Trust, effective supervision and responsible innovation will define the future of payments, senior officials from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) said during a conference on cryptocurrencies and digital assets in Limassol on Tuesday.

Crypto Moves Into Mainstream Finance

The conference brought together policymakers and market participants to discuss the rapid evolution of cryptocurrencies, digital assets and the broader financial ecosystem. Both speakers argued that crypto has moved beyond the fringes of finance and is becoming increasingly integrated into traditional markets.

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CySEC Chairman George Theocharides said digital assets are now interacting with regulated financial institutions, investment firms and institutional investors, describing the shift as a structural transformation rather than another market cycle.

MiCA Reshapes Europe’s Crypto Framework

Theocharides described the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) as a milestone for the industry, saying it establishes, for the first time, a harmonised regulatory framework for crypto-assets and related services across the European Union.

According to him, the framework provides greater legal certainty, reduces regulatory fragmentation between member states and strengthens investor protection while allowing innovation to develop within a supervised environment.

He also stressed that regulation should remain technology-neutral, focusing on risks and market conduct rather than the underlying technology.

Cyprus Looks To Bridge Traditional And Digital Finance

Theocharides said Cyprus is well positioned to connect traditional financial services with emerging digital finance, pointing to the country’s established regulatory framework for investment services and capital markets alongside its growing fintech ecosystem.

“The role of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission is to ensure that this evolution takes place within a framework that protects investor confidence, promotes market integrity and supports the sustainable development of the financial sector,” he said.

Stablecoins And Digital Money Move Into Focus

Speaking at the same event, CBC Executive Board member George Karatzias said digital money is no longer a theoretical concept but an increasingly important part of the financial system.

He argued that innovation must be accompanied by strong oversight, adding that Europe is working to build a sovereign digital payments ecosystem centred on central bank money while allowing public and private forms of money to coexist. Karatzias said the rapid growth of stablecoins also increases the need for robust regulation.

“Scale brings responsibility, and responsibility requires supervision,” he said, adding that MiCA provides a comprehensive framework covering licensing, transparency, market integrity and consumer protection.

He also noted that euro-denominated stablecoins still account for only a small share of the global market, raising broader questions about Europe’s monetary sovereignty and dependence on foreign-currency digital assets.

The Digital Euro Moves Forward

Karatzias said the European Central Bank is continuing preparations for the digital euro, which is intended to complement commercial bank money while strengthening Europe’s payment infrastructure and reducing reliance on non-European providers.

He said the ECB plans to launch a 12-month pilot programme in the second half of 2027 to test the digital euro in real-world payment scenarios, including point-of-sale transactions and person-to-person transfers. Further details on the participation of Cypriot organisations are expected to be announced in the coming months.

For both regulators, the central message was consistent: as digital finance becomes more deeply embedded in the financial system, innovation must be supported by strong regulation, investor confidence and public trust.

WeWard, the Paris-based app that rewards users for walking, is expanding its focus beyond physical activity with a new feature designed to help people reduce screen time by tying access to social media and other apps to daily step goals.

A New Incentive To Get Moving

The feature, called Walking Mode, allows users to lock selected apps until they reach a preset number of steps. Someone, for example, can choose to block TikTok or Instagram until completing 3,000 steps, with the target fully customizable.

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The addition builds on WeWard’s existing model, which rewards users with in-app currency called Wards for walking. Those rewards can be exchanged for cash, gift cards or charitable donations, while a leaderboard introduces a social element by allowing users to compare their progress with friends and other members of the community.

Blending Fitness With Digital Wellbeing

Walking Mode reflects a broader shift in consumer behaviour, as more people look not only to become more active but also to spend less time on their phones. Rather than encouraging users to quit social media altogether, the feature creates a simple behavioural incentive by linking screen time to physical activity.

The approach positions WeWard as more than a fitness app, combining movement tracking with digital wellbeing tools at a time when concerns over excessive screen use continue to grow.

Expanding A Growing Platform

WeWard says it now serves 30 million users across 29 countries, including 4 million in the United States, and estimates that its platform has increased users’ walking time by nearly 25%. The company is also backed by tennis champion and angel investor Venus Williams.

Co-founder Yves Benchimol said the new feature reflects a broader philosophy behind the product.

“We believe the next generation of products should be designed to create healthier behaviors in the real world, not simply capture more attention,” he told TechCrunch. “Walking Mode is our contribution to that vision, and we hope it inspires a broader conversation about mindful design and how the industry defines success.”

