Microsoft has instructed its engineers to use OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol as the default model in GitHub Copilot, citing the value of the company's token investment and intellectual property rights secured through 2032. The internal directive, described in a memo by CoreAI EVP Jay Parikh and reported by CNBC, marks a concrete inflection point in how enterprise AI spending is being disciplined at the largest technology companies.

South Africa's National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank have released draft rules defining when crypto transfers become regulated cross-border events under the country's capital flow regime. The South Africa crypto regulation framework is narrower than initial headlines suggest — and its biggest gap may be stablecoins.

Circle beat second-quarter profit estimates with earnings of 18 cents per share but missed revenue forecasts, as USDC circulation climbed 19% to $73.3 billion while reserve yields fell 66 basis points. The Circle USDC earnings report reveals a widening gap between network adoption and near-term monetisation — a dynamic that will define stablecoin valuations through the next rate cycle.