Tag: Bitcoin

Riccardo Sibani, Chief Product Officer at My Neighbor Alice, represents the company on the OMA3 Board and contributes to developing a more interconnected metaverse.

STOCKHOLM-– JUNE 06, 2023 – My Neighbor Alice, the fully-decentralized open-world game, is proud to announce that its Chief Product Officer (CPO) has joined the board of directors of OMA3 (“Open Metaverse Alliance for Web3”).

OMA3 collaborates with Web3 metaverse platform creators, including renowned members such as Animoca Brands, Alien Worlds, Unstoppable Domains, The Sandbox, Upland, along with many others.They ensure virtual land, digital assets, ideas, and services are highly interoperable between platforms and transparent to all communities.

My Neighbor Alice is an open world where players can gather and leverage resources to shape their shared digital environment. The team focuses on creating a metaverse where digital items and resources can be shared across various virtual worlds. This focus aligns seamlessly with OMA3’s vision of an open and highly interoperable metaverse, marking a significant milestone for both entities.

The collaboration between My Neighbor Alice and OMA3 signifies a significant step forward in ensuring transparency for project communities and the web3 ecosystem. This includes striving for high interoperability of virtual land, digital assets, ideas, and services across platforms.

Riccardo Sibani, with his profound technical expertise and rich blockchain knowledge, is expected to be an invaluable asset to OMA3. Actively involved in creating shared protocols, Sibani will join a board to guide OMA3 to further the collective mission.

Commenting on the recent appointment as a board of directors member, Riccardo Sibani said, “Joining the board of directors at OMA3 is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of a more interconnected metaverse. By fostering collaboration and interoperability across platforms, we aim to create a seamless and transparent experience in the web3 space for all communities. I am thrilled to be part of this collective mission and look forward to shaping the future of decentralization together.”

By joining OMA3’s board of directors, My Neighbor Alice further demonstrates its commitment to establishing shared protocols and shaping an open metaverse. The team is excited about the future of their collaboration with OMA3 and looks forward to creating a more transparent and interconnected virtual landscape.

Discord: https://discord.gg/myneighboralice

Telegram: https://t.me/MyNeighborAlice

Telegram Announcement: https://t.me/AliceAnnouncements

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyNeighborAlice

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-neighbor-alice/

About My Neighbor Alice

My Neighbor Alice is a groundbreaking multiplayer builder game built on Chromia’s Blockchain that offers an engaging and accessible experience on a charming virtual island. My Neighbor Alice represents the future of gaming, combining virtual reality, blockchain, and decentralized finance to redefine how people interact with virtual worlds. Integrating Blockchain technology allows players to own and trade virtual assets (NFTs). The game’s marketplace enables players to buy, sell, and trade these NFTs, creating a dynamic and player-driven virtual economy. Players can earn rewards, monetize their creations, and engage in community events, fostering a sense of ownership and collaboration. With different strategic partnerships, MNA underscores the project’s dedication to promoting NFT ownership, encouraging a more engaging and interactive gaming community.

Media Contact:

Fati.Hakim@chromaway.com

Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss has warned that the Democratic Party risks losing crucial support from younger voters due to what he perceives as an aggressive stance on cryptocurrencies by notable figures within the party. In a series of tweets, Winklevoss asserted that Democrats are alienating Millennials and Generation Z—groups which, he says, have wholly embraced the emerging asset class.

“Winning the youth vote w/ ‘get out the vote’ is a key part of the Democratic playbook,” he tweeted. “Dems believe the youth vote will carry the day.”

However, Winklevoss posited that this essential demographic, which could swing the balance of power in future elections, is at risk due to the party’s approach to cryptocurrencies. He points to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler as the main culprits behind what he sees as an unjust war against crypto. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Gary Gensler, has brought charges against major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase, alleging that certain coins, such as Matic and SQL, are securities. Following these actions, there was a significant crash in altcoin prices over the weekend.

“Crypto has already won the hearts and minds of Millennials and GenZ,” Winklevoss noted. “They don’t debate the merits of crypto. They debate where and what to build next.”