A Different Approach To Engagement

Unlike many consumer apps that aim to maximise time spent on their platforms, WeWard says users typically spend only a few minutes a day inside the app. The company views that as a feature rather than a limitation, arguing that products designed to encourage real-world activity should not compete for users’ attention.

Its business model also differs from many consumer apps. Rather than selling user data to third parties, WeWard says it generates revenue through premium subscriptions, affiliate partnerships, advertising and in-app purchases.

As competition among wellness apps intensifies, Walking Mode represents WeWard’s latest attempt to combine financial incentives with healthier digital habits, encouraging users to spend more time moving and less time scrolling.

Cyprus recorded the highest share of household energy consumption devoted to space cooling in the European Union in 2024, according to new data from Eurostat, highlighting the growing impact of rising temperatures on residential energy demand across southern Europe.

Cyprus Leads The EU In Cooling Demand

Space cooling accounted for 16% of final household energy consumption in Cyprus last year, the highest share among EU member states. Malta ranked second at 15%, while Greece allocated 7.4% of household energy use to cooling, compared with 2.5% in Spain and 2.3% in Italy.

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Although larger countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece consumed more energy for air conditioning in absolute terms because of their larger populations, Cyprus stood out for the proportion of household energy dedicated to keeping homes cool.

Cooling Demand Continues To Rise

Across the European Union, household energy consumption for space cooling reached 80.4 thousand terajoules (TJ) in 2024, doubling from 40.5 thousand TJ in 2018. According to Eurostat, demand increased almost every year during that period, with only two temporary declines: a 2.5% drop in 2020 and a 1.9% decrease in 2023.

The broader trend nevertheless points to a steady increase in cooling demand as higher temperatures make air conditioning an increasingly important part of household energy use across the bloc.

Mediterranean Countries Face The Greatest Pressure

In absolute terms, Italy recorded the highest energy consumption for space cooling at 26.3 thousand TJ, followed by Spain with 14.3 thousand TJ and Greece with 11.9 thousand TJ. However, when measured as a share of household energy use, Cyprus and Malta remain the EU’s most cooling-dependent countries, reflecting the greater impact of prolonged summer heat on the two Mediterranean island states.

The latest figures illustrate how climate change is reshaping energy consumption patterns across Europe. In the bloc’s warmer regions, space cooling is becoming less of a seasonal necessity and more of a permanent component of household electricity demand.

SpaceXAI Unveils Its Latest Flagship Model

SpaceXAI has released Grok 4.5, its newest model and the first major launch since the company went public several weeks ago. In a blog post published Wednesday, the company positioned the model as a practical workhorse built to handle the core tasks businesses are increasingly trying to automate: coding and app development, office and clerical workflows, research, writing, and other forms of routine knowledge work.

Efficiency Becomes A Competitive Advantage

Beyond raw capability, SpaceXAI is making a clear cost argument. The company says Grok 4.5 delivers “twice greater token efficiency” than other leading models, a claim that could matter as AI spending comes under closer scrutiny across enterprises. Token costs have become a meaningful line item for AI customers, particularly for teams deploying models at scale. If SpaceXAI’s efficiency claims hold up in real-world use, they could give the company a stronger position in a market where performance is increasingly judged alongside economics.

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Benchmark Results Show Strong But Not Dominant Performance

SpaceXAI also released benchmark data on Wednesday that suggests Grok remains highly competitive with leading models from rival labs, though still just short of best-in-class performance in some categories. The company’s message is straightforward: Grok 4.5 is meant to compete at the top end of the market without carrying the same price burden as the most expensive frontier models.

Musk Frames Grok As An Opus-Class Rival

On X, the social platform owned by SpaceXAI, founder Elon Musk compared Grok 4.5 with Opus, Anthropic’s model family built for demanding and complex tasks. “Based on strong positive feedback from customers in our beta test program, SpaceXAI will make Grok 4.5 available to the public tomorrow. It is an Opus-class model, but faster, more token-efficient and lower cost,” Musk wrote. He later added that internal testing suggested Grok 4.5 is “roughly comparable to Opus 4.7, but much faster,” arguing that the combination of capability, speed, and lower cost is what makes it competitive.

