Bitcoin (BTC) experienced a sudden drop to $8,900 on BitMEX, deviating significantly from its stable $60,000+ valuation on other exchanges.

What is a Bitcoin flash crash?

On a late Monday, Bitcoin experienced a swift downturn, dropping to a low of $8,900 on the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, a stark contrast to its stability above $60,000 on other platforms. This is known as a flash crash.

A sharp decline started at 22:40 UTC that within two minutes led Bitcoin’s price down to $8,900, marking its lowest point since the beginning of 2020. However, the recovery was just as rapid, with the price surging back to $67,000 by 22:50 UTC.

During this rapid rise and fall on BitMEX’s spot market, the global average price of BTC hovered around $67,400. Speculation arose on the social media platform X, with some users suggesting that massive sell-offs by large holders, or ‘whales’ triggered the price drop.

User @syq pointed out that an individual had sold more than 850 BTC (valued at approximately $55.49 million) on BitMEX, causing the XBT/USDT spot pair to dive to $8,900.

The XBT index on BitMEX monitors the price of Bitcoin, whereas the XBT/USDT pair indicates the price of Bitcoin in terms of Tether (USDT), the leading stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Despite the turbulence in the spot market, BitMEX’s derivatives markets, worth billions, remained unaffected.

In response to the incident, BitMEX announced via social media that it had initiated an investigation into the large sell orders. Furthermore, BitMEX reassured its users, stating, “The trading platform is fully functional, and all user funds are secure.”

As mentioned earlier today already – we are investigating unusual activity on our BTC-USDT Spot Market.

This did not affect any of our derivative markets, nor the index price for our popular XBT derivatives contracts.

The trading platform is operating as normal and all funds…

— BitMEX (@BitMEX) March 19, 2024

The development follows Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs of almost $74,000 on Mar. 15, before then dropping to $66,885 on Mar. 15. The world’s first cryptocurrency’s price started skyrocketing following the approval of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETFs) contracts back in January.

The newly-approved ETF contracts have attracted significant attention from market participants, reaching daily net inflows in excess of $1 billion for the first time on Mar. 12.

Featured image: ideogram

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Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is considering Bitcoin (BTC) as a potential investment diversification tool amidst economic and technological changes.

According to a Mar. 19 announcement, the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) of Japan, recognized as the world’s biggest pension fund, is considering Bitcoin as a possible tool for diversification. The GPIF unveiled plans for new long-term investment strategies in light of significant societal and economic shifts, alongside rapid technological advancements.

To address these evolving challenges, the GPIF has initiated a five-year research initiative aimed at discovering innovative investment diversification methods. This initiative places a strong focus on sustainability and managing risks.

Part of this initiative involves the GPIF seeking information on a range of potential diversification instruments, including assets it currently views as illiquid and does not possess. Among those assets there are cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, precious metals such as gold, and other types of assets.

This recent announcement from the GPIF serves as a request for information and does not confirm the fund’s future expansion into any of those assets. The decision to conduct further research will be based on the data gathered through this request.

What is the world’s largest pension fund?

Founded in 2006 by the Japanese government, the GPIF’s investment strategy has traditionally focused on core infrastructure funds, which support essential social and economic activities. The fund diversifies its investments across traditional assets such as domestic and international stocks and bonds, in addition to alternative assets like infrastructure and real estate.

The report highlighted the fund’s goal to leverage its long-term investment horizon for achieving stable and efficient returns, despite short-term market price fluctuations. As of December 2023, GPIF managed assets totaling 225 trillion Japanese yen ($1.54 trillion), securing its position as the largest pension fund globally.

Although GPIF is in the preliminary stages of exploring the inclusion of Bitcoin in its portfolio, some global pension funds have already made moves into Bitcoin-related assets. For instance, in November 2023, South Korea’s National Pension Service announced the acquisition of over 280,000 shares in the U.S.-based Coinbase.

With the approval of the United States Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) by the Securities and Exchange Commission back in January, the world’s first cryptocurrency has gained more credibility which may get major financial institutions on  board. Following the approval, the daily Bitcoin ETF inflows surpassed $1 billion earlier this month.

Featured image: Ideogram

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The Solana (SOL) blockchain has emerged as a major platform for the emergence of new memecoins, signaling the onset of a bullish market trend. This trend was accompanied by a surge in SOL’s price as well, nearing $100.

A standout in this memecoin surge is Slerf (SLERF), which despite its creator accidentally destroying over $10 million in Solana before its debut, quickly soared to a market capitalization of $500 million within just a few hours and then fell again.

Guys I fucked up. I burned the LP and the tokens that were set aside for the airdrop.

Mint authority is already revoked so I can not mint them.

There is nothing I can do to fix this.

I am so fucking sorry.

— Slerf (@Slerfsol) March 18, 2024

As of press time CoinMarketCap data shows that Slerf is trading at $0.51. The 24-hour trading volume also reached nearly $681.6 million, up 3,450% from the $19.21 million reported 24 hours ago.

Before this crash the cryptocurrency rallied from its initial CoinMarketCap price of just under $0,68 to nearly $1.06 before crashing to its current price. The market cap reported by Coingecko also very quickly rose to over $622 million down to $184 million before settling at over $205 million as of press time. All of this activity took place on Mar. 18 as intraday volatility.