Winklevoss also mentioned the large number of young investors who have bet their life savings on cryptocurrencies. In his view, they will not forget any value destruction that they perceive as having been caused by Warren and Gensler.

In a conclusion that might send ripples through the political sphere, Winklevoss questioned the motives and understanding of the party’s establishment: “Two explanations: (1) the blue establishment either doesn’t understand what’s going on w/ Warren and Gensler or (2) are grossly miscalculating the impact of their actions on the youth vote this upcoming election cycle.”

As the political and regulatory landscapes around cryptocurrencies continue to evolve, these comments add another layer to the debate. They highlight the potential implications not only on financial markets but also on the political attitudes of younger generations who have been found to be increasingly supportive of decentralized finance. With an upcoming election cycle, the Democratic Party’s approach to this issue may indeed have far-reaching consequences.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made significant changes to Twitter since taking it over, including mass layoffs and the introduction of Twitter Blue subscriptions. Now, Twitter has enabled monetization for creators through a new subscription service, allowing them to charge followers a monthly fee for access to exclusive content.

The feature is targeted at improving follower engagement and creating new revenue streams on the social media platform. Known as “Subscriptions”, Twitter users can charge followers a monthly price from one of the price points made available by Twitter. Once paid, subscribers can access the creator’s exclusive content, which is not viewable to the public.

To incentivize creators, Twitter will allow them to keep 97% of the revenue up to $50,000 in lifetime earnings, after which the revenue split drops to 80%. Twitter has partnered with payments processor Stripe to payout creators on the platform.

However, the revenue share will only begin once creators earn the minimum threshold of $50. Additionally, subscription services are non-refundable, even if a creator’s Twitter account gets suspended for any reason. In such scenarios, users are required to manually unsubscribe to avoid auto-monthly payments to inactive Twitter accounts.

The introduction of content creator subscriptions has been welcomed by members of Crypto Twitter, who have built credibility and a massive following on Twitter over the years.

Musk’s ongoing initiatives to redesign Twitter include using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and deter misinformation on the platform. Despite previously warning the world against AI development due to societal concerns, Musk has reportedly purchased nearly 10,000 graphics processing units to build the upcoming AI tools.

The move towards monetization for creators is part of Musk’s efforts to turn Twitter into a profitable business. The company has taken several drastic measures since Musk’s takeover, including mass layoffs and the introduction of Twitter Blue subscriptions. Musk saw the introduction of subscriptions as a much-needed revenue stream for the company, despite resistance from previously-verified individuals who did not want to pay a monthly fee for a blue checkmark on their account.

Overall, the new monetization feature is a step towards greater user-centricity on Twitter, allowing creators to earn revenue from their content and potentially make a career out of it. With the increasing popularity of social media platforms as a source of news and information, Twitter’s move to enable monetization for creators could help to promote citizen journalism and provide more diverse perspectives on global events.

The US House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees, along with the Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee, and the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee will hold joint hearings in May to establish regulatory clarity for the digital asset ecosystem. Representative Patrick McHenry, the House Financial Services Committee chairman, has announced that the hearings aim to establish a bill providing regulatory clarity to the crypto sector, which adds to the work on a bipartisan bill led by crypto-friendly Senator Cynthia Lummis and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

The move was revealed in a joint announcement on April 27 from McHenry and Representative Glenn Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee; Representative French Hill, chairman of the Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion Subcommittee; and Dusty Johnson, chairman of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee. The joint statement reads: “Our Committees are embarking on an unprecedented joint effort to pass and sign into law clear rules of the road for the digital asset ecosystem. We must strike the appropriate balance to protect consumers without stifling responsible innovation.”

McHenry spoke as part of a panel alongside crypto-friendly Senator Cynthia Lummis during the Consensus 2023 event on April 28, adding more context to the upcoming hearings. “We’re going to hold joint hearings when we return in May. This is going to be the first time we have had a holistic view for a House committee hearing around the regulation, our market structure around digital assets, and a holistic view of it.”

