... $12 billion—a testament to investor appetite for this young project. Elon Musk's xAI project announced the closure of a record funding round—about $5 billion in equity and another $5 billion in debt instruments, providing the startup with colossal resources for developing its AI platform and data center infrastructure. According to insider estimates, xAI's valuation now exceeds $100 billion, placing the company among the most valuable private firms in the world. Another ambitious player, the startup ...

... venture fund was announced in partnership with the state bank PSB, valued at around 12 billion rubles for investment in dual-use projects—from drones and artificial intelligence to robotics. PSB is the anchor investor in this fund, also attracting resources from private players; even under sanctions, the market is seeking opportunities to finance priority technologies and nurture its own "unicorns." At the same time, some regional startups are reaching new heights. For instance, the Krasnodar-based ...

... stablecoins, and the market shows a high demand for digital dollars for payments and trading. Moreover, Circle holds 100% of its reserves in high-quality liquid assets and undergoes regular audits, meaning even in times of stress, the company has the resources to withstand mass redemption requests for USDC. Thus, our price forecast for USD Coin in May 2025 is $1.00. We anticipate that USDC will continue to serve as a digital equivalent of the dollar without losing its peg. In conclusion, for investors ...

... a new block added to the chain. Thus, the blockchain ensures transparency and immutability of data: it is nearly impossible to retroactively alter a record in an already added block without reconstructing the entire chain, which requires tremendous resource expenditure. The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin (BTC), launched in 2009 by a person or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin demonstrated that a digital asset could be created to serve as money without the involvement of governments ...

... incentives for businesses – but global investors are skeptical that these steps will be sufficient to achieve the targeted annual growth of around 5.5–6%. The softer trajectory of the Chinese economy is reflected across the region, particularly impacting resource and goods exporters from the APEC region. Additional pressure on sentiment in Asia comes from trade and political factors. Uncertainty continues regarding US–China trade relations: despite potential compromises with allies, a significant portion ...