Gold prices have surged in recent months as investors seek safety amid ongoing geopolitical tensions such as Trump’s tariffs.
According to Reuters, “the latest round of heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies has weakened sentiment across financial markets, prompting investors to turn to safe-haven assets such as gold.”
Gold prices have risen by about 19.33% over the past six months to $512 per ounce. Bitcoin, which is often compared to gold due to its scarcity and potential to preserve value, has seen more dramatic price swings. Bitcoin prices have soared from $67,000 to a high of $109,000 before finally settling around $80,000.
While gold’s value is rooted in centuries of trust, Bitcoin offers a fixed supply and rapidly increasing regulatory clarity that could attract a growing number of institutional and retail investors.
Bitcoin Company Auratine Raises $153M to Move into AI Networks
Bitcoin and AI infrastructure company Auratine has raised $153 million in a funding round, exceeding its target in its Series C round and bringing its total raised to over $300 million.
The round was led by StepStone Group, with other investors including Qualcomm Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Premji Invest and MARA Holdings.
The company also launched a new division, AuraLinks AI, which will build network tools to help AI data centers handle more traffic and keep cool as they grow.
CEO Rajiv Khemani said the funding will help Auradine grow faster and build technologies that support AI and blockchain in a more energy-efficient way.
Tether wants to boost Bitcoin’s decentralization
Tether is working with OCEAN, a decentralized Bitcoin mining pool led by Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dashjr, to deploy its current and future hashrate.
The move is aimed at advancing Bitcoin’s decentralization by leveraging OCEAN’s open-source DATUM protocol, which enables miners to build their own block templates and operate in low-bandwidth environments.
“We believe supporting the decentralization of Bitcoin mining is critical to the long-term integrity of the network,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.
The partnership aims to help Tether directly receive mining rewards, reduce costs, and expand to regions where access to mining tools is limited.
Bitcoin Core 29.0 Released
Bitcoin Core version 29.0 was released on April 14, 2025, bringing bug fixes and improvements.
With this update, support for versions 26.x and earlier has ended, meaning that these versions will no longer receive updates. Per the project’s security policy, any significant security issues found in these older versions will be publicly disclosed two weeks after release.
Bitcoin Core is the main software that drives the Bitcoin network. It validates all transactions, contains a built-in wallet, and is based on the original code of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
The project is open source, with contributors from all over the world. The final decision on code modifications is made by trusted developers, known as maintainers. Development is conducted publicly on GitHub.
CleanSpark Secures $200 Million Bitcoin-Backed Credit Line
CleanSpark has expanded its capital strategy with a $200 million Bitcoin-backed credit line from Coinbase Prime. The funding enables the company to support growth without issuing new shares and gradually move to a self-funded operating model.
As part of the transition, CleanSpark will begin selling a portion of its monthly Bitcoin production to cover expenses. The company holds more than 12,000 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $1 billion.
“While we remain committed to Bitcoin as a long-term, solid asset, we believe a more effective way to increase shareholder value is through a balanced approach between monetizing new products and building long-term holdings,” said CEO Zach Bradford.
The move sets CleanSpark apart from competitors that continue to rely on equity dilution or high leverage to fund operations.
