Balance – LSD News

China says ‘thorough preparations’ needed as Trump-Xi meeting hangs in the balance amid Iran war

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:59:50 +0000

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a press conference on China’s foreign policy and external relations on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 8, 2026 in Beijing, China.

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

BEIJING — China’s top diplomat Wang Yi underscored Sunday the benefits of interacting with the U.S., and signaled preparations are underway for a planned meeting between the two countries’ leaders amid differences over the war in Iran and trade tariffs.

“The agenda of high-level exchanges is already on the table,” Wang told reporters in Mandarin Chinese, according to an official translation. “What the two sides need to do now is make thorough preparations accordingly, create a suitable environment, manage the risks that do exist and remove unnecessary disruptions.”

“Turning our backs on each other would only lead to mutual misperception and miscalculation,” he said. “Sliding into conflict or confrontation would only drag the whole world down.”

After an in-person meeting in South Korea in the fall, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump indicated plans to visit each other’s countries.

Trump is scheduled to visit China from March 31 to April 2, which would be the first trip to the country by a sitting U.S. president since 2017.

However, Beijing has yet to confirm the exact dates of a Trump visit. Wang did not elaborate either, but noted the U.S. and Chinese presidents’ high-level interactions have “provided [an] important strategic safeguard for the China-U.S. relationship to improve and move forward.”

Some analysts have raised doubts over whether the trip will happen on schedule, especially since it would likely come shortly after joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Wang did not name either individual in his remarks to the press Sunday morning but reiterated Beijing’s calls for a ceasefire in the Iran conflict.

“This is a war that should not have happened,” he said. “It is a war that does no one any good.”

Wang has held phone calls with at least seven foreign ministers — including those of Russia, Iran and Israel — since the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, according to official readouts.

He was speaking Sunday to reporters on the sidelines of China’s eight-day annual parliamentary meeting that is set to wrap Thursday. China’s top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Vice Premier He Lifeng, are meeting in Beijing with delegates from across the country.

Tariffs in question

The bilateral discussions come as the U.S. and China reached a fragile truce in October for lowering tariffs on each other’s goods to below 50% for one year. The two countries had previously ratcheted up duties to well over 100% during the height of tensions last spring.

In response to a question about Trump’s casting of U.S.-China relations as a new “G2” for leading the world, Wang pushed back against the idea that two countries alone would do so, instead emphasizing multipolarity.

Without naming the U.S., Wang warned against “erecting tariff barriers and pushing [for] economic and technological decoupling.”

“This is no different from using kindling to put out a fire,” he said. “You will only get burned.”

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In Defense-Anthropic clash, AI is real-time testing the balance of power in future of warfare

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:17:26 +0000

The Department of Defense’s clash with Anthropic over the integration of artificial intelligence into military operations, and who sets the limits on usage, reached a peak this week with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth giving the AI company until 5:01 p.m. ET Friday to cede to the government’s demands. Anthropic has not budged, to date at least, but the battle between military and industry over AI is just getting started. The Pentagon is colliding with the private companies that control AI in a way that has not been tested in the post-World War II era.

On Thursday, Anthropic refused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s demand to loosen certain safeguards of its models for military use, including mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, because it violates company policies. CEO Dario Amodei’s decision comes after the Pentagon warned it could terminate the partnership if the company refuses to support “all lawful uses.”

“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision,” Amodei wrote in a statement on Thursday. “But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.”

The standoff highlights the emerging reality that private firms developing frontier AI may seek to set their own limits on how the technology is deployed, even in national security contexts.

In July the Defense Department awarded contracts worth up to $200 million each to four companies — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Elon Musk’s xAI — to prototype frontier AI capabilities tied to U.S. national security priorities. The awards signal how aggressively the Pentagon is moving to bring cutting-edge commercial AI into defense work.

The urgency is reflected in internal Pentagon planning as well. A January 9 memorandum outlining the military’s artificial intelligence strategy calls for the U.S. to become an “AI-first” fighting force and to accelerate integration of leading commercial AI models across warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise operations.

“There are no winners in this,” Lauren Kahn, a senior research analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, told CNBC in a recent interview about the standoff between the Pentagon and Anthropic. “It leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.”

What it does do, though, is mark a shift — a departure from decades of defense innovation during which governments themselves controlled the technology as it was created.

“For most of the post–World War II era, the U.S. government defined the frontier of advanced technology,” said Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, former chief of naval research and current general partner at Mare Liberum, an investment firm that specializes in maritime technology and infrastructure. “It set the requirements, funded the foundational research, and industry executed against government-driven specifications. From nuclear propulsion to stealth to GPS, the state was the primary engine of discovery, and industry was the integrator and manufacturer.”

