🇨🇳 China offers 15-year research grants to the world’s brightest young scientists

China is offering the world’s brightest young scientists generous 15-year research grants for free exploration, as the country accelerates its drive to become a global science powerhouse.

Dou Xiankang, director of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the country’s top funder of basic research, told a recent academic forum that the agency was selecting a group of the brightest researchers under 35 for long-term financial backing.

❗️The 15-year backing would involve increasingly intensive support, Dou added. Funding will double after the first five years and double again after the next five.

“This is a new initiative undertaken by the NSFC this year,” — he noted.

“It depends on whether we can more effectively inspire and mobilise the enthusiasm and creativity of the most innovative and dynamic individuals in China,” — Dou remarked.

#BRICS

@QSIMedia

⚡️🇺🇸 Trump signs executive order to replace 'artificial intelligence' with 'super intelligence'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order directing federal agencies to use the term "super intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence," formalizing a rebranding campaign.

"We have a very big lead and we're going to keep our lead, and it's a very positive thing. It's an amazing industry," — Trump said. 🏆

@QSIMedia

⚡️🤑 CSD BR and Ripple Use the XRP Ledger Blockchain to Expand Brazil's Financial Market Infrastructure

CSD BR, a financial market infrastructure authorized to operate as a registrar, central securities depository and settlement system, today announced the first phase of a strategic partnership with Ripple.

The initiative marks a new step in the evolution of asset tokenization in Brazil, combining the robustness of CSD BR's regulated infrastructure with the decentralized blockchain technology of the XRP Ledger (XRPL). 🇧🇷

❗️In this first phase, CSD BR will begin using the XRP Ledger as an additional layer for recording and auditing financial assets, starting with BTG Pactual investment fund shares.

🔜 For the first time, a central securities depository for financial assets and securities will use a public blockchain to mirror securities ownership records, while CSD BR's systems remain the official source of record for registration, deposit and settlement of the assets.

With more than BRL 22 trillion in registered assets, CSD BR operates a highly scalable infrastructure capable of processing millions of transactions in a matter of minutes. The partnership will make it possible to assess, in a regulated environment and with live transactions, the gains in transparency, traceability, automation and efficiency delivered by blockchain technology. 💸

The model was developed within the current regulatory framework, without changing participants' legal responsibilities or requiring new regulatory approvals.

This is the first time the XRP Ledger is publicly being integrated into core financial market infrastructure of this scale. 🚀

#Stellar #BRICS

@QSIMedia

🤖 Elon Musk Envisions an Age of Abundance Driven by Robots and Superintelligence

“I think by far the most likely outcome is an age of abundance where we don’t have just a universal basic income, we have universal high income.

When you have robots and you have superintelligence, it means that everyone in the world can have better medical care than anyone here, including me. Jobs are going to change. Jobs have always changed. I think we’ll see an evolution of roles.

The most likely outcome is incredibly beneficial. It is a future you would want.”

@QSIMedia

💸 Quantum won’t kill crypto — but it could accelerate Wall Street’s adoption of blockchain

Quantum computing is often portrayed as an existential threat to crypto, but Chris Perkins, Franklin Templeton’s Head of Crypto, argues that it could ultimately have the opposite effect.

Perkins argues that crypto may actually be better positioned for the transition to quantum-resistant security. Public blockchains operate in an environment where developers constantly identify vulnerabilities and upgrade their networks.

🛡 Ethereum, for example, has outlined plans to become quantum-ready, while new solutions are emerging to protect wallets, payments and other blockchain infrastructure.

The bigger challenge, he suggests, may lie with traditional finance. Modernizing legacy systems can take years because cryptographic security is embedded across software, hardware, certificates, vendors and interconnected financial networks. With governments pushing for critical infrastructure to become quantum-secure by around 2030, financial institutions face a relatively short window to prepare.

Perkins believes this could accelerate the adoption of blockchain and tokenization. If financial institutions already need to rebuild parts of their infrastructure for the post-quantum era, quantum-resistant blockchain networks could offer an alternative to simply upgrading legacy systems.

Rather than killing crypto, he argues, quantum computing could help push blockchain further into mainstream finance. 🚀

@QSIMedia

🖥 IonQ to Advance Quantum Supercomputing by Bringing First QPU to NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center

IonQ announced that it will be the first on-premise quantum computing deployment at the NVIDIA Accelerated Quantum Research Center (NVAQC). The NVAQC is designed to address the fundamental challenges of scaling quantum processors into a new class of accelerated quantum supercomputers.

Connecting IonQ’s full-stack quantum systems directly with NVIDIA AI infrastructure will help drive the new breakthroughs needed to turn qubits into useful, large-scale quantum supercomputers capable of solving the world's hardest problems.

