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10 May 2026, 20:30
Sam Altman says Gen Z is using ChatGPT like a personal operating system
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said younger generations are using ChatGPT very differently from older users. College students, in particular, have integrated the chatbot so deeply into their routines that it now works like a digital operating system for many of them. Altman spoke about this clear generational divide at Sequoia Capital’s AI Ascent event. Older users mostly use ChatGPT as a smarter search engine, while people in their 20s and 30s use it more like a personal advisor. He also observed college students building entire workflows around it. “They really do use it like an operating system,” Altman said during the interview, published by Sequoia on YouTube. “They have complex ways to set it up to connect it to a bunch of files, and they have fairly complex prompts memorized in their head or in something where they paste in and out.” Altman said that many younger users consults ChatGPT for personal decisions. Why not? The system is extremely helpful with its past conversations and context. “There’s this other thing where they don’t really make life decisions without asking ChatGPT what they should do,” Altman said. “It has the full context on every person in their life and what they’ve talked about.” His comments highlight how AI tools are moving beyond productivity software and becoming part of daily life for their younger users. Students are adopting ChatGPT faster than anyone else OpenAI’s own data supports Altman’s observations. Americans aged 18 to 24 are adopting ChatGPT faster than any other demographic, according to another OpenAI report in February 2025. Over 30% of people in that age group already use the platform, Business Insider confirms. Separate research from the Pew Research Center found that 26% of U.S. teenagers between 13 and 17 used ChatGPT for schoolwork in 2024. That was up sharply from 13% in 2023. For many students, using ChatGPT as an “operating system” means more than asking homework questions. Users connect the chatbot to lecture notes, PDFs, cloud storage, calendars, and coding tools. Some build reusable prompt templates for writing, studying, research summaries, scheduling, and software development. Universities are still trying to catch up. Many schools now allow limited AI-assisted brainstorming or editing, but require students to disclose when generative AI tools are used in assignments. Others have tightened restrictions over concerns about plagiarism and overreliance on AI systems. Researchers say the trend resembles earlier technology shifts involving smartphones and search engines. But this transition may be deeper because AI systems are increasingly becoming part of how users think, organize information, and make decisions. Experts remain divided over AI as a “life advisor” Not everyone believes relying on AI for personal advice is harmless. A November 2023 study cited by Fortune warned that ChatGPT-generated safety advice still requires expert verification. Researchers said users should understand the limitations of AI systems before acting on recommendations. Other studies have raised concerns that large language models can sound persuasive even when their advice is flawed because the systems lack real empathy, judgment, or moral reasoning. At the same time, some researchers argue that using AI for routine organization, brainstorming, or low-stakes decisions may be useful and relatively low risk. Altman compared the current moment to the early smartphone era, when younger users adapted much faster than older generations. “It reminds me of when the smartphone came out, and every kid was able to use it super well,” he said. Older users, by contrast, “took three years to figure out how to do basic stuff.” Altman also said ChatGPT now “writes a lot of our code” internally at OpenAI, though he did not give a specific percentage. By comparison, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in 2024 that AI systems were generating more than 25% of new code at Google. Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank
10 May 2026, 20:27
Strategy hints at fresh BTC buys after $61.8 billion reserve milestone
🚨 Strategy signals new BTC purchases after rising to an $61.8 billion reserve. The company pauses buying and considers selling small amounts of $BTC for dividends. 🔎 Key point: Planned sales total just 4% of Bitcoin’s supply and are unlikely to shake the price. Continue Reading: Strategy hints at fresh BTC buys after $61.8 billion reserve milestone The post Strategy hints at fresh BTC buys after $61.8 billion reserve milestone appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
10 May 2026, 16:29
Why Tokenized Gold Trading Crossed $90B in Q1 2026 (And What It Means for DeFi)
Tokenized gold trading volume reached $90.7 billion in Q1 2026 alone, exceeding the $84.6 billion recorded across all of 2025. The figure comes from CoinGecko's Q1 2026 RWA Report , which documented tokenized commodities (overwhelmingly gold-backed) growing 289% from $1.43 billion to $5.55 billion in market capitalization over fifteen months. The numbers point to a category that crossed an inflection point sometime in late 2025. Tokenized gold is no longer a side experiment in DeFi; it's a measurable segment of on-chain activity with volume comparable to mid-cap altcoins. This article looks at what drove the surge, how the category breaks down structurally, and what the volume signals for DeFi yield in the rest of 2026. What the $90B Number Represents The $90.7 billion figure covers Q1 2026 spot trading across PAXG, XAUT, KAU, KAG, Comtech Gold, and other tokenized gold products. For context, PAXG ranked fourth on Binance by trading volume in mid-April 2026 at