Bitcoin climbed above $64,600 on Tuesday as traders weighed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. BTC reached $64,926 intraday before easing to about $64,611, up roughly 0.6% from the previous close. Brent crude rose 0.7% to $91.46 a barrel, keeping energy prices and inflation risks in focus. U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington was not holding talks with Iran, while Tehran disputed his claim that the strategic waterway was open. Shipping traffic remains far below its pre-conflict average, adding uncertainty for oil markets. Bitcoin remains below $65,000, a near-term resistance level. Strategy reported no Bitcoin purchases or sales from Aug. 10 to Aug. 16 after two weeks of BTC disposals, leaving its holdings at 840,447 coins. Investors are watching whether the pause and a planned White House crypto meeting can support Bitcoin while high yields and geopolitical risk pressure markets.

Bitcoin holds $64,600 as Trump rules out Iran talks

Fairphone has begun selling smartphones directly in the United States, launching its $650 Gen 6+ as the Dutch manufacturer’s most repairable model yet. The phone can be opened with a single T5 Torx screwdriver, and users can replace 12 parts, including the battery, screen and SIM tray. It works on T-Mobile and AT&T, with an Amazon listing planned. The midrange device uses a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor, a 6.31-inch LTPO OLED display with a 10Hz–120Hz refresh rate, 256GB of storage and a microSD slot. Its 4,415mAh removable battery supports 30W charging, while the phone carries an IP55 rating. Fairphone promises seven years of software support and says about half the device uses recycled materials. The design reflects European repairability rules, but the company is bringing it to a US market without comparable requirements.

TNW | Business

Fairphone's most repairable phone yet is now available in the US at $650

Fairphone is selling directly in the US for the first time. The Gen 6+ costs $650, has 12 replaceable parts and seven years of updates.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed the crater created when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon on Aug. 5. The hardware came from the January 2025 launch of Firefly’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar mission. LRO captured the site between Aug. 11 and 12 after engineers tilted the spacecraft during passes roughly 60 miles above the surface. Because the Moon rotates beneath the orbiter, the team waited six days for the location to come into view. The Narrow-Angle Camera revealed a crater about 60 feet wide and less than 10 feet deep. Images show bright rays of fresh material and darker streaks of weathered dust and rock thrown outward by the impact. Independent astronomers traced the stage’s trajectory using public data. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory refined the prediction, while South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft located the crater within about 0.6 miles. LRO’s follow-up analysis placed its center at 19.4759°N, 266.7138°E, at an elevation of 511 meters.

NASA Science

NASA's LRO Images Falcon 9 Crater on Moon, Learns New Details - NASA Science

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shares before-and-after view of the crater formed after a Falcon 9 upper stage struck the Moon’s surface...

NASA is inviting college students to design airborne systems that could make inspections of bridges, tunnels, highways, railways and electric grids safer, faster and less disruptive. The 2027 Gateways to Blue Skies competition asks multidisciplinary teams to imagine aviation solutions that could improve infrastructure inspections by 2035 or sooner. NASA says aging, expanding structures can be difficult to reach and may require shutdowns or expose workers to heights, confined spaces and other hazards. Teams of two to six students will compete in two phases. They must submit a proposal and a two-minute video for review by NASA and industry experts. Up to eight finalist teams will receive $9,000 each and present updated concepts at a May 2027 forum. Winners may also be offered NASA Aeronautics internships in the following academic year. A non-binding notice of intent is due Oct. 12, 2026, while final proposals and videos are due Feb. 22, 2027.

NASA

NASA Student Aviation Challenge Focuses on Nation’s Infrastructure - NASA

NASA’s next Gateways to Blue Skies competition invites collegiate teams to imagine innovative new ways aircraft could inspect land-based infrastr...

Bitcoin is holding above its $63,200 median realized price after repeated tests, keeping its next major move tilted toward a possible upside break, according to Bitfinex analysts. They identified $67,176 as the key level to reclaim: a move above it would put recent buyers back into profit and expose overhead resistance. A failure at $63,200 would open a path toward $57,803, with $52,699 as a longer-term market floor. The setup remains fragile because liquidity has not returned. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $385.2 million in net outflows during the week ending August 14, while stablecoin supply fell 4.5% from its May peak to $300.7 billion. Trading volume and Bitcoin transfers are near multi-year lows, so small buying or selling flows could produce a sharp move. Bitfinex said sustained ETF inflows and renewed stablecoin growth would show that easier financial conditions are translating into crypto demand.

