📝#89: Sky High💨
Hey, it’s Marc ✌️
Today we will cover crypto, macro & AI:
Crypto: Bloomberg Terminal integrates Polymarket. Revolut, the first bank with self-custody. MakerDAO rebrands to “Sky”.
AI: OpenAI will release the ‘Strawberry’ model in 2024. Coinbase makes the first crypto transaction between AI agents.
Let’s dive in 🦈
⏱️ Read time: 3min
👉 Want to get in front of 50k+ business leaders or accelerate your growth? Work with us here.
📚 Our Top Reads
Why AI projects fail. By RAND Institute. Link
The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise. By Deloitte. Link
Good things take time. By Bridget Harris & Gaby Goldberg. Link
Google Has Finally Dethroned ChatGPT. By Ignacio de Gregorio. Link
Telegram: The Next Big Consumer Platform for Brands? Link
Buy Crypto Using PayPal Balance
Traders across the U.S. and EU can now buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and hundreds of cryptocurrencies using their PayPal account, powered by MoonPay.
🌎 Crypto & Macro
First Bank With Self-Custody
Ledger has partnered with Revolut to allow users to buy cryptocurrencies directly through the Ledger Live app, combining Revolut's payment platform with Ledger's secure self-custody solutions.
What you should know:
Secure Transactions: Ledger’s hardware wallets provide high security by keeping the Secret Recovery Phrase offline.
Seamless Experience: Users can buy crypto through Ledger Live with no extra ID checks if already verified with Revolut.
Direct Payments: It allows crypto payment using your Revolut account or other bank cards, making the process convenient and straightforward.
How to buy crypto via Ledger: Open Ledger Live, go to the "Buy" section, select cryptocurrency, and choose Revolut as the payment option.
Why it matters: The Ledger and Revolut partnership eliminates the need for transfers between exchanges and hardware wallets. It reinforces self-custody, giving users full control over their private keys and reducing reliance on third-party services.
Stepping back: In July 2024, Revolut secured a UK banking license from the PRA after a three-year application process, allowing it to expand services in its largest market.
By the numbers:
Revolut reported a 95% revenue increase to £1.8B and a record £344M profit in 2023, with over 40M users. Revolut X accounted for 28% of the total revenue.
Ledger Live, with over 1.5M users, supports over 5,000 cryptocurrencies and tokens.
Ledger secures around 20% of the world’s crypto assets, with 6M devices sold across more than 200 countries.
The Big Picture: This makes Revolut the first bank with self-custody. Does it make a great headline? Yes. Will people use it? Less so.
👉 We will be publishing a deep dive on the “State of Cold Wallets,” subscribe to PRO to access:
More Crypto Highlights:
MakerDAO has rebranded to "Sky" and will launch a new stablecoin (USDS) and governance token (SKY) on September 18, while existing tokens DAI and MKR will remain in circulation. This move is part of their larger "Endgame" overhaul aimed at scaling DeFi to a global level. Link
Square and Coinbase alumni raise $58M to found Bridge, a financial platform that simplifies global money movement using stablecoins and provides secure, scalable solutions for cross-border payments. Through its APIs, Bridge enables companies to integrate digital dollar-based services, making global transactions more efficient and accessible. Link
Bloomberg will integrate Polymarket's real-time US election odds into its Terminal service, highlighting the growing role of prediction markets. Despite its popularity and growth, Polymarket faces regulatory challenges and stiff competition from Drift Protocol. Link
OKX's Singapore entity received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license, allowing it to offer digital payment token and cross-border money transfer services. Gracie Lin has been appointed CEO of OKX SG to lead its new offerings in Singapore's well-regulated crypto market. Link
🔵 No PRO yet? Get a PRO subscription and profit from:
Weekly case studies and data-driven, strategic industry analysis on consumer Web3
Private community with exclusive content, virtual events, AMA’s with special guests & access to Marc
Access to top cheatsheets, lists & full archive
🪙 Regulation Highlights
Six months after Binance's exit, Nigeria's SEC approved two digital asset exchanges, marking a shift towards regulated crypto trading. This move aims to provide transparency and protection in the market while signaling the start of stricter regulations. Link
🤝 Partner Shoutout
Want to stay on top of the market? This week’s pick is Hashtalk.
Get smart weekly updates on markets, stocks, and crypto. Hashtalk keeps it simple, so you can stay ahead of where investments are heading.
Stay ahead of the curve by clicking 👇
🧠Artificial Intelligence
A New Type of Strawberry 🍓
OpenAI will reportedly launch "Strawberry" (previously called Q*), an advanced AI product in the fall of 2024, aimed at significantly improving AI's reasoning abilities and addressing current model limitations.
What you should know:
Purpose: It generates high-quality synthetic data for Orion, OpenAI’s upcoming flagship large language model.
Integration Plans: OpenAI aims to distill Strawberry for use in ChatGPT this fall, improving accuracy despite slower responses.
Government Engagement: Strawberry was demonstrated to U.S. national security officials, indicating its strategic importance.
Why it matters: OpenAI’s choice to present Strawberry to national security officials shows its importance and potential impact. This step highlights the broader influence of AI and reflects a push for more transparency in how advanced technologies are developed and used.
More AI Highlights:
Google announced updates to its Gemini AI models, including a smaller, improved Gemini 1.5 Flash-8B and a stronger Gemini 1.5 Pro, showing significant gains in performance, coding, and complex prompts. While some users praise the fast upgrades, others criticize the models for issues like repetitive outputs and poor coding performance. Link
California's SB 1047, an AI safety bill requiring strict developer safeguards, has passed the State Assembly and Senate, now awaiting Governor Newsom's decision. The bill has sparked controversy in the tech industry, with mixed reactions over its potential impact on AI development, while critics warn it could stifle open-source development. Link
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong oversaw the first crypto transaction between AI agents, marking a step toward enabling AI to perform practical tasks through autonomous transactions. He emphasized the potential for AI to use crypto wallets for instant, global transactions. Link
💰 Money Moves
Funds:
Bridge: Web3 payment firm raised $58M from Sequoia, Ribbit, Index, Haun Ventures. Link
nOps: AWS cloud management platform raised $30M Series A led by Headlight Partners. Link
EMC: AI infrastructure project raised $20M led by Polygon Ventures and Amber Group. Link
That’s all for now, folks.
The next edition on Web3 Consumer & Gaming will follow on Friday.
Talk soon,
– Marc & Team
PS: Follow us on LinkedIn and X for shorter insights.
⚡️ Amplify Your Growth
Building a Web3 business OR looking to innovate with Web3 tools? 51 Insights is your unfair advantage. We combine what and who we know to help you win:
Capturing market & mind share with our 50k+ b2b audience
Shape your narrative & create qualified opportunities
Developing a go-to-market and growth strategy
Increase outbound conversion rates
📈 Top 3 Charts to Share with Friends
