
Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Anthropic was said to be in talks with Nvidia about a potential $10 billion investment in what may be the biggest IPO in history, Bitcoin Suisse reportedly plans to shift up to half of its Swiss jobs abroad and Blockstream said it won’t pay a ransom to recover the remaining funds from Liquid hackers.Nvidia considers $10B investment in potential record Anthropic IPOAnthropic is in talks with Nvidia about a potential $10 billion investment in what may be the biggest IPO in history, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing people familiar.The people said Anthropic is seeking to raise as much as $100 billion in the offering, which could value the AI company at about $2 trillion.The discussion is ongoing and could change, the people told Reuters, remaining anonymous amid the confidential negotiations.Nvidia could supply Anthropic with an early strategic backer for the offering and also strengthen ties between the chipmaker and an important customer.Reuters said that Anthropic declined to comment and that Nvidia had yet to respond to a request for comment.Bitcoin Suisse to shift up to half of Swiss jobs abroadBitcoin Suisse plans to shift up to half of its Swiss jobs abroad as the crypto financial services firm expands its international operations.Founded in Zug in 2013, the company provides crypto trading, custody, staking and lending services. The restructuring could affect up to 60 of the company’s 120 Swiss positions, primarily in back-office and administrative roles, according to a Friday report from Swiss financial publication Finews.The affected functions are expected to move to lower-cost hubs in Bratislava and Vietnam, where Bitcoin Suisse plans to establish a new location in the coming years. CEO Andrej Majcen said cost was a key factor in the move, telling Finews that operating the affected services in the two countries would be significantly less expensive. He added that the restructuring was not a response to weakness in the crypto market, but part of Bitcoin Suisse’s strategy to expand internationally and build a broader wealth and asset management business.Blockstream rejects ransom as Liquid hackers hold nearly 600 BTCBitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream said it will not pay a ransom to recover funds still held by the Liquid Network hackers.“Taking assets without authorization and withholding their return is a crime, not responsible disclosure,” Blockstream said Friday. “It is not white-hat activity. It is theft.”The company said it had engaged with the hackers in good faith to recover user funds but would not accept their demands.The hackers demanded that Blockstream pay a 10% bounty from its own funds in an onchain message shared by Jan3 CEO and former Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow on Wednesday. They warned that Liquid holders would otherwise face a 15% loss.Blockstream urged the hackers to return the remaining Bitcoin voluntarily. If not, it said it would work with law enforcement, exchanges, service providers and forensic specialists to trace the assets and identify those responsible. On Sept. 6, Liquid, a Bitcoin sidechain, paused operations after self-described white-hat hackers withdrew about 4,000 Bitcoin, then worth about $320 million, from its federation wallet.The actors subsequently returned 3,400 BTC after Blockstream said that affected bridge nodes had been patched, leaving about 598 BTC outstanding.
