Brave Browser Delves Further into Crypto with Gemini Integration – Finance Magnates

Web browser Brave is expanding its cryptocurrency features with an integration with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. Brave users will be able to buy, trade and receive crypto assets directly through Gemini Trading Widget.

The company behind the privacy-oriented browser said users can access the Gemini card directly on the new tab page to trade any crypto asset listed on the Gemini exchange. Within its attention-based rewards ecosystem, users are also provided with an option to view their balances, and obtain deposit addresses without leaving the browser.

The Most Diverse Audience to Date at FMLS 2020 Where Finance Meets Innovation

Users can turn it off and hide the widget directlyfrom the browser tabsor by managing their settings.

Both companies didnt reveal the business aspects of the partnership. But browsers like Brave typically generate revenue based on how much traffic they send to search engines or other sites. It also pays users in its own cryptocurrency, the Basic Attention Token (BAT), to view ads without accessing users personal data.

In addition, all Brave-verified content creators can custody their digital assets in a Gemini Creator Wallet. That means Brave creators can receive their BAT payments into their Gemini Creator Wallet, or in any other fiat or crypto asset supported on Geminis Exchange, Gemini further states.

Cypherium Listed as Preferred Startup by French Investment BankGo to article >>

According to the announcement, the cooperation is an important step in Braves strategy to boost the adoption of cryptocurrencies and facilitate their access for its users.

In addition to a particular focus on privacy, Brave has been developing an in-browser crypto trading tool for a while. The addition of more options puts the open-source browser more squarely in the race with other crypto-focused browsers, like Opera.

Brave usersare already able to freely exchange Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies supported by Binance within the comfort of their browser.

On top of that, they are also be able to explore a plethora of relevant functions, including buying, depositing, trading, and viewing summaries, thus eliminating the need for other applications.

Within its attention-based rewards ecosystem, users are provided with an option to trade on both the Binance.com andBinance.USplatforms.

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Brave Browser Delves Further into Crypto with Gemini Integration - Finance Magnates

$50,000,000,000 in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Flowing Out of China: Report – The Daily Hodl

More than $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency fled China-based wallets in the past 12 months, according to the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The Chinese government only allows its citizens to move $50,000 USD or less out of the country each year. Wealthy Chinese citizens have traditionally skirted that regulation by sinking money into real estate abroad or by funneling investments through shell companies, though the government has reportedly worked to stop this from happening.

Now, some of those same citizens appear to be turning to crypto, according to areport from Chainalysis.

Over the last twelve months, with Chinas economy suffering due to trade wars and devaluation of the yuan at different points, weve seen over $50 billion worth of cryptocurrency move from China-based addresses to overseas addresses. Obviously, not all of this is capital flight, but we can think of $50 billion as the absolute ceiling for capital flight via cryptocurrency from East Asia to other regions.

Chinese citizens have specifically utilized the US dollar-pegged Tether (USDT) for capital flight, as well as other purposes. USDT represents 93% of all stablecoin value moved by addresses from East Asia.

Overall, stablecoin usage dominates the East Asia region, representing 33% of on-chain transaction value, compared to 21% in Western Europe and 17% in North America. This is partly due to the Chinese governments decision in 2017 to ban direct exchanges of yuan for cryptocurrency.

As a region, East Asia is the worlds largest cryptocurrency market, responsible for 31% of all cryptocurrency transacted in the past 12 months.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/ssguy

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$50,000,000,000 in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Flowing Out of China: Report - The Daily Hodl

Will Cryptocurrency Casinos Completely Take Over the iGaming Industry? – Artvoice

Although were well into the digital era, technology continues to surprise us. The iGaming sector has grown into the multi-billion-dollar industry, with millions of casino aficionados playing online casino games all over the world.

The newest trend that caught our attention was definitely the entrance of cryptocurrency casinos into the market. Based on the performance of cryptocurrencies so far in 2020, we wanted to dive into further detail, and see how this impacts online casinos.

But what are the cryptocurrency casinos? How do they work, and what are their advantages?

Essentially, cryptocurrency casinos are online casinos that accept payments via diverse cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Ethereum, and more. They dont look any different from other online casino platforms in terms of game selection and other features. The main difference is in the payment methods they accept.

Now, you can come across some online casinos that accept payments made in cryptocurrencies along with other regular banking options credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and similar. Additionally, there are others that only allow payments made in cryptocurrency. The latter ones are still outnumbered, but we cant deny the fact that more people are starting to use cryptocurrency as their primary payment option.

So, lets see what the advantages of using cryptocurrency as your primary payment option while playing in online casinos are. The first one is that the transactions are instant and hassle-free. Unlike other more traditional banking options that can take up to a couple of days to process a payment, cryptocurrency will be transferred without any delay.

Another advantage thats crucial is that you can make all your payments anonymously. For example, when you want to take a loan from a bank, they will check your previous transactions. In case they see numerous payments made to online gambling sites, its highly unlikely they will grant your request.

On the other hand, when you make transactions via blockchain technology (the tech behind cryptocurrencies), there are no third-party organizations involved its done anonymously. Naturally, there are some cryptocurrencies that are more private than others, so you should do some research before you choose the one youll use for gaming purposes.

Furthermore, there are no additional fees when paying via cryptocurrencies. As youve probably noticed, some banking options include fees for transactions to and from your gaming account.

Another reason people prefer to use blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies is the fact that they are a globally accepted payment method. This means that there is no need to convert currencies with digital money. We consider this a major advantage simply because you wont be exposed to various fees that occur during these conversions.

As you can see, there are numerous reasons you should opt for cryptocurrency casinos. However, their development is still in the early stages, and we have yet to see how the rest of the world will react to these types of casinos will they be skeptical, or accept them with arms wide open? Only time will tell.

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Will Cryptocurrency Casinos Completely Take Over the iGaming Industry? - Artvoice

Chainalysis Confirms Venezuelans are Increasingly Using Bitcoin and other Cryptos for Remittance Payments, as Bolivar is Useless – Crowdfund Insider

Venezuela is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in history. The South American countrys national currency, the Bolivar, has become practically worthless due to extremely high levels of hyperinflation (about 10,000,000% during 2019).

Venezuelas residents are also suffering due to serious socioeconomic challenges, as the country has gone from being one of the wealthiest in the Latin American (LatAm) region to one of the poorest.

According to Chainalysis, cryptocurrency has taken on a key in the nations struggling economy. Venezuelas digital currency market represents a confluence of several topics at the core of cryptocurrencys key value propositions and risk factors.

