Ashwini Roopesh

Trump Family Delays US Made Gold Smartphone Release Amid Supply Issues
Trump Mobile, founded under the umbrella of the US President Donald Trump Organization, has postponed the release of its gold colored smartphone this year, delivering another blow to the project that promised to manufacture devices in the United States. I seriously doubt who is eagerly waiting for this launch.

The “T1” device, bundled with a $47.45 per month mobile plan, was seen as one of the steps by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to capitalize on the return to the White House.
Delay of the release and its consequences - According to preliminary statements, the American made T1 smartphone, priced at $499, was set to compete with Apple and Samsung devices.
It is well known fact that President Donald Trump’s repeatedly criticized Apple’s dependence on Chinese manufacturers. He threatened to impose a 25% tariff on Apple and Samsung to spur production to move back to the United States.
However, the T1 launch date, planned for August, was moved to the end of the year.
Anyway, I don't think that any new smartphone will beat existing market dominated by so many companies. But one way or the other $TRUMP administration can buy this one to impress the boss.

China to impose additional tariffs on some beef imports from Jan 1, 2026.
This will be additional tariffs ‌of 55% on beef imports from ⁠some ‌countries including it's BRIC Partner Brazil ‍and rival partner the U.S. when shipment ​amounts exceed ‌certain quotas.
The ⁠measures will ​take ​effect on January 1, ‍2026, ⁠for three years.

Joined Dec 2025 and Placed some bets on prediction #Polymarket
This trader won $913K profit in a single day.
https://polymarket.com/@0x492442EaB586F242B53bDa933fD5dE859c8A3782-1766317541188?tab=positions

After South Korea and Vietnam, Now India imposes 3 year steel tariffs, targets cheap China imports.
The duty will be set at 12% in the first year, ease to 11.5 per cent in the second, and taper further to 11% in the third year.
India, the world’s second largest crude steel producer, has been grappling with a surge of low priced steel imports from China, a trend that has raised anti-dumping concerns and put pressure on domestic steelmakers.
India’s move comes amid global trade friction over Chinese steel exports, triggered in part by US President Donald $TRUMP decision to impose import tariffs on steel. The US measures have redirected Chinese shipments & traders to other markets, prompting several countries to tighten their trade interest.

Pakistan Court Rejects Plea for Ban on Cryptocurrency and Digital Forex Trading.
The court stated that cryptocurrency does not currently have LEGAL status in Pakistan. Because of this, the petition did not raise a dispute that required judicial intervention.
The court said that matters related to regulation, bans, or penalties for cryptocurrencies fall under the responsibility of the executive and the legislature.
Anyway, despite the confusion Pakistan Govt. in May 2025 Pakistan  has announced the establishment of a government backed Strategic Bitcoin reserve. The purpose of this reserve is to hold digital assets already in state custody as a sovereign reserve.
#pakistanicrypto

'We're in a metals war': Gold, silver rebound after sharp sell-off
Gold futures rebounded less than 1% to around $4,362 per ounce. Silver futures rebounded 8% after posting their biggest daily drop since 2021. Both metals are on pace to post their largest annual gains since 1979.
"We're in a metals war," - Josh Phair, founder and CEO of precious metals manufacturer and distributor Scottsdale Mint.
Silver and copper also shot up in recent months as the US added them to its critical minerals list, considered vital to the US economy and national security.
"These data centers that are getting created so fast in the United States, the US has to have it silver to protect its position in the world."
Meanwhile, China, the third largest silver mining country, is expected to restrict silver exports starting tomorrow, further raising worries of a supply crunch.
"China is restricting its exports. That means other places in the world are going to have to find the metal somewhere." 
$XAU

Bitwise files for 11 new crypto ETFs tracking Bittensor, Tron and others
11 new crypto strategy ETFs, which would both directly and indirectly invest in crypto.
With the record-breaking success of spot bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, Bitwise quickly moved to launch products tracking other major cryptocurrencies.
applications includes strategy ETFs seeking to track Aave, Canton, Ethena, Hyperliquid, NEAR, Starknet, Sui, Bittensor, Tron, Uniswap, and Zcash

David Beckham-backed supplements firm quits Bitcoin buying strategy after raising $48 million.
Instead of pursuing a bitcoin acquisition strategy, the company is realigning to "fully capitalize on the rapid growth of its consumer health brand, IM8, which it calls "the fastest growing supplement brand in industry history." In its statement, Prenetics Global said it "will no longer pursue future acquisitions of Bitcoin."
"Our Board and management team unanimously agreed that the most promising path to creating significant, sustainable shareholder value is to devote our undivided attention to this once in a generation opportunity clearly visible in IM8." - Prenetics Global CEO and co-founder Danny Yeung said.

China gains major advantage if US bans interest on stablecoins
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said that limiting rewards on U.S. issued stablecoins could give global rivals an edge as China moves to pay interest on its digital yuan.
"For those who misunderstand what's at stake. Tokenization is the future and the GENIUS Act was a visionary move by POTUS and Congress to ensure U.S. based stablecoins issued under U.S. rules would be the primary settlement instrument of the future. Lobbyists for entrenched incumbents will always fight change. It's critical for negotiators to protect the primacy of the U.S. dollar and the U.S. financial system, not just incumbent interests."

If December closes red, then ETH is DOWN by approximately 11.4% in real terms.

The 24 hours Volume percentage of the top ten is down by double digits.

