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Trump Family Expands Crypto Bets as Thumzup Pivots Into Dogecoin Mining
NFT Gaming

Trump Family Expands Crypto Bets as Thumzup Pivots Into Dogecoin Mining

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Thumzup Media Corp. (TZUP), which counts Donald Trump Jr. as a large shareholder, said it will acquire Dogehash Technologies, Inc. in an all-stock deal, pivoting from digital marketing into industrial-scale crypto mining

Under the agreement, Dogehash shareholders will receive 30.7 million Thumzup shares, according to a Tuesday release, valuing the transaction at $153.8 million, based on the shares’ closing price. The combined company will rebrand as Dogehash Technologies Holdings, Inc. and list on Nasdaq under the ticker XDOG, pending shareholder approval later this year.

Dogehash operates about 2,500 Scrypt ASIC miners across renewable-powered data centers in North America, with plans to scale up further in 2026. Unlike firms that pad their balance sheets by simply buying coins, Dogehash has invested in its own infrastructure, giving it direct exposure to dogecoin

and litecoin block rewards at a lower cost base.

The deal comes on the heels of Thumzup’s $50 million stock offering in July, earmarked for mining expansion and digital asset accumulation. The company says it will also use Dogecoin’s DogeOS layer 2 to stake in DeFi products, aiming to boost miner returns beyond standard rewards.

This new deal adds to the Trump family’s expanding crypto empire. Eric Trump and Donald Jr. launched American Bitcoin earlier this year with Hut 8, which has over 60,000 miners.

Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial, another Trump-backed venture, struck a $1.5 billion deal with Nasdaq-listed ALT5 Sigma to inject its WLFI token into the firm’s treasury.

Thumzup stock fell 41% to $5.01 on Tuesday.



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Faraday Future pivots to crypto and AI as car sales falter
NFT Gaming

Faraday Future pivots to crypto and AI as car sales falter

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Amid struggles in its EV business, cash-starved Faraday Future is pivoting to crypto and AI.

Summary

  • Faraday Future is pivoting to crypto and embodied AI
  • The firm hopes its crypto treasury will attract capital and help it raise cash for its business
  • So far, Faraday Future has produced only 16 of its FF 91s vehicles

The struggling EV startup Faraday Future is pivoting to crypto and AI. On Sunday, August 17, EV startup Faraday Future announced the launch of a treasury product, as well as a new focus on embodied AI.

Faraday Future is launching the C10 Treasury product, a weighted basket of the top 10 crypto assets, excluding stablecoins. The fund will allocate 80% of the funds according to the index and actively manage the other 20% for greater returns.

The fund is aiming for $500 million to $1 billion in initial crypto asset purchases, with an initial purchase of $30 million. Moreover, the company hopes to earn an estimated 3% to 5% in staking yields, which it will use to fund stock buybacks and innovation in its core business.

Faraday Future’s business struggles

Faraday Future hopes to leverage crypto and AI to reinvigorate interest in its business. According to the firm, the goal is to combine the short-cycle crypto business with the long-cycle embodied AI for electric vehicles.

“The next decade could be a super long bull cycle for the crypto market,” said Ian Calderon, FF Co-Creation Officer. “FF is building a dual-engine circular growth system — combining the long-cycle, high-value EAI EV ecosystem with the short-cycle, high-velocity Crypto ecosystem. These two flywheels will empower each other, redefining what’s possible in mobility and financial innovation.”

Once dubbed a potential Tesla competitor, Faraday Future’s business has been struggling. By January 2025, the company had only produced 16 of its flagship FF 91 vehicles. Most were given to employees and advocates.



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French Exoskeleton Company Wandercraft Pivots to Humanoid Robots

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In brief

  • Wandercraft, the French company known for its medical exoskeletons, has entered the field of humanoid robotics.
  • Built in just 40 days using the same core technology as its exosuits, Wandercraft said Calvin 40 is already being tested in industrial environments.
  • The robot omits humanlike features including a head and hands, and focuses on practical, hazardous tasks that are difficult or dangerous for human workers.

After capturing global attention at the 2024 Olympics, where its exoskeleton helped a paraplegic man walk, Paris-based Wandercraft is now shifting its focus from wearable robotics to fully autonomous humanoid robots.

Wandercraft’s new humanoid robot, Calvin 40—so named because it was reportedly built in just 40 days—is already being tested on factory floors. As Wandercraft CEO Matthieu Masselin explained, the rapid construction of Calvin 40 was enabled by repurposing technology from the company’s exoskeletons.

“You see all these humanoid robots everywhere—Tesla, Figure AI, companies in China—and for us, it’s the same technology we’ve been developing for the last 10 years,” Masselin told Decrypt in an interview. “It felt so natural for us.”

Masselin said the company was also able to produce Calvin 40 so quickly in part because it omitted the head and hand features typically found in humanoid robots, such as Tesla’s Optimus or Figure AI’s Figure 02.

“We’re not focused on adding a head, because it doesn’t help with navigation, the same goes for hands, hands are very fragile,” he said. “We believe we have a humanoid robot that can carry the heaviest payload.”

Instead of hands, Calvin 40 uses padded, arm-like grippers with flat circular panels to pick up boxes and crates.

Masselin said the head and hands were also left out to avoid the uncanny valley effect, a discomfort people feel when interacting with robots that appear almost—but not quite—human.

“Expressive manipulation matters in homes or certain situations, but in our case, a simpler design is just as effective,” he said.



Humanoid robots have surged in popularity in recent years. According to a February 2024 report by Goldman Sachs, the global market for humanoid robots is expected to reach $38 billion by 2035, driven by advances in AI and automation.

