The National Bank of Bahrain has launched its first bitcoin investment fund aimed at institutional investors in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Developed in partnership with ARP Digital, the fund allows investors to gain exposure to bitcoin while ensuring full protection against potential losses, albeit with a cap on possible gains.
Abdulla Kanoo, co-founder of ARP Digital, described the collaboration with NBB as a potential game-changer for the regional market. By combining ARP Digital’s expertise in digital assets with NBB’s strong presence in the financial sector, they have created a secure investment product for those looking to explore bitcoin.
Bahrain’s efforts to cultivate a crypto-friendly environment have attracted major players like Binance and Crypto.com, while the UAE is also advancing its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. In 2023, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority issued comprehensive rules to facilitate Web3 firms operating in the region.
According to Chainalysis, the MENA region recorded $338.7 billion in crypto transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, primarily driven by institutional investors. With the new fund, NBB provides a promising opportunity for regional investors to safely engage with bitcoin in a well-regulated landscape.
The British government is set to hold its first international investment summit on October 14, with top executives from companies such as Google, Wayve, and Brookfield Asset Management attending. The summit is aimed at encouraging foreign direct investment to stimulate economic growth, a key focus for Prime Minister Keir Starmer since taking office in July.
Sponsorship for the event comes from major corporations like Barclays, HSBC, and Lloyds, with notable speakers including Ruth Porat from Alphabet and Bruce Flatt from Brookfield. Despite some controversy, such as Elon Musk criticising the United Kingdom for not inviting him, the summit has drawn significant attention from the global business community.
The government emphasised that the event would strengthen partnerships between businesses and the UK, providing investors with the confidence needed to drive future growth. Prior to the summit, Starmer will convene the first Council of Nations and Regions to align regional leaders on investment and economic strategies.
In a significant step towards sustainability, the government announced a £21.7 billion investment in carbon capture projects, underlining its commitment to green initiatives ahead of the summit.
A European Central Bank official has suggested the creation of a ‘European ledger,’ a blockchain platform that could bring together digital assets and money across the continent. This proposed platform, referred to as a digital capital markets union, would tackle Europe’s fragmented financial systems and outdated regulations, creating a more efficient environment for digital assets.
According to Piero Cipollone, an ECB executive board member, many European banks are already experimenting with distributed ledger technology (DLT), which could lead to greater financial integration. However, non-interoperable systems between countries continue to create fragmented liquidity. A unified platform could bring significant benefits, including cost reductions and round-the-clock operations, benefiting both investors and central banks.
Despite the advantages, concerns remain that a European ledger could stifle financial innovation. Cipollone noted that traditional finance might require the flexibility provided by competing DLT platforms to flourish. As discussions continue, the ECB is exploring ways to settle DLT transactions using central bank money, while seeking long-term solutions to avoid inefficiencies.
The UK is setting up a Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) to fast-track the approval of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, drones, and healthcare advancements. This initiative is a key part of the Labour government’s efforts to boost economic growth by reducing bureaucratic barriers and supporting innovation in critical sectors. By easing regulatory hurdles, the RIO aims to encourage businesses to bring cutting-edge technologies to market more quickly, stimulating growth and job creation.
The launch of the RIO comes ahead of a major investment summit on 14 October 2024, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will meet with global investors. The government hopes to demonstrate that the UK is open for business and committed to fostering a thriving tech and innovation sector. The summit will target infrastructure and clean energy investment as part of the country’s transition to a net-zero economy.
Science and Technology Minister Peter Kyle emphasised that the RIO will help industries such as bioengineering and healthcare, enabling earlier diagnosis of diseases, the development of cleaner fuels, and more sustainable agricultural practices. The new office will collaborate with existing regulators to reduce red tape and unlock economic potential, creating more jobs and strengthening the UK economy.
Meta has launched Movie Gen, a powerful AI model designed to produce 1080p videos with synchronised audio. The system can edit videos based on instructions, allowing for personalised content creation using user-supplied images.
With a transformer model containing 30 billion parameters, Movie Gen can generate 16-second videos at 16 frames per second. The model’s advanced techniques improve video motion realism, trained on over 100 million video-text pairs and 1 billion image-text pairs.
Movie Gen outperforms previous models, including Runway Gen3 and OpenAI Sora, particularly in video editing and text-to-video tasks. Benchmarks show its superiority in maintaining video structure and fine details, especially in the TGVE+ test.
Future developments for Movie Gen include improving scene understanding, safeguarding against misuse, and making the system more accessible. Meta envisions applications in social media, film production, and marketing campaigns.
