Your biweekly roundup of cool AI stuff and its impact on society and the future. The past two months have seen a Cambrian explosion in the capabilities and potential of AI technology. OpenAI’s upgraded chatbot GPT-4 was released in mid-March and aced all of its exams, although it’s apparently a pretty average sommelier. Midjourney v5
Layer-2 blockchain protocols have been in the spotlight in 2023, bringing major performance improvements to a variety of platforms and services operating in the Ethereum (ETH) ecosystem. Zero-knowledge proofs have been key in the roll-out of a variety of layer 2s, with the technology pioneered by the decentralized scaling network Starknet. StarkWare, the technology firm behind
Gary Gensler, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, recently appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee for a hearing regarding his leadership of the regulatory agency. The hearing, with Gensler as the only witness, promised to be unpleasant for the SEC chair, with the federal agency’s actions during Gensler’s leadership
On May 1, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) seized First Republic Bank, placing it into Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) receivership. According to reports, this move came after the bank’s financial troubles made it insolvent and unable to meet its obligations. Following the seizure, JPMorgan Chase submitted the winning bid
Block, a financial services and technology company owned by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced it has completed the prototype design of its new five-nanometre (5nm) Bitcoin (BTC) mining chip — which it claims is key to decentralizing the supply of Bitcoin mining rigs. According to a blog post published on April 28, Block
Influence from friends and the fear of missing out (FOMO) were some of the reasons investors bought crypto for the first time in 2022, according to a survey by a United States financial regulator. Published by the United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation in late April, the survey found that a
The United States securities regulator has handed down nearly $4 million in fines to crypto exchange Coinme for allegedly offering unregistered securities and giving “misleading statements” on its crypto token UpToken (UP). On April 28 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it settled charges against Coinme, its subsidiary Up Global SEZC and the CEO
A Coinbase executive claims to have discovered a “jailbreak” for artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, allowing it to calculate the probability of bizarre crypto price scenarios. The crypto exchange’s head of business operations and avid ChatGPT user Conor Grogan shared a screenshot of the results in an April 30 Twitter post — showing that ChatGPT states
Cryptocurrency may be bad for investors but it can be useful in international settlements, according to a top government official in Moscow. Russian authorities intend to set up a special committee that would issue permits to operators employing crypto in foreign trade transactions, he indicated. Russia Plans to ‘Experiment’ With Cross-Border Crypto Payments Amid Sanctions
Bitcoin (BTC) narrowed volatility on April 30 as the weekly and monthly candle closes loomed. Trader sees BTC price upside capped at $32,500 Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView tracked BTC/USD as it loitered just above $29,000 throughout the weekend. After unsettled price action earlier in the week, Bitcoin returned to sideways trading, with
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has requested Cross River Bank – known for its services to fintech and crypto firms like Visa and Coinbase – to “self-correct” and “appropriately address” weaknesses in its lending activities. On April 28, the FDIC made public a consent order executed with Cross River Bank on March 8, alleging that
Pepe (PEPE), the meme coin featuring the popular character Pepe the Frog, has experienced a significant surge in value in the past week, rising by 152.9% against the U.S. dollar. Recent statistics indicate that PEPE’s market capitalization has surged from $141 million on April 22 to a current valuation of $303 million. PEPE Jumps 99%
Risky assets marginally extend their up-move in April. The S&P 500 Index rose around 1.5% in April while Bitcoin (BTC) is on track to end the month with gains of more than 4%. Could the rally continue in May or is it time for a pullback? The recovery could face headwinds if the United States
It now costs Bitcoin (BTC) miners at least $17,000 to produce one BTC in the U.S. versus the $5,000-10,000 range a year ago, according to Bitcoin mining data resource Hashrate Index and Luxor. Bitcoin hashprice has dropped 58% in a year Unsurprisingly, soaring electricity rates across the U.S. states have contributed to rising Bitcoin mining costs. Notably, between
The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corp’s (FDIC) post-mortem assessment of Signature Bank of New York (SBNY) revealed poor management and inadequate risk management practices as the root cause for its collapse. Signature Bank was shut down by federal regulators on March 12 in a bid to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence
Another week has passed in the world of crypto and finance, with the anniversary of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s last known emails, predictions of massive declines in Americans’ standard of living, and important developments at the struggling First Republic Bank. All this and more just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. The
Prominent YouTuber DidYouKnowGaming was able to regain access to his YouTube channel, which an anonymous bad actor hacked to promote XRP (XRP) cryptocurrency scams. While hacking into YouTube channels to promote scams has been a long-standing method of targeting unwary investors, the number of creators on the platform reporting hacks has increased. Most recently, DidYouKnowGaming
Bitcoin (BTC) returned to a familiar range on April 27 as panic over alleged Mt. Gox and United States government transactions faded. “Rough” price action keeps Bitcoin traders cautious Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD traded near $29,000 on Bitstamp, up nearly $2,000 from the prior day’s low. Snap volatility had kicked
Top Stories This Week Circle launches cross-chain USDC transfer protocol Circle launched a cross-chain protocol that enables USDC transfers between the Ethereum and Avalanche blockchains. The protocol works by burning the selected amount of native USDC on the source chain, and minting an equivalent amount of new USDC on the intended destination chain. The protocol
An executive at JPMorgan Asset Management is unsure how United States regional banks are “going to operate” when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) emergency lending programs expire – warning that the possible collapse of First Republic Bank may cause a domino effect. In an April 27 Bloomberg television