Daily Archives: March 31, 2021

How Extended Reality Tools Can Bring New Life to Higher Education – EdSurge

Posted: March 31, 2021 at 4:55 am

For video game players, the 2010s were a decade of extended reality. 2012 saw the development of Oculus, a virtual reality headset company that Facebook later acquired for more than $2 billion. In 2013, Google started selling consumers Glass, a computer built into a pair of glasses. 2016 brought us Pokemon Go, the addictive game that saw players running around their neighborhoods hunting virtual creatures projected onto the physical landscape through their smartphones.

2020 was predicted to be the first year of the ambient computing decade, when these technologies would infiltrate the lives of everyone else, not just those in the gaming world. Just as smartphones have become indispensable to us, extended reality and the Internet of Things were set to become our daily norm.

But shortly into 2020, COVID-19 hit, and we all went two dimensional. As the grand experiment in remote teaching and learning began, universities rushed to adapt. Zoom, Teams, Skype, and FaceTime all became daily fixtures, and many of us quickly became fatigued by seeing our colleagues, students and far-away loved ones almost exclusively in 2D. Most video conferencing solutions were not designed to be online classrooms. While we have been able to use these tools in that way, most educators would readily point to what is missing from the current video platforms that could improve online teaching: tools to better facilitate student interactions, including enhanced polling and quizzing features, group work tools, and more.

While universities continue to increase in-person and HyFlex courses, hoping to soon see campuses return to normalcy, there is mounting evidence that the increased interest in digital tools for teaching and learning will persist even after the pandemic. Incoming first-year students today are digital natives, and their innate understanding of and ability to use computers and the internet is greater than any generation entering college before them. We have to ensure that in this decade of ambient computing, higher education does not miss opportunities to leverage innovative technologies that enhance learning. We should move beyond 2D solutions and take advantage of what extended reality (XR) and virtual reality (VR) have to offer us.

And it is not enough to try to use existing VR/XR applications and tailor them to educational scenarios. These tools can and should be created with pedagogy, student experience, and learning outcomes as the priority.

At Columbia University, weve been building the infrastructure to support this type of innovation for years. Professor Courtney Cogburn created the 1,000 Cut Journey, an immersive VR research project that allows participants to embody an avatar that experiences various forms of racism. Professor Shantanu Lal has implemented VR headsets for pediatric dentistry patients who become anxious during procedures. At Columbia Engineering, professor Steven Feiners Computer Graphics and User Interfaces Lab explores the design and development of 2D and 3D user interfaces for a broad range of applications and devices. Professor Letty Moss-Salentijn is working with Feiners lab to create dental training simulations to guide dental students through the process of nerve block injection. Faculty, students and staff at Columbias Media Center for Art History have created hundreds of virtual reality panoramas of archaeology projects and fieldwork that are available on the Art Atlas platform.

This technology proved useful to our faculty and students during the pandemic. For example, this past fall, professor Brent Stockwell shipped Oculus headsets to students so that they could take part in discussion sessions in VR. Instead of studying drawings or renderings of molecules, students could see these virtually in 3D. They could walk around, manipulate and interact with these structures with their classmates to learn key biochemistry concepts and solve problems.

One student participant noted: The 3D protein models and stereochemistry of reactions was very helpful in understanding selectivity [and] helped me retain concepts better. Being able to move and resize the models was also helpful for gaining a different perspective.

But another student added: The VR headset makes it difficult to look at the 3D content and take notes simultaneously.

Measuring the effectiveness of these XR projects in education is not as simple as evaluating whether students learned more through this method than through alternative methods of instruction. The interactivity and connectivity that students and faculty experience in XR must be included in analysis, particularly when comparing it to remote education. Online education often does not easily allow the serendipitous interactions that can happen in person, but XR can encourage these types of interactions.

To analyze the results of Stockwells VR experimentwhich was supported by an Office of the Provost Teaching & Learning Grant that provides money and in-kind assistance to faculty looking to innovate and integrate new educational methods and technologies in their teachingStockwell is working with Columbias Science of Learning Research Initiative to see what could be improved for future iterations.

Students have embraced this type of technology beyond their coursework, too. In spring 2020, a group of Columbia students began to build LionCraft, a recreation of Columbias Morningside campus in Minecraft. Even though students were spread out around the world, they still found creative and fun ways to run into each other on campus, in an immersive online format.

LionCraft and the many similar projects that were simultaneously created at other universities make it quite clear that the current 2D remote-learning experiment cannot continue as the only solution to how we innovate in education and its modalities. Defining our online, hybrid and in-person teaching and learning by the new wave of extended realities technologiesrather than those of earlier erasis key as we enter the post-pandemic era.

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How Extended Reality Tools Can Bring New Life to Higher Education - EdSurge

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Going high-tech? Tyndall using cutting-edge technology to be base of the future now – The News Herald

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Robot_Dogs

Robotic dogs make big impression at Tyndall AFB

Michael Snyder, The News Herald

TYNDALLThe future of Tyndall Air Force Base is now.

Tyndall held a demonstration Friday morning to show its"digital twin" data capture technology in action.A digital twin is a digital representation of a real-world physical asset, processor system, incorporating structural information and real-time streaming data.

