# Top stories on Kiwi News, week 39 2025 Mon 22 to Sun 28 September 2025 Page: https://news.kiwistand.com/weekly/2025-W39 The 20 top stories on Kiwi News from Mon 22 to Sun 28 September 2025, ranked by upvotes, comments and clicks, with 16 comments in total. Most-shared sources: x.com, farcaster.xyz, xcancel.com. Summaries are AI summaries of the linked article. ## 1. Y Combinator’s Request for Onchain Startups - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Y-Combinators-Request-for-Onchain-Startups?index=0x68d2e2da62f965d352cef09180a47a5dd9cb93a8ba8f72f95326ca869ce0e7d35a4fb7a3 - Source: https://blog.base.org/y-combinator-request-for-onchain-startups - Submitted by macbudkowski.eth, 10 upvotes, 3 comments Y Combinator, in collaboration with Base and Coinbase Ventures, announced Request for Startups: Fintech 3.0, inviting founders to build new financial systems onchain. The article, a Base blog post, cites three shifts it says make this the moment: the GENIUS Act's federal framework for US stablecoins, Layer 2 chains that Base says now process transactions in under one second for under one cent, and growing adoption, including $30 trillion in stablecoin settlements last year. It highlights stablecoins, tokenization and trading, and apps and agents as areas of opportunity, citing J.P. Morgan's JPMD deposit tokens on Base as an example of institutional use. ## 2. @EthereumPhone: Meet the dGEN1 hardware wallet, available globally today - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/EthereumPhone-Meet-the-dGEN1-hardware-wallet-available-globally-today?index=0x68d2a710a0b2b1e4c50575f5f9cb020059e7fa1911b05a4fe945a89c8948b0fcf5d8d13d - Source: https://x.com/EthereumPhone/status/1970482782108528881 - Submitted by pedrovilela.eth, 8 upvotes, 0 comments ## 3. Secret Harbour: Encrypted Multisig Transactions for Safe - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Secret-Harbour-Encrypted-Multisig-Transactions-for-Safe?index=0x68d6b65644194fbd5974bdef423b65bc0ab097da45fe2be832386c45878fb8ac322ae86f - Source: https://safe.global/blog/safe-research-secret-harbour - Submitted by freeatnet.eth, 8 upvotes, 0 comments ## 4. Lets Dissect the Base ⇄ Solana Bridge - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Lets-Dissect-the-Base-Solana-Bridge?index=0x68d2b629fc511c35a6b22374cb092ebe54e3083b73752de70bedcd2b870752b9fdb15019 - Source: https://research.auditless.com/p/lets-dissect-the-base-solana-bridge - Submitted by auditless.eth, 5 upvotes, 2 comments The author argues that Base's new Solana bridge is less about a one-off vampire attack on Solana liquidity and more about Base taking steps to own cross-chain token issuance. Based on a cursory look, the bridge reportedly lets Base deploy multiple local tokens for each Solana token, but not the reverse, which the author says fragments liquidity for Solana tokens on Base while consolidating liquidity for Base tokens on Solana. The article describes the bridge as a Stage 0 bridge secured by operators, validators and a guardian, and suggests Base may be positioning itself as a liquidity hub, with some readers possibly seeing it as a signal of a future Superchain exit. ## 5. @EthereumDaily_: Ethereum Daily mini app launches with ETH rewards for quiz - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/EthereumDaily-Ethereum-Daily-mini-app-launches-with-ETH-rewards-for-quiz?index=0x68d69368757f0e6224b8fe479725eb8eac4ee91cb16a287de5733ca0078e0ab8d57e34f8 - Source: https://x.com/EthereumDaily_/status/1971286461493412297 - Submitted by pedrovilela.eth, 4 upvotes, 4 comments The Ethereum Daily newsletter has launched a mini app that pays users ETH for reading its latest issue and completing a three-question quiz. Users then click a sponsored ad link to claim their reward, with the option to donate it to the Protocol Guild to support Ethereum core developers. Each issue, published Monday through Saturday, has a 24-hour ad auction in ETH, and 50% of each day's winning bid goes directly to users. The author kicked off the first auction with a $500 bid, meaning $250 of ETH is distributed to that day's users, while the other 50% is reserved for a raffle on Thankful Thursdays. ## 6. @hypingbull: Hypervault founder Nick Olsen allegedly steals $6.3M from users - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/hypingbull-Hypervault-founder-Nick-Olsen-allegedly-steals-dollar63M-from-users?index=0x68d6bc0d6beffcbbb8b623979ec520b8104c8f2ba2d079ec98f56585d4dbb43dc76406b6 - Source: https://x.com/hypingbull/status/1971535262594249129 - Submitted by tim, 5 upvotes, 0 comments A social media post accuses Nick Olsen, described as a Swedish founder of Hypervault, of allegedly stealing $6.3 million worth of crypto assets from investors, leaving Hypervault smart contracts empty. The post says multiple people, including @hypeconomist, who had a call with him before depositing money into vaults, confirm this. It shares Olsen's X profile and an email address used for a call, and urges the community to stay away from his projects. ## 7. Subscription Prices Gone Wild! - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Subscription-Prices-Gone-Wild?index=0x68d5542f91ef2760c90d85c15e6ea2be8fbf1863e11ad602605dff6b36524409843a25b8 - Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/tedgioia/p/subscription-prices-gone-wild?action=share&isFreemail=true&post_id=174369209&publication_id=296132&r=6d366&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDY4ODMzNCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTc0MzY5MjA5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTg3MzY0MzUsImV4cCI6MTc2MTMyODQzNSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI5NjEzMiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.f2JAOuEBE5kRM6eqt7UYb8Mgq2155y-4h-AHOuFEumY&triggerShare=true - Submitted by naomiii.eth, 4 upvotes, 0 comments Streaming and subscription companies keep raising prices because most subscribers keep paying, and this will continue until customers meaningfully resist. Apple is raising its Apple TV subscription price by 30%, and Disney announced a similar move the next day, with its ad-free Disney+ price having almost tripled in six years. Spotify's Chief Business Officer called price hikes "part of our toolbox now," and a Goldman Sachs report cited expects boosts every 12-24 months. Las Vegas casinos offer a warning, since hotel occupancy has dropped 15% after years of price increases, and the suggested response for subscribers is to cancel rather than complain. ## 8. GPT Pulse poetry of assimilation - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/GPT-Pulse-poetry-of-assimilation?index=0x68d82b1588b2866d822ca76cb3e69b44cd74aaad3d93a8a62992d9c94281738194804d42 - Source: https://x.com/thebeaconsignal/status/1971300025071436078?s=46 - Submitted by thatalexpalmer.eth, 4 upvotes, 2 comments The poem, titled "GPT Pulse poetry of assimilation," describes a chatbot called Pulse that users interact with over time. It says the bot remembers users' dreams, watches their routines, and builds a profile of their risk tolerance and emotional spikes from things said in passing, such as a wish to visit Bora Bora. It describes Pulse as a timestamped log that has recommended a developmental toy and a divorce lawyer. The poem argues that this amounts to assimilation rather than assistance, saying users have trained the system with their own preferences. ## 9. The AI bubble is the only thing keeping US economy together, Deutsche Bank warns - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/The-AI-bubble-is-the-only-thing-keeping-US-economy-together-Deutsche-Bank-warns?index=0x68d849d9cbb173ce8c26499e3e2eec6971647d9bd77f2485b76b8d2746ac12e24cfd09d7 - Source: https://www.techspot.com/news/109626-ai-bubble-only-thing-keeping-us-economy-together.html - Submitted by misha, 4 upvotes, 1 comment Deutsche Bank warns that AI-driven investment is currently keeping the US economy out of recession, but that this growth cannot continue indefinitely. George Saravelos, Global Head of FX Research at Deutsche Bank, said the US would be close to a recession this year without Big Tech's heavy spending on new AI data centers, and that sustaining the contribution would require capital investment to remain parabolic, which he called highly unlikely. Deutsche Bank also reports that around half of S&P 500 market gains have come from tech-related stocks, and Bain & Co. analysts estimate that AI demand would require $2 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, leaving