Search the archive

FEATURED NOTEBOOKS FOR BETTER RESEARCH IN NOTEBOOKLM

Google introduced "featured notebooks" in NotebookLM, offering curated research collections from experts and institutions to help users explore topics with high-quality sources.

ANTHROPIC, GOOGLE, OPENAI, AND XAI GRANTED UP TO $200 MILLION FOR AI WORK FROM DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

The US Department of Defense is granting contract awards of up to $200 million for artificial intelligence development at Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI. The awards will help the agency accelerate its adoption of advanced AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges. The companies will work to develop AI agents across several mission areas. AI will transform the DoD's ability to support fighters and maintain strategic advantage over adversaries.

GROK DEBUTS INTERACTIVE AI COMPANIONS ON IOS WITH ANIME AVATARS

Grok now features 3D animated companions, like a flirty anime character and mood-shifting red panda Rudy, that users can level up through conversation.

NVIDIA CHIPS BECOME THE FIRST GPUS TO FALL TO ROWHAMMER BIT-FLIP ATTACKS

Rowhammer allows hackers to change or corrupt data stored in memory by rapidly and repeatedly accessing a physical row of memory cells.

ANTHROPIC'S TOOL DIRECTORY

Anthropic launched a tool directory to showcase integrations with Claude, enabling direct access to apps like Notion, Figma, and Stripe for more contextual and collaborative interactions.

CUDA BACKEND

This pull request is an ongoing effort sponsored by Apple to add a CUDA backend to MLX - very few things work now, except the tutorial example.

NASDAQ-LISTED COMPANY TO LAUNCH HYPE TREASURY

Nasdaq-listed Sonnet BioTherapeutics has agreed to merge with Rorschach I LLC to become Hyperliquid Strategies, creating a public crypto treasury company that will hold 12.6 million HYPE tokens and $305 million in cash for a total value of $888 million. The transaction includes strategic investors Paradigm, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, D1 Capital, Republic Digital, and 683 Capital, addressing institutional demand for exposure to Hyperliquid. Sonnet shares surged 300% in pre-market trading following the announcement, mirroring the market's enthusiasm for HYPE treasury strategies after Lion Group's similar $600 million initiative in June.

COINBASE HITS $100B MARKET CAP AS BTC BREAKS $122K ATH

Coinbase closed at an all-time high of $394.01 on Monday, pushing its market cap past $100 billion for the first time. The exchange's momentum is driven by bullish macro conditions, Circle's IPO, and its recent S&P 500 inclusion. Bernstein has labeled Coinbase the “Amazon of crypto financial services” with a $510 price target.

OKX JOINS GLOBAL DOLLAR NETWORK, ADDS PAXOS' USDG STABLECOIN

OKX has joined the Global Dollar Network (GDN) and integrated USDG, a yield-sharing, fully backed stablecoin issued by Paxos, now live on Ethereum, Solana, and Ink. With $357M USDG in circulation, GDN incentivizes adoption by redistributing stablecoin revenues to ecosystem partners, setting it apart from USDC and USDT. OKX's 60M users can now access USDG with free 1:1 USD conversions, as regulatory clarity grows with the GENIUS Act advancing in the U.S. House.

WHY FINTECHS ARE LAUNCHING THEIR OWN BLOCKCHAINS

Fintechs like Robinhood, Coinbase, Kraken, and possibly Stripe are exploring their own blockchains to unlock platform-level control, improve UX, and capture ecosystem value. By owning the chain, they can natively integrate third-party apps, monetize gas and MEV, and expand asset access without backend complexity. With modular infra from tools like Gelato and Conduit, launching a chain now requires less engineering, giving fintechs strategic leverage across revenue, distribution, and regulation.

RISE OF DEFI AI AGENTS

AI Agents in DeFi are automated yield optimizers that outperform rule-based systems by making responsive allocation decisions across whitelisted vaults, with stablecoin-focused AI Agent TVL reaching $20M by June, primarily on Base. Giza's Arma Agents grew from $200k to $11.2M TVL with 33,000 agents processing $324M in volume, while Brahma and Fungi Agents reached $9.5M and $412k TVL, respectively. These execution agents rely on risk curators like Gauntlet, who design and manage vaults for risk-adjusted yield, addressing the increased smart contract risks that come with adding an autonomous agent layer to DeFi protocols.