AI, Selby said, has inverted that model.

“Today the commercial sector is the primary driver of frontier capability. Private capital, global competition, and commercial data scale are advancing AI at a pace that traditional government R&D structures cannot easily replicate. The Department of War is no longer defining the edge of what is technically possible in artificial intelligence — it is adapting to it,” he said.

United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks during a visit to Sierra Space in Louisville, Colorado on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.

Aaron Ontiveroz | Denver Post | Getty Images

This reversal in the balance of power over technology carries both opportunity and risk.

“We shouldn’t be in a place where private companies feel that they have leverage over the U.S. government or Western allies because of the technological capability they are providing,” said Joe Scheidler, a former associate director and special advisor at the White House and co-founder and CEO of AI start-up Helios. “Technologists should build and do that responsibly, but governments should be the entities making the decisions.”

Anthropic and the DoD did not respond to requests for comment

Why the military needs private AI

Public-private partnerships have long supported U.S. defense innovation, from World War II industrial mobilization to modern aerospace and cybersecurity programs. But artificial intelligence is different because the most advanced capabilities are increasingly concentrated in commercial firms rather than government labs.

“Strong public-private partnerships are what gives America its edge,” Scheidler said. “You will not find a more dynamic and innovative talent pool than that of the American entrepreneurial community. The idea of trying to replicate that level of innovation within government itself … is difficult.”

That concentration is precisely why governments seek partnerships, but according to Selby, the dependency is also primarily driven by speed. “The innovation cycle in venture-backed firms moves in months. Traditional acquisition cycles move in years. Without commercial AI providers, the government would be slower, less adaptive, and far more expensive,” he said.

When critical national security tools are developed by private companies, “the main change is that the government no longer fully controls the development of its most advanced technological tools,” said Betsy Cooper, director of the Aspen Policy Academy and former advising attorney for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

Commercial AI systems are typically built first for broad markets rather than military missions, which can create gaps between how companies design their technology and how governments want to deploy it, Cooper said.

That misalignment can become more pronounced when corporate policies, reputational concerns, or global customer pressures conflict with government objectives, a dynamic now visible in the Anthropic dispute.

“Companies may not want to risk negative reaction from their customer base if their product is used for highly controversial reasons — for instance, to create autonomous lethal weapons or commit preemptive killings before crimes are committed,” Cooper said.

Government has longer-term leverage

Despite the shift toward commercial technology, defense leaders are unlikely to relinquish control over mission critical systems.

“The first thing to understand is that from what I have seen to date, the DoD is not going to give up final control,” said Brad Harrison, founder of Scout Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm investing at the intersection of national security and critical technology Innovation. “The government still wants to understand everything that goes into it and all the dependencies and risks.”

Harrison, who is a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger and West Point graduate, said AI could eventually influence decisions such as how to intercept incoming threats, so “the government is going to be extremely cautious with how they let AI interact with those data layers,” he said. “Nobody wants to be the person responsible for Skynet,” he said, referring to a fictional AI from the “Terminator” universe that caused a nuclear war.

Governments also retain powerful tools to influence companies, including procurement decisions, export controls, and regulatory authority. “The government has a lot of leverage,” Harrison said. “If you don’t want to work with them, they have a lot of ways to make that a very difficult decision,” he added.

But leverage flows in both directions, at least for now, according to Selby. “In the short term, companies with scarce AI talent and proprietary models may hold significant influence. In the long term, sovereign governments retain regulatory authority, contracting power, funding scale, and if necessary, legal compulsion,” he said.

The most important question, in Selby’s view, is “whether we build a durable public-private compact that treats AI as foundational national security infrastructure rather than just another vendor relationship.”

Risks in new military-Silicon Valley industrial complex

Experts say the issue is ultimately less about whether companies or governments hold permanent leverage and more about how the relationship evolves as AI becomes central to national power.

“If we build alignment and resilience into the public-private relationship, AI can strengthen national security while preserving innovation,” Selby said. “If we fail to do so, we risk a future in which capability is abundant but alignment is brittle,” he added.

There are many new forms of risk in the emerging military-Silicon Valley industrial complex. For example, reliance on externally developed AI could introduce vulnerabilities if systems fail unexpectedly or become unavailable, particularly if military units grow accustomed to them during operations.

“Over-reliance could prove deadly,” said Shanka Jayasinha, founder of Onto AI, a company that develops AI tools for military, healthcare, financial organizations, and enterprise solutions, describing scenarios where special operations units depend on AI-enhanced mission-coordination tools during deployments. If those systems fail after prolonged use, “many lives would be in danger,” he said.