approximately $868 million daily, outpacing Solana over that period. The volume excludes RWA perpetual futures, which traded $524.8 billion across all RWA categories in Q1 alone (more than the $313 billion recorded for all of 2025). The growth is recent and concentrated: tokenized gold spot volume started accelerating in late 2025 and continued sharply through Q1 2026. A separate data point from Chainalysis reinforces the maturation signal. Tokenized gold trading correlation with traditional gold markets crossed the high-correlation threshold (>0.70) starting in Q2 2025 and stayed there through Q1 2026. For years, tokenized gold traded on its own dynamics, decoupled from spot gold. That changed in the past twelve months. The $90 billion figure isn't speculative inflows. It's a secondary market trading on real bullion-backed instruments, behaving like a gold investment vehicle. What's Driving the Surge Four factors compound to produce the volume jump: 1. Gold price environment. Gold reached all-time highs through late 2025 and into 2026, with spot prices above $4,600/oz by Q1 2026. When the underlying asset rallies, derivative and tokenized exposure typically follow. This is the most obvious driver and the one most directly visible in the numbers. 2. Institutional access through regulated products. PAXG , issued by Paxos under New York Department of Financial Services oversight, became the institutional default for on-chain gold exposure, with bullion stored at Brink's vaults in London. XAUT (Tether), Comtech Gold, and Kinesis (KAU/KAG) added geographic diversity in custody jurisdictions. Each product offers regulated exposure with LBMA Good Delivery standards and regular attestations. 3. Regulatory clarity post-GENIUS Act. The GENIUS Act (passed July 2025) established a federal framework for payment stablecoins. While not specifically targeting tokenized commodities, the legislation provided settlement infrastructure clarity that institutional issuers could build on. Per Chainalysis, regulatory developments over the past year have given institutions clearer compliance thresholds for custody and reporting of digital assets. 4. DeFi composability. Tokenized gold integrates with DeFi protocols as collateral, in lending markets, and through yield mechanisms. PAXG accepted on Aave V3 as collateral represents a structural advantage over physical gold ETFs, which trade only during market hours. The composability adds utility to the underlying gold exposure that traditional vehicles can't match. The Structural Composition: Vault-Backed and Production-Backed The $5.55 billion in tokenized commodity market cap breaks down lopsidedly. Per CoinGecko, gold-backed tokens (PAXG and XAUT primarily) account for over 90% of the category. These are 1:1 backed by physical bullion in LBMA-certified vaults, with regular attestations from independent firms. The model is straightforward: hold the token, get gold-price exposure with no income component. A smaller segment runs on a different model entirely. Ayni Gold is a DeFi protocol that turns gold mining output into on-chain yield, with stakers receiving PAXG rewards quarterly from mining production at the Minerales San Hilario concession in Peru. The protocol launched with audits from CertiK and PeckShield in October 2025, with a CertiK Skynet score of 70.81 (top 25% of audited projects). The 8 km² concession is registered with INGEMMET (Peru's mining authority) under No. 070011405, with the AYNI token issuer (AYNI TOKEN INC., BVI) operating as a separate legal entity from the mining operation. Production-backed protocols add structural diversity to the tokenized gold category by funding scheduled distributions from real operational output. The category is small relative to vault-backed dominance but represents a distinct investment thesis: gold backed crypto yield anchored in physical extraction. What the $90B Volume Means for DeFi Yield Three implications follow from the trading data. From Speculative Crypto Bet to Legitimate Gold Investment Vehicle The Chainalysis correlation data is structurally significant. Tokenized gold volumes now move with traditional gold markets above the 0.70 correlation threshold, sustained across multiple quarters. The category behaves like a gold investment vehicle with crypto-rail composability, not a crypto product with gold flavoring on top. Gold-backed Yield is Now a Viable DeFi Yield Category With $5.55 billion in tokenized commodity market cap and active production-backed protocols generating distributions from real output, DeFi gold yield has crossed the threshold from theoretical to operational. Investors looking to earn yield in gold as part of an allocation now have real product choices in 2026: hold PAXG or XAUT for price exposure, stake AYNI for production-linked yield, or use Kinesis for fee-share gold yield. The category supports actual portfolio allocation decisions instead of being a thought experiment. The Volume Signals Durable Institutional Interest Q1 2026 trading at this scale isn't a retail speculative spike. The participation profile per Chainalysis is increasingly institutional, with new Ethereum wallets specifically created to hold RWA tokens, including gold. PAXG, XAUT, and similar products are now being used as institutional gold exposure with on-chain settlement advantages, not just DeFi-native experimentation. Where the Category Goes from Here The trajectory points up. Gold's macro backdrop (inflation hedging, geopolitical fragmentation, central bank purchases) drives baseline demand for gold exposure. Tokenization adds the on-chain settlement, composability, and 24/7 access that traditional gold ETFs can't match. Bernstein analysts described 2026 as the start of a tokenization "supercycle" , projecting on-chain tokenized assets to grow from $37 billion in 2025 to $80 