Valkyrie’s Fourth Amendment for the Launch of a Bitcoin ETF – Crypto Times

A prominent player in the digital asset management industry, Valkyrie Investments, recently filed its fourth amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce a spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in the US.

This move demonstrates Valkyries continued commitment to getting past regulatory obstacles, despite past setbacks.

The companys unwavering strategy in this area demonstrates its commitment to creating a Bitcoin spot ETF, a financial instrument that has seen tremendous demand but intense regulatory scrutiny.

This comes after news that CoinShares, a well-known European cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund issuer, has acquired the sole right to buy Valkyrie Funds, with an expiration date of March 31, 2024.

This calculated move emphasizes the goal of strengthening a dominant position in the US digital asset investment market to create a comprehensive worldwide platform for digital asset investments.

This partnership could change the environment for bitcoin investments by bringing together a wealth of knowledge and resources from the digital asset management sector.

The fact that Blackrock and Fidelity have recently held talks with the SEC has added to the industrys growing expectations.

With a crucial deadline approaching on January 10, 2024, this development is seen as a promising sign of the SECs upcoming decision-making regarding the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

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Valkyrie's Fourth Amendment for the Launch of a Bitcoin ETF - Crypto Times

Metaverse cloning tech uses AI to create virtual versions of you that live in games you cant always c… – The Sun

ARTIFICIAL intelligence cloning is poised to become the next big thing in the technology sector - and maybe even our lives.

Meta recently unveiled its AI-powered chatbots and many of them feature likenesses of celebrities - or celeb AI clones.

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This is thanks to its Llama 2 technology, which can generate AI "characters" or "animations" based on real people.

Another company called Delphi lets users create virtual clones of themselves or anyone else.

To generate an AI clone via Delphi, all users need to do is upload some form of identification and as many as thousands of files, including emails, chat transcripts, and even YouTube videos.

It's apparent that this technology is quickly taking over the industry and this is only the beginning, experts say.

MichaelPuscar, Co-founder ofAI firm NPCx, which is developing its own AI cloning technology for the gaming sector, explains the phenomenon further.

"Our aim is to allow video game players toclonethemselves into video games, acting on their behalf in the game when theyre unavailable to play," he told The U.S. Sun in an email.

"You can imagine the following situation: you and I are set to play Call of Duty tonight but at the last minute, your partner unknowingly made a dinner reservation. Now Im stuck, or am I? Im not if I can play with or against yourclone," Puscar said.

NPCxs product is called BehaviorX, and it has not yet been released to the public, he said, but it could be central to the development of the metaverse.

The term metaverse was popularized by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerburg and describes a virtual world that combines social media, cryptocurrency, augmented reality, and gaming.

"Our clones need to exist in not just a video game environment but in the Metaverse as well," Puscar said.

"In both cases, the goal is such that when you interact with these clones they are in every way indistinguishable from the person from whom they were cloned."

To create theclones, NPCx asks players to play the game and observe them and their environment in great detail.

"We specifically ask them to take certain actions in the game, not unlike how actors are asked to take specific actions on a motion capture stage," Puscar said.

"This gives us what we need to train our models and create theclone."

Puscar added that by generating characters based on real-world people, the company can also create non-player characters (NPCs) with deep personalities, who act and react in realistic ways.

When asked what the appeal of AI clones is in gaming, Puscar had a simple answer.

"For gamers, playing alongside or againstAIclonesof real-world players orcelebritiesadds an element of realism and excitement to the gaming experience," he said.

"It's about creating a more engaging, interactive, and personalized form of entertainment that resonates with the user's interests and preferences."

Beyond gaming and chatbots, Puscar anticipates seeing AI cloning technology employed in a variety of applications.

"This could include virtual training environments, interactive educational tools, personalized digital assistants, and more," he said.

"The entertainment industry, in particular, stands to benefit significantly, with possibilities ranging from personalized movie experiences to virtual concerts featuring digitalclonesof artists.

Still, while this all sounds like good fun, the ethics around digitalclonesare "perilous," Puscar explained.

"Once youve trained yourclone, your likeness is acting in ways out of your control. In theory, if the algorithms are working properly, it is acting in ways that you would act," he said.

"But we cannot control the counterparty, and you can imagine situations where someone nefarious decides to simulate sexual acts with aclone, uses profane language, or otherwise attempts to put them into compromising situations."

Therefore, it is imperative to make sure thatclonesare created and used ethically, he said.

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Metaverse cloning tech uses AI to create virtual versions of you that live in games you cant always c... - The Sun

Chichester MP criticised by Liberal Democrats over sewage compensation vote – Yahoo News UK

Swimmers have expressed frustration at the government over sewage spills (Image: Jolly Swimmers)

Liberal Democrats have criticised education secretary and Chichester MP Gillian Keegan for voting against a compensation scheme for swimmers who get sick from sewage.

The amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill, tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, would have allowed anyone who gets sick as a result of illegal sewage dumping to claim compensation from water companies.

