Move over, blockchain. A.I. is now the shiny new thing in the world of finance, according to a new JPMorgan Chase survey of traders, which saw half of respondents name the technology as likely to be the most influential in the next three years. That’s up from a quarter a year ago. The survey findings are no doubt driven by the release of ChatGPT, a powerful new service that can perform a range of tasks from writing essays to composing sonnets to crafting recipes. The survey did not ask...

In 2017, elite teams of computer visionaries raised large sums of money to pursue even larger ambitions. They announced plans to use blockchain technology to remake the Internet and disrupt powerful incumbents like cloud giant Amazon Web Services —even as the rest of the world, including many in the tech industry, puzzled over what they were talking about. Three years later, these projects—with names like Polkadot, Filecoin and Dfinity—are reaching a critical juncture. They have built giant...

When the coronavirus pandemic struck, cryptocurrency firm Kraken found itself in an enviable position: Like a handful of other industries, such as cleaning and video streaming, crypto companies faced an influx of new business. Investors, including new and existing customers, were coming to Kraken in droves, and the company found itself desperately short of staff to meet the new demand. At the same time, CEO Jesse Powell began hearing stories of how the pandemic was leading to massive...

A long time fixture in the cryptocurrency world is jumping into the crowded exchange market. On Tuesday, London-based Blockchain announced "the Pit," an exchange that it says will match trades at "speeds a quantum faster than any other crypto exchange." Blockchain, which launched in 2011, is best known for providing a wallet service that lets customers control access to their Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by using a so-called private key. In jumping into the exchange business with what...

Josh Edelson—AFP/Getty Images It’s a problem that’s long flummoxed media outlets, and also one that’s increasingly frustrating consumers: The inability to pay a small sum, such as 25 cents or $1, to read an article online. Yet a breakthrough could be near, as big web platforms like Facebook and Kik are building technology that could mean a new revenue stream for news outlets and an alternative to consumers having to hand over their credit card information to read a single story. Before...