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India Positions Itself As The AI World’s Third Pole Under PM Modi’s Active Leadership

Mubadala increases exposure to BlackRock bitcoin ETF

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth capital has expanded its bet on regulated digital assets, with filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission showing that Mubadala Investment Company held 12.7 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust at the end of December, valued at about $630.6 million. The position, disclosed in a fourth-quarter Form 13F submission, marks a 46 per cent increase from the 8.7 million shares the […]

AD Ports portfolio rises to 36 terminals

  AD Ports Group has increased its global network to 36 ports and terminals with the addition of Aqaba Multipurpose Port in Jordan, marking another step in the Abu Dhabi-based operator’s overseas expansion strategy. Ahmed Al Mutawa, Regional Chief Executive Officer of AD Ports Group, said the company’s footprint now stretches across the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Europe, covering the UAE, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Spain, […]

OpenClaw update expands model support as security alarms escalate

OpenClaw, a widely used open-source autonomous AI assistant, has pushed out version 2026.2.17 with expanded capabilities that include support for Anthropic’s latest Claude Sonnet 4.6 model and enhancements across messaging platforms and automation workflows. The update, made available by lead developer Peter Steinberger on February 17, 2026, was designed to address user demand for broader model integration and improved context handling, but it arrives as the software […]

Trump-linked WLFI to tokenise Maldives resort loan income

World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture closely associated with President Donald Trump, unveiled plans to issue blockchain-based tokens backed by loan revenue interests tied to the Trump International Hotel & Resort in the Maldives, a luxury development slated for completion in 2030 and being built in partnership with the Trump Organization and Dubai-listed developer DarGlobal. The move forms part of WLFI’s broader real-world asset strategy aimed at […]

Bitcoin ETFs maintain $85bn despite market slump

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States continue to hold around $85 billion in assets despite a sharp downturn in the price of Bitcoin, highlighting a divergence between investor behaviour in regulated funds and the broader cryptocurrency market. The resilience of these funds, which trade on regulated exchanges and offer exposure to Bitcoin without direct ownership of the digital currency, underscores both the growing institutional participation […]

Abu Dhabi funds push bitcoin ETF holdings above $1bn

Two of Abu Dhabi’s most influential investment vehicles significantly boosted their exposure to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust during the fourth quarter of 2025, pushing their combined bitcoin exchange-traded fund holdings above the $1 billion mark at the close of the calendar year. The moves, disclosed through quarterly filings with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, underscore a broader shift among sovereign players toward regulated digital assets […]

Bitcoin slides as global tensions unsettle markets

Bitcoin retreated ahead of the US market open, mirroring declines in equity futures as traders returned from a three-day break to a more fragile macro backdrop marked by geopolitical strain and shifting rate expectations. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell below key technical levels in early trading, extending a pullback that began over the weekend. The move coincided with weakness in US stock-index futures and a firmer dollar, […]

Belt and Road outlays hit 2025 peak

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai   China’s Belt and Road Initiative recorded $213.5 billion in engagement during 2025, the highest annual level since its launch more than a decade ago, as a wave of construction contracts and energy investments reshaped the geographic balance of the programme and propelled the Middle East into the top ranks of recipients. Data compiled in the China Belt and Road Initiative Investment Report […]

Tehran reports headway in US nuclear talks

Iran has signalled progress in indirect negotiations with the United States over its nuclear programme, days after heightened tensions in the Gulf led to a partial disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy supplies. Officials in Tehran said discussions aimed at easing sanctions and placing constraints on uranium enrichment had moved forward, describing the latest round of contacts as “constructive”. […]

Cucumber price surge fuels Russia’s wartime unease

Cucumber prices across Russia have climbed sharply, prompting public frustration and drawing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators as households grapple with food inflation during the conflict in Ukraine. Data published by the federal statistics agency show that the retail cost of cucumbers has risen markedly since the start of the year, outpacing overall food inflation. In several regions, consumers have reported prices doubling compared with the same […]

Ripple edges past Bitcoin and Ethereum in brand intimacy

Ripple has ranked ahead of Bitcoin and Ethereum in a global survey measuring emotional connection between consumers and cryptocurrency brands, underscoring how perception and trust are emerging as competitive factors in a volatile digital asset market. The San Francisco-based blockchain company placed fourth overall in MBLM’s Brand Intimacy Study for cryptocurrency projects, outperforming both Bitcoin and Ethereum in the latest assessment of how strongly users feel bonded […]

eToro posts record earnings as trading platform expands AI and asset base

eToro Group Ltd delivered a stronger-than-expected set of financial results for the full year and fourth quarter of 2025, reporting record yearly profits and bolstering its multi-asset trading platform even as the cryptocurrency market faced sustained volatility. The trading and investment platform posted a net contribution of $868 million for the full year, up about 10 per cent on 2024, and net income under generally accepted accounting principles climbed […]

