TechFlow Intelligence: KelpDAO was attacked, losing nearly $300 million, triggering a wave of withdrawals on Aave, with RAVE collapsing 95% in one day

AI / Large Models

DeepSeek plans to initiate its first funding round, valuation exceeding $10 billion

A landmark event in the domestic large model sector, DeepSeek, which has been self-funded so far, is seeking external investment for the first time, with a valuation now over $10 billion. This could change the competitive landscape of domestic AI large models and also reflects ongoing pressure for computing power and R&D investment.

Zhihu

Sam Altman’s side projects blur the boundaries of OpenAI’s interests

The Wall Street Journal reports that several of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s personal investment projects may have potential conflicts of interest with OpenAI’s business, sparking governance controversy. As OpenAI prepares for an IPO, this issue could become a regulatory focus.

WSJ

Local deployment of Qwen3.6-35B rivals Claude

Some users ran the Qwen3.6-35B model (64k context) locally on an M5 Max 128GB MacBook with 8-bit quantization, experiencing a programming experience close to Claude. The usability of local large models is rapidly approaching that of cloud services.

Hot discussion: Developer communities are seriously debating “When will we no longer need to subscribe to Claude?”

Reddit

Hot comment: The timing of DeepSeek’s funding is very delicate—once you prove that you can make good models without burning money, investors actually want to give you more.

Cryptocurrency / Web3

KelpDAO attacked, losing $294 million; LayerZero cross-chain bridge issues again

Attackers forged LayerZero cross-chain messages, minting 116.5k rsETH (worth $294 million) out of thin air, then used it as collateral to withdraw real ETH from lending protocols. The protocol was paused 46 minutes after multi-signature approval, but the loss was already sealed.

Hot discussion: The community questions the trust layer design of cross-chain bridges again, with THORChain promoting its “native cross-chain” solution.

lookonchain | THORChain

Aave faces $5.4 billion ETH withdrawal wave, utilization hits 100%

Following the KelpDAO attack causing bad debts for Aave, whales panic-sold over $5.4 billion worth of ETH, with Justin Sun withdrawing $154 million ETH alone. ETH pool utilization has hit the 100% cap, and AAVE tokens plummeted 18% in a single day.

WuBlockchain | lookonchain

RAVE cryptocurrency crashes 95% in one day, $6.3 billion market cap wiped out

Suspected insider manipulation caused RAVE tokens to plummet 95% from their high in one day, erasing $6.3 billion in market value. This is a typical Pump & Dump event, highlighting manipulation risks in the crypto market.

Reddit

Iran demands Bitcoin payments for Hormuz Strait transit fees

Amid repeated closures and reopenings of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has begun requiring ships to pay transit fees in Bitcoin. Geopolitical crises are driving the practical application of alternative payment methods.

Finance Feeds

Hot comment: Cross-chain bridges keep failing again. The industry’s obsession with the “trust layer” is just like its obsession with “decentralization”—talks about it, but in practice, taking shortcuts.

Chips / Hardware

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang nearly lost composure when asked about chip sales to China

When questioned about selling chips to China, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang responded emotionally: “You’re not dealing with someone who wakes up and fails.” This rare public emotional outburst reflects the immense pressure from the US-China chip war.

Tom’s Hardware

Semiconductor industry faces another price hike notice

Following the continuous price increases by leading optical module equipment companies, the semiconductor supply chain has issued another price hike notice, affecting coupling, packaging, and testing equipment sectors.

Cailian Press

Tech Companies

Tesla’s autonomous taxis expand to Dallas and Houston

Tesla’s Robotaxi service continues to grow, adding two major Texas cities. Elon Musk’s full autonomous driving commercialization is accelerating.

36Kr

US Stocks

Trump launches rapid treatment plan for severe mental illnesses

The White House released a fact sheet announcing the acceleration of approval processes for medical treatments of severe mental illnesses. The WSB community humorously comments, “Finally, someone cares about us.”

White House

US stocks “rising regardless of what happens” sparks debate

Despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, US stocks remain on the rise. Investors are questioning whether the market is overly optimistic or numb to risks.

Reddit

Finance / Macro

Iran’s Hormuz Strait “opening and closing” exposes internal fractures

Iranian Foreign Minister announced the Strait was “completely open” on Friday, but hours later, the Revolutionary Guard announced via maritime radio that it was “still closed,” criticizing the Foreign Ministry’s “naive tweets.” This public confrontation reflects deep conflicts between Iran’s political leadership and the hardline military.

WSJ | CNN

50 days of Iran conflict, $50 billion loss in global oil revenue

Since the conflict erupted in late February, the global market has reduced over 500 million barrels of crude oil and condensate, with an estimated loss of over $50 billion at an average price of $100 per barrel. Analysts call this the largest energy supply disruption in modern history.

6551

Hot comment: Iran’s Foreign Ministry and Revolutionary Guard are arguing on Twitter, causing oil prices to rollercoaster. This is probably the Persian version of “Twitter governance.”

New Products / Trends

Chinese humanoid robot half marathon wins, surpassing human records

At the Beijing humanoid robot half marathon, the Glory “Lightning” robot broke the 20-kilometer mark for the first time and won, surpassing some human competitors. Over 70 teams and more than 300 robots participated, marking a milestone in humanoid robot athletic capability.

Hot discussion: Overseas communities marvel at China’s robot development speed

Zhihu | Reddit

NASA shuts down Voyager 1 instruments to extend spacecraft lifespan

To conserve energy, NASA has turned off one scientific instrument on Voyager 1. Launched in 1977, this probe has been operating for nearly 50 years, and the team faces a tough choice: collect more data or let it fly further.

NASA

Today’s Underlying Trends

Cross-chain bridges blow up again, US stocks ignore bad news, Iran’s internal conflicts—today’s theme is “out-of-control systems.” Whether it’s trust assumptions at the technical level, market risk pricing mechanisms, or geopolitical command chains, vulnerabilities are being exposed. Amid chaos, some collect transit fees with Bitcoin, others let robots run marathons. When the old order begins to fail, new experiments emerge.