Chainalysis further claims that the country has reached one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency usage in the world. Venezuela notably placed third on the blockchain security firms Global Crypto Adoption Index, as many of the nations residents now depend on cryptocurrency to receive remittance payments from individuals or businesses abroad. Venezuelans have also been using virtual assets to maintain their savings against record levels of hyperinflation.

The countrys contested government, which is led by Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)-sanctioned Nicolas Maduro and well-known internationally for its corruption, has introduced its own so-called cryptocurrency initiatives. Maduros administration claims that the new digital currency will help the nations economy and its citizens.

Chainalysis confirms that Venezuelan officials have said that bypassing sanctions is one of the main goals of these crypto-related initiatives.

Chainalysis notes in its report:

Aside from the concerns around sanctions violations, the Maduro regimes cryptocurrency projects raise questions of whether people would embrace government-led efforts to utilize a tool initially designed to immunize currency from government financial policy especially when that government has so squandered its peoples trust as Venezuelas has.

An extensive four-month investigation by Reuters in 2018 revealed that there was no evidence of the controversial, government-backed Petro cryptocurrency being used in Venezuela. There are several legitimate digital asset exchanges operating in the country, including LocalBitcoins. According to several reports, Venezuelans do use Bitcoin (BTC) and other virtual currencies like Dash. However, many of them have said they dont trust the Petro and do not think its a legitimate store of value or medium of exchange.

Chainalysis notes:

We have a lot of anecdotal evidence that people in Venezuela have become increasingly interested in cryptocurrency. That fits with our interviews of cryptocurrency experts on the ground in Latin America users not just in Venezuela, but in other countries facing harsh economic conditions, turn to cryptocurrency to preserve their savings in the face of monetary devaluation.

They added:

Cryptocurrency is also important for remittances. Roughly 5 million Venezuelans have left the country to seek opportunity elsewhere during this economic crisis, and many of their friends and family back home rely on them to send money from abroad. Cryptocurrency is hugely helpful here, as users can use it to send funds overseas faster and with lower fees than they can with fiat. Cryptocurrency also enables them to do this without a bank account, which is difficult to obtain for many Venezuelans.

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Chainalysis Confirms Venezuelans are Increasingly Using Bitcoin and other Cryptos for Remittance Payments, as Bolivar is Useless - Crowdfund Insider

Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market to Witness Huge Growth By 2027 | Top Manufacturers Bitfury Group, Canaan Creative, Canaan Creative, BitMain…

New Jersey, United States,- A recent report on Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market added by Verified Market Research provides a detailed analysis of the industry size, sales forecast, and geographic landscape related to this business line. Further, the report highlights key hurdles and latest growth trends which are accepted by leading players and are part of the competitive spectrum of this business.

The Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market research report provides a comprehensive analysis of this business segment and provides essential insight into the factors influencing revenue generation as well as industry growth. Apart from the regulatory outlook, the document also includes a detailed assessment of the regional scope of the market. Further, the report includes detailed SWOT analysis and explains the driving factors of the market.

Global Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market is growing at a faster pace with substantial growth rates over the last few years and is estimated that the market will grow significantly in the forecasted period i.e. 2019 to 2026.

Additional information including limitations & challenges faced by new entrants and market players in tandem with their respective impact on the revenue generation of the companies is enumerated. The document scrutinizes the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on growth as well as future remuneration of the market.

The report covers extensive analysis of the key market players in the market, along with their business overview, expansion plans, and strategies. The key players studied in the report include:

The report provides valuable insights about the advancements of the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market and the approaches regarding the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market with analysis of each region. The report further talks about the dominant aspects of the market and explores each segment.

Other details specified in the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market report:

Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market, By Type

Central Processing Unit Graphics Processing Unit Field Programmable Gate Array Application-Specific Integrated circuit

Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market, By Application

Enterprise Personal

Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market, By Coin

Bitcoin Ripple Ethereum Others

To understand the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market dynamics, the market is analyzed across major global regions and countries. Verified Market Research provides customized specific regional and country-wise analysis of the key geographical regions as follows:

North America:USA, Canada, Mexico

Latin America:Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, and Rest of Latin America

Europe:UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Rest of EU

Asia-Pacific:India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Rest of APAC

Middle East & Africa:Saudi Arabia, South Africa, U.A.E., and Rest of MEA

Comprehensive assessment of all opportunities and risks in the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware market.

This exclusive study addresses key questions for stakeholders in the Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market:

Thank you for reading our report. The report is available for customization based on chapters or regions. Please get in touch with us to know more about customization options, and our team will ensure you get the report tailored according to your requirements.

About us:

Verified Market Research is a leading Global Research and Consulting firm servicing over 5000+ customers. Verified Market Research provides advanced analytical research solutions while offering information enriched research studies. We offer insight into strategic and growth analyses, Data necessary to achieve corporate goals, and critical revenue decisions.

Our 250 Analysts and SMEs offer a high level of expertise in data collection and governance use industrial techniques to collect and analyze data on more than 15,000 high impact and niche markets. Our analysts are trained to combine modern data collection techniques, superior research methodology, expertise, and years of collective experience to produce informative and accurate research.

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Cryptocurrency Mining Hardware Market to Witness Huge Growth By 2027 | Top Manufacturers Bitfury Group, Canaan Creative, Canaan Creative, BitMain...

Need a Job? Elon Musk May Have One for You in South Texas. – Reform Austin

It may not be welcomed by residents, but the tiny south Texas town of Boca Chica Village may wind up as a spa destination for the well-heeled who are interested in space travel. Its all part of Elon Musks plans to turn the area into a 21st Century spaceport.

According to a recent job posting, the hunt is on for a resort development manager to oversee the development of SpaceXs first resort from inception to completion.

SpaceX is committed to developing revolutionary space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets, the job posting reads. Boca Chica Village is our latest launch site dedicated to Starship, our next generation launch vehicle. SpaceX is committed to developing this town into a 21st century spaceport. We are looking for a talented resort development manager to oversee the development of SpaceXs first resort from inception to completion.

Applicants will need experience bringing teams and processes from development to production, strong leadership skills and be willing to work long hours and weekends.

Residents arent exactly enamored with Musk. They complain of noise from rocket launches and bullying tactics to get them to sell their homes. SpaceX reportedly now owns half of the villages 35 homes.

Musk is putting down more roots in Texas. In late July, Musk announced plans to build a Tesla Cybertruck plant just outside Austin.