Pricing May Be The Real Story

SpaceXAI says Grok 4.5 will cost $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens. That pricing is notably aggressive if the model performs as advertised. By comparison, Opus 4.7 costs $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens. OpenAI’s pricing structure varies by model tier: its most expensive model, Sol, costs $5 per million input tokens and $30 per million output tokens, while its least expensive, Luna, is priced at $1 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.

A Busy Week For Frontier AI Releases

The launch comes during a crowded week for major model announcements. OpenAI is expected to release GPT 5.6, its newest and most powerful model, on Thursday. The rollout had previously been delayed by the Trump administration over security concerns. OpenAI has described the model as its “strongest model yet,” underscoring how quickly the competitive stakes continue to rise at the top of the AI market.

Alphabet-owned Google says its search engine set a historic usage record after Argentina’s dramatic World Cup knockout victory, underscoring how live sports continue to drive massive real-time demand for information.

Following Tuesday’s match, in which Argentina staged a late comeback before Lionel Messi’s decisive goal sealed the win in the 83rd minute, Google Search reached its highest level of activity in history, according to Nick Fox, head of the company’s Knowledge and Information unit.

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A Global Moment That Drove Search To New Highs

“Google Search broke all prior usage records and saw its highest usage in history right after Argentina scored their winning goal in yesterday’s match,” Fox wrote on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

A company spokesperson did not disclose exact figures, but confirmed to CNBC that “we saw the most queries per second happen right after the winning goal.”

The surge highlights the enduring power of major live events to concentrate global attention in a matter of seconds. In the digital economy, few moments generate the same intensity of immediate curiosity as a World Cup knockout match, particularly when a player with Messi’s stature is involved.

What People Were Searching For

Google said the top search query after the game was “Argentina vs Egypt.” Globally, users also searched for terms including “argentina x colombia” and “how many world cup goals does messi have.” Other queries reflected both confusion and curiosity in the heat of the moment, such as “what is it called when a player hits another player in game” and “is it messi’s last world cup.”

Those searches show how fans turn to Google not just for scores, but for context, history, and explanation. In moments like these, search functions less like a utility and more like a real-time companion to the event itself.

Why The Record Matters For Google

The milestone arrives as Google works to defend the central role of its search business in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Chatbots and AI assistants are changing how users discover information, raising new questions about the long-term dominance of traditional search.

For now, however, Google remains firmly in control. The company still commands roughly 90% of the search market, its stock has more than doubled over the past year, and first-quarter revenue growth was its fastest since 2022.

That combination of scale, habit, and reach remains difficult to replicate. The latest search record suggests that, even as the information landscape evolves, Google is still the default destination when the world wants answers fast.

X is rolling out new video editing and recording tools for its iOS app as the platform seeks to encourage more original content and strengthen its creator ecosystem.

A Push Toward Original Video

The update introduces several features aimed at helping creators produce and edit videos directly within the app. New tools include multilingual caption overlays with customizable styles and green-screen effects that can use photos from a user’s camera roll or other posts on X.

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“One of our biggest priorities is to give creators the tools to create original content [and] reward those creators,” X Head of Product Nikita Bier wrote in a post on the platform.

“We have plenty more updates coming to the video editor in the coming weeks,” he added.

Encouraging Native Content

According to Bier, the goal is to make it easier for creators to publish original videos on X rather than reposting content from other platforms.

Video has become an increasingly important part of X’s strategy. Bier said posts containing video already account for nearly half of all impressions on the platform, investing in creator tools a key priority.

Competition For Creators Intensifies

The launch comes as major social media platforms compete to attract and retain creators through editing tools, audience reach and monetisation programmes.

While X already offers creator revenue sharing, it faces competition from platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Meta, all of which provide more mature creator ecosystems and established content management tools.

Meta, for example, allows Reels creators to report unauthorised reposts and add attribution to eligible content, while YouTube has long relied on automated systems to identify copyrighted uploads.

Spam And Bots Remain A Challenge

The new editing tools also arrive as X continues its broader efforts to combat spam and automated accounts. Earlier this year, Bier said the company was detecting and suspending around 208 bots per minute, adding that a significant share of the product team remained focused on anti-spam development.

The challenge extends beyond X. Reddit has introduced AI-powered tools to combat increasingly sophisticated spam, while Digg shut down its app earlier this year after citing the growing difficulty of managing automated content.

For now, X’s new video editor and recorder are available only on iOS, while the Android version remains under development.

