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By Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's markets regulator has filed a lawsuit against HTX, a global crypto exchange advised by Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun, accusing it of unlawfully promoting crypto asset services to UK consumers. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday it had launched civil proceedings in London's High Court against HTX, formerly known as Huobi, for breaching Britain's financial promotions regime. HTX is not authorised to operate in Britain, the FCA's website shows. "This action is part of our commitment to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of UK financial markets," an FCA spokesperson said, declining to comment further. Representatives for HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HTX ADVISED BY CHINESE ENTREPRENEUR JUSTIN SUN HTX was founded in 2013 and names Sun as a global adviser. Sun is a prominent backer of the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial, having spent at least $75 million on the project's crypto tokens. A wallet labelled "SUN", identified by blockchain analysts as belonging to HTX, was also the top holder of U.S. President Donald Trump's "$TRUMP" memecoin. The FCA, which says it wants to develop a competitive and sustainable cryptoasset regime, introduced new rules in 2023 for firms promoting crypto assets. They need authorisations and have to register with the FCA under money laundering regulations. However, HTX is currently on the FCA's warning list, which names companies that consumers should avoid dealing with. The FCA's case has been filed against Huobi Global and four groups listed as "persons unknown" to cover individuals such as the owners, operators and heads of promotions at the business. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft. Additional reporting by Sam Tobin. Editing by Mark Potter)

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By Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's markets regulator has filed a lawsuit against HTX, a global crypto exchange advised by Chinese entrepreneur Justin Sun, accusing it of unlawfully promoting crypto asset services to UK consumers. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Wednesday it had launched civil proceedings in London's High Court against HTX, formerly known as Huobi, for breaching Britain's financial promotions regime. HTX is not authorised to operate in Britain, the FCA's website shows. "This action is part of our commitment to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of UK financial markets," an FCA spokesperson said, declining to comment further. Representatives for HTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HTX ADVISED BY CHINESE ENTREPRENEUR JUSTIN SUN HTX was founded in 2013 and names Sun as a global adviser. Sun is a prominent backer of the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial, having spent at least $75 million on the project's crypto tokens. A wallet labelled "SUN", identified by blockchain analysts as belonging to HTX, was also the top holder of U.S. President Donald Trump's "$TRUMP" memecoin. The FCA, which says it wants to develop a competitive and sustainable cryptoasset regime, introduced new rules in 2023 for firms promoting crypto assets. They need authorisations and have to register with the FCA under money laundering regulations. However, HTX is currently on the FCA's warning list, which names companies that consumers should avoid dealing with. The FCA's case has been filed against Huobi Global and four groups listed as "persons unknown" to cover individuals such as the owners, operators and heads of promotions at the business. (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Elizabeth Howcroft. Additional reporting by Sam Tobin. Editing by Mark Potter)

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LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Wednesday moved to loosen the grip of Apple and Google in smartphones by designating them as having "strategic market status", giving it the powers to demand the tech giants make specific changes to boost competition. The Competition and Markets Authority said Apple and Google's mobile platforms were used by businesses right across the economy, but the platforms' "rules may be limiting innovation and competition". (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton)

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High in the Andes, an area nearly inhospitable with winds whipping through the mountains and temperatures plummeting, researchers found an almost complete — and practically articulated — skeleton of a long-necked dinosaur. It lived approximately 230 million years ago. Miami, Florida (tca/dpa) – The Quebrada de Santo Domingo in Argentina is a harsh environment. Situated high in the Andes, the area is nearly inhospitable with winds whipping through the mountains and temperatures plummeting. But millions of years before it became the ravine seen today, it was a home for diverse life — including dinosaurs. Paleontologists working in the Santo Domingo Ravine have now uncovered another dinosaur species new to science, and its exceptional age may make it one of the oldest dinosaurs ever found. At about 9,800 feet above sea level, researchers found “the almost complete — and practically articulated —skeleton of a long-necked dinosaur that lived approximately 230 million years ago,” according to an October 15 news release from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET). Thediscovery was published in October in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature. “The team responsible for the discovery of (the new species) was also part of the first expeditions to this region in the west of La Rioja province, which until then remained virtually unexplored, and during which the presence of Triassic fossils began to be revealed,” CONICET said. The fossils include a significant portion of the vertebrae as well as some bones from the front legs, back legs, hands and feet, according to the study. “We estimate a length of approximately (6.5 feet) and about (40 pounds) for an adult individual, almost double that of other close relatives found in Argentina,” study author Malena Juarez said in the release. The dinosaur was identified as a species of primitive sauropodomorph, a group of long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs. “(The new species) is novel because it exhibits two key features: a considerably longer neck and a larger size than most of its contemporaries,” study author Martín Hechenleitner said in the release. “These aspects confirm a very early and synchronous appearance of both characteristics, which were fundamental to the evolutionary history of sauropodomorphs.” The new species was named Huayracursor jaguensis, representing both a new species as well as a new genus, or group of species with shared physical and evolutionary traits. “Huayra” is the Quechua word for wind, and cursor means “runner” in Latin, according to the study. Jaguensis represents the Jagüé village, not far from where the fossil was found. Together, the species is now known as the Jagüé windrunner. “We estimate that Huayracursor must have been between 230 and 225 million years old, making it one of the oldest dinosaurs in the world,” study author Agustín Martinelli said in the release. “It’s rare in life that one can say that totally new sites have been discovered, with fauna that are extraordinary in their preservation and abundance.” The dinosaur existed during the Late Triassic period, known for the first real appearances of dinosaurs and the early ancestors of mammals, CONICET said. The Quebrada de Santo Domingo is in the La Rioja province of northwestern Argentina . The research team includes Juarez, Hechenleitner, Martinelli, Sebastián Rocher , Lucas E. Fiorelli , Jeremías R. A. Taborda and Julia B. Desojo. The following information is not intended for publication dpa tca arw