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Need a Job? Elon Musk May Have One for You in South Texas. - Reform Austin

Elon Musk confirms Tesla gigafactory was target of foiled cyberattack – MarketWatch

A Tesla Inc. logo is reflected in the glass of a closed showroom in San Diego. Bloomberg News

Elon Musk confirmed Thursday that the Tesla Inc. gigafactory in Nevada was the target of a cyberattack that was foiled by the FBI.

The blog Teslarati reported Thursday that a Russian man approached a worker at the factory in July through the WhatsApp chat app, and offered him $1 million to install malware into Teslas internal network that would cause a distributed denial-of-service attack. While Teslas cybersecurity team was distracted by the DDoS attack, the malware would access corporate secrets that the hackers could hold for ransom. Instead, the worker reported it to officials at Tesla, who alerted the FBI. He reportedly pretended to go along with the plan and wore a wire during future meetings with the Russian man, who was arrested Aug. 22 in Los Angeles in an apparent attempt to flee the U.S.

In a tweet replying to the Teslarati report, Musk confirmed This was a serious attack.

The Teslarati report lines up with a criminal complaint filed Aug. 23 in U.S. District Court in Nevada that accused Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, a Russian national, of attempting to recruit a worker to introduce malware at an unidentified company.

The purpose of the conspiracy was to recruit an employee of a company to surreptitiously transmit malware provided by the coconspirators into the companys computer system, exfiltrate data from the companys network, and threaten to disclose the data online unless the company paid the coconspirators ransom demand, the Justice Department said in the filing.

Tesla TSLA, +3.97% did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Elon Musk confirms Tesla gigafactory was target of foiled cyberattack - MarketWatch

Elon Musks Net Worth Nears $100 Billion As Tesla Stock Burns Rubber – Forbes

Elon Musk is on the verge of becoming the world's fifth centibillionaire.

Elon Musk is on the verge of breaking his twelfth digit. Shares of his electric carmaker Tesla jumped 3.75% on Thursday, boosting Musks net worth by $3.2 billion, to $98.8 billionjust $1.2 billion away from making Musk the fifth centibillionaire in the world.

He is the worlds fifth-richest person, according to Forbes real-time ranking, clocking in ahead of the Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett and behind Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg.

Musks fortune has quadrupled since mid-March, when he ranked No. 31 on Forbes Worlds Billionaires list with a net worth of $24.6 billion. He owns 21% of the $416 billion (market cap) company but has pledged more than half his stake as collateral for personal loans; Forbes applies a discount to his pledged shares to account for the loans.

Tesla stock will split on a 5-for-1 basis on Friday after the market close and start trading on a split-adjusted basis on Monday. Shares have risen 35% since Tesla announced the move on August 11.

Analysts are divided on Teslas meteoric rise. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi called the companys valuation mind-boggling in late July. "Despite our relatively bullish stance on electric vehicle evolution, and structural advantages we believe Tesla may hold, we find it difficult to justify Tesla's current valuation even under our most bullish/imaginative scenarios, Sacconaghi wrote in a research note. He also warned that the Chinese government could retaliate against Tesla and other American tech companies over President Trumps TikTok ban.

Wedbushs Dan Ives, who recently raised his bull case price target to $3,500 a share, contends that Tesla will keep soaring. We still think bright days are ahead for Tesla, Ives told Bloomberg last week. Despite the haters who continue to scratch their heads, the stock moves higher.

Musk has received two enormous stock option grants this year, worth $6.4 billion, as part of his compensation package. A third is on the way if Tesla maintains a six-month average market capitalization of $200 billion, and posts either $55 billion of revenue or $4.5 billion of adjusted EBITDA for the previous four consecutive quarters.

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Elon Musks Net Worth Nears $100 Billion As Tesla Stock Burns Rubber - Forbes

Stocks & Shares, Art, Antiques and Property: Peak Uncertainty – Even Elon Musk is off by 245% – IFA Magazine

Normal life, so say, returns when the nations kids go to school, and our young adults flood off to Universities in unprecedented numbers. COVID in the UK is trickling away, the housing market is roaring, The future is clear, and it is web and tech-based. What could possibly go wrong?

Most of the time it is easy to identify emerging trends, to predict who the various gears, cogs and levers of society and the economy will mesh and to place your bets in a considered manner, the essence of smart investing. But these are not normal times, and it requires excellent peripheral vision to identify what opportunities and threats are racing to the fore, we are just out of the starting gate, the first fence is looming, where would you place your bets?

Stocks & Shares

With the benefit of a time-machine, most would be retrospectively piling into Tesla and Amazon stocks. Indeed even Teslas CEO, Elon Musk, called it wrong; declaring on May Day that Tesla stock was too high in his May 1st tweet, having peaked at $869.82. The stock has jumped by up 245% since. If Musk, now the fourth wealthiest person on the planet, cant predict his own stock price, the market must be irrational. Or perhaps he is? But is this a rational irrationality and therefore predictable? Are prescient investors backing a generational reset, as with thedot.comboom at the millennium? Or is this a bible created with money fleeing other sectors?

What we are seeing is the distorting effects of the transfer of wealth between asset classes. The complex weave of bond yields, profitability, taxation and growth are twisted by the uncertainty of the world economy, and distorted by Government and Central Bank intervention. The difficulty is discerning what is the effect of a short term distortion, and where the longer-term real growth lies.

Property

Commercial investment seems easy to call, people will be staying home to work, demand for centralised and expensive office space will fall away, along with rents and returns, The knock-on for retail landlords doesnt look much better than that. You would have thought residential would be similarly easy to call, but the market is operating counter to received wisdom, Estate Agents are reporting surges in activity, driving prices higher. Buyers are buying, and sellers are selling. Is it pent up demand? The lure of low interest rates, the stamp duty holiday? Or just business as usual.

Many predict that rising unemployment will kill demand, aided by tightening lending and cautious mortgage valuers. However, house prices may be very responsive when prices are rising, but are notoriously sticky when it comes to price falls. For house prices to fall the market needs vendors prepared to undercut the market to move. That means enough people need to be suffering the threat or reality of repossession, or unaffordable mortgage payments to cause the market to be undermined. Otherwise, people sit out a market which is stagnant. There is no immediate repossession crisis looming, and until furloughing is fully withdrawn, it wont be clear exactly how many people will have been thrown into the financial distress of unemployment. Even assuming that is as bad as some predict there is still the probability that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, will intervene with new mortgage payment support benefits or payment holiday entitlements. It is clear the Government are taking the view in for a penny, in for a pound so we can expect imaginative, and possibly expensive fixes to keep prices stable. The market is almost impossible to call in advance, but as ever will have been completely obvious when reviewed with hindsight from the other side of events.Continue reading article

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Stocks & Shares, Art, Antiques and Property: Peak Uncertainty - Even Elon Musk is off by 245% - IFA Magazine

Musk Wealth Tops $100 Billion as Bezos Worth Twice as Much – Bloomberg

Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott in 2018.

