BlackRock is offering its first-ever investment product directly in Bitcoin as a response to demand from large institutional clients seeking exposure to the asset
Bloomberg
BlackRock Offers Bitcoin Investing to Big Institutional Clients
BlackRock Inc. is offering its first-ever investment product directly in Bitcoin, marking a significant move into crypto markets by the world’s largest asset manager.
OFFICIAL: The Ethereum Merge has been scheduled for ≈ September 15th/16th
LinkedIn profiles indicate that hundreds of ByteDance and TikTok employees used to work for Chinese state media publications, raising concerns that China could use TikTok’s broad cultural influence in the US for its own ends.
Forbes
LinkedIn Profiles Indicate 300 Current TikTok And ByteDance Employees Used To Work For Chinese State Media—And Some Still Do
Three hundred current employees at TikTok and its parent company ByteDance previously worked for Chinese state media publications, according to public employee LinkedIn profiles reviewed by Forbes.
All about AI, Web 3.0, BCI
An Ethereum Hard Fork is coming. You might want to: • Maximize on-chain ETH for when it happens (withdraw from CEXes) • Take an ETH loan • Dump all PoW assets for ETHPoW • Have a ready-to-go account on the greedy exchanges supporting the chain When the merge…
The terminal total difficulty has been set to 58750000000000000000000.
This means the ethereum PoW network now has a (roughly) fixed number of hashes left to mine.
bordel.wtf predicts the merge will happen around Sep 15, though the exact date depends on hashrate
This means the ethereum PoW network now has a (roughly) fixed number of hashes left to mine.
bordel.wtf predicts the merge will happen around Sep 15, though the exact date depends on hashrate
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Polkadot-based stablecoin aUSD depegs after Acala Network breach
Acala Network, the decentralized finance hub of Polkadot, has been breached and its stablecoin depegged from the dollar mark.
Early this morning, Acala's Twitter page posted that it noticed configuration issues regarding the Honzon protocol, which affects its stablecoin aUSD, leading to a vote to pause operations on Acala while it investigated the issue.
According to Coinmarket cap, the stablecoin is currently below the $1 dollar mark, at one point dropping to a low of $0.58. Acala's aUSD is "a decentralized, multi-collateralized stablecoin backed by cross-chain assets" according to its website.
"We have identified the issue as a misconfiguration of the iBTC/aUSD liquidity pool (which went live earlier today) that resulted in error mints of a significant amount of aUSD," said Acala in a Twitter statement.
“The misconfiguration has since been rectified and wallet addresses that received the errorneously minted aUSD have been identified, with on-chain activity tracing in respect of these addresses underway."
While Acala has yet to confirm the amount that was involved in the breach, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reacted to the news by saying it was possible that "over a billion $AUSD" was obtained by the attacker.
Acala Network, the decentralized finance hub of Polkadot, has been breached and its stablecoin depegged from the dollar mark.
Early this morning, Acala's Twitter page posted that it noticed configuration issues regarding the Honzon protocol, which affects its stablecoin aUSD, leading to a vote to pause operations on Acala while it investigated the issue.
According to Coinmarket cap, the stablecoin is currently below the $1 dollar mark, at one point dropping to a low of $0.58. Acala's aUSD is "a decentralized, multi-collateralized stablecoin backed by cross-chain assets" according to its website.
"We have identified the issue as a misconfiguration of the iBTC/aUSD liquidity pool (which went live earlier today) that resulted in error mints of a significant amount of aUSD," said Acala in a Twitter statement.
“The misconfiguration has since been rectified and wallet addresses that received the errorneously minted aUSD have been identified, with on-chain activity tracing in respect of these addresses underway."
While Acala has yet to confirm the amount that was involved in the breach, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao reacted to the news by saying it was possible that "over a billion $AUSD" was obtained by the attacker.
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The future of hand gesture powered electronics
Shenzhen: driverless cars have be legal on the road from August.
