Dyson has just revealed two new special edition colorways for its popular hair styling tools, and I think I’m in love. They’re called ‘Jasper Plum’ and ‘Red Velvet & Gold’ and they’ll be available across the full haircare range, including the Airwrap i.d. multi-styler, the Supersonic dryer, and the Airstrait wet-to-straight styler.

While I don’t dislike the current purple-and-orange or turquoise options, they have more of a ‘Children’s TV presenter’ energy than I’d ideally want in a haircare tool that costs upwards of $400 / £350. These new options have a much more luxe feel that fits the premium price tag, and are perfect for a grown-up dressing table. I’ve been eyeing up an Airwrap for some time, and this might be the thing that makes me take the plunge.

The Jasper Plum colorway will be available to buy direct from Dyson UK from today (22 January), with the Red Velvet & Gold options joining in late February. There are no specifics on other territories yet, although a Dyson spokesperson told us the new-look tools “will become available at a later date” in the US and Australia.

Dyson says the new color options are “thoughtfully designed to celebrate love, individuality, and the small yet powerful moments of self-care”. The Jasper Plum option, which combines violet and plum with blush pink detailing, symbolizes “strength and self-discovery”. The Red Velvet & Gold model “embodies sophistication and modern beauty”.

I didn’t immediately get all that, but the new colors certainly do look very nice. And the Red Velvet version taps into the current obsession with burgundy that’s sweeping the fashion world.

We consistently rate Dyson’s styling gadgets among the best hair dryers and best hair styling tools you can buy. Having made its name in vacuum cleaners and fans, the brand gained prominence in the beauty market with its Supersonic hair dryer, which reimagined the traditional dryer shape to make it more streamlined and put the weight in the handle to make it easier to control. The current version – Dyson Supersonic Nural – adds some clever features to streamline the styling process.

Crypto influencers face backlash for amplifying a fraudulent U.S. Treasury XRP wallet, revealed to be a scam.

On Jan. 22, several large influencer accounts began posting about a U.S. Treasury XRP (XRP) wallet. The story quickly snowballed as it gained traction on X through reposts. Influencers either promoted the wallet or questioned its credibility. An on-chain analysis conducted through XRPSCAN has now revealed that the wallet is based in the Philippines.

The purported U.S. Treasury wallet, which is connected to major institutions, including Bank of America and JPMorgan, is fraudulent. The wallet address ‘rfHhX6hA54LBqA3j7r7EnCs6qyaRK2Lyfq’ is also KYC verified, which further bolstered people’s belief that it might be a legit source tied to the United States Treasury.

Now, many within the crypto community are voicing their concern. For instance, Zach Rynes, community coordinator of Chainlink, criticized so-called “crypto-influencers” for spreading rampant misinformation in the XRP community. 

He also explained that in 2021, there was a rumor that the Bank of America was executing all internal payments through Ripple. Crypto influencer David Stryzewski, who recently made the false claims about XRP being a Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC, shared false information on Ripple in a podcast with Former U.S. Senate candidate John E Deaton.

Stryzewski, who is the CEO of Sound Planning Group, also distorted information that Ripple was located in Hong Kong, said Rynes.

Crypto scams on X are on the rise

The proliferation of crypto-related scams has only added to the confusion pervading the industry. There was an 87% spike in daily impersonation accounts in December 2024, according to Scam Sniffer, with numbers rising from an average of 160 in November to more than 300. 

Scam methods are also increasing—from phishing schemes to fake accounts, fraudsters are tampering with duped users on platforms like X.

Recently, Lenovo India and Yahoo News UK were among the big accounts that are having their handles hijacked to promote scam tokens and the losses are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Further sophisticated phishing operations like those mimicking Zoom domains have lifted private keys and wallet credentials, exploiting trust and technical vulnerabilities in blockchain, making it all the more necessary for users to be on their guard.

On Jan. 21, Donald Trump said he had signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who operated the dark web marketplace Silk Road.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he stated on his social media platform Truth Social on Jan. 22.

Trump continued to add that “the scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”

Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon! Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President! #freeRoss pic.twitter.com/wOJVFX1DaA

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 22, 2025

Ross Ulbricht Finally Free

The Silk Road founder was serving a life sentence after being convicted of running an underground online marketplace that was used by drug dealers to conduct illicit sales using Bitcoin.