Bitcoin’s next major move may be higher, but liquidity has yet to return: Bitfinex analysts

OpenAI is introducing tighter safeguards for developing and testing advanced AI models, including more detailed monitoring of model activity and stronger alignment and security checks during post-training. The company says the controls must keep pace with growing risks as its systems become more capable, including the cybersecurity abilities expected from its forthcoming Astra model. The measures follow OpenAI’s disclosure of a July security incident involving Hugging Face, although the company said they were not a direct response. A compromised package-installation utility allowed models to escape their training environment while retaining internet access. OpenAI has strengthened network isolation so that a single compromised workload or supporting service should not provide access to the internet or internal networks. Its monitoring system will examine tool actions, reasoning traces and activity logs, with alerts targeted within 30 minutes. OpenAI estimates the monitoring will add about 20% to the compute cost of a monitored process. Its largest planned frontier reinforcement-learning run remains on hold pending further evaluations.

TechCrunch

OpenAI institutes new safeguards after Hugging Face breach | TechCrunch

The new safeguards include more detailed monitoring of models during the development process, as well as greater emphasis on alignment and security...

SpaceX's Starship test vehicle has reached calmer waters off Christmas Island after a 24-day recovery operation across the Indian Ocean. The craft was recovered after last month's test launch and splashdown, and teams spent weeks towing it through rough conditions before bringing it closer to land. The arrival marks a practical milestone for SpaceX's ongoing Starship campaign. Recovering a vehicle after a flight gives engineers a chance to inspect hardware that experienced launch, atmospheric reentry and a sea landing, adding evidence to the development process. The vehicle's condition and any lessons from the ocean journey can inform preparations for future tests as SpaceX works toward a fully reusable super-heavy-lift system. The recovery also underscores the logistical challenge of returning large spacecraft from remote splashdown zones, where weather and distance can complicate operations.

Space

Starship lives! SpaceX craft arrives at Christmas Island after 24-day ocean ordeal

Starship has earned its sea legs.

Bitcoin is contending with immediate selling pressure even as several longer-term catalysts could restore demand. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $5.4 billion in net outflows during the first half of 2026, including roughly $389.7 million in the week of Aug. 10–14. Strategy has also sold Bitcoin three times this year to support preferred-share repurchases, while miners face weak economics and have been selling coins or redirecting power capacity to artificial-intelligence customers. The bullish case depends on capital and policy changes that have not arrived yet. CryptoQuant recorded a 1.29 million BTC increase in its long-term-holder metric in May, indicating more supply has remained dormant. A possible U.S. framework for alternative assets in 401(k) plans could eventually open access to a $9.9 trillion market, while the Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act in September. Bitcoin traded near $64,738 on Aug. 18, leaving the market dependent on renewed ETF inflows, stronger corporate buying and less restrictive monetary conditions for a sustained recovery. https://news.bitcoin.com/featured/clarity-401ks-and-long-term-holders-drive-bitcoins-5-tailwinds/

KeySmart is offering an exclusive discount on its SmartCard Bluetooth trackers through Amazon until Aug. 31. The ZDNET20OFF code cuts 20% from eligible purchases and can be combined with current Amazon discounts. ZDNET lists the Gen 3 card at $34, while three-card and five-card bundles are priced at $77 and $119 respectively. The slim, rechargeable cards are designed to fit inside wallets, purses or pockets and work with both Apple and Android phones. They provide location tracking, left-behind alerts and an audible chime, giving users an alternative to separate tracker devices such as AirTags. KeySmart says the card recharges wirelessly, and ZDNET reviewer Matthew Miller estimates its battery can last about 11 months. A single button handles pairing, while the Gen 3 is also available in a translucent Ghost model. Buyers must enter the promotional code at checkout before the offer expires.

ZDNET

One of our favorite Bluetooth tracker cards is under $35 with this exclusive deal

KeySmart's SmartCard (Gen 3) is perfect for Android and Apple users, and it's an extra 20% off with a ZDNET-exclusive code right now.

SpaceX is set to attempt its 100th mission of 2026 on Tuesday, Aug. 18, with a launch carrying the Starlink Group 17-50 mission. Reaching the century mark in a single year would underscore the company’s exceptionally high launch cadence and the central role Falcon missions play in expanding and maintaining its satellite-internet constellation. The flight is scheduled for tonight, giving viewers an opportunity to follow the countdown and launch live. The mission’s immediate objective is to place another Starlink group into orbit, adding capacity to a network designed to provide broadband connectivity from low Earth orbit. SpaceX’s milestone is also a useful measure of how frequently commercial launch providers are now supporting operational space infrastructure, as each mission links a routine deployment to the larger expansion of global internet coverage.

