Bitcoin hit a record-high near $45,000 on Monday after Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla invested $1.5 billion in the digital currency. Bitcoin hit $44,795.20 around 1325 GMT, before cooling slightly to $44,207.95. The cryptocurrency is up by around 50 percent since the start of the year. “This is probably one of the biggest developments for the cryptocurrency industry,” noted Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets. Source Firstpost
Carmakers hoping for relief from the acute global chip shortage may have to wait until 2023 before things return to normal, German semiconductor supplier Infineon warned on Tuesday. Source Fortune
If chips are the new oil of the current era, then it pays to hear from the chip chiefs such as TSMC Chairman Mark Liu.
He revealed plenty about the U.S. desire to boost domestic chip manufacturing after decades of neglect in a rare and extraordinary interview on “60 Minutes.” Liu said U.S. companies and the government should not focus on the costly process of shifting the chip supply chain to the U.S. and instead pay more attention to R&D and global collaboration. Source Fierce
Afghanistan’s security forces have fought back a Taliban offensive in southern Helmand province, officials and residents have said, as the armed group launched assaults around the country after a missed United States deadline to withdraw troops. Source Al Jazeera