More: Two pilots injured in aircraft crash at Tyndall Air Force Base

Also: Tyndall poised to become 'base of the future' 2 years after Hurricane Michael

Air Force engineers will begin digitally mapping select buildings with sophisticated camera suits,drones and other sensors to create a virtual representation of facilities on the installation to create a digital twin.

The product will serve as the foundation for numerous capabilities, settingTyndall on apath to be the Air Forces first "installation of the future."

Tyndall is essentially a pathfinder for the Air Force with this new technology. The digital twin will look and feel like the actual facility, but in a virtual reality setting.

Efficiency is the key part to the technology. A digital twin system can help developers plan future development, refine facility designs, track construction progressand enhance facility maintenance and operations.

Augmented and virtual reality tools will help service members on the base diagnose problems and repair equipment more quickly. In a virtual reality setting, anybody pushing on a door will feel resistance, as if it's in the real world.

Lowell Usrey, Tyndall's Project Management Office Integration Division chief, has been on the front line with the new technology. He said he hadlooked forward to Friday's demonstration.

Tyndall_AFB_Breaks_Ground

Tyndall AFB breaks ground on new ACM Facility

Michael Snyder, The News Herald

"It's amazing. It's truly exciting to see some of the ideas and concepts we thought about over the course of years as a civil engineer and have those ideas and concepts brought to fruition here at Tyndall," Usreysaid. "I think it's great for the base.It's great for the Air Force. It's great for the DOD (Department of Defense), and I think it's great for the local community."

Usreystressed that Bay County will have an Air Force base that will bring in technology that no other basehas in the country. He said Tyndall will be a pioneer for technology moving forwardand will be something that the community can get behind.

Virtual reality trainingalso will be an asset for security forces to practice high-risk, realistic situations without actual exposure to the risk, since it will be done in a virtual setting.New smart buildings will incorporate gunshot detection sensors that will pinpoint the location of the gunshot in the event of an active shooter situation.

Maj. Jordan Criss, 325th Security Forces Squadron commander, said he is especially excited about what the digital twin technology means for his department. When security forces do high-risk training sessions, they can do hundreds of virtual reality runs instead of only a couple.

The digital twin system also can help how the base'ssecurity systems will be set up.

"Placement of cameras, placement of barriers, placement of patrols... we understand that there are potential adversariesand we can use this digital twin, along with other security applications, to provide data-driven decisions," Criss said. "You can say 'We can put a camera here, a barrier here, place our patrols here,' and you would have overlapping coverage."

Criss added that the digital mapping technologywill help security forces determine if they need 10 cameras instead of 20 and a certain number of patrols, whichcould save the base and taxpayers money.

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New Partnership Aims to Enhance Delivery of Education and Skills Training in Ontario and Across Canada Through Use of Augmented and Virtual Reality…

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Whether in the classroom or on the shop floor, the utilization of EON's enhanced AR/VR technology is the next step in improving learning outcomes and learner satisfaction.

The IBT Education and Technology Group is EON Reality's preferred partner in Canada. Since 1999, EON Reality has developed the de-facto standard for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality-based knowledge transfer software that supports devices from mobile phones to large immersive domes.

"The current pandemic has provided us with a glimpse of how the education and training systems in Ontario and in other provinces can use technology to create exceptional teaching and learning environments for people," said Joe Shokour, President and CEO of the IBT Education and Technology Group. "But we've only scratched the surface of the transformational nature of technology for education and skills training."

"We've taken the first step by delving into the virtual classroom for millions of learners across the country. Now with the help of EON Reality, it's time to take the next giant step by adapting the use of augmented and virtual reality for education and training solutions to actively engage learners in furthering developing their knowledge and skills," stated James Rice Vice-President of IBT.

Through EON Reality's cloud-based EON-XRplatform, users can develop, run, manage, access, store, host, and distribute applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure associated with developing an XR app. Applications developed using EON-XR provide for efficient knowledge transfer utilizing multi-user interaction, AI, cloud computing, and the Internet of things.The platform can be integrated with most LMS software.

Dan Lejerskar, Founder of EON Reality added, "As we face social and economic challenges of a post-pandemic world our ability to learn, educate, train and innovate become even more critical. Our partnership in Canada with IBT is aimed at equipping people with the educational and skills training tools that they need to build a healthy, safe and prosperous future."

ABOUT:

The IBT Education and Technology Grouphas been developing award-winning educational and technology solutions for Canada since 2001. The IBT Group specializes in technology solutions for education and businesses. Recently, IBT partnered with one of the largest healthcare companies in Canada to provide much-needed and essential training.IBT operates a career college in Ontario, provides corporate training solutions, an ESL school and a digital publishing division.

EON Reality is the world leader in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) based knowledge transfer for industry and education. EON Reality's success is tied to its belief that knowledge is a human right and should be available, accessible, and affordable for every human on the planet. To carry this out, EON Reality, since 1999, has developed the de-facto standard for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality based knowledge transfer software that supports devices from mobile phones to large immersive domes. EON Reality's global app development network, with twenty-two locations worldwide, has created the world's leading AR/VR library for knowledge transfer with over 8,000 applications. Over 40 million people worldwide have downloaded these applications.

