Musk charge further into Twitter

Thursday, 09 June 2022

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Musk is on the move again. After the Tesla founder put the brakes on his deal to buy Twitter, he is matching further into the micro-blogging platform.

Speculations had swelled that Musk was looking for a better deal that will see him pay lesser for the company, even though he said his reason for putting the deal on hold had to do with Twitter's data.

Now the company has said that it will allow Musk access to the full “firehose,” the massive stream of data comprising more than 500 million tweets posted each day.

Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.

Summary of the news

UK is planning to integrate blockchain technology into its traditional markets
Microsoft HoloLens boss Alex Kipman has resigned after misconduct allegations
An investor has sued the Winklevoss twins’ troubled crypto business over security failures
In reversal, Twitter is planning to comply with Musk’s demands for its data

UK plans to integrate blockchain technology into traditional markets

In a bid to become a global crypto hub, the United Kingdom is taking steps to deploy blockchain technology to its traditional financial markets, such as trading, settlement of stocks and bonds, Technext reports.

According to Gwyneth Nurse, the Director-General for financial services, at the annual IDX Derivatives conference in London yesterday, the integration of blockchain is a way to refine and bolster the UK’s financial markets, using 21st-century technology.

“Britain will launch a financial market infrastructure “sandbox” next year for testing DLT projects under the control of regulators.”

“The government may also want to test how trading and settlement might be brought together. A sandbox will allow to test new regulatory best practices and make permanent changes to ensure market users benefit.”

Microsoft HoloLens boss Alex Kipman is out after misconduct allegations

Insider reports that Microsoft’s Alex Kipman, who led the teams that developed the company’s HoloLens augmented reality headset and the Kinect motion controller for Xbox and serves as one of Microsoft’s top technical fellows, has resigned after allegations of verbal abuse and sexual harassment.

Microsoft wouldn't immediately confirm or deny the report, but GeekWire has already corroborated it by obtaining an internal email from Microsoft cloud boss Scott Guthrie: “We have mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities,” he writes.

According to The Verge, the memo, which you can read at GeekWire, says nothing about the allegations, and says Kipman will stay on for two more months to help with the transition. It also details a reorganization for Kipman’s entire mixed reality division, with the hardware teams joining Panos Panay’s Windows + Devices org.

According to Insider’s sources, over 25 Microsoft employees contributed to an internal report about alleged misconduct by Kipman, including instances of unwanted touching, as well as one time he allegedly watched a lewd VR video in front of employees in the office.

Investor sues the Winklevoss twins’ troubled crypto business over security failures

IRA Financial Trust, a platform that lets users save for retirement in alternative assets like cryptocurrency, is suing the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange over an alleged failure to protect its customers from a heist that resulted in the theft of $36 million in crypto. The financial platform partners with Gemini, owned by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, to allow customers to trade and store cryptocurrency, according to The Verge.

In February, IRA was the victim of a major attack that drained the millions in funds customers had stored with Gemini. The company was reportedly swatted, the act of calling the police to report a fake crime at someone’s location, when the cyberattack occurred.

Police showed up at IRA’s South Dakota headquarters after false reports of a robbery, while bad actors made off with millions in crypto. At the time, a source close to Gemini told CoinDesk it wasn’t hacked and that it makes various security controls available to its partners.

“Gemini knew about the risks attendant to crypto assets,” IRA’s complaint states. “In fact, it built its public image around purportedly mitigating those risks. But like so much else in the world of crypto, Gemini’s image is just that: an image. In reality, Gemini brushes security aside when there is a chance to earn more revenue.”

In reversal, Twitter plans to comply with Musk’s demands for data

After a weeks-long impasse, Twitter’s board plans to comply with Elon Musk’s demands for internal data by offering access to its full “firehose,” the massive stream of data comprising more than 500 million tweets posted each day, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the state of negotiations, The Washington Post reports.

The move aims to end a standoff with the billionaire, who has threatened to pull out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter unless the company provides access to data he says is necessary to evaluate the number of fake users on the platform.

The information could be provided as soon as this week, the person said. Currently some two dozen companies pay for access to the trove, which comprises not only a real-time record of tweets but the devices they tweet from, as well as information about the accounts that tweet.

Musk’s legal team contends the data stream is essential for understanding the amount of spam and bot activity on its platform, a figure that could influence the company’s ad revenue, according to a letter sent to Twitter on Monday.