Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Elon Musk warned that more than 200 AI cloud providers face failure or consolidation as financing tightens, raising concerns for Bitcoin miners expanding into AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, China set a 2030 target for completing its national blockchain network and Ethereum developers delayed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi testnet after researchers identified potential smart contract security risks.

Musk warns over 200 AI neoclouds face ‘guppy-level death’

Elon Musk warns that over 200 specialist AI cloud providers could fail or consolidate as lenders tighten up their purse strings.

Musk said Sunday on X that lenders had largely stopped providing financing to companies without substantial revenue streams outside AI data centers. He said SpaceX had secured $40 billion in debt financing for GPUs because of its investment-grade status and revenue from its Starlink satellite internet and rocket businesses. 

“That means the 200+ neoclouds are going to see guppy-level death and consolidation. Some will make it through, but not many,” he said. 

Musk’s warning follows an October forecast from research firm Gartner that more than 80% of neocloud providers will cease operating independently by 2030, as the industry struggles to generate sufficient returns on massive AI infrastructure investments. 

The warnings could also have implications for Bitcoin miners that have pivoted into AI infrastructure. For example, IREN has expanded into AI cloud services, renting computing power to customers, while Core Scientific provides data center hosting for neocloud customers such as CoreWeave. 

China targets 2030 for its national blockchain network buildout

China has set a 2030 target for largely completing a national blockchain network under a five-year digital development plan published Friday.

The 15th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization, which sets priorities calls for deeper blockchain use in trade and finance in the Yangtze River Delta, and deployment at scale in manufacturing and agriculture in the Chengdu–Chongqing region in southwestern China.

Friday’s plan was issued by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, a senior body within the ruling Communist Party that coordinates digital development policy.

The document makes the completion target explicit for a project already included in China’s national development plan released in March. A joint policy from the Communist Party’s central leadership and State Council published on Oct. 9 called for its construction.

Ethereum delays Glamsterdam Hoodi testnet launch over security risks

Ethereum developers have postponed the Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet after researchers identified gas-related security risks that could affect how existing smart contracts handle failed transactions.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) said that the upgrade, originally scheduled for Oct. 26, would be delayed to allow developers to investigate how some proposals interact with smart contracts deployed on Ethereum. 

On Oct. 13, Blockchain security firm ChainSecurity warned that two proposals included in Glamsterdam, EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, could weaken safeguards against a type of attack called insufficient gas griefing. 

The postponement raises uncertainty over Glamsterdam’s mainnet timeline. Ethereum developers had been considering early December, with plans to finalize a schedule following successful Hoodi testing.