SOURCE IBT Education and Technology Group

For further information: James Rice, Vice-President, IBT Education and Technology Group, 47 Sheppard Ave. E, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, M2N 7E7, [emailprotected], http://www.ibtedtechgroup.com

http://www.ibtedtechgroup.com

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A Crypto Exchange Weighs Going Public. Bitcoin Is Just That Hot. – Barron’s

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Now that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global has filed to go public, all eyes are on which competitor will be next to the public equity markets. Put Kraken at the top of that list.

Kraken, a much smaller rival to Coinbase, is weighing a public listing, but a spokesman said any IPO probably wouldnt come until 2022.If the company does choose to go public, it may use a direct listing.

At this point no decision has been made and were fully focused on scaling our business, filling key roles and making sure were giving clients the best experience and products in a time of unprecedented growth, the spokesman said in an emailed response to questions.

The comments squash reports that Kraken was considering merging with a blank-check special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Earlier this month, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell told Bloomberg that SPACs were beating down our door looking to do something with us. Powell said it was unlikely the company would merge with a blank- check company given Krakens size relative to the SPACs.

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, is also said to be considering going public. A spokesman declined to comment.

Founded in 2011, Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange and one of the oldest Bitcoin exchanges in the world. Its customers can trade more than 50 digital assets and seven fiat currencies, including EUR, USD, CAD, GBP, JPY, CHF and AUD. More than 6 million traders, institutions and authorities use Kraken. The San Francisco company employs about 1,700 people.

Kraken, which refers to the mythical sea creature that terrorizes sailors, processed more than $116.4 billion in trading volume during January and February, 15% more than its entire volume in 2020, the spokesman said.

News of a possible Kraken IPO comes as Coinbase is going public. Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange with more than 43 million verified users last year, has filed to go public using a direct listing. It is expected to launch the offering in April. Coinbase stockholders have registered 114.85 million shares, according to a prospectus. No price has been set for the stock, although Coinbase shares have sold privately for between $200 and $375.01 during the first quarter, the filing said.

Interest in Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini rocketed after Bitcoins valuation jumped this year. Bitcoin traded above $60,000, a record high, earlier this month. In February, Tesla disclosed a $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in its annual report. Coinbases valuation hit nearly $68 billion in first quarter based on its weighted average share price of $343.58, the prospectus said. Thats up from $28.83 in third quarter, implying a $5.3 billion valuation during that period.

Kraken is also out fundraising in a round that values the exchange at $10 billion or possibly double that amount, Bloomberg said. CEO Powell has said the $10 billion was a low valuation and he wouldnt be interested in selling shares at that price.

Kraken has raised $118.5 million, according to data from Crunchbase. Investors include Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Hummingbird Ventures and Tribe Capital. Kraken last collected $13.6 million in 2019 from more than 2,200 individual investors through a crowdfunding campaign. The 2019 round valued Kraken at more than $4 billion.

Kraken has received much inbound interest, said the spokesman, who didnt comment specifically on the reported fundraising. [Kraken] is well capitalized but we havent ruled out bringing in additional strategic partners, he said.

Write to Luisa Beltran at luisa.beltran@dowjones.com

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A Crypto Exchange Weighs Going Public. Bitcoin Is Just That Hot. - Barron's

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Cathie Wood On Bitcoin: ‘$1 Trillion Is Nothing Compared To Where This Will Ultimately Be’ – Yahoo Finance

