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Artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia’s quarterly results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations once again, fueled by massive demand for its high-end AI chips.

The company said Wednesday it earned $58.32 billion, or $2.39 per share, in the February-April period, up from $18.78 billion, or 76 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Nvidia earned $1.76 per share.

Revenue jumped 85% to $81.62 billion from $44.01 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.75 per share and revenue of $78.91 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. Nvidia’s results have exceeded the analyst projections that shape investors’ perceptions since Nvidia’s high-end chips emerged as AI’s best building blocks three years ago.

“The buildout of AI factories — the largest infrastructure expansion in human history — is accelerating at extraordinary speed,” said CEO Jensen Huang in a statement.

For the current quarter, Nvidia forecast revenue of about $91 billion. Analysts are forecasting $87.29 billion.

Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company dipped slightly after-hours to $222.12 after closing at $223.47 in the regular trading session. As of Wednesday’s close, Nvidia had a market value of $5.4 trillion.

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By Christina Amann, Marie Mannes and Nick Carey

BERLIN/STOCKHOLM/LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) – Demand for electric vehicles in Europe has surged as high fuel prices linked to the Iran war propel sales of new and second-hand EVs, data exclusively shared with Reuters shows, providing a much-needed boost to the auto industry.

Although sales of fully electric cars grew 30% across Europe in 2025, EV adoption on the continent has lagged industry expectations. Carmakers from Volkswagen to Fiat-owner Stellantis, which had invested heavily in expectation of much higher EV demand, have over the last year booked multi-billion-dollar charges to cover asset writedowns.

Buyers’ calculations have been transformed by an upsurge in international oil prices to well above $100 a barrel since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran at the end of February unleashed a wider conflict and led to unprecedented energy supply disruption.

“This isn’t a blip, it’s an inflection point,” said Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of UK-based Octopus Electric Vehicles, which registered a 95% year-on-year increase in demand for new EVs and 160% rise for used EVs in April.

As a net importer of energy, Britain has been particularly exposed to increases in inflation and food prices.

Across Europe, data provided to Reuters by research group New Automotive and industry group E-Mobility Europe, showed registrations of new EVs rose 34%, year-on-year, in April.

The data covers 16 markets that account for more than 80% of European Union and European Free Trade Association car sales.

It showed strong EV growth in Denmark and the Netherlands, where electric cars are already popular, but also in markets such as Italy, where EVs have been slow to take off.

Volvo Cars’ Chief Commercial Officer Erik Severinson said the Swedish automaker’s orders have risen, especially for its entry-level small EX30 electric SUV “where customers are most sensitive to increase in oil prices”.

“We are also seeing increased customer enquiries in our fully-electric cars even in southern European markets where EV penetration is comparatively lower,” Severinsson said.

CARMAKERS CONSIDER PRODUCING MORE EVS

France’s Renault said 50% of its registrations in Britain in April were EVs, with EV-related enquiries on its UK website up 48% since the Iran war began. April registrations – which lag orders – are the first to fully reflect the impact of the Iran war.

“Interest in Renault’s EV range has undergone a seismic shift,” said Renault UK managing director Adam Wood.

A source at the automaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the company was working to raise production.

Markus Haupt, CEO of the Seat/Cupra – both Volkswagen brands – said in early May his sales team in Germany reported that EVs made up nearly 60% of orders, well above their quota of 25%.

“We have a production budget for this year,” Haupt said. “But maybe we’ll need to increase the amount of EVs.”

CHINESE BRANDS APPEAL FOR AFFORDABILITY

Online marketplaces have also experienced increased searches for new and used EVs, with a pronounced jump for Chinese brands with their more affordable models.

Since the war began, German marketplace Carwow said its share of EV enquiries has risen to 75% from around 40%, while conventional gasoline engine cars have fallen to 16% from 33%.

“What is striking is the strong momentum of Chinese manufacturers,” said Carwow Germany Managing Director Philipp Sayler von Amende. Major names like BYD have gone from “niche brands” to some of the most sought-after.

Carwow said purchase inquiries for BYD on its website grew by a massive 25,000% in the first quarter, while those for Leapmotor increased 436% and Xpeng rose 153%.

