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Singapore’s central bank slugs Three Arrows founders with 9-year ban

September 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

3AC

Three Arrows Capital founders Kyle Davies and Zhu Su are barred from regulated activities or acting as top execs at any financial firm in Singapore.

Singapore's central bank has issued nine-year prohibition orders to Kyle Davies and Zhu Su over alleged violations of the country's securities laws at their co-founded crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

In a Sept. 14 statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said Su and Davies will be banned from regulated activities during the prohibition period that started Sept. 13.

They also won't be permitted to manage, act as a director, or be a substantial shareholder of any capital market services business in Singapore.

In its decision to bar the pair, MAS said it found further securities law violations when it undertook further investigations into the bankrupt 3AC and its co-founders.

MAS claimed Su and Davies failed to notify the central bank that 3AC employed a new business representative, gave false information to the regulator, and failed to have an appropriate risk management framework in place.

Loo Siew Yee, MAS' assistant managing director of policy, payments and financial crime said “MAS takes a serious view of Mr Zhu’s and Mr Davies’ flagrant disregard of MAS’ regulatory requirements and dereliction of their directors’ duties."

"MAS will take action to weed out senior managers who commit such misconduct” she added.

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Nigeria central bank missed opportunity for blockchain regulation in 2021 — Convexity CEO

September 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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Adedeji Owonibi stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria should have created a blockchain regulation strategy in 2021 instead of cutting ties between cryptocurrency exchange firms and local banks.

A group of Nigerian digital asset professionals took to the stage at the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN)’s Digital Assets Summit 2023 in Abuja, to discuss the future of digital asset regulation in Nigeria.

In the panel titled The Future of Digital Assets: Regulatory Uncertainty and the Way Forward, the group discussed why implementing digital assets regulation and blockchain policy has been slow in Nigeria.

The developmental regulation created by The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is a big step toward understanding and creating a favorable environment for the blockchain and crypto industry, according to Adedeji Owonibi, CEO of Convexity. Owonibi stated that this step is what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should have taken back in 2021 instead of cutting ties between cryptocurrency exchange firms and local banks.

*The panel discussion on the Future of Digital Assets at the SIBAN Digital Assets Summit. Source: SIBAN*

Acknowledging NITDA’s strides in crafting a blockchain policy, Preye Itonyo, the deputy director of the agency’s Digital Economy Development Department, highlighted the regulatory hurdle posed by the decentralized nature of blockchain, resulting in a lack of understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts in Nigeria. He pointed out that this lack of understanding fueled the 2021 crypto-traditional finance ban.

In a recent global survey, Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, was found to be the most cryptocurrency-aware population in the world and 90% of the Nigerian respondents expressed interest in investing in cryptocurrencies in the next year. However, there is a need for regulation in the industry to foster security while encouraging scalability.

In response to this, Itonyo stated that the already established blockchain policy is the first step Nigeria has taken towards ensuring the safety and protection of crypto investors. He went ahead to reveal that a steering committee has been set up by NITDA to facilitate the implementation strategies of the national blockchain policy. According to Itonyo, the CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are members of the committee.

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

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Apple’s 30% tax rules will stay for now, crypto and NFTs may have to wait

August 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

App Store

A Supreme Court judge has rejected a request from Epic Games that would've immediately loosened Apple's App Store payment rules, to the potential benefit of crypto and NFT apps.

Crypto app developers hoping for a loosening of Apple's App Store rules will have to wait longer after a United States Supreme Court held off on granting a request to let apps direct users to payments outside of Apple’s ecosystem.

An Aug. 9 decision from Justice Elena Kagan declined to let a federal appeals court decision take immediate effect as Epic had asked — with no explanation for the decision.

Not surprisingly, the Supreme Court (by decision of Justice Kagan, who is the SCOTUS judge to whom such 9th Cir. matters are assigned) denied Epic Games' motion to enforce the injunction it won in district court 2 years ago.

Epic was right; legal standard favored Apple.

1/3 pic.twitter.com/UnpnphgapG
— Florian Mueller (@FOSSpatents) August 9, 2023

In April, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Apple violated California’s competition laws by not allowing apps to direct users to non-Apple linked payment solutions.

The ruling meant that developers such as Epic Games would be able to funnel users to alternative payment methods, giving them an option that circumvents Apple’s 30% tax on in-app payments.