The European Parliament has backed a major overhaul of EU air passenger rights, approving new rules that strengthen compensation, speed up refunds and improve transparency around airline pricing and claims.

Lawmakers approved the revised framework on Tuesday by 646 votes to 12, with three abstentions. The legislation updates passenger rights first introduced in 2004 and aims to address long-standing gaps between passenger protections and airline obligations.

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Clearer Rules For Delays And Cancellations

Passengers will continue to be entitled to a refund or re-routing if their flight is cancelled, while compensation will remain available for delays exceeding three hours or cases of denied boarding.

Compensation will continue to depend on flight distance:

• €250 for flights of up to 1,500 kilometres;
• €400 for EU flights over 1,500 kilometres and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres;
• €600 for longer-haul flights.

Airlines will be allowed to reduce compensation by 50% on long-haul journeys if they provide alternative transport that limits the arrival delay to no more than four hours.

Exemptions will apply only in extraordinary circumstances beyond an airline’s control, such as severe weather, natural disasters, armed conflict, unruly passengers or strikes affecting airports or air traffic services.

Faster Refunds And Better Assistance

Even when disruption is caused by extraordinary circumstances, airlines will still be required to provide meals, refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation for up to three nights.

Passengers choosing a refund instead of re-routing will benefit from a simplified process. Airlines must provide clear instructions on how to claim within four days after the journey ends, while refunds or compensation decisions must be issued within 30 days. Travellers will have up to nine months to submit a claim.

Greater Transparency For Travellers

The revised rules introduce several consumer-friendly changes aimed at improving transparency during the booking process.

Passengers will be able to use the return leg of a ticket even if they did not travel on the outbound flight. A small personal item will remain free of charge, while airlines will be required to display all mandatory charges, including cabin baggage fees, from the start of the booking process.

The legislation also bans fees for correcting spelling mistakes in passengers’ names and requires airlines to provide digital boarding passes without forcing customers to create an account or download a dedicated app.

New Protections For Families

The package also expands protections for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility. Travellers who miss a flight because airport assistance failed will remain entitled to compensation and re-routing.

Children under 14 must be seated next to the accompanying adult at no additional cost. The same protection will apply to pregnant women and passengers with reduced mobility.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, vice-chair of Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, said the reforms preserve existing passenger rights while extending protections to groups that need them most.

Rapporteur Andrey Novakov described the vote as the end of more than 13 years of negotiations, saying the new rules would provide greater legal certainty for both passengers and airlines.

Next Steps

The legislation must now receive formal approval from the Council before becoming law. Once published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it will enter into force 20 days later, with member states and airlines given one year to implement the new rules.

The European Commission has rejected claims that the new digital Entry/Exit System, or EES, is to blame for the long delays reported at some European airports, arguing instead that the real problem lies in long-standing weaknesses in airport infrastructure and staffing.

Brussels Points To Structural Weaknesses, Not The New Border System

Responding to questions from journalists, Markus Lammert, the Commission’s spokesman for home affairs, said the EES is operating smoothly across the vast majority of European Union border crossing points.

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According to the Commission, the bottlenecks seen at certain airports are largely tied to pre-existing structural constraints, including insufficient staffing, limited infrastructure, a shortage of space for the new equipment and the overall capacity of the facilities themselves.

Wide Rollout Across Europe

The Commission says the system is already active at roughly 1,500 crossing points across 29 countries, with nearly 110 million entries and exits recorded so far — the equivalent of more than two million crossings per week. Lammert also stressed that the EES applies to third-country nationals, not European Union citizens.

For reference, the Commission has also published information on the system here: European Commission Entry/Exit System.

Years Of Preparation, Yet Uneven Readiness

Brussels said the gradual deployment of the system began only after all member states had confirmed they were ready to launch it. The relevant legislation, the Commission noted, has been in force for around a decade, giving national authorities ample time to prepare.

At the same time, the Commission is increasing its support for member states, while Frontex says it is ready to deploy additional personnel at airports facing elevated pressure. Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, can be found here: Frontex.

Security Gains Remain The Core Argument

Despite the operational difficulties, the Commission insists the EES delivers a significant security benefit. According to Brussels, the system has already helped identify around 1,000 individuals considered a potential risk, preventing them from entering the European Union.

In the Commission’s view, the debate is not whether digital border control is needed, but whether airports and national authorities have invested enough in the physical and human infrastructure required to support it at scale.