Statistics show that there are 800 companies involved in autonomous driving in Shenzhen, of which 415 have been established in the past five years
Statistics show that there are 800 companies involved in autonomous driving in Shenzhen, of which 415 have been established in the past five years
⚡️Revolut Receives Nod From Cyprus Regulator to Offer Crypto Services
The authorization will enable Revolut to offer crypto services to its 17 million customers in the EEA ahead of MiCA becoming law
The authorization will enable Revolut to offer crypto services to its 17 million customers in the EEA ahead of MiCA becoming law
CoinDesk
Digital Bank Revolut Gets Approval to Offer Crypto Services Throughout Europe
The authorization will let the firm, which was valued at $33 billion in a recent funding round, offer crypto services to its 17 million customers in the European Economic Area.
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Many NFT projects are feeling stuck. But they’re sitting on a bigger opportunity than they realize. How teams should be thinking about the future of their communities
Thousands have shown up in support of communities they believe in. Some bought in, some minted at no cost. Either way, members are there because they’re excited about the potential. In return, teams have delivered on some promise of utility—airdrops, merch, events & more.
Founders obsess over:
What new utility can we offer?
What communities will give us allowlist spots?
Can we find a corporate sponsor that makes sense?
What if we did a free airdrop?
Many are buying time until their big break—but they don’t even know what that means for them.
First, let’s establish that not every NFT project can, or should, evolve into a media company or fashion brand, or be turned into a Netflix series. Very few will make it here.
But a lot of community founders get overwhelmed thinking this is the only way.
So if you’re not on track to become the next Disney, and traditional forms of utility are falling flat, where do you go from here?
The team needs to think hard about how they can:
1. Continue delivering REAL value to their members
2. Sustain as an innovative & profitable brand
Begin by asking yourself two important questions:
• What is the common interest of our members?
• What is this team uniquely positioned and qualified to do?
You’ll need to go deep:
Start with your mission—why was your community created in the first place? What makes it different? Why are you the right team to be building it?
How does the mission align with the affinities of your members—why are they here? What do they care about?
Now think, is there a sustainable membership model and business plan that can provide tangible and ongoing value to this community?
How can it be monetized in a scalable way that will bring reliable working capital?
What’s the potential in partnerships and brand expansion?
Consider this:
The community has already shown up. They are invested. And they are READY.
This puts you lightyears ahead of most startups.
While some projects will lose steam, those committed to putting in the work will create legacy brands with healthy, happy communities.
But we need to allow one another the time and space to get there.
It’s a privilege to be building in web3.
Thousands have shown up in support of communities they believe in. Some bought in, some minted at no cost. Either way, members are there because they’re excited about the potential. In return, teams have delivered on some promise of utility—airdrops, merch, events & more.
Founders obsess over:
What new utility can we offer?
What communities will give us allowlist spots?
Can we find a corporate sponsor that makes sense?
What if we did a free airdrop?
Many are buying time until their big break—but they don’t even know what that means for them.
First, let’s establish that not every NFT project can, or should, evolve into a media company or fashion brand, or be turned into a Netflix series. Very few will make it here.
But a lot of community founders get overwhelmed thinking this is the only way.
So if you’re not on track to become the next Disney, and traditional forms of utility are falling flat, where do you go from here?
The team needs to think hard about how they can:
1. Continue delivering REAL value to their members
2. Sustain as an innovative & profitable brand
Begin by asking yourself two important questions:
• What is the common interest of our members?
• What is this team uniquely positioned and qualified to do?
You’ll need to go deep:
Start with your mission—why was your community created in the first place? What makes it different? Why are you the right team to be building it?
How does the mission align with the affinities of your members—why are they here? What do they care about?
Now think, is there a sustainable membership model and business plan that can provide tangible and ongoing value to this community?
How can it be monetized in a scalable way that will bring reliable working capital?