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Benzinga

Cathie Woods Ark Investment Management sends out an email every night listing the stocks that were bought or sold by the firm's ETFs that day. In recent months, the emails have known to cause certain stocks to see a spike in the after-hours session. Heres a list of 32 stocks that the hedge fund bought and sold on Tuesday. Trades For Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKF): Zhongan Online P&C Insurance (OTC: ZZHGF): Bought 106,812 Hong Kong shares of the Chinese online-only insurance company, representing about 0.017% of the ETF. Zhongan stock closed flat at $6.69 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $6.70 and low of $2.25. Bill.com Holdings Inc (NYSE: BILL): Bought 29,400 shares of the cloud-based payments company, representing about 0.104% of the ETF. Bill.com shares closed 0.49% lower at $137.62 on Tuesday and were up 0.14% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $195.95 and low of $27.53. Sea Ltd (NYSE: SE): Bought 22,530 shares of the internet and mobile platform company, representing about 0.121% of the ETF. Sea shares closed 5% higher at $214.35 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $285 and low of $40.41. Tencent Holdings (OTC: TCEHY): Sold 122,699 shares of the Chinese multinational company, representing about 0.2475% of the ETF. Tencent stock closed 0.18% higher at $78.83 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $99.4 and low of $46.98. Trades For Ark Genomic Revolution ETF (NYSE: ARKG): Lending Tree Inc (NASDAQ: TREE): Sold 6,319 shares of the online lending marketplace company, representing about 0.033% of the ETF. Lending stock closed 0.64% higher at $206.10 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $372.64 and low of $135.7. Signify Health Inc (NYSE: SGFY): Bought 8,938 shares of the health-tech company, representing about 0.0027% of the ETF. Signify stock closed 2.85% higher at $27.39 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $40.79 and low of $22.13. Seer Inc (NASDAQ: SEER): Bought 20,721 shares of the life sciences company, representing about 0.098% of the ETF. Seer shares closed 5.33% higher at $43.24 on Tuesday and were up 0.21% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $86.55 and low of $38.37. 908 Devices Inc (NASDAQ: MASS): Bought 100,453 shares of the purpose-built handheld and devices for chemical and biomolecular analysis maker, representing about 0.048% of the ETF. 908 Devices stock closed 0.29% lower at $44.86 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $79.60 and low of $38.88. Berkeley Lights Inc (NASDAQ: BLI): Bought 56,670 shares of the company, representing about 0.0276% of the ETF. Berkeley stock closed 0.36% lower at $44.33 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $113.53 and low of $42.5. Butterfly Network Inc (NYSE: BFLY): Bought 487,344 shares of the medical imaging devices company, representing about 0.089% of the ETF. Butterfly shares closed 4% lower at $17.37 on Tuesday and were down 0.69% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $29.13 and low of $9.34. Adaptive Biotechnology Corp (NASDAQ: ADPT): Bought 70,147 shares of the life sciences company, representing about 0.0289% of the ETF. Adaptive shares closed 0.86% higher at $37.58 on Tuesday and were up 0.21% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $71.25 and low of $23.68. Accolade Inc (NASDAQ: ACCD): Bought 26,636 shares of the healthcare tech company, representing about 0.0131% of the ETF. Accolade stock closed 2.3% higher at $44.47 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $65.25 and low of $28.68. Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS): Sold 100,127 shares of the Swiss pharmaceutical company, representing about 0.0967% of the ETF. Novartis shares closed 0.38% lower at $87.02 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $98.5 and low of $77.04. Phreesia Inc (NYSE: PHR): Sold 379,931 shares of the healthcare software services company, representing about 0.22% of the ETF. Phreesia shares closed 2.58% higher at $52.16 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $81.59 and low of $17.27. Pluristem Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: PSTI): Sold 11,082 shares of the Israel-based stemcell company, representing about 0.0006% of the ETF. Pluristem stock closed 0.22% higher at $4.49 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $13.3 and low of $2.90. Syros Pharmaceuticals Co (NASDAQ: SYRS): Sold 49,951 shares of the biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development of treatments for cancer and monogenic diseases, representing about 0.0042% of the ETF. Syros stock closed 2.62% lower at $7.24 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $15.65 and low of $4.88. See Also: Ark Funds Changes Weighting Caps: Could This Mean A Higher Tesla Allocation? Trades For Ark Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK): Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR): Bought 114,774 shares of the social media company, representing about 0.0338% of the ETF. Twitter shares closed 0.08% higher at $62.99 on Tuesday and were up 0.16% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $80.75 and low of $22.36. Twilio Inc (NYSE: TWLO): Bought 73,342 shares of the cloud technology company, representing about 0.11% of the ETF. Twilio shares closed 1.9% higher at $321.20 on Tuesday and were up 0.09% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $457.30 and low of $79.25. Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: FATE): Bought 35,468 shares of the cancer treatment development company, representing about 0.012% of the ETF. Fate shares closed 1.81% higher at $74.09 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $121.16 and low of $19.80. Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BEAM): Bought 173,007 shares of the advanced genetic medicines innovator company, representing about 0.0598% of the ETF. Beam shares closed 1.57% higher at $75.76 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $126.90 and low of $14.80. Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE: ICE): Sold 16,016 shares of the exchange operator, representing about 0.0085% of the ETF. Intercontinental shares closed 1.81% lower at $111.23 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $119.02 and low of $77.17. LendingTree Inc (NASDAQ: TREE): Sold 20 shares of the online lending marketplace company. Lending stock closed 0.6% higher at $206.11 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $372.64 and low of $135.7. Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT): Sold 12,652 shares of the digital music streaming company, representing about 0.015% of the ETF. Spotify shares closed 2% higher at $257.69 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $387.4 and low of $116. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Co (NASDAQ: REGEN): Sold 26,549 shares of the biotechnology company, representing about 0.594% of the ETF. Regeneron stock closed 2.25% lower at $470.67 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $664.64 and low of $441. PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL): Sold 160,665 shares of the online payment company, representing about 0.18% of the ETF. PayPal shares closed 0.4% higher at $236.54 on Tuesday and were up 0.19% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $309.14 and low of $89.8. Pure Storage Inc (NYSE: PSTG): Sold 76,700 shares of the flash data storage company, representing about 0.0075% of the ETF. Pure shares closed 0.29% higher at $20.90 on Tuesday and were down 1.91% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $29.53 and low of $10.54. Paccar Inc (NASDAQ: PCAR): Sold 28,641 shares of the medium and heavy-duty truck maker, representing about 0.05% of the ETF. Paccar stock closed 0.14% higher at $93.32 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $103.19 and low of $57.75. Trades for ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (NYSE: ARKQ): Unity Software Inc (NYSE: U): Bought 134,100 shares of the video game software development company, representing about 0.39% of the ETF. Unity shares closed 2.63% higher at $96.90 on Monday and were up 0.41% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $174.94 and low of $65.11. Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG): Sold 17,751 shares of the C company, representing about 0.39% of the ETF. A shares closed 0.35% higher at $726.49 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $826.81 and low of $450. Trades For ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE: ARKW): Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ: TTD): Bought 26,965 shares of the digital advertising company, representing about 0.25% of the ETF. Trade Desk shares closed 2.17% higher at $625.88 on Tuesday and were down 0.42% in the after-hours. It has a 52-week high of $972.80 and low of $153.50. Agora Inc (NASDAQ: API): Sold 185,350 shares of the software company, representing about 0.14% of the ETF. Agora shares closed 9.38% higher at $50.61 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $114.96 and low of $33.60. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB): Sold 1,800 shares of the social media company, representing about 0.0078% of the ETF. Facebook shares closed 0.97% lower at $288 on Tuesday. It has a 52-week high of $304.67 and low of $150.83. See Also: Apple, Netflix, Peloton, Square, Roku, DraftKings - What Cathie Wood's Ark Bought And Sold On Monday See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaiPhone Maker Foxconn Q4 Earnings Drop YoY, Miss Street EstimatesNike, Unimpressed With 'Satan Shoes' Featuring Drops Of Actual Human Blood, Sues Designer 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Marathon Digital Holdings to Launch the First North American-Based Bitcoin Mining Pool, Fully Compliant with U.S. Regulations – Yahoo Finance

