Crypto Episodes

The singularity is near, cause all our meme stories are colliding. Tesla has bought a ton of Bitcoin while Elon is tweet-pumping Dogecoin. Clubhouse is blocked in China. Cold water on the Apple Car story from Hyundai itself. TikTok is skipping directly to an ecommerce buildout. And Xiaomi’s big new global flagship phone. Sponsors:Kiwico.com promocode: rideBuyRaycon.com/tech Links:Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment (CNBC)Clubhouse is now blocked in China after a brief uncensored period (TechCrunch)Apple Car Talks Aren’t Happening, Say Automakers Hyundai, Kia (Bloomberg)Twitter Considers Subscription Fee for Tweetdeck, Unique Content (Bloomberg)TikTok takes on Facebook with US ecommerce push (FT)Follow the CAPEX: Cloud Table Stakes 2020 Retrospective (Platformonomics)Xiaomi’s global Mi 11 has a Snapdragon 888 for €749 (The Verge) RideHome+ feed at: tech.supercast.tech

The OCC clears US banks to run crypto nodes and issue stablecoins. Microsoft wants to make One Outlook to rule all your email and calendar apps. Looks like Haven couldn’t solve healthcare. Why haven’t we seen Jack Ma in public for going on two months now? And Singapore says SYKE on that whole, not using Covid tracking data to keep track of citizens. Sponsors:SmartAsset.com/techmeme Links: US regulator: Federally chartered banks can facilitate stablecoin payments, issue their own (The Block) Twitter acquires social podcasting app Breaker, team to help build Twitter Spaces (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s new ‘One Outlook’ app leaks online (The Verge) Haven, the Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan venture to disrupt health care, is disbanding after 3 years (CNBC) Kuo: Apple to Unveil AirTags, Augmented Reality Device, and More in 2021 (MacRumors) Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Has Been Missing For 2 Months (ZeroHedge) Singapore police can access COVID-19 contact tracing data for criminal investigations (ZDNe…

Coinbase is suspending trading of XRP. Ant Group tries to appease the CCP. Will we soon see immunity passports on our phones? We now know the identity of the first tech IPO of the new year. And why, if you’re doing to do some dirt, you might want to know that your car is probably going to bust your alibi. Sponsors:CalderaLab.com code: TECHMEME (all caps, one word)Tovala.com/ride Links:Coinbase to Suspend XRP Trading Following SEC Suit Against Ripple (CoinDesk) Ant Considers Holding Company With Regulation Similar to Bank, Sources Say (Bloomberg) Los Angeles Vaccine Recipients Can Put the Proof in Apple Wallet (Bloomberg) Qualtrics Files for U.S. IPO Two Years After Sale to SAP (Bloomberg) Insecure wheels: Police turn to car data to destroy suspects' alibis (NBC News) TV Ratings: First Streaming-Only NFL Game Scores Solid Numbers for Amazon (Variety) Link to the AMA Auction with Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling: https://lu.ma/tinyama

The SEC does indeed sue Ripple, and that could be a bigger deal than I thought. Twitter won’t hand over the @Potus Twitter followers to Biden. What Zoom wants to do for its next act beyond video. Controlling your AirPods with your teeth. And, special for this week, a Long Holiday Weekend edition of the Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors:Hawthorne.co, promocode: techmemeTovala.com/ride Links: SEC Sues Ripple Over 7-Year, $1.3B ‘Ongoing’ XRP Sale (CoinDesk) Biden @POTUS Account Reset to Zero With T...

A new bill could regulate crypto in a way that crypto folks say would defeat the point of decentralization. Facebook antitrust could be coming next week. Loon is the first to turn the skies over to artificial intelligence. Hackers are targeting the vaccine rollout. And now, you too can contribute to Street View on Google Maps. Sponsors: Impartner.com/ridehomedemo Liftoff.to Links: US Lawmakers Introduce Bill That Would Require Stablecoin Issuers to Obtain Bank Charters (Coindesk) PhonePe rais...

