Day: August 18, 2023

IBM Watson team leader raises $60M for AI startup Elemental Cognition

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David Ferrucci, the artificial intelligence (AI) researcher who led the team behind IBM Watson’s development — the question-answering supercomputer developed by IBM — has raised nearly $60 million for his Elemental Cognition AI startup. According to a submission on Aug. 17, the company has finalized equity sales amounting to $59.95 million from 17 investors, with additional plans to secure $5.75 million in funding. Based in the Helmsley Building in New York, Elemental aims to create AI with advanced reasoning capabilities. The company provides two enterprise chatbot solutions, Cogent and Cora, which are…

Creditors of Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius Will Vote on Bankruptcy-Escape Plan

Creditors will be sent ballots to vote on the plan, involving the sale of assets to a consortium including Arrington Capital and miner U.S. Bitcoin Corp, between Aug. 24 and Sept. 22. Returns for creditors – which will largely be done in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) – could range from 67% for Earn Account holders to 85.6% for those participating in Celsius’ Borrow Program, compared to just 47% for a liquidation of assets, court filings said. Source

Mastercard Partners With Ripple, XRP Dips Below Pre-SEC Ruling

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In a significant move signaling the growing importance of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in global financial systems, Mastercard has announced a strategic partnership with several blockchain companies, including Ripple. Meanwhile, the XRP price took a nosedive in the past 24 hours, falling 14.3% amidst the marketwide downturn. Ripple Partners With Mastercard Unveiling its CBDC Partner Program, Mastercard emphasized its intent to work with leading figures in the CBDC ecosystem. The objective: to offer central banks a comprehensive understanding of CBDCs and their potential for redefining the future monetary systems.…

HUAWEI CLOUD and COBO Announce Strategic Blockchain Partnership in Asia

HUAWEI CLOUD, the cloud service division of global technology titan Huawei, has officially entered into a “Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)” with COBO, a frontrunner in digital asset custody solutions. This landmark announcement was made during an exclusive, closed-door event. The collaboration between HUAWEI CLOUD and COBO is not just a partnership but a shared vision. Both entities are striving to accelerate the adoption and evolution of blockchain technology across Asia. HUAWEI, with its extensive experience spanning over three decades in ICT infrastructure products and solutions, has always been at the…

Cypher Protocol reveals $600K of stolen funds is now frozen on CEXs

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Solana-based decentralized futures exchange Cypher Protocol has managed to freeze $600,000 worth of crypto stolen from an Aug. 7 security exploit. In an X (Twitter) post on Aug. 18, Cypher Protocol reported that more than half of the funds stolen have been successfully frozen across centralized exchanges with the help of several independent blockchain investigators. “The return of these funds will be predicated on the cooperation of these CEXs and seizure warrants being issued by law enforcement,” it said. update from cypher ~$600k has been frozen across CEXs, the return…

Crypto firm Helio Lending gets bond sentence over false license claims

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Australia-based crypto lender Helio Lending has been sentenced to a non-conviction good behavior bond for a year for falsely claiming it had a local credit license. On Aug. 17, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said Helio was sentenced to the good-behavior bond for a year, having to pay $9,600 (15,000 Australian dollars) if broken. Good behavior bonds are often granted for less serious offenses. A non-conviction good behavior bond will mean Helios will only be convicted if it breaks its bond, and will have to pay the $9,600.…

BitGo valued at $1.75b after $100m funding round

Share Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Telegram Copy Link Link copied The Palo Alto-based security infrastructure and custodian firm, BitGo, secured a $100 million Series C funding round. This put the company at a $1.75 billion valuation. According to the press release, despite the regulatory differences, BitGo is already regulated in 50 countries. The US-based firm, founded in 2013, witnessed its clients rise by 60% in 2023 while its assets under custody (AUC) grew by 20%.  Moreover, BitGo’s staked assets also rose 40 times. The digital asset…

XRP Price Crashes Over 20%, Why Breakdown Looks Real Deal

Ripple’s token price is down over 20% against the US Dollar. XRP price is gaining bearish momentum and might revisit the $0.40 zone. Ripple’s token price is moving lower from the $0.620 resistance against the US dollar. The price is now trading below $0.55 and the 100 simple moving average (4 hours). There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $0.585 on the 4-hour chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The pair might continue to decline toward the $0.42 and $0.40 levels. Ripple’s Token…

Ethereum Price Trend Overwhelmingly Negative As Bears Aim $1,500

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Ethereum price declined heavily below $1,800 and $1,700 against the US Dollar. ETH could resume its decline and test the $1,500 support zone. Ethereum is gaining bearish momentum below the $1,750 and $1,800 resistance levels. The price is trading below $1,750 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance near $1,750 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could resume its decline and visit the $1,500 support in the near term. Ethereum Price Nosedives Ethereum’s price started…