⚡️ SEC approves Nasdaq rule change for tokenized securities trading

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Nasdaq’s long-awaited rule change, allowing tokenized versions of stocks and ETFs to trade alongside traditional shares on the exchange.

❗️Stocks from the Russell 1000 and ETFs tracking major indices such as the S&P 500, to be represented and traded as tokenized assets on Nasdaq.

❗️ Tokenized securities must remain fully fungible with their traditional counterparts, sharing the same ticker, CUSIP, and shareholder rights.

❗️ Investors in tokenized shares will retain standard protections, including voting rights, dividend access, and claims on residual assets.

❗️ The system operates through a pilot program led by the Depository Trust Company (DTC), which will handle post-trade settlement and tokenization processes.

❗️Settlement will continue on a T+1 basis, aligning tokenized trading with current market standards.

This development marks a significant step towards integrating blockchain technology into traditional financial markets. The rule change will allow Nasdaq to list and trade securities that are represented as digital tokens on a blockchain, potentially increasing efficiency and transparency in the trading process.

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🇲🇽 Mexican banks are working to boost digital payments in tech push

Mexican regulators and banks are seeking to boost the volume of payments sent digitally and curb consumers' preference for cash, according to Emilio Romano. The central bank is preparing to publish protocols to drive the adoption of payments sent by mobile phones, and authorities are studying measures that could include eliminating cash payments for some services and products, such as gas stations and toll roads.

“First, we digitalize, and then we fiscalize,” - said Emilio Romano, head of Asociacion de Bancos de Mexico.

Mexico, where roughly 85% of small transactions are done in cash, has lagged behind other Latin American countries in having consumers sign up for banking services, largely due to concerns about taxation, and easing concerns about how the government assesses income will help.

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🆕 The new BMW i3 has more range than any Tesla

The first all-electric BMW 3 Series is here with an ultra-fast charging speeds. The electric sedan capable of accepting up to 400 kilowatts of power from a potent enough DC fast charger.

BMW says the first version to hit the American market, the all-wheel-drive i3 50 xDrive, will go a manufacturer-estimated 440 miles on a full charge. It replicated EPA testing procedures to come up with that. That’s more than any new Tesla on sale today, including the 363-mile Tesla Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive and the larger, 410-mile Tesla Model S.

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🇬🇧 UK to examine labelling AI content among wider copyright reforms

Britain plans to consider requiring labels on AI-generated content to protect consumers from disinformation and deepfakes. Technology minister Liz Kendall stressed the need to strike the right balance between protecting the creative industries and allowing the AI sector to innovate. ​

"The government would take time to get this right," - said Kendall.

The next phase of the ​government's work on copyright and AI would also look at the harms ⁠posed by digital replicas without consent, ways for creators to control their work ​online and support for independent creative organizations.

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⚠️ The FTC warned a massive group of U.S. auto dealers that hidden fees have got to go

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is sending letters to 97 auto groups nationwide, warning them that the prices they advertise must be the total price — including all mandatory fees — that consumers will be required to pay.

Examples of illegal pricing practices include:
▪️ advertising a price that does not reflect all required fees,
▪️ advertising a price that reflects rebates or discounts not available to all consumers,
▪️advertising a price that fails to take into account the amount of an additional required down payment,
▪️ conditioning the advertised price on consumers using dealer financing,
▪️ requiring consumers to buy additional items not reflected in the advertised price, and
▪️ advertising unavailable or nonexistent vehicles.

The letters are part of the FTC’s ongoing work to ensure price transparency across multiple markets, including rental housing, ticketing and hotels, grocery and delivery services, and auto sales and leasing. To help support affordability in the marketplace, the agency is dedicated to ensuring that consumers only pay the advertised price for products and services, and are not subject to undisclosed fees, hidden charges or other illegal conduct.

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🤝 Google ties data center to 20-year power deal, solar investment

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is moving ahead with plans for a major data center in Michigan that features a 20-year electricity contract requiring it to cover the full expense of adding a haul of new clean power. The project expects to use as much as one gigawatt of electricity, with service starting in December 2027 and reaching full load in late 2028.

Google said it’s evaluating a site in Van Buren Township near Detroit. The data center operations will be served by 2.7 gigawatts of new resources, including solar, storage and demand flexibility. Google's contract with DTE requires approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission and includes a commitment to fully cover the costs of new renewable energy and battery storage.

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🛰 SpaceX launches 10,000th active Starlink satellite in low Earth orbit

Almost seven years after starting to build out its broadband constellation in low Earth orbit, SpaceX now has more than 10,000 active Starlink satellites circling the planet. The company launched two new batches of the internet relay units on Tuesday, totaling 54 satellites. The Starlink megaconstellation now numbers 10,049 units.

The first company to reach this scale 👏

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💎 Lynas expands rare earths clout with first batch of samarium

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. has started producing samarium at its plant in Malaysia, ahead of an April target. The company's production of samarium, terbium, and dysprosium provides an expanded suite of light and heavy rare earths for customers to produce high-performance permanent magnets. The materials have become highly prized since Beijing restricted their exports last year.

Samarium’s main use is in powerful samarium-cobalt magnets found in everything from high-precision weaponry to advanced medical equipment and electric vehicles. Lynas, one of only two major rare earth miners outside China’s orbit, has revamped a long-term supply deal with its Japanese buyers and signed a four-year, $96 million agreement with the Pentagon for sales of rare earth oxides. 🤝

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⚡️European allies and Japan signal readiness to help secure Strait of Hormuz shipping

Leading European nations, along with Japan, issued a joint statement on Thursday declaring their "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts" to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The statement from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan added that they "condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces."