NOTES ON LIFE, CRYPTO, & MARKETS

A 3-month social media break revealed dopamine withdrawal after 6 years of posting, coinciding with crypto's identity crisis as it shifts from a standalone industry to enabling technology for AI, consumer, art, and finance. The author's current long positions include HYPE, BTC, HOOD, ETH, EUL, and PRIME, with particular focus on the AI x crypto intersection as the most compelling opportunity. Attention span has emerged as the biggest edge in creating life outcomes since most talented people can no longer focus for extended periods, while status signals are becoming diluted through Stanford dropouts and two-week tech employees claiming "ex-" status, creating an environment where incubators outnumber credible founders and people build social media distribution as a hedge against an uncertain AI-driven future.

THE JACKPOT AGE

The "Jackpot Age" describes a dangerous cultural shift where people increasingly chase rare, massive wins despite negative long-term odds. This mindset, exemplified by SBF and Three Arrows Capital's linear wealth preferences that led to $10 billion losses each, has spread from venture capital to everyday culture through online gambling, 0DTE options, and memecoins as wage stagnation and AI-driven winner-take-all dynamics push people toward negative-sum jackpot hunting. The result is a system that maximizes aggregate growth while farming human potential, creating widening inequality and social unrest. Society needs new meaning systems beyond jackpot worship to offer dignity and purpose without self-destructive risk-taking.

FROM STABLECOINS TO TOKENIZED U.S STOCKS

The "Dollar Doom Loop" – where Fed rate hikes strengthen the dollar, weaken emerging market currencies, and trigger capital flight – has driven massive stablecoin adoption in countries like Bolivia, Turkey, and Nigeria as residents seek dollar-denominated protection from local currency collapse. Tokenized US equities represent the next evolution, addressing stablecoins' limitation of zero returns by offering emerging market users access to dollar-linked, yield-generating assets through crypto rails, bypassing traditional brokerage barriers. Early adoption signals are evident in XStocks' $37.8 million trading volume and 1,500% address growth, with significant activity during Asia and Latin American hours, though risks remain around synthetic structures, trading hour mismatches, and potential volatility from increased retail participation.

WHAT VISA'S HISTORY TEACHES US ABOUT CRYPTO'S FUTURE

Just as credit cards once seemed radical, today's crypto infrastructure could be tomorrow's financial default.

AAVE HITS $50.7B IN DEPOSITS, SURPASSES MORE U.S. BANKS

With $50.67 billion in net deposits, Aave now ranks 46th among U.S. banks by size, successfully leapfrogging BOK Financial and FNB Corp.

FED, FDIC, OCC CLARIFY RULES FOR BANKS HOLDING CRYPTO

U.S. banking regulators issued a joint statement clarifying that banks can offer crypto custody services, provided they manage risks like cybersecurity and key control.

RABBY WALLET NOW SUPPORTS HYPERLIQUID ACCOUNT TRACKING

Rabby Wallet has added full portfolio tracking for Hyperliquid, enabling users to monitor staked assets, spot holdings, and leveraged perp positions in real-time.

APEX DOMAINS AND CUSTOM SUBDOMAINS IN FIGMA SITES

IKEA IS LAUNCHING NEW SMART HOME PRODUCTS, AND THEY'RE DESIGNED TO BE EXTRA EASY TO USE

Ikea announced it will release 20 smart home products in January 2026, marking its most significant step toward making smart home technology open, simple, and affordable. The system centers around Dirigera, a Matter-compatible hub that works with devices across different brands to lower barriers for consumers entering smart home technology. Two preview Bluetooth speakers are launching before the main release - Nattbad this month and Blomprakt in October - signaling Ikea's minimalist yet attractive design direction for home tech.

FOLLOWING YOUTUBE, META ANNOUNCES CRACKDOWN ON ‘UNORIGINAL' FACEBOOK CONTENT

Meta has announced a crackdown on unoriginal content on Facebook, targeting accounts that repeatedly repost others' videos, photos, or text without adding meaningful originality. The company has already removed 10 million impersonator profiles and penalized 500,000 accounts for spammy behavior, and says creators who abuse reposting will face monetization loss and reduced reach. This move follows similar efforts by YouTube and comes amid criticism over Meta's automated enforcement issues and the rise of low-quality AI-generated content.