Is PayPal making moves to become a major player in Crypto? A look at the two big ballot initiatives in California that Silicon Valley cares about and which the rest of the country might be affected by. Why YouTube is this election’s go-to place for campaigns to run ads, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Masterworks.io Promocode: ride Monday.com/ride Links: PayPal in Talks to Buy Crypto Firms Including BitGo (Bloomberg) Uber, Lyft likely violated California labor law,...

Big news for crypto as PayPal adopts it, both for users to buy, but also, crucially, for them to spend. Facebook is testing a Nextdoor killer. Update on the Quibi deathwatch. Tech earnings snuck up on me and Evan Spiegel had a good night. And let’s end today with another review roundup. This time of the new iPad Air. Sponsors: KiwiCo.com/ride Monday.com/ride Links: PayPal to allow cryptocurrency buying, selling and shopping on its network (Reuters) Dropbox's family plan offers a shared 2TB fo...

I don’t think I’ve made any bones about the fact that I blow hot and cold on crypto. Sometimes I grow frustrated that it always seems to be a lot of sound and fury, ultimately signifying nothing. Or at least, not amounting to much that touches normal people’s lives. I dunno if that’s a fair way to look at crypto or not. But at the same time, there is no single corner of tech that has more activity, that has more passion and energy and, just pure, crazy creativity. Lots of people in crypto have a...

Nividia’s new GPU powerhouse, the RTX 3090. Apple makes the case that the App Store is a jobs powerhouse. Patreon is an interesting and monster new raise. Why Amazon delivery drivers are hanging their phones from trees. And the story behind the new gaming phenomenon known as Fall Guys. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme Metalab.co Links: Nvidia announces new RTX 3080 GPU, priced at $699 and launching September 17th (The Verge) Nvidia’s new RTX 3090 is a $1,499 monster GPU designed for 8K gaming ...

Shopify joins the Libra Association, Facebook will pay you for your data in one specific instance, Google is cutting down on apps using background location, more Coronavirus cancellations and the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Podcorn.com (promocode: "ride" at checkout) Links: Shopify joins Facebook's cryptocurrency Libra Association (TechCrunch) Google Resists Demands From States in Digital-Ad Probe (WSJ) Facebook will now pay you for your voice recordings (The Verge) ...

For the final weekend bonus episode of the year, I wanted to check in with Crypto. What a year for the space! Seemingly dead at the beginning of the year. But then the Crypto Spring™ happened. And then Libra happened. And so… where are we? No one better than CoinDesk’s Brady Dale to catch us up… Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Mealime Sofi.com/ride

YouTube shuts down channels over Hong Kong content, some of Facebook’s Libra partners are having second thoughts, the WSJ finds some shady items on Amazon, the reviews of the Galaxy Note10+ are in, and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: BRD's Top 10 Crypto Memes PixelUnion.net Links: Google shutters more than 200 YouTube channels amid Hong Kong protests (CNBC) Facebook’s Libra backers look to distance themselves from project (Financial Times) Amazon Has Ceded Control of Its Site. T...

Coinbase says all your bitcoin base are belong to us, Apple sues a “virtualization” company, was Amazon offering vendors a pay to play scheme with Amazon Choice, and, as always, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co MacStadium.com/ridehome Links: Exclusive: Coinbase Buys Xapo Custody for $55 Million, Eyes Lending Business (Fortune) Apple Files Lawsuit Against Virtualization Company Corellium for Illegally Replicating iOS and Apple Apps (MacRumors) Amazon offered vendors ‘Am...

I didn’t cover it, but you might have noticed that this week, bitcoin did indeed cross that magical $10,000 mark, in fact, got to $13,000 a coin only to flash crash back down again almost to $10,000. But look, seemingly the crypto spring is upon us and I was just curious as to why, so I asked Aaron Lammer, co-host of the only crypto podcast I listen to, CoinTalk to try to find out what is behind this rally. TLDR, it’s a little bit market cycles and a little bit Facebook Libra. Sponsors: HappyCog...

Well, given the news of the week, I knew we needed to do a deep dive on Libra, so I called up our friend Brady Dale at CoinDesk and we get into it. What do crypto folk think of Libra? Is he surprised by the governmental backlash? And since by the time you hear this, bitcoin might already be back above $10k dollars? Are we out of the crypto winter and into crypto spring? Sponsors: PaintYourLife.com: Text the word TECH to 48-48-48 Rhone.com/ride promocode RIDE at checkout Subscribe to the ad-free ...