The team behind Slerf managed to gather 535,000 SOL for the coin’s launch but inadvertently destroyed $10.4 million in Solana in an attempt to clean their wallet. This surge in memecoin activity has drawn parallels to the Ethereum (ETH) initial coin offering craze of 2017, a period marked by numerous crypto ventures raising significant funds, though most ultimately fell short of their promises.

What are memecoins?

Memecoins, characterized by their origins in internet memes or possessing humorous qualities, in most cases lack practical applications beyond serving as pop culture artifacts. These digital currencies spawned after the introduction of Dogecoin (DOGE) back in 2013 are speculative by nature and are buoyed by dedicated online communities.

Dogecoin gained fame and support from Elon Musk during the 2021 bull market. In 2024, several new memecoins have quickly reached market capitalizations in the billions, creating a wave of crypto millionaires.

The memecoin boom has rekindled memories of the 2017 ICO frenzy, with influencers successfully raising millions for new memecoin ventures. A user on X remarked that the current memecoin craze represents a more transparent iteration of the 2017 ICO and 2021 NFT bubbles, with projects no longer pretending to fulfill unrealistic promises and investors acknowledging their speculative motives.

This meme coin mania is merely a more honest version of the 2017 ICO craze and the 2021 NFT/crypto-art bubble…

Projects no longer have to pretend to deliver on a fake white-paper and investors no longer have to pretend to be in it for the art

Too cynical?

— WhiteRabbit1111 (@WRabbit1111) March 16, 2024

The memecoin phenomenon, while creating overnight millionaires, often results in significant losses for many who invest without fully understanding the lack of inherent value of those assets.

While Solana’s memecoins continue to gain ground, major meme token Shiba Inu (SHIB) has seen many left wondering if it has any life left in it. In our recent market review, we share the predictions of this token’s future by three market analysts.

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President Joe Biden’s proposed 30% tax on crypto mining power faced criticism for potentially harming the industry and erasing investor wealth.

The resurgence in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency values has brought Bitcoin (BTC) back into the spotlight, prompting an unexpected shift in stance from Donald Trump towards cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin’s value recently soared past $71,000, surpassing its 2021 all-time high before dropping well under $70.000. This surge not only spotlighted Bitcoin but spurred growth in the prices of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL). BlackRock — the world’s premier asset management firm — foresees a crypto market expansion to $90 trillion.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden faces criticism for policies perceived as harmful to the crypto industry, potentially erasing billions in investor wealth. In a contentious move, the Biden administration has revisited the idea of imposing a 30% tax on crypto mining operations, which rely on high-energy computing for transaction verification and network security. According to the “General explanation of the administration’s fiscal year 2025 revenue proposals” dated Mar. 11, 2024:

Any firm using computing resources, whether owned by the firm or leased from others, to mine digital assets would be subject to an excise tax equal to 30 percent of the costs of electricity used in digital asset mining.

This proposal, as outlined by the U.S. Treasury in its 2025 revenue plan, could severely impact the mining sector, leading to significant losses in investor value, according to Taras Kulyk of SunnySide Digital:

“Implementing a blanket 30% federal tax on digital mining will certainly kill the sector and wipe out billions of dollars of investor value virtually immediately in the U.S.”

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a crypto advocate, warned that such a tax could decimate the industry’s presence in the U.S. Yet, some interpret the White House’s budget as showing strong confidence in crypto’s revenue-generating potential, suggesting an underlying bullish stance on Bitcoin and digital assets.

The White House 2025 budget is incredibly bullish on crypto assets, some might even say they believe it’s going to the moon.

But a proposed 30% punitive tax on digital asset mining would destroy any foothold the industry has in America.

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) March 11, 2024

Featured image: ideogram

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has advocated for Bitcoin (BTC) as a financial discipline tool, suggesting it could counteract United States deficit spending and echo the fiscal restraint of the gold standard era.

This is (in part) why Bitcoin matters. It’s a return to the gold standard that we left fully in 1971. A return to financial discipline.

Bitcoin will be an important check and balance on excessive deficit spending which is essential to the U.S. and the dollar remaining strong. https://t.co/u4mN5SgPTX

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) March 12, 2024

Robert Sterling, CFO of 20 Dollar Consulting, explained that the United Sates national debt is a symptom of fiscal  expansion. The trend took hold and started accelerating during the Gerge W. Bush administration and never subsided away since then.

Furthermore, the situation was further exacerbated as a consequence of military spending, tax cuts, the Great Recession and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Armstrong commented on this trend by advocating for Bitcoin as a possible solution.

Bitcoin: the new gold standard?

The Coinbase CEO suggested the Bitcoin is a return to how the financial landscape looked up to when in 1971 the Nixon administration abolished the gold standard — one of the causes of the so-called Nixon shock. According to Armstrong, the inability of financial institutions to issue more Bitcoin according to their wishes constitutes “a return to financial discipline.”

The Coinbase CEO believes that Bitcoin could serve as a counterbalance to what he perceives as excessive deficit spending of the United States administration. He also claims that Bitcoin could keep the United States dollar strong.

Still, Armstrong did not explain how Bitcoin would strengthen the dollar or act as a counterbalance to United States’ deficit spending. Eric Voorhees — CEO of instant crypto exchange ShapeShift — voiced his confusion concerning how Bitcoin would achieve anything that was suggested by the Coinbase executive.

