Page 1,195«..1020..1,1941,1951,1961,197..1,2001,210..»

Mint DIS 2023 | AI won’t replace you, someone using AI will … – TechCircle

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has put AI in the hands of people, and those who dont use it could struggle to keep their jobs in future, Jaspreet Bindra, Founder and MD, Tech Whisperer Lt. UK, surmised at the Mint Digital Innovation Summit on June 9.

We never think about electricity until its not there. Thats how AI used to be. It was always in the background and we never thought about it. With generative AI it has come into our hands, and 200-300 million of us are like, wow! said Bindra.

He noted that while AI wont replace humans at their jobs, someone using AI very well could. He urged working professionals to recalibrate and embrace generative AI as a powerful tool created by humans, instead of looking at it as a threat.

There is a new kid in town, who can do a bunch of things that we can too, he said, adding that humans will just be able to do tasks better and will hence have to take advantage of their own ingenuity. 60% of jobs will be impacted, not as jobs themselves but as tasks, he said.

To be sure, Bindra said that he believes generative AI to be a transformative technology, just like Search or the Internet were. He said that the technology will also reshape big tech firms themselves. The reshaping of big tech has already started, and theres a new trillion-dollar boy in town called Nvidia. Youre going to see some shaping and reshaping of the apex of technology as we go forward.

However, he also acknowledged that Generative AI (GAI) is not the same as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) a fear that many have expressed ever since ChatGPT became popular last year.

I believe that one day AI will become more intelligent than human beings in certain aspects. What I dont believe is that itll ever get conscious or sentient. We dont understand our own brain, or our own consciousness its the hard problem in philosophy - how can we build something that will be conscious?

Go here to read the rest:

Mint DIS 2023 | AI won't replace you, someone using AI will ... - TechCircle

Read More..

5 things you should know about investing in artificial intelligence … – The Motley Fool Australia

What do you think about artificial intelligence (AI)?

The technology is the hot talking point at the moment after the spectacular rise of generative engine ChatGPT.

But for stock investors, is AI just a fad or a fair dinkum theme that they need to pay attention to?

Montaka chief investment officer Andrew Macken had some thoughts:

Although the tech isnt quite there yet, eventually the real value of AI will be its general problem-solving capabilities.

AI will likely represent something like a skeleton key that will unlock the solutions to the worlds scientific, medical, and engineering problems, Macken said on the Montaka blog.

This is why some experts much smarter than myself believe that solving artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is, building a model, or collection of models, that are general problem solvers will be the last problem that humans ever solve.

Macken has no doubt AI will unambiguously increase the productivity of humans.

Already, tools around content generation whether in text, images, or code, such as transcription and translation, just to name a few obvious ones are drastically reducing the time and cost associated with many tasks.

As for AIs impact on the economy, inequality might impede potential gains.

In the hypothetical extreme (just as a thought experiment), if [labour] is essentially no longer needed for most professional tasks, then we end up with most of us being unemployed with no source of income, said Macken.

And the bulk of the economic spoils of this new economy will accrue to a small number of companies which own the AI models.

Economic inequality is a headwind for consumption growth, thus economic growth, and, by extension, earnings growth for ASX companies.

While most people spend the majority of their earnings on goods and services which keeps the economy growing, the wealthy few simply cant spend enough of their wealth especially as it expands.

This is why an idea thats been previously consigned as too radical could re-enter public discussions.

Many experts who have been thinking about this future scenario for a long time believe that societies will need to adopt some kind of Universal Basic Income (UBI) over time, said Macken.

Such an idea may sound really strange at first, but empirical studies are showing lots of counterintuitive benefits around greater risk-taking and entrepreneurship.

Could AI push some stocks into the stratosphere, as the internet did 25 years ago?

Macken reckons theres absolutely potential for that, but it will probably look and feel a bit different to the late 1990s.

So, today, for example, we see some AI-related stocks that look overvalued due to the hype, he said.

And we see lots of business[es] in nearly every industry that are going to be impacted by AI in a meaningful way. Some positively and some negatively.

Thus it could be a polarising effect. Not a pure boom because some companies and sectors will go bust.

Our sense is that this transformation is going to split winners and losers in a much more definitive way than the dot-com boom did 25 years ago.

Which are the stocks and sectors that could be punished by the rise of artificial intelligence?

According to Macken, one big group of losers will be businesses that make their living from charging a lot of money for services that can now be performed by AI models at negligible costs.

Last month, for example, a business in the US called Chegg Inc (NYSE: CHGG), an online educational platform that assists students with their homework, told investors they now believed ChatGPT was having an impact on new customer growth and not in a positive way, he said.

The stock basically halved in a day. There will probably be a lot more of these situations over time.

Then there are companies that are too slow, or even stubbornly refuse, to adapt to new intelligence tools.

One way to think about it is something like this: if my competitors can all deliver the same product at a greatly reduced cost thanks to AI-based applications, then I had better reduce my costs too, or else the inevitable price deflation thats coming will wipe out my profits.

While no one would recommend leaving investment decisions to artificial intelligence just yet, there are ways to deploy the tool to assist your stock picking.

Macken breaks down the investment process into two distinct phases: production and insight crystallisation.

Production is the research all the required reading, writing, and analysing of potential ASX shares to buy.

Insight crystallisation is all about thinking deeply and creatively about implications, calculating the likelihood of different outcomes and then deciding on high-probability perceptions that could be investment opportunities.

Right now, AI can assist investors in performing the production phase.

It will allow investors to go much wider and deeper in a much shorter amount of time, said Macken.

My recommendation would be to go wider and deeper, for sure, but also reinvest some of those time savings in more insight crystallisation. Ultimately, I believe this is where the value-add will remain for human investors for the foreseeable future.

Read more here:

5 things you should know about investing in artificial intelligence ... - The Motley Fool Australia

Read More..

Binance to exit the Netherlands after failing to obtain regulatory approval – CNBC

The Binance logo is displayed on a screen in San Anselmo, California, June 6, 2023.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will leave the Netherlands after the company's application to register under the Dutch crypto authorization regime was rejected.

Referring to a virtual asset service provider, Binance on Friday said that it could no longer serve Dutch clients "as we have been unable to register as a VASP with the Dutch regulator."

The company didn't give a reason for why it was unable to receive a license from regulators.

Starting Friday, no new Binance users will be accepted onto the platform. From July 17, Binance said it will cease allowing users to buy tokens, trade, or make deposits, although its withdrawal function remains active.

Binance recommended that users withdraw their assets from their accounts.

The Dutch central bank, which is responsible for authorizing new virtual asset services providers, was not immediately available for comment.

Under the current regulatory regime, Binance can only get approval to operate in an EU country by registering under its money laundering prevention rules.

The firm has so far received such approvals in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania. This is set to change once the EU approves its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.

MiCA aims to harmonize crypto regulation across the bloc and to prevent bad actors from harming consumers, particularly in the wake of the shock bankruptcy of FTX in November.

Once MiCA comes into force, crypto firms with registration in one EU country will be able to then use that to offer their services across other member states.

Binance said it remains "committed to working collaboratively with regulators around the world and are additionally focused on getting our business ready to be fully MiCA compliant."

"Existing Dutch resident users are being sent an email with comprehensive information about what this means for their accounts and any assets they currently have on the Binance platform, alongside any steps they will need to take," a Binance spokesperson told CNBC.

"While Binance is disappointed that this has become necessary, it will continue to engage productively and transparently with Dutch regulators."

The latest blow to the crypto giant follows a tumultuous few months for the broader cryptocurrency industry. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao, alleging that they engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities and commingled investor funds with their own.

WATCH: How a $60 billion crypto collapse got regulators worried

See the original post:

Binance to exit the Netherlands after failing to obtain regulatory approval - CNBC

Read More..

SEC and Binance.US strike a temporary agreement on asset access – Cointelegraph

Binance, Binance.US, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reportedly agreed on Friday, June 16, to temporarily limit access to customer funds exclusively to Binance.US employees.

According to reports, the proposed agreement, pending approval from the overseeing federal judge, outlines measures for Binance.US to prevent any access by Binance officials to private keys of wallets, hardware wallets, or root access to Binance.USs Amazon Web Services tools. Additionally, the U.S.-based crypto trading platform will disclose comprehensive information on business expenses, including estimated costs, in the upcoming weeks.

The agreement has emerged as a direct response to a motion filed by the SEC seeking to freeze the entirety of Binance.USs assets during ongoing legal proceedings. The regulatory body expressed apprehension that without a granted temporary restraining order, there might be a risk of funds being transferred offshore or crucial records being deliberately destroyed.

However, Binance.USs legal representatives strongly opposed the notion, contending that imposing a complete freeze on all assets would essentially be equivalent to administering an excessively severe death penalty upon the company.

During a hearing earlier in the week, U.S. district court judge Amy Berman Jackson advised the involved parties that it would be more advantageous to reach an agreement on a proposed stipulation rather than relying on the court to formulate a restraining order. The judge emphasized that a temporary restraining order carries a limited duration of two weeks, which might prove inadequate for a comprehensive hearing. This is particularly true considering the substantial volume of submitted exhibits, amounting to over 4,000 pages.

Related: Binance under investigation in France since February 2022: Report

The proposed agreement includes additional provisions, such as the creation of new crypto wallets by Binance.US, which will be inaccessible to employees of other Binance entities. Furthermore, Binance.US commits to providing additional information to the SEC and agrees to an accelerated discovery schedule. Notably, U.S.-based customers will retain the ability to withdraw funds throughout this period.

If accepted, the proposed agreement will partially address the SECs concerns while the broader lawsuit progresses. The SEC recently sued Binance and Binance.US for trading unregistered securities, and alleged commingling of funds and poor practices. However, the proposed agreement does not encompass the broader lawsuit.

Magazine: Binance humiliated, HK needs 100K crypto workers, Chinas AI unicorn

Read the original post:

SEC and Binance.US strike a temporary agreement on asset access - Cointelegraph

Read More..

Binance to quit Netherlands after failing to register – Reuters

June 16 (Reuters) - Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday that it was leaving the Dutch market because it had been unable to meet registration requirements to operate as a virtual asset service provider.

It is the latest in a string of setbacks for Binance including the June 5 decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to charge the company with evading securities laws. Binance disputes the SEC charges.

A spokesperson for Binance, which had been operating in the Netherlands without permission from regulators, said that the company had tried "many alternative avenues" to meet Dutch registration requirements.

"While Binance is disappointed that this has become necessary, it will continue to engage productively and transparently with Dutch regulators," they said.

The company said that starting July 17, trading in the Netherlands will be halted and existing Dutch users will only be able to withdraw assets from its platform.

The Dutch Central Bank (DNB), which registers financial service providers in the Netherlands said it had previously warned the company it was operating in the Netherlands without proper registration, and then fined it for the same reason in January.

Binance has also recently announced plans to leave Cyprus, Canada and Australia.

The company said on Friday however that it has received registration in other European Union countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania, and will continue to operate there.

Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Elaine Hardcastle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More here:

Binance to quit Netherlands after failing to register - Reuters

Read More..

Binance Reaches Deal With Government to Avert U.S. Shutdown – The New York Times

The Securities and Exchange Commission reached a deal with Binance late Friday that would allow the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange to keep operating in the United States and safeguard customer assets as the company battles a government lawsuit.

After filing fraud charges against Binance on June 5, the S.E.C. moved to freeze the firms U.S. assets in a move that the exchanges lawyers said would put it out of business in the United States.

But in a court filing on Friday, the S.E.C. said that the two sides had reached a compromise after several days of court-ordered mediation. On Saturday morning, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case in federal court in Washington, signed off on the deal.

Under the agreement, funds belonging to customers of Binance.US, an affiliate of the companys larger offshore exchange, would go into special digital repositories accessible only to the U.S. exchange and not to Binances international operation, or its founder, Changpeng Zhao. The deal stipulates that Binance.US can transfer company assets solely to make payments for expenses or to satisfy obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business.

Binance said on Saturday, Although we maintain that the S.E.C.s request for emergency relief was entirely unwarranted, we are pleased that the disagreement over this request was resolved on mutually acceptable terms.

The S.E.C.s director of enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, said in a statement on Saturday, We ensured that U.S. customers will be able to withdraw their assets from the platform while we work to resolve the alleged underlying misconduct.

The dispute over Binance's assets was part of a high-stakes legal battle that could determine the future of the crypto industry in the United States.

In recent months, the S.E.C. has embarked on an aggressive industry crackdown, suing Binance as well as its largest U.S. rival, the crypto exchange Coinbase. With the regulatory pressure intensifying, some crypto companies have vowed to fight in court, while others are exploring options outside the United States, decamping to countries with more lenient regulations.

The agreement to safeguard customer assets in the United States would resolve the first of what could be many legal skirmishes to come. The S.E.C., in a sweeping civil fraud lawsuit, charged Binance and Mr. Zhao with mishandling customers deposits, lying to regulators and allowing market manipulation to proliferate on the exchange.

In court filings, the S.E.C. said an asset freeze was necessary to ensure that Binance did not endanger user funds or seek to move money abroad. But the company said the S.E.C.s proposal was overly punitive and would prevent the firm from paying employees and vendors, causing its operations to quickly grind to a halt.

Binance was also sued earlier this year by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Mr. Zhao is under investigation by federal prosecutors. The company has argued that the S.E.C. is being unreasonable in going after the business and its founder. Four major law firms are representing Binance and Mr. Zhao, better known as C.Z., in the litigation in Washington.

At a court hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Judge Jackson expressed some skepticism over the S.E.C.s strategy of using enforcement actions to impose regulatory oversight on the crypto world. She called the approach inefficient and cumbersome and it is one reason she urged the parties to negotiate a deal on safeguarding customer assets in the United States.

But Judge Jackson also gave short shrift to Binances argument that is was surprised by the aggressiveness of the S.E.C.

According to court filings, the S.E.C. has been investigating Binance since 2020. Some of the surprise expressed in the pleadings rang a little hollow, she told Binances lawyers on Tuesday.

Excerpt from:

Binance Reaches Deal With Government to Avert U.S. Shutdown - The New York Times

Read More..

Binance to quit the Netherlands and faces investigation in France – The Guardian

Binance

Crypto exchange confirms failure to obtain Dutch licence and French inquiry as problems mount in US too

Fri 16 Jun 2023 12.28 EDT

Binance has suffered setbacks in two European markets after it announced plans to quit the Netherlands and came under investigation by French prosecutors.

The worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange said it was leaving the Dutch market after it failed to obtain a licence from the countrys central bank.

A spokesperson for the company said: Binance has been in a comprehensive registration application process as a virtual asset service provider (Vasp) with the Dutch regulator Unfortunately, this has not resulted in a Vasp registration in the Netherlands at this time.

Binance said that from 17 July, Dutch residents would only be able to withdraw their assets from the platform and further trading or deposits would not be possible. It advised users in the Netherlands to withdraw funds from their accounts.

In France, Le Monde newspaper reported that prosecutors were investigating Binance because of its anti-money laundering procedures and the fact that it advertised its services in the country before it was registered with the financial markets regulator. Binance was registered with Frances Financial Markets Authority in May 2022.

A Binance spokesperson confirmed that the company had been visited by French authorities last week.

We had an on-site visit last week by the relevant authorities. Binance, as always, was fully collaborative and we met our obligations accordingly. We continue to work closely with regulators and law enforcement agencies on all ongoing compliance requirements to uphold high standards, said the spokesperson.

Binance is under pressure from regulators in the US and is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission after allegations of trading in crypto assets and derivatives without the appropriate regulatory approval.

Separately, the companys US platform, Binance.US, which is owned by its chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, is in talks with the SEC to avoid a total asset freeze. The company has warned that its operations will grind to a halt if a US judge grants the regulators request for an asset freezing order.

Binances closest rival, Coinbase, is also being sued by the SEC, which accuses it of operating an illegal exchange.

{{topLeft}}

{{bottomLeft}}

{{topRight}}

{{bottomRight}}

{{.}}

Read the original:

Binance to quit the Netherlands and faces investigation in France - The Guardian

Read More..

Abra Cease-and-Desist Reveals Ties to Binance and Prime Trust – Decrypt

Abra Kadabra! And it's gone.

Cryptocurrency investment company Abra has been issued an emergency cease and desist order by Texas securities regulators.

Authorities claim the cryptocurrency company, also known as Plutus Financial, and Chief Executive Officer Bill Barhydt have engaged in securities fraud. The enforcement order also states it offered investment products to unaccredited investors and that the company has been at least partially insolvent since March 31, 2023.

According to the Texas Securities State Board, on May 12, 2021, the Texas Enforcement Division issued a warning to Barhydt that Plutus Financials products appeared to constitute investment contracts or securities. The state set up a working group to further investigate the cryptocurrency company.

Abra has tried to argue against that characterization in its marketing.

Earn users take no investment-like risks when they deposit digital assets into Interest accounts, the company said last year. Rather, Earn users are simply moving or placing their existing assets into their Interest Accounts with the possibility of receiving interest, but notably, no risk of an investment-type loss.

Investigations reveal, however, that Plutus Financial has been touting their risk management strategy as compared to the now-defunct Voyager Digital and Celsius Network.

The order also states that despite a letter from CEO Bill Barhydt, claiming the company had no exposure to the FTX collapse, a subsidiary of Plutus Financial did have more than $12 million in assets on the platform run by Sam Bankman-Fried.

Abra also allegedly held or currently holds nearly $30 million on Babel Finance, $30 million (or more) on Genesis, and roughly $10 million on Three Arrows Capital (3AC). All three of those companies have been touched by bankruptcy in the past year.

Last, but certainly not least, Texas state authorities claim that Abra has been winding down their Earn product, and transferring assets to Trade accounts. The company has been secretly transferring these funds to Binance, according to authorities. As of February this year, balances for Abra on the platform are valued at roughly $118 million.

Despite the warning, the company continued to offer and sell investment productsthrough Abra Earn and Abra Boostuntil roughly October 3, 2022, regulators said.

Abra did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Decrypt.

Alongside offering and selling investment contracts that resemble securities, the working group also alleges that Abra made offers containing statements that are materially misleading or otherwise likely to deceive the public.

Abra states Prime Trust as their main custodian, which according to Texas authorities, does not operate with a money transmitter license in the state.

As of May 17, 2023, Abra claims $49 million in assets under management (AUM) on behalf of 229 Boost investors, of which 23 are Texas-based. The company also claims to hold $66 million on behalf of 9087 Earn investors, of which 827 reside in the lone star state.

This is not the first time federal charges have been brought against Abra. In July 2020, the SEC charged the company with selling security-based swaps without registration. Similarly, the CFTC charged the company with engaging in illegal off-exchange swaps with overseas customers, namely from the Philippines. The company paid $300,000 for these two penalties.

Texas state authorities have not set a date for an official hearing, but have allowed customers to withdraw funds from the platform, for the time being.

Read the original post:

Abra Cease-and-Desist Reveals Ties to Binance and Prime Trust - Decrypt

Read More..

Binance Launches Bitcoin Transaction Accelerator and Teases Layer-2 Solution – CryptoPotato

Binance is also preparing a BNB Chain layer-2 scaling solution to improve network transaction speeds and costs.

Separately, the firm announced on June 15 that Binance Pool has launched a Bitcoin Transaction Accelerator.

The new solution will allow users to confirm their transactions on the Bitcoin network quicker regardless of any potential network congestion issues, it noted.

