27/09/2021 Why my new NFT is worth nearly $400 and other observations from a fascinating week in tech

Nigel Sussman TechCrunch Exchange Multicolor

Hello everyone! Disrupt was this week, which meant that I spent more time than usual with my feet up, watching panels and startup pitches. It was good fun, but also meant that I had fewer calls than I might in a more regular week. So, what follows is an abbreviated newsletter that is a touch more observational than reported, if you follow. Let’s have some fun!

Observation one: NFT speculation is good fun

Irecently dipped a single toe into the world of NFTs. After covering the space, it was time to participate in a very minor fashion as you can learn a lot more by doing than merely reading. Of course I try to avoid any and all possible ethical quandaries, but I don’t think that my owning two-figures’ worth of crypto so that I could attempt to purchase a low-cost JPEG will really upset the apple cart.

It all went to hell, but an NFT that a kind Twitter user sent me is racking up bids. While I have not derived much pleasure from the particular image that I now own the digital signature to on a particular blockchain more than, say, most other online images, it has been sporting to watch folks try to buy it off me.

Several bids worth hundreds of dollars have cropped up (the latest sitting at $382.94), which made me sit back and wonder who really wants my image. I presume that I’m seeing speculation over value collection in the offers, but I do now better understand why NFT fans are stoked by their cottage industry. After all, who doesn’t want to magically generate real-world value from an image that, until recently, would have had essentially zero value? It feels like cheating. (To be clear, I am not selling my NFT as I don’t want to bother with the taxes, and itdoesseem like selling it for profit would generate some sort of ethics issue. So I guess I will hodl? Forever?)

Observation two: This is a great moment for fintech IPOs

Thescalding public-market reception for Boston-based fintech unicorn Toastthis week showed the world that it is possible to get software-like valuations for payments revenues, provided a sufficiently quick growth rate. Our read was that the warmth with which Toast was welcomed to the stock market indicated that it’s a great time for fintech unicorns to get off their collective duffs and go public.

I stand by that. But what I had perhaps missed was just how much value is sitting by the sidelines. Not in terms of valuation — we already know those numbers — but in terms of user numbers. Observe the following tweet:

I wouldn’t have guessed that Chime was in fifth place, but those figures imply simply huge payment flows which, as we have recently seen, are currently valued like rivers of gold. So NuBank and Chime and Dave and others, let’s do this thing? Please?

Observation three: Chinese tech is increasingly toxic

News this week broke thatthe Zoom-Five9 deal could be in for regulatory issuesover the acquiring company’s Chinese roots. If Zoom having R&D operations in China means that it’s megabuy of Five9 goes poof, it would be an indicator not only of increasing distance between the two globally leading economies, but also a door-closing moment on a possible source of tech liquidity.

Also this week Lithuania warned that hardware from Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is able to detect and block certain terms that China’s government likes to censor. Now, maybe that’s just how Xiaomi makes all its phones, but it’s not agreatlook. The country has “told its civil servants to jettison their Chinese-made smartphones after experts found they contained automatic censorship software and other security flaws,”The Times reported.

Arts

https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/25/2208197/

Interesting NFTs
The River Plate Machine
Digital illustration for the cover of These Football Times magazine in its issue dedicated to the Argentine football team "Club Atlético River Plate". Original from 2020. For this cover I have created a complex machine that links all the generations and legends of the club with its great shield and emblem crowning the center as the heart of the fantasy machinery. Full of details and ornaments this is a highly detailed work. An authentic trip to the history of River through the imagination and the colors of the club. The most significant titles of the club are also included, such as the Libertadores Cup, the famous Intercontinental and the new Super Liga and the Argentine Cup in its newest cup design. If you see a hen, don't be surprised, it is the nickname that its fans give themselves, and they like it. ----- https://javierarres.com/about.html
Forms of Love
The ever changing piece, that took you to understand the 10 forms of love. attach string to each of it,connect and try to understand it. how do you perceive it? it's up to you, it's part of me but also part of you at the same time. just don't use logic too much, we never live there anyway from the start.
Bigofe
Moonfae are a race of outlandish creatures in the world of The Beacon. Settlers named them so because of their otherworldy nature and their apparent relation to the moon.
David vs the Virus
"An ode to the year everything changed" - Frank Wilder The story of the underdog is a reoccurring theme throughout history, and perhaps the most famous example is that of David vs Goliath. A tale about perseverance, in which David takes on and defeats the giant warrior using only his smarts and a stone. Famously depicted by Michelangelo's David statue. Fast forward to the present day in 2020 and we as humanity are faced with our own Goliath. An uncontrollable pandemic spread around the globe. Now with the entire planet being affected by this we understand the gravity of the situation at hand, whether it be a virus we’re fighting or other forces at play, there is indeed an energy out to shift the balance of the Universe… Regardless of our differences, in this moment must unite as one. With diligence, trust and belief we as a whole can come together to triumph against "the enemy". Stay vigilant my friends. Original score created by the one and only Phoenix Wilder.
#93251
By OthersideDeployer