Vendor lock-in is another concern. As AI platforms become embedded in workflows, replacing them may become difficult. “With the current speed of progress in AI, it is tough to unseat any incumbent,” Jayasinha said.

Harrison, however, says one risk the Pentagon won’t expose itself to is being captive to a single company. “The U.S. government is not going to be dependent on any one Silicon Valley company,” he said “They will very methodically test systems, control the data layer, and move step by step.”

One approach is building what some technologies call “sovereign AI architectures” — systems designed to allow governments to maintain independence from vendors while still benefiting from commercial innovation.

“We talk a lot internally about this notion of sovereign intelligence and vendor independence,” Scheidler said, contending that the U.S. ecosystem remains broad enough to prevent over-reliance on any single provider. “There are new ideas emerging on a daily basis, and we don’t have to rely on one vendor to do that,” he said.

Bitdeer’s Bitcoin Balance Hits Zero After Total Sell-Off – Details

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:54:59 +0000

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Bitdeer Technologies Group has emptied its Bitcoin treasury, selling every coin on its books and bringing its corporate balance to zero.

The move follows weeks of steady disposals and comes as the company pursues fresh capital to fund expansion plans outside pure mining.

Bitdeer Sells Entire Bitcoin Holding

Based on reports, the company offloaded both newly mined tokens and long-held reserves through February 2026. Around 189.8 BTC from recent output were sold, along with roughly 943.1 BTC previously kept on the balance sheet.

By the time the transactions were settled, no crypto remained in corporate custody. Reports say this drawdown gathered pace after Bitdeer unveiled plans to raise more than $300 million through convertible notes.

Bitdeer #BTC Weekly Update

BTC Holdings: 0 (pure holdings, excluding customer deposits)
BTC Output: 189.8 BTC
BTC Sold: 189.8 BTC
Net BTC Added: -943.1 BTC
Data as of February 20, 2026.#Bitcoin #BTC #BitcoinHoldings #BitcoinCommunity #BTCMining $BTDR pic.twitter.com/vtvBVEui0Q

— Bitdeer (@BitdeerOfficial) February 21, 2026

The stock market responded quickly. Shares slid about 15% after the disclosures, reflecting concern over dilution and rising debt obligations. While miners often sell part of their production to cover operating costs, a full liquidation of reserves is rare. That distinction has fueled debate among investors about what the decision signals.

Bitcoin Price Action

Bitcoin’s own price backdrop has been anything but calm. The alpha coin has been choppy but steady around key macro headlines, holding a range near the mid-$67,000s to high-$60,000s in recent sessions.

After heightened geopolitical tension between the US and Iran stirred safe-haven flows and wider swings in risk assets, BTC briefly climbed above $68,000 before profit-taking pulled it back. Traders remain cautious. Volatility has been tied to geopolitical risk mood and movements in traditional markets.

Bitcoin is now trading at $67,617. Chart: TradingView

At the same time, the US Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down parts of US President Donald Trump’s tariff framework triggered a modest bounce across risk assets, including Bitcoin.

Gains didn’t last long. BTC ticked up after the SC ruling but later met selling pressure as markets weighed the impact and Trump signaled new tariff options.

The overall pattern points to range-bound trading, with macro headlines guiding short-term direction rather than a strong breakout.

Why The Company Chose To Raise Cash

Reports note that Bitdeer plans to channel the new funds into expansion of data centers, AI-related services, and in-house ASIC development. Management appears to favor liquidity over holding through price swings.

Some analysts argue this is a practical response to tighter mining economics, where power costs and equipment upgrades strain margins.

Others view the complete sale as a bold pivot away from the “hold and wait” model embraced by certain competitors.

The company has not signaled a permanent exit from holding Bitcoin in the future, but for now, its balance sheet stands empty of the asset it produces.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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Bitcoin OTC Balance Records Rapid Outflows — What’s Next For Price?

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 17:45:57 +0000

Over the past two weeks, the Bitcoin market saw an overwhelming sellers’ dominance, with no significant input from the bulls influencing the price. As the flagship cryptocurrency slipped into a downturn, investors increasingly fled the market out of fear, further pushing prices downwards. However, as the Bitcoin price seems to have found stability, an interesting on-chain revelation has also surfaced. If this change proves sustainable, it could mean something positive for the world’s leading cryptocurrency.

Accelerating OTC Outflows, Sign Of Possible Reversal?