How does Bitcoin provide a check and balance on excessive deficit spending?

Very long term, when fiat is gone, I can see how, but while fiat is still a thing, does Bitcoin restrain gov spending at all?

— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) March 13, 2024

Voorhees has gone as far as to suggest that in the long-term Bitcoin could end up keeping public spending in check. Still, he suggested that this could only happen after fiat currency become a thing of the past. This is in stark contrast with the Coinbase CEO’s suggestion that it could instead strengthen the United States dollar.

The debate follows recent reports that El Salvador — the world’s first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender — has seen $84 million in gains from its Bitcoin holdings. The country is also working to launch its “Volcano Bonds” backed by Bitcoin.

Featured Image: Ideogram

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The United States recently approved spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which experienced another day of record-breaking inflows on March 12.

Data gathered from BitMEX Research shows that net inflows for spot bitcoin ETFs surpassed $1 billion. Blackrock’s IBIT product also saw significant activity, registering a record inflow of $849 million shortly after it reported having over 200,000 BTC assets under management earlier in the week.

In terms of Bitcoin, the inflow for the day reached a record-breaking 14,706 BTC, valued at approximately $72,895.52 per Bitcoin. Since January 11, 2024, total net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have amounted to $11.1 billion.

In related metrics, as of the latest data, spot Bitcoin ETFs now account for over 90% of the daily trading volume among ETFs that provide exposure to Bitcoin. This marks a new peak in market share dominance. Conversely, Bitcoin futures ETFs have seen their market share decline to just 10%.

A well-received investment contract

The performance of spot ETFs focused on Bitcoin has been overwhelmingly positive, meeting and exceeding benchmarks across various indicators. During a recent interview, Brian Rudick, a Research Analyst at GSR, told The Block, “The success of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has far exceeded even the most positive forecasts. Their acquisition of over $10 billion in inflows within two months nearly matches what many anticipated for their first year. Potential factors that could drive further inflows include increased sales efforts by issuers, inclusion in wealth manager portfolios, and the normalization of outflows from GBTC.”

The report follows the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delaying decisions on the approval of Bitcoin ETF options for trading. The deferral means another 45 days (the maximum of 90 days under the law) to reach a final decision, which is now set for 24 April.

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Ethereum’s (ETH) development team is all hands on deck, preparing for the highly awaited Dencun update happening today.

This isn’t just another update, this is one of the biggest change implemented on the Ethereum blockchain in over a year. The Dancun name is a combination of the project names Deneb and Cancun, indicating a dual upgrade on Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers that were named this way.

The update is expected to go live around 13:55 UTC and the costs of transactions is expected to then take a dive. The effects should be even more noticeable on the burgeoning number of secondary networks, or layer-2 “rollups,” built on top of Ethereum.

What is Dencun?

At its core, Dencun introduces the long-awaited “proto-danksharding” with Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844. This change is expected to significantly improve the network’s ability to handle the data generated by layer-2 solutions.

The road to Dencun travelled along a bumpy road, with the team originally eyeing a launch in late 2023. However, the implementation was slowed by technical challenges which pushed the target date forward. Still, following test network implementations — which had issues of their own — the roadmap is moving forward once again.

How to follow the Ethereum Decun upgrade?

The Ethereum community is buzzing with excitement, and the EthStaker developer group along with Nethermind, an Ethereum infrastructure firm, are hosting live streams to celebrate Dencun’s debut which you can watch below.

Dencun’s crown jewel is the aforementioned new feature called “proto-danksharding.” It’s introducing a whole new way to store transaction data on Ethereum through so-called “blobs.” Those blobs are then deleted when their data is not necessary anymore, significantly decreasing the strain on network resources and lower costs.

Proto-danksharding is Ethereum’s first attempt at “sharding,” a technique aimed at breaking the blockchain into smaller pieces to process transactions more cheaply. Though a full-blown sharding solution is likely still a few years away, this step could mean high fees can more easily be avoided through layer-2s in the meanwhile.

Moreover, this update will make life easier for a new breed of blockchains known as data availability (DA) layers, which L2s often use to store large quantities of transaction data. Proto-Danksharding could result in cheaper DA data downloads. Polygon’s co-founder, Jordi Baylina, told Coindesk in early March:

Prices should go down… it’s a matter of supply and demand.

The next steps for Ethereum

After Dencun, the team’s eyes will be on the next big thing, currently dubbed Electra + Prague (Petra). The EIPs that will be included in this update are not yet decided, but “Verkle Trees,” a new way to help nodes store data, is being considered. Karl Floersch, the brain behind OP Labs — the company behind the Optimistic Rollups layer-2 implementation Optimism (OP)  — explained:

Scalability is the key that unlocks permissionless collaboration.”

The development follows recent reports that United States-based publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by asset manager Grayscale Investments.

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El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have yielded an unrealized profit of $84 million, with the treasury’s value increasing by 69% to over $206 million due to Bitcoin’s 250% appreciation over the past year.

According to data gathered from NayibTracker, since September 2021, El Salvador has seen its Bitcoin investments swell to an unrealized profit of $84 million. The value of its Bitcoin treasury has soared to more than $206 million.