However, the proposal was voted down after MPs, including Gillian Keegan, voted against it.

Ms Keegan said the Conservatives have been the first to face this problem square on.

But Toby Wilsher from the sea-swimming group The Jolly Swimmers expressed his disappointment at the sewage situation in Sussex.

Toby, from West Wittering, said: It is a sad state of affairs when swimmers are falling seriously sick from sewage while water company bosses trouser millions in bonuses.

Jess Brown-Fuller, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Chichester constituency, said: Its shameful that Gillian Keegan and this Conservative government have once again put water companies profits before peoples health.

It is a complete slap in the face to all those in Chichester constituency who expect their MP to stand up and fight for them, instead of for massive companies who have dumped filthy sewage into our harbours, rivers and waterways.

The Liberal Democrats have exposed the sewage scandal and will continue to hold these polluting firms to account even if Gillian Keegan refuses to.

Gillian Keegan said that she has always been clear that sewage spills are completely unacceptable.

She said: I share the concerns of residents, but rather than playing political games like the Liberal Democrats - my Conservative colleagues and I have been the first to face this problem square on.

Locally, I have convened a forum with MPs from across the Solent region as well representatives from Southern Water, Ofwat, Environment Agency, Natural England, RSPB and Chichester Harbour Conservancy to drive improvements in water quality in local harbours and the wider Solent region.

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I continue to hold the Environment Agency and Southern Water to account and meet senior leaders regularly for progress updates on the key asks for my campaign to stop the spills.

As well as more transparent monitoring, Ive made clear I want to end sewage discharges entirely, but as we work to that goal I am campaigning for UV treatment, which kills bacteria, at every discharge point around the harbour, including at Thornham, and better sealing of the network.

At a national level, the Conservatives are the first government to take steps to address storm overflows, with vastly improved monitoring.

This has increased from approximately seven per cent when we came to power in 2010 to 91 per cent now, with 100 per cent coverage by the end of this year.

We have implemented the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan and enforced stringent targets to protect people and the environment, backed up by up to 60 billion in capital investment.

The government have also removed the limit of fines for water companies who dump sewage in our waterways.

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Chichester MP criticised by Liberal Democrats over sewage compensation vote - Yahoo News UK

COP28: EU joins forces with Latin America and Caribbean to combat sargassum and make it an economic opportunity … – European Union

Today at COP28, the EU and the Government of Dominican Republic co-organised the COP 28 Sargassum Panel Urgency and Opportunities for Action and Investment at the Dominican Republic Pavilion. The Panel brought together the governments of the Barbados, Dominican Republic, Mexico, regional actors such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) and representatives from the private sector.

This forum follows both regions joint commitments at the EU-CELAC summit in July 2023, where, leaders pledged to work together to combat sargassum in the Caribbean. Under the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda the EU roadmap for potential investment projects to help address the region's infrastructure needs the EU launched Turning sargassum into an economic opportunity, a Team Europe Initiative that aims to reduce the damage caused by these algae and integrate them into the circular economy, where, for example, sargassum would be transformed into cosmetics, fertilizers, electricity and biomass. It also includes aspects related to monitoring, research and the mobilisation of resources to maximise impact for tackling and optimising both regions joint approach.

The forum at COP28 contributed to consolidating understanding, review ongoing experiences and identify opportunities for future joint actions. Since the EU-Caribbean Sargassum conference in June 2023 in Santo Domingo, this follows close coordination between the EU, Caribbean and Latin American partners to combat the challenge of sargassum and make it an economic opportunity.

More than a decade has passed since the first mass strandings of sargassum in the Latin America and Caribbean region, countries are faced with exponentially increasing accumulations on their shores. The trend continues to impact key coastal ecosystems contributing to major negative economic, environmental and health impacts.

The panel, facilitated by EU programme Euroclima, complements the event Combatting together the toxic effects of massive sargassum groundings in the Caribbean and beyond, organised by France on December 2nd with the Vice-President of the Guadeloupe Region, and with the support of the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico and the OECS, which promoted an international political initiative in the run-up to the United Nations Conference on the Oceans, due to be held in Nice in June 2025. The French government is a key Team Europe partner in the political discussions to building a collective and strategic approach to addressing sargassum.

Through the ongoing actions, and as part of Global Gateway, the European Union and the European Member States continue to demonstrate the readiness to support Caribbean efforts to tackle sargassum.

Global Gateway is the European strategy mobilising 300 billion by 2027 to develop smart, clean and secure links in the fields of digital, energy and transport, and to strengthen health, education and research systems in the whole world.

The European Union - Latin America and the Caribbean Global Gateway Investment Agenda has identified more than 130 potential investment opportunities to help address the region's infrastructure needs, while creating local benefit and promoting growth, jobs and social cohesion. The EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda is a political commitment to work together, identifying fair green and digital investment opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean, which will benefit from the open environment generated by trade and investment agreements and will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Investment Agenda revolves around the following pillars

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COP28: EU joins forces with Latin America and Caribbean to combat sargassum and make it an economic opportunity ... - European Union