Today’s Cache | Risks of crypto donations; Twitter’s cloud payment woes; UK PM insists on AI opportunities

Risks of crypto donations

In February, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the blockchain analysis platform Chainalysis reported that Ukraine had received roughly $70 million in crypto donations through addresses shared by its government. Givers often choose to donate in crypto thanks to rapid settlement times, low transaction fees, and fewer intermediaries. However, even large cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether are highly volatile while others like LUNA and TerraUSD have entirely collapsed, causing owners to lose billions of dollars. More recently, thousands of dollars donated to Ukraine via crypto were discovered to have gone missing.

As more international charities and welfare organisations begin to accept donations in digital currencies, givers should be aware of the fiscal, cybersecurity, and ethical risks of sending crypto to their cherished causes.

Twitter’s cloud payment woes

Twitter’s cost cutting measures have taken a sharp turn as the social media company refused to pay its Google Cloud bills even though its contract is due for renewal, reported the tech outlet Platformer. According to the outlet, Twitter used its own server as well as the cloud services of Amazon and Google for hosting purposes. The Elon Musk-owned company has also reportedly been rapped by Amazon for not paying its bills to the e-commerce giant’s Amazon Web Services, said The Information outlet. Twitter and Google are yet to issue statements.

Cloud hosting is not the only impacted service, as Twitter also failed to pay the rent for its offices in locations across the globe.

UK PM insists on AI opportunities

In an upcoming address to tech leaders, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to stress on the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence, to urge leaders to make UK a destination for technology investments. The comments come on the occasion of London Tech Week.

Rather than creating a new authority or body to handle AI issues and innovation, this area of technology will be monitored by existing regulators that also deal with human rights, health and safety, and competition. The UK administration has shared plans to work closely with AI companies to ensure societal benefits, as well as a tentative summit on AI safety in the near future.