He also stressed that the hearings aim to establish a bill providing regulatory clarity to the crypto sector, which adds to the work on a bipartisan bill led by Lummis and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The Responsible Financial Innovation Act, also known as the Lummis-Gillibrand bill, was initially introduced in the US Senate in June 2022, and addresses Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction, stablecoin regulation and crypto taxation, among other issues.

The wide-sweeping bill has faced delays, likely due to its complexity for non-crypto-versed Senators. Lummis and Gillibrand have since revised the bill and are expected to release the next draft soon. Commenting on the revised bill, Lummis suggested that this iteration will likely have an additional focus on “national security interests” such as cyber security. “Some of the people that I speak to that remain very skeptical about digital assets are concerned that cybercrime is not adequately addressed in our bill. So I think you’ll see a stronger cybercrime aspect to our bill. I think you’ll see some provisions that require certain registration so that companies are properly regulated and vetted.”

The joint hearings in May will aim to provide regulatory clarity on the digital asset ecosystem and strike the appropriate balance to protect consumers without stifling responsible innovation. The hearings will focus on addressing the market structure around digital assets in the United States, which includes capital raising and transitioning products from a securities regime to a commodities regime.

Deepfake Generator, a New Service Offered by Tencent Cloud, Gives Users the Ability to Generate Fake Videos of Other People

A new digital person production platform has been introduced by Tencent Cloud, the cloud services provider of the Chinese tech giant Tencent. This platform makes use of deepfake technology in order to generate fake films of humans. Users are able to make convincing films using the platform, which is powered by Tencent’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The movies can be generated using a three-minute video clip and 100 words of audio content.

Scammers are using deepfake videos an increasing amount to imitate renowned personalities in order to deceive investors. These films have gotten more popular. Even Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has fallen victim to deepfakes, prompting him to issue a warning about the growing number of impersonators who use his picture to promote cryptocurrency schemes.

According to Jiemian, a local media site, the deepfake generator on Tencent Cloud can analyze and train itself on three-minute films and 100 speech samples, generating a convincing deepfake video within twenty-four hours. The price of the service is about equivalent to $145 or 1,000 yuan. According to a report from a major media site known as The Register, Tencent has purportedly acknowledged the breakthrough and underlined the fact that the service is capable of developing deepfakes in both Chinese and English.

The development of digital people may be done in one of five different forms, including 3D realistic, 3D semi-realistic, 3D cartoon, and 2D real person and cartoon respectively. Tencent plans to leverage the service in order to offer live-streamed infomercials aimed at the Chinese audience. In addition, the company sees a number of additional possible uses for the service, such as representing attorneys, physicians, and other professions.

Tencent isn’t the only Chinese tech company working on their own version of generative AI tools to compete with market leader ChatGPT. Huawei and Baidu are also working on their own versions of these tools. Concerns have been raised, however, concerning the ethical implications of deepfake technology and its ability to be exploited for fraudulent or harmful reasons. This is because of the technology’s potential for abuse. As a consequence of this, it is essential for businesses such as Tencent to make certain that their deepfake generating platform is used in an ethical manner and with the right precautions taken.

Regulators in the United States have been prompted to re-evaluate their supervision after the high-profile failures of Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and Silvergate Bank. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and the US Federal Reserve Board have both published their internal reviews on the handling of the failures, which occurred in March.

SVB was closed by California regulators on March 10, and Signature Bank was moved against by the NYDFS on March 12. Silvergate Bank had announced its voluntary liquidation on March 8, setting off runs on the banks. The string of bank failures sent shockwaves through the financial industry, with U.S. President Joe Biden even feeling the need to tweet a response.

The Fed review of SVB’s failure found that the bank’s management failed to manage its risks, and supervisors “did not fully appreciate the extent of the vulnerabilities” of the bank as it “grew in size and complexity.” The report noted that “SVB’s foundational problems were widespread and well-known.”