Posted: at 4:53 am

Marathon to Produce Bitcoin that is Fully AML and OFAC Compliant by Exclusively Processing Transactions that Meet U.S. Regulatory Standards

LAS VEGAS, March 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) (Marathon" or "Company"), one of the largest enterprise Bitcoin self-mining companies in North America, today announced that the Company will be launching the first Bitcoin mining pool based in North America that is fully compliant with U.S. regulations, including anti-money laundering (AML) and the Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFACs) standards.

The geopolitical value of moving mining pools to North America cannot be understated. Bitcoin is now no different than any other strategic or rare earth commodity. In fact, given the number of businesses now leveraging the potential and promise of Bitcoin both for distributed ledger benefits and as a reserve and hedge against inflation points to Bitcoin being with few peers in how important it is for long-term U.S. interest. With the work of the Future of Digital Currency Initiative at Stanford, the team here believes this infrastructure will help further decentralize Bitcoin and secure the fidelity of the network in both the short and long-term, stated Atticus Francken - Co-Founder and Senior Fellow, Future of Digital Currency Initiative at Stanford University.

To set up its pool, Marathon has exclusively licensed technology from DMG Blockchain that allows the Company to filter transactions. Marathon intends to leverage this technology to ensure that its mining pool adheres to AML regulations and that all transactions are compliant with OFACs standards. As such, the pool will refrain from processing transactions from those listed on the U.S. Department of Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN). By excluding these transactions, all bitcoin Marathon mines will be compliant with U.S. regulatory standards.

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While institutional interest in Bitcoin is accelerating, many large funds and corporations have expressed concerns over purchasing Bitcoin that may have been tainted by nefarious actors, said Merrick Okamoto, Marathons chairman and CEO. Our pools initiatives are grounded on decentralization, transparency, legal compliance with U.S. rules and regulations, and independent auditability under U.S. auditing standards. While we appreciate some miners appetite for processing transactions indiscriminately, it is our belief that as a publicly listed company based in the United States, and as one focused on enabling more institutional adoption of Bitcoin, it is our responsibility to follow U.S. regulations. We believe that such regulatory compliant mining will allow us to produce clean Bitcoin, which will enable a greater number of institutions to gain exposure to this new asset class, ultimately benefiting our organization, our shareholders, and the broader network.

On May 1, 2020, Marathon will begin directing 100% of its hashrate to the new mining pool. Marathon expects all 103,120 of its miners to be deployed by the first quarter of 2022, at which point, the Company will be directing 10.37 EH/s to the mining pool. On June 1, 2020, the pool will begin accepting other U.S.-based Bitcoin mining companies.

Okamoto continued, Currently, more than two thirds of Bitcoins global hashrate is concentrated in pools with little transparency and most reside in one country. It is our belief that this concentration of hashrate outside the United States, where central authorities could interfere with mining operations without due process, poses a risk to the network. We believe shifting more mining power to the U.S. could reduce these risks, potentially strengthening the network and benefitting all who participate in it. If all 10.37 EH/s of our potential hashrate were pointed towards this pool today, our mining pool would be the seventh largest bitcoin mining pool in the world, putting North America on the map as a digital-asset mining hub.

Dan Reitzik, DMG Blockchains CEO, added, "Merrick Okamoto's vision for this mining pool is exactly what is needed in the crypto mining industry today. We are excited to provide Marathon with our proprietary software tools and ongoing technological support to help realize this vision."

Investor NoticeInvesting in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of Bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of March 2021. See "Safe Harbor" below.

