According to Starkware, the Madara sequencer allows for the creation of customizable application-chains or “appchains” and even “layer-3” blockchains. An appchain is where builders of new, smaller networks can pick and choose their own components or features, rather than relying on an existing network with already-configured properties. Source
A study from two Europe-based nonprofits has found that Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI) Bing chatbot, now rebranded as Copilot, produces misleading results on election information and misquotes its sources. The study was released by AI Forensics and AlgorithmWatch on Dec. 15 and found that Bing’s AI chatbot gave wrong answers 30% of the time to basic questions regarding political elections in Germany and Switzerland. Inaccurate answers were on candidate information, polls, scandals and voting. It also produced inaccurate responses to questions about the 2024 presidential elections in the United States.…
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued Bank of Ireland UK with a reprimand for mistakes made on more than 3,000 customers’ credit profiles. Bank of Ireland UK sent incorrect outstanding balances on 3,284 customers’ loan accounts to credit reference agencies, organisations that help lenders decide whether to approve financial products. This inaccurate data could have potentially led to these customers being unfairly refused credit for mortgages, credit cards or loans, or granted too much credit on products they were potentially unable to afford. The investigation found that, due to…
There was a general rise in the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes following hints that the Fed policy would favor the general market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIJA) ended Thursday higher even as the 10-year Treasury fell below 4%. The Dow’s rise corresponds with an increase in retail sales, providing an optimistic outlook on the economy as the year comes to an end. The 10-year Treasury note fell below 4%, a level not seen since August, losing 11 basis points to crest at 3.922%. The fall in…
Developers building on Polygon’s zkEVM will be able to incorporate these data feeds into their on-chain applications. Source
As the cryptocurrency community has been focused on the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, some crypto-linked ETFs have already been racking up significant gains in 2023. One such ETF is the VanEck Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP), which has surged nearly 207% year to date (YTD), according to data from TradingView. Launched in April 2021, DAPP tracks the price and performance of the MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index, which, in turn, is based on the performance of major companies involved in…
Bitcoin (BTC) recovered above $41,000 at the Dec. 13 Wall Street open as eyes focused on the United States Federal Reserve. BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView PPI target beat comes hours before Fed rate move Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price strength gaining momentum on the latest U.S. macro data releases. November’s Producer Price Index (PPI) print came in below expectations, further bolstering the extant narrative of declining inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) print, while less encouraging, did not induce fresh pain for risk assets.…
Details of 265 people compromised in email data breaches weeks after Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 Egregious breach “let down those to whom our country owes so much” – UK Information Commissioner Email error could have resulted in a threat to life The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £350,000 for disclosing personal information of people seeking relocation to the UK shortly after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. On 20 September 2021, the MoD sent an email to a distribution…
Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to trade below its 2023 high, a sign that investors may have underestimated the strength of the $44,000 resistance. Even as BTC price trades below $42,000, it doesn’t necessarily mean that reaching $50,000 and beyond is no longer possible. In fact, quite the opposite seems more likely to occur. Looking at Bitcoin derivatives metrics, it is clear that traders ignored the 6.9% drop and remained optimistic. However, is this optimism enough to justify further gains? The $127 million liquidation of leveraged long Bitcoin futures on Dec.…
On-chain activity on Celestia remains muted despite the rise of TIA. There has been 872,700 transactions on the Celestia blockchain since it went live on Oct. 31, with 362,000 of those being added over the past 30-days. Its monthly rolling average is at around 12,000. Source