Kazakh crypto miners plead with president to cut energy prices

Local crypto-mining operators in Kazakhstan — the world’s third-largest market in terms of Bitcoin mining hash rate — are complaining about high energy prices to the country’s president.  According to local media, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators signed an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The list includes BCD Company, TT TECH Limited, KZ Systems, AI Solutions, Green Power Solution, VerCom and Kinur Invest. Related: Kazakhstan establishes regulatory agency to implement CBDC The letter states that the Kazakh crypto mining industry is in a “very distressful situation” because of high…

Neal Stephenson’s blockchain project holds discovery month as metaverse hype wanes

The blockchain project launched by Neal Stephenson, who coined the term “metaverse” in his 1992 book Snow Crash, is pushing forward with its vision despite the lower interest in the metaverse and some declaring that it’s “dead.”  Compared to its peak in 2021 and 2022, search interest for the metaverse has declined in 2023, according to data from Google Trends. The lowering interest in the metaverse has also led some to declare that the metaverse hype is dead. Global search interest for the keyword “metaverse.” Source: Google Trends Despite the…

Kenya’s Parliamentary Committee Calls for Shutdown of Worldcoin

Kenya’s parliamentary committee has advised Kenyan authorities to take action by shutting down Worldcoin’s virtual platforms and conducting a thorough investigation into the company. The iris biometric cryptocurrency project Worldcoin has recently come under the scanner as the parliamentary committee of the government in Kenya is now investigating the project. The committee has asked regulators to shut down the project’s operations in the country. As per the report released last week on September 30 by Kenya’s parliament, Worldcoin has started collecting the personal data of Kenya’s residents. this was in…

Paris Hilton Signs Exclusive Content Deal with X Platform to Feature Live Shopping

The revenue-sharing deal will be beneficial for both Paris Hilton who has 16.6 million followers on X and the social media company whose experience of exclusive content agreement is the first of its kind. Elon Musk‘s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has signed an exclusive content deal with Paris Hilton and her 11:11 Media company. Within their unique two-year agreement, the pop music star will create four original video programs for the X platform per year. The content will include live-shopping broadcasts, Spaces audio chats, and “a host of new activations…

Tom Hanks, MrBeast and other celebrities warn over AI deep fake scams

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a major talking point in Hollywood throughout 2023 and continues to be so as multiple celebrities have come forth denouncing the use of the likeness in AI deep fakes.  Actor Tom Hanks, YouTube personality MrBeast and American broadcast journalist Gayle King have all recently tried to put an end to deep fakes of themselves. Hanks was the first of the three to identify the AI deep fake of himself after he posted a screenshot of the video on his Instagram page on Oct. 1, saying…

Chainalysis Reduces Staff by 15% Due to Challenging Market Conditions

The crypto industry as a whole has experienced numerous job cuts in response to poor market conditions. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has reduced its staff by 15%, affecting approximately 150 employees as it grapples with the ongoing market downturn in the crypto industry. The job reduction marks the second round of layoffs for the company in 2023. The company’s CEO Michael Gronager informed employees of the decision in an email, stating that the cuts are primarily aimed at reorienting the company’s focus away from the commercial market and towards government…

Adidas and Moncler Announce Strategic Collaboration to Enhance Co-creation via Campaign The Art of Explorers

The collaboration between Adidas and Moncler is meant to help both companies increase their sales volume amid heightened competition from other clothing companies. Leading athletic apparel and footwear cooperation Adidas AG (WSR: ADS) announced a strategic partnership with Moncler SpA (BIT: MONC), an established clothing company that produces and distributes its products, to enhance the art of co-creation in a campaign dubbed the Art of Explorers. According to the announcement, Moncler and Adidas Originals’ new collection will be enhanced by a series of AI-generated products coupled with a collection of…

How Solana Outperformed 2 Top Altcoins; Ripple Effect On Prices

Solana (SOL) has emerged as a standout performer in the recent crypto market rally, catching the attention of investors and analysts alike. The entire cryptocurrency market has been on a bullish streak, with most digital assets turning green on the charts. However, Solana has managed to stand out by achieving an unprecedented increase in its price. At the time of writing, SOL was trading at $23.54 on CoinGecko and boasted a market capitalization near $10 billion. While the coin did register a 1.6% loss in the past 24 hours, its…