The social network X is under scrutiny by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) after numerous reports emerged that a change to its default settings allowed X users’ data to be used to train the artificial intelligence of Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok. Although the encrypted email service ProtonMail provided X subscribers with instructions on how to disable the default settings, some were still unhappy with the changes. However, this is not what we are going to talk about, but rather the hottest news that has recently taken over the crypto industry.
Ledger Introduces a New Touchscreen Wallet
Following the release of its first touchscreen model, the Ledger Stax, Ledger has introduced a new touchscreen wallet. On 26 July, the company announced the launch of the new device, the Ledger Flex.
“After a decade of setting the standard for security and self-custody in crypto and digital assets, I’m proud to say we’re raising the bar again,” says Pascal Gauthier, Chairman & CEO of Ledger. “By launching both Ledger Flex and Ledger Stax this year, we’re redefining the experience of self-custody. Ledger devices already secure more than 20% of the world’s digital assets, and our new secure touchscreen category will make self-custody more accessible than ever before for more consumers and enterprises.”
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The executive claims that the products retain ‘the same uncompromising security’ but have a more intuitive interface. Along with Flex, the company also launched Ledger Security Key. According to Gauthier, their touchscreen devices can log in using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology with a security key. This feature is available in Stax and Flex products and can be used for two-factor authentication (2FA).
“This allows secure, passwordless login to many services using the open FIDO2 standard for passkeys. It can also be used for 2FA.” Gauthier notes.
The company explained that the open Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) 2 specification enables decentralized access across multiple platforms. As a result, users can log in to supported services by tapping their Flex or Stax on their phone or connecting via USB to their PC.
MEW’s popularity grows after WhiteBIT projects launch
Cat in a Dog’s World (MEW) is expanding its potential beyond the usual meme tokens. The token will become part of a new lending project through a WhiteBIT exchange program. MEW holders can now deposit their meme tokens and receive passive income. The announcement was posted by WhiteBIT in their X. So far, MEW will yield only 1.5% per annum with relatively low risk. All coin holders can invest from 7,000 to 409,000 MEW in a special program with a limited duration.
MEW has also launched a new bounty program on WhiteBIT. It is active until 12 August and requires the creation of a new account and a full KYC procedure. After that, users will be asked to complete several tasks. The final list of winners will be announced after 26 August.
In particular, MEW has recently become the most traded asset on Bithumb, in a pairing with the South Korean won. The coin has surpassed even Bitcoin in terms of daily volumes, based on the trend of cat-themed memes. MEW is one of the few meme coins offered to South Korean traders and is becoming increasingly popular.
Starknet Cooperates with Informal Systems
StarkWare, a leading participant and developer of the Ethereum Starknet second layer network, is integrating the Interblock Communication (IBC) protocol, a key component of the Cosmos ecosystem designed to enable interoperability between independent blockchains. For this integration, it is working with Cosmos member Informal Systems. The latter announced this in a post on the social network X.
Currently, Cosmos and Starknet operate on different code bases. Starknet is a decentralized ZK-Rollup that functions as a second-level network on Ethereum. It uses the STARK proof of work to provide high throughput and low transaction costs while maintaining the security of the underlying network. At the same time, Cosmos is an ecosystem consisting of several networks developed using the Cosmos SDK. They use the Tendermint consensus engine and interact with each other using the IBC protocol.
The integration will allow Starknet to connect to any IBC-compliant network, including all existing ones in the Cosmos ecosystem and beyond that have implemented this feature. StarkWare explained that this partnership with Informal Systems is aimed at achieving greater decentralization and expanding Starknet’s interoperability.
“This partnership aims to achieve two primary goals for Starknet: enhancing decentralization and interoperability, through exploration of the Tendermint consensus algorithm and the IBC protocol,” it said.
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JPMorgan Chase Launches AI Tool for Research Analytics Tasks
According to the Financial Times, investment banking giant JPMorgan Chase is launching its version of a ChatGPT-like generative AI product capable of performing the work of a research analyst.
Employees of JPMorgan’s Asset and Wealth Management department have access to the recently launched LLM Suite generative AI tool. It is designed to help with writing texts, generating ideas, solving problems using spreadsheets, summarising documents by accessing third-party models, and other functions.
The Financial Times report also states that LLM Suite is a ‘ChatGPT-like product’ that can work with other internal systems that handle sensitive financial information to improve ‘overall productivity’. Specifically, the banking giant released LLM Suite in early 2024. However, at that time, only 15% (50,000) of its employees had access to the tool.
DeepMind AI Hits Silver-medal Standard in International Mathematical Olympiad
On 25 July, Google DeepMind announced that it had made significant steps in improving the mathematical reasoning capabilities of its artificial intelligence systems. This year, Google DeepMind introduced two AI systems: AlphaProof, which focuses on formal mathematical reasoning, and AlphaGeometry 2, which specializes in solving geometric problems. Both systems solved four out of six problems at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), “achieving the same level as a silver medalist in the competition for the first time,” the company said.
Google explained that the Olympiad is widely recognized as “a grand challenge in machine learning and an aspirational benchmark for measuring an AI system’s advanced mathematical reasoning capabilities.”
Mathematics is considered to be the most important criterion for AI development. For example, geometry requires an intuitive and creative approach to problem-solving, as well as sophisticated reasoning skills.
Google has previously experimented with mathematical models of artificial intelligence, creating the AlphaGo system that learned to play the board game Go and defeated the legendary Go player Lee Sedol in 2016.
Now, the researchers have combined AlphaGo’s successor, known as AlphaZero, with pre-trained language models to create AlphaProof. It learns by solving millions of problems translated into a formal programming language called Lean.
The company stated that its AI teams are “continuing to explore multiple AI approaches for advancing mathematical reasoning and plan to release more technical details on AlphaProof soon.”
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