Three of the worlds richest people have achieved staggering new levels of personal wealth.

The net worth of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos eclipsed $200 billion on Wednesday as shares of the e-commerce giant climbed to a record. The move simultaneously pushed his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott, 50, to the brink of becoming the worlds richest woman, just behind LOreal SA heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers.

Elon Musk, meanwhile, extended an extraordinary stretch of wealth gains to become a centibillionaire. Tesla Inc. shares rallied Wednesday, pushing his net worth to $101 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a listing of the worlds 500 richest people.

Tech companies boosted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes to new highs for a fourth straight day, buoyed by news that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep short-term interest rates near zero for at least five years.

The gains by Bezos, 56, and Musk represent just the latest high water mark for wealth accumulation in a topsy-turvy year defined by both surging markets and catastrophic human and economic loss. The worlds 500 richest people have gained $809 billion so far this year, a 14% increase since January, even as a global pandemic caused a record drop in gross domestic product and millions of lost jobs.

The rising income inequality has provoked sharp responses from many progressive politicians and critics on the left. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders earlier this month introduced legislation to tax extreme wealth gains during the coronavirus crisis.

We cannot continue to allow billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to become obscenely rich while millions of Americans face eviction, hunger and economic desperation, Sanders said Wednesday in a statement. Its time to fundamentally change our national priorities.

Others view their massive wealth as justified, saying theyve earned it through the creation of singular businesses. When you look at Musk and Bezos, its understated to say that in their own ways, theyve changed the world, said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital.

The surge in wealth is especially concentrated in the upper ranks of the billionaires index and has been fueled largely by tech stocks, which have been on a tear as the pandemic drives more people online. That also includes a rise in the number of retail investors buying stocks.

Musk, 49, now one of four centibillionaires in the world, has seen his fortune grow by $73.6 billion this year, a jump still smaller than Bezoss, who is up by $87.1 billion. Facebook Inc.s Mark Zuckerbergs net worth topped $100 billion earlier this month. On Wednesday alone, it rose by $8.5 billion.

U.S. tech tycoons havent been the only beneficiaries. Indias Mukesh Ambani became the first Asian to rank among the worlds five richest last month. Hes gained $22.5 billion this year on the back of a boost in shares of his conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd., whose tech division has attracted recent investments from the likes of Facebook and Silver Lake.

And despite growing tensions with the U.S., Chinas tech billionaires have gained this year too. Tencent Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Pony Ma has amassed $16.6 billion this year and is now worth $55.2 billion. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.s Jack Ma and William Ding of NetEase Inc. have also added more than $12 billion each, putting their fortunes at $58.9 billion and $30.8 billion, respectively.

With assistance by Jack Witzig, Tom Metcalf, and Richard Macauley

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Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Musk Wealth Tops $100 Billion as Bezos Worth Twice as Much - Bloomberg

Revealed: Twitter Habits of the Crypto Elite – Cointelegraph

Many crypto heavyweights use Twitter as their primary tool for sharing information (or even misinformation) about their own projects or other interesting subjects. Some of them even consider Twitter engagement their most important performance indicator.

We decided to put the Twitter habits of the crypto elite under a microscope to get a better sense of how they actually engage with the popular social media platform.

For our analysis, we picked 13 crypto entrepreneurs (we measured each Winklevoss twins habits independently). To make our list, the subjects had to be actively running a crypto business and command a strong Twitter following at the same time. Our analysis is based on each subjects last 1,000 public tweets, collected on August 11, 2020.

The subjects of our Twitter study. Source: Cointelegraph.

Seven of the 13 people on our list rely on Twitters conventional web interface to do their tweeting. The other six are mobile-first: two favor iPhone, four favor Android. Vitalik Buterin seems to be using the web interface almost exclusively for his tweets.

Meanwhile, the Winklevoss twins share not only the same appearance, but the same preference for tweeting from an iPhone. Tyler Winklevoss is perhaps the most active Twitter user on our list pulling his 1,000 latest tweets only took us back to mid-June.

At the other end of the activity specture, Brad Garlinghouse and Jihan Wu havent even tweeted 1,000 times in the entire lifetime of their account.

Most members of our list tweet on an individually consistent level the number of tweets per day mostly stays the same. But some also have predictable variances. Weekend tweet production just isnt in the cards for Garlinghouse, Barry Silbert, or either Winklevoss twin.

Adam Back plays it backwards from this crowd: his Twitter activity explodes on the weekends.

To analyze the time of day that our subjects most commonly tweet would call for gathering accurate time zone data for every tweet. This can be tricky for a couple of reasons: many on our list are global jetsetters, and a tweets geographic information is not always public.

We wanted to learn first-hand from the crypto elite how they view their Twitter activity and what role it plays in their busy lives. Litecoin (LTC) founder Charlie Lee told us that Twitter is rather important to him: I use Twitter to announce Litecoin news and for shitposting. He added that his favorite people on Twitter are Udi Wertheimer, Samson Mow, Stefan Jespers and Riccardo Spagni.

Hashcash creator Adam Back told us he had recently written a tweet that expresses his philosophy of Twitter: its for chit-chat and shit-taking.

Source: Twitter.

Charles Hoskinson told Cointelgraph that his Twitter feed is a bulletin board of what's happening in my industry and the world that day. His favorite person on Twitter is Elon Musk, and he has some advice for Twitter beginners:

Don't engage trolls, use the mute button often.

Roger Ver told us that he has a simple Twitter strategy: I try to tweet once per day about whatever is on my mind that day. Bitcoin.com and BCH are on my mind most of the time, so they find their way into my tweets often.

Ver added that his favorite Twitter personality by far is Sal Mayweather. His advice for aspiring crypto Twitteratti? Keep an open mind.

