Bitcoin surges to record high
Bitcoin has touched a record high after crossing the $81,000 mark as Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. Presidential campaign boosts expectations that regulation around cryptocurrencies will become more supportive. Bitcoin has doubled from the lowest price this year of $38,505 to $81,899, the last price it was at. Trump was funded by a pro-crypto group post which he said that the U.S. would become the “crypto capital of the planet” during his campaign. Trump also promised to fire U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler who was seen to increase regulatory scrutiny against crypto.
Trump also announced a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial in September while his son Eric Trump is a keynote speaker at a bitcoin conference in Abu Dhabi next month. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, a major Trump supporter has also favoured crypto for a while now. Besides bitcoin, other crypto currencies including ether and Dogecoin prices also rose.
U.S. orders TSMC to halt shipments to China
The U.S. has ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to halt shipments of their advanced chips for AI applications to Chinese clients according to a Reuters report. The Department of Commerce has sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on specific chips with 7nm or even more advanced designs that are used in AI accelerators and graphics processing units (GPUs). A few weeks ago, an advanced TSMC chip had been reportedly found in a Huawei AI processor post which the Commerce Department had been notified.
Huawei is notably on a restricted trade list for the U.S. Lawmakers from both sides, Republicans and Democrats had expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the export ban on China. A Chinese media outlet reported that TSMC had informed Chinese chip design companies that it would be suspending 7 nm or below chips for AI and GPU customers starting from November 11. Nvdia and AMD had already been barred from exporting AI chips to China in 2022.
India to summon Amazon, Flipkart execs
The Enforcement Directorate will be summoning Amazon and Flipkart execs to investigate allegations of foreign investment law violations after raids were conducted in their offices last week. Sales for both e-commerce platforms have grown increased in India’s $70 billion online shopping market. Separately, allegations of antitrust have long been levelled against both for favouring select sellers. Foreign e-commerce platforms are barred from holding inventory in India according to laws here.
Data has showed that Amazon and Flipkart had a 24% and 32% market share respectively in Indian e-commerce last year which is 8% of the total $834 billion retail segment. Major online platforms have been facing pressure from the Indian government. Last week, food delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy were found to favour certain restaurants.
Published - November 11, 2024 02:49 pm IST
