity of local jobs. Under the new scheme, farmers are experimenting with multi-crop production and in-village processing. A women-led Farmer Producer Organisation, Torpa Mahila Krishi Bhagwani Saykari Swalambhi Samiti, is central to aggregating, processing and marketing produce locally.

The mini-grid design employs smart energy management software that monitors demand and allocates energy dynamically, aiming for close to full utilisation of the solar capacity throughout the day. The system aggregates essential loads—agricultural, domestic and community—so that surplus power is diverted to where demand is highest at any given time.

In the Gumla villages, the success of this load-diversion strategy allowed continuous operation of irrigation pumps, oil expellers, rice hullers and small mills, effectively removing dependence on diesel backups. The result was a consistent power supply, reduced fuel costs and increased productivity. That template is now being scaled to Kocha.

SEIF intends to use the Kocha rollout as a replicable blueprint for scaling further in Jharkhand and across other states with energy-poor rural communities. The target is to reach 100,000 farmer families by 2025 through distributed, decentralised energy systems that combine renewable generation, digital control and demand flexibility.

By Nitya Chakraborty Just forty eight hours within the external affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar’s candid statement that Trump has to respect red lines drawn by India at trade talks, Indian officials joining China, Russia, Taliban government of Afghanistan and even Pakistan denouncing President Trump’s bid to take over Bagram air base in Afghanistan, is […]

The article India’s Opposition To Trump Bid To Take Over Bagram Airbase Has Special Significance appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Serbia will serve as the Future Digital Economy Partner Country at GITEX Global 2025 in Dubai, becoming the first European nation accorded that role. The designation foregrounds Serbia’s ambitions to reposition itself from outsourcing hub to innovator in global tech markets.

Serbia’s IT exports crossed €3.5 billion in 2023, and the sector has maintained close to 20 percent year-on-year growth. The number of IT firms now exceeds 4,000, with many branching into domains such as fintech, health tech, AI and gaming. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, which leads the national delegation, views the GITEX platform as an opportunity to elevate the country’s narrative beyond cost-competitiveness to creative capacity.

Marko Čadež, president of CCIS, said Serbian firms are now pitching themselves as long-term transformation partners rather than simple vendors. He emphasised that enterprises increasingly expect strategic collaboration, not just software delivery. Meanwhile, analysts point to Serbia’s strong foundations—high math and engineering education standards, English proficiency, and relatively affordable costs—as a competitive edge in Eastern Europe.

Yet Serbia confronts headwinds. Talent retention is an ongoing challenge: many trained professionals migrate to Western Europe or the U. S. Infrastructure remains uneven, with rural areas lagging behind Belgrade in connectivity. In addition, venture capital inflows to the Balkans are smaller compared to Western Europe, constraining the ability of startups to scale aggressively.

Serbia is attempting to counterbalance those constraints through targeted programmes. The Chamber of Commerce has launched “Start 2,” a support scheme for scale-up firms, which includes mentoring and market access, and will be showcased at GITEX Europe in Berlin. The programme focuses on Serbian companies already achieving revenues above €250,000 and aims to open doors into German and EU markets.

At GITEX Global 2025, Serbia will present a showcase of startups and products under “North Star,” highlighting innovations in AI, e-commerce, predictive analytics, and diagnostics tools. Its delegation will also include outsourcing firms pitching upscaled offerings—product co-development, R&D support, and domain expertise in sectors such as telecom and healthcare.

GITEX organisers themselves have underscored Serbia’s place among rising tech nations: the 2025 edition includes 6,800 tech enterprises, 2,000 startups, and participant countries from 180 nations. Serbia joins Brazil and Pakistan as Country Partners this year—a reflection of the broader intention to diversify the event’s global footprint. The spotlight on AI, biotech, semiconductors, data infrastructure, and robotics offers Serbia a chance to align its exposure with the global themes defining tech agendas.

By Sushil Kutty Rare minerals included lots of ores, this was something we were taught in school and we learned about stone age, copper age and iron age, the last of which remains to this day the most basic of minerals, out of which was born steel and the term steely strength, like in ‘Superman […]

The article Pakistan Is The Dearest To Trump In Asia As Islamabad Exports Rare Earth Minerals appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).