The 30% Apple tax has also been a hurdle for crypto firms, including those that want to offer iOS users the ability to purchase non-fungible tokens.

At the moment, there exists no means to buy an NFT on an app listed on Apple’s App Store other than through its in-app payments system, which charges a 30% commission rate and only allows purchases using fiat.

Apple has REALLY tight rules regarding any app that is used on their devices. typically they require a 30% tax on all financial transactions, but bc that's impossible with crypto the way it is, they just ban the apps that have direct links/usage to swapping and trading.
— Caleeeb (@adacaleeeb) August 7, 2023

Apple’s guidelines don’t allow apps to take crypto to unlock app functionality or make in-app purchases using crypto.

This has led to most crypto apps offering only limited functionality, such as being able to view balances and assets only. Crypto exchange apps are unaffected.

Justice Kagan’s rejection of Epic’s request means Apple will get at least a few more months of reprieve from the ruling as it plans a Supreme Court appeal to the decision.

The Ninth Circuit ruling will come into effect if the Supreme Court refuses Apple’s appeal, however.

In its argument to lift the appeals court hold Epic claimed it applied a “lax legal standard” in granting the stay which would injure Epic and “innumerable consumers and other app developers for a significant period of time.”

Apple hit back saying the stay has been in place for two years already and doesn’t apply to Epic anyway. Apple booted Epic’s Fortnite off the App Store in August 2020 for attempting to workaround Apple’s in-app payments system.

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Kuwait bans crypto and virtual assets transactions

July 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Asia

Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority has officially confirmed the commitment to “absolute prohibition” of virtually all crypto operations in the country.

The state of Kuwait is the latest jurisdiction to ban virtually all operations involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).

On July 18, Kuwait’s main financial regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), issued a circular on the supervision and issuance of virtual assets in the country.

In the circular, the CMA confirmed the commitment to “absolute prohibition” on major use cases and operations involving cryptocurrencies, including payments, investments, and mining.

The circular also bans local regulators from issuing any licenses allowing firms to provide virtual asset services as a commercial business.

In the meantime, securities and other financial instruments regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the CMA are excluded from the latest prohibitions, the announcement notes.

Apart from the prohibitions, the CMA also required customers to be cautious and aware of the risks associated with virtual assets. The regulator particularly flagged cryptocurrencies, arguing that they “don’t carry a legal status and are not issued or supported.”

The CMA added:

“It is not linked to any asset or issuer, and that the prices of these assets are always driven by speculation that exposes them to a sharp decline.”

The penalties for violating Kuwait’s Anti-Money Laundering laws are stipulated in Article 15 of Law No. 106 of 2013, the regulator noted.

Kuwait’s new regulations align with the country’s measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, the regulator stated. The CMA also referred to the conclusions of a study by the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism regarding the commitment to applying recommendation 15 by the Financial Action Task Force.

According to local reports, the CMA’s crypto restrictions are part of a new inter-departmental crypto ban involving several supervisory authorities in Kuwait. Similar circulars have reportedly been issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Insurance Regulatory Unit.

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Twitter suspends memecoin-linked AI bot after Elon Musk’s ‘scam crypto’ claim

June 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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"Explain This Bob," the popular AI-powered Twitter account also linked to a memecoin, was suspended shortly after Elon Musk alleged it was a "scam."

Twitter has suspended the account of the popular memecoin-linked artificial intelligence-powered bot “Explain This Bob” after Elon Musk alleged it was a “scam crypto account.”

Musk alleged the account was a scam in a tweet on June 18 in areply to the bot, the account was seemingly suspended soon after.

This sure looks like a scam crypto account. If so, it will be suspended.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 18, 2023

The Explain This Bob account reportedly amassed over 400,000 followers before its suspension. The bot was created by Prabhu Biswal from India and used OpenAI’s GPT-4 model to comprehend and provide responses to tweets by those who tagged the account.

The project was also linked to the ERC-20 memecoin Bob Token (BOB) that was launched in April 2023. The suspension sent the price of BOB down over 30% according to CoinGecko.

The suspension is a U-turn on Musk’s earlier impression of the bot, who tweeted “I love Bob” in response to one of its tweets on April 20, a tweet which also prominently features on the project’s website.

I love Bob
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2023

Twitter has not taken action against the account for Bob Token, however. The project’s team humorously responded to the news of the suspension, sharing a meme of Musk monitoring a distraught “Bob” in a prison.