Rival online marketplace ​OLX said customer enquiries for EVs on its French website were up 80% since the war began.

During past spikes in fuel prices dating back to the 1970s, consumers also switched to more fuel-efficient cars but changed back to less efficient ones when the pain at the fuel pump abated.

This time could be different, industry players said.

“The Iran conflict has fundamentally reshaped how people think about energy security in their daily lives,” said OLX CEO Christian Gisy. “Europeans have shifted from ‘maybe someday’ to ‘right now’ on electric vehicles.”

(Reporting by Christina Amann, Marie Mannes and Nick Carey; Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume in Paris and Kalea Hall in Detroit; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Barbara Lewis)

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By Jack Kim

SEOUL, May 20 (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics’ labour union plans to embark on a massive 18-day strike on Thursday after bonus payment talks with management collapsed and attention is now focused on whether the government will issue an emergency arbitration order.

Some 48,000 people plan to walk off the job with significant consequences for the South Korean economy and the supply of memory chips globally, and the government flagged at the weekend that such an order is possible.

Here are some things to know about the potential order:

WHAT HAVE AUTHORITIES SAID?

A South Korean government official said on Wednesday that talk of emergency arbitration is premature and that there was still time for dialogue.

The government is seen as union-friendly as President Lee Jae Myung is a former youth labourer who was injured on the job.

But Lee said on Wednesday that a certain union was “crossing the line” when it claimed a share of a company’s operating profit even before income tax is paid.

“There is a role for the government when anyone crosses the line to make sure they conduct themselves responsibly for the good of the larger community,” he told a cabinet meeting.

WHAT DOES THE EMERGENCY ORDER INVOLVE?

An emergency arbitration order has been invoked just four times in modern South Korean history. It puts a strike on hold for 30 days and requires both sides to continue talks mediated by the government’s National Labor Relations Commission.

The government can resort to such an order if it considers a strike would result in “significant injury to the national economy”.

If the commission considers that mediation has failed, the next step is an arbitration process under a separate panel that will hear from both parties before making a binding decision.

Anyone refusing to comply faces up to two years in prison or a 20 million won ($13,300) fine.

The last time the measure was invoked was in 2005 when Korean Air pilots walked off the job but agreed to a compromise pay hike after four days.

WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF A SAMSUNG STRIKE?

Samsung accounts for almost a quarter of the country’s exports. It is also the world’s largest memory chip maker and production disruptions could dent global supply at a time when the AI boom has caused shortages.

The strike could in a worst-case scenario shave 0.5 percentage points off a forecast 2.0% expansion for the South Korean economy this year, according to an official from the country’s central bank, who declined to be named.

South Korean officials have also said a major disruption of production at Samsung Electronics would translate to up to 1 trillion won ($665 million) in daily losses for the company.

COULD THERE BE POLITICAL FALLOUT?

South Koreans go to the polls on June 3 to elect mayors and governors across the country and the strike has the potential to sway swing districts. Currently, Lee’s liberals are expected to dominate.

The liberals are wary that they may lose labour votes, their traditional support base. Lee also wants to capture the moderate Gyeonggi province, which has seen its economy boom thanks to the tens of thousands who work at Samsung facilities there.

Samsung’s union, launched just two years ago, is not affiliated with any of South Korea’s major labour federations but some of the more established and militant unions have vowed to act in solidarity.

($1 = 1,504.9000 won)

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY, May 20 (Reuters) – Asian stocks extended a losing streak on Wednesday as war-driven inflation fears hammered bonds, while investors awaited earnings from Nvidia to see whether the world’s most valuable company might be able to help markets navigate higher borrowing costs.

The sell-off in global bond markets persisted as investors ramped up bets that the Federal Reserve may need to increase interest rates this year.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit a 16-month high of 4.687% overnight, while the 30-year yield climbed to 5.198%, levels not seen since 2007.  

The gloom is set to spill into European stock markets when they open, with region-wide stock futures down 0.7%. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.1% while the S&P 500 futures eased 0.2%.

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures off 0.5%, but staying above $110 a barrel at $110.7.