YOU PROBABLY JUST TOOK ON SOME UX DEBT

UX debt accumulates when design teams make compromises due to tight deadlines, limited resources, or a lack of user research, much like technical debt in development. This debt manifests as inconsistent interfaces, poor user experiences, and navigation issues that eventually require costly fixes and refactoring efforts. While UX debt cannot be completely avoided, teams can manage it through conscious decision-making, regular user research, early designer involvement, and maintaining dedicated backlogs for debt repayment tasks.

PESSIMISM PLAYS A CRUCIAL PART IN DESIGN

While design thrives on optimism, ignoring pessimistic perspectives—especially in high-risk projects—can lead to catastrophic failures, as seen in disasters like OceanGate and Grenfell. Integrate “wildcard thinking” into design processes to challenge blind faith, encourage preparedness, and balance hope with realistic scrutiny.

I THINK A LOT OF THE ISSUES IN THE INDUSTRY STEM FROM ‘BAD MANAGERS'

"Accidental managers" are skilled creatives pushed into leadership roles they never wanted. Career progression shouldn't be tied exclusively to management. Explore alternative paths, seek support roles to bridge team dynamics, and consider leadership training only if it aligns with personal goals. Staying hands-on should remain a valid and respected career choice.

CREATE MOCKUPS FOR PRINT-ON-DEMAND

Create 1,000+ of studio-quality product images in seconds with the best bulk mockup generator API and e-commerce integrations.

COPY ANY UI COMPONENT FROM ANY PAGE IN JUST ONE CLICK

YoinkUI is a browser extension that allows users to extract and convert website UI into Tailwind CSS and React components.

MAGIC ANIMATOR (FIGMA PLUGIN)

This Figma plugin helps designers bring static Figma designs to life with one-click animation. It is perfect for portfolio demos, social media, launch videos, or adding motion to apps and websites.

NOTES FROM A PRODUCT DESIGN VIBE CODING HACKATHON

Intercom's product design team used AI tools to rebuild its Design website during a hackathon in London, creating a canvas-style experience in just over a day. The team discovered AI's limitations when tools like Lovable confidently claimed to implement features like draggable blocks and scrolling that didn't actually work. They switched to Cursor for better control, refined the design iteratively, and launched an MVP that won the hackathon despite imperfections.

HOW TO DEVELOP AGENCY: THE NUMBER-ONE CAREER SKILL FOR THE AI AGE

Human agency, the ability to initiate, decide, and lead rather than wait for instructions, will become a critical career skill as AI handles routine tasks. While AI excels at execution, humans must provide direction and make strategic decisions about what problems to solve and which AI-generated options to pursue. Developing agency requires taking initiative at work, treating AI as a partner rather than a replacement, and building influence through persuasion, skills that can be cultivated through practice and supportive environments.

DESIGNING SCROLL BEHAVIOR: WHEN TO SAVE A USER'S PLACE

Failing to save scroll position can frustrate users by forcing them to repeat actions, increasing interaction cost, especially on long or complex pages. While preserving scroll position is usually best, the ideal behavior depends on context, content freshness, and user intent. Designers should aim for the least disruptive default, which often involves combining scroll memory with visible reset options.

TUNESHINE IS A NEW WAY OF BRINGING BACK THE LOST ART OF THE ALBUM COVER

Tuneshine is a 6.3-inch LED screen device that displays album artwork from streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

WHY I DON'T TRUST WCAG 2.2 AND WHAT I'M HOPING FROM 3.0

WCAG 2.2 has significant flaws, including inaccurate color contrast algorithms, weak requirements for alt text quality, and insufficient focus indicators.

Register early to save your virtual seat →

LOUIS VUITTON SUFFERS TWO HACKS IN A WEEK AS CUSTOMER DATA IS ACCESSED IN UK AND KOREA

Louis Vuitton suffered a cyberattack on July 2 that compromised the personal data of UK customers, including names, contact details, and purchase histories. Its Korean division was also targeted. This marks the third LVMH breach in three months, following attacks on Christian Dior Couture. No financial data was stolen, but experts warn the luxury brand's high-net-worth clientele faces heightened risks.

