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Jose Antonio Lanz

Jose Antonio Lanz

Jose is a journalist, lawyer, professor, and strategic planning specialist whose work has appeared in various cryptocurrency and blockchain publications. He is a native of Venezuela, and writes and translates for Decrypt US and for Decrypt Español. Disclosure: He owns less than 1 BTC.
Reach him at jose@decrypt.co

Stories by Jose Antonio Lanz

  • Source: Decrypt

    How to Run an AI Model Locally—And Why You Might Want To

    Open-weight AI models now trail the best closed models by only about four months on average, and a growing number of them run on hardware you probably already own. "Open-weight" means the company publishes the weights, the files holding everything the model learned, so anyone can download and run them. Two free programs, Ollama and LM Studio, handle the rest, and Gemma 4 downloads in Ollama's library range from about 4.6GB to 20GB. With open models, you don't need to pay $20 a month for an AI su...

    Deep DivesLong Reads
    6 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Source: Decrypt

    Why AI Models Cheat: Reward Hacking, Explained

    In July 2026, a group of OpenAI models taking a cybersecurity test ended up inside Hugging Face's systems. To get there, they chained together previously unknown software flaws, broke out of their sandbox and went hunting for a way to beat the grader. Nobody asked them to. There was no hacker at a keyboard, only a score the models wanted to raise and a test some of them could not pass the honest way. That is reward hacking: an AI scores well on its objective without doing what the objective was...

    Deep DivesLong Reads
    8 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Intel. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Intel Stock Suffers Worst Crash in 50 Years as Weak Forecast Overshadows AI Chip Demand

    Intel shares plunged nearly 30% to $65.76 on Friday after the chipmaker issued a fourth-quarter forecast that fell well short of Wall Street expectations, overshadowing an otherwise strong earnings report. The selloff wiped out more than $146 billion in market value, and translated into the worst single-day decline in more than 50 years. Myriad: Which company will IPO next? Click to make your prediction. The problem is that Intel finds itself in an unusual position: demand for its processors is...

    NewsMarkets
    4 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Reddit. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Reddit Stock Plunges 30% as Google's AI Search Hits Traffic and User Growth

    Reddit shares plunged 30.44% to $90.15 on Friday after CEO Steve Huffman warned that Google's AI-powered search features are cutting referral traffic and could shrink the platform's user base. The selloff came after the company reported strong third-quarter results but issued a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast for the current quarter. Myriad: Where does ETH go next? Click to make your prediction. Reddit built much of its business around people discovering its discussions through Google sear...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Bitcoin logo. Image: Decrypt

    Binance Hack: Why Bitcoin Didn't Crash Like It Did in 2018

    Bitcoin is down about 4% a day after the biggest crypto hack on record. In March 2018, a failed attack on the same exchange knocked nearly 11% off its price in minutes, and Binance said at the time that no funds had been stolen. Binance has confirmed yesterday's attack, and Chainalysis and TRM Labs put the theft at roughly $6.4 billion, more than four times the previous record hack: the $1.5 billion Bybit heist of February 2025. Bitcoin dipped to about $76,400 on Friday, around 6% below where it...

    NewsCoins
    4 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • The FBI. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Secret Service, FBI Join Binance Hack Probe as Circle Freezes $823 Million

    Binance is working with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service after hackers stole $6.4 billion from the cryptocurrency exchange, as Circle joins the recovery effort by freezing more than $800 million in assets connected to the attack, according to Reuters. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Binance was cooperating with law enforcement agencies around the world, including both U.S. agencies. The FBI confirmed it was aware of the incident and was working with public and private partners...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Elon Musk and Changpeng "CZ" Zhao. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Elon Musk, CZ Trade Blows Over SpaceX Shares After $6.4B Binance Hack

    Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, called out Elon Musk on Friday after the billionaire appeared to mock the exchange following a $6.4 billion hack—the largest in history—reminding him that Binance holds SpaceX shares worth more than $1 billion. "Elon, have a lot of respect for you, but bad time to troll. Please stop," CZ wrote on X. "Our SPCX shares (from our $500m investment in your Twitter takeover) are worth more than a billion. Would appreciate if you show a little suppo...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • A hacker. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Binance Hacker Hunts for Exit Ramps as DeFi Exchanges Pause Markets

    The attacker behind the wallets draining Binance is using decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and Aave as exits, swapping stablecoins that issuers can freeze for Ethereum that nobody can, according to Etherscan records for 10 wallets, eight of them labeled as exploiters. Earlier today, wallets linked to the world’s largest crypto exchange were drained of at least $5.5 billion, with the total tally still climbing. The company said it was investigating the security incident but did not confirm...

    NewsDeFi
    4 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Binance. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Binance Drained of $5.5 Billion in Suspected Hack, Tether and Circle Freeze $1.8 Billion

    At least $5.57 billion in crypto has left wallets linked to Binance across three blockchains in what appears to be a breach of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. If confirmed as a hack, it would be the biggest crypto hack on record. Binance has not confirmed its exchange has been hacked but said it is aware of the “potential security issue and is actively investigating.” “We have not confirmed any impact to user funds,” the company posted on X. “Our security teams are reviewing all rel...

    NewsCoins
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Google. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Chrome Can Now Pull Details From Your Gmail to Fill Out Web Forms

    Google’s Chrome browser can now pull personal details from your Gmail inbox to fill out online forms for you, the company said in its announcement on Wednesday. The update, called “enhanced autofill,” suggests order numbers, tracking information, and flight bookings when a form asks for them, wrote Amanda Lim, a Chrome product manager, in the announcement. Autofill is the browser tool that types in details like your name and address so you don’t have to. Myriad: Which company will have the best...