In their latest post on the CryptoQuant platform, CoinNiel shares an exciting hypothesis for the Bitcoin price, based on data from the Bitcoin: Total OTC Desk Balance. The analyst points out that the Bitcoin price might be at a point where a reversal is imminent. For context, the Bitcoin: Total OTC Desk Balance metric measures the total amount of Bitcoin currently being held in wallets associated with over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks. When the balance is rising, it often implies that more BTC is being moved to these OTC desks. This is also a telltale sign of increasing sell appetite among Bitcoin’s large holders.

On the contrary, falling values on this metric typically indicate that Bitcoin is being withdrawn from OTC desks. By extension, it could imply that institutional demand is growing, or that large holders are no longer positioning for sales. According to the chart shared below, the Total OTC Desk Balance has taken on a sharp downtrend, meaning that there has been a significant amount of BTC sent out of the OTC market. Notably, this switch in investor behavior is happening around the same time as when Bitcoin regained its $68,000 footing.

As a result, the BTC market sentiment appears to be shifting from pessimistic to slightly optimistic: instead of accumulating BTC for sale, OTC balances are instead contracting. This could be caused by increased buying from large holders or due to reduced selling appetite among Bitcoin’s market participants.

In the scenario where there is increased institutional accumulation of Bitcoin, it could be a sign that the Bitcoin price would soon make a big upside move. On the other hand, reduced selling activity is also good for the Bitcoin price, as it translates as reduced selling pressure, allowing for the short-term recovery of the flagship cryptocurrency’s price. CoinNiel, therefore, states as a caveat that the true drivers behind this dynamic remain to be confirmed. As a result, investors and other market participants should be alert when engaging with the Bitcoin market.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

At press time, Bitcoin holds a value of $67,953, reflecting a 24-hour devaluation of 0.17% per CoinMarketCap data. Since the past seven days, the flagship cryptocurrency has so far lost about 2.81% of its value.

Steak ’N Shake Doubles Down On Bitcoin With $10M Balance Sheet Boost

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 06:33:08 +0000

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Steak ’n Shake has moved $10 million of Bitcoin onto its corporate balance sheet, a fresh step in the fast-food chain’s crypto push. According to reports, the purchase equals about 105 BTC at current prices, and the company says all customer Bitcoin receipts feed into a so-called Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Tied To Sales

Based on reports, Steak ’n Shake calls its new approach a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and says it links reserve growth directly to rising same-store sales.

The company has framed the move as part of daily operations rather than a standalone financial bet. Customers who pay with Bitcoin are effectively contributing to the reserve, the chain said. This is a different route from companies that raise capital or borrow specifically to buy crypto.

Eight months ago today, Steak n Shake launched its burger-to-Bitcoin transformation when we started accepting bitcoin payments. Our same-store sales have risen dramatically ever since.

All Bitcoin sales go into our Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

Today we increased our Bitcoin…

— Steak ‘n Shake (@SteaknShake) January 17, 2026

Payments On The Lightning Network

Steak ’n Shake started accepting Bitcoin at US locations in mid-May 2025, using the Lightning Network to handle payments, according to earlier coverage.

The company reports payment processing fees have fallen by roughly 50% compared with traditional card payments, and sales have risen since the rollout.

Reports note same-store sales gains in the low-to-mid double digits — figures such as 15% have been cited by several outlets.

BTCUSD now trading at $95,211. Chart: TradingView

The $10 million allocation follows eight months of active Bitcoin payments at the tills. Management says the reserve will fund store upgrades and ingredient improvements without raising menu prices.

The firm also ran a branded promotion last year that linked small Bitcoin rewards to specific menu purchases, part of its wider effort to make crypto part of the customer experience.

Image: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

How The Company Plans To Use Funds

Reports indicate Steak ’n Shake wants the reserve to be a steady, internally funded asset rather than a speculative holding driven by market timing.

Some of the Bitcoin will support operational improvements, while other parts may be kept as a corporate asset. That mix could change if management alters its view of how Bitcoin fits with broader company goals.

Industry watchers point out that $10 million is modest against the biggest corporate crypto treasuries, but it is one of the more public moves by a legacy consumer brand.

The trend of businesses accepting Bitcoin and then holding some of it has drawn attention because it ties everyday commerce to cryptocurrency accumulation.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Led by Texas, New Hampshire, U.S. states race to prove they can put bitcoin on public balance sheet

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 18:28:11 +0000

Led by Texas and New Hampshire, U.S. states across the national map, both red and blue in political stripes, are developing bitcoin strategic reserves and bringing cryptocurrencies onto their books through additional state finance and budgeting measures.

Texas recently became the first state to purchase bitcoin after a legislative effort that began in 2024, but numerous states have joined the “Reserve Race” to pass legislation that will allow them to ultimately buy cryptocurrencies.