The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed and U.S. President Donald Trump said he might need to strike Iran again, a day after he said he was postponing an imminent attack to allow for more negotiations with Tehran.  

In Beijing, less than a week after Trump’s high-profile visit, Chinese leader Xi Jinping held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was imperative to stop the war in the Middle East.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7% on Wednesday, down for a fourth straight day, while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.5%, down for a fifth consecutive session.

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.7%. Samsung Electronics dropped 1.4% after its union said it would  go ahead with an 18-day strike from Thursday, threatening the global supply of semiconductors.  

China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index skidded 0.6%. 

“At this point of time, it remains my base case that we are seeing a corrective pullback after an absolutely phenomenal rally,” said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. “The U.S. yields obviously are creating some rumbles in the market and now attracting a lot of attention.

“Nvidia could come out and absolutely exceed expectations … but I don’t think so. I think the ability for Nvidia to just absolutely shoot the lights out and shock everybody like it has done, I don’t think that’s in its book of tricks anymore.”

The chipmaking giant will announce first quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday. Expectations, as always, are sky-high. Revenue is projected to increase by almost 80% to nearly $79 billion, according to the median forecast in an LSEG survey of analysts.

Treasuries nursed losses in Asia, with the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes holding steady at 4.6613%, having jumped 21 basis points in the past three sessions. The 30-year yield was flat at 5.1795% after a 17 basis point jump from last Thursday. 

The dollar stood near a six-week high against its major peers. It was steady at 158.95 yen, having gained for seven straight sessions that unwound most of the intervention-driven losses on April 30 when Japanese authorities stepped into the market to safeguard the yen at the 160 mark. 

The euro last bought $1.1597, having touched its lowest level since April 8 overnight. The British pound was at $1.3391, not far from the six-week low it touched earlier this week. 

Gold prices slipped 0.4% to $4,463 an ounce, the lowest since the end of March as the U.S. dollar gained. 

(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

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May 20 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor is recalling 54, 337 vehicles in the U.S. over a fire risk linked to the overheating of hybrid power control unit, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday.

Here are further details:

• The recall covers certain 2024-2026 Elantra Hybrid vehicles.

• Overheating in the hybrid power control unit under high electrical loads can cause affected vehicles to fail to start or enter reduced‑power mode, the auto regulator said.

• In some cases, the overheating could lead to localized thermal damage to the assembly and internal components, the agency added.

• Dealers will update the affected software free of charge, NHTSA said.

(Reporting by Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

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Asian shares were mostly lower on Wednesday as rising bond yields cranked up pressure on stocks and other investments, undermining the AI-driven rally in technology shares.

Bond yields have been climbing as the war with Iran drags on, raising worries over prolonged higher inflation.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.2% to 59,804.41.

The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond slipped to just below 2.8% but remained at its highest level since 1997. The dollar was trading at 158.92 Japanese yen, down slightly from 159.09 yen.

The euro slipped to $1.1604 from $1.1608.

Chinese shares also fell, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng losing 0.7% to 25,607.67. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.3% to 4,156.47.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.3% to 8,496.60.

In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.9% to 7,208.95 after a broad sell-off a day earlier. Taiwan’s Taiex gave up 0.4%.

U.S. futures were little changed after the S&P 500 fell 0.7% Tuesday, closing at 7,353.61 for its third straight loss since setting its latest all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 49,363.88, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8% to 25,870.71.

Tech stocks are faltering following huge runs thanks to excitement over artificial-intelligence technology that critics say made them too expensive.

Meanwhile, oil prices have been wavering due to uncertainty about how long the Iran war will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed for oil tankers.

Attention Wednesday will be focused on Nvidia’s latest quarterly results. The chip company has routinely blown past analysts’ expectations each quarter and provided forecasts for future growth that have consistently topped Wall Street’s.

How it does could determine whether technology stocks and the larger U.S. stock market can maintain their rally. Nvidia fell 0.8% Tuesday and was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 because of its immense size.

Akamai Technologies dropped 6.3% for one of Wall Street’s sharper losses Tuesday after the cybersecurity and cloud computing company said it wants to raise $2.6 billion through a convertible note offering.

