The founder of Solana-based meme coin Church of the Smoking Chicken Fish has officially registered the project as nonprofit and plans to build a physical church in Texas. This comes after the token skyrocketed to a $130 million market cap, less than two weeks after being launched on Pump.fun. “We're going to try to build a church in Marfa, Texas,” church founder Pastor Kelby told Decrypt on the latest episode of "What’s the Meta?" “We've already found potential property and [our] whales have alr...
Telegram Privacy Under Fire as Founder Awaits Trial
Following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in Paris last week, privacy advocates quickly rallied to his defense, with the likes of Proton CEO Andy Yen calling Durov’s arrest “insane.” But in the days since, a rift has opened up among the developers of privacy-focused apps and cryptocurrencies, with some questioning Telegram’s tools for “protecting user privacy.” In a recent interview with WIRED, Meredith Whittaker, president of the secure messaging app Signal, argued that Telegram “doesn't...
Bitcoin Price Falls Again, With Ethereum and Solana Down Over 20% in August
Bitcoin's rough week has continued into Friday, with the price of the leading cryptocurrency falling below $58,000. But while it's been a down month for Bitcoin, both Ethereum and Solana have seen far greater percentage dips over the course of August. Now down more than 4% over the past day, Bitcoin is currently sitting at $57,932, per data from CoinGecko. That's even lower than the $58,060 mark hit on Tuesday this week. Bitcoin has now plunged by nearly 6% this week, and about 9% since the star...
New NFL Rivals Season Adds 'Biggest Upgrade' Since NFT Marketplace
NFL Rivals, an officially licensed mobile football game from Mythical Games, announced Friday that its second in-game season will launch on September 5 alongside the real-world season kickoff of the National Football League (NFL). Mythical Games said that the mobile game attracted over 5 million downloads and more than 115 million games played in its first season. Its second season, called "Year 2," will introduce new game modes, “distinctive” pack drops, and new ways for fans to engage with the...
Toncoin and Notcoin Plunge Amid Telegram CEO Arrest and The Open Network Issues
Telegram-linked cryptocurrencies Toncoin (TON) and Notcoin (NOT) have plunged more than 23% over the past week. This comes following the Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov, being arrested and charged in France. Days later, the token’s network halted the production of blocks. The Open Network was originally developed by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov. But it was abandoned after they received warning from the SEC that they were producing an unregistered security. Quickly, the project was picked up by com...
Bitcoin Slips Below $59,000 as Market Sentiment Wavers
Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell below the $59,000 mark during early European trading hours on Friday. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap touched a low of $58,688, before recovering slightly to $59,450, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko. Simultaneously, Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is also experiencing downward pressure, trading at $2,522, down 1.8% from the previous day. According to data from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s price...
WazirX Sets Aside $12 Million to Recover Stolen Crypto, Pay Legal Costs
WazirX has set aside millions of dollars to cover legal costs related to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto after a cyberattack in July brought the Indian exchange to its knees. On Wednesday, Singapore-based Zettai Pte Ltd, the holding company of WazirX, filed an affidavit with the High Court of Singapore, requesting a 30-day moratorium to facilitate discussions with investors and creditors to stabilize the platform. The moratorium, if granted, is seen as essential for ensur...
Bitcoin ATM Growth Surges in Australia Following Years of False Starts
Bitcoin automated teller machines in Australia have surged in recent years, with the country now the fastest-growing market in the world. There were just 73 Bitcoin ATMs in the country in September 2022. That number has since surged to 1,162 installations, according to data from Coin ATM Radar. It places Australia third in total installs, behind only the U.S. and Canada, whose numbers dwarf that of the island nation, at 31,861 and 3004, respectively. The U.S. has had around the same number of ma...
Tesla, Musk Dodge $258 Billion Dogecoin Lawsuit as Judge Dismisses Case
On Thursday, a federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, of market manipulation through public praise of Dogecoin. The plaintiffs, representing investors who claimed to have lost money due to Musk’s comments on social media in recent years, had sought $86 billion in damages, with a request for triple damages, bringing the total to $258 billion. The lawsuit centered on Musk’s various public statements about Dogecoin, primarily made via posts on X (forme...
OpenAI and Anthropic Open Up to US AI Safety Institute
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has made a deal with top AI developers OpenAI and Anthropic to establish formal collaboration with the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI), the agency said on Thursday. The institute would “receive access to major new models from each company prior to and following their public release,” according to the announcement. Anthropic is developing Claude, while OpenAI offers ChatGPT. The arrangement will allow the Inst...