What’s the potential in partnerships and brand expansion?
Consider this:
The community has already shown up. They are invested. And they are READY.
This puts you lightyears ahead of most startups.
While some projects will lose steam, those committed to putting in the work will create legacy brands with healthy, happy communities.
But we need to allow one another the time and space to get there.
It’s a privilege to be building in web3.
It could be said that wearables are like a gateway to the broader digital health ecosystem
It’s easy enough to understand their appeal and function, they’re widely adopted, come in both D2C and B2B flavors, and have opened the door to many a model focused on remote patient monitoring, hospital-at-home, and virtual clinical trials.
Recent headlines show key players investing to get this sector into the next phase of the hype cycle.
In addition to the intriguing news that the Space Force would forgo fitness tests in favor of wearable technology, Oura is rolling out new features that enable blood oxygen monitoring and compatibility with digital birth control.
There’s also the battle of the smartwatches, with Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 unveiling temperature sensors just ahead of the same expected update to the Apple Watch 8.
But fancy features and big name partnerships don’t mean much without robust outcomes, so we were even more encouraged to see this meta-study that found trackers improved physical activity and body composition.
That said, more work is needed—accurate blood pressure monitoring is just one challenge that has yet to be solved.
It’s easy enough to understand their appeal and function, they’re widely adopted, come in both D2C and B2B flavors, and have opened the door to many a model focused on remote patient monitoring, hospital-at-home, and virtual clinical trials.
Recent headlines show key players investing to get this sector into the next phase of the hype cycle.
In addition to the intriguing news that the Space Force would forgo fitness tests in favor of wearable technology, Oura is rolling out new features that enable blood oxygen monitoring and compatibility with digital birth control.
There’s also the battle of the smartwatches, with Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 unveiling temperature sensors just ahead of the same expected update to the Apple Watch 8.
But fancy features and big name partnerships don’t mean much without robust outcomes, so we were even more encouraged to see this meta-study that found trackers improved physical activity and body composition.
That said, more work is needed—accurate blood pressure monitoring is just one challenge that has yet to be solved.
Rock Health | We're powering the future of healthcare. Rock Health is a seed and early-stage venture fund that supports startups building the next generation of technologies transforming healthcare.
The who, what, when, and why of wearables | Rock Health
Survey shows trends in ownership and usage.
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The rise of robot furniture
The promise of robotic furniture is that it can turn single rooms into multipurpose spaces. To the extent that they work, they could help blunt the rise in what Americans pay for housing, and alter where they are able and willing to live.
Former researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ex-Apple and Tesla engineers toiling in San Francisco and a design and architectural firm in Spain are among those devising what can only be described as robotic furniture.
And it’s already rolling off the factory floor and into the domiciles of students, church program directors and celebrity couples like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.
These systems include beds that, on voice command, float into the ceiling to reveal couches, and artificial-intelligence enabled cameras to track where your belongings are stored.
For now, most of these playthings are for the rich, with some of these installations costing $40,000 for a single room. But the goal of many of the people involved is to make this technology ubiquitous.
Some of these home systems can cost as little as $5,000 apiece and are already installed in apartments with rents as low as $1,000 a month, in places like Durham, N.C. and Buffalo, N.Y.
The promise of robotic furniture is that it can turn single rooms into multipurpose spaces. To the extent that they work, they could help blunt the rise in what Americans pay for housing, and alter where they are able and willing to live.
It’s probably not a coincidence that this technology is breaking into the mainstream at a time that is not unlike the early 1900s, when America also faced housing problems. That era inspired William Murphy, who was living in cramped quarters in San Francisco, to invent the bed that shares his name and tucks away into a cabinet or wall.
The promise of robotic furniture is that it can turn single rooms into multipurpose spaces. To the extent that they work, they could help blunt the rise in what Americans pay for housing, and alter where they are able and willing to live.
