Time Magazine to Add Ether to Its Balance Sheet as Part of Efforts to Support Metaverse Newsletter with Galaxy Digital

Time Magazine will hold Ether (ETH) on its balance sheet for the first time as part of a deal with crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital to educate its readers about the metaverse.

The 98-year old publication announced on Thursday, November 18, that it has partnered with the crypto company as part of efforts to explore the metaverse, to educate and engage as many people as possible about the emerging technology.

Mike Novogratz, CEO and Founder of Galaxy Digital, talked about the development and said: “Over the next decade, the metaverse will become an increasingly important part of the world economy; our physical and digital realities are already becoming hard to distinguish. We look forward to partnering with Time, an iconic brand driving innovation, as we seek to bring readers, creators, and the curious into the metaverse and demystify the tremendous amount of transformation happening within.”

The popular magazine-based in New York will be releasing a weekly newsletter focused on metaverse, compiling a Time 100 companies list for metaverse-related firms and feature educational resources on a new section of its publication, and including the virtual space as a category in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Galaxy Digital will offer its expertise to help explain the metaverse and its potential, like taking advantage of insights from Galaxy Interactive General Partners Richard Kim and Sam Englebardt.

The list will highlight firms with the most impact within the metaverse space, some of which may include blockchain firms, while others could be offering solutions to make experiences within the metaverse more successful, impactful or accessible for businesses and consumers.

Time magazine stated that the deal is the first of this nature among media companies. Although financial terms were not disclosed, Time’ company representatives revealed that the deal would run for about six months.

Apart from that, Time magazine mentioned that the partnership with Galaxy digital was conducted using Ether (ETH), which the media company plans to hold on its balance sheet. Since April, the publication has been holding Bitcoin as part of its partnership with crypto investment firm Grayscale.  

The Rise of Metaverse

The metaverse is being touted as a better version of the internet, featuring a virtual world for immersive experiences where people across the globe can meet, watch, play, and trade.

As reported by Blockchain.News in late October, interest in metaverse soared after Facebook announced a change of its name to “Meta Platforms Inc.” The social media giant retired its former name “Facebook” because it believes that it only represents a single product. “Meta”, the prefix of the word “Metaverse”, involves the concept of shared virtual worlds and communities, which is the branding Facebook hopes to capture.

Microsoft Inc is also dabbling in the metaverse. It recently introduced Mesh for Team, a virtual workplace.

As a result, other major firms are also shifting their focus in the internet’s next iteration.

Galaxy Digital appears to be focusing on expanding into the metaverse. In October, the firm raised a $325 million fundraising round aimed at virtual endeavours.

DeFi Protocol Wonderland Involves Cybercrime, Associated with Canadian Crypto Exchange Quadriga

According to Bloomberg, a decentralized finance project called Wonderland involving a felon associated with Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Quadriga has sparked widespread controversy, turning DeFi into a financial felon’s wonderland.

Sifu was identified by an anonymous Twitter user as Michael Patryn, the co-founder of the failed Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX.

Launched by Sestagalli and 0xSifu in September 2021, Wonderland runs on the Avalanche blockchain.

The Quadriga exchange has cost 76,000 investors in Canada and about C$169 million ($133 million) since the death of Quadriga co-founder Gerald Cotten in 2018 One of the most famous large-scale fraud incidents to date.

Ernst & Young, the trustee of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, published a report showing that almost 17,000 people have filed for the remaining assets of the crypto exchange in 2020.

Wonderland’s native token is TIME, and the current total value locked in the protocol is nearly $680 million, falling to an all-time low of $335 on Thursday before recovering to around $440.

Co-founder Daniele Sestagalli said Thursday that he asked Wonderland’s treasurer, who goes by the alias Sifu or 0xSifu, to step down.

A crypto wallet identified as belonging to Patryn appeared to be rapidly dumping various tokens on Thursday, with its total net worth dropping from $450 million to $70 million in a matter of hours, according to data from trackers DeBank and Zapper.

MyCrypto founder Taylor Monahan also traced a note marking a wallet as Patryn’s, which identified it as the Ethereum address of his Ledger hardware wallet.

She said the wallet is still active now, along with a transaction to 0xSifu’s address — a 17 ether ($42,500) transaction. This finding supports the fact that the two are the same person.

MyCrypto founder Taylor Monahan noted that on-chain evidence supports Zach’s claims. In 2019, she tagged a wallet as Patryn’s based on a note that identified it as the Ethereum address of his Ledger hardware wallet. She then showed that the wallet was still active, including transactions to 0xSifu’s address — such as a transaction of 17 ether ($42,500).

As reported by Blockchain.News on September 24,American over-the-top content platform and production company Netflix Inc is set to premiere a documentary revealing the fall of a once-popular Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCx and the dead of its founder, Chief Executive Officer Gerald Cotten. He left the trading platform in chaos.