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⚡️🇺🇸🇨🇳Trump says China meeting ‘reset’ after delay

President Donald Trump said his postponed trip to China for a summit with counterpart Xi Jinping had been “reset” and suggested it would take place in mid-May. The US president did not provide a specific date for the visit.

“I think we’re going to have a great trip,” Trump told. “The trip has been postponed for about a month and a half. It’s been reset, and look forward to it.”

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🆕 The SEC’s interpretation on crypto assets is just the beginning

"The SEC’s interpretation on crypto assets is just the beginning and serves as a bridge while Congress works to advance market structure legislation. Our rules must be clear enough to guide markets, flexible enough to accommodate innovation, and firm enough to protect investors," – Paul Atkins said.

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🇬🇧 British Airways launches Starlink Wi-Fi on first connected aircraft

British Airways’ first aircraft equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi took to the skies today, the first flight operated by a UK airline featuring the innovative technology. The 787-8 aircraft bound for Houston is the first in the airline’s fleet to be connected, giving customers free access to fast, reliable internet for streaming, working and staying connected.

The airline is currently in the process of fitting Starlink onto its 787-8 fleet, and has already started equipping its next 787-8 aircraft. Within the next two years the entire British Airways fleet of more than 300 aircraft will have this powerful new technology, available for all customers, in every cabin, free of charge.

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🤖 Opera GX finally arrives on Linux by popular demand

Opera has announced its gaming-focused web browser is now natively available on Linux. The company noted that there has been a huge demand for a Linux version of Opera GX across gaming communities on Reddit, Discord, and Linux forums. Opera GX browser officially supports Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE-based Linux distributions and is available in Debian (.deb) and RPM (.rpm) package formats. The company is additionally working on Flatpak support.

“Bringing GX to Linux users – who are renowned for the control they like to exert over their tools – means gamers and developers can manage browser resources, customize their setup, and keep their system performing exactly the way they want,” – said Maciej Kocemba, Product Director at Opera GX.

As for privacy, Opera GX offers ad and tracker blockers as well as an optional built-in VPN, which has been independently audited and offers a zero-log policy. The browser follows European privacy regulations (GDPR) and does not collect location data, browsing history, page content, search queries, or any information that a user has typed into forms.

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💊 HHS watchdog slams nursing homes’ antipsychotic drug use

A pair of federal watchdog reports urge Medicare and Medicaid Services to do more to crack down on nursing homes’ use of antipsychotic drugs and inappropriate schizophrenia diagnoses for residents with dementia.

One of the issue briefs from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General offers a stark depiction of how nursing homes are using antipsychotic drugs: as chemical restraints to make staff members’ jobs easier, without taking required steps to protect those patients. The other describes how nursing homes are artificially inflating their quality ratings by inappropriately diagnosing residents with schizophrenia to mask their antipsychotic use. 🤯

This isn’t the first time these problems have come to light. They’ve been the subject of much research and a 2020 Congressional investigation, and the HHS OIG itself has highlighted them before.

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🛰 K2 to launch its first high-powered satellite for space compute

K2 Space, founded by brothers and former SpaceX engineers Karan and Neel Kunjur in 2022, has packed its satellite Gravitas into a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket expected to launch as soon as the end of this month. Gravitas has a mass of two metric tons, with a 40 meter wingspan when its solar panels are unfolded.

“The future is higher power,” – CEO Karan Kunjur explains.

The point of the big satellite is big power: Gravitas is capable of producing 20 kW of electricity for use by payloads like powerful sensors, transceivers, and computers. For comparison, the even larger and more expensive ViaSat-3 spacecraft can generate more than 25 kW of power, while Elon Musk has said Starlink V3 satellites will generate 20 kW.

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💊 Biotech turns to Apple Watch for Parkinson's study

Annovis Bio will begin using Apple Watches to monitor patients in a study of its investigational drug buntanetap in Parkinson’s disease. The open-label extension study aims to evaluate the long-term effects of the drug on people who enrolled in its phase III study, as well as on people receiving deep brain stimulation.

Annovis will offer 100 participants NeuroRPM’s FDA-cleared platform that uses the Apple Watch to monitor bradykinesia, dyskinesia, and tremor symptoms. NeuroRPM is one of several companies that has built Apple Watch-based solutions for tracking Parkinson’s for patient support, clinical care, and clinical trials.

Parkinson’s disease symptoms are highly variable. A continuous flow of data from digital sources can help paint a more robust picture of the real-world effects of drugs and maybe even one day help secure a drug approval.

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🌍 World-first commercial quantum orbital cloud for unhackable comms planned by Swiss firm

Semiconductor maker SEAL SQ plans to build the world’s first commercial quantum spatial orbital cloud (QSOC) to deliver unhackable communications and quantum security as a service to banks, federal governments, defense agencies, and enterprises. It has teamed up with WISeSat, a sister company, to launch a 100-satellite constellation that will be fully operational by 2033 with a contractually guaranteed uptime of 99.9%.

“Together, we are not building a satellite program – we are building the quantum internet’s infrastructure,” – said Carlos Moreira, CEO of SEALSQ.

SEAL SQ will deploy its proprietary quantum technology stack across the constellation, control quantum payloads, software, and security architecture, and handle the customer end. WISeSat will leverage its technical expertise across engineering teams, regulatory compliance, manufacturing, and launch infrastructure to deliver the capacity SEAL SQ needs to offer its services.

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