Former researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ex-Apple and Tesla engineers toiling in San Francisco and a design and architectural firm in Spain are among those devising what can only be described as robotic furniture.
And it’s already rolling off the factory floor and into the domiciles of students, church program directors and celebrity couples like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.
These systems include beds that, on voice command, float into the ceiling to reveal couches, and artificial-intelligence enabled cameras to track where your belongings are stored.
For now, most of these playthings are for the rich, with some of these installations costing $40,000 for a single room. But the goal of many of the people involved is to make this technology ubiquitous.
Some of these home systems can cost as little as $5,000 apiece and are already installed in apartments with rents as low as $1,000 a month, in places like Durham, N.C. and Buffalo, N.Y.
The promise of robotic furniture is that it can turn single rooms into multipurpose spaces. To the extent that they work, they could help blunt the rise in what Americans pay for housing, and alter where they are able and willing to live.
It’s probably not a coincidence that this technology is breaking into the mainstream at a time that is not unlike the early 1900s, when America also faced housing problems. That era inspired William Murphy, who was living in cramped quarters in San Francisco, to invent the bed that shares his name and tucks away into a cabinet or wall.
WSJ
For Rent: 327 Square Foot Apartment With 5 Rooms—Thanks to Robot Furniture
With the push of a button, a messy bedroom becomes a spotless living room. America’s housing crisis isn’t going away, but technology that allows small spaces to serve multiple purposes could help.
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Federal Reserve opens up master account access to banks with 'novel charters,' in win for crypto and fintech
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve Board announces final guidelines that establish a transparent, risk-based, and consistent set of factors for Reserve…
For release at 2:30 p.m. EDT
New chainalysis report for YTD (until end of July):
- scammers are scamming less: total scam revenue is $1.6B, down 65% from the year-ago period
- hackers are hacking more: $1.9B of crypto was exploited, up 58% from the year-ago period
- scammers are scamming less: total scam revenue is $1.6B, down 65% from the year-ago period
- hackers are hacking more: $1.9B of crypto was exploited, up 58% from the year-ago period
Chainalysis
2023 Crypto Crime Mid-year Update: Crime Down 65% Overall
The 2023 Mid-Year Crypto Crime Update is here! After a year of recovery, crypto crime is down significantly this year but ransomware activity is rising.
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How ETH might become a compliant and censored chain at the base level
Currently it looks like over 66% of the beacon chain validators will adhere to OFAC regulations, Lido, Coinbase, Kraken, Staked, Bitcoin Suisse.
And while PBS is meant to prevent validators from censoring specific TX, Ccoinbase will find a way to make sure it doesn't validate a block with T0rnado TXs.
If 66% of the validators will not sign specific blocks. block builders / relayers who propose blocks with sanctioned tx's are less likely to be included, meaning these block builders will lose money, making the inclusion of such TX's economically inviable.
Now over the past month Ethereum foundation, together with Vitalik Butetin has been scrambling to figure out the whole Block Proposer Separation methodology.
The likely interim winner is MEVBoost.
What do you think, will they sanction OFAC addresses?
There is a case to be made here that the Ethereum ecosystem has not reached sufficient social decentralization, and we are charting in very dangerous, nation state capture territory.
By the current OFAC implementation this is not simply sanctioned addresses, or those who previously interacted with t0rnado.
This could very quickly become a major part of the Ethereum ecosystem. This is base layer protocol censorship.
Currently it looks like over 66% of the beacon chain validators will adhere to OFAC regulations, Lido, Coinbase, Kraken, Staked, Bitcoin Suisse.
And while PBS is meant to prevent validators from censoring specific TX, Ccoinbase will find a way to make sure it doesn't validate a block with T0rnado TXs.
If 66% of the validators will not sign specific blocks. block builders / relayers who propose blocks with sanctioned tx's are less likely to be included, meaning these block builders will lose money, making the inclusion of such TX's economically inviable.