This marks a 69% increase from El Salvador’s initial investment, thanks to the cryptocurrency’s 250% appreciation over the past year. El Salvador now possesses 2,681 BTC, bought across 12 transactions at an average price of $42,600 each.

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in 2021, following the enactment of the “Bitcoin Law.” This legislation allows for the use of Bitcoin in transactions for goods, services, and taxes within the country. The country is also working to launch its “Volcano Bonds” backed by Bitcoin.

President Nayib Bukele has shared that El Salvador is generating additional Bitcoin revenue through various services. These revenue streams include a citizenship passport program, converting Bitcoin to U.S. dollars for local businesses, proceeds from Bitcoin mining operations and government service fees.

+ #BTC revenue from our passport program
+ Revenue from converting #BTC to USD for local businesses
+ #BTC from mining
+ #BTC revenue from government services https://t.co/O1sjKoJRiq

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 11, 2024

El Salvador also launched the “Freedom VISA” program in December. The program offers residency to up to 1,000 individuals yearly who invest a minimum of $1 million in Bitcoin or Tether (USDT) stablecoins.

Those who qualify are granted long-term residency permits and can eventually apply for full citizenship. Application to the program also costs a non-refundable fee of $999 in either Bitcoin or USDT. Tether announced that the firm will be managing the technical aspects of the project, by providing technology and payment infrastructure.

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Nigerian authorities arrested former United States federal agent and Binance’s criminal investigations team Tigran Gambaryan along with another company official, according to a Wired report published on Tuesday (Mar. 12)

During his tenure as a federal agent in the United States, Tigran Gambaryan played a pivotal role in spearheading significant investigations that led to the apprehension of cryptocurrency criminals, dark-web narcotics vendors, and networks involved in child exploitation financed through crypto.

Following his government service, Gambaryan joined the world’s top cryptocurrency exchange Binance, only to find himself ensnared by a different kind of crypto-focused crackdown by Nigerian authorities. For the last two weeks, Gambaryan and another executive from Binance have been forcibly detained by Nigerian officials.

Why is Nigeria cracking down on Binance?

Since the 26th of February, Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla — the regional manager for Africa based in Kenya — have been held at a government facility in Abuja, Nigeria, without their passports. They have not been formally charged or informed of any criminal allegations against them, according to their relatives.

It appears their detention is part of Nigeria’s sweeping measures to prohibit cryptocurrency exchanges amidst a significant devaluation of the Nigerian currency, as initially reported by the Financial Times, which covered their detention without naming the executives.

Gambaryan, a U.S. citizen, and Anjarwalla, who holds dual citizenship in the UK and Kenya, arrived in Abuja on the invitation of the Nigerian government to discuss the ongoing ban on Binance and other crypto exchanges. This ban was implemented as the exchanges were accused of contributing to the devaluation of the Nigerian naira and facilitating illegal financial flows.

Following their initial meeting with Nigerian officials, they were taken from their hotels, instructed to pack up, and relocated to a “guesthouse” under the administration of Nigeria’s National Security Agency, where they remain detained.

Both Gambaryan and Anjarwalla have received visits from officials from the U.S. State Department and the UK foreign office, respectively, but their meetings were overseen by Nigerian guards, preventing any private conversation. Binance has refrained from commenting on the specifics of the accusations or the demands made by the Nigerian government for their release, emphasizing ongoing cooperation with Nigerian authorities to ensure the executives’ safe return to their families.

Gambaryan’s recruitment by Binance in 2021 was seen as a move to enhance the exchange’s compliance with regulations and its collaboration with law enforcement, given his achievements in cryptocurrency investigations with the IRS Criminal Investigation division. His work included leading significant cases against corrupt federal agents, tracking down stolen Bitcoin, and dismantling criminal networks funded by cryptocurrency.

The news comes on the heels of Binance recently putting a stop to its cryptocurrency services in Nigeria. This is not the first time that local authorities put pressure on the crypto industry, with a previous ban having been lifted by the Central Bank of Nigeria at the end of 2023.

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During the Asian trading session on Monday, Bitcoin (BTC) soared past $71,000 for the first time in history.

This surge comes on the heels of the U.S.’s approval of spot Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) back in January, propelling the cryptocurrency to breach the $70,000 mark last week for the first time. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) surpassed the $4,000 milestone on Monday. Now companies are looking to do the same with Ethereum.

The rally resulted in the three-month futures premium on leading exchanges, such as Binance, climbing above 25%. This premium increase could entice cash-and-carry traders, potentially enhancing market liquidity.

What’s causing the Bitcoin price to rise?

The surge in prices closely followed the London Stock Exchange’s recent openness to Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded notes (ETNs) applications and the low liquidity of the Asian markets.

In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced on Monday that it would start accepting institutional investors’ applications for crypto asset-backed ETNs, with the London Stock Exchange confirming its readiness to process applications for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETNs in the coming quarter.

FCA’s approval of crypto ETNs represents a significant development in the financial and cryptocurrency markets. This approval implies that these financial instruments, which track the performance of cryptocurrencies, can be traded on regulated exchanges and offered to retail and institutional investors in the UK.

As a direct consequence, it could lead to an increase in the accessibility of cryptocurrencies to a broader range of investors who prefer or are required to invest through regulated venues. This could enhance the legitimacy and acceptance of cryptocurrencies as an investable asset class, potentially leading to increased investment flows into the crypto market as time goes on.

