Apollo Layoffs
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SBF’s legal battle still has “a lot to play out,” according to legal commentators
Sam Bankman-Fried faces eight accusations and could get 115 years in jail, but a final sentence could take months or even years.
TikTok’s Secret Sauce
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‘Big Time’ and other Web3 games take home the gold at the inaugural GAM3 awards
The 16 prize winners will share over $1M worth of prizes sponsored by companies such as Immutable X, Blockchain Game Alliance, Machinations, and many more.
Google is beta testing digital state ID cards in its Android Wallet app
Google announced the digital ID feature at its 2022 I/O developer conference. | Image: Google Maryland was one of the first states to make state IDs available on Apple’s Wallet app for iPhones, and now Google is beta testing support for the “Digital Driver’s License” in the Wallet app on Android phones. The Apple Wallet … Read more
Jewel Bank, Polygon to launch Bermuda’s first USD-backed stablecoin
The JUSD stablecoin will allow real-time settlements for institutional investors in the territory.
As AI pervades biotech, what are investors looking for in 2023?
Silicon Valley law firm Cooley recently reported that it “handled 298 disclosable venture capital financings for Q3 2022, representing $8.1 billion of invested capital, continuing a downward trend for both metrics and representing the lowest for both since Q4 2019.” The firm said that deal volume, dollar volume and deal size for financings of life … Read more
Heartex’s Label Studio makes labeling audio for ML easier
Heartex, the well-funded machine learning data labeling startup, is launching a major update to its platform today that will open up new use cases for its tools by making annotating audio files in the commercial and open source versions of its Label Studio a lot easier for its users. These updates include a new user … Read more
6 investors discuss why AI is more than just a buzzword in biotech
As ChatGPT has so aptly demonstrated, AI is now truly entering the mainstream consciousness. That’s why we weren’t very surprised when a slew of investors told us they rarely see a biotech startup that doesn’t incorporate AI in some form or other these days. “Most of the companies we have seen have an AI component … Read more
Bitcoin Santa Claus rally unlikely, according to on-chain and derivatives data
Data suggests that BTC’s rally to $18,300 is the only Santa Claus rally Bitcoin will see before the year ends.
World of Warcraft veteran Chris Metzen returns to Blizzard
Work work! Once the resigned cry of orcs in Warcraft will now be Chris Metzen’s new mantra as he emerges from retirement to rejoin the team at Blizzard. Today, John Hight, senior vice president and general manager of World of Warcraft, announced that longtime WoW veteran Metzen, also known for his work across Diablo, StarCraft, … Read more
New York State issues guidance for banks seeking to engage in activities with crypto
The state, a notoriously demanding regulator of the industry, has released detailed guidelines for banks’ applications; some licensed banks may have to play catchup.
Protocol Developer Archblock Aims to Bring US Community Banks to DeFi Through Partnership
Archblock’s and Adapt3r’s joint effort focuses on onboarding U.S.-regulated financial institutions and low-risk investments to decentralized finance protocols after a series of loan defaults.
The battle over gig worker status is heating up
The fight over whether gig workers are independent contractors or employees has been heating up this week on both state and federal levels. The stakes? A once disruptive business model could soon be disrupted itself. On the state level, this week has seen developments in the Proposition 22 saga as companies relying on gig workers … Read more
Crypto.com Receives License as a Payment Institution in Brazil
The company is the first crypto exchange to become a licensed payments institution in the South American country.
SBF’s handcuffs aren’t loosening up anytime soon
Welcome back to Chain Reaction. If you’re reading this, I’m willing to bet you probably weren’t arrested this week and are now sitting in a Bahamian jail. But, you know who was arrested and is sitting in a Bahamian jail right now? Yep, FTX’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. Seems like the majority of the headlines … Read more
‘Luddite’ Teens
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US Government Wants to ‘Send a Message’ to Crypto With SBF’s Arrest, Says Former US Prosecutor
Renato Mariotti, partner at international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, discusses why regulators are “eager to plant a flag” on the crypto industry.
Dutch Central Bank Says Crypto Exchange KuCoin Is Operating Without a License in Netherlands
De Nederlandsche Bank said KuCoin lacks a “legal registration” with the central bank.
Pitch Deck Teardown: MedCrypt’s $25M Series B deck
In September, the FBI warned that more than half of connected medical devices in hospitals had known critical security vulnerabilities, and these flaws are leading to a surge in attacks on the healthcare industry. As Carly Page reported, MedCrypt raised a $25 million round to help device manufacturers think security-by-design when creating the next generation … Read more
Investing in the future of robotics
A short one this week, as I’m taking some time off. I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so I’ve spoken with some leading names in the field to keep Actuator chugging along. Last week, we spoke to MassRobotics’ chief of operations, Joyce Sidopoulos. Next week, we’ll be talking to U.C. Berkeley’s Ken Goldberg. Right … Read more
Amber Group acquires cryptocurrency platform Sparrow exchange: report
The news comes after Amber Group reportedly pulled back expansion plans due to financial exposure in the FTX collapse.
Alphabet’s Intrinsic acquires DARPA-backed firm behind open source robotics software
Just a few months after buying fellow robotic software firm Vicarious, Alphabet-owned Intrinsic has acquired several divisions within Open Robotics, the company behind the widely-used robotics software packages Gazebo and Robotic Operating System (ROS). Specifically, Intrinsic is buying Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), the for-profit arm of Open Robotics, and Open Source Robotics Corporation Singapore … Read more
Hitman players about to be abandoned by Stadia will be able to transfer their progress
Agent 47 is really going to miss Stadia. | Image: IO Interactive Ahead of the impending shutdown of Google Stadia, Hitman developer IO Interactive has detailed how Stadia players will be able to bring their progress from Hitman — World of Assassination to other platforms. Players will be able to do a one-time transfer, what … Read more
Web3 Infrastructure Firm Blocknative Raises $15M for Ethereum Block Building Market
The funding round was led by Blockchain Capital, Foundry Group and several other venture capital firms.