Forward-Looking StatementsStatements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as may, will, plan, should, expect, anticipate, estimate, continue, or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading Risk Factors in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.DMG is a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company that manages, operates, and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the blockchain ecosystem. DMGs businesses are segmented into three main divisions: data centre operations, data analytics and forensics and developing enterprise blockchains. DMGs data centre operations focus on earning revenues from block rewards and transaction fees by mining primarily bitcoin as well as providing hosting services for industrial mining clients entirely powered by renewable energy. DMGs data analytics and forensic services provide technical expertise software products such as Blockseer Pool, Mine Manager and Walletscore, as well as working with auditors, law firms, and law enforcement organizations. DMGs permissioned blockchain technology is focused on developing enterprise software for the supply chain management of controlled products. DMGs strategy is to become the domain experts across the business verticals it focuses on. DMGs environmentally committed management team includes seasoned crypto experts, forensic & financial professionals and blockchain developers with deep relationships throughout the industry.

Future changes in the Bitcoin network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may materially affect the future performance of DMGs production of Bitcoin, and future operational results could also be materially affected by the price of Bitcoin and an increase in hashrate mining difficulty.For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: http://www.dmgblockchain.com.

About Marathon Digital HoldingsMarathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets.

Marathon Digital Holdings Company Contact:Jason AssadTelephone: 678-570-6791Email: Jason@marathondh.com

Marathon Digital Holdings Investor Contact:Gateway Investor RelationsMatt Glover and Charlie SchumacherTelephone: 949-574-3860Email: MARA@gatewayir.com

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Marathon Digital Holdings to Launch the First North American-Based Bitcoin Mining Pool, Fully Compliant with U.S. Regulations - Yahoo Finance

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Bitcoin for Babe Ruth? Sports auction house will accept crypto – Aljazeera.com

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Goldin Auctions announced it will accept Bitcoin and Ether in its sports memorabilia auctions, becoming one of the first physical auction houses to embrace cryptocurrencies.

On Tuesday, the sports memorabilia auction houseGoldin Auctionsannounced that it would accept cryptocurrency, making it one of the first brick-and-mortar auction houses to follow the runaway success of auction houseChristies, which accepted Ether for aonetime,$69 million saleearlier this month.

Goldin, which isknown for high-value items, including a Lebron Jamesrookie card that sold for $1.8 millionlast year, decided to accept Bitcoin and Ether based on demand from consumers, says Ross Hoffman, Goldins chief executive officer.

Look, we think a big macro theme that were seeing is folks that are hedging, he continues.One, against inflation, and two, theres interest in alternative investing. Crypto currency and sports collectibles, Hoffman concludes, have a pretty large overlap.

The auction house has already accepted two payments in crypto, most notablyfora Jay-Z cardthatsold for $103,200 on March 20. Its pretty amazing how easy the tech is to integrate, Hoffman says. We had the idea [to accept crypto] two weeks ago, did the integration, and accepted our first payment in Bitcoin last week.

This isnt Goldins first foray into blockchain-based technologies.

Earlier this year, the auction house partnered with Youtube star Logan Paul toauction off a box of Pokemon cards; winning bidders also received holographic trading cards paired to digital certificates of authenticityknown asNFTs. It feels like a long time ago, but I think it was January or February, says Hoffman. Weve been experimenting in the space pretty early on.

While Goldin might be among the first brick-and-mortar sports memorabilia auction houses to accept crypto, its following in the well-trodden footsteps of the digital-only platform NBA Top Shot.

Goldin Auctions sells memorabilia like this 1932 Babe Ruth baseball, which was auctioned off in 2014 to mark the 100th anniversary of Ruths major league debut [File: Patrick Semansky/AP Photo]NBA Top Shots main commodityshort licensed video clips (moments) that are also tied to NFTsis often described asa kind of digital baseball card. The popularity of these clipshas soared over the last few months, with pricestopping more than $200,000for a single moment.

When asked if (perceived) cryptoriches were a motivation, Hoffman says that Goldins decision to acceptBitcoin and Ether wont lead to lower prices, but I dont know if it will lead to higher prices either.

The key, he says, is that it will be merchandise specific, meaning he imagines that a crypto-paying audiencemight be more interested in one category of collectible than another.

I dont think we have enough data points yet to give a clear answer, but we should over time, he says. You can imagine that certain sports with a more global audience, like soccer, might attract crypto collectors from around the world.

The decision to accept cryptocurrency isnt without potential pitfalls.

Auction houses are intermediaries, meaning that they receive payment from a buyerand then pass that payment on to the consignor. (Goldin has partnered withGemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, to facilitate crypto payments.)

But given crypto currencysrapid fluctuations, theres a chance Goldin could lose money on the exchange.

Theres some volatility there, Hoffman acknowledges.

But this is going to make us the easiest and most trusted marketplace to work with. And whatever risk there is [will] be offset by the benefit of bringing in more members.

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Bitcoin for Babe Ruth? Sports auction house will accept crypto - Aljazeera.com

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Bitcoin ETF Proposals: The SEC’s Long History Of Rejections – Benzinga

Posted: at 4:53 am

Last week, Fidelity Investments made headlines by announcing plans to provide financial backing for a new Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETF, the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust. The fund will track the Fidelity Bitcoin Index and could potentially be the first cryptocurrency ETF listed on a major U.S. exchange.