billion in 2026. Watchpoints for the rest of 2026: Production-backed expansion: Whether protocols using the Ayni Gold model scale meaningfully relative to vault-backed dominance, or remain a smaller specialty segment within tokenized gold Institutional product launches: BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Securitize have moved into tokenized Treasuries; tokenized gold may follow with similar institutional issuers Cross-chain expansion: Tokenized gold on Solana, BNB Chain, and Layer 2s could broaden access outside Ethereum-anchored products Trading volume durability: Whether Q2 2026 sustains the Q1 pace or reverts toward 2025 levels The $90.7 billion already shifted tokenized gold from a niche RWA category to a material segment of on-chain activity. What happens next depends on whether the volume reflects durable category growth or a one-quarter spike driven by gold price action. For investors tracking gold yield protocols as part of broader DeFi allocation decisions, the category now has the depth and institutional participation to support meaningful position sizes. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
10 May 2026, 16:23
6 Structural Advantages of Tokenized Gold Mining Over Traditional Gold ETFs
Gold ETFs have served institutional and retail investors as the primary on-chain-adjacent gold exposure since SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) launched in 2004. The structure works: bullion held in HSBC vaults, SEC-regulated, daily-tradable through any brokerage account. By April 2026, GLD held over $100 billion in physical gold with deep secondary market liquidity. Tokenized gold mining is a different product entirely. The category covers protocols that fund yield distributions from real mining operations, not from vault storage. The two structures aren't directly comparable on returns, but they differ in six ways that affect what each does in a portfolio. 1. They Generate Yield from Real Production GLD charges 0.40% annually as an expense ratio and pays no yield to holders. iShares Gold Trust (IAU) charges 0.25%. The fee structure means holders pay to maintain gold-price exposure indefinitely. Tokenized gold mining protocols flip the cash flow direction. Ayni Gold is a DeFi protocol that turns gold mining output into on-chain yield, with stakers receiving PAXG rewards quarterly from mining production at the Minerales San Hilario concession in Peru. The yield comes from extraction operations sold through Peruvian banking channels and converted to PAXG for distribution. Investors looking for gold backed crypto yield as part of their allocation get scheduled income from physical mining output instead of paying a management fee on inert bullion. 2. They Trade 24/7 Without Market Hours Gold ETFs trade only during NYSE hours (9:30 am to 4 pm Eastern, weekdays). Holders can't react to weekend news, Asian market opens, or after-hours macro events without waiting for the next trading session. Tokenized gold mining tokens trade continuously on DeFi venues. AYNI tokens, like other on-chain assets, can be bought, sold, or staked at any hour from any geography. For investors in non-US time zones (where most of the world lives), or for holders who want to manage positions around weekend macro events, the always-on access is a structural difference that compounds over time. 3. They're DeFi-Composable A GLD position sits in a brokerage account. It can't be used as collateral for a loan, deposited in an automated yield strategy, or paired with another asset in a liquidity pool without first being sold for cash. Tokenized gold lives on-chain and integrates with DeFi protocols. PAXG is accepted as collateral on Aave V3 ; production-backed mining tokens like AYNI can be used in lending markets and yield strategies. The composability adds utility on top of the underlying gold position. For investors building DeFi gold yield strategies, the difference between a wrapped position with composability and an account-locked position matters operationally. 4. They Don't Require Brokerage Accounts Buying GLD requires a brokerage account at a regulated broker (Schwab, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, etc.) with KYC, Social Security or international tax ID, banking integration, and jurisdiction-specific eligibility. The infrastructure works for investors already inside the TradFi system but creates friction for those without it. Tokenized gold mining requires a wallet, KYC at the protocol level, and a stablecoin or ETH balance. The protocol-level KYC is generally less invasive than full brokerage onboarding (no SSN, no 1099 forms, no W-8BEN filing for international holders). The access infrastructure is fundamentally different, which broadens the addressable investor base for the category. 5. They Provide Direct Exposure to Mining Cash Flow Gold ETFs deliver gold-PRICE exposure. GLD tracks the spot price of gold minus the expense ratio. The position appreciates when gold rises, depreciates when gold falls, and pays nothing in between. Production-backed gold mining tokens deliver exposure to extraction OUTPUT instead. AYNI stakers receive PAXG from gold extracted and sold from the Minerales San Hilario concession, which means returns track operational performance (cubic meters processed, recovery rates, OPEX, gold price at sale) instead of just spot price movement. The two are different investment theses: gold-as-store-of-value (ETFs) versus gold-as-productive-asset (mining tokens). For investors looking to combine an inflation hedge with operational yield, the mining token model covers both bases. 