28/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | MAR 28, 2026

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How cryptocurrencies are aiding Iran amid war

OpenAI shelves plans for erotic chatbot SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI has put plans for a sexually explicit chatbot on hold indefinitely, the company said Thursday, amid mounting concerns about the societal and reputational risks of releasing such a product. The move, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as the artificial intelligence (AI) giant seeks to shed what executives have described as peripheral projects as it tries to maintain its lead in the AI market. OpenAI told the newspaper it wanted to conduct long-term research into the effects of sexually explicit conversations and emotional attachments before making any product decision. Asked for comment, an OpenAI spokesman told AFP the company had “nothing further to add.” The explicit content feature, internally dubbed “Citron mode,“ had drawn pushback from both staff and investors, the FT reported. Some employees questioned whether the product was compatible with OpenAI’s stated mission of ensuring the technology benefits humanity, while investors raised concerns about the reputational risks relative to any commercial upside, according to the report. OpenAI said last year it would relax restrictions on its ChatGPT chatbot, including allowing erotic content for verified adult users as part of what the company described as a principle to “treat adult users like adults.” The dropping of the plan comes the same week that OpenAI announced it was winding down its Sora video social media app, which has been accused of triggering a flood of low value added AI content online. The decisions come at a sensitive moment for the tech industry, with Meta and other social media firms facing a wave of lawsuits – and regulations – over the impact of their platforms on minors. The US Federal Trade Commission has also launched an inquiry into several tech companies including OpenAI over how AI chatbots could negatively affect children and teenagers. Elon Musk’s rival AI venture xAI drew global condemnation last year after its Grok chatbot was used to generate fabricated sexual images of real people, including children. OpenAI has also faced its own legal challenges from families of teenagers who say ChatGPT caused harm and even suicide among young people, prompting the company to introduce an age-verification system. The company deployed a behavior-based age prediction technology that estimates whether a user is over or under 18 based on how they interact with ChatGPT. Trump signature to appear on US currency WASHINGTON: US paper currency will bear President Donald Trump’s signature starting this summer, the first time a sitting president has signed American money, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. The redesigned notes, planned to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, will also for the first time in 165 years drop the signature of the US treasurer, who reports to the Treasury Secretary and oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the US Mint and other Treasury functions. The first US$100 bills with Trump’s signature and that of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be printed in June, followed by other bills in subsequent months. The new bills may take several weeks to circulate through banks. The Treasury is still producing notes bearing the signatures of former president Joe Biden’s treasury secretary Janet Yellen, and former treasurer Lynn Malerba. Malerba will be the last of an unbroken line of treasurers whose signatures have appeared on US federal currency since 1861, when the US government first issued it. – Reuters

The Financial Times earlier this year reported that Iran offered ballistic missiles, drones and other advanced weapons systems for sale using cryptocurrencies. These digital assets contribute to a veritable “shadow banking”, Craig Timm of the anti-money laundering organisation ACAMS, told AFP. Quicker to send and less expensive than a bank transfer, cryptocurrencies are difficult to trace owing also to loopholes in global regulations, he added. The Revolutionary Guards and Iranian central bank favour “stablecoins” – digital currencies generally pegged to the dollar in a bid to avoid volatility. But civilians are turning en masse to bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency, which can be withdrawn from platforms and stored in personal wallets, beyond the authorities’ reach. Bitcoin currently trades for more than US$68,000. This strategy was already widely evident during brutally suppressed protests in Iran ahead of the war, according to Chainalysis. In a country where inflation was already nearing 50% before the conflict started, cryptocurrencies are acting as a “lifeline” for the population in the face of the collapse of the national currency, said analyst Martin.

Kaitlin Martin of Chainalysis told AFP. Such action would likely occur out of fear of further sanctions or cyberattacks, according to experts. In June 2025, at the height of the previous Israel-Iran conflict, leading cryptocurrency platform Nobitex had US$90 million stolen by hackers linked to Israel, according to blockchain company TRM Labs. According to Chainalysis, several digital wallets used during this surge in cryptocurrency activity are directly linked to the Revolutionary Guards. “Even during these internet outages some outflows are seen, suggesting that some have access to the exchange’s cryptoasset holdings even when its website is inaccessible,” noted cryptocurrency analysts Elliptic. The state’s grip is massive. Last year, wallets associated with the Guards were funded with more than US$3 billion in cryptocurrencies, representing more than half of the country’s cryptocurrency flows – a share that continues to grow according to Chainalysis. For Iran, largely cut off from the traditional financial system by international sanctions, cryptocurrencies are an alternative channel – allowing the state to sell embargoed oil or to discreetly finance allied armed groups, such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen according to US authorities.

LONDON: Since the start of the Middle East conflict, Iran has witnessed massive cryptocurrency flows. Experts say they are being used to circumvent sanctions placed on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as well as a financial safe haven by civilians hit by soaring inflation. AFP examines how exactly digital currencies are being used in the country. In an unusually large movement, more than US$10 million (RM40 million) worth of cryptocurrencies left Iranian exchange platforms between Feb 28 – the first day of Israeli-US airstrikes – and March 2, according to data analytics firm Chainalysis. By March 5, nearly one-third of these funds had been transferred to foreign exchanges. While some of this exodus can be explained by citizens rushing to protect their savings, the sheer size of the sums involved suggests the involvement of “regime actors”, o Bitcoin and stablecoins emerge as tools for survival, sanctions evasion and cross-border funding

Digital currencies emerge as a financial lifeline in Iran, offering protection against inflation and restrictions. – UNS P LASH P IX

Singapore plans to build Asia gold trading hub SINGAPORE: Singapore set out plans yesterday to turn the city-state into a gold trading hub for the whole of Asia, with regulators and industry players working together to strengthen the market’s trading, clearing and storage infrastructure. Singapore is one of a number of Asian financial centres now racing to capture more flows of bullion and boost their gold trading business, with Hong Kong also pushing to expand its gold market links with Shanghai. gold-related capital market products and setting up a trusted clearing and settlement system. The other two areas are strengthening vaulting and logistics standards and studying vaulting services for foreign central banks and sovereign entities. “We are not placing bets on whether the prices in the short term will go up or go down,“ Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s minister for national development and MAS deputy chairman, told reporters yesterday. feedback and was aimed at bringing more gold and high-value activity into Singapore and creating jobs. MAS and SBMA set up the working group in January. Its members include DBS, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan, UBS, UOB, SGX and the World Gold Council. In February, OCBC said it was exploring physical gold custody for institutional and wealthy clients. Demand for gold has remained firm in an uncertain global environment, even after a sharp fall in prices in recent weeks triggered by a stronger dollar, a jump in oil prices and concerns that interest rates could stay higher for longer as a result of the war in the Middle East. – Reuters The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) said they had identified four areas that they will focus on, including the broadening of “What we are doing is to create the ecosystem for gold trading activity based out of Singapore.” Chee said the plan was based on industry