• Aug 29, 2024

Amazon Taps Anthropic's Claude AI to Revitalize Alexa: Report

Amazon will use Anthropic's Claude AI to help power the next generation of Alexa—internally dubbed "Remarkable Alexa or Projet Banyan"—according to information shared with Reuters by sources familiar with the matter. The revelation comes after Amazon's proprietary large language model reportedly fell short of expectations, with prototype versions of the new Alexa struggling to process queries efficiently. Reuters reports that during internal testing, the in-house AI-powered Alexa exhibited delay...

• Aug 29, 2024

Can TON Even Handle the 'Hamster Kombat' Telegram Game Airdrop?

Telegram tap-to-earn game players got exciting news this week, as the developers of viral crypto game Hamster Kombat announced that the HMSTR token launch is now set for September 26 on The Open Network (TON), following a delay from the original target of July. But that announcement was couched by plenty of less appealing news around the network. Last weekend, Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France, prompting a price plunge for TON plus uncertainty around the Telegram-lin...

• Aug 29, 2024

BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Marks First Loss Since May—Cause for Concern?

BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has experienced more than $13 million in net outflows, marking the first time since May the investment vehicle has lost more funds than it has gained. The Ishares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by total assets, saw net outflows of roughly $13.5 million on Thursday, according to data from investment management firm Farside Investors. This is the second time Blackrock’s Bitcoin fund has ever recorded negative outf...

• Aug 29, 2024

Trump Leads Harris by 12 Points Among Crypto Owners: Poll

A new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) finds that likely voters who own cryptocurrencies—about one out of every seven registered voters—favor former President Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election by 12 points. These results come as Trump and new ally Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have recently doubled down on support for crypto. “Trump has been reaching out to the crypto community, and it seems to have paid off,” wrote Dan Cassino, professor of government and politics at FDU...

• Aug 29, 2024

Forget Bitcoin Cults, This Meme Coin Is Literally a Religion

The founder of Solana-based meme coin Church of the Smoking Chicken Fish has officially registered the project as nonprofit and plans to build a physical church in Texas. This comes after the token skyrocketed to a $130 million market cap, less than two weeks after being launched on Pump.fun. “We're going to try to build a church in Marfa, Texas,” church founder Pastor Kelby told Decrypt on the latest episode of "What’s the Meta?" “We've already found potential property and [our] whales have alr...

• Aug 29, 2024

Telegram Privacy Under Fire as Founder Awaits Trial

Following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in Paris last week, privacy advocates quickly rallied to his defense, with the likes of Proton CEO Andy Yen calling Durov’s arrest “insane.” But in the days since, a rift has opened up among the developers of privacy-focused apps and cryptocurrencies, with some questioning Telegram’s tools for “protecting user privacy.” In a recent interview with WIRED, Meredith Whittaker, president of the secure messaging app Signal, argued that Telegram “doesn't...

• Aug 29, 2024

Bitcoin Price Falls Again, With Ethereum and Solana Down Over 20% in August

Bitcoin's rough week has continued into Friday, with the price of the leading cryptocurrency falling below $58,000. But while it's been a down month for Bitcoin, both Ethereum and Solana have seen far greater percentage dips over the course of August. Now down more than 4% over the past day, Bitcoin is currently sitting at $57,932, per data from CoinGecko. That's even lower than the $58,060 mark hit on Tuesday this week. Bitcoin has now plunged by nearly 6% this week, and about 9% since the star...

• Aug 29, 2024

New NFL Rivals Season Adds 'Biggest Upgrade' Since NFT Marketplace

NFL Rivals, an officially licensed mobile football game from Mythical Games, announced Friday that its second in-game season will launch on September 5 alongside the real-world season kickoff of the National Football League (NFL). Mythical Games said that the mobile game attracted over 5 million downloads and more than 115 million games played in its first season. Its second season, called "Year 2," will introduce new game modes, “distinctive” pack drops, and new ways for fans to engage with the...

• Aug 29, 2024

Toncoin and Notcoin Plunge Amid Telegram CEO Arrest and The Open Network Issues

Telegram-linked cryptocurrencies Toncoin (TON) and Notcoin (NOT) have plunged more than 23% over the past week. This comes following the Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov, being arrested and charged in France. Days later, the token’s network halted the production of blocks. The Open Network was originally developed by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov. But it was abandoned after they received warning from the SEC that they were producing an unregistered security. Quickly, the project was picked up by com...

• Aug 29, 2024

Bitcoin Slips Below $59,000 as Market Sentiment Wavers

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell below the $59,000 mark during early European trading hours on Friday. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap touched a low of $58,688, before recovering slightly to $59,450, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko. Simultaneously, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is also experiencing downward pressure, trading at $2,522, down 1.8% from the previous day. According to data from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s price...