The day in tech.

Mastercard completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, combining its global network with BVNK's onchain infrastructure to connect digital and fiat currencies. The deal, agreed in March with $300 million in contingent payments, follows Coinbase and BVNK abandoning a proposed $2 billion transaction in November 2025.

OpenAI's Astra model generated machine-checkable proofs for ten longstanding mathematical problems, costing $2,000. The results, published August 1, span group theory, geometry, coding theory, quantum complexity, lattice cryptography, and extremal combinatorics, and named OpenAI's next major model family.

Zach Dell's startup is expanding home battery storage options for US grid operators. The batteries lower electric bills by feeding power back to the grid and are gaining popularity, especially in warmer regions.

Apple briefly removed Telegram from the App Store on Monday over child sexual abuse material, restoring it after Telegram promptly removed the content and banned the user. The app vanished around 9:30 p.m. EST and returned about 20 minutes later.

India proposed extending tax exemptions for foreign companies supplying machinery to contract manufacturers until 2041, covering mobile phones, laptops, PCs, tablets, servers, and wearables. The draft also exempts taxes on storing and shipping parts in customs-bonded areas for export-only production.

Microsoft plans to let developers bring Xbox 360 games to PC, Project Helix, and handhelds, with gradual rollout between 2027 and 2028. A disc-to-digital program would tie digital licenses to physical discs, preserving resale and trade.

Google has built a $200 billion Wall Street finance operation supporting Anthropic. The structure involves complex financial arrangements to fund the AI company's operations. The scale of the financing underscores the massive capital requirements in the AI sector.

A bitcoin wallet dormant since 2013 moved 500 BTC worth $31.3 million on Monday, flagged by Whale Alert. The move follows the Coldcard hack that began July 30, draining thousands of BTC and causing about $130 million in total damage.

U.S. control of AI infrastructure, not models, secures its dominance. Nvidia holds roughly 85% of the global GPU market, and its CUDA software binds the ecosystem. Washington's $90.7 billion federal AI contracting surge in 2026 and Pentagon contracts with major tech firms reinforce this lead.

Google Health 5.05 introduces Smart Health Links for sharing medical record summaries in the US. The update adds two-way syncing from Google Health to Apple Health on iPhones. Google also fixed issues with VO2 Max, exercise maps, and workout editing.