Last week, a local Canadian news outlet — The Logic — reported that The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was exploring a cryptocurrency trading platform that would let clients buy and sell digital coins, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, in an email to CoinDesk, Ed Jones, a spokesperson for the bank, has denied that this is the case. A number of outlets, including Hard Fork, reported on the rumors. “While RBC does not comment on ongoing proprietary research and development, we can confirm that these patent filings are not in support of work towards a cryptocurrency exchange for clients,” the spokesperson told CoinDesk....

Located 12.7 billion light-years from Earth, this supermassive black hole, PSO J352.4034–15.3373 (or PJ352–15) could help explain how these objects formed in the early Universe. This ultradense body sits at the center of a young galaxy, forming a quasar. Roughly a billion times more massive than the Sun, PJ352–15 is one of the most powerful quasars yet seen in the first billion years after the Big Bang. Astronomers are uncertain how supermassive black holes could grow so quickly in the early Universe, and PJ352–15 could help answer the question....

To start, a group of contributors will be able to “respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable.” Currently, this context will be available on a dedicated Birdwatch page, but the eventual goal is to make these notes available right on Twitter once “there is a consensus from a broad and diverse set of contributors.” — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) January 25, 2021 The feature is limited to a separate site for now because the company wants to make sure it actually produces useful context; the last thing anybody wants is for a fact-checking tool to become another source of misinformation....

Ho Ching, chief executive of Singapore’s Temasek, has been featured in ads for a bogus cryptocurrency trading program, The Straits Times reports. The ads include logos of reputable local media outlets to boost their credibility, and promise incredibly lucrative returns on any investments made. One ad reportedly features a fake article that details a call between the head of a major bank and Ms. Ho, in which they beg her to stop divulging money-making secrets, such as investing in “Bitcoin Pro....

This means the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has performed better than almost any global asset in 2019. Boutique analysis firm Delphi Digital even labeled Bitcoin the “King of the Asset Class Hill” in its latest market commentary, after it posted four consecutive months of solid returns. “The acceleration in BTC’s performance comes at a time when conventional risk assets, notably global equity markets, continue to see selling pressure […],” said Delphi Digital....

Since then, cryptocurrency enthusiasts across the globe have celebrated ‘Bitcoin Pizza Day,’ not because the man in question paid 10,000 BTC, but because at the time said transaction represented a milestone for Bitcoin adoption. So, while buying pizza with Bitcoin today doesn’t seem too far-fetched, I can assure you it was a relatively big deal at the time because no merchant accepted the cryptocurrency as payment. On May 22, 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid a fellow Bitcoin Talk forum – the main gathering place for bitcoiners at the time – user 10,000 BTC in exchange for two Papa John’s pizzas....

Officials in Lake City paid the hackers after their computer systems were down for two weeks. IT staff are thought to have disconnected their computers within minutes of the attack beginning, but their efforts proved too little, too late. As a result of the attack, employees lost access to email accounts and citizens were unable to make municipal payments online. The hackers contacted the town’s insurer and negotiated a payment of 42BTC ($500,000), with officials claiming that paying the amount was the best way of regaining access to computer systems....

The issue was initially raised on a Bimmerfest forum post stating that customers who receive a touchscreen free car receive a $500 credit. The post says these cars will also lose the BMW Backup Assistant if they were marketed with the optional Parking Assistant Package. The Backup Assistant enables automatic reversing in narrow parking areas and those with poor visibility. Buyers receive $500 compensation for the lowered functionalities… but is that enough compensation?...

As we enter our second month of the coronavirus lockdown, most of us might have mastered some quarantine skills, from cooking to meditation to finally getting around to reading the books we’ve collected over the years. If you’ve run out of flour to bake yet another sourdough loaf and there’s nothing left to scroll on your Instagram feed, we’ve got you covered. Cameron Adams is the co-founder and CPO of Canva, a graphic design platform that allows users to easily create appealing visual content....