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Revealed: Twitter Habits of the Crypto Elite - Cointelegraph

Here’s the smallest AI/ML supercomputer ever – TechRadar

NEC is known for its vector processor-powered supercomputers, most notably the Earth Simulator. Typically, NECs vector processors have been aimed at numerical simulation and similar workloads, but recently NEC unveiled a platform that makes its latest SX-Aurora Tsubasa supercomputer-class processors usable for artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads.

The vector processor, with advanced pipelining, is a technology that proved itself long ago,wroteRobbert Emery, who is responsible for commercializing NEC Corporations advanced technologies in HPC and AI/ML platform solutions.

Vector processing paired with middleware optimized for parallel pipelining is lowering the entry barriers for new AI and ML applications, and is set to solve the challenges both today and in the future that were once only attainable by the hyperscale cloud providers.

TheSX-Aurora Tsubasa AI Platformsupports bothPython and TensorFlowdevelopment environments as well programming languages such as C/C++ and Fortran.

NEC offersmultiple versionsof its latest SX-Aurora Tsubasa versions for desktops and servers that can handle FHFL cards. The most advanced Vector Engine Processor model is the Type 20 that features 10 cores running at 1.6GHz and paired with 48GB HBM2 memory. The card offers a peak performance of 3.07 FP32 TFLOPS or 6.14 FP16 TFLOPS.

While peak performance numbers offered by the SX-Aurora Tsubasa look rather pale when compared to those offered by the latest GPUs (which are also a class of vector processors), such as NVIDIAs A100, NEC believes that its vector processors can still be competitive, especially on datasets that require 48GB of onboard memory (as NVIDIA only has 40GB).

As an added advantage, the NEC SX-Aurora Tsubasa card can run typical supercomputing workloads in a desktop workstation.

NEC does not publish prices of its SX-Aurora Tsubasa cards, but those who want to try the product can contact the company for quotes. In addition, it is possible totry the hardware in the cloud.

Sources:ITMedia,EnterpriseAI,NEC(viaHPCwire)

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Here's the smallest AI/ML supercomputer ever - TechRadar

CSC’s Supercomputer Mahti is Now Available to Researchers and Students – HPCwire

Our efficient national environment supports Finnish research by offering researchers competitive resources to solve even the toughest challenges in their fields, among the first. It also contributes to facilitating researchers access to more ambitious international collaborative research projects. The COVID-19 pandemic is a good indication of the importance of our research infrastructure. We can react quickly and allocate resources to research when a critical need arises, says Pekka Lehtovuori, Director of Computing Services at CSC.

Mahti is a robust liquid-cooled supercomputer capable of solving heavy computational tasks. Mahti can be used, for example, for computational drug design, extensive molecular dynamics simulations, or to model space weather and climate change.

Modern drug design requires extensive computational resources. Supercomputers can be used to analyze how a drug candidate affects the function of proteins in the body, but also to the side effects caused by the same drug. Personalized medicine is also highly dependent on the CSCs computing environment, says Antti Poso, Professor of Drug Design at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Tbingen in Germany. Mahti is also contributing to the re-use of drugs, which enables a faster response even in situations such as COVID-19 pandemics

CSCs data management and computing services will also be open to educational use by higher education institutes.

With the new data management and computing environment, more and more people will be able to take advantage of modern research equipment. The CSC environment is now also available for educational use in universities and academic use in research institutes. The expanded user base helps ensure that we get all the benefits from the investment and that expertise is accumulated not only in CSC but also in user organizations, says Erja Heikkinen, Director at the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Mahti is the fastest supercomputer in the Nordic countries

The supercomputer Mahti is aBullSequana XH2000system fromAtoswith two 64-core AMD EPYC (Rome) processors in the nodes. This processor is the latest version of the EPYC family (7H12). The total amount of cores is about 180 000. There are almost 9 Petabytes of storage capacity in Mahti.

The interconnect network represents the latest technology, and its speed up to the nodes is 200 Gbps (Gigabits per second). Mahti is one of the worlds first supercomputers with such a fast interconnect.

Mahti ranked 47th in the Supercomputer Top500 list in June 2020 with a maximum performance of 5.39 Petaflops. The theoretical peak performance is 7.5 Petaflops. Mahti is the fastest supercomputer in the Nordic countriesand when compared to European ones, Mahti ranks as number 17.

On the recent Supercomputer Green500 list, Mahti ranked 44th. The Green500 lists the worlds most energy-efficient supercomputers. There are only 14 supercomputers that are faster and more energy-efficient than Mahti.

I am really proud of this achievement because of the flawless cooperation with the CSC project team, a perfect example of European cooperation. We set a common goal, which is to provide cutting edge HPC technology to researchers in Finnish universities and research institutes and achieved it, says Janne Ahonen,Atos Country Manager Finland & the Baltics.

CSCs new computing environment

The availability of Mahti completes the CSCs new data management and computing environment, which consists of Mahti, Puhti, and Allas.

Mahti is the robust supercomputer in CSCs environment, geared towards medium to large scale simulations. Puhti, a BullSequana X400 system from Atos, is a general-purpose supercomputerfor a wide range of use cases. Puhti was launched in autumn 2019.

Puhti Artificial Intelligence Partition Puhti-AI is a GPU-accelerated supercomputer and is specifically designed for artificial intelligence research and artificial intelligence applications.

The entire CSC computing environment is served by a common data management solution, Allas, that is based on CEPH object storage technology and has a storage capacity of 12 Petabytes.

About CSC

CSCis a Finnish center of expertise in ICT that provides world-class services for research, education, culture, public administration and enterprises, to help them thrive and benefit society at large. http://www.csc.fi

About Atos

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CSC's Supercomputer Mahti is Now Available to Researchers and Students - HPCwire

When it comes to hurricane models, which one is best? – 12newsnow.com KBMT-KJAC

Is the American or European forecast model more accurate? Let's connect the dots!

When it comes to hurricanes a lot of information can come at you fast, but when it comes to storm forecast models is one really better than the other?

Lets connect the dots.

American model vs. European model

The two global models you hear about the most are the American and European. The American is officially called the Global Forecast System model and is created and operate by the National Weather Service.

And it's no rink-dink forecast! It uses a supercomputer considered one of the fastest in the world.

The European model is officially called the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts and is the result of a partnership of 34 different nations.

European model outperforms big supercomputer

Looking at last years forecast, the European model did do better, especially when we were one to two days out from the storm. Thats according to the National Hurricane Center forecast verification report.

According to the Washington Post, it's because the European model is considered computationally more powerful. Thats thanks to raw super computer power and the math behind the model.

