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Hollywood Agencies Join Forces with AI Firm Loti to Tackle Deepfake Threats
Top Hollywood talent agencies collaborate with AI company Loti in a groundbreaking effort to safeguard celebrities from the perils of deepfakes.
UAE's Central Bank Completes Wholesale CBDC Pilot Program
UAE's Central Bank has completed running its wholesale CBDC trials, readying for the next development phase.
Bank of Russia Delays CBDC Pilot Rollout
The Bank of Russia's CBDC pilot rollout has been delayed indefinitely due to legislation only passing through the first reading. The number of participating private banks has also changed to 13 from 15, with the pilot involving real operations and limited consumers.
Standard Chartered's Virtual Bank, Mox Will Usher in New Era of Banking for Hong Kong
Mox Bank Limited, or Mox, the new virtual bank in Hong Kong recently launched by Standard Chartered, has now been made available to select customers via invitation in an external pilot. The aim of the pilot is to prepare the state-of-art virtual bank for the public launch scheduled for later this year.
NBG Georgia Shortlists Ripple Among Tech Firms for CBDC Pilot
The National Bank of Georgia progresses with its Digital GEL Pilot Project, focusing on the exploration of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) technology. Nine technology firms, including Ripple Labs, Inc., have been shortlisted for potential collaboration. The initiative mirrors global trends in modernizing financial infrastructures to meet the digital economy's evolving demands.
Chinese State-Owned Banks Start Exploring Digital Yuan Use-Cases for Buying Investment Funds & Insurance Products
Two Chinese state-owned banks have begun working to fund management and insurance companies to explore the use cases of digital yuan CBDC for purchasing investment funds and insurance products online.
R3 Highlights the Transformative Potential of Tokenization in Finance
R3, a leading enterprise blockchain software firm, discusses the transformative potential of tokenization in the financial sector. The company emphasizes the need for regulatory frameworks and industry standards to unlock the full benefits of digital assets. According to a June 2023 report from Bernstein, $5 trillion in assets could be tokenized in the next five years, offering significant opportunities for market participants.
Mike Novogratz Wins 0.5 BTC on Biden Election Bet, Holds Twitter Lottery
Mike Novogratz revealed that he won half a Bitcoin in an election bet he placed on a Biden election win over the weekend. He then held an impromptu Twitter lottery giveway.
GitHub Copilot X: The Future of AI-Powered Software Development
GitHub Copilot X is an AI pair programmer integrating into developers' workflow. It offers context-aware conversations, personalized documentation, pull request support, and CLI assistance, aiming to enhance productivity and code quality.
Mexican Senate Gets First Bitcoin ATM Machine, the Nation Eyes Making BTC Legal Tender
To offer Mexican lawmakers first-hand Bitcoin experience, ChainBytes and Axolotl Bitcoin have put up a Bitcoin ATM at the nation's senate building.
Microsoft Unveils Free Copilot AI App for Android, Featuring GPT-4 and Challenging Paid Alternatives
Microsoft's Copilot AI app for Android, incorporating GPT-4, challenges paid alternatives with advanced text and image capabilities, enhancing the Microsoft ecosystem and preparing for an iOS version.
Ghana Confirms Its Interest in Piloting Central Bank Digital Currency
Ghana has confirmed that it is on the hunt for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The Bank of Ghana’s deputy governor, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, recently revealed that the country’s central bank remains committed to piloting a national digital currency. He made such remarks during a virtual stakeholder workshop on payment systems and services as reported by GhanaWeb local news outlet.
Polkadot Q2 2023: OpenGov and XCM V3 Launch, SEC Clearance for DOT
According to Messari, Polkadot, a blockchain network designed to support interconnected, application-specific Layer-1 chain, has made significant progress in Q2 2023.
NVIDIA and NSF Launch Groundbreaking NAIRR AI Research Initiative
NVIDIA and the NSF partner to launch the NAIRR pilot, a major initiative to advance AI research in the U.S. by providing resources and promoting responsible AI innovation, strengthening America's global AI competitiveness.
Italian Government to Provide €45m in Grants for Blockchain Industry
Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development is planning to provide up to $46 million in subsidies for blockchain and AI industries.
Australia Sponsors Two Blockchain Pilot Projects for AU$5.6M
The Australian government has allocated more than 5.6 million Australian dollars to support two domestic blockchain pilot projects, enhancing the domestic productivity and competitiveness of the Minerals and Food and Beverage sectors.
Microsoft Copilot: SMEs with Affordable AI Integration
Microsoft's introduction of Copilot AI for SMEs, with individual subscriptions at $20 and business plans at $30 per month, brings advanced AI capabilities, including GPT-4 Turbo, to small and medium-sized businesses, enhancing productivity and decision-making.
AI Nude Generators: Technology, Tools, and Privacy Concerns
AI nude generators are software tools that use deep learning models to create realistic nude images, including anime characters and mythical beings. These tools can be categorized into general AI image generators, inherent NSFW AI image generators, and dedicated AI nude or clothes remover tools. However, concerns about legality, security, and privacy arise from the potential misuse of these tools. Companies like Stability AI, SoulGen, OnlyFakes, DeepNudeNow, and DeepSukebe have secured funding for their open-source systems.
Shiba Inu Prepares NFT Crypto Game Shiba Eternity’s Last Pilot Test in Australia
The first testing of Shiba Eternity took place in Vietnam, where in the recent past Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based play-to-earn game, exploded as a viable source of income among users.
Australias Commonwealth Bank Halts Crypto Rollout
CBA conducted an initial pilot but paused the project with no time set when the second pilot would take place.
McDonald's, Subway and Starbucks Among the First to Trial China's Digital Yuan
Mcdonalds has been named along with coffee giant Starbucks as one of the 19 restaurants that will be first to try out China’s Digital Yuan in the new district of Xiong’An.
Bank of Korea Initiates CBDC Pilot Plan on Samsung Galaxy Smartphones
Samsung Electronics will participate in South Korea’s Central Bank Digital Currency pilot project. The electronics tech giant will help to determine whether CBDC transactions could be conducted on smartphones without the availability of an internet connection.
China's Central Bank Says Digital Yuan Will Not Raise Inflation
Bank of China claims that the introduction of digital yuan will not cause the occurrence of inflation.
Roger Stone Denies Alleged Murder Plot Against Nadler and Swalwell, Claims AI Manipulation of Tapes
Roger Stone is accused of discussing a plot to assassinate Congressmen Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell in a recording. He denies the allegations, claiming AI manipulation of the tapes.
Xbox Teams with Inworld AI for Game Dev AI Tools
Xbox and Inworld AI have partnered to develop AI tools for dialogue and narrative creation, aiming to empower creators in the gaming industry.
South Korea’s Central Bank Launches Central Bank Digital Currency Pilot Program in Case of Future Necessity
South Korea’s central bank recently announced that it has launched a pilot program assessing the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Bank of Korea has stated that there are no immediate plans to launch a CBDC, however, the pilot program will allow the central bank to be prepared in the future if the changing market conditions require its issuance.
India’s Central Bank to Begin Testing Its CBDC in December
The governor of India’s central bank recently said that the regulator is preparing to start trial programs for its digital rupee by December. The central bank revealed that it will examine the functionality of the national central bank digital currency to ascertain the suitability of the underlying technology.
Santa Cruz Adopts Blockchain for Govt Services
Santa Cruz County in California is set to launch a pilot program using a blockchain-powered digital wallet for government services, including bicycle registration and RV parking registration. The program, powered by HUMBL, will launch in July 2023 and run a three-stage pilot program. The county aims to provide a formal report and rollout plan for the digital wallet by September 2023.
Ukraine Plans to Pilot CBDC Digital Hryvnia for Salary Payments
Ukraine has announced pilot testing plans for central bank digital currency to pay the national digital currency (CBDC) to its workers' salaries.
JICWEBS Blockchain Pilot Project Attracts Four Media Gurus
JICWEBS blockchain pilot project is touted to be a gamechanger in digital advertising as it will optimize transparency, productivity, and trust. This aspect has, therefore, made four media agencies, namely Havas, OMG, Zenith, and Mindshare, to join this initiative.
IMF Educational Cryptocurrency Video Receives Backlash from Bitcoin and Crypto Experts
A video posted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its social platform has generated a lot of criticism from the cryptocurrency community.
Bitcoin Options Worth $1.3 Billion Expire
The largest lot of Bitcoin options until the year's end expired on Nov 27. The number stood at 78,000 Bitcoin (BTC) with a notional value of $1.3 billion.
Determinism: The Philosophy of Blockchain
Determinism, free will, and blockchain? What do these seemingly disparate concepts have in common? A lot, as it turns out.
Bitcoin is the Answer to True and Free Capitalism, Following Wall Street Bets Short Squeeze
With the recent Gamestop stock soaring due to the Wall Street Bets group, this brought up a lot of discussion regarding Bitcoin and DeFi in the community,
Cause for Concern? Ethereum's 15 Minutes of Extreme Volatility Explained
Ethereum’s price on the crypto market underwent a lot of fluctuations in the span of 15 minutes yesterday, causing quite a stir in the crypto community.
Beyond Startups—Championing for an Ecosystem to Drive Blockchain Forward
Tribe Accelerator is Singapore’s first government-backed blockchain accelerator, on a mission to bridge the gap between blockchain startups and the traditional world. Yi Ming Ng, the Managing Director at Tribe Accelerator, believes that blockchain is beneficial to a lot of businesses from different industries. However, there has been a lot of fear and speculation around cryptocurrencies in the traditional corporate world.
Data-Hungry: Official Trump 2020 Election App Collects User Data of Voters
US president Donald Trump’s campaign app “Official Trump 2020 App” raised a lot of skepticism, as it has been uncovered that the election app collected mast amounts of sensitive information on his voters.
Ethereum 2.0’s Launch Is 2 Weeks Away, but Only 18% of ETH Has Been Staked
With Ethereum 2.0’s first phase (Phase 0) set to launch on December 1, it appears that there is still a lot of Ether (ETH) missing for the upgrade to happen.
IRS Hoping to Deanonymize Monero and ZCash Privacy Coins to Prevent Cybercrime
The Criminal Investigation Division(CID) of the IRS are actively hiring private contractors to study and analyze privacy coins, as there has quite been a lot of fraudulent activities revolving around their usage.
Blockchain, Brands and Clothing: Will 2020 Continue to Be a Year of Growth?
According to the global brand counterfeiting report 2018, “The growth in global trade and technology has positively affected many markets across the world, but along with that, it has some major adverse effects as well. Business organizations spend a lot of money, time and resources on protecting their brand and trademarks. But even after all the measures, the counterfeit market is booming rapidly.”
Bill Gates Foundation’s COVID-19 Vaccine is a Satanic Plot says Oscar-Winner
Microsoft’s recent patent for a human powered crypto mining system based on sensors that convert physical or mental activity into computer power has generated a lot of interest and captured the imagination of the public, but perhaps some are looking a little too closely.
Crypto & the FATF: ING Develops Travel Rule Protocol for Tracking Crypto Transfers Ahead of FATF Plenary Meeting
The FATF has a wide range of recommendations, a total of 40 to ensure regulatory alignment between the compliance imposed on financial institutions and the regulations in its member states. The FATF Travel Rule is Recommendation 16, which has received a lot of attention from the crypto industry, especially virtual asset service providers (VASPs).