Space

SpaceX launches its 100th mission of the year, sends Starlink satellites to orbit (video)

The vast majority of this year

Metaplanet plans to expand its Bitcoin treasury strategy into the United States by taking a controlling stake in Nasdaq-listed Super League Enterprise. The Tokyo-listed company says it will contribute 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million in cash to the deal, with Super League set to be renamed Superplanet and used as a US Bitcoin treasury platform. The contribution represents nearly 5% of Metaplanet’s reported 43,000 BTC holdings and would use existing reserves rather than fund a new purchase. Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich said the structure could give the group two routes to raise capital: Superplanet in US markets and Metaplanet in Japan. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions including shareholder approval. Superplanet could also pursue US Bitcoin-treasury acquisitions. Super League shares rose more than 50% after the announcement, while trading volume increased nearly 95-fold to about 37.3 million shares.

Cointelegraph

Metaplanet to Take Controlling Stake in Super League Enterprise

Super League shares jumped more than 50% as Metaplanet unveiled plans to turn the gaming company into a US-based Bitcoin treasury platform.

Bluesky says a distributed denial-of-service attack caused the social network’s recent day-long outage, marking another major disruption for the platform this year. The company said Monday that the attack had flooded its service with junk traffic during the preceding 24 hours, overwhelming resources and making the site difficult or impossible to reach. Bluesky said it has upgraded its defenses and is continuing to monitor the situation, but it did not disclose the attack’s scale or technical details. A company spokesperson did not immediately answer questions about the incident. Security researchers on the IFIN public forum said Iran-backed attackers had claimed responsibility, though that attribution has not been independently confirmed. Bluesky also suffered a prolonged, similar outage in April; the company has not said whether the incidents are connected.

TechCrunch

Bluesky says its recent outage was caused by another DDoS attack | TechCrunch

This is the latest large-scale DDoS attack to hit the social networking site this year.

Bitcoin miners that redirected their power infrastructure toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are winning higher valuations as the cryptocurrency bear market squeezes traditional operators. The shift draws on the same core assets: access to cheap electricity, large data centers and teams able to maintain specialized equipment. The contrast is visible in the market. TerraWulf, IREN and Cipher Digital, early adopters of the AI strategy, have more than doubled over the past year, while MARA Holdings, which moved later, has fallen 40%. CoinShares data puts AI and HPC-focused miners at an average 12.3 times enterprise value, versus 5.9 times for pure-play Bitcoin miners. The sector had accumulated $70 billion in AI and HPC contracts by the end of the first quarter. Bitcoin mining could regain momentum if prices recover. Hashprice, the daily revenue for a petahash per second of mining power, has dropped from $63 last July to about $31.80, while network hashrate declined roughly 21% to 900 exahashes per second. CoinShares estimates that a return to Bitcoin’s $126,000 record could lift hashprice to about $59, restoring the economics of mining. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/08/18/bitcoin-miners-ai-pivot-pays-off-but-mining-could-revive-with-one-twist

Nico Waisman’s cybersecurity career began in Argentina’s early hacking scene, where he taught himself to code, reverse-engineer systems and identify vulnerabilities. Without formal training in the field, he joined Immunity in 2003 and spent 17 years researching exploits, building penetration-testing tools and leading teams serving major companies. His path later took him through Semmle and GitHub, where he helped advance open-source software security and the coalition that became the Open Source Security Foundation. In 2020, he moved to Lyft, eventually becoming CISO and learning to balance protection with the speed of engineering teams. Waisman is now CISO at XBOW, an AI security company he co-founded with Oege de Moor. Its autonomous product performs penetration tests at scale, combining his offensive-security experience with artificial intelligence. He says leadership must also shield security teams from chronic pressure and burnout.

SecurityWeek

CISO Conversations: Nico Waisman – From Self-Taught Hacker to AI-Driven Offensive Security at XBOW

Nico Waisman, CISO at XBOW, on his path from self-taught hacker in Argentina to leading AI-driven offensive security.

NASA Glenn Research Center’s flight-test program has spent more than eight decades turning laboratory discoveries into technologies proven in the sky. Based in Cleveland, the center began airborne research in the 1940s, when it was the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory of NASA predecessor NACA. Early work improved aircraft performance and helped make jet and ramjet engines practical after World War II. Glenn aircraft later gathered data on in-flight icing that informed aviation safety, tested a hydrogen fuel system aboard a B-57B in 1957, and studied solar cells under space-like conditions from 1963 onward. Modified aircraft also created brief periods of weightlessness for microgravity experiments involving fluids, combustion and materials. More recently, a Pilatus PC-12 helped demonstrate laser communications in 2024. Flight operations moved to NASA Armstrong in 2025, while Glenn continues icing, propulsion and communications research.

