Bitcoin prices plummeted to their lowest level in 16 months, while jewelry retailer Pandora announced a shift from silver to platinum due to price surges, and Iranian and American officials prepared for high-stakes talks in Oman, according to multiple news sources. These developments, along with the resignation of a lobbying firm's chief executive following revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files and a controversial plan to repurpose a notorious Venezuelan prison, dominated headlines on Friday.
The price of Bitcoin fell to $60,000 (44,000), its lowest point since September 2024, despite former US President Donald Trump's public support for cryptocurrency, as reported by BBC Business. The drop followed months of rising prices, which saw the cryptocurrency reach an all-time high of $122,200 in October 2025. "Those who bet too big, borrowed too much or assumed prices only go up are now finding out the hard way what real market volatility and risk management look like," Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association, told Reuters.
In the jewelry industry, Pandora revealed its intention to reduce its reliance on silver, switching to platinum in some of its ranges due to a dramatic price increase, according to BBC Business. Silver prices had more than doubled in the past year. The Danish firm, one of the world's largest jewelry retailers, currently uses silver for the majority of its products. Pandora's chief executive stated the goal was not to make all jewelry platinum-plated, but to reduce silver to around 25% of its offerings.
Meanwhile, in the political arena, Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, the chief executive of the lobbying firm Global Counsel, announced his resignation after information in the Jeffrey Epstein files revealed apparent links between the company and the convicted sex offender, as reported by BBC Business. Global Counsel, co-founded by Wegg-Prosser and Peter Mandelson after Labour lost the 2010 general election, had advised clients including Shell and TikTok.
International tensions remained high as Iranian and American officials prepared for face-to-face talks in Oman, amid fears of conflict, according to Sky News. The US is sending its Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the Muscat summit, where he will meet with Tehran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi. The talks followed weeks of threatened military action by Donald Trump and a continued American naval build-up near Iran, which Trump described as an "armada."
Finally, in Venezuela, a plan to transform the notorious El Helicoide prison into a cultural center drew criticism, with opponents arguing it would erase the country's history of repression, according to The Guardian. The building, originally designed as a drive-through shopping center in the 1950s, was never completed and was later used as a prison under the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.
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