Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another serving of tantalizing tech and web3 news. From Google's surprising mining adventure and OpenAI's sleepy-time assistant to China's digital yuan power play and crypto Twitter's latest security nightmare, we've got a lot to unpack. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the wonderland of digital assets!

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Google snagged a 5.4% stake in Bitcoin miner Cipher Mining by backing $1.4 billion of AI company Fluidstack's obligations in a massive $3 billion, 10-year data center deal.

🟧 OpenAI just dropped ChatGPT Pulse, a new feature that writes personalized morning briefs while you sleep, but it's currently locked behind their $200/month Pro plan subscription.

🟧 China just opened a digital yuan operations center in Shanghai focused on cross-border payments and blockchain services, as part of their master plan to challenge the US dollar's global dominance.

🟧 A sophisticated new phishing attack is hijacking crypto personalities' X accounts by exploiting X's app authorization system with fake "Calendar" apps that bypass passwords and 2FA entirely.

Google Drops 3 Billion on Bitcoin Mining Deal

Google backstopped $1.4 billion of AI data center company Fluidstack's obligations to secure a 5.4% stake in Cipher Mining. Think of it as Google playing financial wingman to help Fluidstack seal a whopping $3 billion, 10-year deal with the Bitcoin miner. In return, Google gets warrants for approximately 24 million shares of Cipher stock.

This deal is believed to be part of a broader trend where crypto miners are pivoting faster than a cat video goes viral. Cipher's CEO Tyler Page is clearly excited, calling this the "first of several" moves in the high-performance computing space. Meanwhile, Cipher will deliver 168 megawatts of computing power from their Barber Lake site in Texas.

The crypto-to-AI pivot seems to be the hottest trend since NFT profile pictures. Other miners like CleanSpark just announced a $100 million financing round for AI infrastructure, and Hive Digital reported record revenue after their GPU and AI expansion. It's like watching Bitcoin miners become the Swiss Army knives of computing - and Google clearly wants a piece of that action!

Google secured 5.4% of Cipher Mining by guaranteeing $1.4B of Fluidstack's obligations

$3 billion, 10-year AI data center deal shows crypto miners pivoting to AI computing

Cipher will provide 168 MW of computing power from their Texas facility

OpenAI Built You a Personal Morning News Assistant

OpenAI just unleashed ChatGPT Pulse, a feature that's basically like having a personal assistant work the night shift to prep your daily briefings.

While you're catching Z's, Pulse generates 5-10 personalized reports covering everything from your favorite sports team's latest drama to toddler-friendly travel itineraries (because apparently AI knows your pain, parents). The feature is believed to be OpenAI's biggest push to make ChatGPT feel less like a chatbot and more like that wealthy person's assistant we all secretly want.

Fidji Simo, OpenAI's new CEO of Applications, said they're building AI that brings "the level of support that only the wealthiest have been able to afford" to everyone. Though "everyone" currently means people willing to drop $200/month on the Pro plan.

Pulse actually stops after a few reports with a "Great, that's it for today" message. It's speculated to be an intentional design choice to avoid turning into another endless scroll trap. Plus, it connects with Google Calendar and Gmail to surface your most important emails and create agendas. One OpenAI exec mentioned how Pulse automatically picked up on her love of running to create London itineraries with running routes.

ChatGPT Pulse generates personalized morning briefs while you sleep, starting with $200/month Pro users

Connects with Gmail and Google Calendar to surface important emails and create event agendas

Intentionally limited reports to avoid endless scrolling, unlike social media apps

China Opens Digital Yuan Command Center in Shanghai

The People's Bank of China just launched a brand-new operations center for their digital yuan, and it's speculated to be their biggest power move yet in the "let's-not-depend-on-the-US-dollar" game.

This isn't just any ordinary office space - this digital yuan hub is believed to be the command center for cross-border payments, blockchain services, and digital asset platforms. Think of it as China's financial Swiss Army knife facility, designed to make the digital yuan play nicer with the rest of the world's money systems.

PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng previously outlined this as one of eight major measures back in June, casting it within what he called a "multipolar" monetary vision.

Tian Xuan from Tsinghua University called this launch "an important step" that could strengthen China's influence in international finance while offering a "Chinese solution" for cross-border payment infrastructure. Meanwhile, China's also reportedly considering yuan-backed stablecoins after banning crypto trading and mining back in 2021.

AnchorX just launched the first stablecoin tied to the international Chinese yuan (CNH) last week, aimed at facilitating payments for China's Belt and Road initiative. It's believed to be all part of China's grand strategy to reduce dependence on the dollar and increase the yuan's global reach.

China opened a digital yuan operations center in Shanghai for cross-border payments and blockchain services

Part of eight measures to advance yuan internationalization and reduce US dollar dependence

Considering yuan-backed stablecoins despite previously banning crypto trading in 2021

Hackers Are Stealing Crypto Twitter Accounts Right Now

Crypto developer Zak Cole just exposed a campaign that's targeting verified crypto accounts with what he called "Zero detection. Active right now. Full account takeover."

This attack doesn't even bother with fake login pages or password stealing. Instead, the scammers are believed to be exploiting X's own app authorization system to completely bypass both passwords and 2FA.

The attack starts with a seemingly innocent DM containing a link that appears to redirect to Google Calendar's official domain - but your brain is being tricked! The actual URL is something like "x(.)ca-lendar(.)com" (registered just last Saturday), but X's preview system shows the legitimate calendar.google.com thanks to some metadata manipulation wizardry.

When clicked, users get redirected to an X authentication page for what appears to be a "Calendar" app - except plot twist! The app name actually contains two sneaky Cyrillic characters that look like regular "a" and "e" but are technically different.

MetaMask security researcher Ohm Shah confirmed seeing this attack "in the wild," and Cole warned that it's particularly targeting verified accounts, crypto industry folks, and journalists. The fake app requests comprehensive account control permissions - way more than any legitimate calendar app would ever need.

Sophisticated phishing attack bypasses passwords and 2FA by exploiting X's app authorization system

Fake "Calendar" app uses Cyrillic characters to mimic legitimate apps while requesting full account permissions

Targeting verified crypto accounts - check your connected apps regularly and revoke suspicious "Calendar" apps

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope this edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe even a little bit richer (in knowledge, of course). Remember to stay curious, stay informed, and keep spreading the love. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

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