China Broker Tianfeng Unit Applies for Hong Kong Crypto Licenses
The firm, a wholly owned unit of Shanghai-listed Tianfeng Securities Co., recently applied to Hong Kong's Securities & Futures Commission to provide virtual asset in/out services, enabling investors to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies rather than traditional currencies when dealing in virtual assets, said the person, who asked not to be named discussing a private matter.
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Forbes
3 minutes ago
- Forbes
AI Training Gets 10x Faster, 95% Cheaper With Decentralized Strategy
A quiet shift in the foundations of artificial intelligence (AI) may be underway, and it is not happening in a hyperscale data center. 0G Labs, the first decentralized AI protocol (AIP), in collaboration with China Mobile, recently announced a technical breakthrough that could have sweeping implications for how businesses access and deploy large language models. Their innovation is a new method of training massive AI models with over 100 billion parameters, without needing the ultra-high-speed internet or expensive centralized infrastructure typically required. At first glance, this might sound like a win for the engineering world. But the real story is economic and strategic. What 0G Labs has achieved could lower the cost of building AI, put more control back into the hands of enterprises, and open the door for new players to enter the space. What It Means For AI Training To understand the shift, it helps to revisit how large-scale AI models are currently trained. Models like OpenAI's GPT-4 or Anthropic's Claude require vast computing power and network throughput. Traditionally, this means training them on powerful GPUs connected across high-speed, centralized data centers owned or rented from companies like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. As of early 2025, OpenAI's leadership, including Sam Altman, publicly stated that training GPT‑4 cost over $100 million. This is supported both by official statements and multiple cost models in recent AI analysis reportsIt is a model that demands capital, talent, and infrastructure that few organizations can afford. 0G Labs Is Challenging That Assumption For AI Training Their newly published framework, called DiLoCoX, introduces a low-communication training method that dramatically reduces the need for high-bandwidth connectivity. In practical terms, they successfully trained a 107 billion parameter model on a 1 Gbps network using decentralized clusters. This record is a 10x improvement of the previous record and the 300x speed-up breakthrough that made this possible for the first time. This is roughly the bandwidth of a typical office internet connection. Instead of building everything in one giant compute center, their approach links together smaller, distributed machines and optimizes how information is shared between them. The result is a highly scalable, cost-efficient way to train massive models outside the traditional cloud. In speaking with 0G labs founder and CEO Michael Heinrich, he said 'DiLoCoX marks a pivotal step in democratizing LLM training: bridging the gap between massive foundation models and decentralized clusters connected by slow, unreliable networks. By combining pipeline parallelism, delay‑tolerant communication overlap, and adaptive gradient compression, the framework delivers scale and speed previously thought exclusive to high‑bandwidth data centers. This will usher in a new era where large‑scale AI training is no longer tethered to centralized infrastructure.' Why Does AI Training Matter for Business At a time when every enterprise is under pressure to do more with AI, infrastructure is quickly becoming the bottleneck. Some businesses are starting to look at decentralized AI by design. Building large models remains expensive, exclusive, and largely confined to companies with deep resources or strategic cloud partnerships. 0G's breakthrough opens up a third path. This is not just a story of cost savings. It is a story of optionality and control. 1. Lowering the Barrier to Entry DiLoCoX's approach reduces the infrastructure by up to 95% required to participate in the LLM race. For startups, this means the ability to experiment and scale without burning through venture capital on GPU spend. For mid-sized enterprises, it offers the possibility of training models in-house without making large cloud commitments. For governments and research labs, it means more accessible and sovereign development of AI capabilities. 2. Strategic Independence from Hyperscalers Most AI training today depends on three cloud providers. That concentration carries risk in terms of cost escalation, vendor lock-in, and compliance. If your business depends on AI but also operates in a sensitive sector like healthcare, defense, or finance, the ability to train or fine-tune models independently becomes a powerful strategic lever. Decentralized AI offers a route toward digital autonomy. By breaking the assumption that cutting-edge AI must be trained inside centralized cloud platforms, 0G's model creates new room for competition and for innovation. 3. Aligning with Data Privacy and Compliance Needs Many companies are cautious about uploading proprietary data to cloud-based models or training environments. With decentralized training, it becomes possible to keep data local within jurisdiction, within the firewall, or even on edge devices while still participating in large-scale AI development. This is particularly attractive in regions with strict data sovereignty laws such as the European Union or countries building their own AI ecosystems. The 0G network never sees any of the private data 4. Accelerating Innovation in Underserved Markets The high cost of entry has kept many countries and industries on the sidelines of advanced AI development. DiLoCoX lowers that threshold. A university in Kenya, a telecom provider in Southeast Asia, or a regional bank in Latin America may not have access to the same compute as Silicon Valley, but they may soon have the tools to train and deploy their intelligent systems on existing infrastructure. 