Space and Time and Microsoft Make Blockchain Data Accessible on Azure Marketplace

Seattle, United States, April 19th, 2023, Chainwire

Space and Time and Microsoft announce that developers can now deploy the Space and Time data warehouse directly from the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. The one-click deployment provides customers with an accelerated on-ramp to easily access, manage and perform analytics on blockchain-native data. 

As a leader in intelligent computing and AI, Microsoft is committed to supporting its customers and partners with their business needs, including Web3 scenarios and use cases. In September 2022, Microsoft’s venture capital fund, M12, led a funding round for Space and Time. The one-click deployment of Space and Time on the Azure Marketplace provides developers with a trustless intermediary to quickly and easily onboard large volumes of enterprise data to smart contracts, as well as new use cases for indexed blockchain data. 

“At Microsoft, we are empowering growth across emerging markets—including blockchain and distributed data. Together, Microsoft Azure and Space and Time will provide developers with the tools they need to build the next generation of blockchain use cases,” said Kathleen Mitford, CVP of Global Industry Marketing.

The integration allows businesses to leverage the benefits of a decentralized data warehouse without rearchitecting their existing infrastructure, enabling enterprises to build on the blockchain without sacrificing compute power or security. The comprehensive Microsoft Azure cloud services and industry-leading identity and security capabilities provide a trusted set of services and tools to develop Web3 applications in this new era of ubiquitous computing.

Space and Time, a leader in Web3 data warehousing, joins real-time data indexed from major blockchains with customer-provided off-chain datasets. The Space and Time hybrid transactional and analytic (HTAP) data warehouse comes pre-loaded with real-time indexed blockchain data, provided for free. 

The one-click deployment enables customers to easily integrate the Space and Time data warehouse with their existing enterprise infrastructure. Connecting blockchain data to Azure compute will generate new use cases for base-layer blockchains and developers of decentralized applications. 

“The need for verifiable data across blockchains, enterprises and AI has never been more important. We provide enterprises with the ability to integrate blockchain data into their applications and business processes, which is critical for both customer growth and enabling responsible data stewards,” said Space and Time CEO and Co-Founder Nate Holiday. “We’re excited to extend our partnership with Microsoft to bridge enterprise data assets with blockchain and AI innovation.” 

About Microsoft 

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. https://www.microsoft.com/

About Space and Time 

Space and Time is the first Web3-native decentralized data warehouse that joins tamperproof on-chain and off-chain data to deliver enterprise use cases to smart contracts. Space and Time has developed a novel cryptography called Proof of SQL℠ that allows developers to connect analytics directly to smart contracts, opening up a wealth of powerful new use cases and business logic on blockchain technology. Space and Time is built from the ground up as a multichain data platform for developers in financial services, gaming, DeFi, or any project requiring verifiable data across enterprise, blockchain and AI.

For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram | LinkedIn | YouTube

Contact

Spencer Reevesmarketing@spaceandtime.io

OpenAI Negotiates Licensing with Major Media Amid NY Times Copyright Dispute

OpenAI, known for its groundbreaking AI technology including ChatGPT, is currently engaged in strategic negotiations with several major media companies, including CNN, Fox Corp., and Time. These talks revolve around licensing articles, videos, and images for OpenAI’s use, a move that gains significance amidst the company’s ongoing legal battle with The New York Times over alleged copyright infringement.

The backdrop of these negotiations is OpenAI’s recent lawsuit filed by The New York Times. The newspaper alleges that OpenAI used its content without authorization to train its AI models, including the widely popular ChatGPT. In response, OpenAI has attributed this to a “rare bug” in their system and disputes the accusations, highlighting the complexities surrounding AI ethics and copyright laws.

As part of its strategy to navigate these legal and ethical challenges, OpenAI is seeking to secure formal content licenses with media giants. The discussions with CNN, Fox Corp., and Time are aimed at acquiring a diverse range of content to enhance AI training while mitigating legal risks. Time’s CEO, Jessica Sibley, has confirmed ongoing discussions with OpenAI and expressed optimism about reaching a fair agreement.

However, the situation is not uniformly positive across the media landscape. While some media companies like Guardian News & Media and Axel Springer SE, the parent company of Politico, show willingness to enter negotiations, others like The Washington Post remain hesitant. The concerns mainly revolve around compensation and the implications of AI technology on copyright law. For instance, there’s skepticism among media executives about reaching productive agreements until legal clarity is established.

A significant aspect of these negotiations is the compensation offered to publishers. Reports suggest that OpenAI’s offers range from $1 million to $5 million annually, a figure that some top publishers find insufficient. This is juxtaposed against the backdrop of a multi-year deal with Axel Springer SE for tens of millions of dollars, setting a precedent for higher expectations among other publishers.

Additionally, during a recent Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing, the need for clearer regulations was voiced, with calls for Congress to step in and establish rules for copyrighted content’s use in commercial generative AI.

OpenAI’s situation illustrates the delicate balance between technological innovation and the protection of intellectual property. As AI continues to evolve, the dynamics between AI developers and content creators are rapidly changing, underscoring the need for legal and ethical frameworks that cater to the complexities of this emerging field.

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