Unfortunately, there is a long history of proposed Bitcoin ETFs that have been rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has cited concerns over extreme volatility in Bitcoin prices and potential risks for investors. Yet Bitcoin investors are hopeful that new SEC Chairman Gary Gensler will be more open to cryptocurrency funds than his predecessorJay Clayton.

Heres a look back at the history of the major Bitcoin ETF proposals.

Related Link: How To Invest In The Market Responsibly When Everyone Else Is Gambling

July 2013: The first ever attempt at a Bitcoin ETF came from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who proposed the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust. The SEC officially rejected the proposal in March 2017.

July 2013: Shortly after the Winklevoss brothers proposed their ETF, SolidX filed a proposal for itsown Bitcoin fund. Even after SolidX teamed up with popular fund manager VanEck, the proposal for the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust was officially withdrawn in January 2019.

July 2017: Grayscale officially filed an application for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX:GBTC) in July 2017. Three months later, Grayscale withdrew its application to the SEC and chose to list its fund on the OTC market.

To this day, the GBTC fund is the largest and most popular Bitcoin fund, but it's still not listed on a major U.S. exchange.

September 2017: ETF specialist ProShares apple for two Bitcoin ETFs in September 2017 the ProShares Bitcoin ETF and the ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF. Both proposals were rejected by the SEC along with seven other proposed Bitcoin ETFs in August 2018.

December 2017: Both Direxion and GraniteShares filed applications with the SEC for respective Bitcoin ETFs. Both were rejected in August 2018.

January 2019: Bitwise proposed the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust in January 2019. The SEC rejected its proposal about nine months later.

January 2019: Wilshire Phoenix proposed a unique approach to a Bitcoin fund with the United States Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust. The company was hoping the funds investment in both Bitcoin and U.S. Treasury securities would win over the SEC, but the proposal was rejected in February 2020.

February 2019: Realty Shares ETF Trusts proposed a Bitcoin fund that would invest up to 25% of its total assets in Bitcoin futures contracts. The SEC forced the company to withdraw its proposal just two days later.

June 2020: WisdomTree submitted an application for a commodity fund that would invest up to 5% of its assets in Bitcoin futures. WisdomTree followed up by proposing a separate Bitcoin ETF just this month.

December 2020: SEC Chair Jay Clayton stepped down from his position. In January 2021, President Joe Biden nominated former chairman of the Commodity Future Trading CommissionGary Gensler as Claytons replacement.

December 2020: VanEck re-filed its application for a Bitcoin ETF. The new proposal marked the first filing following Claytons resignation. The SEC officially acknowledged the filing on March 15, giving the regulator 45 days to rule on the proposal or extend the 45-day review window.

January 2021: Valkyrie filed a new application for the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund to be listed on the NYSE.

February 2021: NYDIG filed for approval of its own Bitcoin ETF on the same day the price of the cryptocurrency hit $50,000 for the first time.

March 2021: Fidelity filed for approval of the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust.

2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Spanish Island Government Decides to Sell Its Bitcoin Investment by Citing ‘Ethical’ Reasons News Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News

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Bitcoin is not liked by everyone from the Island Council of Tenerife, Spain. At least thats what was suggested by its president, Pedro Martn, who ordered the sale of the local governments investment in cryptocurrency.

Martn, from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), issued the order of dismantling the investment made through the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER) in a previous administration, citing ethical reasons.

In detail, according to El Economista, the Island Council of Tenerifes president considers it an opaque currency that cannot be declared in the tax filings.

Although the president did not disclose the exact number of bitcoins (BTC) acquired by the council, it was reported that the liquidation could yield almost one million euros ($1.17 million), which could be around 20 BTC.

During an interview with a local radio of the Canarias Islands, Martin said the council realized an audit of the 70 public companies related to the local government. With such findings, the president believed it was not ethical that public entities are dealing with cryptocurrencies.

Martin told El Economista:

I was surprised by the possibility that we could have a bitcoin bank at ITER, a kind of possibility to have a warehouse. These are very strange situations. Thats not one of the biggest problems: bitcoins. This is part of a series of problems that we have been encountering. () I believe that it is a currency that is not accountable to the treasury. I do not think it is appropriate for a Cabildo of the island to manage it.

In the same line, Enrique Arriaga, the Island Council of Tenerifes vice president, expects that inquiries on the alleged irregularities with ITER could be clarified soon and the role of the BTC investments in the alleged wrongdoings.

The reaction on social networks to Martins statements came fast. Specifically, Isidro Quintana, a local gaming entrepreneur, Oxford & Stanfords graduate, criticized via Twitter the measure taken by Tenerifes government.

He suggested that bitcoins could be used smartly, for example, to improve the 70% of young unemployment. Quintana added:

Pedro Martn, a public investment of 20 thousand euros that transforms into more than 1 million euros is a blessing, bitcoin can be declared to the treasury as any property asset to the treasury. He has just committed an attack against our citizens due to ignorance.