The bank said while no credit card account numbers or login details were compromised, the lone hacker got hold of credit scores, credit limits, balances, and payment history. Thompson got unauthorized access to Capital One’s data on March 22 and 23. She allegedly took advantage of a misconfigured firewall and stole the data. On April 21, she posted the data on her GitHub account, which also had her full name and resume....

Enter Rovio, the company responsible for 10 glorious years of Angry Birds. It’s pulling out all the stops in celebration of a decade’s worth of smashed pigs and a gazillion downloads with its #BringTheAnger campaign. More on this beauty in a moment. But first, in case you missed it, last week Rovio showed off its “Rage Rider,” a scooter powered by screams of frustration and rage. The video starts with “We’re angry....

Founded in 2015, Cerebras is a sort of reunion tour for most of its C-suite executives. Prior to building chips the size of dinner plates, the team was responsible for Sea Micro, a company founded in 2007 that eventually sold to AMD for more than $330 million in 2012. Cerebras Systems is now valued at more than $4 billion. I interviewed Cerebras Systems co-founder and CEO Andrew Feldman to find out how his company was bellying up to the hardware bar in 2022 — an era marked by big tech’s domination of the AI industry....

Listen, do you have a new(-ish) phone? And do you use a… cable to charge it? God, I hope not. I truly wish upon whatever deity you or your loved ones hold dear that you’re not stranded in 2010 and are using a wire. Why? Well, two reasons. The first, I’m just that kinda guy — caring, affectionate, and genuinely concerned about your well-being. Secondly, wireless charging is everywhere and, really, you should be using it....

There’s nothing better than humiliating your friends… in a heated PlayStation showdown. But if you wanna wreck your buds online (because what else is gaming good for), then you’re gonna need a PlayStation Plus subscription. Especially if you don’t want them to swing by your dirty crib for an IRL multiplayer session. Worry no more, we’ve got you covered. There’s currently some handy discounts on one-year Plus subscriptions out there....

On Twitter, the live audio firm detailed the version’s rollout schedule throughout the week. ???? ?? Japan, Brazil & Russia coming Tuesday???? Nigeria & India on Friday AM? Rest of world throughout the week, and available worldwide by Friday afternoon — Clubhouse (@Clubhouse) May 16, 2021 Earlier this month, Clubhouse started testing the Android version with a US-only beta launch. Last week, it made the app available in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand....

Recently, coding bootcamps have sprung up and have gained a huge attraction due to their affordability and flexibility. Since 2013, coding bootcamps have grown by 11 times, with around 23,000 people graduating by the end of 2019. More and more people are attending them to jumpstart their careers as software developers. However, are these coding bootcamps more effective and more cost-efficient than academic institutions? Can they truly get anyone a software engineering job?...

Night skies in late May and early June may be graced by the sight of a magnificent swan. But, this is no bird — it is a visitor from the distant reaches of the Solar System. C/2020 F8 (SWAN) (or Comet SWAN) is, just now, starting to be visible to viewers under dark skies without the use of binoculars or a telescope. Oddly, this icy remnant from the outer solar system was discovered by an amateur scientist, looking in data from an instrument not meant to find comets....

Step aboard and buckle up, partner — because it’s story time. My first properly close encounter with an electric vehicle was back when BMW launched its i3. I remember seeing that car roll silently onto the showroom floor, thinking it was some kind of personal transportation system from the future. As interested drivers sashayed into the showroom on the opening night of the vehicles reveal, one question seemed to echo across the space more than any other… “How long will it last?...

Court documents shared by CoinDesk details how a US district judge has called several previously established facts into question. Judge Reinhart — who Wright insulted during a recent interview — had deemed it a fact that the Kleiman estate retained a 50/50 stake in Wright’s assets and intellectual property. However, court documents show that Justice Bloom has said the facts are unsettled. Previously, the hearing centered around the amount and whereabouts of Wright’s Bitcoin stash, meaning his partnership with the late David Kleiman was beyond Reinhart’s remit, Bloom says....