Meteorologists weigh in

No matter how much computer power you have you still need humans to interpret these models, and thats where a skilled meteorologist comes in.

They look at all the models, weigh their strengths and weakness and consider the circumstances for each storm. Thats how they let us know when to worry and when to stay calm.

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When it comes to hurricane models, which one is best? - 12newsnow.com KBMT-KJAC

SberCloud’s Cloud Platform Sweeps Three International Accolades At IT World Awards – Exchange News Direct

AI Cloud, the cloud platform of Sberbank ecosystems SberCloud, has won awards in three categories at the 15th international IT World Awards.

Featuring executives, professionals, and experts from the worlds top IT companies, the judging panel for the award recognized AI Cloud as the gold winner in the New Product-Service of the Year | Artificial Intelligence category, the silver winner in the Data Science Platforms category, and the bronze winner in the Hot Technology of the Year | Artificial Intelligence category.

The award was organized by Network Products Guide, industrys leading technology research and advisory guide from Silicon Valley, California, U.S., which shares insights with top executives of the worlds leading IT companies into the best IT products, solutions, and services.

David Rafalovsky, CTO of Sberbank Group, Executive Vice President, Head of Technology,

We are proud that the unique IT project of Sberbank and SberCloud has gained international recognition from a qualified jury. AI Cloud and the Christofari were designed for convenient and reliable use of artificial intelligence technology by a wide variety of entities and organizations, from startups and small businesses to large companies and research centers. Many of our partners and companies that are Sberbank ecosystem members already use AI Cloud and the Christofari to develop proprietary products and services.

The universal cloud platform AI Cloud has the computing power of the Christofari supercomputer at its core and allows for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across a raft of business, industry, science, and education domains. AI Cloud users can work with data, create AI models, train neural networks, and tailor microservices from the latter to get things done in the cloud through a single interface as fast as possible.

Sberbank already uses AI algorithms to recognize and understand human speech while also utilizing them in voice assistants, voice interfaces, behavioral analytics, and other workflow situations.

The architecture and computing power of Russias fastest supercomputer Christofari, which was specially made in partnership with NVIDIA to work with AI, let stakeholders train program models based on complex neural networks in record time. Thanks to AI Cloud, the Christofari can be accessed from anywhere in the world where you can get an Internet connection. Its capacity, architecture, and affordability make it a unique supercomputer on a global scale.

SberCloud is a cloud platform developed by Sberbank Group to provide services through the IT architecture of the largest bank in Russia, CIS, and Eastern Europe. The infrastructure, IT platforms, and SberCloud services are the pillars of Sberbank Groups digital ecosystem, also being available to external customers, such as companies and governmental organizations.

The Christofari supercomputer is the fastest supercomputer in Russia. Designed by Sberbank and SberCloud together with NVIDIA, it is based on NVIDIA DGX-2 high performance nodes featuring Tesla V100 computing accelerators. According to the LINPACK benchmarks, the supercomputers Rmax value reached 6.7 PFLOPs, measuring a peak of 8.8 PFLOPs.

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SberCloud's Cloud Platform Sweeps Three International Accolades At IT World Awards - Exchange News Direct

Supercomputer Market Growth, Future Prospects And Competitive Analysis (2020-2026) – Bulletin Line

The research report on the global Supercomputer Market offers an all-encompassing analysis of recent and upcoming states of this industry which also analyzes several growth strategies for market growth. The Supercomputer report also focuses on the comprehensive study of the industry environment, and industry chain structure extensively. The Supercomputer report also sheds light on major factors including leading vendors, growth rate, production value, and key regions.

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The Supercomputer Market report introduces the industrial chain analysis, downstream buyers, and raw material sources along with the correct comprehensions of market dynamics. The Supercomputer Market report is articulated with a detailed view of the Global Supercomputer industry including Global production sales, Global revenue, and CAGR. Additionally, it offers potential insights about Porters Five Forces including substitutes, buyers, industry competitors, and suppliers with genuine information for understanding the Global Supercomputer Market.

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The Supercomputer Market study projects viability analysis, SWOT analysis, and various other information about the leading companies operating in the Global Supercomputer Market provide a complete efficient account of the viable environment of the industry with the aid of thorough company profiles. However, Supercomputer research examines the impact of current market success and future growth prospects for the industry.

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Supercomputer Market Growth, Future Prospects And Competitive Analysis (2020-2026) - Bulletin Line

Supercomputer predicts where Spurs will finish in the 2020/21 Premier League table – The Spurs Web

With the Premier League fixtures for the 2020/21 season being released last week, it is that time of the year again when fans and pundits start predicting who will finish where.

There is some cause for optimism for Tottenham fans heading into the season, given the strong manner in which Jose Mourinhos men finished the 2019/20 campaign.

Tottenham only lost once in their final nine games after the restart, a run which enabled the club to sneak into sixth place and book their place in the Europa League.

Spurs will be hoping to carry on the momentum into the start of next season but they will be aiming a lot higher than sixth in what will be Mourinhos first full season in charge.

However, according to the predictions of Unikrns supercomputer (as relayed by The Mirror), the Lilywhites will once again miss out on the top four next season.

Based on its calculations, Spurs will end the season in fifth place, one place ahead of their North London rivals Arsenal. Manchester City are predicted to win the title next season just ahead of Liverpool, with Manchester United and Chelsea rounding off the top four.

Spurs Web Opinion

It is too early to be making any predictions considering the transfer market will be open for a while. I believe we will finish in the top four next season as long as we make at least three more intelligent additions (a right-back, centre-back and a striker).

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Supercomputer predicts where Spurs will finish in the 2020/21 Premier League table - The Spurs Web

A continent works to grow its stake in quantum computing – University World News

AFRICA

South Africa is a few steps ahead in the advancement of quantum computing and quantum technologies in general, said Mark Tame, professor in photonics at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape.

South Africas University of KwaZulu-Natal has also been working on quantum computing for more than a decade, gradually building up a community around the field.

The buzz about quantum computing in South Africa just started recently due to the agreement between [Johannesburgs] University of the Witwatersrand and IBM, said Professor Francesco Petruccione, interim director, National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Science, and South African Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing and Communication at the School of Chemistry and Physics Quantum Research Group, University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Interest was intensified by Googles announcement last October that it had developed a 53-qubit device which it claimed took 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times. The IT company claimed it would take a state-of-the-art digital supercomputer 10,000 years to achieve this.