Home Depot rose 0.9% after flipping an early loss following its latest earnings report. Its profit and revenue edged past analysts’ expectations, but an important measure for retailers that looks at performance for stores more than 1 year old came in below some analysts’ expectations.

CEO Ted Decker said Home Depot saw similar demand from its customers as it did throughout last year “despite greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure.”

Many big U.S. companies have been reporting stronger-than-expected profits for the latest quarter thanks in part to their customers continuing to spend despite high gasoline prices and other challenges. That’s helped vault U.S. stock indexes to records, but disquiet in the bond market is threatening that.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.66% from 4.61% late Monday and from less than 4% before the war with Iran began. That’s a notable increase, and it’s part of a worldwide climb that’s making stock prices look even more expensive and threatening to slow the economy.

Higher yields can drive up rates for mortgages and loans going to companies to build AI data centers, which has been a big source of growth for the economy.

Yields rose even as oil prices eased.

Early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil was down $1.04 at $103.11 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.11 to $110.12 per barrel.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline was $4.51, according to the AAA motor club, or about 43% more than it cost last year at this time.

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MOSCOW, May 20 (Reuters) – Russia hopes to power its flagship GigaChat AI model with Chinese-made chips, Sberbank’s CEO said during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China, as Western sanctions continue to block the country’s access to advanced hardware abroad.

“We are hoping that we will be able to use Chinese microchips for GigaChat,” Chief Executive German Gref told state broadcaster Channel One.

GigaChat was developed by Sberbank, the country’s largest lender, which has been driving Russia’s push into AI.

The bank’s efforts to buy advanced chips from China face stiff competition as China’s biggest internet firms, including ByteDance, Tencent, and Alibaba, are also rushing to order Huawei’s Ascend 950 AI chips.

Ascend 950, the most advanced Chinese chip, still trails U.S.-based Nvidia’s H200 model. Gref did not say which chips Sberbank was trying to buy.

Russia trails AI leaders, the United States and China, in development of the technology and depends heavily on imported electronics in sensitive sectors, including defence. China is its main supplier of such hardware.

(Writing by Gleb BryanskiEditing by Bernadette Baum)

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BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his close ties with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and said their countries are partners in trade and international affairs as they opened bilateral talks Wednesday on his trip to Beijing.

Xi welcomed Putin with a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People only days after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The quick succession of Trump’s and Putin’s visits highlighted Beijing’s growing role as an international superpower, experts say.

Putin greeted Xi warmly as they met for bilateral talks at the Great Hall of the People.

“My dear friend,” Putin said. “We are truly delighted to see you. We keep in constant touch, both personally and through our aides in the government.”

Xi also stressed the “political mutual trust and strategic cooperation” between the countries, according to Chinese state media. The two leaders have praised each other profusely in the past, with Xi at one point describing Putin as his “best and most intimate friend.”

Xi and Putin were set to focus on energy and security as well as their overall ties. The two sides agreed to extend a friendship treaty first signed in 2001, Chinese state media reported.

China became Russia’s top trading partner after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Beijing has said it is neutral in the conflict while maintaining trade ties with the Kremlin despite economic and financial sanctions by the U.S. and Europe.

China is the top customer for Russian oil and gas supplies, and Moscow expects the war in Iran to increase the demand.

In his meeting with Xi, Putin stressed their countries’ economic ties.

“The driving force behind economic cooperation is Russian-Chinese collaboration in the energy sector,” Putin said. “Amid the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to maintain its role as a reliable supplier of resources, while China remains a responsible consumer of these resources.”

Xi stressed the need of “complete cessation of hostilities” in the Middle East, according to Chinese state media.

“An early end to the conflict will help reduce disruptions to energy supply stability, the smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, and international trade order,” Xi said.

A Russian presidential aide said earlier Russia’s oil exports to China grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2026 and that Russia is one of the biggest exporters of natural gas to China.

Putin also stressed China and Russia’s cooperation in foreign policy as “one of the key stabilizing factors on the international stage.”

“In the current tense situation on the international stage, our close cooperation is particularly in demand,” he said.

In February 2022, just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia announced a “no limits” partnership during a trip by Putin to Beijing.

Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict, though in practice it supports Moscow through frequent state visits, growing trade and joint military drills. China has also ignored demands from the West to stop providing high-tech components for Russia’s weapons industries.

The two leaders are scheduled to sign cooperation agreements during Putin’s two-day visit.

But regardless of specific deals, the primary purpose of the visit is to reaffirm the countries’ ties as well as project Beijing’s image as an influential superpower, experts say.

“The optics matter,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

“The message is clearly one that China maintains friendship and strategic partnership with whichever power it likes, and the USA is just one of them.”

Putin and Xi both need to use their close ties in order to prop up their images at home, said Willy Lam, a senior China fellow at the Jamestown Foundation.

Putin “needs to tell his countrymen and the world that Russia has China’s support in terms of buying its oil and gas and other tangible and intangible financial support,” Lam said.

Meanwhile, for Xi, having both Trump and Putin visit in such close succession is a major source of credit with the country’s top Communist leadership.

Putin noted earlier this month that Moscow and Beijing have reached “a very substantial step forward in our cooperation in the oil and gas sector.”

“Practically all the key issues have been agreed upon,” he said. “If we succeed in finalizing these details and bringing them to a conclusion during this visit, I will be extremely pleased.”

Putin also praised their bilateral relationship as a crucial, balancing force in international relations.

“Interaction between such nations as China and Russia undoubtedly serves as a factor of deterrence and stability,” he said.

Moscow welcomes China’s dialogue with the U.S. as another stabilizing element for the global economy, Putin added.

“We stand only to benefit from this, from the stability and constructive engagement between the U.S. and China,” he said.

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Mistreanu reported from Bangkok.

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Cryptocurrency Remains a Key Tool for Terror Financing, Experts Say 

Snir Levy, CEO of Nominis: “We have uncovered a lot of wallets that are linked to illicit activities and other terror financing entities in Gaza, but also in other places in the world” 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) recently revealed that they had uncovered details of an Iranian-directed Hamas funding network that, through Turkey, was able to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to the terror group. 

Iran allegedly provided the funds and directed the network through operatives and intermediaries connected to Hamas-linked financiers in Turkey, who would then coordinate and manage the money. The funds were allegedly laundered through a number of channels, including money exchanges, front companies, charities, commercial businesses, and cryptocurrency networks. 

These kinds of illegal money transfer chains help terrorist organizations survive and operate. According to Israeli authorities, they were among the mechanisms that enabled Hamas to carry out the deadly October 7, 2023, attack. 

Israeli lawyer Dr. Gideon Fisher, of the Law Office of Dr. Gideon Fisher & Co., told The Media Line that his firm has been targeting the financial infrastructure that allows terrorism to function, especially networks using cryptocurrency. Since the massacre, his firm has represented a number of victims of the attack. He is currently working with thousands, all of whom are recognized as victims of terror by Israel’s National Insurance Institute.  

He explained that litigation can be pursued not only against the terrorist group that carried out an attack, but also against parties that allegedly financed those activities or enabled them. The goal, he said, is not only to support victims, although that remains the primary focus, but also to make it harder to finance terrorism in the future. 

“On top of the moral obligations, it is a strategic move to cut off terrorism at its financial groups,” Fisher told The Media Line. 

Cryptocurrency is widely viewed as one of the primary financial channels used by terrorist organizations. 

Originally, cryptocurrency gained notoriety through platforms like Silk Road, where it was used for illegal activities, including terrorism and other criminal operations. Although the industry has become far more regulated in recent years, cryptocurrency’s anonymous nature has made it easier for terrorist entities to obscure the flow of funds and mask complex transaction networks. Experts say these systems have also been exploited by state-linked actors seeking to bypass international sanctions, similar to the network recently exposed by the IDF. 

Fisher’s team has filed a lawsuit against the Palestine Liberation Organization, alleging that it illegally transferred money to terrorists, including payments to the families of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for attacks that injured or killed Israelis. He argued that the money encouraged and enabled terrorist organizations to strengthen their operations ahead of October 7. 

