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SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 06: In this photo illustration, the Binance logo is displayed on a screen on June 06, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. The Securities And Exchange Commission has filed lawsuits against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance for allegedly violating multiple securities laws. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Binance.US customers will no longer be able to use U.S. dollars to buy crypto on the platform as early as June 13, hobbling the exchange’s ability to do business in the United States, after both payment and banking partners “signaled their intent to pause USD fiat channels,” the exchange said.

Binance announced the change late Thursday night on Twitter, and blamed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “unjustified civil claims against our business.” The exchange said it had preemptively disabled customers’ ability to buy and deposit U.S. dollars.

Binance’s banking transactions are the center of immense scrutiny by the SEC, which filed a civil complaint against the exchange and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, alleging both violated U.S. securities laws.

Zhao’s influence over and ownership of the U.S. and international arms of Binance — an international network of offshore holding companies the SEC alleges have moved billions of dollars of assets between themselves — prompted the SEC to file an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order. That restraining order would have frozen U.S. dollars from the exchange anyway.

Customers won’t lose their money — those who haven’t withdrawn their money by the shutdown date could still theoretically convert it to a stablecoin such as tether, then withdraw that and convert it back to dollars elsewhere. But it suggests that Binance’s banking partners have decided the exchange is too risky a client to keep on, and that the revelations from the SEC case have grown too significant to ignore.

The exchange’s disclosed U.S. banking partners, which have included Axos Bank, Cross River Bank, and the failed Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Banks, processed billions of dollars in transactions for the U.S. exchange, according to documents Binance provided to the SEC. Multiple banking partners had already stopped serving Binance, and it wasn’t immediately clear which banking partners Binance retained.

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Alex Karp blasts ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry as ‘bats— crazy’ for bets against Palantir, Nvidia

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Alex Karp blasts 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry as 'bats--- crazy' for bets against Palantir, Nvidia

Alex Karp on 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry: 'Bats--- crazy' for bets against Palantir, Nvidia

Palantir CEO Alex Karp ranted against short-sellers, calling out specifically Michael Burry after a filing revealed the investor of “The Big Short” fame had bets against the AI software company, as well as Nvidia, at the end of the last quarter.

“The two companies he’s shorting are the ones making all the money, which is super weird,” Karp told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “The idea that chips and ontology is what you want to short is bats— crazy.”

“He’s actually putting a short on AI… It was us and Nvidia,” Karp added.

When reached via email by CNBC seeking comment on Karp’s remarks, Burry declined to comment.

Palantir shares slid roughly 9% Tuesday even after the software company beat Wall Street estimates for the third quarter and offered upbeat guidance. Investors have grown increasingly wary of lofty valuations in AI-linked names. Palantir shares, which were up 173% for the year heading into Tuesday’s trading, have a forward price-earnings ratio of 228. Nvidia fell more than 2% after gaining more than 50% this year.

“I do think this behavior is egregious and I’m going to be dancing around when it’s proven wrong,” said Karp of short-sellers.

Burry’s hedge fund Scion Asset Management disclosed put options with a notional value of about $187 million against Nvidia and $912 million against Palantir as of Sept. 30. in a filing. The filing didn’t specify the strike prices or expiration dates of the contracts.

It’s unclear whether Burry is profiting from Tuesday’s declines. The filing reflects his positions at the end of September, and he may have since adjusted his portfolio by now. Burry declined to comment on his positions.

“It’s not even clear he’s shorting us. It’s probably just, ‘How do I get my position out and not look like a fool?'” Karp said.

The disclosure comes after Burry hinted at renewed caution in markets in a cryptic post on X last week.

“Sometimes, we see bubbles. Sometimes, there is something to do about it. Sometimes, the only winning move is not to play,” he wrote to his 1.3 million followers on the platform.

Burry gained fame for his prescient bet against mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, a trade chronicled in Michael Lewis’ The Big Short and the Oscar-winning film of the same name.

“With the shorts it’s very complex…honestly I think what’s going on here is market manipulation,” Karp said. “We delivered the best results anyone’s ever seen. It’s not even clear he’s not doing this to get out of his position. I mean these people, they claim to be ethical, but they are actually shorting one of the great businesses of the world.”