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(Reuters) -Applied Digital on Wednesday signed a $5 billion lease with a U.S.-based hyperscaler for 200 MW at its Polaris Forge 2 campus in North Dakota, sending its shares up 4% in premarket trading. The agreement, expected to run about 15 years and generate about $5 billion in contracted revenue, extends Applied Digital's push to supply artificial intelligence compute capacity as developers race to secure infrastructure for growing demand. With the deal, Applied Digital's total leased capacity at its Polaris Forge 1 and Polaris Forge 2 campuses in North Dakota rises to 600 MW. Earlier this year, the company finalized a new lease agreement with CoreWeave for an additional 150 MW in the state. Applied's shares have soared over 325% so far this year fueled by investors betting big on the company's data center expansion plans. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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(Reuters) -FalconX said on Wednesday it will buy crypto investment management firm 21shares, as the digital assets trading firm looks to expand its exchange-traded funds offerings. The deal comes just over a month after Wall Street's top regulator removed the last remaining hurdle to dozens of new spot ETFs tied to cryptocurrencies ranging from solana to dogecoin. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Trump administration has aligned itself with the digital assets sector via long-awaited regulatory clarity, marking a stark turnaround from the years of struggle and a legal battle that paved the way for the approval of the first bitcoin ETF in January 2024. "We're witnessing a powerful convergence between digital assets and traditional financial markets, as crypto ETPs (exchange-traded products) open new channels for investor participation through regulated, familiar structures," said FalconX CEO Raghu Yarlagadda. Founded in 2018 by Hany Rashwan and Ophelia Snyder, 21shares now manages over $11 billion in assets across dozens of products.  FalconX plans to leverage 21shares' expertise in crypto ETFs and its brokerage platform to advance the adoption of digital asset investment products.  Although updated standards from the Securities and Exchange Commission are expected to unleash a flurry of crypto ETFs, the U.S. government shutdown could curb the agency's ability to review and approve these filings. Concerns are also mounting over highly leveraged funds tracking crypto and related companies. Earlier this month, the sector saw its largest selloff ever after U.S. President Donald Trump renewed trade tensions with China. FalconX, which was valued at $8 billion in a 2022 funding round, has facilitated over $2 trillion in trading volume and has a client base exceeding 2,000 institutions. (Reporting by Ateev Bhandari and Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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(Reuters) -Meta is cutting roughly 600 positions out of the several thousand roles within its Superintelligence Labs artificial intelligence unit, Axios reported on Wednesday. The cuts will affect the company's Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) unit, product-related AI and AI infrastructure units, while sparing the newly formed TBD Lab, according to the report, which cited an internal memo. Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the report. The parent of Facebook and Instagram reorganized its AI efforts under Superintelligence Labs in June after senior staff departures and a poor reception for its open-source Llama 4 model. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had said in July Meta would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build several massive AI data centers for Superintelligence. The company began investing in AI in 2013, with the launch of FAIR and recruiting Yann LeCun, its chief AI scientist, to lead the effort and building a global research network focused on deep learning. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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(Reuters) -Meta is cutting roughly 600 positions out of the several thousand roles within its Superintelligence Labs artificial intelligence unit, Axios reported on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Apple was hit with a complaint to EU antitrust regulators by two civil rights groups on Wednesday over the terms and conditions of its App Store and devices for allegedly breaching landmark rules aimed at reining in Big Tech. The joint complaint by Article 19 and Germany's Society for Civil Rights to the European Commission could pose yet another headache for Apple, which was fined 500 million euros ($583 million) in April for violating the Digital Markets Act. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The EU executive, which acts as the bloc's competition enforcer, did not have any immediate comment. The complaint, not previously reported, was shared with Reuters ahead of its publication. The DMA sets out a list of dos and don'ts for Big Tech firms aimed at allowing smaller rivals into markets dominated by the largest companies and giving users more choice. The complaint targets Apple's business terms and conditions for its App Store, iOS and iPadOS operating systems, saying that these prevent and impede interoperability for small businesses with Apple devices. It also takes aim at restrictions on the installation and use of third-party software apps and app stores which it said harm business users and end users in breach of the DMA. The civil rights groups singled out a stand-by letter of credit (SBLC) of 1 million euros required from developers who want to develop apps for distribution in Apple's App Store or who want to install a third-party app store as a native app in Apple's iOS and iPadOS. "A 1,000,000 euro SBLC can impose a recurring annual cost and collateral requirements that many SMEs cannot meet," said the 16-page complaint seen by Reuters. The groups urged the Commission to fine Apple. DMA penalties can be as much as 10% of a company's global annual revenue. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Joe Bavier, Kirsten Donovan)

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