While Elon Musk is playing around with his new AI models on the social platform X, cryptocurrency companies are actively joining the sports game and becoming partners of the UEFA Champions League. So let’s have a look at the hottest crypto industry news today.
Ledger Live Adds Support for Revolut to Increase Accessibility for Crypto
On August 14, Ledger announced on the social network X that it has started integrating with global neobank Revolut. Their partnership will provide users in selected countries of the European Economic Area with the ability to seamlessly purchase cryptocurrencies through Ledger Live, a software that allows cryptocurrency holders to track their portfolios.
Current Revolut customers who have passed the Know Your Customer verification will not need additional verification to purchase cryptocurrency. New users will need to go through the KYC procedure to access the service using Visa or Mastercard. Revolut’s general manager of cryptocurrencies, Emil Urmanshin, said that this cooperation is the “next step in our mission to help people onboard to web3.”
The move is a continuation of Revolut’s gradual expansion of the cryptocurrency space, including the phased launch of its cryptocurrency exchange, Revolut X. Unlike traditional exchanges, Revolut X was initially available only to professional traders, offering a switch from fiat currency to cryptocurrency with zero commission for producers and 0.09% for buyers.
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SoonVerse and Taker Protocol Partnership
AI-generated Game SoonVerse has announced a new partnership with Taker Protocol, which aims to transform the liquidity management of Bitcoin (BTC) and related assets. It is built on the innovative NPoL (New Proof of Liquidity) consensus mechanism and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). In addition, the Taker Protocol offers a new approach to solving liquidity problems.
This partnership has certain advantages for the SoonVerse community. First, holders of Liquidity Provider (LP) tokens will be able to place bids on them using the Taker Protocol, and SoonVerse users will benefit from this. Such bets will allow them to generate income not only from providing liquidity but also from yield, increasing the return on investment. Thus, it aims to maximize rewards and offers a useful tool for those seeking to increase income through liquidity participation.
Additionally, SoonVerse community members can participate as nominees or delegates of the Taker protocol. This allows users to participate in various roles within the protocol that should be rewarded. The structure supports consumption and provides more opportunities for specific benefits based on incentives that encourage users to contribute.
Musk’s xAI Introduced Grok-2, the Latest AI Model for X Users
The social network X has updated to the beta version of Grok-2, a new AI tool from xAI designed for communication, coding, and reasoning. On 13 August, XAI, an artificial intelligence startup founded by Elon Musk, introduced the successor to its older generation AI model Grok-1.5 to X users. The beta version of Grok-2 includes two language models: Grok-2 and its weaker twin, Grok-2 mini.
The Grok AI search assistant is available for X users with a Premium or Premium+ subscription and is not available for standard subscription holders. Grok-2 integrates real-time information from X and applies text and image understanding to solving complex user queries. Grok-2 mini, on the other hand, is less powerful and focused on speed.
During its development, the Grok 2 beta received notable recognition on Chatbot Arena, a platform that evaluates Large Language Models (LLMs) developed by the Large System Systems Organisation (LMSYS Org).
According to the LMSYS Org, Grok 2 matches many of the features of OpenAI’s GPT-4o, which was launched on 13 May: “With over 12,000 community votes, sus-column-r has secured the #3 spot on the overall leaderboard, even matching GPT-4o! It excels in Coding (#2), Hard Prompts (#4), and Math (#2).”
By the end of August, XAI will make Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini available to developers via an enterprise application programming interface (API).
Crypto.com Becomes an Official Partner of the UEFA Champions League
Crypto.com has become the exclusive partner of the UEFA Champions League. The announcement of the multi-year partnership, which will see the centralized cryptocurrency exchange become the official global sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, was published on 14 August. According to Steven Kalifowitz, Chief Marketing Officer at Crypto.com, partnering with one of the most popular sports leagues in the world is a significant step for the crypto exchange.
He wrote: “We have successfully built the Crypto.com brand and community by producing innovative and groundbreaking moments and events in a way that others have not been able to replicate. Connecting our brand with engaged sports fans around the world has effectively grown our user base to over 100 million in pursuit of our mission of cryptocurrency in every wallet.”
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Major sporting events help to raise awareness of cryptocurrencies among millions of new users, which in turn can attract new capital to the crypto market. In particular, the emblems of many cryptocurrency companies are increasingly seen in the stands of sporting events or on players’ uniforms. Recently, many cryptocurrency companies have become official partners of sports clubs, which helps both industries attract more people to their respective areas. For example, BingX is a partner of Chelsea Football Club. And recently, they even took their partnership to the next level by being officially labeled the ‘training kit partner’ of the Chelsea men’s team.
The crypto exchange WhiteBIT, has been a partner of FC Barcelona and their professional football research center Barça Innovation Hub since 2022. As part of the cooperation, last month they held the WhiteBIT CUP 2024 event for influential industry representatives, VIP clients, and crypto enthusiasts. Participants of the event had the opportunity to talk to the famous FC Barcelona football player Juliano Belletti, as well as ride the club’s branded bus and try on a special personalized uniform.
And then there is OKX, which has been the official partner of Manchester City Football Club since 2022. In particular, as part of their collaboration, they have released a limited edition collection of T-shirts dedicated to rare NFL shirts. In addition, OKX is also working with the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team, providing space for its emblem on its sports cars for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Shiba Inu Launches Fiat On-Ramp with Visa/MasterCard
The Shiba Inu project team has just launched a fiat on-ramp service that allows users to purchase BONE and USDC using Visa or MasterCard. This development expands access for users looking to embrace the decentralized economy. It allows transactions to be made using familiar payment methods such as Visa and MasterCard. It also eliminates the complexities associated with navigating difficult exchanges or bridging tokens, making $BONE and $USDC more accessible to users.
With this approach, the Shib ecosystem is becoming increasingly popular and helps to promote innovative applications and services on Shibarium, which is a project’s layer 2 scaling solution. A key feature of this online service is a simplified way to purchase BONE and USDC directly on the Shibarium network using Visa or MasterCard. In addition, given that this process is designed for beginners, it does not require a centralized exchange (CEX) account or any prior knowledge of Web3, making it accessible to first-time cryptocurrency buyers.
The Shiba Inu team believes that the launch of this fiat platform will increase the accessibility of the Shib ecosystem, making it easier for new users to create wallets and purchase tokens, as well as strengthening connections with existing users.
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