Scammer posing as Coinbase support steals more than $2 Million in crypto.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT exposed the Canadian threat actor, known as Haby/ Havard, using on-chain analysis and social media evidence. The scammer made calls to Coinbase users with phone numbers claiming to be from customer support, and then directed the victims to transfer funds to wallets controlled by the attackers.
ZachXBT traces theft via blockchain analysis. Investigations began when Haby, on December 30, 2024, posted a screenshot showing a 21,000 XRP theft worth $44,000 from a Coinbase user. ZachXBT matched the wallet address to two additional Coinbase user thefts amounting to approximately $500,000. Analysis showed Haby had swapped stolen XRP to Bitcoin through instant exchanges.
Through timing analysis, ZachXBT tracked down Haby’s Bitcoin address. In February 2025, Haby had shared screenshots in a group chat showing a wallet containing $237,000.
The Bitcoin balance for the identified address matched the screenshots from February 1, 2025. Tracing backward from this address uncovered three additional Coinbase support impersonation thefts totaling over $560,000.
The investigator linked the wallets to Haby through leaked information in social media posts and screen recordings. A leaked video showed Haby conducting a social engineering call with a target.
Haby regularly posted stories and selfies on social media platforms displaying his lifestyle funded by stolen cryptocurrency. The posts showed purchases of expensive Telegram IDs, luxury items, bottle service, and gambling expenses. A member of his chat group advised him to stop posting about his activities so frequently.
The scammer appeared to have little concern for operational security. Social media analysis revealed his location in Abbotsford, near Vancouver, British Columbia. OSINT performed on his story posts confirmed the location.
Haby frequently bought expensive Telegram IDs and deleted his most recent account two days before the investigation was published. #scam

OpenAI is hiring a ‘head of preparedness’ with a $550,000 salary to mitigate AI dangers that CEO Sam Altman warns will be ‘stressful’

The position will pay $550K per year, plus equity, according to the job listing.
👉 “This will be a stressful job and you’ll jump into the deep end pretty much immediately”

“Models are improving quickly and are now capable of many great things, but they are also starting to present some real challenges. If you want to help the world figure out how to enable cybersecurity defenders with cutting edge capabilities while ensuring attackers can’t use them for harm, ideally by making all systems more secure, and similarly for how we release biological capabilities and even gain confidence in the safety of running systems that can self-improve, please consider applying.” - Sam

OpenAI has faced multiple wrongful death lawsuits this year, alleging ChatGPT encouraged users’ delusions, and claiming conversations with the bot were linked to some users’ suicides. A New York Times investigation published in November found nearly 50 cases of ChatGPT users having mental health crises while in conversation with the bot.
#AI

Geoffrey Kendrick at Standard Chartered estimates that Bitcoin will trade at $225,000 in 2027. That implies 155% upside from its current price.
Kendrick is apparently more bullish on XRP. He expects the coin to trade at $10.40 by 2027, implying about 455% upside from its current price of $1.87.
Bitcoin and XRP should benefit as spot ETFs boost demand, but Kendrick’s target price on Bitcoin seems more reasonable than his target price on XRP. #dyor

PM Modi Expresses Concern Over Reports of Targeting of the Residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

“Deeply concerned by reports of the targeting of the residence of the President of the Russian Federation. Ongoing diplomatic efforts offer the most viable path toward ending hostilities and achieving peace. We urge all concerned to remain focused on these efforts and to avoid any actions that could undermine them. @KremlinRussia_E”

Ethereum based decentralized perps exchange Lighter announced its Lighter Infrastructure Token.
It is set to allocate half of the token supply to the ecosystem, while the remaining half is allocated to the team and investors. $LIT

Japanese BTC treasury firm Metaplanet announced that the company has acquired additional 4,279 BTC during the fourth quarter.

According to CEO Simon Gerovich, the company spent $451.06 million in the period to buy bitcoin, at an average price of $105,412 per BTC.

Thank god 2026 is not starting like that 🤭😂

Protests erupt in Iran over currency’s plunge to record low.
Iran’s rial plunged to 1.42 million to the dollar.
The rapid depreciation is compounding inflationary pressure, pushing up prices of food and other daily necessities and further straining household budgets.
The inflation rate in December rose to 42.2% from the same period last year and is 1.8% higher than in November. Food prices rose 72% and health and medical items were up 50% from December last year. This is a sign of approaching hyperinflation.
#iran

Ex-Russian banking billionaire says Instagram post condemning Ukraine war cost him $9 billion
A former Russian banking billionaire has claimed that he lost $9 billion after he was forced to sell his stake in Tinkoff Bank for a fraction of its true value. Oleg Tinkov also claimed that 90% of Russians opposed the invasion, dismissing the remaining 10 percent who supported it as “morons.”
Once celebrated as one of Russia’s most successful bankers, Tinkov publicly denounced the invasion in April 2022, calling the war “insane” and criticising the Russian military as corrupt and unprepared.
A sudden ultimatum - Explaining how he lost a major chunk of his wealth, Tinkov told that within a day of posting his criticism, senior executives at his bank received a call from Kremlin‑linked officials with an ultimatum: either his stake must be sold and his name removed from the brand, or the bank, then one of Russia’s biggest lenders, would be nationalised.
“I couldn’t negotiate the price. I was like a hostage.” Tinkov later said.
Forced sale at 3 percent of market value - Within a week, a company tied to metals magnate Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men and a supplier of nickel used in military production, stepped in to buy Tinkov’s stake.
Exile and erasure - After the sale, Tinkov left Russia and eventually renounced his citizenship. He claims the pressure extended beyond the forced transaction, alleging attempts to remove his name from the bank’s branding and erase his contributions to the institution’s rise.
He says the episode shows how swiftly and ruthlessly loyalty is enforced when oligarchs publicly oppose the Kremlin echoing the fate of other dissenting tycoons such as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was jailed for a decade after challenging state power.
#russia #ukraine