5. Geopolitical and Regulatory Risks While the technical achievement is impressive, the involvement of China Mobile raises questions. As tensions between the United States and China continue to escalate over technology leadership and national security, businesses must weigh the potential regulatory scrutiny, data governance concerns, and reputational risks associated with partnerships involving Chinese state-affiliated entities. For companies based in the United States or operating in allied markets, any integration of infrastructure or research tied to China could face export controls, legal restrictions, or public backlash. Organizations exploring decentralized AI solutions will need to consider not just performance and cost, but also political alignment, compliance frameworks, and long-term viability. However, having DiLoCoX on a decentralized infrastructure where the network is trustless, this is not a concern because China Mobile never sees your data, and the system doesn't rely on them for results. Reframing the Business Model of AI If DiLoCoX is widely adopted, it could create ripple effects across the broader AI ecosystem. Cloud revenue models, currently boosted by AI workloads, could face new pricing pressure. AI-as-a-service platforms may need to re-architect to support hybrid or decentralized deployments. Open-source frameworks might grow in influence as decentralization emphasizes interoperability and local control. Enterprise software vendors may need to rethink their AI strategies to reflect a more distributed compute landscape. This shift also aligns with the broader trend of AI for everyone. From low-code agent builders to edge-based inferencing, the movement is toward more accessible, modular, and customizable AI stacks. Decentralized training is the natural extension of that philosophy. An AI Signal for CIOs and CTOs For enterprise leaders, 0G's work serves as a signal not of immediate disruption, but of near-future opportunity. AI is evolving from its critical beginning. Now is the time to reevaluate infrastructure strategy. Should your organization continue investing in cloud-based model hosting, or begin exploring decentralized alternatives? Could your internal data center serve as a node in a distributed training system? Decentralized federated learning is a great way of tapping into private data from different parties on a network, like hospitals training a cancer diagnostic model. Might you partner with others in your sector to co-develop models using decentralized protocols? Even if the answer is not yes today, the emergence of frameworks like DiLoCoX should push AI infrastructure planning higher on the strategic agenda. Businesses that prepare for this shift by building internal capacity, evaluating partners, and understanding the technical stack will be best positioned to move when the economics tip in their favor. A Future Where AI is Built Differently What 0G Labs and China Mobile have demonstrated is more than just a technical proof of concept. It is a new way of thinking about how intelligence is built, trained, and distributed. By showing that it is possible to train 100 billion parameter models without centralized supercomputers, they are not just pushing the boundaries of scale. They are expanding access. For business, that means AI may soon be less about who owns the biggest data center and more about who can build the smartest systems with the most flexibility. That is an AI future worth preparing for.
Forbes
3 minutes ago
- Forbes
Trump Order Pushes Tariffs Start Date To August 7—Here Are The New Rates
President Donald Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs on nearly all key U.S. trading partners will go into effect on August 7—a week later than his self-imposed deadline of August 1—as he signed an executive order on Thursday night setting revised rates for 68 countries and the European Union. President Donald Trump pushed the start of the tariff dates from his self imposed August 1 deadline to August 7. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Trump's order outlines updated tariff rates for 67 countries, the European Union and Taiwan, ranging between 10% and 41%. Countries not listed in the order will face a baseline tariff rate of 10%—which is in line with Trump's April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement. The new order does not cover rates for China, which is still engaged in tariff negotiations with the U.S. government, and Mexico, which was given a 90-day extension on an earlier deal while trade talks with the U.S. continue. It is unclear why the tariffs were pushed from August 1 to August 7, but this will likely heighten uncertainty for key trading partners, who now have an additional week to negotiate lower rates. Syria, Laos and Myanmar will face the highest reciprocal tariff rates of 40 to 41% as per Thursday's order. Canada is one of the countries not mentioned in Trump's reciprocal tariffs order. In a separate announcement, the White House said Canada will face a 35% tariff rate—up from an earlier 25%—for goods not covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Unlike other tariffs that are labeled as 'reciprocal' the White House claims the levies placed on Canada are in response to the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across the northern border. The White House claims the levies on the northern neighbor have been raised because, 'Canada has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and it has retaliated against the United States for the President's actions.' In a statement responding to the higher tariffs, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed disappointment and said: 'The United States has justified its most recent trade action on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl, despite the fact that Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.' What Are The Revised Tariff Rates And How Much Have They Changed? The revised tariff are as follows: Afghanistan: 15%, up from the 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Algeria: 30% same as 'Liberation Day' Angola: 15%, down from 32% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Bangladesh: 20% down from 37% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Bolivia: 15% up from the 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Bosnia and Herzegovina: 30% down from 35% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Botswana: 15% down from 37% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Brazil: 10% same as 'Liberation Day,' but the country faces an additional 40% due to the ongoing criminal prosecution of Trump's ally and