Monday June 10, 2024

This afternoon, Apple ($APPL) is hosting its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. Enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the launch of "Apple Intelligence," a major software update featuring the introduction of iOS 18. We are likely to hear details about a new partnership with OpenAI. Siri will see improvements, including enhanced voice control features, but I fear Apple may not provide power users with everything they need.

Adding a large language model to help train Siri will be a step forward, but I hope Apple offers personalized training models that allow Siri to truly act as an assistant.

For example, Apple knows where I had dinner last Thursday and who accompanied me. It would be great if I could choose to automatically send follow-up messages to each attendee and have Siri remember the name and address of the restaurant. The same goes for travel. We have all seen how ChatGPT can help schedule a trip, but I want to ask Siri the name of the hotel I stayed at last time I flew to LA and be able to book my the same room.

I have been experimenting with AI and have learned that the "first mile" is a real challenge. The goal is to take data and information sources and convert them into a format a model can use. Apple knows how its operating system handles files and formats documents, emails, calendars, notes, etc., so it should be easy to provide these as source material for a model. I would be much more excited about having this personalized model than an integrated ChatGPT or another image generator.

The conference starts at 1 PM EST and will be streamed at www.apple.com/

◾ Bakkt Holdings ($BAKKT) is reviewing strategic options including a possible sale. (Bloomberg)

◾ Donald Trump said he “would be the crypto president” if reelected.  (Reuters)

◾ South Korea’s Financial Services Commission announced that mass-produced NFTs, that can be used for payments, will be classified as virtual assets. (News1.kr)

Government & NGO Actions

◾ The Central Bank of the Republic of Peru is working with the Reserve Bank of India to replicate a system like India’s Unified Payments Interface.  (Cointelegraph)

◾ The Norwegian government frozen and returned $5.7 million related to the 2022 Ronin protocol hack.  (TheBlock)

◾ India's Enforcement Directorate conducted a raid on an individual accused of defrauding a foreign national of $400,000 through an online crypto scam. (TimesofIndia)

Financial Notices & Public Company Releases

◾ Bitfarms ($BITF) announced a shareholder rights plan to give the Board time to explore and negotiate alternatives to what it considers Riot's ($RIOT) undervalued acquisition offer. (Globenewswire)

◾ Hive Digital ($HIVE) produced 119 bitcoin (5.0 EH/s) growing its HODL’d assets to 2,468 BTC.  (Newsfile)

◾ Stronghold Digital Mining ($SDIG) mined 82 bitcoin in May.  (StrongholdDigital)

Restructuring, Losses & Legal News

◾ New York’s Attorney General filed motions opposing DCG’s request to dismiss the lawsuit alleging DCG and Genesis conspired to cover a $1 billion loss tied to Three Arrows Capital. (CoinDesk)

◾ A California judge dismissed a class action against Google ($GOOGL) for allegedly using user data and social media texts to train its AI models but allowed the case to be refined and narrowed in scope. (Reuters)

◾ The Crypto Open Patent Alliance is seeking to have Craig Wright cover 85% of its legal costs incurred while proving he is not the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. (CoinDesk)

◾ FTX loaned an Australian influencer over $13 million to protect its reputation and avoid litigation over the influencers misappropriation of assets.  (News.bitcoin)

AI Announcements

◾ Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump plans to participate in the first presidential roundtable on domestic Bitcoin mining. (X)

◾ HSBC will offer digital yuan services to its corporate clients.  (TheBlock)

◾ Intel ($INTC) is working with the African Development Bank to provide AI training to 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials. (AFDB.org)

◾ European banking executives warned that the amount of computing power needed to develop AI capabilities will make the banks more reliant on a small number of tech providers. (Reuters)

Protocols, Applications & Business News

◾ Binance now has over 200 million registered global users.(Binance)

◾  Customers Bank is limiting assets of crypto clients to 15% of total deposits. (CoinDesk)

◾ The founder of Cardano proposed a non-profit media DAO to ensure fair reporting of all blockchain protocols.  (BeinCrypto)

Metaverse & Gaming Briefings & Activations

◾ Microsoft ($MSFT) unveiled a new all-digital Xbox console and the next installment of the “Call of Duty” franchise at its annual Xbox Games Showcase.  (Reuters)