Bitcoin and ether slumped to multi-month lows on Friday, with cryptocurrencies swept up in a broader flight from riskier assets as investors worried about lofty tech valuations and bets on near-term U.S. interest rate cuts faded.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell 5.5% to a seven-month low of $81,668. Ether slid more than 6% to $2,661.37, its lowest in four months.

Both tokens are down roughly 12% so far this week.

Cryptocurrencies are often viewed as a barometer of risk appetite and their slide highlights how fragile the mood in markets has turned in recent days, with high-flying artificial intelligence stocks tumbling and volatility spiking.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES LOSE $1.2 TRILLION IN SIX WEEKS

“If it’s telling a story about risk sentiment as a whole, then things could start to get really, really ugly, and that’s the concern now,” Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said of the fall in bitcoin.

About $1.2 trillion has been wiped off the market value of all cryptocurrencies in the past six weeks, according to market tracker CoinGecko.

Prices of Hong Kong-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds launched by China AMC, Harvest and Bosera fell close to 7% each on Friday.

FALL FROM GRACE

Bitcoin’s slide follows a stellar run this year that propelled it to a record high above $120,000 in October, buoyed by favourable regulatory changes towards crypto assets globally.

But analysts say the market remains scarred by a record single-day slump last month that saw more than $19 billion of positions liquidated.

“The market feels a little bit dislocated, a bit fractured, a bit broken, really, since we had that selloff,” said Sycamore.

Bitcoin has since erased all its year-to-date gains and is now down 12% for the year, while ether has lost close to 19%.

Citi analyst Alex Saunders said $80,000 would be an important level as it is around the average level of bitcoin holdings in ETFs.

The selloff has also hurt share prices of crypto stockpilers, following a boom in public digital asset treasury companies this year as corporates took advantage of rising prices to buy and hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.

Shares of Strategy, once the poster child for corporate bitcoin accumulation, have fallen 11% this week and were down nearly 4% in premarket trade, languishing at one-year lows.

JP Morgan said in a note this week that the company could be excluded from some MSCI equity indexes, which could spark forced selling by funds that track them.

Its Japanese peer Metaplanet has tumbled about 80% from a June peak.

Crypto exchange Coinbase was down 1.9% in premarket trade and is on course for its longest losing streak in more than a month.

Crypto miners MARA Holdings and CleanSpark were down 2.4% and 3.6%, respectively, while the Winklevoss twins’ newly-listed Gemini has plunged 62% from its listing price.

“Bitcoin market conditions are the most bearish they have been since the current bull cycle started in January 2023,” said digital asset research firm CryptoQuant in its weekly crypto report on Wednesday.

“We are highly likely to have seen most of this cycle’s demand wave pass.”

Published – November 22, 2025 10:10 am IST

Story so far: Earlier in November, the page titled ‘Gaza Genocide’, hosted on Wikipedia, was locked. A small lock icon at the top right corner of the page restricted users from making edits to the page’s contents. The locked-down page made waves when Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales posted a statement disagreeing on how the term ‘genocide’ was applied to Gaza. He claimed, in his personal capacity, that the page failed to meet Wikipedia’s high standards and needed immediate attention. While the page exists on the platform in its locked-down form, debates continue across the world on how to classify the conflict.

Why was Wikipedia’s Gaza genocide page locked?

The ‘Gaza Genocide’ page begins by stating: “The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war. The genocidal acts include mass killings, starvation, infliction of serious bodily and mental harm, and preventing births.”

While multiple organisations and academics have described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide targeting civilians, pro-Israel supporters have pushed back against the use of the word as they claim that the militant organisation Hamas is using Palestinian civilians as human shields and that Israel had a right to self-defence following the gruesome October 7 killings.

Protections on the locked-down page was enhanced by editors (both humans and bots) on July 2024 and May 2025, to prevent unvetted edits. More recently, it was locked on October 28 and November 4, so only verified editors with accounts older than 30 days and over 500 edits can access the page to make updates.

This is not the first time Wikipedia locked a page on a contentious topic. Thousands of such articles covering significant world events, key definitions, or celebrity figures have been temporarily locked in the past to prevent partisan edits by unvetted editors as well as acts of Wikipedia “vandalism” that range from funny to hateful.