New Hampshire passed its crypto strategic reserve law last May, even before Texas, giving the state treasurer the authority to invest up to 5% of the state funds in crypto ETFs, though precious metals such as gold are also authorized for purchase. Arizona passed similar legislation, while Massachusetts, Ohio, and South Dakota have legislation at various stages of committee review.

Despite much of the legislation being largely sponsored or co-sponsored by Republicans, the adoption of crypto at the state level is not expected to strictly fall along party lines. The 2024 election cycle was the first time that the cryptocurrency industry played a major role in lobbying in both state and national elections. In fact, it was the largest corporate donor in an election cycle, with support given to candidates on both sides. It is already amassing a war chest for the 2026 midterms.

Congress is currently debating a crypto market structure bill, and state-level politicians are as much out to prove that they, and their states, won’t be left out of the digital assets boom. Justin Marlowe, a public policy professor at the University of Chicago, sees the state-level trend as largely one of signaling at present. “If you’re a governor and you want to broadcast that you are amenable to innovative business development in the digital economy, these are relatively low-cost, low-risk ways to send that signal. That’s why we’ve seen leaders across the ideological spectrum and all over the country take tangible steps in this direction,” he said.

Where the state-level crypto efforts can be described as “bigger steps” — Marlowe cited Texas, Arizona, and Florida, as examples — he said it has helped to acknowledge the growing political power of crypto advocates in these states.

Similarities in the actions taken across states to date include include authorizing the state treasurer or other investment official to allow the investment of a limited amount of public funds in crypto and building out the governance structure needed to invest in crypto. This often will involve more frequent reporting requirements and stronger custodial agreements compared to traditional asset classes. The seeding of the reserve can take the form of utilizing cash or government-seized crypto, as in the recent case of the federal government. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve last March, but limited the authorization to seized crypto in an effort to show taxpayers would bear no financial burden.

It is no surprise that Texas was the first state to fund a crypto reserve. Texas has been a crypto hub for years through its role in bitcoin mining. The state’s affordable and flexible power, as well as a political environment that has largely been pro-crypto, led Texas in recent years to a sizable position in not just the national, but global bitcoin hashing market.

“Texas has spent the last few years becoming one of the key centers of bitcoin activity, especially on the mining side,” said Christian Catalini, founder of the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, seeing this move as one that early branded the state as “open for business” when it comes to digital assets.

“Once you’ve made that bet on infrastructure and industry, adding some Bitcoin exposure at the treasury level is a natural next step,” Catalini said. Such a move essentially makes the state’s balance sheet one that is explicitly aligned with the ecosystem it aims to attract.

Texas also has a long history with bitcoin’s traditional market competitor: gold.

“Texas has proven to be a bedrock of government adoption of bitcoin, starting with laws that allow for legal custody arrangements akin to gold storage laws that are well established there,” said Nik Bhatia, founder of The Bitcoin Layer.

When it comes to storing physical gold, Texas has clear rules on storage and ownership, and even the language invoked – vaults, custodians – helps grease the wheels for crypto assets at the state level. The Texas Bullion Depository of 2015, which allowed for state-level depository of bullion and precious metals, was specifically adapted to apply to digital assets like bitcoin. The Texas Bullion Depositary was the first state-administered precious metals depository in the nation.

Texas has not purchased any on-chain bitcoin. After passing the legislation to create a strategic bitcoin reserve that gave authorization to the state comptroller to hold the cryptocurrency, Texas purchased a stake in a bitcoin ETF — roughly $5 million in the largest bitcoin ETF, the BlackRock iShares’ Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which since its launch in January 2024 has grown to over $72 billion in assets under management.

The Comptroller’s office made its purchase on the morning of November 20, 2025, when the price of a single bitcoin was $91,336. As of Saturday morning, bitcoin was trading at a little over $95,000.

Bhatia said the approval of bitcoin ETFs by the SEC was crucial to the state plans to be comfortable with the holdings under current U.S. securities law. “Using ETFs is a very clean and safe way to invest in bitcoin, minimizing storage logistical risk and opting for security law protection,” Bhatia said.

Texas state officials have described this purchase — which deployed only half of the $10 million set aside by the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve — as a “placeholder” while security and storage for raw bitcoin can be put into place.

Crypto’s move into core state finance and budgeting

In addition to the concept of reserve funds, states are bringing crypto into core finance functions, with an approach that balances the inherent trepidation of venturing into new terrain with a desire to be a part of the fast-moving crypto realm.

