Day: October 18, 2023

Crypto-Terrorism Concerns? Senator Warren And 100 Lawmakers Push Biden For Swift Response

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In the middle of escalating tensions between Israel and Hamas, over 100 legislators, led by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall and Representative Sean Casten, have issued a bipartisan note urging the Biden administration to address alleged close relations between crypto and terrorism.  The lawmakers express alarm over reported evidence suggesting that Hamas successfully evaded US sanctions, acquiring millions of dollars through crypto assets. They are now pressing the administration to clarify its strategy for tackling this critical national security threat. Lawmakers Sound Alarm On Crypto-Financed Terrorism The bipartisan letter, addressed…

OpenAI partners with G42 in Dubai eyeing Middle East expansion

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OpenAI, the maker of popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, and Dubai-based technology holding group G42 announced a new partnership on Oct. 18 to expand AI capabilities in the Middle East region.  The two companies plan to leverage OpenAI’s generative AI models in sectors of G42’s expertise, including financial services, energy, healthcare and public services. G42 said that organizations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other regions using its business solutions should now have a more simplified process of integrating advanced AI capabilities into existing businesses. It said it…

How a Crypto Fraud Gave Florida Its First Forward Party Candidate

He also created a mysterious corporate entity called “Government Blockchain Systems LLC,” which had only the tax collector’s office as a client, and hired a convicted real-estate scam artist named Keith Ingersoll to acquire property for the office. This employee, Ingersoll had connections to a fraudulent $15 million initial coin offering scheme called Organic Fresh Coin, which never publicly distributed a digital asset. Source

financial forensic report exposes FTX $9.3b money trail

Following evidence of political affiliations unearthed by an FBI agent, a government witness in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial provided financial analysis pointing to conspiracy and fraud based on FTX and Alameda’s bank records. An FBI analyst plus a former FTX and Alameda executive testified to Bankman-Fried’s courting of the political class which evidence suggests was funded with user deposits.  Prior testimonies from the first and second weeks of the trial backed up these claims, with additional accounts that said Bankman-Fried spearheaded fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and campaign finance violations. The…

Just how bullish is the Bitcoin halving for BTC price? Experts debate

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A recent panel at the Swan Pacific Bitcoin festival was cleverly titled, “Are halving price cycles bullshit?” Throughout the discussion, host and founder of the Bitcoin Layer Nik Bhatia asked Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel, Swan CIO Ralph Zagury and Swan product manager Andy Edstrom to share their thoughts on whether the Bitcoin halving is truly a bullish event or just another narrative that novice investors buy into.  While the panel’s headline might be offputting for some, the inquiry is of great interest to all manner of Bitcoin (BTC) and…

Inspector General wants FDIC to refine crypto risk assessment process, guidance

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The Inspector General’s Office (OIG) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the independent United States government body that provides deposit insurance to commercial and savings banks, has published an evaluation report on the corporation’s crypto asset risk strategy. A redacted version of the report has been released to the public.  The FDIC adopted a “bottom up” approach to crypto risk in early 2022, the OIG said. That approach consists of understanding supervised institutions’ crypto-related activities, providing case-by-case supervisory feedback and “providing broader industry guidance on an interagency basis.” To…

Why Are DeFi Users Worried About This Feature?

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Devin Walsh, Executive Director of the Uniswap Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the growth and decentralization of the Uniswap decentralized exchange (DEX), believes that Uniswap is decentralizing. Walsh even compares the current state of the DEX to that of Ethereum. The executive also acknowledged that the DEX’s current level of success is due to the active participation and contribution of the developer community. Uniswap Becoming More Decentralized? The Executive Director responded to a thread on X where Antonio Juliano, the founder of dYxX, a layer-2 DEX on Ethereum, insinuated that Uniswap is…

Universal Music Group enters partnership to protect artists’ rights against AI violations

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Universal Music Group (UMG) announced a new partnership with social music creation platform BandLab Technologies on Oct. 18 to promote responsible practices with artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry.  The partnership focuses on the “ethical use of AI,” with one of the main goals being to protect the rights of artists and songwriters. Michael Nash, executive vice president and chief digital officer of UMG, added: “This is more important than ever right now as AI assumes an increasingly prominent place in the evolution of music creation tools.” Nash commented that…

Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is telling a story of classic financial deceit

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The courtroom drama unfolding around FTX founder and former CSam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has all the ingredients of a binge-worthy Netflix series, replete with a cast of shady characters and a plot that thickens with each passing day. Among the highlights were SBF’s lofty presidential ambitions and a staggering $100-150 million bribe to Chinese officials, which add a surreal twist to the narrative. If SBF aimed to script a thrilling courtroom drama for his Netflix debut, he’s nailed it. However, when it comes to establishing his innocence, the plot leaves much to…