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Japan Unleashes $4B More on Rapidus as 2nm AI Race Tightens

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

TLDR:

  • Japan lifted Rapidus backing to $16.3B as its 2nm AI chip production deadline remains fixed for 2027.
  • New funds support Fujitsu-linked design work and strengthen Japan’s domestic AI semiconductor stack.
  • Hokkaido foundry progress cleared ministry review, unlocking another ¥631.5B in state support.
  • The Rapidus plan ties AI compute growth to supply chain security and sovereign chip production.

Japan has added another ¥631.5 billion to Rapidus, deepening one of the world’s largest state-backed semiconductor bets. 

The new funding lifts total public support to ¥2.6 trillion, or about $16.3 billion, through March 2027. Rapidus remains central to Tokyo’s effort to rebuild domestic 2nm chip production for AI workloads and advanced computing. 

The move also tightens Japan’s broader technology push around supply chain resilience and sovereign semiconductor capacity.

Rapidus AI chip funding accelerates Japan’s 2nm roadmap

According to Bloomberg, the latest capital will support Rapidus’ development work tied to Fujitsu, one of the startup’s earliest targeted customers.

The Economy Ministry said an external committee reviewed the Hokkaido foundry and approved its technical progress before the subsidy release.

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Rapidus, launched in 2022, is building out a domestic 2nm manufacturing line with technology cooperation from IBM. The company still targets mass production in 2027.

The project also carries backing from major Japanese corporates, including Toyota, Sony, and SoftBank, reinforcing its strategic importance beyond pure commercial returns.

Tokyo’s funding pace shows how AI infrastructure demand now overlaps with national industrial policy. Advanced nodes increasingly underpin cloud compute, robotics, and high-performance AI inference.

Japan’s semiconductor strategy targets AI supply chain security

The additional subsidy also supports design-related work involving Fujitsu and IBM Japan through NEDO programs.

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That expands the project from fabrication into a fuller domestic semiconductor design stack, a critical step for AI chip independence.

Japan’s push comes as governments seek alternatives to concentrated foundry exposure in Taiwan and South Korea. For Tokyo, the Rapidus buildout doubles as economic security policy.

The 2nm target places Rapidus directly in competition with leading global foundries serving AI chip demand, where process leadership determines power efficiency and model performance.

For crypto markets, the development matters because AI data-center expansion increasingly overlaps with GPU supply, mining hardware innovation, and tokenized compute infrastructure.

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As Bloomberg reported, the latest review focused on execution milestones at the Hokkaido site, where Tokyo wants proof the 2027 manufacturing deadline remains on track.

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Crypto World

Iran Bitcoin toll report raises questions over oil ship payments

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UK shuts down crypto exchange Zedxion after sanctions probe ties platform to Iranian networks

Reports that Iran may accept crypto for oil tanker tolls in the Strait of Hormuz have sparked debate across the digital asset market. 

Summary

  • Reports on Iran’s possible crypto tolls for oil tankers have split opinion across Bitcoin and stablecoin circles.
  • Analysts said stablecoins face freeze risks, while Bitcoin supporters called BTC harder to block or control.
  • Galaxy’s Alex Thorn said tanker payments may use Bitcoin addresses, not Lightning, due to size limits.

The discussion followed a Financial Times report that linked the proposal to Iran’s efforts to reduce exposure to US sanctions.

Market participants have focused on one question: whether Bitcoin would play a real role in such payments. Conflicting claims have since pointed to stablecoins or Chinese yuan as other possible options.

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The latest debate started after reports said Iran was considering Bitcoin payments for ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway remains one of the world’s busiest energy routes, which has pushed the topic beyond crypto circles and into wider market discussions.

Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, said later reports did not fully support the original Bitcoin claim. He said some accounts suggested the tolls could instead be settled in stablecoins or Chinese yuan, which left the payment method unclear.

That uncertainty has driven much of the reaction from Bitcoin supporters and market analysts. With no confirmed payment framework in place, traders and industry figures have treated the story as a developing issue rather than a settled policy.

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The lack of an official and detailed public plan from Iranian authorities has also kept room for doubt. For now, the crypto market is responding more to reports and commentary than to a final rule.

