Mastercard has unveiled an avant-garde technology aiming to revolutionize the landscape of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
According to the Oct. 12 announcement, the trial was conducted with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the country’s Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre CBDC, along with participation from Cuscal and Mintable.
“A pre-requisite of the test transaction was that the Ethereum wallets of both the buyer and seller, as well as the NFT marketplace smart contract, were ‘allow-listed’ within the platform. With all other transfers of the wrapped pilot CBDC blocked, it successfully demonstrated the platform’s ability to implement controls – even on public blockchains.”
The unveiled technology is a segment of Mastercard’s broader Multi Token Network initiative, kickstarted in 2023. This endeavor is centered around integrating the dynamism of blockchain technology into diverse payment scenarios.
Rooted in Mastercard’s strategic vision, the Multi Token Network is designed to elevate blockchain-oriented payment and commerce experiences. It incorporates a feature named Crypto Credential, devised to foster trust in blockchain interactions, ensuring scalable adaptability across a multitude of tokens and platforms.
As the blockchain domain continues its rapid evolution, Mastercard’s innovative strides are undeniably pivotal in shaping the confluence of traditional and decentralized financial ecosystems.
What if SEC Doesn’t Appeal the Spot Bitcoin ETF Rulings?
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission will soon reach its deadline to appeal the court decision that ruled in favor of Grayscale Investments, forcing the regulator to review the fund manager’s application for a spot Bitcoin fund.
While many observers don’t believe the securities regulator will attempt to appeal the court’s decision, analysts say there could still be ways for the SEC to delay approval of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF conversion.
On Oct. 13, the SEC must either appeal the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, request the Appeals Court revisit its ruling, or follow the court’s August order and review Grayscale’s bid to change its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Meanwhile, in a separate post, fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said that an SEC attempt to deny on new grounds was unlikely and a “very difficult needle to thread,” but it could “find ways to keep delaying.”
Currently, at least seven spot Bitcoin ETF applications are before the regulator for approval.
Despite all being filed with the regulator earlier in 2023, all have faced delays and pushback from the SEC, leaving the final approval deadlines for most around March 2024 or later.
However, most eyes are on Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF conversion application because, if the SEC approves it, the regulator could struggle to find reasons to knock back other applications.
Google Will Protect Users in AI Copyright Accusations
Google has announced its commitment to protect users of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems within its Google Cloud and Workspace platforms in cases where they face allegations of intellectual property infringement. This move aligns Google with other companies, such as Microsoft, Adobe, and more, which have also made similar assurances.
In a recent blog post, Google made it clear that customers utilizing products integrated with generative AI capabilities will receive legal protection. This announcement addresses mounting concerns regarding the potential copyright issues associated with generative AI.
Google explicitly outlined seven products that fall under this legal protection. The products are Duet AI in Workspace, encompassing text generation in Google Docs and Gmail, as well as image generation in Google Slides and Google Meet; Duet AI in Google Cloud; Vertex AI Search; Vertex AI Conversation; Vertex AI Text Embedding API; Visual Captioning on Vertex AI; and Codey APIs. It’s worth noting that this list did not include Google’s Bard search tool.
According to Google:
“If you are challenged on copyright grounds, we will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks involved.”