PANews reported on October 9th that EPHYRA secured $2 million in strategic funding, with FDV contributing $100 million. The round was co-led by Castrum Istanbul and TBV. EPHYRA is positioned as an AI-driven entertainment ecosystem, transforming static NPCs into emotionally engaged, autonomous AI agents for Web3 gaming and social scenarios. Officials claim the platform currently has a community of over 300,000 members, 6,000 beta testers, and 3,000 NFT pass holders, with plans to launch a Time-Based General Evolution (TGE).

Smaller Bitcoin miners surge in hashrate and debt as competition intensifies post-halving, reshaping the industry’s balance of power. The Bitcoin mining industry is becoming increasingly competitive, with so-called tier-2 operators closing the gap on established leaders in realized hashrate — a sign of a more level playing field following the 2024 halving.According to The Miner Mag, companies such as Cipher Mining, Bitdeer and HIVE Digital have rapidly expanded their realized hashrate after several years of infrastructure growth, narrowing the distance to top players like MARA Holdings, CleanSpark and Cango.“Their ascent highlights how the middle tier of public miners — once trailing far behind — has rapidly scaled production since the 2024 halving,” The Miner Mag wrote in its latest Miner Weekly newsletter. Read more