“In our lawsuit against Binance, we describe that they intentionally and/or negligently provided extensive cryptocurrency services to Hamas, and they were asked to do so because Hamas realized that they cannot use the banking system,” Fisher said. “No banks would provide Hamas with any services, so Hamas was forced to use an alternative method, and they chose crypto. They had thousands of transactions that helped facilitate the October 7 attack.” 

Binance is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The lawsuit alleges that the company violated international sanctions and US laws prohibiting financial support for terrorism. 

Dr. Amir Bushansky, blockchain and crypto advisor to the law office of Dr. Gideon Fisher, echoed Fisher’s concerns, but said the cryptocurrency industry has changed significantly in recent years, partly because of legal cases and growing regulation. He said that, unlike in the past, it is now much harder to conceal one’s identity on crypto networks, especially in the United States. 

“More and more misuse in criminal activities is being traced down in the crypto market,” Bushansky explained. “Naturally, there were rumors, even lately, that part of the reduction in the Bitcoin value was due to some Iranian leaders pulling their funds.” 

While allegations regarding past activity remain at the center of lawsuits like Fisher’s, Bushansky said the regulatory environment surrounding cryptocurrency has become far stricter in recent years. He noted that anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements now make it much more difficult to engage in criminal activity or finance terrorism on major crypto platforms. 

Cryptocurrency users operate through wallet numbers and public addresses rather than verified names and identities. As such, any individual can open a digital account and transfer funds without being identified or traced. 

“You were not exposed by your name and address identity, and therefore you could pass on funds around the world,” Bushansky explained. He contrasted that system with traditional banking, where AML and KYC regulations already required institutions to track funds, verify their source, and understand the purpose of transactions, making transfers far more traceable for both senders and receivers. 

But Bushansky said new international regulations are increasingly binding cryptocurrency platforms to the same standards as banks, and that by 2027, AML and KYC requirements are expected to apply broadly across the crypto industry. 

“From 2027, the crypto stock exchange will be bound to supply details about the users to tax authorities around the world,” Bushansky said. “Many countries have already signed on to the plan.” 

Snir Levi is the founder and CEO of Nominis, an Israeli blockchain intelligence company that traces and maps illegal cryptocurrency wallets. The company works with regulators and organizations seeking to combat crypto-enabled illicit activities and terror financing. 

“We provide services today for clients all over the world, including law enforcement agencies, payment providers dealing with cryptocurrencies.  With our platform, they’re able to conduct risk screening for wallets and understand where funds came from – the ‘source of funds’ and the destination of funds, to confirm that the wallet they are about to interact with has not been linked or involved in money laundering or terror financing,” Levi told The Media Line. 

Nominis, for example, develops forensic tools that help investigators identify connections between digital wallets. The company also has a designated team focused on monitoring high-risk jurisdictions and tracking activity related to terror financing, illegal weapons, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other criminal operations. 

Currently, the company is particularly focused on detecting wallets connected to terror financing, including networks similar to the one recently identified by the IDF. 

“We have uncovered a lot of wallets that are linked to illicit activities and other terror financing entities in Gaza, but also in other places in the world. And based on these, we’re able to detect other illicit entities and networks, such as shell companies,” he said. Shell companies are businesses used to conceal the true source or destination of funds. 

Nominis also played a role in uncovering a scheme reported earlier this year by The Washington Post, in which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly exploited the global cryptocurrency ecosystem to move nearly $150 million through two London-registered exchanges, ZedCex and ZedXion, between 2023 and 2025. 

According to Levi, Nominis helped corroborate and verify that wallets linked to the IRGC routed massive volumes of the USDT stablecoin through the TRON blockchain into accounts on exchanges acting as crypto hubs. The funds were allegedly funneled through platforms that obscured the origin and destination of transactions, making it harder for authorities to trace potential terror financing activity. 

Levi also shared links to crypto brokers operating in Gaza, including Quick4Pay, which on its website advertises a large client base in “occupied Palestine” and other Arab states. 

“Readers need to understand how deep this problem is,” Levi said. He warned that, despite expected regulatory changes, enforcement may remain limited largely to the United States and certain Western countries. He argued that if other jurisdictions continue allowing limited transparency and oversight, cryptocurrency could remain a significant channel for terror financing and potentially facilitate future attacks. 

