2024 milestones: December

Tech highlights for December 2024 included: 

- Australia approved a social media ban for those aged 16 and under.

- Bitcoin prices went over US$100,000.

Bitcoin is likely to surge to US$150,000 by mid-2025, said Nigel Green, the founder and CEO of deVere Group, a financial advisory organisation. “Bitcoin is up an astonishing 134% year-to-date, and we believe the stage is set for even greater highs in the months ahead," he said.

“I now believe growing investor FOMO (fear of missing out) and increasing institutional investment can be expected to push the price to $150,000 by mid-2025. This dual momentum is fueling the crypto market’s resurgence and establishing Bitcoin as a ‘must-have’ asset in portfolios.”

Green explained that the US$100,000 milestone is a psychological magnet, drawing in investors who fear being left behind. “As Bitcoin achieves new highs, it creates a snowball effect,” Green explained. 

“Investors rush in to capture gains, pushing the price higher and attracting even more participants.” 

Green also observed that over the past year, major financial institutions have expanded their exposure to Bitcoin through direct holdings, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and partnerships with crypto-focused firms, adding liquidity to the market and also providing a level of credibility that reassures retail investors. The result is a self-reinforcing cycle of demand that propels Bitcoin’s price upward.

Stubborn inflation and rising geopolitical uncertainty are further reinforcing Bitcoin’s case as a safe-haven asset, the company stated. Green said the road to US$150,000 could be bumpy, however. “We should expect short-lived selloffs as investors take profits,” he noted. 

“These corrections, while unsettling in the short term, are part of a healthy market cycle and pave the way for stronger, sustained growth.”

Source: UKISS Technology.
Chan.

"As major financial institutions adopt Bitcoin as part of their treasury, and the new Trump administration being very much pro-crypto than the previous administration, Bitcoin will likely gain its new all-time high (ATH) towards the later half of 2025, potentially reaching US$150,000 or more," said Ben Chan, Director and co-founder, UKISS Technology. 

"Major altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) will also reach new ATH. SOL and Sui (SUI) are likely to take over as the major altcoins from ETH, given that they already accomplished the technical breakthrough of solving the trilemma that ETH has been struggling to solve for many years."

Altcoins refer to cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.

- China announced the Tianyan-504 quantum computer, which runs on the 504-qubit Xiaohong chip. The computer was co-developed by the China Telecom Quantum Group (CTQG), the Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and QuantumCTek Company. The Tianyan-504 is likely to match or surpass the performance of international quantum computing platforms in terms of qubit lifetime and readout fidelity, said the CTQG.

- Astro Bot from Sony Interactive Entertainment won Game of the Year at the 2024 Game Awards.

- Google said that its quantum computer Chip Willow can:

• Reduce errors exponentially as more qubits are used. "This cracks a key challenge in quantum error correction that the field has pursued for almost 30 years," explained Hartmut Neven, founder and Lead of Google Quantum AI in a blog post.
• Perform a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (10²⁵) years.

- NVIDIA announced a new research and development centre in Vietnam. The Vietnam R&D Centre will develop platforms for NVIDIA and partners to nurture AI innovation. Researchers and startups will be able to use this infrastructure to develop AI applications for key industries such as healthcare, education, transportation and finance.

- OpenAI introduced OpenAI o1⁠, a reasoning model designed to handle complex multistep tasks with advanced accuracy. The company also unveiled Sora, technology that generates videos from text prompts.

Source: Check Point. Stock image of an empty wallet.

- In Singapore, identity theft across three local banks caused a couple on holiday a great deal of frustration as they were unable to obtain spending money.

Patrick Tiquet, VP of Security and Compliance, Keeper Security said: "This nightmare vacation-gone-wrong highlights the vulnerabilities in relying solely on personal details for identity verification, as cybercriminals are becoming increasingly skilled at using publicly available or stolen information to impersonate individuals. While many banks have implemented multifactor authentication (MFA), it’s important to note that not all MFA solutions are equally secure.

"For example, SMS-based MFA can be intercepted or spoofed, whereas app-based authentication, biometrics such as fingerprint or facial recognition and hardware security keys offer significantly stronger protection against sophisticated attackers.

"Banks and financial institutions must prioritise adopting these more secure MFA options to better safeguard customers. On the consumer side, protecting personal information, enabling app-based authentication where possible and regularly monitoring account activity are critical steps to protect your most sensitive information."

Said Abhishek Kumar Singh, Head of Security Engineering, Singapore, Check Point Software Technologies: "The incident of the Singaporean couple in Japan highlights the vital need for strong authentication mechanisms in banking structures to combat identity theft. The traditional reliance on static personal information, including identification numbers and card details, is increasingly being challenged due to information breaches and sophisticated social engineering techniques. 

"Implementing MFA that combines something the user knows (e.g. a password), something the user has (e.g. a mobile device) and something the user is (e.g. biometrics) can substantially increase security.  For example, banks can employ biometric authentication strategies such as fingerprint or facial recognition, along with one-time passwords (OTPs) sent to a person's registered device, to ensure that access is granted only to authorised individuals. 

This layered method makes it more difficult for unauthorised parties to gain access, even if some personal information has been compromised. In addition, utilising AI-powered voice recognition systems during call verification could add an additional layer of defence, helping to distinguish between genuine customers and potential fraudsters attempting social engineering tactics."

"From an operational perspective, banks can implement anomaly detection models trained to identify suspicious activities in real time. For example, AI systems could flag repeated call attempts with failed verifications or sudden high-risk requests like account blocks. Additionally, secure APIs could enable tokenised data exchange, ensuring sensitive information is not exposed during verification processes. Such measures not only enhance security but also maintain user convenience, fostering trust between financial institutions and their customers in an increasingly cashless society," Singh added.

"For consumers, it is important to be vigilant and practice proactive cyberhygiene. Look out for signs, and if unsure, always err on the side of caution. Some indicators of compromised accounts include:

•⁠ ⁠Unusual notifications: Alerts for unauthorised transactions, login attempts, or account changes.
•⁠ ⁠Access denial: Being locked out of accounts or passwords failing unexpectedly.
•⁠ ⁠Anomalous transactions: Small, irregular charges often used to test account validity.
•⁠ ⁠Social engineering attempts: Calls or emails requesting sensitive credentials under urgent pretences."

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