Additionally, the regulatory oversight associated with FCA approval may help to improve investor confidence by ensuring that crypto ETNs adhere to specific standards of transparency, reporting, and consumer protection. This step might also pave the way for further regulatory clarity and the development of additional crypto-related financial products in the UK market.

Featured image: Ideogram

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United States-based publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by asset manager Grayscale Investments.

According to recently filed documents, the crypto exchange described the proposed product to the regulator that Grayscale filed for back in October. If accepted, the proposal would convert the Grayscale Ethereum Trust close-ended fund into a spot ETF.

Coinbase’s presentation also addressed concerns of market manipulation, and claimed that a “comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will assist in surveilling for fraud and manipulation.” The document reads:

Spot markets for ETH are highly indicative of a market resilient to fraud and manipulation. […]

As with Bitcoin, the Exchange’s comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreeement with the CME will assist in surveilling for fraud and manipulation.”

The report follows the SEC approving eleven Bitcoin spot ETFs back in January. At the time, SEC chairman Gary Gensler stated that “investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”

Nate Geraci — president of investment advisor ETFStore — argued that the SEC would have a hard time finding reasons to disapprove a spot Ethereum ETF. He explained that Coinbase’s analysis found a correlation between the Ethereum future and spot market that is as strong as that found in Bitcoin markets. Furthermore, he highlighted that the SEC also already approved a futures-based ETF by the CME.

Coinbase analysis shows correlation b/w ether futures & spot markets every bit as strong as w/ bitcoin markets…

Add-in that SEC approved CME-traded ether futures ETFs and I’m not sure what grounds for disapproval of spot ether ETFs would be.

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) March 8, 2024

Why is an Ethereum ETF a big deal?

The introduction of an Ethereum spot ETF to the market would represent a significant development with multifaceted implications. Primarily, it would enhance the accessibility of Ethereum for institutional investors, offering a pathway to investment that bypasses the complexities and security concerns associated with direct cryptocurrency ownership. This streamlined access is expected by many to bolster Ethereum’s market presence by attracting substantial institutional capital.

Furthermore, the market would likely see an improvement in Ethereum’s liquidity. An ETF facilitates easier buying and selling of its underlying asset, in this case, Ethereum, thereby reducing the impact of large trades on the asset’s price. Such liquidity is crucial for the health of a market as it attracts a broader investor base by decreasing slippage.

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According to Reuters, Dutch digital mapping company TomTom announced an exciting new partnership with tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) powered conversational assistant for vehicles. This assistant utilizes Microsoft’s advanced Azure OpenAI service and allows drivers to “converse naturally with their vehicles,” interacting through voice with features like infotainment, navigation, and vehicle commands.

As vehicles become more advanced, automakers have been focused on integrating smart assistant technology into dashboards. Voice-powered assistants like Alexa and Siri have become ubiquitous in our homes and phones, so it’s a logical next step to bring similar functionality into our cars to handle tasks while driving. This allows drivers to access useful features while keeping their eyes on the road.

Microsoft Brings the AI Power

To create an assistant that can handle natural conversations, vast amounts of data and immense computing power is needed. This is where Microsoft lent its capabilities through Azure OpenAI Service, providing access to the advanced language models created by leading AI research company OpenAI (the maker of ChatGPT). The cutting-edge AI can understand context and hold conversations – perfect for an in-vehicle assistant.

While TomTom could have integrated an existing voice assistant like Alexa, it chose instead to custom-build one explicitly optimized for the automotive environment. As a digital mapping pioneer with over 25 years in navigation and location technology, TomTom has the specialized expertise to tailor the AI assistant to handle driving-related requests through voice interactions.

The conversational assistant can provide quick access to useful in-car features by just using your voice. Ask for directions, queue up your favorite playlist, adjust vehicle settings, and more without ever taking your eyes off the road. This promises a safer and more convenient driving experience. TomTom can integrate the assistant with vehicle infotainment systems across multiple automotive brands.

This launch builds on an ongoing multi-year partnership between TomTom and Microsoft focused on pushing AI and location technology innovations. TomTom began utilizing Azure cloud tools in 2016 to power its maps and navigation products. With this latest AI assistant, TomTom continues to discover new ways Microsoft’s leading AI capabilities can enhance its offerings.

Featured Image Credit: Erik Mclean; Pexels

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Instagram rolled out its new AI-generated background editing tool to U.S.-based users. The feature, powered by generative AI, allows users to transform the backgrounds in their Instagram stories and photos through text prompts.

The background editor is being spearheaded by Ahmad Al-Dahle, Meta’s lead for generative AI. In an announcement post on Threads, Al-Dahle said the tool will enable users to prompt changes to their story backgrounds, opening up creative new possibilities.

“With backdrop, you can reimagine your image’s background with just a few taps and a prompt like ‘chased by dinosaurs’ or ‘surrounded by puppies’ to create an entirely new image for your Story. Tap the button for a backdrop at the top of a new Story to get started,’” Al-Dahle wrote. Users can also write their own custom prompts.

Now you can try the Instagram “Try it” stickers

Once posted to stories, the AI-generated backgrounds will feature a “Try it” sticker so other users can test out the same text prompts on their own images.

