Strike Expands Bitcoin and Lightning Services to the UK

June 26, 2024 Bitcoin.com

US senators draft NO FAKES bill to ban unauthorized AI copycats

October 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The proposed act came just hours after talks broke down between actors and Hollywood studios, with AI replicas a major friction point in negotiations.

Unauthorized artificial intelligence-powered recreations of people’s voices and images would be banned under a proposed bill by a bipartisan group of United States senators.

In an Oct. 11 press release, Democratic Senators Chris Coons and Amy Klobuchar, along with Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and Thom Tillis, released a discussion draft of the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act.

Companies or individuals that create an unauthorized AI replica of someone — living or dead — would be liable for damages under the act along with platforms that knowingly host unauthorized AI copycats. Penalties would start at $5,000 per violation.

*A highlighted excerpt of the draft act’s definition of a “digital replica.” Source: Senator Coons*

The bill allows for limited uses of unauthorized AI replicas protected by the First Amendment, including those used for news, as part of documentaries or for “comment, criticism, scholarship, satire, or parody.”

“Creators around the nation are calling on Congress to lay out clear policies regulating the use and impact of generative AI,” said Senator Coons in a statement. “Congress must strike the right balance to defend individual rights, abide by the First Amendment, and foster AI innovation and creativity.”

Senator Blackburn added the bill is a “good first step” to protect songwriters, actors, and U.S. creatives, who “deserve the right to own their name, image, and likeness (NIL).”

The draft bill comes amid a surge in songs created with the help of AI tools that emulate artists with hundreds hosted on streaming platforms such as YouTube and SoundCloud.

The track “Heart on my sleeve” by anonymous TikTok user “ghostwriter977” used AI vocals of artists Drake and The Weeknd and went viral earlier this year, garnering millions of views before it was struck from the platform.

*Multiple paid services offer AI tools to emulate the voices of musicians, actors and public figures. Source: voicify.ai*

AI-generated likenesses have also been a friction point in the Hollywood actor strikes and negotiations — with the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union backing the proposal.

THIS is the future: AI protections for voice and likeness, an invaluable tool for performers.

Thank you to Senator @ChrisCoons, Senator @MarshaBlackburn, @SenAmyKlobuchar and @SenThomTillis for driving the NO FAKES Act. https://t.co/g9fiKCbHHD
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) October 12, 2023

On Oct. 11, SAG-AFTRA said negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down, claiming the latter refused to “protect performers from being replaced by AI,” among other reasons.

In a statement the same day, the AMPTP said “it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction.”

On Sept. 27, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) ended its strike after nearly five months following the union reaching a deal with the AMPTP on AI usage in writer’s rooms, along with higher wages and fairer contracts.

Magazine: AI Eye: Real uses for AI in crypto, Google’s GPT-4 rival, AI edge for bad employees

Strike Launches Bitcoin Lightning Network-Enabled Money Transfers to Africa

December 7, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Jack Mallers Announces Strike Partnering With POS Giants To Allow Bitcoin (BTC) Payments at Major Retailers

April 8, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Lightning to strike Shopify merchants with addition of BTC payments

April 8, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Jack Mallers announced the new integration today at the Bitcoin 2022 conference and hopes to give more people access to what he sees as a better monetary system.

Chicago-based payment app Strike has integrated with global e-commerce giant Shopify so merchants can accept Bitcoin payments via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

The Lightning Network (LN) is a Layer-2 scaling solution for Bitcoin designed to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions.

Strike CEO Jack Mallers revealed the new integration on stage at Miami's Bitcoin 2022 conference today. The move could allow Shopify’s almost two million global merchants to accept Bitcoin payments denominated in USD. However the only merchant partner cited in Strike's official release was Warren Lotas, an LA based streetwear brand — and that site was down at the time of writing.

Shopify is the world’s 18th largest ecommerce company with about $4.6 billion in annual revenue according to market research site Macrotrends. Its service enables merchants to set up an online store in 175 different countries.

“If I wanna walk into a whole foods, a McDonald's and use a different payment network, its this thing... As the merchant, you can receive in #BTC, take Starbucks points, I don't care." - Jack Mallers pic.twitter.com/6sW4U6cvaJ
— Bitcoin 2022 (@TheBitcoinConf) April 7, 2022

The Bitcoin 2022 official Twitter account stated the integration was already live and quoted Mallers chiding the modern payments system which started in 1949 with the Diners Club card:

“Any online merchant that uses Shopify can accept payments without the 1949 boomer network, receive it instantly, cash final, no intermediary no 3% fee.”