New Hampshire, for example, became the first state to approve the issuance of a bitcoin-backed municipal bond last November, a $100 million issuance that would mark the first time cryptocurrency is used as collateral in the U.S. municipal bond market. The deal has not taken place yet, though plans are for the issuance to occur this year. “The idea is they’ll use bitcoin to back a municipal bond issue, the proceeds of which will then be divvied up into loans to smaller governments for economic development projects across the state,” Marlowe said. Repayment of these loans will recapitalize the fund.

It is a creative evolution in state finances, but like many of the mechanisms for crypto development at the state level, it utilizes existing financial structures and state goals, according to Marlowe, with similar public bonds in prior decades used for projects like clean water, school upgrades, and other infrastructure. “What’s different here is it’s bitcoin rather than taxpayer dollars as the collateral,” he said.

In numerous states, including, Colorada, Utah, and Louisiana, crypto is now accepted as payment for taxes and other state business. As more state public finance crypto efforts develop, the shift represents a change in a core philosophy of safety and liquidity that has dominated the investing of state and local funds for centuries.

In recent decades, assets including real estate and private equity expanded the investment approach of public funds, but crypto represents not only the most recent addition, but the most volatile.

“For many in the state/local investing industry, crypto-backed assets are still far too speculative and volatile for public money,” Marlowe said. “But others, and I think there’s a sort of generational shift in the works, see it as a reasonable store of value that is actually stronger on many other public sector values like transparency and asset integrity,” he added.

Hoping AI will give you more work-life balance in 2026? Fortune 500 CEOs warn otherwise | Fortune

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 04:13:28 +0000

Workers may be hoping that AI can finally take over their drudge work in the new year—ease their loads and shorten the workweek, or at least make more space for life outside the office.

And it’s something young people in particular are eager to have: 74% of Gen Z rank work-life balance as a top consideration when choosing a job in 2025—the highest of any generation—according to Randstad. And in the more than 20 years of producing its Workmonitor report, it’s the first time work-life balance outranked pay as the top factor for all workers.

But as AI has reshaped corporate structures and enhanced productivity levels, many executive leaders are working harder than ever—and expecting everyone else to follow.

From pushing return to office mandates to praising around-the-clock availability, CEOs are modeling a culture where the lines between work and life blur. Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, for example, said he worked seven days a week this year—including holidays. Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan conceded simply: “work is life.”

And looking toward 2026, it’s unclear whether dreams of work-life balance will come true.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

As the leader of the world’s most valuable company, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has a lot on his mind. Relaxation, however, does not appear to be part of the plan.

His work schedule is nothing short of rigorous—beginginng from from the moment he wakes up until he’s back on the pillow—seven days a week, including holidays. It’s a grind fueled not only by the intensity of the AI race, but by a lingering fear of what happens if he ever lets up.

“You know the phrase ’30 days from going out of business,’ I’ve used for 33 years,” Huang said on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience released in December. “But the feeling doesn’t change. The sense of vulnerability, the sense of uncertainty, the sense of insecurity—it doesn’t leave you.”

That mindset extends beyond Huang himself. His two children, who both work at Nvidia, follow in his footsteps and work every day for the semiconductor giant. For the Huang family, work isn’t just a job—it’s a way of life.

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan

Video communications giant Zoom has had one of the biggest indirect impacts on the work-life balance debate, thanks to making it possible for workers to log on from the comfort of a bed, beach, or anywhere in between.

However, the journey to scaling the company to over $25 billion in market capital has revealed to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan that work-life balance is a farce.

“I tell our team, ‘Guys, you know, there’s no way to balance. Work is life, life is work,’” Yuan said in an interview with the Grit podcast over the summer.

Yuan even admitted that he doesn’t have hobbies, with everything he does dedicated to “family and Zoom.” However, when there’s a clash and he has to choose between the two, the 55-year-old gives life some slack: “Whenever there’s a conflict, guess what? Family first. That’s it.”

TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett

Thasunda Brown Duckett, the CEO of financial services company TIAA, has long not been a fan of the term “work-life balance”—often calling it an outright “lie”—and this year was no exception.

On a Mother’s Day social media post this past spring, Duckett doubled down on the assessment once more.

“Let’s drop the work-life balance charade,” she wrote. “The truth? Balance suggests perfect—and that’s a trap.”

“Instead, think of your life like a diversified portfolio. You only have 100% to give, and many places to allocate. So give with intention. If motherhood gives 30% today, make it a powerful, present 30%,” she added.

For Duckett, having a constant evaluation of how much time to dedicate to everything needing attention in her life is what true a healthy relationship between work and life looks like.

“Some days you won’t feel like the best mom, leader, partner, or friend. But over time, when you lead with purpose—you’re more than enough.”

Palantir CEO Alex Karp

This year has been a breakout year for Palantir, with its stock price up some 140%.

