Jon Cuthbert

BNP Paribas has launched crypto-linked exchange-traded notes tied to bitcoin and ethereum, giving retail clients regulated exposure through traditional securities accounts.

Bitcoin may be entering a new phase of mainstream adoption similar to Facebook’s post-2012 growth, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

The proposed CLARITY Act could pressure decentralised finance tokens by banning yield on stablecoins and redefining them as payment tools rather than savings products.

BlackRock raised CEO Larry Fink’s total compensation to $37.7 million for 2025, up 23% year-on-year, as strong performance including Bitcoin ETF growth boosted earnings.

Counter-drone firm DroneShield (ASX:DRO) has inaugurated its European headquarters in Amsterdam.

Sam Altman’s World Foundation has completed a $65 million over-the-counter sale of its WLD token as the asset trades near historic lows.

Xiaomi has introduced its MiMo V2 series quietly, yet the release has quickly drawn global attention due to its scale and performance.

The company, often mislabelled as a budget phone maker, remains one of the world’s largest tech manufacturers with a broad ecosystem of products.

Its expansion into artificial intelligence signals a strategic shift that positions it alongside leading global AI developers.

On 18 March, Xiaomi released MiMo-V2-Pro, MiMo-V2-Omni, and a text-to-speech model through its dedicated research division.

The models follow an earlier December release, which initially went largely unnoticed outside specialist AI circles.

Speculation intensified after a mysterious trillion-parameter model named Hunter Alpha appeared and topped performance leaderboards.

The model was later confirmed by Luo Fuli as an early internal build of MiMo-V2-Pro, triggering a surge in Xiaomi’s stock value.

"I call this a quiet ambush,"

Luo Fuli said.

MiMo-V2-Pro uses a mixture-of-experts architecture with over one trillion parameters and advanced attention mechanisms.

It supports a context window of up to one million tokens and includes multi-token prediction for faster output generation.

Benchmark tests place it among the top global models, particularly strong in coding and real-world software tasks.

The model also offers competitive pricing, significantly undercutting rivals in large-scale AI deployment costs.

Its sibling model, MiMo-V2-Omni, integrates vision, audio, and video into a single unified system.

Testing revealed strong creative writing capabilities, producing long-form narratives with coherent structure and emotional depth.

The model demonstrated an ability to embed cultural detail naturally within storytelling rather than relying on surface-level descriptions.

Dialogue handling and narrative pacing closely matched traditional literary formats, improving realism in generated content.

In coding tests, MiMo-V2-Pro successfully delivered functional and visually polished applications from a single prompt.

The system maintained stability even when additional features such as audio and complex design elements were introduced.

However, its reasoning approach showed limitations when handling logical traps, occasionally correcting prompts instead of flagging inconsistencies.

"The phrasing contains a logical contradiction,"

the model said.

Mathematical performance proved less reliable, with failures observed in advanced problem-solving scenarios.

The model struggled with high-level theoretical mathematics despite handling standard computations effectively.

Xiaomi also introduced simplified agentic tools, allowing users to deploy AI systems with minimal setup requirements.

These tools aim to reduce technical barriers, particularly for developers new to automated AI workflows.

Despite some limitations, MiMo-V2-Pro stands out for its balance of cost, capability, and creative output quality.

The model’s strengths in coding and content generation make it particularly appealing for developers and creative professionals.

Its performance signals growing competition in the AI space, especially from emerging players outside Western markets.

Analysts suggest Xiaomi’s latest release could reshape expectations around both pricing and capability in advanced AI systems.

Marvel Gold (ASX:MVL) announced a major breakthrough at its Hanang Gold Project in Tanzania.

Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) announced a reshuffle of its executive leadership, following the resignation of CEO and Managing Director Douglas Thompson.

Finder Energy (ASX:FDR) has unveiled a comprehensive long-term tenure and production hub strategy for its offshore assets.