In a world of noise, fixed-income speaks loudly

Financial markets are moving at unprecedented speed. AI and tech stocks surge on earnings momentum, then retrace on valuation concerns. Oil whipsaws on geopolitical complexities. Crypto rallies sharply on liquidity optimism, only to correct just as quickly. Currency markets adjust in real time to growth differentials and fiscal developments. There’s no doubt that investors are trying to protect and grow their wealth in an environment defined by […]

Dragonfly closes $650m fund amid crypto downturn

Dragonfly Capital has secured $650 million for its fourth investment vehicle, pressing ahead with fresh commitments to digital asset infrastructure even as senior partners describe the current venture climate in crypto as a “mass extinction event”. The San Francisco and Singapore-based firm said the new capital will be directed towards foundational blockchain systems, stablecoins, on-chain financial services and tokenised real-world assets, signalling a long-term strategy despite persistent […]

Standard Chartered trims XRP outlook sharply amid market pressure

Standard Chartered has slashed its forecast for the digital asset XRP by about 65%, lowering the anticipated year-end 2026 price to around $2.80 from a previous projection above $8, underscoring deepening stress across broader cryptocurrency markets. That adjustment, communicated in an investor note led by Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, reflects enduring selling pressure and fading liquidity that have weighed on XRP […]

Nigeria charts new course to revive factories

Nigeria has launched a sweeping industrial policy aimed at restarting idle factories, boosting domestic manufacturing and positioning Africa’s largest economy as a competitive production hub in global supply chains. Federal authorities say the framework is designed to tackle long-standing structural weaknesses that have undermined output, including erratic power supply, limited access to long-term finance, foreign exchange volatility and infrastructure gaps. Manufacturing accounts for less than 10 per […]

AfDB backs Nigeria farm drive

African Development Bank Group has approved a $200 million loan to support Nigeria’s efforts to expand agricultural production and curb reliance on food imports, reinforcing Abuja’s push to tackle food inflation and strengthen rural incomes. Board members of the AfDB cleared the financing to scale up priority investments across key value chains, targeting improved productivity, better access to inputs and enhanced storage and processing capacity. The funding […]

Metaplanet profit surges amid revenue leap

Metaplanet has reported a dramatic acceleration in earnings, posting a 738 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue and a 1,700 per cent jump in operating profit, underscoring the impact of its aggressive digital asset strategy and restructuring drive. The Tokyo-listed company, which has repositioned itself as a corporate holder of bitcoin, disclosed the figures in its latest financial update, signalling a sharp turnaround from its earlier years […]

Harvard trims bitcoin stake and backs ether

Harvard Management Company has reduced its exposure to bitcoin-linked holdings by about 20 per cent while initiating a new position tied to ether, signalling a recalibration of its digital asset strategy amid shifting market dynamics and valuation pressures. Regulatory filings show that the endowment’s investment arm pared back its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust during the latest reporting period, cutting the value of its holding from […]

Galaxy Digital’s long-term crypto convergence bet

Galaxy Digital’s head of asset management, Steve Kurz, is projecting a structural shift in the cryptocurrency market as the industry grapples with price volatility and evolving investor behaviour. Speaking publicly this week, Kurz said the downturn in digital-asset prices is better understood as healthy deleveraging rather than evidence of systemic failure, and described a deepening integration between traditional financial systems and digital-asset infrastructure that he believes underpins […]

Strategy outlines survival at $8,000 bitcoin

Strategy has said it could withstand a collapse in bitcoin’s price to $8,000 and still service its roughly $6 billion in net debt, outlining contingency plans that include converting portions of its borrowings into equity if market conditions deteriorate sharply. The Virginia-based software company, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has become one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin under executive chairman Michael Saylor. Its balance sheet is […]

Solana payments surge as price trails

Solana’s blockchain has recorded a dramatic expansion in payment activity, with on-chain volumes rising 755 per cent year on year even as the token’s market price struggles to mirror that growth. Data compiled by blockchain analytics firms show total payments processed on the network exceeding $1.8 billion, while business-to-business transactions have climbed ninefold over a 16-month period to about $3.84 billion. The figures place Solana among the […]

XRP gains spotlight amid Ripple’s policy ascent

XRP is back at the centre of market attention as Ripple’s chief executive takes on an advisory role in Washington, fuelling speculation that a clearer regulatory path for digital assets could reshape the token’s prospects even as exchange-traded products tracking it post their first net outflows in weeks. The digital token, closely associated with Ripple Labs, has seen volatile trading through February, hovering below its late-2024 highs […]