📌 TOPINDIATOURS Breaking ai: Sickos Cackle With Glee as Bitcoin Starts to Fall Aga

Mainstream cryptocurrency Bitcoin plummeted earlier this month, crashing down to a sliver over $60,000 — which is well under half of its all-time high value it reached just over four months ago.

It was a bloodbath that was followed by a short moment of reprieve over the weekend, when it rebounded above the $70,000 mark once more.

But don’t call it a comeback. As CNBC reports, the bounce has faded once again, with Bitcoin slipping back down to $66,000 by midday on Wednesday, down 47 percent over its October record high.

Critics watched in glee as the cryptocurrency kept tumbling.

“I’m going to enjoy watching Bitcoin crash,” former White House staffer Claude Taylor tweeted.

Others were unnerved by the drop.

“Not going to lie,” one X user tweeted. “Buying Bitcoin is painful right now. Feels like I’m lighting my money on fire.”

Bitcoin’s woes earlier this month resulted from a surge in liquidations, prompting other traders to follow suit. Uncertainty over president Donald Trump’s pick for Federal Reserve chair also had investors uneasy, with many choosing to bow out of riskier bets like crypto.

The US government reported earlier today that 130,000 jobs were added to the economy in January alone, double the economic forecasts, leading many traders to quickly rein in any expectations of an imminent interest rate cut. However, whether any rate cuts would’ve allowed Bitcoin to surge in the first place remains debatable, as Coindesk points out. For one, the Labor Department also revealed that it had made massive cuts to its 20245-2025 numbers, greatly undermining its latest announcement.

Large selloffs of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which allow investors to get in on Bitcoin bets indirectly through traditional brokerage accounts, added to the pressure.

All eyes are on Bitcoin. Historically, it’s often bounced back after a “halving” event, a pre-scheduled occasion which sees Bitcoin mining rewards being halved, and reaching new all-time highs after. It’s a four-year cycle that most recently restarted following a halving in April 2024.

But whether that will be the case following the latest crash has turned into a heated debate as of late, with some speculating that the “four-year cycle” is “dead,” while crypto bulls claim it’s “intact.”

“2026 I expect to be a bear leg to the four-year cycle,” Canary Capital CEO Steven McClurg told CNBC. “We have experienced several four-year cycles since bitcoin has launched and this is no different than any other.”

Others have been far more pessimistic in their outlook, predicting Bitcoin could plummet to as low as $30,000, or even $0.

“This week has shown us that the supply of ‘greater fools’ that bitcoin relies on is drying up,” Financial Times columnist and Bitcoin critic Jemima Kelly argued in a recent piece. “The fairy tales that have been keeping crypto afloat are turning out to be just that. People are beginning to wake up to the fact that there is no floor in the value of something based on nothing more than thin air.”

More on Bitcoin: As Crash Deepens, Investors Say Bitcoin Is Headed for Zero Dollars

The post Sickos Cackle With Glee as Bitcoin Starts to Fall Again appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com

📌 TOPINDIATOURS Eksklusif ai: Germany’s new project could slash EV charging times

A new project kicked off in Germany aims to drastically reduce EV charging times. Long charging times and limited ranges are still two major hurdles that deter many potential EV buyers.

For this, researchers in Dortmund University are significantly involved in the EU research project ODYSSEV.

ODYSSEV stands for “Optimised Dynamics of High-Voltage Powertrains: Developing Sustainable Systems for Electric Vehicles.”

Next logical step in electromobility

The goal is to advance the use of high-voltage technologies in electric vehicles and define safety standards. Designed to run for 42 months, the project is funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe program through the 2ZERO Partnership, and was launched in early 2026 with a kick-off event at the CIRCE Institute in Zaragoza, Spain.

“With ODYSSEV, we are taking the next logical step in electromobility,” said Prof. Dr. Markus Thoben.

“High-voltage technologies beyond 800 volts not only enable dramatically shorter charging times, but also lighter vehicles thanks to thinner cables and higher overall efficiency through reduced energy losses. This makes electric cars more suitable for everyday use and more attractive to a broad range of buyers.”

To understand why high-voltage technology is so crucial, a simple analogy helps: Electricity flows through a cable much like water flows through a hose. To transmit more power, there are two ways – either a larger hose (thicker cables and higher current) or higher pressure (higher voltage). High-voltage systems rely on the second approach.

This enables, for example, ultra-fast charging while requiring only thinner cables, which saves weight and costs. They also generate less waste heat, resulting in less energy loss, according to details released by the university.

However, the leap to higher voltages is technically demanding: at over 1000 volts, the requirements for insulation materials increase drastically, conventional silicon semiconductors reach their limits, and batteries must cope with the massive energy input during fast charging without overheating. This is precisely where ODYSSEV comes in.

“Our task is to orchestrate the complex interplay of all components and accelerate the development processes using digital methods,” explains Seyed Saeed Mirsafian, research associate on the project.

“We contribute our expertise in modeling and simulation to optimize on the computer what will later have to work on the road. This saves time and costs and makes it possible to test various scenarios before the first prototype is built.” The project will culminate in the testing of the developed demonstrator on the LaSiSe test track in Selm.

Researchers revealed that the project covers the entire development chain – from innovative semiconductors and high-performance power modules to integration into key components such as on-board chargers and traction inverters. In addition, an electric motor specifically designed for this high-voltage architecture is being developed, which, together with a reconfigurable battery pack, forms the basis for a highly efficient and scalable drive system.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com