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Bitcoin’s November sell-off worsens as investors reduce risk on worries about the AI trade

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Bitcoin's November sell-off worsens as investors reduce risk on worries about the AI trade

Representation of Bitcoin cryptocurrency in this illustration taken Sept. 10, 2025.

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Bitcoin fell victim to investors’ risk-off mood Tuesday as cryptocurrency holders backed off, growing increasingly concerned about the sustainability of stock valuations driven to stratospheric heights by the artificial intelligence trade.

Bitcoin was last trading at $103,952, down 2.5% on the day and roughly 6% in the past two days. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, shed 2.5% on Tuesday and has now lost more than 10% over two days to trade at $3,503.

The leading cryptocurrencies attract many of the same investors as artificial intelligence stocks, linking the two trades when one goes bad. The Nasdaq Composite, home to the leading AI stocks, dropped almost 1% Tuesday, with investors selling AI-linked Palantir on concerns about its eye-watering valuation despite the data manager’s solid earnings results in its latest quarter.

Absent individuals

Compass Point analyst Ed Engel said individual investors may not be buying the dip as much as in the past.

“While selling from Long-term Holders is a common feature in bull markets, retail spot buyers have been less engaged than prior cycles,” he said in a note.

The latest downdraft could pull bitcoin deeper into the red, dragging the token below its critical $100,000 support level, according to the analyst.

“With Long-term Holders still selling, this leaves further downside risk if Short-term Holders’ capitulate further,” Engel wrote. “While we see support for BTC above $95k, we also don’t see many near-term catalysts.”

Bitcoin’s price has largely trended downward over the past few weeks, with October’s historically strong seasonality failing to materialize this year.

Bitcoin last failed to rise on seasonal tailwinds in October 2018, Engel noted. In the month that followed, Bitcoin plunged 37% in November of that year.

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Instacart rolls out AI tools for grocers, Sprouts will be first to use its Cart Assistant

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Instacart rolls out AI tools for grocers, Sprouts will be first to use its Cart Assistant

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Instacart on Tuesday launched a suite of artificial intelligence tools for grocers to deliver more personalized shopping experiences and improve retail operations.

CEO Chris Rogers told CNBC that the announcement is a major step forward in the company’s enterprise strategy, which has grown to power hundreds of digital storefronts.

“It’s taking everything that we’ve been building for retailers over the last decade, and it’s bringing it into the AI era,” Rogers said. “It’s really about putting enterprise-grade AI tech in every grocer’s hands, whether it’s a small, local independent or a national chain.”

The collection of new AI Solutions includes an AI shopping assistant that grocers can provide to shoppers for personalized meal planning, budgeting, and product recommendations.

Dubbed Cart Assistant, the agent can be used across retailers’ websites through Instacart’s Storefront Pro or integrated into the company’s AI-powered shopping carts in-store, according to a release.

Sprouts Farmers Market and Kroger will be the first to roll out Cart Assistant on its website and app.

“AI is transforming the way people shop and today’s customers want the experience to be more personal and intuitive,” said Sprouts President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Konat in a release.

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The suite also offers Store View, which provides grocers a real-time view of store shelves and uses images and videos to identify which products are running low or out of stock. Store View is already live with McKeever’s and Good Food Holdings.

The lineup additionally includes an AI-driven catalog system and agentic analysis of retail data to provide business insights.

The online delivery firm is also working with AI companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and others to “define how grocery shopping is going to work across the next generation of digital agents,” Rogers said.

Instacart’s new products are just the latest examples of generative AI’s rising popularity within the retail industry. Amazon debuted an AI agent for third-party sellers in September, and Walmart launched “super agents” that cater to shoppers, sellers, and suppliers earlier this year.

Instacart shares took a hit after Amazon rolled out its same-day delivery service in August and faces competition from brick-and-mortar retail giants like Walmart and Target, which have their own delivery services.

However, Rogers said that Instacart is working with other grocers to help them compete against industry heavyweights.

“Our retail partners already look at look at us as their technology partner in the grocery industry, and they want to participate in the AI revolution the same way the largest players in the industry do,” Rogers said.

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