Crypto Biz: Hyperinflation and Bitcoin wagers, AI replacing first jobs and more
Crypto investors around the world express their concerns on United States inflation and how it can affect the price of Bitcoin. One well-known crypto personality made a bet on the future of the US economy and paid out $1.5 million, resulting in people worldwide having faith in the digital currency as a safe haven in case of hyperinflation. In this week’s Crypto Biz, we explore these bets and other significant news in the crypto world.
Closely watched “bet” between former Coinbase CTO, Balaji Srinivasan, and pseudonymous Twitter user James Medlock worth $1 million has finally been settled. The Bitcoin bet started when Medlock offered to bet anyone $1 million that the United States would not experience hyperinflation. A few hours later, Balaji accepted the bet, claiming that a crisis was impending and would result in the deflation of the US dollar, leading to hyperinflation, taking the BTC price to $1 million. Balaji paid $1.5 million to settle the wages, donated $500,000 to Bitcoin core developers, gave $500,000 to charity, and paid $500,000 to Medlock.
Business intelligence platform, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investment strategy, is still alive and strong and posted its first quarterly profit since 2020 of $94 million, primarily attributed to a one-time income tax benefit of $453.2 million. The firm further reduced its leverage by repaying a $161 million Bitcoin-backed loan from the now-collapsed Silverage Bank and achieved a 2.2% increase in revenue from last year, standing at $121.9 million. The firm continues to execute its dual method of growing business intelligence software and acquiring Bitcoin because it believes that its Bitcoin thesis is a “pretty good way to outperform the market.”
Citi analysts lowered its price target and downgraded shares of Coinbase’s stock from “buy” to “neutral,” stating that Coinbase’s stock price would continue to be “weighed down” until regulators establish the legal “rules of the road” in the United States, as the crypto exchange is still in a battle with regulators. Despite this, investment firm ARK Invest didn’t belabor Coinbase’s stock’s bearish sentiment, increasing its exposure to the crypto exchange and purchasing 168,869 Coinbase shares for its exchange-traded funds worth $8.5 million.
IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, mentioned that the company will put a “pause” on hiring for “back-office” roles that can be potentially automated by artificial intelligence. According to Krishna, the first to be automated by AI will be back-office positions such as human resources and accounting departments, with almost 30% of these roles being “easily” replaced by AI over five years. IBM has 282,000 employees globally, with nearly 26,000 holding non-customer-facing positions.
According to Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX, the devaluation of money will progressively eat away the wealth of the majority of people, thanks to long-term inflation on the horizon. Therefore, his investment thesis focuses on preserving wealth by investing in digital assets, giving people an excellent opportunity to protect against the inflationary downfall of money.
In conclusion, these events signify that Bitcoin continues to be seen as a safe haven in times of turmoil in mainstream finance. Stay tuned for more news and updates in the Crypto Biz world.
Crypto Biz explores the latest wild wager on Bitcoin prices, inflation fears and the jobs that artificial intelligence will soon replace.
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According to https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-biz-hyperinflation-and-bitcoin-wagers-ai-replacing-first-jobs-and-more
The material in this article is written on the basis of another article.