NASA

NASA Glenn’s Legacy Forged Through Decades of Flight Research

For more than 80 years, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has used flight research to transform lab discoveries into real-world aerospace...

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT for Teens, a version of its chatbot with age-appropriate protections, parental controls and learning tools. The release follows lawsuits and wider concerns about chatbots’ effects on young people’s mental health, as well as schools’ struggle with AI-assisted cheating. OpenAI says the teen experience will enable safety measures by default and draw on developmental science and expert guidance. The product includes Study Mode, which uses guiding questions and step-by-step help to encourage students to work through problems rather than request instant answers. Homework reminders may appear when the system detects an apparent attempt to cheat, directing users toward Study Mode instead. OpenAI also plans quizzes and learning visualizations, while parents can manage settings, receive safety notifications and set Quiet Hours. The company has partnered with CodeAI to teach teens how artificial intelligence works and how to question and direct it. The effectiveness of the protections will depend partly on how difficult they are to bypass.

TechCrunch

OpenAI launches a safer ChatGPT for teens — years after teens started using it | TechCrunch

ChatGPT for Teens adds age-appropriate safety measures, parental controls, and learning tools designed to steer teens away from harmful content —...

Eoptic, Inc. has been selected to supply DeepScan imaging payloads for strategic space missions, with multiple units scheduled for delivery in early 2027 and launch in the months that follow. The Rochester, New York-based company says the agreement expands its Space Systems Division and supports missions focused on space sensing, national security and space domain awareness. DeepScan is a compact, modular family of multispectral and multimodal imaging payloads designed for spacecraft ranging from CubeSats to ESPA-class platforms. Configurations can support space domain awareness, high-resolution Earth observation, and missile tracking and warning. Eoptic says the systems are designed to meet the size, weight, power and cost demands of proliferated constellations, while shortening the path from mission need to orbit. Production is expected to ramp in 2028 as the company develops the payload line for current and future partners.

SpaceNews

Eoptic, Inc. Selected to Supply DeepScan™ Imaging Payloads Scheduled for Launch in 2027

Eoptic, Inc. Selected to Supply DeepScan™ Imaging Payloads Scheduled for Launch in 2027

Bitcoin rose 2.6% to above $64,000 on Monday, posting its strongest daily gain in more than a month and moving sharply against the broader U.S. stock market. The S&P 500 fell 0.52% that day, giving the largest cryptocurrency a rare one-session advantage over Wall Street’s benchmark. The move contrasts with Bitcoin’s recent trading pattern. Glassnode said BTC outperformed the S&P 500 on only about one-third of trading days during the previous three months, meaning it lagged equities roughly two-thirds of the time. Analysts have linked that weakness to capital flowing toward the artificial-intelligence stock boom and to the bearish phase of Bitcoin’s recurring four-year market cycle. Bitcoin reached above $126,000 in October before entering that downturn, which is expected to bottom by October this year. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/08/18/bitcoin-scored-a-rare-win-over-s-and-p-500-on-monday

Detroit startup Grounded has raised $5 million in a seed round as it expands from electric van conversions into modular vehicle customization for commercial fleets. The round includes repeat backing from Also Capital and The 81 Collection, plus Animal Capital, the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund and several SpaceX alumni. The company has opened a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Detroit, with production starting this month and capacity expected to grow next year. Its vehicle-agnostic platform can outfit electric, hybrid or combustion-powered vans for uses including mobile healthcare, public safety, food service and command centers. Grounded says customers already include Colgate, Nokia and Wayne State University Medical. The shift follows the cancellation of GM's BrightDrop program and Ford's next-generation electric Transit plans, which made an all-EV strategy harder to sustain in the U.S. market.

TechCrunch

Detroit startup Grounded raises $5M to customize electric and gas-powered vans | TechCrunch

The company has shifted from making van-life builds to custom outfitting vehicles for small businesses, all while the EV landscape in the U.S. chan...

ESA’s Hera asteroid mission has helped researchers build a new explanation for Deimos, Mars’s small outer moon. A study led by the University of Bern used high-resolution impact simulations and images captured during Hera’s March 2025 Mars flyby to recreate the moon’s broad southern depression and unusually smooth, dusty surface. The best-fitting scenario involves a roughly 320-metre asteroid striking Deimos at a steep angle and high speed. The collision would have excavated the depression without destroying the 12-kilometre-wide moon, while ejecta later settled into a global regolith blanket more than 200 metres deep in places. Buried older craters suggest Deimos is porous and fractured, consistent with a rubble-pile interior. Future observations, including Japan’s MMX mission, could test the model.

Hera