The Hashgraph Group, Merck KGaA and PwC Germany said Tuesday they are piloting a cocoa traceability system that links physical authentication scans to records written on Hedera, with the European Union’s deforestation regulation set to start applying to large and medium operators on Dec. 30, 2026. The announcement names no cocoa company and gives no details on tonnage, farm count, cost or a timeline beyond the pilot stage. It is also the third announcement tied to the passport platform since February without a named customer, and the second involving Darmstadt-based Merck KGaA, which operates as EMD in the United States and Canada and is unrelated to Merck & Co. The article argues that the pilot addresses product authentication and event logging, not the farm-level geolocation data the EU rule actually requires. Under Article 9, operators must retain for five years the geolocation of all plots where a commodity was produced, including polygon boundaries for plots above four hectares. The report also notes that cocoa is outside the scope of the EU’s Digital Product Passport regime under ESPR, despite the companies linking the pilot to that broader trend. Market data cited in the piece put HBAR at $0.077, down 2.5% over 24 hours, with Hedera showing a relatively small DeFi footprint next to its enterprise pilot activity.

MarsBit, citing a report from the WeChat account IT Juzi, said at least nine AI startups in China and overseas had crossed the unicorn threshold within six months of being founded as of early September 2026. The list spans China’s Yuyong Technology, Kunlunxing Robotics, AGILINK and Naive.ai, as well as River AI, Hark, AMI Labs, Recursive Superintelligence and Atoms abroad. The report argues that many of these companies were funded before products, revenue or commercial validation were in place, with capital instead assigning value to founder track records, technical direction and ecosystem positioning. Cases highlighted include Yuyong Technology reaching an about $2 billion valuation roughly three months after registration, AGILINK becoming the only company in the group already generating revenue, AMI Labs raising what the report described as Europe’s largest seed round, and River AI securing $1.1 billion within about two months of surfacing. The piece says the current market is rewarding scarcity first and waiting for proof later, while warning that delivery risk, ecosystem dependence and lofty expectations could make the next 12 to 24 months decisive for these companies.

The Hashgraph Group, in collaboration with Merck and with advisory and implementation support from PwC Germany, is piloting a cocoa traceability solution that combines Merck's M-Trust physical authentication technology with a TrackTrace digital product passport platform built on the Hedera network. The system aims to verify cocoa origin, authenticity, quality, recall needs, and compliance data, targeting the EU's Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements. The solution is designed to be scalable beyond cocoa to pharmaceuticals, luxury goods, and industrial components. According to Husen Kapasi, head of enterprise blockchain at PwC Germany, the solution offers verifiability that could be critical in food recalls or compliance investigations.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller gave markets a clear conditional dovish signal on Thursday, saying he would lean toward keeping the federal funds rate in a 3.50%-3.75% range if incoming data over the next two weeks continues to show easing inflation. That pushed back rate-hike pricing, with CME FedWatch showing the odds of a 25-basis-point move in September falling from about 63% the prior day to around 50%, while Polymarket placed the odds at 41%. The shift lifted a broad set of risk assets. The S&P 500 rose 1.07%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.40%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.18%, extending gains for a second straight session. Gold and silver rallied, and Bitcoin climbed 5.08% to as high as $82,300, its highest level since May 11. Treasury yields fell, though strategists said the bond market remains constrained by fiscal concerns, sticky inflation and competition for capital from AI spending. AI software and data infrastructure stocks led the equity move, helped by strong results from Snowflake and Dell. Tesla, Palantir and other high-beta names also advanced sharply, while investors turned more selective on AI hardware after Broadcom’s guidance fell short of lofty expectations. Markets are now focused on the U.S. August payrolls report and the upcoming OPEC+ meeting.

Palantir (PLTR) shares rallied about 8% on Thursday to close at $183.03, shrugging off bearish comments from well-known short seller Michael Burry. The stock's gains came as the company expanded its strategic alliance with PwC US to launch an AI-native trading platform that promises to boost execution speed by up to 50% and cut one-time costs by up to 45%. Palantir's stock is up 25.69% over the past month and 21.27% over the past six months.

A new PwC report reveals that global data center construction is entering a historic expansion phase, with cumulative investments projected to reach approximately $32 trillion over the next 25 years. The report estimates that $5.1 trillion will be invested in the next five years (through 2030). AI-driven demand is creating bottlenecks in power, equipment, cooling, and construction. The report highlights the need for full-stack coordination, with coordinators potentially capturing 5% to 8% of project spending, translating to a $255 billion to $408 billion market opportunity based on the $5.1 trillion investment forecast.

Tether said KPMG U.S. has completed the first independent audit of the financial statements of Tether International, S.A. de C.V. for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, issuing an unqualified opinion. The audit found that Tether’s reserve assets exceeded liabilities by $6.814 billion at the end of 2025, a milestone after years of scrutiny over the backing of USDT. The work covered the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, and cash flows, and included physical inspection of the company’s gold bars as well as checks on transaction records, valuation, counterparties, systems, and evidence of ownership. Still, the development does not close the transparency debate. Tether has not released the full audit report, leaving open questions about disclosures, audit scope, related-party transactions, and the makeup of reserves. The report also comes as U.S. stablecoin regulation tightens under the GENIUS Act, even though the law’s audit requirements do not automatically apply to offshore issuers such as Tether. In that setting, the KPMG opinion strengthens Tether’s position, but it does not settle the broader issues around disclosure, reserve risk, or future compliance.

Tether said Thursday that KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, issued an unqualified audit opinion on the 2025 financial statements of Tether International, the company behind USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin. In its announcement, Tether called the review the “largest inaugural financial audit in history,” saying KPMG examined the company’s assets, liabilities, income, cash flows, internal systems, records, counterparties, and supporting documentation. The company also said the audit process included a physical count and inspection of every gold bar it holds. The announcement lands after years of scrutiny over Tether’s reserves and disclosures. The report notes that in February 2021, Tether settled with the state of New York and paid an $18.5 million fine over a hole in its finances. Later that year, in October, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined the company $41 million over claims that USDT was fully backed by U.S. dollars. Tether had said in March this year that it hired a Big Four accounting firm without naming it; days later, KPMG was identified as the auditor for USDT, while PwC helped prepare the company’s internal systems. CEO Paolo Ardoino said the audit shows Tether’s governance and financial controls have developed alongside the company’s growth, while the article also notes that an unqualified opinion does not amount to an endorsement of Tether’s business or a guarantee of its ability to meet obligations.