The NYDFS review of Signature Bank’s failure highlighted areas where the regulator’s supervision could have been more effective. The report noted that the bank’s risk management and compliance programs were not adequate, and that the bank had a “lack of clarity” on its risk appetite.

The failures of these banks have prompted US regulators to re-evaluate their supervision of financial institutions. The NYDFS and the Fed have both acknowledged the need for improvements in their supervision and have pledged to take action to strengthen their oversight.

The failures have also raised concerns about the risks associated with banks that are friendly towards cryptocurrency. Both SVB and Silvergate Bank were known for their crypto-friendly policies, and some have speculated that their failures may be linked to their exposure to the volatile cryptocurrency market.

Overall, the failures of Signature Bank, SVB, and Silvergate Bank have highlighted the need for stronger regulatory oversight of financial institutions. While the NYDFS and the Fed have acknowledged the need for improvements in their supervision, it remains to be seen whether these improvements will be enough to prevent future bank failures.

Concerns over the usage of copyrighted material have risen to the forefront as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the production of content becomes more commonplace. In response to these concerns, legislators in the European Union have approved a draft law with the intention of regulating both the firms that produce the technology and the technology itself.

The law, which is a component of the Artificial Intelligence Act of the EU, intends to categorize AI technologies according to the amount of danger they pose. The risk categories range from acceptable to unacceptable, with unacceptable being the highest. The use of high-risk instruments won’t be completely outlawed, but rather they’ll be subject to more stringent disclosure rules. It will soon be necessary for generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, among others, to report any usage of copyrighted resources made in the course of their AI training.

During the subsequent phase of debates among the legislatures and member states, the particulars of the law will be refined to their final form. According to Svenja Hahn, a member of the European Parliament, the bill in its current form strikes a balance between excessive levels of monitoring and excessive levels of regulation. This balance protects people while also encouraging innovation and contributing to economic growth.

The data watchdog for the European Union has voiced worry about the possible difficulties that artificial intelligence (AI) businesses in the United States may have if they do not comply with the General Data Protection Regulations.

Additionally, the European think tank known as Eurofi, which is comprised of organizations from both the public and private sectors, has published a magazine that features an entire section devoted to the applications of AI and machine learning in the financial sector of the EU. All of the mini-essays featured in this section touched on the forthcoming Artificial Intelligence Act in some way. They were on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and regulation inside the EU, namely for usage in the financial sector.

One of the authors, Georgina Bulkeley, who is also the director for EMEA financial services solutions at Google Cloud, stressed the significance of AI regulation by stating that the technology is “too vital not to regulate. In addition to this, it is of insufficient significance to not properly regulate.”

In general, the proposed legislation represents a substantial advance toward the goal of regulating the use of AI and works protected by copyright in the EU. As the technology continues to improve and become more widespread in a variety of sectors, it is essential to ensure that it is used in a transparent and ethical manner in order to safeguard both customers and companies.

In recent years, Meta, the parent corporation of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has indicated interest in expanding into the metaverse. This interest comes as a result of the rapid growth of all three of these platforms. Even though the company’s section responsible for developing the metaverse, Reality Labs, is projected to incur enormous losses of $13.7 billion over the period of 2022, Facebook’s chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg, is unwavering in his dedication to the company’s long-term ambition.

In spite of the company’s financial woes, a recent article published in The Wall Street Journal revealed that total remuneration for Meta’s virtual reality programmers may reach up to one million dollars. According to the claim, which cites unnamed persons with knowledge of the situation as its source, salary packages for metaverse developers at Meta vary from around $600,000 to roughly one million dollars annually.

The intentions that Meta has for the metaverse have been greeted with opposition from several parties, including the Federal Trade Commission, which has filed a lawsuit against Meta in an effort to prevent the latter from acquiring a virtual reality firm. Because of the “serious risks” involved and the potential for damage, two senators from the United States have also asked Zuckerberg not to provide teens access to the metaverse platform Horizon Worlds.

