NEWSWORTHY
Bitcoin for otaku: Tokyo startup to launch cryptocurrency to serve communities
Cryptocurrencies may be making worldwide headlines as high volatility assets that have seen dazzling stretches of growth and stunning falls, but the CEO of Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc. believes they have a different kind of potential. Naomitsu Kodaka says cryptocurrencies can serve as cross-border digital ...
IBM ties up with Asahi Refining and others on blockchain tech to track jewels from mine to store
IBM Corp., a group of four gold and diamond industry companies, and an independent laboratory are developing a blockchain network for tracing the provenance of finished pieces of jewelry from mine to store. The TrustChain Initiative, which will run on IBM's technology, includes precious-metals refiner ...
As regulators play catch-up, internet firms curbing crypto ads, fearing damage from scams
A growing number of internet companies are banning cryptocurrency advertising, fearing reputational damage if their users are duped or left penniless, even as regulators struggle to get to grips with the fast-emerging industry. Twitter on Tuesday began blocking crypto ads, becoming the latest internet giant ...
Time to welcome our robot overlords?
"Hello World — For the Post-Human Age" at Art Tower Mito looks at developments in art in the context of digital technology and artificial intelligence. It starts with a lightly comedic farce, in the form of Cecile B. Evans' 2016 multimedia installation "Sprung a ...
IBM breaks patent record with 25th straight year in top spot
IBM Corp. was once again awarded the highest number of U.S. patents in 2017, as the company pushes into blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies. IBM received 9,043 patents in 2017, breaking the record it set in 2016, the company said Tuesday. A lot of the ...
Pachinko parlors are losing their balls while Japan considers a cashless economy
With the Diet's passing of a law last December that will legalize casino gambling, many are wondering how this development will affect the few forms of tightly controlled gambling and gaming that have been permitted up to now — like pachinko (a type of ...
Japan's top bank trio to test customer ID info via blockchain tech used for digital currencies
Three major Japanese banking groups have launched a test to share customer identification information utilizing blockchain technology, used for digital currencies such as bitcoin, in a bid to make it easier for customers to open bank accounts. The three groups, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ...