Bitcoin and stablecoins draw different arguments

Bitcoin supporters argued that BTC would be harder for outside parties to freeze or block. Justin Bechler said, “USDT and USDC include built-in blacklist functions at the smart contract level,” adding that issuers can freeze funds when addresses are flagged.

He also said, “Bitcoin has no issuer, no compliance officer to pressure, and no freeze function.” That argument has pushed some market participants to present Bitcoin as a more resilient option for cross-border settlement under sanctions pressure.

Still, that view has not settled the debate. Stablecoins remain widely used in global crypto payments because they reduce price swings, and that may still matter for any large commercial transaction tied to oil shipping.

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The discussion also reflects the difference between theory and practice. A payment method may look strong on paper, but large state-linked payments depend on speed, scale, compliance risk, and operational ease.

Payment size and logistics remain key issues

Thorn estimated that tanker tolls could range from $200,000 to $2 million per ship. That size has raised doubts about whether the Lightning Network would be the main rail, even though some early reporting suggested a payment could be completed within seconds.

He said the more likely setup would involve Iran providing a QR code or a Bitcoin address after approving a ship’s passage. That method would avoid the limits that can affect very large Lightning payments.

Thorn also noted that the largest known Lightning transaction to date was about $1 million. That figure matters because some tanker tolls may sit above that level, which could make direct onchain settlement or pre-arranged transfers more practical.

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WLFI Drops to Record Low After Token-Backed Borrowing Raises Risk Concerns

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WLFI Drops to Record Low After Token-Backed Borrowing Raises Risk Concerns

WLFI, the native token of the Donald Trump–backed World Liberty Financial platform, sank to an all-time low on Saturday as crypto users expressed concerns after revelations that the project used a large amount of its own tokens to take out loans.

The token hit a new low of around $0.07714 on Saturday, down 83% from its peak of $0.46 reached last September, according to data from CoinMarketCap. WLFI is currently at $0.07879, down by 4.66% over the past day.

The downturn came after it was revealed that wallets linked to World Liberty Financial deployed substantial WLFI holdings as collateral on Dolomite, a decentralized lending platform co-founded by the project’s chief technology officer, Corey Caplan.

WLFI token down 65% over the past year. Source: CoinMarketCap

Onchain data from Arkham shows that a wallet linked to World Liberty Financial deposited around 5 billion WLFI tokens on Dolomite. The wallet then used the tokens as collateral to borrow $75 million in USD1 and USDC (USDC) stablecoins, later transferring more than $40 million to Coinbase Prime.

Related: CFTC unveils innovation task force members in crypto clarity push

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WLFI-backed loan position sparks concerns

The large collateral position has raised concerns among DeFi analysts, who warn it could create risks for lenders on Dolomite if WLFI’s price falls and approaches liquidation levels.

“WLFI has almost a $10 billion FDV, but it is not an extremely liquid asset,” one user wrote on X. “So imagine what would happen if 5% of WLFI’s total supply would suddenly need to be sold to liquidate the position,” he added.

Another X user argued that the setup resembles creating artificial “chips” and borrowing against them. “It’s the financial equivalent of printing casino chips, borrowing cash against them, and telling everyone else not to panic because the house still believes in the chips,” they claimed.

Source: Ethan DeFi

Dolomite has a relatively small footprint in decentralized finance, ranking 19th among lending platforms by total value locked, according to DefiLlama.

Related: White House warns staff as Iran bets add to growing insider trading concerns

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World Liberty defends WLFI lending

World Liberty Financial acknowledged the lending activity on social media, but sought to calm markets, stating that its positions remain well above liquidation thresholds. The project described itself as an “anchor borrower” for WLFI and argued that the strategy helps generate yield.

“Everyday users are earning outsized stablecoin yields right now — at a time when traditional markets are offering very little. That’s the whole point,” the project wrote on X.

On Friday, World Liberty said it will soon introduce a governance proposal to create a phased unlock schedule for WLFI tokens held by early retail buyers, replacing immediate access with a long-term vesting plan subject to community vote.

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