VULNERABILITY IN END-OF-TRAIN AND HEAD-OF-TRAIN REMOTE LINKING PROTOCOL

CISA revealed a critical vulnerability (CVE-2025-1727) in railroad End-of-Train and Head-of-Train protocols that allows attackers to send unauthorized brake commands via software-defined radio. Affecting all U.S. rail industry versions, the vulnerability stems from weak BCH checksum authentication that can disrupt operations or cause sudden stops. The American Railroads are developing new systems, while manufacturers like Hitachi Rail, Wabtec, and Siemens should adopt network isolation and secure remote access controls.

PATCH IMMEDIATELY: CVE-2025-25257 POC ENABLES REMOTE CODE EXECUTION ON FORTINET FORTIWEB

A serious SQL injection vulnerability (CVE-2025-25257) has been identified in Fortinet FortiWeb. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to execute remote code by writing malicious files to the server's filesystem, potentially leading to full remote code execution. Fortinet has issued patches for versions 7.6.4, 7.4.8, 7.2.11, and 7.0.11. Immediate application of these updates is strongly recommended due to publicly available exploits.

FOOLING THE SANDBOX: A CHROME-ATIC ESCAPE

The security researcher in this blog analyzes CVE-2024-30088, a Windows kernel vulnerability that allows privilege escalation. They successfully chained it to escape Chrome's renderer sandbox by bypassing integrity level checks and job object restrictions. The exploit overwrites security descriptors to gain system privileges, then spawns a privileged shell with full control.

SCANNING FOR POST-QUANTUM CRYPTOGRAPHIC SUPPORT

Anvil Secure's PQCscan is a free scanner that identifies SSH and TLS servers supporting Post-Quantum Cryptographic (PQC) algorithms. The tool scans for standardized PQC algorithms, such as X25519MLKEM768, and generates HTML reports to help organizations prepare for mandatory PQC compliance deadlines between 2030 and 2035. Available on GitHub under a BSD license, it currently performs capability detection without full handshake testing.

CYBERSECURITY (ANTI)PATTERNS: FRICTIONWARE

Frictionware is security tooling that forces security teams to spend more time onboarding the tool than focusing on generating results. Some anti-patterns that lead to frictionware are: complex onboarding, weak value proposition, and a lack of integration with existing tools. Frictionware can be avoided by avoiding onboarding altogether, focusing on build-in instead of opt-in, using forcing functions to compel onboarding when required, and working within existing centers of data and attention.

Book a 1:1 meeting with Drata execs at Black Hat.

HUGINN NET

Huginn Net combines p0f TCP fingerprinting with JA4 TLS client analysis, achieving the same detection accuracy as the original p0f tool while adding modern TLS fingerprinting capabilities.

AWS CIRT ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF THE THREAT TECHNIQUES CATALOG FOR AWS

AWS' Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) has launched a new catalog of tactics, techniques, and procedures that it has observed attackers using in AWS environments.

TRASHFORMER

TrashFormer is a 64-bit junk code engine designed to provide code that doesn't affect the program's behavior but allows malware to reprogram itself on each infection.

ELMO'S X ACCOUNT HACKED TO PUBLISH RACIST AND ANTISEMITIC POSTS

Elmo's official X account was hacked on Sunday. It posted racist and antisemitic content before being removed. The compromised account also demanded that Trump release Jeffrey Epstein files and was linked to a crypto scam.

CBI SHUTS DOWN £390K U.K. TECH SUPPORT SCAM, ARRESTS KEY OPERATIVES IN NOIDA CALL CENTER

India's CBI dismantled a transnational tech support scam syndicate that targeted UK and Australian citizens and resulted in losses exceeding £390,000. Operation Chakra V raided three locations in Noida, arresting two suspects from a fraudulent call center, FirstIdea. The scammers impersonated Microsoft support staff, claiming devices were compromised to scam unaware people.

LIBRARIES ARE UNDER-USED, LLMS MAKE THIS PROBLEM WORSE

Libraries are underutilized in favor of custom code. This is due to engineers preferring to write code rather than read documentation, underestimating the problem, and organizations that reward complex internal projects over using libraries. LLMs can further this issue by rapidly generating code that is not as well-tested or understood as the more well-known libraries.

CHINESE HACKERS SUSPECTED IN BREACH OF POWERFUL DC LAW FIRM

Wiley Reid, a DC law firm, informed clients of a suspected data breach potentially linked to Chinese hackers that involved compromised Microsoft 365 accounts of staff, although the full extent of the breach was not disclosed.