Coinbase announced on Friday that it will delist certain stablecoins in the European Economic Area (EEA) by the end of the year as the cryptocurrency industry prepares for stricter regulations in the region. The EU‘s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, introduced in early 2023, will be fully implemented by December. This framework mandates that stablecoin issuers adhere to stringent transparency, liquidity, and consumer protection standards.
In line with its commitment to compliance, Coinbase intends to restrict services for EEA users concerning stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA requirements by 30 December 2024. The exchange will provide affected customers with options to switch to authorised stablecoins, including USDC and EURC from fintech firm Circle, which are pegged to the US dollar and euro, respectively.
Stablecoins have gained significant popularity in recent years, particularly as major financial institutions like PayPal adopt them. This growth reflects the increasing integration of the once-nascent digital assets sector into mainstream finance.
Samsung Electronics has announced the mass production of its PM9E1, a PCIe 5.0 SSD that boasts the highest performance and largest capacity in the industry. Built on a 5nm controller and eighth-generation V-NAND technology, the PM9E1 offers enhanced power efficiency and powerful performance, making it an ideal choice for on-device AI PCs. Compared to its predecessor, the PM9A1, key attributes like speed, storage capacity, and security have all seen significant improvements.
The new SSD features an eight-channel PCIe 5.0 interface, enabling sequential read speeds of up to 14.5 gigabytes per second (GB/s) and write speeds of 13GB/s, more than doubling the capabilities of the previous generation. This impressive performance facilitates rapid data transfer for demanding AI applications, allowing large models to be transferred from the SSD to DRAM in less than a second.
Available in multiple storage options—512GB, 1 terabyte (TB), 2TB, and a market-leading 4TB—the PM9E1 is particularly suited for users needing high-capacity storage for large files, including AI-generated content and high-resolution videos. Its improved power efficiency, exceeding 50%, also supports longer battery life for on-device applications.
To enhance security, Samsung has implemented Security Protocol and Data Model (SPDM) v1.2, which includes features like secure channels and device authentication to prevent data manipulation during production or distribution. With the PM9E1, Samsung aims to expand its advanced SSD offerings to global PC manufacturers and plans to introduce additional PCIe 5.0-based consumer products to strengthen its position in the on-device AI market.
Global semiconductor sales reached a record $53.1 billion in August, marking a significant 20.6% increase from the previous year, driven primarily by surging demand related to AI, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). This figure also reflects a 3.5% rise from July’s sales of $51.3 billion, indicating continued momentum in the semiconductor sector.
SIA President and CEO John Neuffer highlighted that August marked the highest sales total ever for that month and noted that sales have increased month-to-month for five consecutive months. The Americas led the growth with a remarkable 43.9% year-on-year increase, while China saw a 19.2% rise, and the Asia-Pacific region reported a 17.1% boost. Japan’s sales grew modestly by 2%, but Europe was the only region to experience a decline, falling by 9%.
The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) recently upgraded its global semiconductor sales forecast for 2024 to $611 billion, reflecting a 16% increase from last year. Strong demand in computing markets is driving this growth, particularly in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, which are expected to see increases of 25.1% and 17.5%, respectively. In contrast, Europe is projected to grow by just 0.5%, while Japan may experience a slight decline of 1.1%.
Looking ahead to 2024, WSTS predicts global semiconductor sales will rise to $687 billion, although growth will slow to 12.5%. Positive growth is expected across all regions, signalling a robust future for the semiconductor industry despite regional disparities.
Visa has introduced a blockchain-based platform designed to help financial institutions integrate fiat-backed tokens. The Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) will allow banks to mint, transfer, and redeem tokens on public blockchain networks, such as Ethereum. BBVA, a leading Spanish bank, is set to pilot this platform by 2025, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional banking and blockchain technology.
The platform is designed to integrate with existing banking systems using APIs, allowing banks to explore tokenisation use cases. It also offers programmable features to automate complex credit lines and release payments based on smart contract conditions.
Despite Visa’s cautious approach to stablecoin adoption, citing concerns over automated transactions, the platform marks a significant step toward blending blockchain technology with traditional financial services.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation into the rapidly expanding generative AI market. Concerns have been raised about the dominance of US tech companies, particularly in semiconductors and the specialist workforce needed for AI development.
The commission has invited businesses and users to provide input on antitrust risks, with a first report expected next spring. The study aims to identify challenges for new companies entering the AI market, which often depends on advanced semiconductors and vast data resources.
Nvidia’s dominance in the semiconductor market, controlling 80% of chips used for AI, is highlighted as a potential barrier to competition. The commission also noted risks related to monopolisation of specialists by large IT companies and prioritising their own AI products.
Other nations, including the US, European Union, and South Korea, are conducting similar investigations. Study in Japan intends to balance AI’s benefits with ensuring fair market access and competition.
