News Headlines (December 22, 2021)
- Jack Dorsey Slams Web3 Again, Citing VC Dominance
The former Twitter CEO slammed the concept in a series of tweets Monday night, claiming that applications will “never escape” the incentives of the venture capitalists and liquidity providers funding them. Later, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a cryptic tweet on the topic. “Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it,” he wrote. “It’s somewhere between a and z,” replied Dorsey, most likely referencing the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. In response to Dorsey’s posts, several prominent figures in the crypto space shared their thoughts on the benefits of Web3.
- Giving the Gift of Nothing: NFTs Are Wall Street’s Hottest Ticket of 2021
Giving the Gift of Nothing: NFTs Are Wall Street’s Hottest Ticket of 2021. In layperson terms, NFTs are blockchain-verified digital pieces of whatever you can think of – art, shoes, sketches, a coffee cup with YouTube star Mr. Beast’s face on it, or a digital rendering of former First Lady Melania Trump’s eyes. Fisker is the latest public company to jump into the NFT game. The carmaker announced on Monday that will launch exclusive digital art NFTs of original pen-on-paper sketches from the hand of founder and chief designer, Henrik Fisker.
- World’s first SMS goes up for auction as NFT
The first text message in history will be auctioned on Tuesday in the form of a so-called nonfungible token (NFT), British operator Vodafone said. The Aguttes auction house in Paris, which is running the auction, said it expects the proceeds to range from €100,000 to €200,000 (around $113,000 — $226,000). For legal reasons, the winning bidder will also receive tangible assets, including a digital picture frame to display the SMS. The buyer will pay for the NFT in Ether, or Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin.
https://www.dw.com/en/worlds-first-sms-goes-up-for-auction-as-nft/a-60205135
- The Most Ambitious of the ‘Ethereum Killers,’ Polkadot’s Launch Could Begin the Reinvention of DeFi
Ethereum Co-founder Gavin Wood’s attempt to knock his creation off its pedestal as the blockchain on which almost all DeFi, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and many other decentralized applications run launched this weekend. Polkadot is one of the more creative of the top five “Ethereum Killers” — projects that seek to unseat No. 2 blockchain Ethereum, which has become overwhelmed by its success as decentralized finance and NFTs enter the mainstream consciousness. All of the main Ethereum competitors, including Binance Smart Chain, Solana, Cardano and Avalanche, are focused on building blockchains that are far faster — running as high as 50,000 transactions per second to Ethereum’s 15 to 25 — and less polluting.
- The New Get-Rich-Faster Job in Silicon Valley: Crypto Start-Ups
When Sandy Carter left her job as a vice president of Amazon’s cloud computing unit this month, she announced in a LinkedIn post that she was joining a crypto technology company. She included a link for open positions at the start-up. “It’s the perfect storm,” Ms. Carter said. “The momentum we’re seeing in this space is just incredible.” Silicon Valley is now awash with stories of people riding seemingly ridiculous crypto investments like Dogecoin, a digital coin based on a dog meme, to life-changing wealth. Bitcoin has soared around 60 percent this year.
- Brian Eno is not a fan of NFTs
Best known for his pioneering ambient work and prolific producer credits, Eno seems like the perfect artist for the NFT era. He’s spent decades making art with an eye towards technology and its social implications, often made available as software or limited-edition product drops. But as he describes it in the interview, taking the NFT turn would be pointless as an artistic move and craven as a financial calculation. “I am not sure what is being brought into the world that makes any difference to anything other than some strings of numbers moving about in some bank accounts,” Eno continues.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/20/22846654/brian-eno-nft-crypto-skeptical-morozov-suckers
- First Mover Asia: Cryptos Inch Downward in Light Trading
Bitcoin, ether moved little on Monday, as markets expect “very choppy” price moves towards the year end. Terra (LUNA) continued its impressive gains since last week. Technician’s Take is taking a hiatus today. The crypto market slowly recovered some losses from a dip that occurred during Asian hours, although at the time of publication, most of the leading cryptocurrencies were down over the past 24 hours. “Bitcoin has seen short-term momentum neutralize as it consolidates above initial support near $44,200,” Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner at Fairlead Strategies, wrote in her weekly newsletter on Monday.
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/12/20/first-mover-asia-cryptos-inch-downward-in-light-trading/
- Nike Joins the Metaverse Sneaker Wars
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are a new way to have digital ownership of a digital good in the world of cryptocurrency. The Bored Ape Yacht Club has formed a partnership with Adidas and now Nike is acquiring RTFKT, a “developer of custom sneakers designed for video game enthusiasts.” Athletic shoe companies have always been at the forefront of culture, and they’re seeing the culture moving online to digital goods. If Nike and Adidas have their way, maybe your next pair of sneakers will be wearable in the metaverse.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/12/21/nike-joins-the-metaverse-sneaker-wars/
- CAN SOLANA BREAK ITS ODDS AND TOUCH US$260 IN 2022? WE EXPLORE
Over the past year, Solana has managed to record a 10,000% growth and emerged as the strong ‘Ethereum Killer’. After reaching a record high in November, Solana’s price has followed a downward trend ever since. Currently, SOL is merely managing to stay above US$166 in order to counter further declines. Solana gained popularity over its blockchain ecosystem. It is one of the world’s fastest-growing decentralized platforms that currently has over 879 ongoing projects. Solana recently faced backlash over a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Although the blockchain remained online during the critical hours, the network speed dropped significantly.
- Cash2Bitcoin CEO Ayman Rida Explains Why Merchants Set up a Bitcoin ATM, Compliance and Regulation
Ayman Rida is a proud father, husband and graduate of the University of Michigan (finance). With more than a decade in merchant card services and standard ATM services, Rida saw a wonderful opportunity in crypto — one that would serve a growing need, and one that would ultimately help grow his portfolio. Today, he is the CEO of one of the United States’ largest crypto kiosk deployers. In 2016, Rida started Cash2Bitcoin.com as a way to provide service in the exciting, and rapidly changing, crypto space.