A University of Waterloo Institute for Quantum Computing paper stresses quantum computers ability to express a signal (a qubit) of more than one value at the same time (the superposition ability) with that signal being manifested in another device independently, but in exactly the same way (the entanglement ability). This enables quantum computers to handle much more complex questions and problems than standard computers using binary codes of ones and zeros.

The IBM Research Laboratory in Johannesburg offers African researchers the potential to harness such computing power. It was established in 2015, part of a 10-year investment programme through the South African governments Department of Trade and Industry.

It is a portal to the IBM Quantum Experience, a cloud-based quantum computing platform accessible to other African universities that are part of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), which involves 16 of the continents leading universities (in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa).

Levelling of the playing field

The IBM development has levelled the playing field for students, [giving them] access to the same hardware as students elsewhere in the world. There is nothing to hold them back to develop quantum applications and code. This has been really helpful for us at Stellenbosch to work on projects which need access to quantum processors not available to the general public, said Tame.

While IBM has another centre on the continent, at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2018 the University of the Witwatersrand became the first African university to join the American computing giants Quantum Computing Network. They are starting to increase the network to have an army of quantum experts, said Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, a nuclear physicist, and vice-chancellor and principal of the University of the Witwatersrand.

At a continental level, Vilakazi said Africa is still in a learning phase regarding quantum computing. At this early stage we are still developing the skills and building a network of young students, he said. The university has sent students to IBMs Zurich facility to learn about quantum computing, he said.

To spur cooperation in the field, a Quantum Africa conference has been held every year since 2010, with the first three in South Africa, and others in Algeria and Morocco. Last years event was in Stellenbosch, while this years event, to be hosted at the University of Rwanda, was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Growing African involvement

Rwanda is making big efforts to set up quantum technology centres, and I have former students now working in Botswana and the Gambia. It is slowly diffusing around the continent, said Petruccione.

Academics participating at the Stellenbosch event included Yassine Hassouni of Mohammed V University, Rabat; Nigerian academic Dr Obinna Abah of Queens University Belfast; and Haikel Jelassi of the National Centre for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies, Tunisia.

In South Africa, experimental and theoretical work is also being carried out into quantum communications the use of quantum physics to carry messages via fibre optic cable.

A lot of work is being done on the hardware side of quantum technologies by various groups, but funding for these things is not the same order of magnitude as in, say, North America, Australia or the UK. We have to do more with less, said Tame.

Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, is carrying out research into quantum computing, quantum communication and quantum sensing (the ability to detect if a quantum-sent message is being read).

I would like it to grow over the next few years by bringing in more expertise and help the development of quantum computing and technologies for South Africa, said Tame.

Witwatersrand is focusing on quantum optics, as is Petrucciones team, while there is collaboration in quantum computing with the University of Johannesburg and the University of Pretoria.

University programmes

Building up and retaining talent is a key challenge as the field expands in Africa, as is expanding courses in quantum computing.

South Africa doesnt offer a masters in quantum computing, or an honours programme, which we need to develop, said Petruccione.

This is set to change at the University of the Witwatersrand.

We will launch a syllabus in quantum computing, and were in the process of developing courses at the graduate level in physics, natural sciences and engineering. But such academic developments are very slow, said Vilakazi.

Further development will hinge on governmental support, with a framework programme for quantum computing being developed by Petruccione. There is interest from the [South African] Department of Science and Innovation. Because of [the economic impact of] COVID-19, I hope some money is left for quantum technology, but at least the government is willing to listen to the community, he said.

Universities are certainly trying to tap non-governmental support to expand quantum computing, engaging local industries, banks and pharmaceutical companies to get involved in supporting research.

We have had some interesting interactions with local banks, but it needs to be scaled up, said Petruccione.

Applications

While African universities are working on quantum computing questions that could be applicable anywhere in the world, there are plans to look into more localised issues. One is drug development for tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, diseases that have afflicted Southern Africa for decades, with quantum computings ability to handle complex modelling of natural structures a potential boon.

There is potential there for helping in drug development through quantum simulations. It could also help develop quantum computing networks in South Africa and more broadly across the continent, said Vilakazi.

Agriculture is a further area of application. The production of fertilisers is very expensive as it requires high temperatures, but bacteria in the soil do it for free. The reason we cant do what bacteria do is because we dont understand it. The hope is that as quantum computing is good at chemical reactions, maybe we can model it and that would lead to cheaper fertilisers, said Petruccione.

With the world in a quantum computing race, with the US and China at the forefront, Africa is well positioned to take advantage of developments. We can pick the best technology coming out of either country, and that is how Africa should position itself, said Vilakazi.

Petrucciones group currently has collaborations with Russia, India and China. We want to do satellite quantum communication. The first step is to have a ground station, but that requires investment, he said.

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A continent works to grow its stake in quantum computing - University World News

Has the world’s most powerful computer arrived? – The National

The quest to build the ultimate computer has taken a big step forward following breakthroughs in ensuring its answers can be trusted.

Known as a quantum computer, such a machine exploits bizarre effects in the sub-atomic world to perform calculations beyond the reach of conventional computers.

First proposed almost 40 years ago, tech giants Microsoft, Google and IBM are among those racing to exploit the power of quantum computing, which is expected to transform fields ranging from weather forecasting and drug design to artificial intelligence.

The power of quantum computers comes from their use of so-called qubits, the quantum equivalent of the 1s and 0s bits used by conventional number-crunchers.

Unlike bits, qubits exploit a quantum effect allowing them to be both 1s and 0s at the same time. The impact on processing power is astonishing. Instead of processing, say, 100 bits in one go, a quantum computer could crunch 100 qubits, equivalent to 2 to the power 100, or a million trillion trillion bits.

At least, that is the theory. The problem is that the property of qubits that gives them their abilities known as quantum superposition is very unstable.

Once created, even the slightest vibration, temperature shift or electromagnetic signal can disturb the qubits, causing errors in calculations. Unless the superposition can be maintained long enough, the quantum computer either does a few calculations well or a vast amount badly.

For years, the biggest achievement of any quantum computer involved using a few qubits to find the prime factors of 15 (which every schoolchild knows are 3 and 5).

Using complex shielding methods, researchers can now stabilise around 50 qubits long enough to perform impressive calculations.

Last October, Google claimed to have built a quantum computer that solved in 200 seconds a maths problem that would have taken an ultra-fast conventional computer more than 10,000 years.

