Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryCryptocurrency

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The concept of crypto currency coding

Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years

The golden boy of crypto is on his way out of the picture

Former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of financial fraud in late 2022, was sentenced to 25 years of prison last week. Bankman-Fried was convicted of defrauding investors and delegating monies to fund his own lavish lifestyle and to try and square away the debts of his hedge fund, Alameda Research. The scandal amounts to one of the largest in financial history, with some 11 billion dollars worth of assets lost. Bankman-Fried was once an up-and-coming favorite in the tech world. He donated millions to political campaigns, shot trailers with celebrities promoting his crypto exchange, FTX, and seemed to present to the world nothing short of the next generation’s spitting image of success. However, it all came crumbling down. Read More ›

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Traditional building Yap, Micronesia

Can Money Be Pure Information? Merely a Trusted Idea?

A group of pragmatic Pacific Islanders put that concept to the test centuries ago
The giant stone discs of Yap have been compared to bitcoin in that the financial system they represent functions without a central banking authority. Read More ›
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View of Madison Street and Lower Manhattan at sunset from the Manhattan Bridge in New York City

Crypto is New, but Stealing is Old News

Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted for stealing millions from customers in court decision.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto mogul, was convicted of all seven charges against him on Thursday. Read More ›
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Concept Of Digital Wallet And Bitcoins On Printed Circuit Board. Bitcoins Spill Out Of The Pink Curved Smartphone.

The FTX Trial is Heating Up

Convicted for fraud, the former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried is trying to offload the blame. But a key witness weakens his case.

The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is underway in Manhattan. Investors in FTX lost billions of dollars earlier this year, but Bankman-Fried is denying alleged fraud and misuse of funds. However, prosecutors are accusing him of systematically stealing those funds and channeling them unto personal means. A bombshell witness, Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and a “top executive” in his business, took the stand earlier this month and supported the criticisms of the prosecution. David Gura writes for NPR, Though other former top executives at FTX businesses are testifying during the trial, Ellison was always considered the most important witness. After prosecutors first called her to the witness stand, everyone stood and faced the Read More ›

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Bitcoin is a gold coin and a defocused graphics background. on the graph growth. The concept of virtual crypto currency. on the growth graph

The Future of the Self-Sovereign Web3 Economy

Listen to a lecture from last year's COSM conference featuring Joe Lubin, cryptocurrency expert.

In anticipation of the upcoming COSM conference, listen to a lecture from last year’s event featuring Joe Lubin, cryptocurrency expert and ConsenSys CEO, who discusses the future of Web 3.0, in which blockchain technologies provide a foundation of trust to enable a decentralized finance platform for the world. COSM is an exclusive national summit on the converging technologies remaking the world as we know it. From artificial intelligence to 5G and WiFi6, from tokenized time to blockchain, from cloud computing to the quantum revolution, and from biotech to the nanotech revolution, COSM brings together some of the greatest minds of our time to explore how technology intersects with international competitiveness, investing, government regulation, freedom, and the triumph of the human Read More ›

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Capture the essence of blockchain technology

Blockchain and the New COSM Architecture

Investigating the past, present, and future of the Internet

In today’s featured COSM video, telecom expert Dan Berninger facilitates a discussion examining the past, present, and future of the Internet. Together they outline a compelling picture of a next generation internet that is less cumbersome, more efficient, and more secure. Panelists include Gurdeep Pall, Corporate VP of Microsoft, Dr. Bob Metcalfe, internet pioneer, entrepreneur, and Professor of Innovation at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dan Mapes, Founder of Verses Technologies. COSM is an exclusive national summit on the technologies remaking the world as we know it. The mission of the conference is to stimulate debate and deliberation amongst industry leaders, illuminating the synergy between Seattle and the world and providing a scene of civilized conversation and exchange. Read More ›

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Bitcoin golden coin on computer circuit board

Is an Information-Based Currency Possible?

Two philosophers talk about the potential of digital, decentralized forms of money and exchange

In today’s featured video, enjoy an older but essential interview on the topic of alternative forms of money like cryptocurrency. Philosopher Jay Richards interviews mathematician, entrepreneur, and philosopher Dr. Bill Dembski about his unique thought experiment regarding how one could create a decentralized, DIY, information-based currency. Richards also explores with Dembski the concepts of natural and artificial intelligence. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Institute Read More ›

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European telecommunication network connected over Europe, France, Germany, UK, Italy, concept about internet and global communication technology for finance, blockchain or IoT, elements from NASA

Can Crypto Reverse the Tech Decline?

Listen to a 2019 COSM panel on crypto and the blockchain

For today’s featured COSM video, enjoy this panel from the 2019 conference on cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, and its potential for the tech world. The panel explores the future of cryptocurrency/blockchain technologies, and considers the implications for global money, global security, and internet architecture. We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Discovery Institute and author of Life After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and Read More ›

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NFT gallery hologram, cryptoart and metaverse

NFTS: The Reinvention of Property?