#FREEBOB pic.twitter.com/SOUm7opQ7o
— Bob (@BobEthToken) June 18, 2023

Observers believe Musk is of the view that Explain This Bob is being used as a marketing tactic to prop up BOB’s price.

Since the suspension, the hashtag “FREEBOB” has circulated on Crypto Twitter. Most observers take the view that BOB isn’t a scam coin and the suspension is unwarranted as the launch of the token was “fair” in addition to BOB being “fully decentralized” with a 0% tax mechanism.

Another claimed the team didn’t provide themselves with any tokens or airdrops prior to the Bob Token launch in April.

So does @elonmusk plan to provide any proof of $BOB being a scam or are we just expected to take his word for it?

Intrigued to understand what constitutes a scam crypto account @elonmusk?

Renounced contract
0 tax
0 team tokens
Fully decentralised
Fair launched

Can you explain… pic.twitter.com/0U2nuUsyqB
— Crypto Boss (CB) (@Cryptoboss2000) June 18, 2023

Cointelegraph contacted Biswal and Twitter for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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Hollywood studios reject banning AI from writer’s rooms

May 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The Writers Guild of America sent out a list of demands to Hollywood studios, including regulating AI usage in guild-affiliated projects.

Artificial intelligence (AI) brings yet another industry into a hot debate over its usage as Hollywood and the greater media industry faces petitions from the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

WGA recently sent out a list of demands which included the regulation of AI usage on the minimum basic agreement (MBA) covered projects. It stated that AI should not be used to write or rewrite literary material nor be used as source material.

Additionally, it demanded that MBA-covered material can’t be used in training AI. In its initial statement back in March, the guild wrote:

“The WGA’s proposal to regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies ensures the Companies can’t use AI to undermine writers’ working standards including compensation, residuals, separated rights and credits.”

However, Hollywood studios officially rejected the demands and countered with an offer of “annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology.”

This issue pertaining to AI usage was one of many, including compensation and working conditions, that pushed the WGA to go on an authorized strike in Los Angeles on May 2 for the first time in 15 years.

Scabby won’t let AI write, or rewrite, their script. #WGAStrike #1u https://t.co/nTebf308YV
— Writers Guild of America, East (@WGAEast) May 3, 2023

Ellen Stutzman, the chief negotiator for the WGA, called the proposal “reasonable” and said that AI should be kept “out of the business of writing television and movies.” She also commented that some members of the guild had penned the name “plagiarism machine" for AI.

AI tools are already being implemented in Hollywood for touching up visuals and de-aging actors’ appearances, among other things.

Hollywood production studios’ stance of openness to emerging technologies such as AI differs from the stance of major companies in other creative industries like the music industry.

The initial response of Universal Music Group after AI-generated music started popping up on streaming services was a manhunt to get them removed, along with lawsuits. Though some artists themselves with established names in the industry are encouraging the usage of the technology.

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Samsung employees banned from using ChatGPT-like AI tools

May 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The company-wide ban prevents Samsung employees from accessing generative AI tools on all Samsung-owned devices and internal networks.

Samsung is the latest entity to take a stance against emerging generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as they rapidly infiltrate major global industries.

According to a Bloomberg report on May 2, the company will ban the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT among its employees. This new policy comes after Samsung staff uploaded a “sensitive code” to the platform.

Samsung told staff that as interest in AI platforms is growing, so are the security risks. The internal memo highlighted concerns over the data sent to AI platforms and its potential to be stored on external servers with little control to retrieve or erase.

“HQ is reviewing security measures to create a secure environment for safely using generative AI to enhance employees’ productivity and efficiency.”

However, it continued that until such measures are in place, the company is “temporarily restricting the use of generative AI.” This includes a ban on the use of generative AI tools on Samsung-owned computers, tablets, phones and its internal networks.

Additionally, any employees who use such tools on personal devices were asked not to submit any company information or else risk “disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.”

In April, Samsung conducted an internal survey regarding generative AI tools, in which 65% of respondents believed the technology poses a security risk.

Samsung is not the only major company to raise concerns about the emerging technology. Since the beginning of the year, firms such as JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have restricted or banned the usage of tools like ChatGPT.

However, many of these same companies are in the process of developing their own AI tools. JPMorgan created a ChatGPT-based tool that analyzes statements from the Federal Reserve to decipher trading signals. Samsung is also working on an AI tool for translation and summarizing documents.

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