BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has launched its first Bitcoin product in Europe, a move that industry experts say will help legitimise cryptocurrencies in mainstream finance.  “This is a landmark development for crypto, displaying confidence in Bitcoin for mainstream investments,” Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer at London-based crypto payment gateway Bitpace, told TNW.  “Through this first in Europe, BlackRock is not only legitimising the asset class but also paving the way for increased institutional and retail participation,” she said. BlackRock’s product is called an “iShares Bitcoin ETP” (exchange-traded products). ETPs let investors buy and sell Bitcoin without directly owning the cryptocurrency.…

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San Francisco-based 23andMe, which sells at-home DNA testing kits, has filed for bankruptcy in the US and is looking for a new buyer — heightening concerns about the personal data of millions of people.     23andMe experienced a major data breach in 2023, which exposed personal information like family trees, birth years, and geographic locations of approximately half of the company’s 15 million users.    Now, with the company sinking, 23andMe customers are considering deleting their accounts amid fears of another hack or changes to the company’s privacy controls under a new owner.  In the EU and the UK, 23andMe users are…

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The Netherlands has ranked 10th in a global index of tech competitiveness, ahead of the entire G7 group of the world’s largest so-called “advanced” economies. The country was praised for its thriving digital economy, mature biotech and semiconductor industries, and strong digital skills underpinned by “engineering excellence.” London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and consultancy SThree produced the index, which ranks 35 countries based on economic indicators such as level of high-tech exports, number of software developers, and patent filings related to AI.  Several European countries joined the Netherlands near the top of the rankings. Ireland placed second…

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Last week, Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service was installed at the White House. A week before that, Donald Trump promoted Tesla on the White House front lawn, after rallying people to buy the company’s cars and stock.  The Trump administration’s endorsements of Musk’s companies are attracting growing scrutiny. Critics argue that they’re breaking laws and threatening democracy. For the world’s richest man, the relationship is also causing business problems. One involves Italy’s plans for Starlink. The country has halted talks for a proposed €1.5bn contract with the service, defence minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview Saturday.   “Everything has come…

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Just five months after surpassing ASML, German software giant SAP has overtaken Novo Nordisk to become Europe’s most valuable listed company. SAP’s shares rose 1.6% on Monday, bringing its market cap to €313bn. That was just enough to nudge Danish weight loss drugmaker Novo off the top spot.  SAP’s stock has risen more than 40% in the past year, amid booming demand for its AI-driven enterprise resource planning software (ERP). The cloud-based software centralises business data, allowing multiple departments to access and share information in one place. In contrast, Novo is having a tougher time on the stock market. Novo’s…

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