In spite of the difficulties, Meta is carrying out its ambitions in the same manner as before. A court in the United States gave the business in question permission to go through with the purchase in February of 2023. Additionally, on March 13, the head of commerce and finance technologies at Meta made an announcement that the company will be discontinuing its support for nonfungible tokens on Facebook and Instagram for the time being. This decision was made in order for the company to concentrate on finding alternative methods to promote artists, individuals, and companies.

The fact that Meta is so focused on the metaverse brings a variety of possibilities and difficulties to the table for the organization. The company’s high compensation for virtual reality programmers may raise doubts about the company’s spending priorities, given the enormous losses that have been incurred in the company’s metaverse-building section. Despite this, it seems that Meta is resolved to go through with its plans for the metaverse in spite of Zuckerberg’s unflinching commitment to the long-term vision.

The Pheu Thai Party, Thailand’s political opposition, has announced a proposal to give every citizen of the country nearly $300 in digital currency should the party win the upcoming election. The plan was announced at a campaign event on April 5, where one of the party’s candidates for prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, described the initiative as a blockchain-based stimulus project aimed at boosting the local economy. The proposed stipend of 10,000 Thai baht, or roughly $292 at the time of publication, would be given to every Thai resident who is 16 years or older.

Thailand’s next general election will take place on May 14, with all 500 seats in the country’s House of Representatives up for election. Current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a member of the United Thai Nation Party, is eligible to hold his position until 2025 if selected, following a decision from Thailand’s Constitutional Court regarding his term limit.

The proposed crypto project could potentially cost the government between $14 billion to $18 billion, given that Thailand’s population is over 70 million, with around 50-60 million people over 16 years old. While cryptocurrency exchanges and trading are generally allowed in Thailand, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission has been considering a ban on staking and lending services and has established stricter rules for crypto custody providers. Additionally, the country’s central bank has warned crypto investors about stablecoins pegged to the baht.

Thavisin’s proposal to distribute funds equally to residents is similar to the universal basic income initiative proposed by United States presidential candidate Andrew Yang in the 2020 elections. Yang’s proposal involved giving all eligible people in the United States $1,000 every month.

If the Pheu Thai Party wins the upcoming election and follows through with its proposal, it could potentially have significant impacts on Thailand’s economy and the adoption of blockchain-based digital currencies in the country. However, the proposal also raises questions about the feasibility of such a large-scale distribution of digital currency, as well as the potential risks and challenges that may arise in the implementation process.

On April 7, users of Twitter were left feeling upset when they discovered that they were unable to engage with tweets that included links to sites hosted on Substack. When trying to like, retweet, or comment to postings that included Substack links, several users reported getting an error message stating that “some actions on this tweet have been disabled by Twitter.” It was noted by several users that the user interface seemed to record their likes or retweets; but, upon closer examination, it did not appear to be counting or showing the interactions.

At this time, it is not possible to tell if the problem is a defect or a feature that was intended to be there. Since April 6, it seems that Twitter has disabled the ability for users of Substack to embed tweets in their posts, which may be connected to the problem. The Substack representative who was asked about the issue did not specify whether they felt the problem was caused by a change in the Twitter API or a bug.

The issue started happening not long after Substack introduced “Notes,” an application for publishing similar to Twitter that some people feel is intended to compete with the bird app. Substack is often seen as a venue in which bloggers of an advanced level may discuss their ideas with groups of users that have similar interests. Substack has been used to a very significant degree, particularly within the crypto community.

This problem arises as a result of multiple recent, unexplained modifications made to Twitter. The site displayed a picture of Doge in lieu of Twitter’s bird emblem for a number of days, while the nonprofit media group National Public Radio (NPR) was labeled as “state media.” A great number of users are now perplexed and doubting Twitter’s motivations as a result of these developments.

Regarding Substack, it is not apparent what Twitter’s goals or objectives are at this time. It’s possible that an effort was made to suppress competition by making it impossible for Twitter users to engage with tweets that include links to Substack, but it might also just be a glitch that needs to be fixed. In any event, users will be keeping a careful watch on both platforms for any more advancements that may occur.