the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro. Brunei: 25% up from 24% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Cambodia: 19% down from 49% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Cameroon: 15% up from 11% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Chad: 15% up from 13% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Costa Rica: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Côte d`Ivoire: 15% down from 21% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Democratic Republic of the Congo: 15% up from 11% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Ecuador: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Equatorial Guinea: 15% up from 13% announced on 'Liberation Day.' European Union: 15% down from 20% announced on 'Liberation Day' and 30% threatened last month. Falkland Islands: 10% down from 41% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Fiji: 15% down from 32% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Ghana: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Guyana: 15% down from 38% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Iceland: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' India: 25% down from 26% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Indonesia: 19% down from 32% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Iraq: 35% down from 39% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Israel: 15% down from 17% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Japan: 15% down from 24% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Jordan: 15% down from 20% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Kazakhstan: 25% down from 27% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Laos: 40% down from 48% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Lesotho: 15% down from 50% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Libya: 30% down from 31% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Liechtenstein: 15% down from 37% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Madagascar: 15% down from 47% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Malawi: 15% down from 17% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Malaysia: 19% down from 24% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Mauritius: 15% down 40% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Moldova: 25% down from 31% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Mozambique: 15% down from 16% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Myanmar (Burma): 40% down from 44% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Namibia: 15% down from 21% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Nauru: 15% down from 30% announced on 'Liberation Day.' New Zealand: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Nicaragua: 18% same as 'Liberation Day.' Nigeria: 15% up from 14% announced on 'Liberation Day.' North Macedonia: 15% down from 33% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Norway: 15% same as 'Liberation Day.' Pakistan: 19% down from 29% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Papua New Guinea: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Philippines: 19% up from 17% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Serbia: 35% down from 37% announced on 'Liberation Day.' South Africa: 30% same as 'Liberation Day.' South Korea: 15% down from 25% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Sri Lanka: 20% down from 44% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Switzerland: 39% up from 31% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Syria: 41% same as 'Liberation Day.' Taiwan: 20% down from 32% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Thailand: 19% down from 36% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Trinidad and Tobago: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Tunisia: 25% down from 28% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Turkey: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Uganda: 15% up from 10% announced on 'Liberation Day.' United Kingdom: 10% same as 'Liberation Day.' Vanuatu: 15% down from 22% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Venezuela: 15% same as 'Liberation Day.' Vietnam: 20% down from 46% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Zambia: 15% down from 17% announced on 'Liberation Day.' Zimbabwe: 15% down from 18% announced on 'Liberation Day.' How Have World Leaders Reacted To Trump's Revised Tariffs? The revised tariffs have drawn mixed reactions from U.S. trading partners, with some leaders still holding out hopes for a better deal. Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister tweeted: 'The announcement of the 19% tariff rate reflects the strong friendship and close partnership between Thailand and the United States.' Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote on Facebook the lowered 19% rate for his country was 'great news for the people and the economy of Cambodia to continue develop our nation.' Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te called the lowering of tariffs from 32% to 20% was a 'stage achievement' by Taiwan's negotiation team but added that 'from the very beginning, 20 percent has never been Taiwan's goal in the team will continue its efforts in the talks, and the U.S. government has expressed its willingness to continue the discussions.' Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the 15% levy imposed on his country was a preliminary number and 'we are negotiating further.' Støre added 'I think there should be zero tariffs. That is the Norwegian principled view.' How Have Markets Reacted To Trump's Updated Tariffs? U.S. futures were down sharply in premarket trading early on Friday, while key stock indexes across Asia and Europe were also hit. The benchmark S&P 500 futures dropped 0.84% to 6,323.25 points, while Dow fell 0.83% to 43,936 points. The tech centric Nasdaq index was the hardest hit, slumping 0.92% to 23,150.25 points. In Asia, South Korea's KOSPI was hit the hardest, as it fell 3.88%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.66% and 1.02% respectively. In Europe, the pan-European STOXX 50 index was down 1.12% while the London Stock Exchange's FTSE 100 fell 0.75%. Crucial Quote In a statement accompanying the order, the White House said: 'President Trump is using tariffs as a necessary and powerful tool to put America First after many years of unsustainable trade deficits that threaten our economy and national security.' Further Reading These Are The Trump Tariffs Launching Friday: Far Short Of The 90 Promised Deals (Forbes)
