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Japan's trade minister, Yoji Muto, recently concluded a series of high-level meetings in Washington aimed at securing an exemption for Japan from the impending U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum, and potentially automobiles. Despite Japan's significant economic contributions to the U.S., including job creation through investments, Muto was unable to obtain a commitment from U.S. officials to exclude Japan from these tariffs, which are set to impact Japanese exports significantly. The discussions took place just before the tariffs were due to be implemented, highlighting the urgency of the situation. Japan, a country heavily dependent on exports, particularly automobiles, faces potential economic strain as the U.S. is its largest market for these products. Amidst these trade tensions, Japan has been reinforcing economic ties with other nations, like Britain, to advocate for fair trade practices. The ongoing dialogue between Japan and the U.S. focuses on establishing a "win-win" relationship, with additional talks on energy cooperation, including LNG development in Alaska.
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On March 11, 2025, Meteora co-founder Ben Chow's X account was reportedly hacked, leading to a controversial post accusing memecoin founders of unethical practices. The post, which was later deleted, claimed Chow resigned due to the parasitic nature of the memecoin space, specifically targeting DefiTuna founders Vlad Pozniakov and Dhirk for their involvement in token launches like MELANIA, MATES, and a Raydium launch. Meteora's official X account confirmed the hack, warning users against clicking on any links from the compromised accounts. The post included alleged screenshots of conversations discussing fund extraction from token launches, though their authenticity could not be verified. Meteora's CEO, Zen, also confirmed a brief compromise of their official account, which has since been secured. This incident adds to the ongoing controversy surrounding memecoins, particularly in light of recent political endorsements and market fluctuations involving tokens like LIBRA, endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei.
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In his opinion piece, Michael O’Rourke, founder of Pocket Network and CEO of Grove, argues that the current centralized infrastructure for open data is at odds with the principles of Web3, which emphasizes decentralization. He highlights that open data, with a market value over $350 billion, could significantly benefit from a shift to decentralized systems. This transition would address several issues:
Affordable LLM Training: The cost of training large language models (LLMs) like DeepSeek R1 is significantly lower on decentralized platforms compared to centralized ones, reducing expenses from over $100 million to about $5.5 million.
Accessible Research Data Sharing: Decentralized infrastructure can facilitate trustless data sharing in research, preserving privacy and reducing the control of high-cost journals, thereby making scientific data more accessible.
Unstoppable DApp Hosting: Centralized hosting platforms like AWS or Google Cloud have single points of failure, whereas decentralized hosting ensures reliability and resistance to censorship, as seen in past incidents with platforms like Infura.
O’Rourke emphasizes that decentralized infrastructure not only aligns with the ethos of Web3 but also provides practical benefits in terms of cost, accessibility, and reliability, making it the future for hosting and managing open data.
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Recent market analysis by Glassnode indicates that Bitcoin investors who bought at the peak price of $109,000 in January are now selling off their holdings, leading to what's described as a "moderate capitulation event." This sell-off has been driven by a significant drop in Bitcoin's price, with short-term holders, those who have held Bitcoin for less than 155 days, experiencing an unrealized loss of about 10.6%. The average purchase price for these short-term holders has risen by 47% over the last five months, now standing at $91,362, while Bitcoin trades at around $81,930. Glassnode warns that if the selling continues, Bitcoin might find a temporary floor at around $70,000. This situation reflects a broader market sentiment of uncertainty and reduced demand, with investors showing signs of panic and loss realization. Despite a recent 7.5% spike in Bitcoin's price, the overall market mood remains cautious, with potential for further price drops if current trends persist.
