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IBM has unveiled the Hyper Protect Offline Signing Orchestrator (OSO), a secure solution for managing digital assets in offline "cold storage" systems. Developed in collaboration with Swiss digital asset custodian Metaco, OSO aims to improve security, reduce costs, and enhance overall resilience by addressing the challenges associated with manual transaction authorization. The technology integrates with Metaco's Harmonize platform, providing users with an advanced and secure solution for digital asset management.

Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Bitzlato had ties to the dark web, and Legkodymov's guilty plea comes as part of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) efforts to dismantle illicit cryptocurrency operations. The DOJ had previously shut down Hydra Market in 2022, an online marketplace linked to Bitzlato, seizing approximately $700 million worth of cryptocurrency exchanged between the two platforms. Legkodymov will forfeit $23 million as part of the legal resolution.

The surge in generative artificial intelligence (AI) development has prompted governments worldwide to accelerate efforts in regulating the emerging technology. The European Union's AI Act, recognized as an innovative set of regulations, has seen negotiators agreeing on controls for generative AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. Concerns about potential misuse have led the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and other G7 countries to hasten their work on AI regulation. Australia conducted an eight-week consultation seeking feedback on whether "high-risk" AI tools should be banned. China introduced regulations in August to oversee the generative AI industry.

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is reportedly set to be extradited to the United States instead of South Korea to face criminal charges. Montenegro's Justice Minister plans to grant the U.S. officials' request for extradition. Kwon, arrested in Montenegro in March for using falsified travel documents, has also been charged in the U.S. and South Korea for his alleged involvement in the collapse of Terraform Labs. If extradited to the U.S., Kwon faces charges including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud and engage in market manipulation. The collapse of Terraform Labs in May 2022 triggered a cryptocurrency market downturn.

The residents of the Swiss city of Lugano now have the option to settle their tax bills and other community fees with Bitcoin (BTC) and the stablecoin USDT. The move is part of Lugano's effort to integrate blockchain and BTC into various aspects of daily life, making payments more flexible and modern. Bitcoin Suisse, a crypto-native pioneer, is the technical infrastructure provider for Lugano. This development follows the trend in Switzerland, with several other cities and cantons already accepting cryptocurrency payments.

IBM and Meta, along with over 50 tech companies, have established the 'AI Alliance' to advance the development of artificial intelligence (AI). The alliance emphasizes commitments to safety, collaboration, diversity, economic opportunity, and universal benefits. Members include AMD, Dell Technologies, Red Hat, Sony Group, Hugging Face, Stability AI, Oracle, the Linux Foundation, and educational institutions such as Cornell University, University of California Berkeley, and NASA. The AI Alliance aims to engage the academic community and has a collective annual research and development investment exceeding $80 billion.

A bill introduced in New Jersey seeks to classify all cryptocurrencies issued and sold directly to institutional investors as securities. This contrasts with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) stance, which considers bitcoin not to be a security but views most other crypto tokens as securities. The proposed legislation in New Jersey would subject virtual currencies sold to institutional investors to the state's "Uniform Securities Law" and any relevant regulations from the Bureau of Securities. The bill is currently under review by the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, with further hearings and a committee vote to follow.

A pro-blockchain bill, known as the "Deploying American Blockchains Act," has received unanimous approval from the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The legislation aims to direct the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to support and promote the competitiveness of the United States in deploying, using, and applying blockchain technology or other distributed ledger technology. While not a high-profile bill, its approval signifies a positive step for blockchain-friendly initiatives in Congress. The legislation has yet to face further scrutiny and approval by the overall House.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has blocked access to the websites of crypto entities Hong Kong Digital Research Institute and BitCuped, citing concerns about potential fraud. The SFC issued a warning, stating that misleading information online could entice individuals to invest in the HKD token issued by HongKongDAO. Cease-and-desist letters were sent to the operators of the firms' websites. The regulator highlighted suspicions that HongKongDAO may be spreading false and misleading information about itself and its business through online channels.

Google has introduced its latest artificial intelligence model, "Gemini," positioning it as a competitor to OpenAI's GPT-4. According to Google, Gemini excels in math and specialized coding, distinguishing it from GPT-4, which lacks such capabilities. The Ultra version of Gemini reportedly achieves "state-of-the-art performance" across 30 out of 32 academic benchmarks and scores 90% on a massive multitask language understanding (MMLU) test, surpassing human expert performance. Google's chief scientist, Jeff Dean, claims Gemini Ultra is the first model to achieve human-expert performance on MMLU across 57 subjects with a score above 90%.

EU negotiators have reached a consensus on regulations for generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. The agreement, part of the proposed AI Act, is the result of discussions involving representatives from the European Commission, European Parliament, and member countries. Policymakers aim to strike a balance between protecting European AI startups and addressing potential societal risks. The ongoing effort reflects the urgency to pass regulations before the upcoming European elections in June.

Researchers from the Technology Innovation Institute's Cryptographic Research Center in Abu Dhabi have introduced a blockchain-powered carbon tracking and trading platform. Launched at the COP28 conference, the platform allows for the international trade of carbon tokens associated with investments in green projects like ‘afforestation’ and ‘carbon capture’. The blockchain technology employed aims to track carbon emissions from global public and private organizations, supporting efforts to lower emissions towards net-zero goals.