Technology
The FBI secretly created a coin to investigate crypto pump-and-dump schemes
The FBI created a cryptocurrency as part of an investigation into price manipulation in crypto markets, the government revealed on Wednesday. The FBI’s Ethereum-based token, NexFundAI, was created with the help of “cooperating witnesses.”
As a result of the investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged three “market makers” and nine people for allegedly engaging in schemes to boost the prices of certain crypto assets. The Department of Justice charged 18 people and entities for “widespread fraud and manipulation” in crypto markets.
The defendants allegedly made false claims about their tokens and executed so-called “wash trades” to create the impression of an active trading market, prosecutors claim. The three market makers — ZMQuant, CLS Global, and MyTrade — allegedly wash traded or conspired to wash trade on behalf of NexFundAI, an Ethereum-based token they didn’t realize was created by the FBI.
“What the FBI uncovered in this case is essentially a new twist to old-school financial crime,” Jodi Cohen, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division, said in a statement. “What we uncovered has resulted in charges against the leadership of four cryptocurrency companies, and four crypto ‘market makers’ and their employees who are accused of spearheading a sophisticated trading scheme that allegedly bilked honest investors out of millions of dollars.”
Liu Zhou, a “market maker” working with MyTrade MM, allegedly told promoters of NexFundAI that MyTrade MM was better than its competitors because they “control the pump and dump” allowing them to “do inside trading easily.”
An FBI spokesperson told CoinDesk that there was limited trading activity on the coin but didn’t share additional information. On a Wednesday press call, Joshua Levy, the acting US attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said trading on the token was disabled, according to CoinDesk.
The DOJ has reportedly secured $25 million from “fraudulent proceeds” that will be returned to investors.
Technology
Your favorite musician’s favorite TikTok show
Guess the artist, win five bucks. Whether you’re a random person on the streets of New York, an A-list celebrity, or the sitting Vice President of the United States, that’s the pitch behind one of the most fun music shows on social media. You show up, you get some headphones and a microphone, and you hope you know what song is playing.
The show is called Track Star, and it’s hosted by Jack Coyne. On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in our three-part miniseries about the future of music, Coyne joins the show to tell us the story of Track Star.
We talk about the show’s beginnings as a trivia show about New York called Public Opinion, how Coyne and his co-creators figured out the show’s structure and pace, how he thinks about his role as the host, and why a bunch of famous people started clamoring to be on the show. Coyne never expected Track Star to feature the likes of Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, Jack Antonoff, Nelly Furtado, Kamala Harris, and Oprah, but it happened. And somewhat remarkably, it didn’t change the show at all.
We also dig into why a show like Track Star works, and why it matters, in the current music landscape. Coyne and his team have big plans for expanding the franchise, too, and sees a place for Track Star even in an online world already overloaded with stuff to listen to. If you start with music, conversation, and a decent playlist, there are plenty of places you can go.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
Technology
Get organized: New iOS 18 Calendar features
The latest iOS update brings a host of new features to the Calendar app, transforming it into a powerful organizational tool.
Here’s how you can leverage these changes to streamline your schedule and boost productivity.
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Reminders Integration: Your tasks and events in one place
The Calendar app now incorporates reminders, offering a comprehensive view of your commitments:
- Open the Calendar app.
- Scroll through your upcoming days to see tasks alongside events.
- To declutter, tap “Calendars” at the bottom.
- Toggle off “Show Completed Reminders.”
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Create and edit reminders within the Calendar app
Seamlessly manage your tasks without switching apps:
- Open the Calendar app.
- Tap the plus icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Reminder” from the menu.
- Fill in task details, set a date and hit “Add.”
To edit an existing reminder:
- Tap on the reminder.
- Click “Edit” in the right-hand corner.
- Make your changes.
- Tap “Done” to sync automatically with the Reminders app.
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Explore new Calendar views
Customize your calendar display for optimal viewing:
- Open the Calendar app.
- Tap the view button at the top (grid icon).
- Choose from Compact, Stacked, Details or List views.
Multi Day view: See more at a glance
Get a broader perspective on your schedule:
- Click “Today” in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- Tap the “View” button in the top row (grid icon).
- Select “Multi Day” from the menu.
- View two consecutive days side-by-side.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
The Calendar app in iOS 18 takes personal organization to a whole new level. By integrating reminders and offering versatile viewing options, it provides a centralized hub for managing your time and tasks. These new features eliminate the need to switch between apps, streamlining your workflow and helping you stay on top of your commitments more efficiently than ever before. Whether you’re a busy professional or simply looking to organize your personal life better, the revamped Calendar app is a powerful tool that’s worth exploring.
What features would you like to see in future updates of the Calendar app to enhance your planning experience? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact
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Technology
Perplexity debuts an AI-powered election information hub
AI search company Perplexity is putting to the test whether it’s a good idea to use AI to serve crucial voting information with a new Election Information Hub it announced on Friday. The hub offers things like AI-generated answers to voting questions and summaries of candidates, and on November 5th, Election Day, the company says it will track vote counts live, using data from The Associated Press.
Perplexity says its voter information, which includes polling requirements, locations, and times, is based on data from Democracy Works. (The same group powers similar features from Google). And that its election-related answers come from “a curated set of the most trustworthy and informative sources.”
Perplexity spokesperson Sara Plotnick confirmed in an email to The Verge that both AP and Democracy Works are official partners for the hub. Plotnick elaborated on Perplexity’s sources:
We selected domains that are non-partisan and fact-checked, including Ballotpedia and news organizations. We’re actively monitoring our systems to ensure that we continue to prioritize these sources when answering election-related queries.
The hub serves up details about what’s on the ballot for whatever location you enter (for instance, an address or city). There are also tabs for monitoring the elections for the President, US Senate, and US House as they come in starting Tuesday, with per-state breakdowns showing the percentage of votes counted and who’s leading.
The AI summaries when I clicked on candidates had some errors, like failing to mention that Robert F. Kennedy, who’s on the ballot where I live, had dropped out of the race. It also listed a “Future Madam Potus” candidate that, when clicked, led me to the above summary of Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy, except with some meme pictures that aren’t in her normal summary.
Plotnick said the company is looking into why the summary didn’t mention that Kennedy had dropped out. “Depending on your location, sometimes write-in candidates will appear,” Plotnick added by way of explaining why Future Madam Potus’ listing may have appeared. (It doesn’t explain why it summarized Harris, but Future Madam Potus is indeed running as a write-in candidate, according to Ballotpedia.)
The errors illustrate the challenge of using accuracy-challenged generative AI for such a high-stakes use case, and why other AI companies have shied away from doing it. ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Google Gemini each deflect voter information questions to other resources like canivote.org or Google Search. Microsoft’s Copilot simply refused to answer when I tried.
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