Monday October 2, 2023
U2 opened the $2.3 billion MSG Sphere in Las Vegas this weekend. The new entertainment complex is a state-of-the-art music venue that combines music, art, and technology with a wrap around 160,000 square foot LED display.
Whether you are a fan of Bono and the Edge or not, it is worth taking a look at this video of the concert to see how the imagery was entwined with the live music. I see this leading to a standard for performance and interactive entertainment.
◾ Three Arrows Capital co-founder Su Zhu was arrested at Changi Airport attempting to flee Singapore. (CNBC)
◾ Israeli President Netanyahu warned the world is on the cusp of an AI revolution that could either launch nations into prosperous times or lead to all-out destruction fueled by devastating high-tech wars. (FoxNews)
◾ Google says more than half of venture-backed generative AI startups are using its cloud computing platform. (Bloomberg)
I plan to report on the Sam Bankman-Fried trial in a separate section over the next couple of weeks.
◾ The judge in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial told the defense they could not use the “advice-of-counsel” defense in the opening statements. (CourtFiling)
◾ “Customer 1” in the SBF trial is “a young male, located in Ukraine ... who lost a substantial portion of his life savings that he had entrusted to FTX when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.” Persecutors want the customer to testify remotely as Ukraine prohibits men deemed fit for combat from leaving the country. (CNBC)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ The National Bank of Georgia short-listed 9 potential partners for its CBDC pilot program. (NationalBankofGeorgia)
◾ The SEC charged FTX former auditor Prager Metis with hundreds of auditor independence violations. (SECfiling)
◾ A Spanish court ruled that crypto entrepreneur and software developer John McAfee death was a suicide. (NYPost)
Restructuring, Losses and Legal News
◾ US court documents show a text message from Terra Labs founder Do Kwon claiming he “can just create fake transactions that look real...which will generate fees." (Decrypt)
AI Announcements
◾ Apple (AAPL) plans to hire more employees in the UK to work on AI. (BBC)
◾ Actor Tom Hanks shared a computer-generated image of himself on Instagram , warning his followers about a fake AI created promotional video for a dental plan circulating online. (Variety)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ The SEC delayed a decision on the spot bitcoin ETFs for Fidelity, VanEck and WisdomTree. (TheBlock)
◾ Bitwise is launching two Ethereum futures ETFs. (BusinessWire)
◾ Valkyrie changed its mind and said it will not add Ethereum futures to a bitcoin ETF strategy without SEC approval. (SECfiling)
◾ Invesco Galaxy filed for a spot Ethereum ETF. (X)
◾ VanEck plans to donate 10% of the profits from its Ethereum Strategy ETF to core contributors to the Ethereum protocol for a minimum period of 10 years. (X)
Metaverse & Gaming Briefings & Activations
◾ Qualcomm announced its next-generation AR/VR platforms enabling mixed reality and VR in thin and lightweight devices that do not require an external battery pack. (Gsmarena)
Market Data
◾ Bitcoin’s difficulty is expected to inch down 0.5% early tomorrow morning. (Btc.com)
Exchange, Custody and Product Updates
◾ Coinbase (COIN) received a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore allowing the digital currency exchange to offer token payment services. (Coinbase)
Thoughts on the Ecosystems
◾ Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson says tokenization is the democratization of finance calling it “securitization on steroids.” (X)