Now over the past month Ethereum foundation, together with Vitalik Butetin has been scrambling to figure out the whole Block Proposer Separation methodology.
The likely interim winner is MEVBoost.
What do you think, will they sanction OFAC addresses?
There is a case to be made here that the Ethereum ecosystem has not reached sufficient social decentralization, and we are charting in very dangerous, nation state capture territory.
By the current OFAC implementation this is not simply sanctioned addresses, or those who previously interacted with t0rnado.
This could very quickly become a major part of the Ethereum ecosystem. This is base layer protocol censorship.
Brazil's largest investment bank, BTG Pactual, launches crypto trading platform
Available since Monday, the platform, called Mynt, allows users to trade BTC, ETH, SOL, DOT and ADA with a minimum investment of 100 Brazilian reals, equivalent to $19.42.
“Cryptocurrencies are a new technology with great potential for transformation, bringing with it risks and opportunities. Entering the cryptocurrency universe is another important step in meeting a demand from our clients and filling a gap in the market," André Portilho, head of digital assets at BTG Pactual, said in a statement.
In September, BTG Pactual announced that it would release Mynt in the fourth quarter of 2021 with access to BTC and ETH.
In April 2019, the bank issued its ReitBZ security token, while in April 2021 it launched a bitcoin fund, the first managed by a financial institution in Brazil. A month later, it opened a fund based on ether.
Also on Monday, XP, the largest Brazilian brokerage by market value, launched a crypto trading platform allowing users to invest in BTC and ETH.
Available since Monday, the platform, called Mynt, allows users to trade BTC, ETH, SOL, DOT and ADA with a minimum investment of 100 Brazilian reals, equivalent to $19.42.
“Cryptocurrencies are a new technology with great potential for transformation, bringing with it risks and opportunities. Entering the cryptocurrency universe is another important step in meeting a demand from our clients and filling a gap in the market," André Portilho, head of digital assets at BTG Pactual, said in a statement.
In September, BTG Pactual announced that it would release Mynt in the fourth quarter of 2021 with access to BTC and ETH.
In April 2019, the bank issued its ReitBZ security token, while in April 2021 it launched a bitcoin fund, the first managed by a financial institution in Brazil. A month later, it opened a fund based on ether.
Also on Monday, XP, the largest Brazilian brokerage by market value, launched a crypto trading platform allowing users to invest in BTC and ETH.
Coindesk
Brazil's Largest Investment Bank, BTG Pactual, Launches Crypto Trading Platform
Called Mynt, the product allows customers to trade bitcoin, ether, solana, polkadot and cardano.
TSMC's 3-nanometer process, N3, will be in mass production in September, with over 1,000 wafer starts per month in the 4th quarter, media report, citing equipment vendors. Yields are expected to be better than the start of TSMC's 5nm process, N5.
TSMC's N3E will be in mass production in the 2nd half of 2023, for major customers Apple and Intel, the report says. The main applications for N3 initially will be HPC (high performance computing) and smartphone chips.
The report includes this timeline for TSMC's N3 family: with N3 this year, N3E in 2023 (2nd half), N3P in 2024 and N3X in 2025. N2 production will begin in 2025.
TSMC's N3E will be in mass production in the 2nd half of 2023, for major customers Apple and Intel, the report says. The main applications for N3 initially will be HPC (high performance computing) and smartphone chips.
The report includes this timeline for TSMC's N3 family: with N3 this year, N3E in 2023 (2nd half), N3P in 2024 and N3X in 2025. N2 production will begin in 2025.
Longevity Science Foundation announced collaboration with renowned digital artist Nikita Replyanski for the first season of NFT collection, Longevity Volumes.
Nikita’s work will explore the concept of human longevity and living longer lives. NFT collection will help share longevity with a broader audience and support our work funding groundbreaking research in the field.