For young people looking to get their careers off the ground, CEO Alex Karp sent a word of warning this year: skip out on some of life’s superfluous things if you want a shot at success.

“I’ve never met someone really successful who had a great social life at 20,” Karp said at the Economic Club of Chicago in May.

“If that’s what you want, that’s what you want, that’s great, but you’re not going to be successful and don’t blame anyone else.”

While Karp’s comments might sting for Gen Z—especially since they are the generation who place the most value on work-life balance, Karp believes that if you put in the time when you’re young, it’ll all be worth it when you’re older and have a more cushy job.

“Most people have something they’re talented at and enjoy. Focus on that. Organize your whole life around that,” Karp added. “Don’t worry so much about the money—that sounds like hypocrisy now, but I never really did—and stay off the meth and you’ll do very well.”

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos may no longer run Amazon day to day, but he remains deeply involved as board chair—while also growing Blue Origin and backing new AI ventures.

Like several of his peers, Bezos has long taken issue with the idea of balance itself.

“I don’t love the word ‘balance’ because it implies a tradeoff,” Bezos said at Italian Tech Week in October. “I’ve often had people ask me, ‘How do you deal with work-life balance?’ And I’ll say ‘I like work-life harmony because if you’re happy at home, you’ll be better at work. If you’re better at work, you’ll be better at home.’ These things go together. It’s not a strict tradeoff.”

It’s not the first time Bezos has expressed his grievances with the concept of work-life balance. In 2018, Bezos called it a “debilitating phrase” because it implied that one has to give, in order for the other to thrive. Instead, he likes to use the word “harmony” and likened the concept to a “circle.”

Jamie Dimon has been one of Wall Street’s most outspoken champions of full-time, in-office work. Early this year, he called most of JPMorgan’s 300,000 employees back in-person and capped the push by opening the bank’s new $3 billion Manhattan headquarters.

Yet even as Dimon has taken a hard line on where work gets done, he has long argued that maintaining balance is ultimately an individual responsibility—not a corporate one.

“It is your job to take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your friends, your family, your health. Your job, it’s not our job,” he said in a clip originally from 2024 that resurfaced this year.

NFL MVP Josh Allen leaves Nike to sign with New Balance

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 08 Sep 2025 04:44:25 +0000

NFL MVP Josh Allen signs with New Balance.

Courtesy of New Balance

NFL MVP Josh Allen has left Nike to sign an endorsement deal with New Balance.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback announced the news on Friday in a letter to his hometown of Firebaugh, California. The deal is a major win for Massachusetts-based New Balance.

Allen has been a Nike athlete since he joined the league in 2018. The swoosh has faced headwinds in recent years as innovation slowed and sales declined.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but New Balance has committed to funding the Firebaugh community youth sports program as part of the agreement.

“I’m proud to share I’m joining the New Balance family, a brand that, like Firebaugh, is built on family, community and authenticity,” Allen said in the letter.

Josh Allen, #17 of the Buffalo Bills, scrambles out of the pocket during an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sept. 12, 2024.

Perry Knotts | Getty Images

Firebaugh is not only where Allen grew up, but also where he first trained and developed his passion for football, he said.

“Firebaugh didn’t have quarterback camps or private trainers. We had heart. We had community. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything,” Allen said in the letter.

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Allen is one of the league’s biggest stars and has led the Bills to the playoffs for six straight years. He was also featured in HBO’s “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Buffalo Bills,” which aired its finale on Tuesday.

New Balance, which has rapidly expanded its athlete roster, also represents other big-name stars such as tennis player Coco Gauff, MLB’s Shohei Ohtani and the WNBA’s Cameron Brink.

“As New Balance continues to grow its football family, we’re honored to welcome Josh Allen on the field and in the community, helping lead the next chapter,” the company said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Allen also announced he was joining Therabody as the fitness recovery brand’s first-ever Performance Advisor.

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Bitcoin May Land On 36 More Company Balance Sheets This Year, Blockchain Firm Says

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 05:09:09 +0000

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Public firms around the globe have been piling into Bitcoin this year. According to Blockware Intelligence, the number of public companies holding Bitcoin jumped by 120% in 2025.

That surge brought the total to 141 firms. And by the end of 2025, at least 36 more are expected to add Bitcoin to their balance sheets. That would represent a 25% boost from today’s numbers.

Rising Tide Of Corporate Bitcoin Adoption

Based on reports from Blockware’s Q3 2025 market update, three dozen new entrants could join the so‑called “Bitcoin Treasury Companies” over the next six months. These firms act as a bridge between traditional markets and the crypto world.

In the first half of the year, companies big and small added more than 159,107 BTC to their books, setting a new record for corporate crypto purchases.