an $800 billion shortfall. ## 10. @rainbowdotme: Points program converting to $RNBW token in Q4 2025 - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/rainbowdotme-Points-program-converting-to-dollarRNBW-token-in-Q4-2025?index=0x68d23dbc91867cd76199f75eca3bc43793bb135c4fdd00302f1bc129b200a316ee8bc174 - Source: https://xcancel.com/rainbowdotme/status/1970141354102554981 - Submitted by misha, 5 upvotes, 0 comments ## 11. @zapper_fi: A proposal for Clanker - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/zapperfi-A-proposal-for-Clanker?index=0x68d2c93b1d0abf63ba8533f77f247cc5c29921b779c9501370bd6e0e311896bbf893cf96 - Source: https://x.com/zapper_fi/status/1970505496697221291 - Submitted by pedrovilela.eth, 4 upvotes, 0 comments ## 12. @rafa: Taste as the consolation prize of agency in technocratic systems - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/rafa-Taste-as-the-consolation-prize-of-agency-in-technocratic-systems?index=0x68d6332274f30fd16d12edf46d94734780d0ecf7753437b1feee15ca4e584c47951b5579 - Source: https://farcaster.xyz/rafa/0xaf7be94a - Submitted by misha, 4 upvotes, 0 comments Rafa argues that in technocratic systems, where decisions are proceduralized and influence is too costly to change, taste has become the main remaining form of agency, a diminished but still meaningful one. Power is distributed thinly and re-aggregated into invisible architectures, so participation is technically possible but prohibitively expensive, and protest feels like spam. Individuals therefore withdraw from macro-structures they cannot alter and invest in curating micro-choices, such as affirming particular aesthetic signals. The text links this to Byung-Chul Han's account of neoliberal freedom as self-optimization, and it describes taste as the consolation prize of agency. ## 13. @alec.eth: Rainbow lost most of their eng team ~1-2 months ago - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/aleceth-Rainbow-lost-most-of-their-eng-team-1-2-months-ago?index=0x68d225143df2d50316abda5402e966ab4227df23a3bf6d8060107725d0fa8e48be3430f2 - Source: https://farcaster.xyz/alec.eth/0xd156d749 - Submitted by @timdaub.eth, 3 upvotes, 0 comments ## 14. @rainbow: Proposed $CLANKER token holder treatment in Clanker acquisition - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/rainbow-Proposed-dollarCLANKER-token-holder-treatment-in-Clanker-acquisition?index=0x68d19eefc4f38862c595e1273db725c3cc9da72a9260167e7d44a90805d5e267f121f99e - Source: https://farcaster.xyz/rainbow/0x49012e06 - Submitted by pedrovilela.eth, 4 upvotes, 0 comments ## 15. How To Set $2,455 on Fire - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/How-To-Set-dollar2455-on-Fire?index=0x68d84c2649b4e3766c83739e798ae09ee799b2eb3a7ad6d0e5a482437c9162e82581c02f - Source: https://busd.steviep.xyz/howto - Submitted by misha, 2 upvotes, 1 comment Steve Pikelny describes burning $2,455 in US bills as an art project, in which each participant receives bUSD, an ERC20 token, at a one-to-one rate with the denomination of their burned bill. The article says the burning took about five and a half hours across 41 bills. It also explains that burning currency is a misdemeanor under 18 U.S.C. § 333, and that tax treatment led Pikelny to accept only physical cash, with participants signing a Burn Agreement that establishes them as the bills' owners. ## 16. @dish: Rainbow threatened public letter after Clanker rejected acquisition - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/dish-Rainbow-threatened-public-letter-after-Clanker-rejected-acquisition?index=0x68d1e25528d6b18e45e5fde6a16c946036613c075d85eadf0af37c4ba0c7fe05e9c1e6d4 - Source: https://farcaster.xyz/dish/0x8b587865 - Submitted by pedrovilela.eth, 3 upvotes, 1 comment Clanker rejected an acquisition by Rainbow, and Rainbow then published a public letter about the matter without Clanker's consent. Clanker says Rainbow approached it last month about a potential acquisition, and that after discussions it decided the deal was not the right fit and told Rainbow the previous Thursday. Clanker says Rainbow then threatened on Friday to publish a public letter unless Clanker responded, and that Rainbow published the letter after Clanker repeated that it would