6. They Provide Continuous On-Chain Verification Gold ETFs publish quarterly and annual SEC filings, plus daily NAV data through the issuing fund's website. Holders rely on the ETF sponsor's disclosures and SPDR Gold Shares' bullion holdings statements for ongoing verification. Tokenized gold mining protocols publish on-chain data continuously. Ayni Gold's smart contracts were audited by CertiK and PeckShield in October 2025, with a CertiK Skynet score of 70.81. The 8 km² concession is registered with INGEMMET under No. 070011405. Extraction rates, operational costs, and net gold value get published on-chain throughout each quarter, not just on filing dates. The verification cadence is a structural difference: investors holding mining tokens can check the protocol's operational data any time instead of waiting for the next quarterly disclosure. Tokenized Gold Mining and Gold ETFs Cover Different Investment Theses The six advantages above don't make tokenized gold mining "better" than gold ETFs in absolute terms. GLD has a 22-year track record, deep secondary market liquidity, and regulatory protections that newer DeFi-native categories haven't yet established. The structural advantages are real but exist alongside structural trade-offs (smaller scale, shorter operating history, different regulatory perimeter). What the six points show is that the two categories serve different investor needs. Gold ETFs work for investors wanting gold-price exposure within TradFi infrastructure. Gold yield protocols work for investors wanting on-chain access, scheduled yield from production, and DeFi composability. Both can sit in the same portfolio. The choice depends on what each position is meant to do. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
10 May 2026, 14:08
California hits GM with record privacy fine over OnStar data
California said that General Motors (GM) sold location and driving data from hundreds of thousands of OnStar users to data brokers. To settle the case, GM is writing a check for $12.75 million. The deal was made public by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on May 8. The settlement still needs court approval, but it’s already the largest penalty ever handed down under the California Consumer Privacy Act, according to Bonta’s office. It also bars GM from selling personal consumer data for five years. The company has 180 days to delete retained driver data unless it gets customer consent to keep it. General Motors sold user data to two brokers California investigators found that GM gave two data brokers, Verisk Analytics and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, including subscriber names, phone numbers, home addresses, GPS location data, and records of how people drove. People use GM’s OnStar to find their way, call for help in an emergency, and get information while they’re stuck on the side of the road. GM collected the data from OnStar-supported cars between 2016 and 2024. The company tracked where OnStar users drove and parked, how fast they drove, and when they slammed on the gas. GM reportedly pulled in around $20 million nationwide from these sales. “General Motors sold the data of California drivers without their knowledge or consent and despite numerous statements reassuring drivers that it would not do so,” Bonta said. “This trove of information included precise and personal location data that could identify the everyday habits and movements of Californians.” Media reports in 2024, starting with The New York Times, revealed that automakers, including GM, had been funneling driving behavior data to insurance companies. Some drivers nationwide said their premiums went up after their data got shared. Bonta’s office said California drivers didn’t see rate increases linked to GM’s data sales. Under state insurance laws, insurers can’t use driving behavior data to set rates. Regulators pile on GM In January 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made a deal with GM and OnStar that for five years, the company could not share or sell private data about where vehicles are parked and how drivers behave to consumer reporting agencies. The FTC called GM’s conduct “an egregious betrayal of consumers’ trust.” The California case was a joint effort between several attorneys. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley, and Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez all joined the action alongside Bonta’s office, with support from the California Privacy Protection Agency. “Modern cars are rolling data collection machines,” Jenkins said. “Californians must have confidence that they know what data is being collected, how it is being used, and what their opt-out rights are.” CalPrivacy Executive Director Tom Kemp said the case shows that “companies must collect only what they need, use it responsibly, and be forthright with consumers about how their data is handled.” GM told Reuters the settlement “addresses Smart Driver, a product we discontinued in 2024, and reinforces steps we’ve taken to strengthen our privacy practices.” The company said it remains committed to transparency with customers about data practices and their control over personal information. Beyond the fine, the settlement requires GM to stop selling driving data to any consumer reporting agencies. It also has to ask Verisk and LexisNexis to delete previously purchased data. Still letting the bank keep the best part? Watch our free video on being your own bank .
10 May 2026, 05:57
Bitcoin holds $80,400 as key US inflation data nears
🚨 Bitcoin stays above $80,400 as major US inflation data arrives soon. This week brings critical CPI, PPI, and jobless claims reports in the US, with several key token unlocks in $BTC and other top cryptos. 📊 Key point: Persistent inflation and tight central bank policy continue to weigh on the crypto market’s outlook. Continue Reading: Bitcoin holds $80,400 as key US inflation data nears The post Bitcoin holds $80,400 as key US inflation data nears appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .
