This week at the BTC Prague conference, Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary T-Systems MMS announced its operation of a Bitcoin node and a Lightning Network node. Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest telecommunications provider and the parent company of T-Mobile, also shared plans to mine bitcoin. BTC Prague Conference: T-Mobile Owner Operates a Bitcoin Node, Plans to Mine the […]
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Bitcoin.org Owner Cobra Warns About Illegalization of Bitcoin Self-Custody in the US
Cobra, the pseudonymous owner of the Bitcoin.org domain, has voiced concerns about future actions from the U.S. government regarding bitcoin ownership. He anticipates a possible ban on the self-custody of bitcoin even when its application and enforcement might be impractical. Bitcoin.org Owner Cobra: Bitcoin’s Self-Custody Might Be in Danger in the U.S. Cobra, the pseudonymous […]
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Bitcoin.org Owner Cobra Predicts Next Bitcoin ‘Great Divide’
Cobra, the pseudonymous owner and operator of Bitcoin.org, has predicted the next divide that will plague the Bitcoin ecosystem in the coming times. Cobra explained in social media that this conflict will face ossificationists (people that want Bitcoin to stay as it is), and improvers, who want Bitcoin to improve its focus and functionality. Cobra […]
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Owner of Thailand’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange Set to Go Public in 2025
Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, the owner of Thailand’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, reportedly plans to go public in 2025. Jirayut Srupsrisopa, the CEO of the holding company, revealed that Bitkub Capital Group is currently hiring financial advisers to assist with the listing. Enhancing Bitkub Capital Group’s Profile Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, the owner of Bitkub Online […]
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Facebook Owner Meta May Launch Chatbot ‘Personas’ Next Month, Report
U.S. tech giant Meta is preparing to launch multiple chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI) as early as September. According to an article quoting knowledgeable sources, the company seeks to encourage user engagement on its social media platforms with the chatbots that could also be used to collect more user data.
Meta Seeks to Seize on Chatbot Hype, Challenge Competitors With ‘AI Agents’
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is gearing up to present in the next few weeks a number of AI-based chatbots designed to exhibit different personalities, the Financial Times wrote this week, quoting people familiar with the tech conglomerate’s plans.
The company has been designing prototypes that can take the form of different characters and have discussions with the 4 billion users of its social media platforms, according to the sources, who also revealed that the chatbots have been dubbed “personas.”
For example, Meta explored creating one that emulates Abraham Lincoln and another that advises on travel options in the style of a surfer. The chatbots, which will support a new search function and offer recommendations, could launch as soon as September, according to one of the quoted individuals.
FT noted that the move comes as the company seeks to attract and retain users in the face of a stiff competition from platforms like Tiktok. Apparently, Meta also tries to seize upon the hype around AI that spread since the launch of Openai’s Chatgpt in November, 2022.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during an earnings call last Wednesday that he envisaged AI “agents that act as assistants, coaches or that can help you interact with businesses and creators.” He believes they can help companies with customer service or to increase staff productivity. He stated:
We don’t think that there’s going to be one single AI that people interact with.
“Zuckerberg is spending all his energy and time on ideating about this,” one of the persons that spoke with the Financial Times unveiled. He also said that in the longer term developing an avatar chatbot in the metaverse would be explored.
Others in this space have already launched chatbots that feature personalities. Andreessen Horowitz-backed start-up Character.ai, for instance, uses AI technology to generate conversations in the style of Elon Musk or Nintendo character Mario.
Besides boosting engagement, Meta’s chatbots could be employed to collect more data on users’ interests, the article points out. And with most of the company’s 7 billion in revenues coming from advertising, they can help it to better target users with more relevant content and advertising. That, however, raises privacy concerns, the authors note.
What do you think about Meta using its chatbots to collect user data? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
US Seizes 18 Crypto ATMs Purchased Using Fraudulent SBA Loans — Arrests Owner
U.S. law enforcement has seized 18 cryptocurrency ATMs that were purchased using fraudulent loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) meant to assist small businesses financially harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The loans were also used to purchase bitcoin from a New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Coindawg’s Crypto ATMs Seized
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that Charles Riley Constant, aka Chuck Constant, has been arrested “for charges in connection with a scheme to steal and launder over million in fraudulently obtained loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA), including the use of fraud proceeds to purchase cryptocurrency ATMs.” The Justice Department detailed:
Law enforcement agents seized, among other things, 18 cryptocurrency ATMs in Texas and Oklahoma that Constant purchased with fraud proceeds to start a cryptocurrency ATM business named ‘Coindawg LLC,’ as well as Coindawg’s website.
The DOJ explained that Constant and his co-conspirators created fake identities and businesses to obtain seven Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA beginning in the fall of 2020. The funds were meant to assist small businesses financially harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Constant used about 0,000 of the fraudulently obtained SBA loans to purchase bitcoin (BTC) from a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in New York City, the DOJ further noted.
The Department of Justice continued:
To date, Coindawg has exchanged over ,000,000 worth of cryptocurrency and charged 15% in transaction fees.
Constant, 54, of Allen, Texas, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of theft of public money, and one count of interstate receipt of stolen money. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and 10 years each for theft of public money and interstate receipt of stolen money.
What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below.
CryptoPunks Owner Declines Record-setting $9.5 Million Offer, Explains Why
Earlier today, the owner of the non-fungible token CryptoPunks #6046 declined a bid of .5 million dollars in Ethereum (ETH), which would have been the highest on-chain NFT transaction to date. The bidder, who goes by an ENS of poap.eth, placed the record-setting bid after the CryptoPunks owner tweeted: “My punk is not for sale. Don’t care what anyone offers me.”
CryptoPunk #6046, Source: Larva Labs
CryptoPunks is an NFT collection of 10,000 randomly generated images created by Larva Labs, and is widely touted and recognized as the #1 collection across the entire NFT space.
Related Reading | Cryptopunks are Headed to Hollywood
The project is an all-time leader in total transaction volume at 552,073 ETH, or approximately .1 billion. Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), which is the next largest collection on OpenSea, has recorded 1/5th of CryptoPunk’s all-time sales volume. According to data from Larva Labs, the most expensive transaction to date was .57M for Punk #7804 back on March 11, 2021.
Come on Richerd. Don't you want to go down in history as the top cryptopunk sale to date? pic.twitter.com/JEeIMo2MEm
— POAP – The bookmarks of your life (@poapxyz) October 15, 2021
If the bid made by poap.eth were to have been accepted, CryptoPunk #6046 would have become arguably the most valuable CryptoPunk by more than 500 ETH. Interestingly enough however, the owner himself admitted that the “value” of his NFT was nowhere near the ballpark of .5M: [#]6046 is probably not worth 2500 ETH, it’s a mid tier punk due to its defining 3D glasses traits. So why would someone offer 2500 ETH on it?”
How Exactly are CryptoPunks Valued?
Within NFT collections, the value of an individual piece is often determined by the rarity of its traits and characteristics. This is the case for CryptoPunks, with extremely rare traits like Aliens (0.09%) fetching a far greater price than ones with more common traits. In the case of Punk #6046, its trait of 3D glasses (3%) would be worth considerably less than extremely rare traits.
Historical sales prices on CryptoPunks, @eliasimos on Dune Analytics
The average price of a CryptoPunk has skyrocketed over the past year, with data from DuneAnalytics showing a 1300% increase in average sales price since the beginning of the year. Despite these meteoric increases in price, the NFT space is still in relative infancy.
Related Reading | Forget NFT Avatars: Owning and Trading NFT Colors Could be the Next NFT Trend on OpenSea
Coinbase, which recently announced its plans to release an NFT marketplace, saw over 1.5 million sign ups – a number trumping OpenSea’s user base by several fold. According to dappRadar, OpenSea has a total user base count of 263 thousand. With Coinbase entering the NFT space, there’s little to no doubt that the industry will continue to grow exponentially.
Interestingly enough, @richerd explained the reasoning behind rejecting the offer. He implied that his brand and online persona was largely connected to his CryptoPunk, and selling it would effectively sever this bond. “My identity, along with [the] identity of other iconic Punks, have value beyond the NFT itself. We have our own brands similar to any other brand and that has value. Because I value my personal brand and identity, this was an easy rejection for me.”
Featured image from Larva Labs
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