• Kakarot zkEVM secured pre-seed round backing from StarkWare and Vitalik Buterin.
• China published a national blockchain standard.
• Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission warned OpenAI against collecting data without consent.
Kakarot zkEVM Secures Pre-Seed Round Backing
Kakarot zkEVM has secured backing from StarkWare and Vitalik Buterin in a pre-seed round investment. This investment will help the company continue its development of privacy preserving smart contracts using zero knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs).
China Publishes National Blockchain Standard
The Chinese government recently published a national blockchain standard, which provides guidelines for companies and developers to follow when creating applications on the blockchain. The standard is designed to ensure the security, reliability, and scalability of the technology as it continues to grow in popularity.
Japan Investigates OpenAI For Collecting Data Without Consent
Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission has cautioned OpenAI against collecting data without consent. The commission asked OpenAI to minimize collection of sensitive data for machine learning, and may take further action if more concerns arise. This follows an earlier draft submitted by Japan’s AI strategy council raising concerns about the lack of guardrails for AI development and potential risks posed by it. Canada also began investigating OpenAI in April for allegedly collecting data without consent.
Coinbase Launches Bitcoin & Ethereum Futures Derivatives Exchange
Coinbase Derivatives Exchange has unveiled Bitcoin and Ethereum futures trading options as part of its platform expansion efforts. The new derivatives exchange allows customers to buy or sell futures contracts based on their expectations of future prices, providing greater flexibility in managing risk exposure related to cryptocurrency investments.
Silvergate Submits Shutdown Plan After Federal Reserve Order
Silvergate Bank announced that it will submit a shutdown plan within days following an order from the U.S Federal Reserve Board (FRB). The FRB had ordered Silvergate to cease all activities with stablecoin issuers due to its failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations pertaining to money service businesses (MSBs). As such, Silvergate’s services related to crypto assets will be discontinued until further notice