Yet even this billion-fold speed-up is just a shadow of what would be possible if qubits could be kept stable for longer. At present, many of the qubits have their powers wasted being used to spot and fix errors.

Now two teams of researchers have independently found new ways of tackling the error problem.

Physicists at the University of Chicago have found a way of keeping qubits stable for longer not by blocking disturbances, but by blurring them.

It is like sitting on a merry-go-round with people yelling all around you

Dr Kevin Miao, computing expert

In some quantum computers, the qubits take the form of electrons whose direction of spin is a superposition of both up and down. By adding a constantly flipping magnetic field, the team found that the electrons rotated so quickly that they barely noticed outside disturbances. The researchers explain the trick with an analogy: It's like sitting on a merry-go-round with people yelling all around you, says team member Dr Kevin Miao. When the ride is still, you can hear them perfectly, but if you're rapidly spinning, the noise blurs into a background.

Describing their work in the journal Science, the team reported keeping the qubits working for about 1/50th of a second - around 10,000 times longer than their lifetime if left unshielded. According to the team, the technique is simple to use but effective against all the standard sources of disturbance. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Sydney have come up with an algorithm that allows a quantum computer to work out how its qubits are being affected by disturbances and fix the resulting errors. Reporting their discovery in Nature Physics, the team says their method is ready for use with current quantum computers, and could work with up to 100 qubits.

These breakthroughs come at a key moment for quantum computing. Even without them, the technology is already spreading beyond research laboratories.

In June, the title of worlds most powerful quantum computer was claimed not by a tech giant but by Honeywell a company perhaps best known for central heating thermostats.

Needless to say, the claim is contested by some, not least because the machine is reported to have only six qubits. But Honeywell points out that it has focused its research on making those qubits ultra-stable which allows them to work reliably for far longer than rival systems. Numbers of qubits alone, in other words, are not everything.

And the company insists this is just the start. It plans to boost the performance of its quantum computer ten-fold each year for the next five years, making it 100,000 times more powerful still.

But apart from bragging rights, why is a company like Honeywell trying to take on the tech giants in the race for the ultimate computer ?

A key clue can be found in remarks made by Honeywell insiders to Forbes magazine earlier this month. These reveal that the company wants to use quantum computers to discover new kinds of materials.

Doing this involves working out how different molecules interact together to form materials with the right properties. Thats something conventional computers are already used for. But quantum computers wont just bring extra number-crunching power to bear. Crucially, like molecules themselves, their behaviour reflects the bizarre laws of quantum theory. And this makes them ideal for creating accurate simulations of quantum phenomena like the creation of new materials.

This often-overlooked feature of quantum computers was, in fact, the original motivation of the brilliant American physicist Richard Feynman, who first proposed their development in 1981.

Honeywell already has plans to use quantum computers to identify better refrigerants. These compounds were once notorious for attacking the Earths ozone layer, but replacements still have unwanted environmental effects. Being relatively simple chemicals, the search for better refrigerants is already within the reach of current quantum computers.

But Honeywell sees a time when far more complex molecules such as drugs will also be discovered using the technology.

For the time being, no quantum computer can match the all-round number-crunching power of standard computers. Just as Honeywell made its claim, the Japanese computer maker Fujitsu unveiled a supercomputer capable of over 500 million billion calculations a second.

Even so, the quantum computer is now a reality and before long it will make even the fastest supercomputer seem like an abacus.

Robert Matthews is Visiting Professor of Science at Aston University, Birmingham, UK

Updated: August 21, 2020 12:06 PM

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Has the world's most powerful computer arrived? - The National

Galaxy Simulations Could Help Reveal Origins of Milky Way – Newswise

Newswise Rutgers astronomers have produced the most advanced galaxy simulations of their kind, which could help reveal the origins of the Milky Way and dozens of small neighboring dwarf galaxies.

Their research also could aid the decades-old search for dark matter, which fills an estimated 27 percent of the universe. And the computer simulations of ultra-faint dwarf galaxies could help shed light on how thefirst stars formed in the universe.

Our supercomputer-generated simulations provide the highest-ever resolution of a Milky Way-type galaxy, said co-author Alyson M. Brooks, an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick. The high resolution allows us to simulate smaller neighbor galaxies than ever before the ultra-faint dwarf galaxies. These tiny galaxies are mostly dark matter and therefore are some of the best probes we have for learning about dark matter, and this is the first time that they have ever been simulated around a Milky Way-like galaxy. The sheer variety of the simulated galaxies is unprecedented, including one that lost all of its dark matter similar to whats been observed in space.

The Rutgers-led team generated two new simulations of Milky Way-type galaxies and their surroundings. They call them the DC Justice League Simulations, naming them after two women who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court: current Associate Justice Elena Kagan and retired Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

These are cosmological simulations, meaning they begin soon after the Big Bang and model the evolution of galaxies over the entire age of the universe (almost 14 billion years). Bound via gravity, galaxies consist of stars, gas and dust. The Milky Way is an example a large barred spiral galaxy, according to NASA.

In recent years, scientists have discovered ultra-faint satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, thanks to digital sky surveys that can reach fainter depths than ever. While the Milky Way has about 100 billion stars and is thousands of light years across, ultra-faint galaxies have a million times fewer stars (under 100,000 and as low as few hundred) and are much smaller, spanning tens of light years. For the first time, the simulations allow scientists to begin modeling these ultra-faint satellite galaxies around a Milky Way-type galaxy, meaning they provide some of the first predictions for what future sky surveys will discover.

In one simulation, a galaxy lost all its dark matter, and while real galaxies like that have been seen before, this is the first time anyone has simulated such a galaxy. These kinds of results tell scientists whats possible when it comes to forming galaxies, and they are learning new ways that neighbor galaxies can arise, allowing scientists to better understand what telescopes find.

In about a year, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, recently renamed the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, will begin a survey targeting the whole sky and scientists expect to find hundreds of ultra-faint galaxies. In recent years, surveys targeting a small patch of the sky have discovered dozens of them.

Just counting these galaxies can tell scientists about the nature of dark matter. Studying their structure and the motions of their stars can tell us even more, said lead author Elaad Applebaum, a Rutgers doctoral student. These galaxies are also very old, with some of the most ancient stars, meaning they can tell us about how the first stars formed in the universe.

Scientists at Grinnell College, University of Oklahoma, University of Washington, University of Oslo and the Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics contributed to the study.The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Galaxy Simulations Could Help Reveal Origins of Milky Way - Newswise