What do you think about the measure taken by Tenerifes government of selling bitcoins investment? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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Spanish Island Government Decides to Sell Its Bitcoin Investment by Citing 'Ethical' Reasons News Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

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If History Is Any Indication, $200,000 Bitcoin Is Coming In 2021 – Bitcoin Magazine

Posted: at 4:53 am

Bitcoin has been on a tear in 2021, and if history is any indication, we should expect bitcoin to continue to run well past the six figures mark, and to $200,000 and beyond in 2021.

While the typical skeptic will shout from the rooftops, Bitcoin is nothing more than a speculative bubble! and how there is No intrinsic value, Bitcoin is just tulips!, these critics clearly have not done much critical thinking or research on the topic.

To be fair to the naysayers, on the surface its hard to understand how anything that has appreciated 711 percent over the past 365 days can have done so without being the beneficiary of mindless speculation or a bubble that is due to burst at any moment. But the answer is simple: Supply is programmatic.

The Bitcoin protocol has programmatic supply issuance, thus price is a function of increasing or diminishing demand to hold the asset, there is no variability on the supply side. This is a monumental breakthrough in monetary economics, and is a concept that is ill understood even by so-called economic experts.

Every 210,000 blocks, or about every four years, the Bitcoin protocol undergoes what is called a Halving, where the new supply of bitcoin issued into circulation is reduced by 50 percent. This event creates a disequilibrium in the supply and demand dynamics that the market had adjusted to during the previous 210,000 blocks.

Check out this thread by Croesus_BTC for a great visual on the dynamics of the Halving:

While the Halving events are known about into the future, it is quite literally impossible to price in'' a supply shock in regards to a monetary asset.

In March 2019, Plan B, a pseudonymous Twitter user, released a model that quantified the relationship between the relative scarcity of bitcoin and the price. Interestingly enough, he found there was quite a significant correlation between the stock-to-flow ratio of bitcoin, and the price action of the asset.

Stock to flow can be quantified as existing supply of an asset/commodity divided by the annual flow of new supply.

Plan B later revised the model to account for presumably lost coins. The updated model is shown below:

All models are wrong, but some are useful.

-George E. P. Box, British statistician

While it cannot be said that the price action is directly attributable to the Halving and the stock-to-flow relationship, it is extremely obvious that this is simply not a statistical anomaly or occurring simply by chance.

The model predicts a rise to $100,000-plus in 2021, and in my opinion that is just the start. As seen in previous Halving cycles, with the Halving serving as a catalyst, the price run up in bitcoin brings about a wave of new adopters and users, who come to understand the monetary attributes of bitcoin. This works in a reflexive cycle. New adopters enter the space competing to acquire bitcoin, which increases unit price, which increases media attention and miner profitability, which increases network security and gives the asset more perceived legitimacy. This process has been occuring in a reflexive and cyclical fashion for over 12 years, and it would be a bad choice to bet on it stopping anytime soon.

What is fundamentally different during this Halving cycle is the monetary debasement that is occuring in the legacy financial system. Major global central banks, mainly the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) have painted themselves into a corner. Following decades of interest rate reductions to stimulate markets, rates are stuck at the zero lower bound, leaving them without a major tool in their tool box.

The response?

Quantitative easing on a scale that was previously unfathomable, shown by a parabolic rise in the balance sheets of the central banks. Without the ability to lower interest rates any further, quantitative easing, the act of buying bonds and securitized debt with newly printed cash, has been the go-to response. This has provided a boon to global credit and stock markets, and has served as absolute rocket fuel for the price of bitcoin. Recent statements from both the Fed and ECB have shown that they are committed to continue easing.

In the late months of 2020 and the first months of 2021, corporate and institutional interest in bitcoin as a monetary asset has exploded. The insurance industry, corporate treasurers, Wall Street banks and sovereign wealth funds are all gearing up to enter the space in a big way.

The bad news? A vast majority of the 18.6 million bitcoin in circulation are not up for sale.

The good news? A vast majority of the 18.6 million bitcoin in circulation are not up for sale.

This wave of new demand from large capital allocators will have to fit through a pinhole of available supply, which will result in a skyrocketing bitcoin price, as bitcoin undergoes the transition from a predominantly individual/retail-driven asset, into a global monetary asset with geopolitical implications. A $200,000 bitcoin would equate to about a $3.7 trillion dollar asset, still just a fraction of the current market value of gold, its closest monetary competitor.

While nothing in this world is a guarantee, it is quite a good bet to place that politicians and central bankers will continue to operate following their basic incentive of printing money, as well as there being an extremely strong probability that the Bitcoin network will continue to attract additional adopters, as more rational individuals around the world come to realize that a system of rules is preferable to a system of rulers. Thus, with all of these factors at play, $200,000 bitcoin is not only in the cards, but in my opinion it is highly likely.

Regardless of the what the price action of bitcoin brings in the coming months of 2021, it is important to remember:

History shows it is not possible to insulate yourself from the consequences of others holding money that is harder than yours.

-Saifedean Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard

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If History Is Any Indication, $200,000 Bitcoin Is Coming In 2021 - Bitcoin Magazine

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