By Kapil Rajyaguru
OKX Secures MiCA License, Launches Regulated Crypto Trading Across Europe.
OKX is among the first MiCA-licensed crypto exchanges to passport its services across Europe, offering fully regulated, localized crypto trading in the European Economic Area (EEA). Now available to over 400 million users in 28 countries via its Malta hub, users benefit from OTC, spot and bot trading, 240+ tokens, 300+ pairs including over 60 EUR pairs, free EUR deposits, multi-lingual support, local payment methods and more. This milestone under MiCA licensing heralds truly secure, accessible crypto trading for Europe.
Hyperliquid Rolls Out HyperEVM, Unveils Bug Bounty Rewards.
Hyperliquid, a layer-1 blockchain platform, launched a bug bounty program alongside the rollout of HyperEVM, its general-purpose Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
On Feb. 18, the Hyper Foundation, which supports the Hyperliquid ecosystem, launched HyperEVM. Unlike other EVMs, HyperEVM is not a separate chain.
Instead, it utilizes the same consensus mechanism as Hyperliquid’s layer-1. According to Hyperliquid, this allows the EVM to directly interact with native components of the layer-1 network.
As part of its launch, the platform introduced a bug bounty program to reward developers who can find bugs within the system.
Despite the launch of the HyperEVM, the ecosystem’s native token remained steady, hovering at around $26, according to CoinGecko. The token has a market capitalization of $8.6 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of over $200 million.
Grok-3 Outperforms All AI Models In Benchmark Test.
An earlier version of the newly launched Grok-3, an AI large language model (LLM), has beaten rival AI systems from Google, OpenAI, and DeepSeek in a community-driven blind evaluation.
On Feb. 18, Elon Musk announced xAI’s latest AI model release, Grok-3, during a livestream on X. In the discussion, the xAI team revealed it had released an early Grok-3 version on LMarena under the alias “chocolate” for community testing.
According to XAI’s internal comparison of AI models, Grok-3 scored at least 10 points more than its biggest competitors—ChatGPT o3mini, o1, Deepseek-R1, and Gemini-2 Flash Thinking—in math, science, and coding.
Tether Signs Agreement With Guinea To Explore Blockchain Tech.
Crypto stablecoin issuer Tether has inked an agreement with the African nation of Guinea for the country to explore the adoption of blockchain and peer-to-peer tech.
Tether said in a Feb. 17 blog post that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that “hopes to establish the groundwork for the country’s adoption of blockchain technologies and create an environment conducive to innovation.”
The agreement aims to share best practices with the West African nation, focusing on education, innovation, and sustainable tech practices, the company added.
South Korea Bans DeepSeek AI Over Privacy Concerns.
South Korea has halted the DeepSeek chatbot app, which has garnered attention for its AI-powered services. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) announced that DeepSeek agreed to stop new downloads starting February 15.
This is all because the government is investigating how the Chinese company handles personal data, which has raised a lot of security concerns. While the app’s not available for new users, people who already have it can still use it, though the PIPC has warned existing users to stay cautious until the investigation is over.
During this pause, the commission is conducting a thorough investigation into DeepSeek’s processing of personal information, with the aim of ensuring the company adheres to South Korea’s privacy laws.
Hong Kong Asia Holdings Stock Soars 93% After Buying 1 BTC.
HK Asia Holdings’ stock price nearly doubled after the company announced that it had bought just one Bitcoin. The Hong Kong-based investment firm revealed on Feb. 16 that it acquired 1 BTC for about $96,150 using internal funds.
Despite the small purchase, the stock skyrocketed 93% to close at HK$5.50 on Feb. 17, nearing its 2019 peak.
The company called the move symbolic but a step toward integrating digital assets into its financial plans. They believe Bitcoin is a reliable store of value, especially with economic uncertainty and inflation concerns.
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