SpaceX dangerous mission and a crypto payment card for in-store purchases

Every week, we share a selection of the latest news from the world of technology. You can read the previous digest here. This time, our roundup includes updates from companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, Kraken, Chainalysis, Consensys, and Animoca Brands.

Anthropic

Anthropic has announced prompt caching for Claude AI. This means that users can now provide Claude with more contextual information for future tasks and easily reference this information in subsequent interactions with the AI. This enhancement is expected to make working with Claude more efficient by reducing the time needed to input critical information. The prompt caching feature is currently available in public beta for Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude 3 Haiku.

SpaceX

A new ambitious mission by SpaceX within the radiation belts. On August 26 at 3:30 AM, the Polaris Dawn mission is scheduled to launch, during which four astronauts will spend five days aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

Crew Dragon will ascend to an altitude of up to 1,400 kilometers from Earth – higher than any mission has gone since Apollo. Their orbital path will take them through the radiation belt, adding a new level of danger to an already risky spaceflight.

Consensys

Consensys has launched the MetaMask Card for everyday cryptocurrency purchases. MetaMask Card is a pilot project by Consensys, Mastercard, and Baanx. It’s a standard card that allows you to use your cryptocurrency for everyday purchases. Using crypto for payments is often challenging, as it typically requires converting it to fiat currency, transferring it to a bank account, and then using it. The MetaMask Card, however, changes this process. The pilot project is currently available only to users in EU countries and the UK.

Chainalysis

Chainalysis releases new report on crypto crimes. On August 15, the American blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis published a new report on cryptocurrency crimes. According to the report, overall illegal activity in the crypto industry has decreased by 19.6% since the beginning of the year, dropping from $20.9 billion to $16.7 billion by July 2024. However, certain types of crypto crimes have actually increased. Chainalysis also found that legitimate activity in cryptocurrency is growing faster than illegal activity in 2024.

Kraken

Kraken announces 8 new tokens on the platform. The American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced the addition of eight new tokens available for trading starting August 13. The newly listed tokens are AUCTION, CPOOL, KMNO, PRCL, PRIME, TURBO, ZEX, and ZK. To add these assets to a Kraken account, users can navigate to the “Funding” section, select the desired asset, and click “Deposit.”

Animoca Brands

Subsidiary of Animoca Brands receives investment from TON ventures. GAMEE, a Web3 and mobile gaming platform with high user engagement and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced that it has received an investment from TON Ventures, the first venture fund of The Open Network (TON). The investment will support the development of the GAMEE ecosystem, including the Mini App WatBird. GAMEE currently has over 4 million players using TON Wallets connected to the WatBird app.

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