Forbes
3 minutes ago
- Forbes
From Instant Noodles To Blockchain: A Journey Of Self-Reliance And Systemic Change
Gracy Chen is CEO of BitGet. When I was nine years old, I learned what I thought was the most important skill I could master. I was wrong. As a single mother, my mom worked all day, and then, on some evenings, she'd go to class. She was doing her MBA at Sichuan, the best university in Southwest China. Because she was busy with work and studying, I mastered the skill that I thought was most important: Boiling instant noodles without burning the house down. On other nights, we'd go out and meet with her classmates, and she'd tell me, 'This friend runs a huge chain of stores. This one runs the chain of restaurants we're going to have dinner in.' Boil Your Own Noodles Looking back, I realize my childhood was like a mini-MBA: master of basic autonomy. Lesson one: If you want noodles, you'd better learn to cook them yourself. She didn't even teach me how to cook, but my mom did teach me the importance of three things: • Independence • Going after what you want • That getting an education is essential These lessons have driven me throughout my career and are responsible for my becoming CEO of Bitget, a company where we understand the importance of empowering women. Crypto With Conscience At Bitget, we have been committed to leading the crypto revolution among women. We know it starts from within. We're the only top 10 crypto exchange with a female CEO, and 50% of management at Bitget are women. Think about that for a moment: 50% women in management? In crypto? That's like finding a Bitcoin wallet that didn't get lost in a boating accident—rare, but glorious. Blockchain4Her: From Mission To Movement In January 2024, we launched the education initiative BlockChain4Her, with a $10 million commitment to scholarship and mentorship. We know that women are underrepresented in the crypto universe, but we want to rewrite the rules of inclusion in Web3. With Blockchain4Her, what began as a mission to empower hundreds of women has scaled into a global movement to educate thousands of girls and women. Educating 300,000 Futures Partnering with UNICEF and joining the Game Changers Coalition is our next step in doing that. Again and again, research shows that educating women and girls is key to changing communities for the better and even to increasing a country's GDP. Doing so in the crypto space expands the opportunities for women's financial independence and has the potential for exponential impact. Currently, women and girls in low- and middle-income countries lose out on $15 billion in economic opportunities annually due to digital skills and internet access gaps. Blockchain has the potential to leapfrog infrastructure barriers; many young women in rural areas may never see a real bank branch, but they can access a crypto wallet on their phones. Web3 is becoming increasingly important in our world. The U.S. government is in the process of passing a stablecoin bill to allow more global transactions to be settled in stablecoins on the blockchain. Every top university is offering blockchain courses now, even Harvard. All the most renowned universities are teaching their students about crypto finance, blockchain tech or Web3 entrepreneurship. If we want true equality, it is essential that women are given opportunities to learn about this new and paradigm-shifting technology. Working With UNICEF We'll be working with UNICEF over the next three years to build a curriculum and roll out a program that will be available to women and girls globally. We'll deliver blockchain education to 300,000 people across eight countries: Armenia, Brazil, Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco and South Africa. The curriculum will be deployed both online and in-person, using game-based learning on platforms like Agora. We understand that we can't always know what's best for different regions, so we'll be working with local teams to make sure the content is always relevant. Those teams will help shape delivery, select guest lecturers and translate materials as needed. Starting this year, we will also be adding a blockchain pillar to the hackathons held in various nations, so that the women and girls we've helped educate and bring into the crypto space can build community with each other to amplify the impact of their understanding of blockchain and opportunities for financial freedom. And we'll be offering mentorship, internships and seed funding for youth-led projects. Bitget and UNICEF both understand that educating and empowering women and girls—especially when it comes to STEAM—is key to building a better world for all of us. We want to bridge gender and economic divides by equipping adolescent girls, parents, teachers and mentors with blockchain literacy. But this idea runs even deeper, right down to the core values of the work all of us do. Equity Is The Point When I first discovered crypto, one of the things that most excited me was the egalitarian nature of the industry. Bitcoin was founded on the idea of peer-to-peer networks versus the traditional financial model, where a few people or organizations hold all of the power—a model that has been shown (by every financial crisis) to be enormously problematic. However, equity is at the very heart of the concept of crypto. And yet, we don't see that playing out. Despite crypto adoption being highest in emerging economies like Indonesia and India, few platforms are investing in long-term education or infrastructure in those places. Companies in our industry must do more than innovate. We must lead with conscience. This isn't about 'being good people.' In crypto—maybe more than in any other industry—we know that a rising tide lifts all boats. The more we can drive mass adoption, the more we all succeed. At Bitget, we are committed to this. Our internal structures reflect inclusivity. Our Blockchain4Her initiative has been pushing for more equity, and our partnership with UNICEF on the Game Changers Coalition is the next step. The tech industry is uniquely positioned to redefine access, equity and opportunity. The real question is: Will we collectively rise to the occasion? Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