What makes NFTs valuable? And what does it mean to own them?

Today we feature a video from the 2021 COSM Conference on blockchain, crypto, and non-fungible tokens featuring Jules Urbach and William Dembski. In the case of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum blockchain, actual ownership with legal standing is never in fact transferred for the underlying digital file. What makes NFTs valuable? And what does it mean to own them? We’ve been sharing a number of lectures from past COSM conferences. This video is just one of many you can find at the Bradley Center’s YouTube page. There you’ll find several lectures, interviews, and panels dealing with issues that range from economics, Big Tech, and artificial intelligence. Notable speakers include 2022 Kyoto Prize winner Carver Mead, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and George Gilder, co-founder of Read More ›

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Black diagonal chain, a blockchain concept, double

Is the Future Really on the Chain?

What's the future of money? Watch the panel here and enjoy access to many other videos from past COSM lectures and interviews

We’ve been featuring videos and interviews from the many notable speakers who attended the COSM 2022 conference. In today’s featured video, Sam Yilmaz, COO of Bloccelerate, moderates a panel featuring Wyatt Robinson, Gregory Meredith, William Dembski, and John DeVadoss, which explores the utility of blockchain technology in diverse applications– from cryptocurrency to legal contracts, non-fungible tokens, and communications. What’s the future of money? Watch the panel here and enjoy access to many other videos from past COSM lectures and interviews.

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Gold bitcoin cryptocurrency coins on yellow backgound

John Tamny and the Future of Money

Forbes editor John Tamny discusses his views on crypto and traditional forms of money at COSM 2022

The 2022 COSM conference saw a number of remarkable speakers, including winner of last year’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, Carver Mead, and Forbes editor John Tamny, who is featured in today’s highlighted video from the conference. Tamny sat down with philosopher Jay Richards to share his thoughts on the conference and his views on the future of money, especially regarding cryptocurrencies versus traditional forms. You can watch the conversation here, and can also access many other great talks and interviews on the Center’s main YouTube page.

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Bitcoin chasing businessman in cryptocurrency price crash

FTX Implosion: There Are Warning Signs from Binance

The CEO of Binance fundamentally misrepresented the character of the firm's engagement of the Mazars auditing firm

Since the implosion of FTX, many have been watching cryptocurrency exchange Binance to see if it might be the next crypto firm to face a liquidity crunch. While the CEO of Binance, known in the crypto world as CZ (Changpeng Zhao), has assured investors and depositors that the firm is financially sound, many of its recent moves have left observers wondering if there is more to the story. The Audit that Wasn’t The first major red flag was the “audit.” Binance has long been criticized for failure to provide audited financial statements. Because it is not a public company, an audit is not a legal requirement. Nonetheless, many crypto watchers view the failure to have an external audit as evidence of concern Read More ›

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Businessman holding investment finance chart, stock market business concept, and exchange, financial growth graph,Investing in the stock market of cryptocurrencies

Understanding the Fall of FTX — the False Reality of Market Caps

Let’s have a look at the critical question that was never asked in the first place…

In finance, the “market capitalization” or “market cap” of a security or currency is a simple way to evaluate the overall “value” of the total entity (this is also called “network value” in terms of a cryptocurrency). It is easiest to think about market caps in terms of stocks instead of currencies. In the stock market, if ABC Company is broken up into 100,000 shares, and the going market price is $3 per share, then the market cap of ABC is $300,000. Likewise for coins, if there are 100,000 coins available, and the current market price of the coin is $7, then the market cap of the coin will be $700,000. The idea behind the market cap is that, if Read More ›

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Could Crypto Be a Safe National Currency?

At COSM a panel of experts debated the future of crypto

A panel moderated by blockchain expert Sam Yilmaz COO of Bloccelerate last week at COSM debated whether cryptocurrency could be a national currency. It’s a risk but then many current currencies are. From Wyatt Robinson — Principal Corporate Counsel, Microsoft: The whole premise behind blockchain as I understand it from my view as a former financial services attorney, is really to promote efficiency free up capital allow more money to be out there for end users to have in their pockets. And so when we think about what should we put on chain, what activities should be going on chain at the end of the day, think about the stakeholders, the users who are involved in that transaction or are Read More ›

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Crypto currency background with various of shiny silver and golden physical cryptocurrencies symbol coins, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, zcash, ripple

Is Cryptocurrency Part of the Overall Future of Money?