Source: Blockware

Big Names Still Lead The Pack

The top spot remains with US President Donald Trump’s favorite crypto advocate Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which holds a staggering 597,325 BTC.

That figure is roughly 12 times what second‑place MARA Holdings owns, at about 50,000 BTC. Those two alone account for most of the Bitcoin held by public companies.

BTCUSD now trading at $118,544. Chart: TradingView

Some Players May Be Taking A Risk

Blockware points out that many newcomers are either brand new companies or ones that face tough business challenges.

For firms with low growth or shrinking markets, parking cash in Bitcoin at an estimated 40 to 50% compound annual growth rate can look more appealing than running a struggling operation. But that choice comes with its own risks.

Source: Blockware

Corporate Bitcoin Growth Faces Warning Signs

Glassnode’s lead analyst James Check sounded an alarm on July 4, warning that the easy upside might already be gone for latecomers. Venture firm Breed outlined a “death spiral” risk for companies trading close to net asset value.

Some crypto traders echoed that view, saying these firms will be tested in the next bear market, especially if NAV premiums start to slip.

For now, the move toward Bitcoin is very real. Larger, well‑capitalized companies may weather the ups and downs better than smaller players.

Investors and analysts will be watching how these treasuries perform when markets cool off. If premiums hold, new entrants could keep the momentum going. If not, some balance sheets may face a rough ride.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin On ‘Zombie’ Zoom’s Balance Sheet? Exec Makes An Intriguing Case

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 03:37:00 +0000

A new development is brewing in the internet industry as Zoom Video Communications faces pressure to shake up its treasury strategy.

Eric Semler, head of Semler Scientific, has noticed the pressure on video conferencing giant Zoom, despite its hefty $7.7 billion cash reserve.

His advice? Explore Bitcoin as a potential strategy to revitalize Zoom’s fortunes.

Pandemic Star’s Dramatic Trip From Grace

A questionable reality has replaced the story of Zoom’s meteoric rise in the face of the COVID-19. Once a Wall Street darling, Zoom’s stock has fallen 40% in the past three years, 73% short of the S&P 500’s performance.

Even more dismal is the company’s five-year forecast, which lags below the market as a whole by over 84%; not just numbers, but an organization attempting to make a name for itself in a post-pandemic society.

“Zoom has struggled to find a second act to reignite momentum, despite aggressive reinvestment and acquisition attempts,” Semler said.

The Bitcoin Solution: A Bold Or Reckless Move?

Semler’s observation is not only attracting interest but also drawing questions among the finance industry. He actually did not mince words, describing Zoom’s current status as that of a “Zombie” and a “sore thumb.”

Semler Scientific, his own company, has already bet heavily on Bitcoin, acquiring 3,192 BTC including recent purchases of 871 units for $88.5 million.

Love the excitement out there for the Zombie Zone! There are plenty of Zombie companies to choose from across various industries, but one stands out like a sore thumb – and of course, it starts with Z.

Zombie Zone company #1: Zoom Communications

Why $ZM is the quintessential…

— Eric Semler (@SemlerEric) February 13, 2025

The stock price of the medical technology company has doubled over the past year, although attributing this just to their Bitcoin approach would oversimplify issues. With access to reasonable credit terms and $2 billion annual cash flow, Zoom could conceivably become among the biggest corporate Bitcoin holdings overnight.

BTCUSD trading at $97,035 on the daily chart: TradingView.com

Corporate Treasury Strategy Meets Crypto Reality

The argument centers on a basic issue confronting modern companies: how should they handle their treasury in a time of booming digital assets?

Zoom’s current situation is paradoxical – it maintains a healthy 40% EBITDA margin and generated $458 million in cash last quarter, yet trades at modest multiples of 15x forward earnings and 9x forward EBITDA. With about one-third of the company’s $25 billion market capitalization kept in cash, there is both a potential and a drawback.

The Power Of One Decision

Eric Yuan, Zoom’s creator and CEO, sits at the center of this possible metamorphosis since his unique voting shares provide him unheard-of influence over the company’s path.

Yuan has kept a clear silence on Bitcoin while industry titans like Tesla and Strategy—formerly MicroStrategy—have embraced it as a hedge against inflation.

His choice might either support the conventional wisdom on cash holdings or set off a radical change in corporate treasury management.

Shareholders want clarity and growth, but Zoom is stuck between innovation and legacy. The problem is not only Bitcoin but also whether a company with solid roots but stalled development should enter the volatile cryptocurrency industry to improve its market position.

As the narrative unfolds, all eyes remain on Yuan and his next move in this high-stakes game of corporate strategy.

Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView