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Santa Monica Bitcoin Office and Festival

Saturday. August 10 at 4:30 PM

1 min. read

The City of Santa Monica, California, has established a Bitcoin Office to enhance Bitcoin education, identify economic prospects, and strengthen its status as a Bitcoin innovation center. The office collaborates with Proof of Workforce, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the workforce, unions, and pension funds. Approved by the Santa Monica city council on July 11, the office's webpage went live on Aug. 8. While no specific actions are mentioned on the webpage, the city plans to host a Bitcoin festival in October. The Santa Monica Bitcoin Office, managed by the Proof of Workforce Foundation, focuses on education and community initiatives. The foundation, founded by Dominick Bei in 2023, aims to help unions and workers explore how Bitcoin can benefit them. The city is promoting the Bitcoin Peer to Pier Festival, following the cancellation of Swan Bitcoin's Pacific Bitcoin Festival. The city's event is set for Oct. 18.

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Chainalysis Acquires Fraud Detection Startup Using AI

Tuesday. January 14 at 9:00 PM

Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis has entered the realm of artificial intelligence with its acquisition of a fraud detection startup. The purchase of Alterya, a tech firm utilizing AI agents to identify fraud, was reported to be around $150 million. Chainalysis confirmed the news in a blog post, emphasizing the acquisition's role in offering proactive fraud protection for payments and improving fraud detection in the Know Your Customer process for exchanges, blockchains, and wallet providers. Despite not being widely recognized in the crypto sphere, Alterya has partnerships with major players like Coinbase and Binance, monitoring over $8 billion in monthly transactions to combat authorized fraud. This acquisition follows Chainalysis' previous purchase of Web3 security platform Hexagate. The company highlighted the increasing threat of fraud in the financial sector, exacerbated by generative AI technology, which has made fraudulent activities more accessible and scalable. The FBI has warned about scammers using generative AI to target cryptocurrency investments, with Deloitte projecting significant economic losses due to deepfakes and generative AI scams by 2027.

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Sony Launches Soneium Blockchain Platform Amid Centralization Concerns

Tuesday. January 14 at 6:00 PM

Sony Block Solutions Labs, a collaboration between Sony Group and Web3 infrastructure provider Startale, has officially released the blockchain platform Soneium. Despite successful testing with 15 million active wallets and 47 million transactions, the platform faces criticism from the crypto community for potential asset-freezing and rug-pull issues. Soneium aims to create an open internet for entertainment, gaming, and finance, with a focus on empowering users in the web3 space. The platform has already seen 6.8 million total blocks and 7.3 million contracts. Sony's public blockchain project, Soneium, was first announced in August 2024 and has since launched the testnet 'Soneium Minato.' While developers have created various applications on the platform, concerns about asset freezing and rug-pulling have been raised by users. Sony also introduced the Fan Marketing Platform and partnered with Chainlink to enhance cross-chain interoperability.

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Tesla Cybertrucks Provide Free Wi-Fi to Los Angeles After Wildfires

Tuesday. January 14 at 7:00 AM

After devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the deployment of Cybertrucks and Starlink terminals to provide free Wi-Fi hotspots in areas without internet access. Musk's plan involves positioning Cybertrucks equipped with Starlink terminals in a grid pattern to offer connectivity in the hardest-hit regions. This initiative follows Musk's previous efforts, such as sending Starlink terminals to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Additionally, Tesla will provide housing for affected employees and deploy Superchargers, Megapack Chargers, and Mobile Powerwall Units to support emergency services. The company also sent Cybertrucks with Starlinks to various sheriff's department offices. Musk encouraged Cybertruck owners to join the support effort by lending their Wi-Fi to affected areas. Despite criticism of his political views, Musk emphasized the importance of aiding affected communities through these relief efforts.

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Innovative Bitcoin Staking Protocol by Babylon

Tuesday. January 14 at 6:00 AM

Fisher Yu, the co-founder of Babylon, a Bitcoin staking protocol, discusses the native use cases for BTC. Babylon aims to create more opportunities for HODLers to earn rewards without relying on third parties. By enabling Bitcoin staking, users can secure other blockchains and decentralized systems while earning rewards in the respective protocols' currencies. Despite the risks involved, such as slashing, Babylon has attracted significant interest, with thousands of bitcoins staked within hours of launch. The project's roadmap includes turning the Babylon chain into a marketplace for various decentralized systems. Fisher envisions a future where Bitcoin and Babylon are synonymous, attracting mainstream institutions and users to the crypto ecosystem. With a focus on innovation and security, Babylon aims to revolutionize the staking landscape and provide a new way for HODLers to maximize their Bitcoin holdings.

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