The launch builds on Instagram’s growing suite of AI offerings, including creative tools already available on Snapchat and other Meta platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp. Earlier this month, Meta rolled out a similar AI image generator called Imagine, while Snapchat unveiled paid features enabling users to create fantasy-themed photos.

As AI image generation technology advances, social platforms are racing to bake the functionality into their apps. Instagram hopes features like the background editor will set it apart, though ethical concerns around deepfakes continue to swirl around AI-powered creative tools.

Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence capable of creating new content on its own instead of merely analyzing existing content. The “generative” part refers to the fact that these AI systems can generate brand-new images, text, audio, video, and other data that have never existed before.

Generative AI relies on deep learning algorithms, specifically on a subset of AI approaches known as neural networks. To learn patterns and concepts, these neural nets are trained on vast datasets – sometimes containing millions or billions of examples. Once the generative AI model has been sufficiently trained, it can use its learnings to produce novel, original creations based on what it has detected within its training data.

Featured Image: Photo by Pixabay; Pexels

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OpenAI, the leading company behind the viral ChatGPT AI chatbot, announced a new partnership with Axel Springer, one of the world’s biggest news publishers.

The collaboration aims to enhance ChatGPT’s knowledge and capabilities around current events and real-time information.

Under the deal, Axel Springer will provide summaries and extracts from its reporting to OpenAI, including articles from major titles like Politico, Business Insider, BILD, and WELT. OpenAI plans to use this content to train its AI systems, as well as surface relevant Axel Springer articles to ChatGPT users when they ask questions tied to recent news.

The summaries provided to ChatGPT will contain attribution back to the full Axel Springer articles, essentially providing publicity and traffic for the publisher. Users will also be able to ask ChatGPT questions that reference the information contained across the German media conglomerate’s journalism brands.

OpenAI and Axel Springer bring news to ChatGPT

The collaboration appears aimed at addressing one of the main criticisms of ChatGPT — its lack of up-to-date knowledge on current events. Services like xAI’s new Grok chatbot boast more real-time intelligence by tapping social media data streams. By licensing recent and archival content from major newsrooms, OpenAI hopes to match and exceed these capabilities.

The Springer deal builds on past OpenAI partnerships with the Associated Press and American Journalism Project to train AI models using journalism. As OpenAI continues to face questions around copyright infringement for scraping content without consent, licensing agreements with major publishers provide legal coverage — but also draw criticism around fairness and compensation for smaller sources.

While the partnership provides clear financial value to Springer, questions remain whether it’s ethical for OpenAI to strike such deals with large publishers while scraping content from independent creators and denying compensation. Striking the right balance around sourcing training data continues to be a complex challenge for even the most well-resourced AI companies.

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The world’s most popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) is getting “lazy” as the winter draws in – that’s the claim from some astute ChatGPT users.

According to a recent ArsTechnica report in late November, users of ChatGPT, the AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s natural language model GPT-4, began noticing something strange. In response to certain requests, GPT-4 was refusing to complete tasks or providing simplified “lazy” answers instead of the typically detailed responses.

OpenAI acknowledged the issue but claimed they did not intentionally update the model. Some now speculate this laziness may be an unintended consequence of GPT-4 mimicking seasonal human behavior changes.

Dubbed the “winter break hypothesis,” the theory suggests that because GPT-4 is fed the current date, it has learned from its vast training data that people tend to wrap up big projects and slow down in December. Researchers are urgently investigating whether this seemingly absurd idea holds weight. The fact it’s being taken seriously underscores the unpredictable and human-like nature of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4.

On November 24th, a Reddit user reported asking GPT-4 to populate a large CSV file, but it only provided one entry as a template. On December 1st, OpenAI’s Will Depue confirmed awareness of “laziness issues” related to “over-refusals” and committed to fixing them.

Some argue GPT-4 was always sporadically “lazy,” and recent observations are merely confirmation bias. However, the timing of users noticing more refusals after the November 11th update to GPT-4 Turbo is interesting if coincidental and some assumed it was a new method for OpenAI to save on computing.

Entertaining the “Winter Break” theory

On December 9, developer Rob Lynch found GPT-4 generated 4,086 characters when given a December date prompt versus 4,298 for a May date. Although AI researcher Ian Arawjo couldn’t reproduce Lynch’s results to a statistically significant degree, the subjective nature of sampling bias with LLMs makes reproducibility notoriously difficult. As researchers rush to investigate, the theory continues intriguing the AI community.

Geoffrey Litt of Anthropic, Claude’s creator, called it “the funniest theory ever,” yet admitted it’s challenging to rule out given all the weird ways LLMs react to human-style prompting and encouragement, as shown by the increasingly weird prompts. For example, research shows GPT models produce improved math scores when told to “take a deep breath,” while the promise of a “tip” lengthens completions. The lack of transparency around potential changes to GPT-4 makes even unlikely theories worth exploring.

This episode demonstrates the unpredictability of large language models and the new methodologies required to understand their ever-emergent capabilities and limitations. It also shows the global collaboration underway to urgently assess AI advances that impact society. Finally, it’s a reminder that today’s LLMs still require extensive supervision and testing before being responsibly deployed in real-world applications.