More revelations about the horrible job that is Facebook Moderation, Best Buy now doubles as a Genius Bar—sorta, YouTube has some new AR tricks and is mulling some changes for kids, and the reaction to Facebook’s crypto play has me fascinated. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Castro Links: BODIES IN SEATS (The Verge) Apple expands authorized repairs to ~1,000 Best Buy Stores (TechCrunch) The new Kindle Oasis lets you adjust color temperature for night reading (The Verge) YouTube's new AR Beauty Try-On ...

Facebook announces Libra, Twitch acquires Bebo, are unmanned convenience stores something people even want, Facebook wants more houses in Silicon Valley, and LA real estate is starting to look like Silicon Valley. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Castro Links: Facebook announces Libra cryptocurrency: All you need to know (TechCrunch) FACEBOOK’S CALIBRA IS A SECRET WEAPON FOR MONETIZING ITS NEW CRYPTOCURRENCY (The Verge) Libra White Paper Shows How Facebook Borrowed From Bitcoin and Ethereum (CoinDesk) ...

This Facebook cryptocurrency is real, people, Microsoft has a blockchain product as well, Verizon is looking to unload Tumblr, Softbank is considering an IPO for the vision fund and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Instacart. Promocode RIDE at checkout. Links: Facebook Building Cryptocurrency-Based Payments System (WSJ) Project Libra: Facebook to launch stablecoin-based payments network (The Block) Report: Facebook looking to disrupt credit cards with cr...

Sometimes the bonus episodes are for getting news in areas that I might have missed or might not have made our show, but I still find interesting. This week I reached out to Brady Dale of Coindesk, because I know he’s a listener and I knew he could give us some more background on Facebook’s recent moves in crypto, but also some other crypto news we haven’t gotten to and just the state of the crypto-space generally. Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Tiny.website Subscribe to the Premium, Ad-Free Podcas...

Facebook is developing a cryptocoin for WhatsApp, Blind was not quite anonymous enough, which is the most accurate voice assistant and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co The Internet of Things Podcast Links: Facebook Is Developing a Cryptocurrency for WhatsApp Transfers, Sources Say (Bloomberg) At Blind, a security lapse revealed private complaints from Silicon Valley employees (TechCrunch) Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea Gets Promotion to Senior Vice President...

Storm clouds everywhere! Tech stocks in bear market territory, crypto in full-on meltdown territory… but video games might help solve science’s gender problem and this one spacebar trick might make your iPhone insanely more useful. Oh, and the weekend Longreads suggestions. Links: It's Official: Once Mighty FAANG Stocks Have All Entered a Bear Market (Fortune) Silicon Valley wages have dropped for all except highest-paying jobs: report (The Mercury News) Bitcoin drops 12% to below $5,000 (CNBC...

ICOs now officially securities, some steps backward in the self-driving car space, parsing the Zuckerberg New Yorker profile, and did Facebook disrespect the memory of Burt Reynolds? Stories from: @eosnos Tweets: @ezraklein, @BrendanNyhan Links:US Judge Rules ICO Frauds Fall Under Securities Law (CoinDesk)Renesas in $6.7 billion deal for IDT to boost chips for self-driving cars (Reuters)GM's Plan to Test Autonomous Cars in New York City Seems to Have Gone up in Smoke (Jalopnik)How to prepare you...

Is a Facebook cryptocurrency really possible? Can Snapchat redesign its way back into users' hearts? What's going on at Symantec? Klout strikes out. And the Weekend Longreads. Stories from: @alexeheath, @mekosoff Tweets: @om, @manjusrii, @sfiegerman Links:"It Was Cataclysmic": Can Snapchat Survive Its Redesign? (Vanity Fair)IAB says online advertising grew to $88B last year — more spending than TV (TechCrunch) Longreads:Don't Skype Me: How Microsoft Turned Consumers Against a Beloved Brand (Bloo...