The European Union has reached agreement on groundbreaking markets in cryptoassets rules (MiCA) for licencing and supervision, expected to come into effect in 2024, putting the bloc at the forefront of regulating a sector that has shrunk dramatically.
Tech News
Crypto exchange Bitfront shuts down
“However, despite our efforts … we have regretfully determined that we need to shut down BITFRONT in order to continue growing the LINE blockchain ecosystem and LINK token economy,” the California-based company said in a statement on its website.
Competitors chip away at Tesla's US electric vehicle share
From 2018 through 2020, Tesla had about 80 percent of the EV market. Its share dropped to 71 percent in 2021 and has continued to decline, said Stephanie Brinley, an S&P associate director.
ECB says Bitcoin is artificially propped up, shouldn't be legitimised
In recent years, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been variously presented as an alternative form of money and a shield from the inflationary policies pursued by major central banks such as the ECB.
Apple M2 Max chipset’s Geekbench score leaked: Expected specs and performance
These products include an updated iMac, next-gen MacBook Pros and the long-rumoured Mac Pro with Apple silicon. Some of these new Macs are expected to be powered by the company’s proprietary M2 Max chipset.
Pinterest shuts down its ‘Creator Rewards’ program
Pinterest has shut down its Creator Rewards program that allowed creators to earn money by creating content around monthly prompts and achieving certain engagement goals.
“The Creator Rewards program will end on November 30, 2022. To all the creators who participated, thank you for your partnership. We’re committed to exploring more ways to help you find success on Pinterest and we’re looking forward to finding more opportunities to work together in 2023,” Pinterest said in a note on its creator rewards help page.
The rewards program asked participants to create Idea Pins — a video format introduced by the company last year — based on a monthly theme to earn cash.
The announcement, first reported by The Information, also said that Pinterest will pay a one-time bonus to creators who participated in at least one reward goal for August, September, or October 2022. The company didn’t specify the bonus amount on the Creator Rewards page.
Pinterest said that it is closing this program “in order to focus on other creator programs and features.” Last year, when the company debuted Creator Rewards, it said it planned to invest $20 million in the program. Separately, the company launched a $500,000 Creator Fund last year and injected an additional $1.2 million this year into the project. The social network created this project to help creators from underrepresented communities through cash and ad rewards.
Pinterest is still continuing with programs like the Creator Fund, “shoppable” Idea Pins, and paid partnerships by converting Idea Pins into ads.
Social media companies have been constantly tweaking their creator payment programs in recent times. Last month, Snapchat reduced its payouts to creators from millions of dollars per week to millions of dollars per year. In September, Meta announced that it is closing its Live Shopping program to focus on reels. At the same time, the social media giant also closed its Instagram affiliate program, which allowed creators to get a commission if users purchased tagged products from their posts.
Pinterest shuts down its ‘Creator Rewards’ program by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch
South Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrants for Terraform Labs co-founder, investors and engineers
South Korean prosecutors said Wednesday they have requested arrest warrants for eight people related to Terraform Labs for the alleged fraud as the local authorities widen their investigation into the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna tokens that wiped tens of billions of dollars from the crypto market earlier this year.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office confirmed to TechCrunch that it is seeking arrest warrants for eight people including Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin, three Terraform investors, and four engineers of the cryptocurrencies TerraUSD (UST) and Luna, but did not disclose the identities of most individuals.
The move comes two months after South Korea issued an arrest warrant for another co-founder, Do Kwon, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, and requested Interpol, the international law enforcement agency, to issue a red notice for Kwon.
The prosecutors suspect Shin of taking illegal profits worth approximately $105 million (140 billion won) by selling Luna at the peak without disclosing properly to investors ahead of the Terra-Luna collapse, according to a local media report Yonhap. Shin is also being charged with using customers’ data from his separate fintech startup Chai to promote Luna, violating the Electric Financial Transaction Act. Local authorities reportedly raided the Chai office in mid-November as part of UST-Luna’s fraud probe.
Shin has refuted the claims of trading Luna at a market high and violating the customers’ data. Shin’s lawyer said today Shin left Terraform two years ago before the Terra-Luna collapse, and that he has no ties with the failure, according to local media.
Terraform was founded in Singapore in 2018 by Do Kwon and Shin. Shin left Terraform in March 2020 to found Chai and stepped down as CEO of Chai earlier this year.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecution confirmed a court is set to hold a hearing to determine the validity of the warrants this Friday, December 2.
Terraform’s UST and Luna fell from grace in early May after the so-called stablecoin depegged from its $1 value, wiping out investors’ $40 billion and prompting an uproar. South Korean prosecutors began the investigation after the crash of the UST-Luna token.
South Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrants for Terraform Labs co-founder, investors and engineers by Kate Park originally published on TechCrunch
How to get a verified badge on Facebook: A step-by-step guide
After ensuring the above requirements are met, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you go further:
Poco X5 Pro spotted on multiple databases, few key specs revealed
The Poco X5 series is expected to include two devices — the Poco X5 and the Poco X5 Pro. Both handsets with their respective model numbers (22101320G and 22101320I, respectively) have already appeared on multiple certification websites including BIS & FCC.
Samsung to hire around 1,000 engineers for R&D Institutes from IITs and top engineering institutes
Samsung is planning to hire around 1,000 engineers for its R&D institutes across India that include Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore, Samsung R&D Institute Noida, Samsung R&D Institute Delhi and Samsung Semiconductor India Research in Bengaluru. These young engineers will join in 2023 and will work on technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep learning, Image Processing, IoT, Connectivity, Cloud, Big Data, Business Intelligence, Predictive Analysis, Communication Networks, System on a Chip (SoC) and Storage Solutions.