The “winter break hypothesis” behind GPT-4’s apparent seasonal laziness may prove false or offer new insights that improve future iterations. Either way, this curious case exemplifies the strangely anthropomorphic nature of AI systems and the priority of understanding risks alongside pursuing rapid innovations.

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Online video platform Rumble is cracking down on Media Matters with a new lawsuit targeting people connected to the left-leaning website.

The suit from the video-sharing platform, popular with free speech advocates, alleges the non-profit media watchdog group engaged in misleading and unethical practices to damage its business.

The lawsuit filed on Nov 29, centers around Media Matters’ alleged strategy of repeatedly refreshing controversial videos on sites it aims to take down to capture major brand advertisements running adjacent to the content.

According to Rumble’s recent court filings, two individuals who run ‘Check my ads’ created fake profiles, sought out objectionable user-uploaded videos, and refreshed the pages multiple times until they could capture screenshots showing ads from high-profile brands next to the offending content. The data they collected was then used by Media Matters to call on big brands to avoid Rumble.

THREAD: Rumble is suing two individual Plaintiffs who run "Check my Ads" in connection with Media Matters. They are seeking punitive damages and an injunction to stop their conduct, among other things.

This will be my ongoing thread analyzing this lawsuit. Please bookmark it,… pic.twitter.com/QrKnx5w6JQ

— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) December 12, 2023

Rumble said this strategy caused some brands, including Netflix, to pull their advertising spending on its platform after Media Matters showed them the controversially placed ads. The video platform called the tactics “unethical” and said the two defendants Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin deliberately tried to damage sites it deemed controversial by orchestrating the ad placements.

Rumble’s legal action comes on the heels of the group’s parent company, X Corp, filing what owner CEO Elon Musk called a “thermonuclear” lawsuit against Media Matters last month. X Corp alleged Media Matters executed a similar “refresh” tactic on its platform to capture brand ads next to antisemitic content.

The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company pic.twitter.com/55vl7PspaQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2023

The lawsuit claims Media Matters then showed the screenshots to companies like Apple and IBM to prompt them to suspend their advertising partnerships with X Corp.

X Corp said Media Matters’ actions suppressed its free speech rights. Legal experts project X Corp may seek billions of dollars in damages from the media group.

Between the high-profile lawsuits from internet media giants Rumble and X Corp, Media Matters faces growing scrutiny and liability over its controversial editorial tactics. The non-profit will need to answer for its allegedly unethical practices in court in the months ahead.

Media Matters fights back

That’s not the end of the lawsuits. Media Matters is suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after he opened an investigation into their reporting of  X.

In the lawsuit, the non-profit alleges that Mr Paxton’s “retaliatory” investigation is unlawful and violates its First Amendment rights.

Lawyers for Media Matters said: “The chill imposed by his retaliatory scheme injures Plaintiffs’ ability to investigate and publish news stories and further chills their ability to participate in a robust public discussion around political extremism on the X platform”.

In an interview with Reuters after Musk filed his lawsuit, Angelo Carusone, the Media Matters president, said the non-profit’s findings flew in the face of X’s statements that it had introduced safety protections to prevent ads from appearing next to harmful content.

“If you search for white nationalist content, there are ads flourishing. The system they say exists is not operating as such,” he said.

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In November 2022, the cybersecurity group vx-underground claimed on social media that unknown hackers had breached the now-defunct Bitcoin ATM provider Coin Cloud, according to a recent TechCrunch report. According to vx-underground, the hackers said they stole 70,000 customer photos and the personal data of 300,000 customers. This sensitive personal information allegedly included social security numbers, dates of birth, full names, email addresses, phone numbers, occupations, physical addresses, and more.

However, over a month later, many questions remain unanswered about this alleged hack. Nobody has publicly taken credit for the reported breach and details remain scarce, even to Coin Cloud’s new owner, Bitcoin ATM.

Coin Cloud filed for bankruptcy in February 2022 after operating thousands of cryptocurrency ATMs across the U.S. and Brazil. In July, the assets of Coin Cloud were acquired by Bitcoin ATM, a company owned by Andrew Barnard, who also owns another crypto ATM provider, Bitstop.

The company launched an investigation into the Coin Cloud system

Barnard told TechCrunch that upon learning of the vx-underground claims, his company launched an investigation into the Coin Cloud systems but found no concrete evidence of a recent breach. Barnard believes outdated Coin Cloud systems were breached multiple times in the past by various actors. He assumes the allegedly stolen customer data is from one of those previous attacks.

A former Coin Cloud employee we spoke to raised concerns about Coin Cloud’s poor security practices during its operational years before bankruptcy. They claim Coin Cloud had no dedicated security team, stored customer data in unencrypted plaintext, and was hacked at least once in 2022.

WithCoin Cloud’s systems and infrastructure now defunct after bankruptcy proceedings, Barnard admits it’s virtually impossible to determine precisely when or how the reported hack occurred. The culprits behind the alleged data breach remain shrouded in uncertainty.

While the vx-underground claims have not been definitively proven, they raise troubling questions about how the sensitive personal information of hundreds of thousands of Coin Cloud customers may have been compromised – and whether new owner Bitcoin ATM can prevent further data leaks. For now, the true scale and impact of the reported Coin Cloud hack continue to mystify.