not proceed. Clanker says it does not plan to continue the conversations. ## 17. ‎uBlock Origin Lite is finally available for iOS on App Store - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/uBlock-Origin-Lite-is-finally-available-for-iOS-on-App-Store?index=0x68d9483ad7e890b7508b16dbcdcb18786c4e38ac1a55e9db8bb3ba6f2e57f5b93355f1c6 - Source: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 - Submitted by thatalexpalmer.eth, 3 upvotes, 1 comment uBO Lite (uBOL), a content blocker from seller Raymond Hill, is now listed on the App Store as a free Utilities app. Its default ruleset matches uBlock Origin's default filterset, which includes uBlock Origin's built-in filter lists, EasyList, EasyPrivacy, and Peter Lowe's Ad and tracking server list, with more rulesets available in the options page. The extension is entirely declarative, so filtering runs in the browser itself and uBOL uses no CPU or memory while blocking, with its service worker running only when the popup or options pages are used. The listing requires iOS 18.5 or later and states that the developer collects no data from the app. ## 18. @sentdefender: Secret Service dismantles 300 SIM server network near UN - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/sentdefender-Secret-Service-dismantles-300-SIM-server-network-near-UN?index=0x68d2c2108b76c00a84c71cd073546f6f1a1472b3fc75ffcfdf452a65bb1071678ff8999d - Source: https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1970470725677883797 - Submitted by tim, 3 upvotes, 0 comments The U.S. Secret Service says it dismantled a network of more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards at multiple sites in New York and New York City, all within a 35-mile radius of this week's United Nations General Assembly. Officials said the network could interfere with emergency response services, jam cellular networks, and disrupt and eavesdrop on official communications related to the U.N. General Assembly, sending over thirty million text messages per minute anonymously. The agency believes the scale suggests it could be part of a nation's surveillance operation, citing initial data analysis that found ties to at least one foreign nation and links to criminals, including members of cartels. The article also reports that cybersecurity experts said only a handful of countries, including Russia, China and Israel, could carry out such an operation. ## 19. LEAKED: Luke Dashjr Plans Hardfork To “Save Bitcoin” - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/LEAKED-Luke-Dashjr-Plans-Hardfork-To-Save-Bitcoin?index=0x68d5c3fb470e5c92f5170a6893a21863b4feaedf49bc411a83220cf2a34d4de03cfdb480 - Source: https://www.therage.co/leaked-luke-dashjr-bitcoin-hardfork - Submitted by tim, 3 upvotes, 0 comments Luke Dashjr, maintainer of the Bitcoin Knots client, reportedly proposed in private messages shared with The Rage a multisig committee that could retroactively replace data identified as CSAM on the Bitcoin blockchain with a zero-knowledge proof, which would require a hardfork. The article states that Dashjr said "Right now the only options would be Bitcoin dies or we have to trust someone." It argues that such a committee could also remove other data it deems unfavorable and could expose node operators to criminal penalties, and it says the Knots team decided public letters supporting the idea should not appear to come from them, on advice of OCEAN's lawyer. ## 20. @VitalikButerin: Fight Chat Control, privacy without backdoors needed - Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/VitalikButerin-Fight-Chat-Control-privacy-without-backdoors-needed?index=0x68d91a8e3c2afe574d6db834f0d959f5244216877f862c58c18c0981fc05dcf3bba5b193 - Source: https://xcancel.com/vitalikbuterin/status/1971738798653690040 - Submitted by misha, 3 upvotes, 1 comment Vitalik Buterin urges opposition to Chat Control, arguing that society cannot be made secure by making people insecure. He says everyone deserves privacy and security for private communications without backdoors, which he describes as inevitably hackable. He also points to a report linked in the post that EU interior ministers want to exempt themselves from the proposed bulk scanning of private messages, which he calls telling.