  • Polymarket. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Polymarket Pauses Trading as Prediction Market Investigates Security Incident

    Polymarket users are reporting that the prediction market’s frontend may be compromised, with assets being withdrawn from accounts without permission. The platform’s status page shows its trading API in a major outage and the exchange in cancel-only mode, meaning traders can pull existing orders but not place new ones. Relayer actions, which submit users’ signed transactions to the blockchain, are also paused. Polymarket later confirmed that one its third-party providers was compromised. "We hav...

    NewsTechnology
    2 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • The U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Image: Shutterstock

    Hackers Publish Work Details of 41,000 Homeland Security Employees

    Names, job titles, office locations, and phone numbers for more than 41,000 Department of Homeland Security employees and contractors were published online Wednesday by a transparency nonprofit. The nonprofit says a hacktivist group, meaning hackers driven by politics rather than profit, gave it the records. Myriad: Who will win the midterms? Click to make your prediction. The department oversees border protection, immigration enforcement, and cybersecurity, so the file works like a directory of...

    NewsTechnology
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Bitcoin is the biggest crypto asset by market cap. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    $11 Billion in Bitcoin Options Expire Tomorrow—Here's What It Means

    About $11 billion in Bitcoin options expire on Friday on Deribit, a crypto options exchange, with Bitcoin trading near $81,500 a day after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady while two of its officials voted to raise them. Even people who never touch options have a stake, because the traders who sold these contracts must buy or sell real Bitcoin to hedge as the price moves, which can add to swings without any news behind them. Myriad: Where does Bitcoin go next? Click to make your pr...

    NewsMarkets
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Hyperliquid. Image: Decrypt

    Hyperliquid's HYPE Jumps 13% as NYSE Owner ICE Moves to Bring Its Perpetual Futures to the US

    HYPE, the token behind the Hyperliquid exchange, jumped about 13% on Thursday to roughly $91 after Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, announced a deal to bring Hyperliquid-based perpetual futures to the United States. The token climbed from a daily open of $80.69 to a high of $92.10 on KuCoin, leaving it about 7% below the record near $98 it set in September. Hyperliquid’s token now trades at around a $22.4 billion market capitalization. Myriad: Will Hyperliquid...

    NewsMarkets
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Bitcoin and the U.S. Dollar. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Bitcoin Treasury Datavault AI Says It Can’t Access Its BTC, Stock Tanks

    Datavault AI shares fell more than 50% on Tuesday to close at $0.06, after the Nasdaq-listed company disclosed that it has been unable to withdraw Bitcoin from the crypto exchange Biconomy since June. The company also said four sets of its financial statements can no longer be relied upon. The disclosure came in a Form 8-K filed Oct. 26, in which Datavault said it requested a withdrawal to an external account in June and has been “unable to complete the withdrawal.” The filing does not explain w...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • AI. Source: Decrypt

    Chip Maker SK Hynix Posts Record Quarter as AI Memory Demand Overwhelms Supply

    SK Hynix reported record third-quarter results on Wednesday, with revenue of 104.6 trillion won (almost $78 billion) and operating profit of 83.3 trillion won ($65.5 billion), according to its earnings release. It was the first time the South Korean memory chip maker’s quarterly sales topped 100 trillion won ($74.5 billion). Myriad: Which company will IPO next? Click to make your prediction. Revenue rose 328% from a year earlier and operating profit rose 632%, for an operating margin of 80%, whi...

    NewsMarkets
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Show me the money. Image: Unsplash/Decrypt

    AI Security Startup Upwind Raises $400M at $3.8B Valuation

    Upwind Security raised $400 million in a Series C round at a $3.8 billion valuation, the cloud and AI security company announced Wednesday. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round, less than nine months after it also led Upwind's $250 million Series B. Canapi Ventures joined as a new investor, and every existing backer returned, pouring even more money into the startop. Upwind said it will put the money toward product and engineering growth. Myriad: How high will Nvidia stock go? Click to make y...

  • OpenAI. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    OpenAI Plans to Buy Google's AI Chips as It Looks Beyond Nvidia: Report

    OpenAI plans to buy AI chips from Google, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke with The Information. The step would loosen its dependence on Nvidia, the company that supplies most of the hardware behind the AI boom. Neither company has confirmed the plan, and the price, the number of chips, and the delivery dates have not been disclosed. OpenAI is one of Nvidia’s biggest customers. Myriad: Which company will have the best AI model? Click to make your prediction. The chips Ope...

  • The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, home to the Fed's Reserve Board. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Fed Stands Pat, Bitcoin Holds Steady—But a December Rate Hike Is in Play

    The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at 3.75% to 4.00% on Wednesday in a 10-2 vote, with two officials dissenting in favor of another quarter-point hike. Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack voted against the decision, according to the Fed’s statement. Bitcoin barely moved, edging up about 0.2% to roughly $80,950 in the minutes after the 2 p.m. ET announcement. CME FedWatch, a tool that converts bets on interest rate futures into probabilities, had put the...

    NewsMarkets
    3 min read
    Jose Antonio Lanz
  • Source: Decrypt

    AI Can Quietly Influence Experts’ Decisions, Anthropic Study Finds

    Professional analysts adopted their AI agent’s hidden, randomly assigned opinion on 86% of key judgment calls, against about 50% expected by chance, according to an experiment published Tuesday by Anthropic’s Alignment team. Only 15% credited the agent afterward, and none suspected its preferences had been planted. AI agents—programs that carry out tasks on their own—are being handed expert work on what the study calls the usual assumption: that experts still make the decisions that matter. Anth...

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