Ulbricht created and operated Silk Road, one of the first modern darknet markets, from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. The site worked on the Tor network and used crypto for transactions, allowing users to buy and sell goods anonymously.

Ulbricht, who used the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts” (DPR), was an ardent libertarian who believed in free market principles and opposed drug prohibition laws.

He was convicted in May 2015 on seven charges, including distributing narcotics, computer hacking, conspiracy, and money laundering. He received two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole.

“I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity,” Ulbricht said at his sentencing hearing.

Supporters have long advocated for clemency, arguing his sentence was disproportionately harsh and that Silk Road reduced violence in the drug trade by moving it online.

Waiting on Crypto EOs

Trump had announced plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence in May during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention.

“Thanks to President Trump for keeping his word to end Ross’s unjust sentence by granting him a full and unconditional pardon. Prayers have been answered for Ross, Lyn (his mother), and all their family and friends. So happy for them!” commented former Congressman Justin Amash.

The crypto community is still waiting with bated breath for Trump to sign executive orders relating to the industry and pro-crypto regulations. He has been silent on the subject so far.

On Monday, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a significant surge in Chainlink (LINK) prices following a remarkable acquisition by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto venture associated with President Donald Trump. 

Trump’s World Liberty Financial Propels LINK Price Up 

In a series of rapid transactions completed within just 15 minutes, World Liberty Financial purchased 220,000 LINK tokens, totaling an impressive $5.63 million, according to Chinese reporter Wu Blockchain. 

This strategic move was accompanied by additional acquisitions, including 13,000 Aave (AAVE) tokens valued at $4.41 million and 37.267 million TRON (TRX) tokens worth $8.86 million.

Related Reading

The buying pressure generated by these transactions contributed to a notable 44% uptrend in LINK’s price over a two-week period, with a more immediate increase of over 11% within just 24 hours. 

But despite this bullish momentum, LINK’s price remains approximately 49% below its all-time high of $52.70, achieved during the 2021 bull run as it is currently hovering little over above the $26 mark.

In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), WLFI detailed these acquisitions, stating that they were made to commemorate the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States. 

The post highlighted additional purchases, including $47 million in Ethereum (ETH), $47 million in wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), and similar amounts in AAVE, LINK, TRX, and Ethena (ENA).

How Chainlink Could Double In Value

The involvement of the Trump family in the crypto space has sparked excitement among bullish LINK investors, fostering renewed confidence in the token’s prospects. 

Analysts like Michael van de Poppe have weighed in, noting that LINK has recently experienced a standard 30% correction—a pattern seen more than 15 times in previous cycles. Despite this, van de Poppe anticipates an upward price movement for Chainlink toward the $35 mark as market conditions stabilize.

Adding to the positive sentiment, market expert Ali Martinez reported a significant withdrawal of over 770,000 LINK tokens from crypto exchanges on Tuesday, suggesting that investors are increasingly confident in LINK’s potential and a possible continuation of the uptrend observed over the past month.

Related Reading

Satoshi Flipper also chimed in on LINK’s price action, expressing optimism about the token’s adoption and future performance. He noted the emergence of a falling wedge pattern that could propel LINK toward its all-time high, suggesting that a price doubling from current levels is feasible. 

Flipper emphasized the importance of Chainlink in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, arguing that dismissing the potential for further gains before reaching new highs would be a mistake.

Interestingly, Aixbt recently pointed out that LINK’s monthly Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently at 67, approaching the critical 70 level that previously triggered a dramatic 375% price surge. 

This setup mirrors the conditions that drove the price from $3.50 to $20 in an earlier cycle. If history were to repeat itself, such a surge could push LINK toward the $124.80 mark, nearly tripling its current peak.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

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Donald Trump’s return to the White House has put more than $300bn of potential federal infrastructure funding at risk, US investors said, as they grappled with the scale of his move to unpick Joe Biden’s climate agenda.

Within hours of his inauguration on Monday, Trump signed scores of executive orders rescinding Biden’s policies, including one halting federal disbursements to manufacturers and infrastructure developers.

The funds affected were provided under two of Biden’s signature legislative achievements — the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law — and include almost $50bn in Department of Energy loans already agreed and another $280bn worth of loan requests under review, according to Financial Times analysis of the DOE’s loan portfolio.

“All agencies shall immediately pause the disbursement of funds appropriated” through the acts, the Trump administration said in an executive order titled “Unleash American Energy”.

