Monday August 21, 2023
◾ A DC District judge ruled that AI-generated art cannot be copyrighted. (Theverge)
◾ Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried claim the court’s decision to only allow him 2 days a week to prepare for his October trial is “entire inadequate” and they are seeking an increase to 5-days. (Reuters)
◾ China Mobile proposed developing a ‘digital identity system’ similar to China’s controversial social credit system for the metaverse. (Politico)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ The UK government held discussions with leading AI chip suppliers about sourcing equipment for national AI research. (Bloomberg)
◾ An independent report prepared for New Zealand’s House of Representatives offered 22 recommendations in support cryptocurrencies and to prevent excessive restrictions. (Cointelegraph)
◾ The SEC petitioned a US District Court to appeal the judge's ruling that Ripple's programmatic sales of XRP did not violate securities. (Coindesk)
◾ China’s Southwestern province of Sichuan expects its efforts to develop the metaverse can reach $35 billion by 2025. (Theblock)
Public Company Releases
◾ Canaan (CAN) temporarily shut down 2.0 EH/s of its mining power to comply with new rules in Kazakhstan. The company also announced it is attempting mediation with an unnamed partner who owes the company $1.25 million and failed to install 13,000 miners and operate another 13,000 rigs. (Canaan)
◾ Bit Mining (BTCM) reported revenues of $74.1 million with a non-GAAP operating loss of $1.5 million in the second quarter. (PRnewswire)
Restructuring, Losses and Legal News
◾ Gemini filed a response in its case brought on by the SEC arguing the SEC has still failed to argue the components of a security violation. (Jfblegal)
◾ Gryphon Digital is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by Sphere3D (ANY) over a $500,000 spoofing attack. (Cointelegraph)
◾ FTX revised its settlement proposal to include the US Trustee as a “noticed party” and reduce the maximum settled value for claims covered from $10 to $7 million. (Coindesk)
◾ NFT platform RECUR is shutting down and will cease operations in November. (X)
AI Announcements
◾ The South Korean company behind the Line search engine and messaging app is launching its own ChatGPT-like generative AI service. (Bloomberg)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ OpenSea is planning to make new artist royalty fees optional on secondary trades. (X)
◾ UK-based credit card processor Checkout.com terminated its relationship with Binance citing “reports of regulators actions and orders in relevant jurisdictions” and “inquiries from partners.” (Forbes)
◾ NFT platform Open Sea decided to stop supporting new listings and offers on Binance’s native BNB Smart Chain. (X)
◾ The Wall Street Journal expects the SEC will allow multiple ETFs tracking ether futures to launch at the same time. (WSJ)
◾ Coindesk is pairing back its coverage of NFTs, the metaverse and DAOs due to job cuts. (Coindesk)
Metaverse Briefings & Activations
◾ Samsung launched an open beta for the Samsung Game Launcher, its mobile, cloud gaming service. (Venturebeat)
◾ Ralph Laruen plans to target younger shippers by focusing on the metaverse. (Bloomberg)
Market Data
◾ CoinGecko research suggests the average global household electricity cost to mine 1 bitcoin is $46,201, with a global low in Lebanon and Iran at $260 and $530 respectively. (Coingecko)
◾ North Korean has stolen over $2 billion in digital currencies over the past five-years. (Trmlabs)
Exchange, Custody and Product Updates
◾ Singapore-based crypto exchange Bitget is updating its KYC verification requirements for all clients looking to trade digital assets. (Bitget)