Not surprisingly, there have been hundreds of edits made to the ‘Gaza Genocide’ page on Wikipedia in recent days and weeks. Many of these are simple formatting and punctuation edits while more controversial changes deal with how to include and interpret sources, or even revise other contributors’ edits.

What did Wikipedia’s co-founder say?

Mr. Wales posted a personal statement in a talk page that discussed the nature of edits made to the ‘Gaza Genocide’ page as well as the reasoning behind the use of the term ‘genocide.’ There, he criticised how Israel’s actions were being classified as a “genocide” and instead urged a correction to present this as a contested allegation.

Citing neutrality as the basis for his opinion, Mr. Wales said the article “fails to meet our high standards and needs immediate attention.”

Furthermore, Mr. Wales said he was leading a group that was looking into issues of neutrality in Wikipedia across articles and topic areas, including “Zionism.” He also claimed that much more work was needed, though he clarified that he was only speaking in a personal capacity.

“I assume good faith of everyone who has worked on this Gaza “genocide” article. At present, the lede and the overall presentation state, in Wikipedia’s voice, that Israel is committing genocide, although that claim is highly contested,” Mr. Wales stated, later noting, “A neutral approach would begin with a formulation such as: “Multiple governments, NGOs, and legal bodies have described or rejected the characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.””

Though Mr. Wales’ opinion is not a definitive decision or judgment, it has ignited debate across the Wikipedia editors community as they re-examine how they are collectively working to document Israel’s violence against Palestinians. 

Has a genocide in Gaza been confirmed?

A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry reported on September 16 that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The investigation covers events since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israeli civilians, and Israel’s military actions since then.

The Commission reported that Israel carried out four of the five genocidal acts as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including “killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.”

The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) also published a resolution in August 2025 stating that Israel carried out war crimes and genocide, noting that its actions “have not only been directed against the Hamas group responsible for these, but have also targeted the entire Gazan population”.

The Human Rights Watch stated in December 2024 that “Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide” by throttling Palestinian civilians’ access to water.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 67,173 people have been killed as of October 7 this year, two years after Israel’s offensive on Hamas began. This figure includes 20,179 children, who account for about 30% of the total, reported Reuters.

Published – November 22, 2025 09:40 am IST

The Android mid-range space in 2025 has become a proving ground for near-flagship hardware, and few comparisons illustrate this better than the Lava Agni 4 and the Realme GT 7. Both carry premium ambitions, strong battery life, and polished Android 15 software, but they take very different approaches to performance, camera engineering, and user value. Here’s a detailed look at how they truly stack up.

Performance

Lava’s Agni 4 runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8350, which is a capable, balanced chipset aimed at delivering smooth daily usage and moderate gaming efficiency. It pairs this with 8GB RAM, expandable virtually to 16GB, and UFS 4.0 storage in 128GB and 256GB variants.

Realme GT 7, however, leaps ahead with the Dimensity 9400e, a significantly more powerful and efficient processor, clocking in near flagship territory. With RAM options up to 16GB and storage up to 512GB, it’s built for power users, heavy gamers, and multitaskers who need sustained top-tier performance.

Display

Both phones use a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, but Realme edges out Lava with a sharper 1.5K resolution (1264 × 2780). Lava’s FHD+ screen (around 1200 × 2652) still looks crisp, but the GT 7 offers cleaner text and richer detail, noticeable especially during media consumption and gaming.

Cameras

The Agni 4 offers a practical triple-camera setup: a 50MP primary lens supported by 8MP ultrawide and another 8MP lens. It could possibly be suitable for everyday photography, with dependable colour and clarity. Its 16MP selfie camera could hold up decently, supporting 4K video.

Realme GT 7 packs more versatility with a triple-50MP arrangement includes a telephoto lens absent on the Agni 4, dramatically improving zoom shots and portrait detail. The 32MP front camera also delivers more texture and sharper selfies, especially in low light.

Battery and Charging

Each device includes a sizable 7000mAh battery — a rarity even in 2025. Lava supports 66W fast charging, which is still impressive, but Realme doubles the speed with a blazing 120W system. For users who value minimal downtime, the GT 7 clearly wins here, topping up the battery in nearly half the time.