According to Mallers one of the main advantages to using Bitcoin via Lightning is that payments settle nearly instantly as opposed to the “late, two to 15 day settlement” he cited as a drawback of existing common electronic payment methods. He added that instant settlements help both consumers and merchants complete accounting work and know their exact balances faster.

Mallers also revealed Strike’s partnership with the Blackhawk payment network, reportedly the largest point of sale supplier in the world. The company draws $2.5 billion in annual revenue and its website states it has products at over 400,000 storefronts in 28 countries.

Bitcoin 2022 is already a hotbed of buzz, not just for the Bitcoin ‘Miami Bull’ that was unveiled ahead of the opening events, but for Robinhood announcing the launch of its long-awaited crypto wallet to two million waitlisted clients. The wallet will also integrate LN.

The conference has not sparked a move in BTC price yet, as the largest crypto by market cap is up just 0.54% over the last 24 hours, trading at $43,594 according to Cointelegraph data.

“That’s Insane!”: Jack Mallers Announces Strike Integration With Shopify

April 7, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Bitpay Adds Lightning Network, Youth Fashion Brand Pacsun to Accept Payments via Lightning

April 7, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Strike Arrives in Argentina With USDT Support, No Bitcoin Integration Yet

January 12, 2022 Bitcoin.com

New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley Plans to Convert Endorsement Revenue to Bitcoin

July 15, 2021 Bitcoin.com

NFL’s Saquon Barkley converting endorsements to BTC to create ‘generational wealth’

July 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Saquon Barkley will use Strike to convert all of his endorsements into Bitcoin, and noted that he became interested in BTC after researching inflation.

NFL star Saquon Barkley has revealed that he will be converting all of his endorsement money into Bitcoin.

Barkley was the 2018 NFL offensive rookie of the year and plays as a running back for the New York Giants — a team that is also sponsored by Grayscale.

The 24-year-old explained the rationale for the move earlier today during an appearance on “The Best Business Show” hosted by Bitcoin proponent and Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano. He noted that his research on inflation is what drove his interest in Bitcoin:

"We're seeing inflation and we're learning you can't save wealth. That's why I am going to be taking my marketing money in Bitcoin."

Barkley was joined on the show by Jack Mallers, the CEO of Strike, a payments company based on the Lightning Network. The NFL star cites the CEO as a key person who helped educate him on the benefits of investing in Bitcoin. Mallers was also highly influential in El Salvador’s embrace of Bitcoin.

As part of the move to convert his reported eight-figure yearly marketing endorsement money, Barkley will take direct deposits into his Strike account and instantly convert the money into BTC.

Barkley stated that he sees his opportunity in the NFL as a chance to emulate cult sports figures such as Lebron James of the LA Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, and Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, by creating generational wealth for his family.

He emphasized that he can't generate that amount of wealth from his NFL salary alone, as a career in the NFL is short-lived and he runs a risk of a career-ending injury at any moment.

"When you see the KD's, the Lebrons and Bradys of the world and you want to create generational wealth, you can't do that with the sport that I play and the position that I play and coming off of injuries. When you sit out of football for a whole year you realize that this game could be taken away from you."

During the show, Mallers offered advice to new investors by asserting that the question shouldn’t necessarily be focused on “Should I buy Bitcoin” but more where “should you store your money” to counter inflation.

BREAKING: Saquon Barkley has announced on The Best Business Show that he is taking 100% of his endorsement money in Bitcoin going forward.

That's more than $10 million annually.

What a legend. pic.twitter.com/6gpQBewgMv
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) July 14, 2021

Barkley isn’t the first NFL star to convert payments into Bitcoin, and Cointelegraph reported on Dec.30 2020 that NFL free agent and BTC proponent Russell Okung was using Strike to convert a portion of his NFL salary into BTC.

NFL great Tom Brady has also become involved in the crypto sector this year after he announced the launch of his NFT marketplace dubbed “Autograph” in April and also hinted that he owned BTC the following month.

On June 29 Cointelegraph reported that Brady was set to take an equity stake in the FTX crypto exchange as part of an endorsement deal.

Strike

Share this video