The rise of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot has created a buzz in the tech world, and scammers are trying to exploit this trend by issuing fake tokens that are branded with the ChatGPT name.
> These tokens have no official association with the actual tool, and the scammers are taking advantage of the hype to make a quick profit.
> The number of these fake tokens has risen to hundreds, with 132 issued on BNB Chain, 25 on Ethereum, and ten on other blockchains, including Solana, Arbitrum, OKChain, and Cronos.
> While Microsoft has integrated OpenAI’s chatbots for its search services, its own chatbot is different from ChatGPT. Details here.
Blockchain company Polygon has announced layoffs of about 100 employees, or 20% of its workforce, impacting multiple teams.
> The company stated that the move comes as it consolidates its business units under Polygon Labs, after a period of “exponential growth.”
> Polygon stated that it has a treasury balance of over $250 million and more than 1.9 billion MATIC tokens, and has crystallized its strategy for the next few years to help drive mass adoption of Web3 by scaling Ethereum.
> In a statement, the company said that the decision to lay off employees was “a painfully hard decision, but a necessary step in our journey.” Details here.
EU Banking Law May Require Tougher Capital Rules for Crypto Holdings
The European Union (EU) must expedite the implementation of strict capital rules for banks holding crypto assets in the pending banking law if it wants to meet the deadline set by the Basel Committee, warned the bloc’s executive.
> The committee has imposed a January 2025 deadline for implementing capital requirements for banks’ exposures to crypto assets, including stablecoins and bitcoin.
> While banks have limited involvement in providing crypto-asset-related services, the European Commission revealed that they have expressed interest in trading crypto assets on behalf of their clients.
> Delays in enforcing the Basel standards in the EU could lead to banks waiting longer to enter the cryptocurrency market, as separate EU rules for trading crypto assets come into effect in 2024. More here.
Saudi Aramco Expands Blockchain Interest with droppGroup Partnership for Web3 Innovation in Energy Industry
State-owned energy company Saudi Aramco valued at nearly $2 trillion, has announced its collaboration with Web3 technology provider, droppGroup.
> According to a Coindesk report, the two companies will jointly explore the development of blockchain-based Web3 technologies to enhance Aramco’s employee ecosystem.
> This includes onboarding and training systems, a tokenized network, and a rewards program.
> Web3 technology is driven by blockchain, which is the third generation of the internet, and it has tremendous potential for various industries, including energy.
> Aramco has previously invested $5 million in Vakt, a blockchain-based commodities post-trade processing platform, making this collaboration not their first foray into blockchain technology.
> droppGroup is a New York-based firm that offers various Web3 technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, extended reality, tokenized networks, and metaverse environments.
> The company also has an operational office in Saudi Arabia. Details here.
SEC Charges Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Ensign Peak Advisors for Undisclosed $32 Billion Investment Portfolio
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment management company, Ensign Peak Advisors, for their $32 billion secret investment portfolio.
> An official communication from the SEC states that the church failed to file the required forms that would have disclosed their equity investments, as they instead filed forms for shell companies to obscure their portfolio and misstated Ensign Peak’s control over the church’s investment decisions.
> The findings reveal that the church’s and the management firm’s violations occurred from 1997 through 2019.
> The SEC noted that the church chose to obscure its portfolio out of concern over its perception, as it could lead to negative consequences. Full report here.
Nexo Co-Founder Disputes Bulgarian Police Charges in Crypto Lender’s Money Laundering Investigation
Antoni Trenchev, the co-founder of Nexo, has strongly denied the allegations made by Bulgarian police during their recent search of the crypto lender’s office in Sofia.
> The search was part of an ongoing investigation into potential money laundering and tax-related crimes. As a result of the investigation, four individuals have been charged by the country’s prosecutors for their alleged involvement in an organized crime group, which engaged in unlicensed banking activities, tax fraud, and computer-related offenses. Details here.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Seek Tech Expert for Bail Dispute
Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are searching for a technical expert to advise the court on his bail dispute, according to a letter submitted to a federal judge on Tuesday.
> Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, Christian Everdell and Mark Cohen indicated that they were in the process of researching and contacting potential candidates and expected to propose one or more to the court soon.
> During a court proceeding last week, Judge Lewis Kaplan suggested that Bankman-Fried enlist a technical expert to advise on issues related to his bail. Bankman-Fried, who is under house arrest on a $250 million bond, will pay for the expert’s services. More here.
Bitcoin and Ether Lose Ground as Native Tokens of Shared Storage Protocols Soar
> Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) experienced a slight dip in the market, with BTC trading at around $24,273, down 2.2%, and ETH changing hands at $1,647, down 3.5%.
> Meanwhile, the native tokens of shared storage protocols have surged in the past week, with Filecoin’s (FIL) native utility token being among the top performers, soaring over 62% to $8.10.
> Other computing and storage networks, such as Storj (STORJ) and Siacoin (SC), have also climbed 16% for the week.
> Despite this, the CoinDesk Computing Index, which measures the market capitalization-weighted performance of computing protocols, rose 16% over the past week.
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