Read the full announcement here
https://longevity.foundation/tpost/7h4z2j3lp1-nikita-replyanski-x-the-longevity-scienc
Visit the collection website here:
https://art.longevity.foundation/
Nikita’s work will explore the concept of human longevity and living longer lives. NFT collection will help share longevity with a broader audience and support our work funding groundbreaking research in the field.
Read the full announcement here
https://longevity.foundation/tpost/7h4z2j3lp1-nikita-replyanski-x-the-longevity-scienc
Visit the collection website here:
https://art.longevity.foundation/
longevity.foundation
Nikita Replyanski x the Longevity Science Foundation
Announcing our First NFT Artist Collaboration.
Meanwhile at the FDA: AI and ‘Breakthrough’ Medical Devices
The FDA’s ‘breakthrough’ medical devices are finally hitting the market in numbers. Some 700 innovative products were labeled as 'breakthroughs' in development and a tally of 54 products have now earned authorization.
A device is labeled a breakthrough when the FDA believes it has the potential to provide "more effective" treatment for diagnosis or diagnosis for deadly and debilitating conditions.
For current updates, see STAT's Breakthrough Device Tracker, a tool that details the devices, conditions, clinical areas, manufacturers, market pathways, and authorization statuses.
Embrace, for example, is one device on the Breakthrough Device Tracker list. It is indicated for use as an adjunct to seizure monitoring of adults. The device is worn on the wrist and senses electrodermal activity (EDA) and motion data to detect patterns associated with generalized tonic clonic seizures in patients with epilepsy or at-risk of having epilepsy. When a seizure is detected, Embrace sends a command to a paired wireless device that is programmed to initiate an alert to a designated caregiver. The system records and stores data from accelerometers, EDA, and temperature for subsequent review by a trained healthcare professional.
The FDA’s ‘breakthrough’ medical devices are finally hitting the market in numbers. Some 700 innovative products were labeled as 'breakthroughs' in development and a tally of 54 products have now earned authorization.
A device is labeled a breakthrough when the FDA believes it has the potential to provide "more effective" treatment for diagnosis or diagnosis for deadly and debilitating conditions.
For current updates, see STAT's Breakthrough Device Tracker, a tool that details the devices, conditions, clinical areas, manufacturers, market pathways, and authorization statuses.
Embrace, for example, is one device on the Breakthrough Device Tracker list. It is indicated for use as an adjunct to seizure monitoring of adults. The device is worn on the wrist and senses electrodermal activity (EDA) and motion data to detect patterns associated with generalized tonic clonic seizures in patients with epilepsy or at-risk of having epilepsy. When a seizure is detected, Embrace sends a command to a paired wireless device that is programmed to initiate an alert to a designated caregiver. The system records and stores data from accelerometers, EDA, and temperature for subsequent review by a trained healthcare professional.
Capitol Records has signed an AI-powered virtual rapper named FN MEKA
Capitol Records claims FN MEKA is the "No.1 virtual being" on TikTok, eyeing his 10 million followers on the platform, and says he's the first "AR artist" to sign with a major label.
We are living in a BrassEye world...
Capitol Records claims FN MEKA is the "No.1 virtual being" on TikTok, eyeing his 10 million followers on the platform, and says he's the first "AR artist" to sign with a major label.
We are living in a BrassEye world...
DJ Mag
An AI-powered virtual rapper, FN MEKA, has been signed to Capitol Records
The "robot rapper" has more than 10 million followers on TikTok and has already released his first major label single
The Greens in the EU Parliament seek to introduce crypto capital limits for banks - exposure to class 2 (unbacked) crypto-assets should not exceed 1% of Tier 1 capital.
Don't think the EU will end up anticipating the (similar) BCBS standards though.
Don't think the EU will end up anticipating the (similar) BCBS standards though.
CoinDesk
EU Lawmakers Seek to Cap Banks’ Bitcoin Holdings
Lawmakers of the European Green Party want to anticipate international standards by legislating hefty capital requirements for lenders now.