Experts clash over whether crypto could replace government-issued currency

Recent discussions between WBC director Robert J. Marks and fellow engineers raise a question: Could new technology enable a global private currency to compete with government currencies? While the fact is not always evident in the Western world, government currencies depend on the stability of the government. Stories about people using discredited government banknotes to warm themselves, etc., are not fiction. And today what about the unbanked billions of the world who work and create value but do not have access to financial institutions? So in, for example, a national emergency, would cryptocurrency be any help? The option of private electronic currency is comparatively new and, as we might expect, expert views differ. We present them for your reflection (not Read More ›

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Blockchain blocks and their hexadecimal hash values conceptual vizualization 3D render

Modern Bitcoin’s Surprising Lesson About Ancient Scripture

It turns out there’s a striking parallel between the historical record of scripture and the blockchain ledger

This article was published in The Stream (September 13, 2022) and is republished with permission. Can we trust the authenticity of the New Testament scriptures? Trust is foundational in the acceptance of scripture. There’s an interesting lesson to learn from a very modern system of trust: money. Even Bitcoin, believe it or not. An Exchange of Trust We’ll start with old-fashioned familiar money. Why is a twenty dollar bill worth $20? It’s just a small sheet of paper, after all. The answer is trust. We trust the piece of paper has value because its worth is backed by the United States government. We also trust that Walmart will give us $20 worth of Doritos if we give them a twenty Read More ›

Peter Thiel with George Gilder at COSM 2021

Peter Thiel Will Be Luncheon Keynoter at COSM, November 9

Billionaire venture capitalist Thiel made waves earlier this year, calling Warren Buffett and other investment gurus a “finance gerontocracy”

Some iconic tech venture capitalists go with the flow — and then there’s Peter Thiel: In an age when some computer scientists prophesy that AI will soon rise up and destroy mankind, he says no, that’s not happening; the big story is the End of Privacy. He also sees Big Tech innovation as slowing down, in the sense that most Wow!! new developments are successfully hyped riffs on earlier ones. He goes so far as to say that, contrary to expert views, cryptocurrency is not just a flash in the pan. At Bitcoin 2022, he blasted “Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink as ‘finance gerontocracy.’” That is, they are over the hill though not yet under it. So Thiel is Read More ›

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Close up of top important cryptocurrencies which dollar bank note in background. which including of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Zcash and Ripple coin. Business and financial as concept.

What Happens If You Want To Lend or Borrow in Crypto?

In the world of Web 3.0, the borrower is anonymous, so collateral is a must

In this second part of “Staking and Liquidity on Web3”, the fifth episode of the podcast series between computer engineering prof Robert J. Marks and engineers Austin Egbert and Adam Goad, the discussion centers on making and taking loans in cryptocurrency. In the first part, we looked at changes in how cryptocurrency is produced: Ethereum is moving from mining to staking this month. In Episode 4, the discussion centered on what a decentralized financial system would look like and on challenging new concepts like flash loans and smart contracts. Dr. Marks is the director of the Walter Bradley Center. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-203-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript of the first part, notes, and Additional Resources follow: Robert J. Marks: Now there’s something in staking Read More ›

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Stack of ether or ethereum coins. ETH Coin.New Virtual Money.Physical coins. Cryptocurrency mining and trading concept.

Ethereum Moves From Mining to Staking This Month

As there came to be more and more “eth” in the world, the puzzles computers had to solve got very much harder, consuming vast energy resources

In this first part of “Staking and Liquidity on Web3”, the fifth episode of the podcast series between computer engineering prof Robert J. Marks and engineers Austin Egbert and Adam Goad, look at upcoming changes in mining — how cryptocurrency is produced. In Episode 4, the discussion centered on what a decentralized crypto financial system would look like and on challenging new concepts like flash loans and smart contracts. Dr. Marks is the director of the Walter Bradley Center. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-203-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript, notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: Like gold, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum is mined, at least so far. Mining becomes harder and harder as more gold is mined… finding fresh gold deposits becomes more Read More ›

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Modern way of exchange. Bitcoin is convenient payment in global economy market. Virtual digital currency and financial investment trade concept. Abstract cryptocurrency with gold bitcoin background..

The futurist finance world of flash loans and hypernodes

In the cryptocurrency world, you could float a loan for ten seconds and make good money — but you and your computer must be very fast indeed

In the first part of Episode 4, “What Is Decentralized Finance?” (September 1, 2022), computer engineer Adam Goad discussed with Walter Bradley Center director (and computer engineering prof) Robert J. Marks how blockchain would decentralize finance by establishing trust and security without government regulations. Now they look at how some of the remarkable new financial instruments work. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-202-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript, notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: Before we started this recording, you mentioned something which blew my mind — flash loans. Adam Goad: A flash loan is a loan that you take out for a very short amount of time, usually a few seconds. But it can be for a very large amounts, like millions of dollars. Read More ›