While some humanoid robot developers have focused on social interaction or personal assistance, Masselin said Wandercraft’s design choices emphasize physical labor in spaces built for people.

“So many environments are built for the human form that it’s difficult to address all needs without mimicking it,” he said, adding that the company is working with partners to deploy Calvin 40 in “hazardous” or hard-to-staff tasks.

“One of the biggest differentiators of our technology is that it was originally designed—and is still used—to develop an exoskeleton, which is a robot that carries a human being up to 220 pounds,” Masselin said. “That means the technology has to handle that kind of payload.

According to Wandercraft, Calvin 40 can carry payloads of up to 40 kilograms, or about 88 pounds—nearly twice as much as comparable robots like Tesla’s Optimus or Figure AI’s Figure 02, which are rated to carry around 45 pounds.

“No other humanoid robots can carry that much, by a wide margin—largely because they focus so much on hands,” Masselin said.

According to Wandercraft, the Calvin 40 is currently being tested by French multinational automotive manufacturer Renault Group, but he declined to provide a price for the robots.

By reusing core technology from its exoskeletons, Masselin believes Wandercraft can skip the experimental phase and focus on deploying robots in industrial environments.

“We work with our partners to understand their needs—where they have tasks that are too difficult, too dangerous, or hard to hire for,” he said. “The question becomes: Can we offer a safer solution for hazardous jobs so that workers can focus on quality and craftsmanship? That’s the strategy.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward

Generally Intelligent Newsletter

A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.



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Elon Musk Pivots From DOGE to SpaceX Mars Plan, Eyeing Self-Sustaining Colony by 2029

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In brief

  • Elon Musk outlined a bold plan to colonize Mars, targeting a self-sustaining colony by the end of the decade.
  • Musk’s plan includes building 1,000 Starships a year to support large-scale Mars transport.
  • Reusable rockets and orbital refueling are vital to Musk’s plan for a multiplanet species.

Fresh off his official departure from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Elon Musk unveiled a bold plan to colonize Mars and make humanity a multiplanet species on Thursday during a presentation at Starbase, Texas, the newly incorporated city established by SpaceX.

Musk outlined plans for an interplanetary transport system designed to ferry humans to the Red Planet, with the ultimate goal of establishing a self-sustaining city there. Though he gave no timetable during his speech, in March, he predicted that humans would live on Mars within the next 20 years.

“Progress is measured by the timeline to establishing a self-sustaining civilization on Mars. That’s how we gauge progress here at Starbase,” Musk told the audience. “Each launch—especially in the early days of Starship—is about learning what’s needed to make life multiplanetary and improving Starship until it can ultimately carry hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people to Mars.”

Musk’s renewed push to reach Mars comes after he stepped down from his role as head of DOGE under President Trump. Elon Musk’s ambition to colonize Mars has been central to his outlook for humanity’s future since he first proposed the endeavor.

The plan to reach Mars relies on SpaceX’s Starship and orbital refueling, with uncrewed missions set to begin in 2026, aiming to establish the first human settlements on Mars by 2029. Musk estimated that one million tons of cargo will be needed to establish a self-sustaining Mars colony, involving thousands of Starship launches.

“We’re now at the point where we can produce a ship roughly every two or three weeks,” Musk claimed. “We don’t always produce one that often because we’re making design upgrades, but ultimately we’re aiming for the ability to produce 1,000 ships a year—three ships a day.”

In addition to the massive Starship, SpaceX’s roadmap to Mars centers on key elements including the new Raptor 3 engine for greater efficiency, a reusable heat shield to survive atmospheric reentry on both Earth and Mars, and orbital refueling to extend range and maximize payload capacity.

Raptor 3 (sea level variant)

Thrust: 280tf
Specific impulse: 350s
Engine mass: 1525kg
Engine + vehicle-side commodities and hardware mass : 1720kg pic.twitter.com/zormSroZyh

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 3, 2024

Musk said SpaceX will use Tesla Optimus robots to lay the groundwork and construct the Mars colony. The first human missions are set for 2027, with the Arcadia Planitia region targeted as a potential site for the initial settlement. Long-term goals include transporting at least 1 million tons of infrastructure, building multiple launch and landing facilities, and using Starlink satellites to maintain communication.

Ultimately, Musk said, the objective is to establish a self-sustaining civilization on Mars as a backup for humanity.

“At that point, we’ve achieved civilizational resilience where Mars can potentially come to the rescue of Earth if something goes wrong or maybe Earth could come to the rescue of Mars,” he said. “But having two planets that are both self-sustaining and strong, I think, is going to be incredibly important for the long-term survival of civilization.”



Once Mars is colonized and serves as a stepping stone, Musk said, humanity could begin journeying to other planets in the solar system—and eventually, to other star systems.

Orbital refueling and propellant transfer, Musk said, are critical to the success of reaching Mars.

“Think of it like aerial refueling for planes—but in orbit. It’s never been done before, but it’s technically feasible,” he said. “Two Starships would dock, and one would transfer fuel and oxygen. Most of the mass is oxygen—about 80%—with just over 20% fuel. You send a Starship to orbit full of payload, then send others to refill its propellant.”

Despite a controversial foray into politics and setbacks including a Starship exploding over Turks and Caicos in January and another exploding on Wednesday, Musk appears committed to the mission of reaching Mars—a mission he said isn’t just about technology, but about shaping the future of humanity.

“We can be out there among the stars, making science fiction no longer fiction,” he said.

Generally Intelligent Newsletter

A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.





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