Binance Pool is the exchanges service platform dedicated to improving the income of BTC miners.

The Bitcoin network has struggled under demand for block space recently amid the BRC-20 memecoin minting and ordinal inscriptions craze.

In May, regular users suffered from high transaction fees and a backlog of unconfirmed transactions in the Bitcoin mempool.

The new transaction accelerator will only be available for verified Binance Pool users.

Also on June 15, BNB Chain posted a short video teasing a new layer-2 solution. It said the new offering would be coming soon on June 19, but no further details were provided.

Some in the crypto community suggested that BNB Chain will emulate Polygon and launch a zkEVM for layer-2 chains.

A zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine is a fully compatible layer-2 solution that can seamlessly integrate with Ethereums smart contract ecosystem.

Binance is currently embroiled in a battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued the firm last week for violating securities laws, among other alleged misdemeanors.

The Binance native token BNB has had a roller-coaster ride since the company came under fire from American regulators.

The asset fell to an intraday low of $231 before recovering to trade at $236 at the time of writing. It has lost 22.6% since the SEC sued the firm on June 6.

BNB is currently down 65.5% from its all-time high of $686 on May 10, 2021. Despite the regulatory war on exchanges, BNB has fared much better than a lot of its brethren. Many of the altcoins, especially those related to DeFi, are down 90% from their peak prices.

Crypto markets, in general, remain flat on the day, with total capitalization at $1.07 trillion at the time of writing.

See original here:

Binance Launches Bitcoin Transaction Accelerator and Teases Layer-2 Solution - CryptoPotato

Read More..

Binance.US reaches agreement with SEC to avoid full asset freeze – Morningstar

By Clive McKeef

Binance, SEC strike deal to move all U.S. customer funds, wallet keys back onshore

Binance.US and the Securities and Exchange Commission have reached an agreement that avoids a total asset freeze at the cryptocurrency exchange while the SEC's lawsuit against it proceeds.

Under the deal announced Saturday, Binance Holdings, BAM Management US, BAM Trading Services and founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao will repatriate Binance.US customer assets to the U.S.

Binance.US customers are permitted to withdraw funds from the platform, according to the order filed by US judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington federal court.

Read the court orderhere.

Read the SEC statement here.

In its June 5 lawsuit, the SEC had accused Binance and Zhao of mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, and breaking securities rules. It also asked for the repatriation of crypto belonging to US customers, a request made when there is a risk assets may be lost or concealed.

See: Bitcoin drops after SEC files 13 charges against Binance, founder Changpeng Zhao

The deal is in response to an SEC motion to freeze all of Binance.US's assets while the securities-related charges are being considered by the court. The SEC said it was concerned that funds could be moved offshore or records destroyed if it was not granted a temporary restraining order.

However, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, of the District Court for the District of Columbia, told the parties that it would be better for them to come to an agreement.

Binance, Binance.US and the SEC agreed to ensure that only Binance.US employees could access customer funds in the short term, according to the court documents. Under the agreement, which still needs a sign-off from the federal judge overseeing the case, Binance.US will take steps to make sure that no Binance Holdings officials have access to private keys for its various wallets, hardware wallets or root access to Binance.US's Amazon Web Services tools, the filings showed.

See also:Should you be worried if your crypto is in Binance.US or Coinbase?

Binance.US says customer assets are safe and argued that blocking the flow of all funds would cripple its business.

The U.S. affiliate of Binance halted dollar deposits last week and gave customers until June 13 to withdraw their dollar funds, after the SEC asked a court to freeze its assets.

Binance.US on Saturday said it was "pleased" that the disagreement over the SEC's request was resolved on mutually acceptable terms, though it maintains that the call for a freeze was "entirely unwarranted," Bloomberg reported

See also:BlackRock is applying for a spot bitcoin ETF. Here's why it matters to the crypto industry

-Clive McKeef

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-17-23 1215ET

See original here:

Binance.US reaches agreement with SEC to avoid full asset freeze - Morningstar

Read More..