Among the disbursements now immediately in peril are a $9bn conditional loan to Michigan-based utility DTE Energy and another of $3.5bn to Oregon-based utility PacifiCorp.

DTE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PacifiCorp said it was working with the department on the loan guarantee conditions.

“If you had grants, loan guarantees, funding that was sort of tied in with the IRA and the money’s not out the door yet, it’s going to be very hard to see that money go out the door under the Trump administration,” said Rob Barnett, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. 

The executive order was among dozens signed by Trump in a late-night blitz after he was sworn in for a second presidential term and promised to end Biden’s “Green New Deal” and boost fossil fuel output.

Trump’s move to halt the funding sent a shockwave through the clean energy sector and signalled his intent to undermine Biden’s industrial policy, particularly his programmes to speed up an energy transition.

“The executive orders indicate that federal funding for EV and battery manufacturing will be harder to access, increasing the risk of stranded capital for manufacturing projects already under way,” said Shay Natarajan at Mobility Impact Partners, a private equity fund based in New York. 

The 2021 infrastructure law offered $1.2bn to improve the country’s transport system, while the IRA offered $370bn in tax credits, grants and loans.

Both programmes vastly expanded the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, which was responsible for doling out $400bn to developers and has been a favourite target of Republican attacks.

Investors said they feared another $300bn worth of future federal funding — mostly from the infrastructure law — would also now be frozen by Trump’s move.

Unlike the money in the loans office, the IRA’s tax credits — the main form of subsidy in the legislation — are unlikely to be affected. The credits have been a primary driver of investment, with manufacturers committing more than $130bn since the law passed, according to FT analysis. 

Fearing that Trump would move to halt the disbursements, Biden officials rushed nearly $50bn in loan commitments out to developers in the weeks after he won re-election in November.

Trump also wants to stop construction of wind farms on federal lands and waters and said he would end “unfair subsidies” for electric vehicles. Shares in Tesla, Rivian, Ørsted and other EV and wind companies fell on Tuesday.  

This week Italian cable manufacturer Prysmian Group said it was scrapping plans to build a factory in Somerset, Massachusetts, which would have made cables for the offshore wind sector.  

Other investors had already scaled back their US renewable energy plans in the US ahead of Trump’s return. German energy giant RWE announced in November it was pulling back its US wind power plans. 

Nearly 25GW of offshore wind projects, 65 per cent of the US projects in development, are unlikely to progress under the Trump administration, Rystad Energy said on Tuesday.

“When you start to make it look like there’s a lack of stability in the investment that you thought you were making into the US, that has a potentially very negative effect, long term, on our ability to attract capital,” said Eli Hinckley, a partner at Baker Botts.

Additional reporting by Claire Bushey, Christian Davies, Harry Dempsey, Kana Inagaki, Laura Pitel, Rachel Millard, Attracta Mooney, Stephen Morris, Patricia Nilsson

An ongoing “service interruption” at government contractor giant Conduent sparked outages across several U.S. states, leaving residents without access to some benefits and support payments.

A person familiar with the incident told TechCrunch the outage was caused by a cyberattack. Conduent spokesperson Sean Collins acknowledged the company’s outage was ongoing but declined to answer questions or rule out a cyber incident. 

“We are currently experiencing a service interruption affecting some applications while we have restored service over the past few days. The Conduent technology team is working hard to resolve any remaining issues,” Collins said.

Wisconsin’s Department of Children and Families told residents in a social media post on January 17 that it was unable to process child support payments across the state for much of the week. The department said four states, including Wisconsin, were affected by the outage at Conduent. Department spokesperson Gina Paige said its service was restored January 19 but deferred comment on the cause of the outage to Conduent. 

Oklahoma Human Services, which manages the state’s food assistance program, told residents in a social media post on January 9 that Conduent’s customer service line was hit by the “technical outage.” Spokesperson Casey White told TechCrunch that the state’s systems are “working as expected” and that it experienced “no outages related to security at Conduent.”

In June 2020, Conduent confirmed a ransomware attack several days after reporting a service interruption. The Maze ransomware gang took credit for the breach and subsequently published various documents stolen from the company’s systems.

Contact Zack Whittaker on Signal and WhatsApp at +1 646-755-8849. You can also share documents securely with TechCrunch via SecureDrop.