Visa has launched the Visa Threat Intelligence Platform (VTIP), a new cybersecurity solution designed to help financial institutions identify and contain cyber threats before they lead to fraud, financial losses or operational disruption.

A Shift From Response To Prevention

VTIP builds on the same cybersecurity technologies Visa uses to protect its global payments network. Rather than focusing solely on fraudulent transactions, the platform aims to detect the earlier stages of an attack, including credential theft, data breaches and system compromise.

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Those threats can emerge anywhere across the payments ecosystem, from merchants and card issuers to acquirers and payment service providers, with stolen data often ending up on illicit marketplaces before being used for fraud.

Detecting Threats Earlier

“Fraud is often the result of cyber attacks that are not identified in time,” said Nikos Petrakis, Country Manager of Visa in Greece.

“With the Visa Threat Intelligence Platform, we are helping financial institutions identify risks earlier and respond more effectively before they evolve into fraud or financial losses.”

According to Petrakis, combining cybersecurity intelligence with payment data enables financial institutions to strengthen customer protection, reduce fraud-related losses and reinforce trust in digital payments.

Developed Inside Visa’s Own Network

Visa said the platform was created by its internal cybersecurity teams and tested across the company’s global payments network before being offered to customers.

The company says it blocks around 90 million cyberattacks and 11 million phishing emails every month across more than 200 countries as part of its efforts to maintain uninterrupted payment services.

Built For Financial Institutions

VTIP is designed for cybersecurity, fraud prevention and risk management teams.

Its capabilities include detecting malware and indicators of compromise, identifying organisation-specific vulnerabilities, monitoring brand impersonation, protecting executives and employees from identity-based attacks, and identifying stolen payment credentials circulating on the dark web.

By combining multiple intelligence sources, the platform helps financial institutions prioritise risks and respond before cyber incidents escalate into large-scale fraud.

Growing Investment In Payment Security

The launch reflects Visa’s broader investment in cybersecurity as digital payment ecosystems become increasingly complex. The company said it has invested more than $13 billion over the past five years in technologies designed to strengthen network security and reduce fraud.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, Visa aims to give financial institutions access to the same intelligence capabilities it uses to protect its own global payments infrastructure.

The European Central Bank has given eurozone banks until October 31 to submit plans outlining how they will defend against AI-enabled cyber threats, reflecting growing concern among regulators over the impact of artificial intelligence on financial stability.

Regulators Raise The Alarm On AI-Powered Cyber Risk

The ECB’s directive comes as increasingly sophisticated AI models are expanding cyber capabilities, raising concerns about the resilience of critical financial infrastructure.

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Some frontier AI systems, including Anthropic’s Mythos, have become so capable that access to them has been restricted, a limitation that currently applies to eurozone banks.

“These developments have potentially profound implications for the confidentiality, integrity and resilience of banks’ information and communication technology (ICT) systems,” the ECB said in a letter to bank chief executives.

Focus Shifts To Critical Systems

The central bank instructed lenders to prioritise internet-facing systems and other critical technology assets, including third-party software and open-source components. It also called for faster vulnerability management, stronger monitoring capabilities and improved cyber hygiene.

Beyond technical safeguards, the ECB urged banks to modernise ageing infrastructure and strengthen crisis management, recovery planning and information-sharing arrangements.

To support the initiative, the ECB has postponed a separate IT survey and said it may adjust inspections and other supervisory activities.

Cybersecurity Becomes A Financial Stability Issue

In a separate warning issued alongside the ECB’s letter, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) said large-scale cyberattacks could undermine confidence in financial institutions and, in severe cases, trigger runs on banks or jurisdictions perceived as less secure.

“The ESRB considers these developments to be a source of systemic risks to the financial system,” the board said.

The report outlines a range of scenarios, from gradual losses of confidence in individual institutions to coordinated attacks targeting payment, clearing and settlement systems, potentially amplified by disinformation campaigns.

According to the ESRB, cyber incidents could spread rapidly through shared software providers and common technology platforms, allowing a single breach to escalate into a broader financial disruption.

A Growing Priority For Banks

The ECB’s latest guidance underscores how cybersecurity is becoming a core prudential issue rather than simply an operational concern.

As banks deepen their reliance on digital infrastructure, cloud services and third-party technology, regulators increasingly view cyber resilience alongside capital, liquidity and risk management as a key pillar of financial stability.