📔 Weekly Journal: DOGE to the Moon (Literally) 🛰🐕
[6 min read] Your guide to getting ahead on the digital frontier (& the weekend!). Today, the usual market news as well as all about the upcoming launch of the "DOGE-1" satellite, funded by Dogecoin
Welcome to this week’s Weekly Journal 📔, your guide to the latest news & innovation in emerging technology, digital assets, and our exciting path to the Metaverse. This is week 57 of the 520 weeks of newsletters I have committed to, a decade of documenting our physical and digital lives converge.
New subscribers are encouraged to check out the history & purpose of this newsletter as well as the archive.
Enjoy your weekend! 😎
Ryan
Here’s what you’re getting today:
📈 Market update: Bitcoin flash crash liquidates over $550 million in crypto long positions.
🗞️ Interesting news: The upcoming launch of the "DOGE-1" satellite funded by Dogecoin, Visa’s new Web3 loyalty service, and HSBC's new international payments app to compete with Neobanks
👓 Read of the week: Randolph Grace, a professor of psychology at the University of Canterbury on how AI is our 'Promethean fire'.
🎥 Video of the week: This week’s Lex Fridman interview on quantum computers.
🤖 AI: Microsoft is introducing a new AI “CoPilot” key on their keyboards.
✅ Weekly poll: Help choose the emerging tech topic for Wednesday’s showcase.
🤑 DCA with me: Follow my regular $50 weekly investing in an emerging asset class.
Market Update
Everyone was reminded that even with all the Bitcoin ETC hype, it is still a volatile asset, and it’s not as simple as taking a leveraged long position (aka “gamble”). Bitcoin plummeted over 7% on Thursday, crashing to under $42,000 USD, which liquidated over $550 million in crypto long positions, including $104 million in Bitcoin longs in the last hour alone. Short-term trading digital assets (especially with leverage) is only for people who know what they are doing and are willing to lose it all!
🔥🗺️ 7-day heatmap below, slight pullback this week with ETH but BTC doing well
🎭 Crypto Fear and Greed Index is based on volatility, social media sentiments, surveys, market momentum, and a few other bits and pieces. Still in the Greed zone, no real change this week.
Interesting news from this week🗞️
The upcoming launch of the "DOGE-1" satellite, funded by Dogecoin, has been scheduled to take place in Feb 2024. Dogecoin, initially a memecoin (meme-based cryptocurrency), has evolved into a decentralised network, ranking 11th in market value. The satellite, scheduled for a January 12, 2024 launch, aims to collect data from the moon, and includes a space billboard that hosts ad images that are then taken by a satellite-mounted camera and broadcast to Earth. Despite its humorous origins, Dogecoin's resilience and unique brand image contribute to its position as a significant player in the crypto market.
Visa is launching a Web3 loyalty service, the Visa Web3 Loyalty Engagement Solution, offering gamified giveaways and immersive treasure hunts. Brands can create digital wallets to store reward points and experiences. The move responds to a customer shift, as loyalty programs struggle to integrate shared values into their memberships. Developed in partnership with SmartMedia Technologies, the Web3-based solution aims to reward active customer engagement with unique digital collectibles and diverse perks, transforming traditional loyalty experiences. Visa has a strong presence in the crypto space, having launched a crypto advisory unit in 2021 and engaging in various projects and partnerships.
Incumbent banks are seeing the value in Fintech. HSBC's new international payments app, Zing, aims to compete with Neobanks like Wise and Revolut. Zing operates independently of HSBC accounts, providing transparent foreign exchange rates and supporting various currencies. While limited to the UK for now, Zing offers a Visa debit card and charges competitive exchange fees, presenting a compelling alternative to Wise, with potential for future expansion. Here is a good article from Techcrunch if you want to learn more.
👓Read of the Week
This weeks read is AI is our 'Promethean fire': Using it wisely means knowing its true nature by Randolph Grace, a professor of psychology at the University of Canterbury. He talks about how 2023 marked a transformative era foir AI, with models like ChatGPT gaining record user numbers. Despite its potential in education and healthcare, AI's risk of harm prompted global cooperation at the AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park.
He makes the case that the key challenge lies in AI alignment, ensuring models reflect human values. However, the "black box" nature of large-scale models poses a dilemma, as transparency efforts struggle to match innovation. Delving into the origins of AI, this article explores arithmetic's deep connection to the "deep structure" of perception, suggesting a Copernican shift in our understanding of computation and its role in our collective destiny.
🎥 Watch of the week
For those still (like me) trying to fully get their heads around quantum computers, this week’s Lex Fridman interview will help! This technology will change literally every aspect of emerging tech so its worth taking the time to understand.
AI 🎨🤖🎵✍🏼
For the first time in 30 years, Microsoft is introducing a new key on their keyboards: a dedicated "Copilot" key on Windows 11 keyboards, providing quick access to AI-powered features. The key, named after Microsoft's AI assistant, aims to integrate AI into daily digital experiences. Positioned near the space bar, it replaces either the right "CTRL" or a menu key. Copilot, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4.5 Turbo and Dall-E 3, assists with tasks like composing emails and adjusting PC settings. Microsoft's investment in OpenAI ensures access to cutting-edge AI systems. The keyboard update aligns with Microsoft's strategy to incorporate AI across products, with the 2024 Windows update focusing on new AI capabilities.
Weekly Poll ✅
Help choose what you would like to learn about on Wednesday for my weekly emerging tech showcase:
That’s all for the free version this week! If you have any organisations in mind that could benefit from learning about emerging technology, be sure to reach out. Educational workshops are one of many consulting services I offer.
DCA With Me 🤑
Dollar Cost Averaging is an investment strategy in which an investor regularly invests a fixed amount of money into a particular asset/asset class at regular intervals, regardless of its current market cycle. By doing so, the investor can reduce the impact of market volatility and potentially earn a better return over time. Motto = time IN the market beats trying to time the market
To experiment with this, I invest $50 NZD into a Digital Asset every week. Each week I will choose an asset that seems underpriced in the short term and has positive long-term potential. My timeframe is 3-5 years. I don’t give financial advice but if you want to follow along with me you can use my easycrypto.co.nz referral link to support this newsletter. Let’s dive into this week’s pick:
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