Monday briefing: Lloyds Bank bans credit card bitcoin purchases (2024)

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Lloyds Banking Group customers are no longer allowed to buy bitcoin using their credit cards (BBC News). The restriction – which doesn't apply to debit cards – is in response to a sharp fall in bitcoin's value (currently at $8,109) and extreme volatility. It affects Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA customers. In the USA, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America. and Citigroup, Capital One and Discover are also declining all credit card purchases of bitcoin.

On Saturday, February 3, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the TRICOM-1R microsatellite, designed to photograph the Earth, into orbit (Spaceflight Now). The 3kg satellite was aboard an SS-520 sounding rocket, modified for orbital use. The rocket is now the smallest to have ever carried out a successful space launch, at 9.5 metres tall and 52cm in diameter.

The draft version of a US National Toxicology Program study into whether the radio frequencies used in mobile phones can cause cancer reveals no statistically significant carcinogenic effects, but plenty technical problems during the study (Ars Technica). Rats and mice were exposed to GSM and CDMA radiation at well above normal use levels, but the mice and female rats showed no statistically significant ill effects after two years. Male rats proved to be harder to assess, as the control group - which wasn't exposed to any radio frequency radiation - died at unusually high rates.

News reports of security flaws in smart sex toys are fairly common, and the story is often the same: Bluetooth flaws, problems with databases, insecure APIs and dodgy apps can allow devices to be controlled remotely or allow unauthorised access to user information (WIRED). Anonymity and privacy researcher Sarah Jamie Lewis has created a way for a vibrator to be controlled remotely and securely while being connected to the anonymous Tor network. "100% encrypted peer to peer cyber sex over tor hidden services," she wrote on Twitterat the time. Lewis says the method isn't technically hard to create but has been working on making versions that can be user-friendly and widely used by sex tech companies.

The first teaser trailer for Lucasfilm's Solo: A Star Wars Story debuted during the USA's Superbowl sporting spectacular, revealing some thrilling chases, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and a glimpse of a familiar-looking Wookiee (Ars Technica). Directed by Ron Howard, the film stars Alden Ehrenreich as a youthful Han Solo and is coming to UK cinemas on May 25 .

Elon Musk dreams of creating a million-person city on Mars. But first, the SpaceX and Tesla founder is going to need a small group of people with an unusual genetic trait in common; resistance to radiation.

The internet is broken. But we've got a plan to fix it. Tim Berners-Lee, Jimmy Wales, Jaron Lanier, Vint Cerf and Wendy Hall explain why we need a net reset – and what new systems we should be building. Plus: the only ICO guide you'll ever need, how to fix Silicon Valley's sexism problem (hint: hire more women) and Charlie Brooker's predictions for the future of technology. Out in print and digital. Subscribe now and save.

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This article was originally published by WIRED UK