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By David Lawder

PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is “not in a rush” to extend a tariff and critical minerals trade truce with China that ends in November, as there is time to renew it in meetings later this year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday.

In his first interview since attending last week’s high-stakes summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Bessent said that he believes China will accept the restoration of prior U.S. tariff rates through new Section 301 duties, as long as they don’t go higher.

China in recent months had “gotten a deal” on lower tariffs as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down President Donald Trump’s global emergency duties, he said on the sidelines of a G7 finance leaders meeting in Paris.

“I think we’re not in a rush to extend it,” Bessent said of the November 2025 tariff truce. “Things are stable.”

He added that China has “been satisfactory, but not excellent in terms of their fulfillment on their side on critical minerals. So we’re seeing them again.”

Xi is expected to travel to Washington to meet with Trump at the White House in September. Prior to that summit, Bessent said that he will meet with his counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, to work out more details on trade matters.

Trump and Xi also may meet at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in November in China and a Group of 20 leaders summit in December in Florida.

The U.S.-China truce negotiated over several months last year averted a total collapse of trade between the world’s two largest economies after Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese goods prompted retaliation and escalation that took tariffs to triple digits.

The deal brought down extra tariffs on Chinese goods to about 20%, in addition to about 25% on many Chinese industrial products imposed during Trump’s first term. The extra tariffs are currently at 10% as a result of a temporary tariff that expires in July.

Bessent said that deals for China to order 200 Boeing jetliners and make annual purchases of $17 billion in American farm goods resulting from the Trump-Xi summit are considered separate from the November trade truce.

TARIFF CUTS ON CONSUMER GOODS

He said that he views the most important achievements as the establishment of bilateral managed trade, investment and artificial intelligence protocols with Beijing, which will be discussed in subsequent negotiations.

In the “Board of Trade,” the two sides will initially determine about $30 billion of non-strategic goods on which they can lower or eliminate tariffs.

“We’ll pick a number. My sense is the first number is there’s going to be 30 by 30 (billion dollars), and then both sides will try to fill up the capacity there,” he said, adding that the U.S. agricultural sales will not be included in these totals.

He said that China could reduce tariffs on U.S. energy products, while the U.S. would likely cut tariffs on Chinese consumer goods that will not be produced in the U.S. again, such as fireworks or Halloween costumes.

The U.S. maintains tariffs of 7.5% on a raft of Chinese consumer products imposed in 2019 at the height of Trump’s first-term trade war with China, including flat-panel television sets, flash memory devices, smart speakers and bed linens.

The Board of Investment will deal with two-way investment issues, and for inward investment from China, it will focus on identifying deals that would not run afoul of national security and head off investments that the U.S. is not ready to consider.

“I would think this board of investment would either A, keep things from getting to CFIUS, or B, just be like, ‘We’re not really up for that,’” Bessent said.

In the run-up to the Beijing summit, lawmakers, auto and steel groups had urged Trump against opening the door to Chinese investments in U.S. auto plants, for fear that China’s state-supported firms would hollow out a core domestic industry.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a powerful and opaque committee led by the Treasury Department, polices foreign investment in the U.S. for national security risks. In recent years it has stepped up bans on Chinese investments in sensitive U.S. tech firms, slowing them to a trickle.

Chinese investment in the U.S. plummeted from $56.6 billion in 2016 to just $3.5 billion last year, according to Rhodium Group.

Bessent said that investments from Chinese retailers are among those less likely to draw a CFIUS review.

“Luckin Coffee is great, but buying a whole bunch of land next to an Air Force base probably isn’t,” Bessent said, referring to the Chinese coffee chain expanding in the U.S. to challenge Starbucks.

AI CONSULTATIONS

U.S. and Chinese officials will likely start to consult with each other on AI guardrails within the next four to eight weeks, Bessent said. The effort is aimed at halting proliferation of powerful AI models, such as Anthropic’s Mythos, or tools from China’s DeepSeek to non-state actors, he added.

Concern is growing over the national security risks posed by powerful AI systems, which companies and analysts have warned could supercharge complex cyberattacks by identifying and exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities faster than companies can repair them.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Richard Lough and Nick Zieminski)

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