Software and Experience

Lava’s near-stock Android 15 experience remains one of its strongest selling points—bloat-free, smooth, and optimized for sustained battery life. Combined with IP64 water and dust resistance, it offers a polished daily experience for its price bracket.

Realme provides Android 15 as well, but with more features, optimizations, and personalization options. It’s more customizable but slightly heavier.

So, which one should you buy?

Realme GT 7 is the undoubted powerhouse with better processor, more RAM and storage, sharper cameras, and much faster charging. It’s built for users who want top performance without jumping to full flagship prices.

Lava Agni 4, meanwhile, holds its ground as a value-driven choice, offering solid performance, excellent battery life, clean software, and competitive pricing. It caters to buyers who prioritize reliability, simplicity, and efficiency over raw power.

If you’re on a tighter budget or prefer stock-like Android, the Agni 4 delivers great value. If you want the best performance and camera capabilities in this segment, the Realme GT 7 is the better investment.

Published – November 21, 2025 09:26 am IST

Tech firms led more steep losses across Asian markets Friday as investors struggled to shake off fears about an AI bubble and after a sell-off on Wall Street sparked by jobs data dealt a further blow to hopes for a U.S. interest rate cut.

A blockbuster earnings report from chip bellwether Nvidia on Wednesday seemed to settle nerves that vast investments in the artificial intelligence sector may have been overdone.

But the euphoria was short-lived as warnings grow that the tech-led rally across equities, which has seen several markets hit records and companies clock eye-watering capitalisations, may have run its course, and a correction could be in hand.

In unveiling Nvidia’s forecast-topping report, boss Jensen Huang dismissed fears of a bubble that has caused global equities to wobble.

“From our vantage point, we see something very different,” he said.

After his firm sparked an Asia rally on Thursday, Wall Street began on a strong note, but later went into sharp reverse, with selling compounded by worries over the U.S. labour market.

Data showed that while more jobs were created in September, the unemployment rate crept higher.

The reading did little to alter investors’ belief that the Federal Reserve will stand pat on borrowing costs when it meets next month, with officials more focused on stubbornly high inflation.

Expectations had already been dampened by recent comments from decision-makers, including boss Jerome Powell, that were on the hawkish side.

Tracking New York, Asian markets were a sea of red, with tech giants leading the way.

Seoul-listed Samsung Electronics sank nearly five percent and rival SK hynix more than nine percent — the firms are two of the world’s leading memory chip makers.

Another chip titan, TSMC, tanked nearly four percent in Taiwan, while Japan’s SoftBank plunged more than 10 percent in Tokyo.

That led broader markets lower.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Sydney and Taipei were all down between 1.6 percent and 3.2 percent. There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore and Wellington.

The rush from risk assets also saw bitcoin fall below the $93,000 mark for the first time since April, extending a sell-off suffered since its record high above $126,200 touched just last month.

“The price action across markets has been prolific, and we’ve seen some truly impressive reversals in risk assets,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.

“Sentiment in so many markets remains highly challenged, and we’ve seen new evidence that managers are dumping their 2025 winners, raising expectations that the path of least resistance is for risk to trade lower in the near-term.

“The market seems far more sensitive and ready to de-risk on emerging news, almost seeking reasons to take positioning down when that news could easily be seen as a positive in a more bullish set-up.”

Eyes are also on Tokyo, where there is talk that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will unveil a huge stimulus package worth around $130 billion to boost the stuttering economy.

But government bond yields have soared in recent days on warnings that the spending will likely need even more borrowing, fanning concerns about the country’s fiscal state and putting huge pressure on the yen.

The Japanese currency has fallen this week to its lowest level against the dollar since January, though it got a little support from data showing core inflation ticked up last month, giving the Bank of Japan some room to hike interest rates.

Published – November 21, 2025 09:30 am IST

Nothing starts rolling out NOS 4.0 based on Android 16 to Indian users
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Salesforce said in its message that it had temporarily “revoked all active access” to Gainsight’s applications [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

FILE PHOTO: Australia’s internet watchdog said it would include Twitch in its upcoming teen social media ban, but will not add Pinterest.
| Photo Credit: Reuters