Meta is pivoting from open-source Llama models to a proprietary AI system codenamed Avocado, targeted for release in Q1 2026, according to Business Insider and TechCrunch. The shift reverses CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s earlier open-AI advocacy amid Llama 4’s lukewarm reception and restrictive licensing that alienated partners like Samsung, which halted use in November to avoid “unnecessary friction.” A $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI brought founder Alexandr Wang aboard as chief AI officer to lead Meta Superintelligence Labs. Facing advances from Google’s Gemini 3, OpenAI’s GPT-5.1, and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5, Meta raised 2025 capex to $70-72 billion. “I believe we have already established the lab with the highest talent density in the industry,” Zuckerberg said in October. The proprietary path signals a pursuit of breakthrough performance, preserving Meta’s competitive edge while in intelligence.
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Itaú Unibanco, Brazil’s largest private bank, has recommended that investors allocate 1% to 3% of their portfolios to bitcoin beginning in 2026, positioning it as a complementary diversification tool rather than a core holding. According to Itaú Asset Management executive Renato Eid, bitcoin offers unique benefits due to its global and decentralized nature. “Bitcoin is an asset distinct from fixed income, traditional stocks, or domestic markets, with its own dynamics, return potential, and — due to its global and decentralized nature — a currency hedging function,” he stated. The bank highlights bitcoin’s potential to mitigate currency risk amid volatility in the Brazilian real, while emphasizing discipline and a long-term perspective to navigate price fluctuations. Itaú facilitates access through its Íon app and the BITI11 ETF, signaling established institutional confidence in the bitcoin industry’s role in buildinglong term, international wealth strategies.
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GiveDirectly, funded by a Coinbase donation, has initiated a cash transfer pilot in New York City’s South Bronx and East Harlem, distributing $12,000 in USDC stablecoin to 160 low-income residents over five months. Participants receive $800 monthly no-strings-attached payments starting in September and an $8,000 lump sum in November, empowering them to address needs like security deposits or education. This use of digital assets in aid delivery aligns with growing basic income experiments, offering recipients flexible, accessible financial tools in underserved communities. Program lead Emma Kelsey told Business Insider that research supports lump sums for higher-impact investments: “A lot of the research... has shown that a lump sum could allow people to invest or do things that might have higher costs.” She added, “We are really interested to see if people use it differently.” This approach highlights the potential of the digital asset industry to empower US based communities.
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Michael Atwood, founder of Oshi, envisions transforming every small business into a modern bitcoin faucet by rewarding everyday purchases with sats, regardless of payment method. As reported by Bitcoin News, Atwood transitioned from ICU nursing, disillusioned by flawed incentives in healthcare and fiat systems, to building tools that drive bitcoin adoption through seamless incentives. “The rewards element was always our bread and butter,” he explains. Early efforts focused on bitcoin payments for merchants, but low customer volume revealed habit as the true barrier. Pivoting to integrations with Square, Shopify, and Stripe, Oshi now lets shoppers earn bitcoin on fiat transactions, boosting loyalty and introducing newcomers effortlessly. “Human behavior is a b**** to change,” Atwood notes, yet this approach quietly reappropriates processing fees into lasting value, fostering grassroots participation in bitcoin with the potential for frictionless growth.
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