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El Salvador’s ambitious plan to issue $1 billion in sovereign “Volcano Bonds” backed by Bitcoin has cleared a significant obstacle, bringing the pioneering offering closer to fruition, according to a recent Coindesk report. The country’s nascent Digital Assets Commission (CNAD) has granted regulatory approval for the bonds issued in early 2024 through Bitfinex Securities.

The approval represents a watershed moment for the experimental bonds first unveiled by President Nayib Bukele in 2021 following his government’s historic adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender. Enshrined in legislation passed by a vast parliamentary majority, the bonds are intended to allow El Salvador to tap financial markets to build a geothermal-powered Bitcoin mining ecosystem.

Initially slated for issuance in 2022, complications surrounding El Salvador’s negotiations with the IMF and designing a unique regulatory framework for the asset-backed offering delayed the bonds. Receiving the green light from CNAD, established in 2021 to govern El Salvador’s crypto industry, is seen as an affirmation that the country has managed to construct a robust architecture for crypto financial innovation.

El Salvador is positioning itself at the bleeding edge of digital asset adoption.

Positioning itself at the bleeding edge of digital asset adoption, El Salvador is moving forward with the bonds despite Bitcoin’s price volatility and the collapse of FTX demonstrating crypto’s risks. The Bukele administration views pioneering government adoption as a differentiator that enhances El Salvador’s investment attractiveness.

If successfully executed, the value of the bonds will be hedged to price stability while offering an attractive 6.5% coupon paid out in US dollars. The underlying bitcoin will be held in a transparent public wallet open to scrutiny, with El Salvador legally bound to redeem the bonds in traditional currency.

The issuance still faces challenges, like drumming up $1 billion in investment for an unproven crypto instrument issued by a developing economy. However, by clearing regulatory barriers, the Volcano Bonds have taken a major leap toward introducing the globe’s inaugural Bitcoin-backed sovereign debt.

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In his first public appearance since regaining control of artificial intelligence (AI) startup OpenAI last week, co-founder and CEO Sam Altman spoke in defense of the company’s exploratory approach to developing AI technology, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

Addressing a conference hosted by rights organization Operation Hope in Atlanta on Monday, Altman stated “It’s going to lift the world up,” referring to AI’s potential, but stressed the importance of pushing boundaries safely to realize its benefits across healthcare, education, and more.

The comments come on the heels of recent turmoil in OpenAI’s leadership after Altman was briefly ousted as CEO in what he called a “coup attempt.” Concerns over the speed of development on OpenAI products like ChatGPT sparked the coup, stunning Silicon Valley. However, after investor and employee backlash, Altman was reinstated days later and most previous board members exited.

Altman acknowledged anxieties around AI being misused, saying “you don’t need much imagination because we grew up with that in the media.” But he defended OpenAI’s open, deploy-focused approach as key to developing the technology safely, rather than in secret.

Details around OpenAI’s new board and governance plans were not provided, and signs of ongoing differences with co-founder Ilya Sutskever remain after his opposition to Altman’s return.

The recent events have amplified scrutiny on AI advancements enabled by OpenAI that could reshape industries but also carry risks around military uses and other dangers according to experts.

Altman stated that “people have a lot of anxiety, and I get that,” referring to current societal apprehensions about advanced AI. He announced plans to co-chair a new AI ethics council with conference host John Hope Bryant as part of efforts to responsibly shape the emerging technology.

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Shiprocket, an Indian logistics and shipping software startup, is currently in funding talks with venture capital firm Tribe Capital. According to an anonymous source familiar with the matter cited in a recent TechCrunch report, Tribe Capital is deliberating leading a $75-100 million investment into Shiprocket.

The funding talks are said to be ongoing, and the final terms may change, two people close to the discussions stated under the condition of anonymity due to the private nature of the talks. Both Tribe Capital and Shiprocket declined to comment when asked about the funding rumors.

New Delhi-based Shiprocket operates an e-commerce-focused logistics and shipping software solution targeted at courier services. Its platform utilizes a machine learning-powered data engine to recommend optimal couriers for businesses and handle tasks like printing shipping labels and tracking orders through a centralized interface. This enables companies to efficiently manage shipping and returns.

Shiprocket’s growing list of backers

Shiprocket already counts prominent investors like Temasek and Indian food delivery service Zomato among its backers. According to an internal company document reviewed by TechCrunch, Shiprocket is aiming to become IPO-ready within the next 12-18 months. As of September 2022, its annualized revenue run rate exceeded $165 million.

The company currently works with over 250,000 merchants across India who process around 200 million transactions annually through the platform. Shiprocket is planning to expand its financial offerings for merchants, including services like financing options and buy now, pay later for consumers.

The internal document projects Shiprocket’s revenue run rate to reach around $500 million by the end of 2025. Another anonymous source revealed plans to grow Shiprocket’s cross-border shipping capabilities and checkout offerings as well.

As an existing investor, Tribe Capital seems intent on increasing its India investments. In an interview earlier this year, Tribe Capital’s leader Arjun Sethi told Economic Times that the firm seeks to raise a new $250 million India-focused fund.

The talks come during a funding slowdown across Indian startups. 2023 has seen just $7 billion invested into Indian startups year-to-date according to Tracxn, an over 70% year-over-year decline from 2022 levels. Late-stage mega-rounds above $100 million are down almost 70% compared to last year.

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