As part of the partnership, an IonQ Superion 256 system will be installed at the NVAQC and directly linked with an NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 system via NVIDIA NVQLink, with workloads orchestrated by the open NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform. The joint research program will focus on hybrid software development and large-scale system prototyping, generating open results and a guide for future AI use cases and quantum-GPU co-design.

“We see this as the beginning of an exciting era of hybrid quantum-classical computing," — said Niccolo de Masi, IonQ Chairman and CEO.

@QSIMedia

🇪🇺 EU to offer single-market access to candidate countries

The European Union will open its vast economy to countries waiting to join its ranks, provided they agree to stand with the bloc against hostile states and industrial rivals, according to a draft European Commission proposal.

Candidate countries — some of which have been waiting decades to become EU members — will be offered unprecedented "gradual integration" into the single market, including frictionless trade and access to research programs, while their applications are being worked on.

"The single market is the first priority for economic convergence," — reads a review of the "pre-enlargement" benefits to be offered to candidate countries.

As part of Adam's package of measures, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro will be offered "road maps" designed to speed up the process of joining in the coming years.

@QSIMedia

🤖 Robinhood unveils an AI that trades your money 24/7, and you carry all the risk

Robinhood is launching an AI tool that can trade on customers’ behalf, even when they’re away. But it’s not without risks, according to Robinhood’s own disclosures.

The online trading platform, which has more than 27 million funded accounts, announced Robinhood Agents on Tuesday at its HOOD Summit in Houston. The tool is built into the Robinhood app. It can research markets, build strategies and place trades for a customer at any hour.

❗️AI agents are different from chatbots. A chatbot answers questions. An agent takes action, in this case buying and selling on a customer's behalf within limits the customer sets. In other words, Robinhood is bringing automated trading, long the domain of hedge funds and quant firms, to everyday investors.

It's a big step up from Robinhood's May launch, which let tech-savvy users connect their own AI agents to their accounts. More than 150,000 customers have opened agentic trading accounts since, and these agents now tap Robinhood's tools almost 30 million times a day.

Now anyone can do it by selecting and approving an AI agent. 🚀

@QSIMedia

30 Sept 2026
SMEs turn from banks to fintechs for cross-border payments
Most small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) trading internationally are set to switch their current cross-border payment provider in the next two years, according to a Mastercard report.

The Money in Motion report, based on a survey of SMEs across 11 countries, suggests the market could look very different by 2028, as competition intensifies in a fast-growing sector.

⭐Trust (35%) and ⭐speed (34%) are the biggest considerations when selecting a cross-border payment provider, with cost and transparency close behind at 28% each. Among SMEs that have recently changed providers, two in three say faster transactions and more reliable settlements were the driving force. Once selected, trust remains the strongest anchor for loyalty.

“SMEs are rethinking what they need from cross-border payments. They are using more providers, comparing options more closely and becoming more willing to switch. For banks and fintechs, that creates a clear opportunity to win and keep their business by delivering the speed, trust and transparency SMEs now expect,” says Pratik Khowala, global head, transfer solutions, Mastercard.

Credits: Pen Panda @keanw1

🔠🔠🔠🔠🔠🔠🔣
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/48497/smes-turn-from-banks-to-fintechs-for-cross-border-payments

⚡️🤑 Tokenization is moving from issuance to utility.

Stellar gives institutions the controls they need to issue assets onchain and the infrastructure to put them to work across a growing financial ecosystem.

📱 Watch the full video on YouTube

#Stellar

@QSIMedia

⚡️🇺🇸 Hegseth Picks Musk, Luckey, Gingrich for Warfare Research Unit

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a sweeping speech to junior officers and enlisted troops, announcing new military commands and projects, including one to be led by Elon Musk, Anduril Industries Inc. founder Palmer Luckey and former House speaker Newt Gingrich to research the future of warfare.

Musk, Luckey and Gingrich would lead an initiative called “Project Meridian” that was “focused on discovering, developing and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes.”

@QSIMedia

🇦🇺Australia Scraps Card Surcharges, but Shoppers May Still Pay the Price

Australians will no longer be slugged with a separate card surcharge from Thursday, bringing an end to the extra 1 or 2% fee added at check-outs when tapping a debit or credit card.

In March, the RBA released its long-awaited review of merchant card payment costs and surcharging, recommending three changes to Australia’s payment network. These included removing surcharges which will be banned from October 1, with businesses now having to display the entire cost -including credit charges – as part of the sticker price.

To compensate for this the RBA says they are reducing interchange fees – which are paid by a business’ bank to the customer’s bank – will be lowered while the RBA promised to ensure increased transparency surrounding fees charged by card networks. But experts warn that while the ban eliminates hidden payment fees, it will simply lead to higher shelf prices everywhere.

@QSIMedia