Durov's Code

👠 Gucci Stores Start Accepting Payments in Cryptocurrencies // Starting from the end of May customers in some Gucci stores in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas will be able to pay using digital tokens. At the time the company says it will accept 10 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Etherium, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu. The company joins fashion designer Philipp Plein, whose online store started accepting crypto payments in 2021. @kod_ae

💸 Elon Musk Secured Extra $7 bln for his Twitter Deal // Among the new backers is Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who previously was vehemently opposed to the deal. The prince promised to commit a total of $1.9 billion worth of Twitter shares to support Musk's proposed buyout. He also said Musk would be an "excellent leader" for the company. The group of investors also includes a cryptocurrency exchange Binance ($500 mln), Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison ($1 bln), Sequoia Capital Fund ($800 mln) and American venture capital AH Capital Management connected to Andreessen Horowitz ($400 mln). Musk also succeeded in attracting some Middle East investors, such as Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority ($375 mln) and Dubai-based investment firm Vy Capital ($700 mln). @kod_ae

🚁 Dubai Allowed to Use Drones for Civil Defence // Drones will be used for firefighting purposes in hard-to-reach areas such as high-rise buildings, confined spaces, and warehouses containing hazardous materials. @kod_ae

🔐 An Unusual Alliance // Apple, Google and Microsoft have joined forces to expand support for passwordless logins. The companies announced expanded support for the password-free sign-in standard from the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium, which allows users to use their smartphone to sign in to an app or website on a nearby device, regardless of the operating system or browser in use. Users will be able to unlock their smartphone using familiar actions, such as fingerprint verification, face scanning or the device's PIN. Users will also be able to automatically access their FiDO login credentials, or ‘passkeys’, across multiple devices, including new ones, without having to re-register each account. @kod_ae

⛪️ The Pope Enters the Metaverse // The Vatican is developing an NFT Gallery dedicated to the Catholic Church. According to the Vatican officials this step aims at extending the availability of the Vatican's heritage – manuscripts, masterpieces, and academic initiatives. When asked by journalists about the prospects of the project, the Church, however, declined to give more details. @kod_ae

💰 UAE Central Bank raises base rate by 50 basis points // Following the decision by the US Federal Reserve, The Central Bank of the UAE decided to raise the Base Rate applicable to the Overnight Deposit Facility by 50 basis points. The new rate is 2,25%. The decision aims at taming rising inflation, as it accelerates across the world. Most of the countries in MENA have not experienced sharp rise in prices yet, except Turkey, where inflation achieved 70%, and recently Egypt. @kod_ae

📲 Saudi Banks Embrace Digitalisation // Saudi fintech industry experienced rapid growth at the end of the previous decade and the kingdom now is set to become a new regional financial hub. @kod_ae

🤷 Up and Down // Elon Musk created volatility in the market again. Today, the entrepreneur, an ardent opponent of NFT, unexpectedly put a monkey collage of the NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club on his Twitter profile picture. This caused the collection to skyrocket in value, pulling up the value of the branded token, APE. In the blink of an eye, the increase was more than 20%. But that's not all. A little later, Musk tweeted, "I dunno … seems kinda fungible." The price of the collection and the token then plummeted, almost back to its original value. @kod_ae

🧠 Brain-Сomputer Interfaces Are Put to the Test // Synchron Inc. that develops the brain-computer interface Stentrode has accepted the first patient into a clinical trial in the USA. Synchron’s device, once implanted, travels to the brain via blood vessels. After it reaches the brain, the Stentrode converts brain activity into signals that allow people to text, email, shop online or perform other activities using an external device. Brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, can enable millions of people with disabilities to communicate more easily and participate in modern life. This trial is a major milestone for Synchron Inc. It allows the company's implant to gain possible regulatory approval for wider use in people with paralysis. @kod_ae

✅ ESG Agenda Gets Ground in the UAE // Dubai Electricity and Water Authority announced that between 2012 and 2021 its awareness campaigns helped save 2.2 terrawatt hours of electricity and 5.6 million imperial gallons (25,4 million liters) of water. This is equal to saving 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The industrial sector contributed mostly to saving water (29% of all the water saved), while educational institutions helped save electricity (14%). The commercial sector savings amounted to 1.3 TWh of electricity (11%) and 2.5 billion gallons of water (19%). @kod_ae

🖥 Oman Heads toward Digital Transformation // Oman announced tender to study, design and implement the unified national portal for electronic services. The initiative is part of the government’s 2021-2025 digital transformation programme, which is expected to draw investment of around $441 million. The first phase includes introducing 88 different e-services for citizens and businesses, and redesigning 70 percent of basic e-government services. @kod_ae

💼 What kind of business are Russians building in Dubai? Dubai is actively adopting blockchain technology and developing this culture. Egor Lapshov has prepared a story about three local start-ups from the world of digital art, which have founders from Russia. @kod_ae

🚘 LiDAR Supplier from Israel // Israeli laser (LiDAR) sensor developer Innoviz Technologies Ltd. said that one of the world's largest vehicle manufacturers has selected the company as a direct LiDAR supplier. There is no exact information about the company that made the deal. Sources believe the deal has been struck with Volkswagen. This deal will increase Innoviz's prospective order book by $4 billion to $6.6 billion. @kod_ae

1️⃣ The Regulator's Debut in the Metaverse // Dubai's VARA is entering the Metaverse. It will ensure that the regulator is accessible to the industry in its environment. @kod_ae

⚔️ Israel prepares for new cyberattacks // In an effort to create a 'digital Iron Dome', Israeli government required major national telecom firms to implement detailed plans for identifying and preventing future cyber attacks. @kod_ae

🤔 A Strike in Dubai? // In an attempt to protest wage cuts and arduous working conditions, food-delivery drivers went on a rare strike in Dubai. Riders stopped working late Saturday and came back to work early Monday. In a letter to its employees London-based Deliveroo agreed to restore workers’ pay to $2.79 per delivery instead of the proposed rate of $2.38. The company also decided to reverse its plan to extend working shifts to 14 hours a day. @kod_ae

🍏 The EU Restrains the Power of Apple // EU antitrust regulators accused Apple of limiting competitors' access to its NFC chip technology. The European Commission sent Apple a statement of objections detailing how the company abused its dominant position in the mobile wallet markets for iOS devices. This could lead to a hefty fine for Apple and force it to open up its mobile payment system to competitors. However, the EU notes that sending a statement of objections does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. Today's ruling follows allegations last year that the company unfairly penalised rival music streaming services. The EU has the power to impose fines of up to 10 per cent of Apple's global revenue ($36 billion), as well as force the company to introduce changes to its business practices. Nevertheless, any fines approved as a result of Apple's likely appeal against the charges will be much lower. @kod_ae

🔓 Privacy at Risk // Mozilla project *Privacy Not Included published a new study on apps, which often deal with sensitive topics including depression, mental health awareness, anxiety, domestic violence, PTSD, and more, alongside religion-themed services. These apps are worse at protecting user privacy than most other types of apps. The team analysed 32 mental health and prayer apps. Of those, 29 received a "privacy not included’ warning, indicating the team's concerns about the quality of data protection. Despite the deeply personal information these apps manage, they routinely share data, allow weak passwords, target vulnerable users with personalised ads, and feature vague and poorly written privacy policies. @kod_ae

💼 New Opportunities for Start-ups in Bahrain // The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has issued new guidelines which apply to operators of crowdfunding platforms for the first time since 2017. @kod_ae

📱 Interface Changes // The developers of Telegram have released a new beta version of the iOS messenger, numbered 8.7.2 (23313). We found new changes there. @kod_ae