Good morning!
This Monday edition features:
Bitcoin’s price nears $63k all-time high
Apple’s next product launch event is today
How YouTube makes sure its hitmakers don’t stumble
Valve bans blockchain games and NFTs on Steam
And “Squid Game” will earn Netflix $900 million
It’s October 18, 2021.
1. BitKing
Bitcoin price nears $63k all-time high: Here’s why (CNET)
Bitcoin is at it once again. The original cryptocurrency broke the $60,000 barrier over the weekend, to a brief high of $62,600, for the first time in six months. The price of Bitcoin stands at $62,362 as of 08:30 in Tel Aviv, putting it in range of the all-time high price of $64,800 reached on April 14.
The uptick was caused by news on Friday that the SEC is set to greenlight Bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bitcoin futures will allow investors to speculate on the price of Bitcoin without having to actually buy any of the cryptocurrency and are theoretically less volatile than investing in Bitcoin itself.
A futures ETF is notably different from a standard ETF, which Bitcoin enthusiasts have been lobbying for. A typical ETF would give investors exposure to the underlying asset whereas a Futures ETF allows investors to speculate on the price of the asset. Policymakers have said in the past that cryptocurrencies are too prone to fraud and manipulation to be approved for ETFs backed by actual Bitcoins.
Regardless, the fact that cryptocurrencies are being integrated into the SEC's framework was enough to boost Bitcoin and many other currencies. Ethereum, which is the most widely used cryptocurrency, is up 13% from a week ago. Its price stands at $3,847, close to its all-time high of $4,168 on May 11.
2. 🍎
Apple has spent two years revamping the MacBook, and Monday should show the final step (CNBC)
Apple is holding a launch event later today to announce new products, likely including a redesigned MacBook Pro. The tech giant has a chance to drive continued momentum to its Macs ahead of the holiday shopping season, especially since it’s expected to announce more computers that run on its own chips instead of Intel’s.
Recent computers that run on the company’s powerful M1 processor have “fueled” Mac growth. In the most recent three quarters ending in June 2021, Apple sold $26 billion in Macs, up nearly 33% from the $19.59 billion it sold in the same period last year. “In fact, the last three quarters for Mac have been its three best quarters ever,” Cook said in June.
Here’s what to expect today:
A completed transition. If Apple indeed announces new MacBook laptops, it will be the culmination of a two-year transition to completely revamp the entire Mac lineup. Since 2019, Apple has been replacing Intel processors inside Macs with its own processors, called M1.
Apple is also likely to provide a release date for macOS Monterey, the latest version of the Mac software, which was announced in June but has not yet been officially released.
Apple’s new MacBook Pro could include an HDMI port, an SD card port, and a new version of its MagSafe magnetic charger. The 2017 MacBook Air was the last laptop to feature MagSafe charging.
Apple’s computer shipments grew 10% during the third quarter, according to IDC, but the pandemic trends that lifted all manufacturers seem to have slowed significantly. Before the pandemic, PCs were one of the slowest-growing tech markets, with several years of flat growth in the past decade. Apple hopes shiny new Macs can buck that trend.
3. Creator Economy
How YouTube makes sure its hitmakers don’t stumble (The Wall Street Journal)
When comedian Adande Thorne met with his YouTube adviser last year, Audrey Eatherly, the feedback was blunt: His new videos weren’t working. Eatherly’s guidance is part of the unseen scaffolding that has built YouTube into a Goliath.
To sustain its explosive growth, it needs creators like Mr. Thorne to continue attracting viewers. That increasingly demands the kind of in-house consulting services Ms. Eatherly and her colleagues supply. The YouTube team works closely with popular video makers at the forefront of the creator economy.
YouTube has more than 1,000 employees across 45 countries to offer advice and guidance to its creators, and executives say it is hiring more.
Snap said it is hiring talent partners in Europe and Latin America to work with public figures and internet personalities called “Snap Stars.”
Former employees at TikTok say it employs dozens of strategists who work directly with major contributors.
Instagram has created an emerging-talent team of more than 40 people who are tasked with finding future celebrities.
YouTube’s strategic partnership managers advise about 12,000 creators, said Jamie Byrne, the platform’s senior director of creator partnerships. Each is assigned a portfolio of about 10 to 20 video makers. If a star producer misses a weekly video post, the YouTube managers are likely to know why, Mr. Byrne said. “We’re texting with them at all days, all hours,” Mr. Byrne said. “We have a close connection.”
4. NFTs
Valve bans blockchain games and NFTs on Steam, Epic will try to make it work (The Verge)
Games that use blockchain technology or let users exchange NFTs or cryptocurrencies won’t be allowed on Steam, according to a rule added to Valve’s “What you shouldn’t publish on Steam” list. Steam is one of the most well-known PC game stores.
While Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney has said that the company isn’t interested in touching NFTs, that policy doesn’t seem to apply to games in its store: Epic told The Verge that it’s “open” to the idea of games that use NFTs or cryptocurrencies in an email on Friday.
It’s perhaps understandable why Steam would want to avoid having NFTs on its platform. NFT and crypto-based games don’t have the best reputations. There’s the infamous Evolved Apes saga where a developer sold NFTs with the promise that they’d be included in a fighting game but then seemingly took the money and ran.
Steam and Epic’s different approaches highlight the fact that any platform or store that moderates content will likely have to make a decision about whether it wants to allow apps or games to sell NFTs.
5. Streaming Wars
Netflix estimates ‘Squid Game’ will be worth almost $900 million (Bloomberg)
Netflix estimates that its latest megahit, “Squid Game,” will create almost $900 million in value for the company, underscoring the windfall that one megahit can generate in the streaming era. Netflix differs from movie studios and TV networks in that it doesn’t generate sales based on specific titles, instead using its catalog and a steady drumbeat of new releases to entice customers every week.
About 132 million people have watched at least two minutes of “Squid Game” in the show’s first 23 days, smashing the Netflix record set by “Bridgerton.”
Netflix estimates that 89% of people who started the show watched at least 75 minutes (more than one episode) and 66% of viewers, or 87 million people, have finished the series in the first 23 days. People have spent more than 1.4 billion hours watching the show.
“Squid Game” stands out both for its popularity, and its relatively low cost. The South Korean show, about indebted people in a deadly contest for a cash prize, generated $891.1 million in impact value, a metric the company uses to assess the performance from individual shows. The show cost just $21.4 million to produce -- about $2.4 million an episode.
The document underscores just how successful this one show has been for Netflix, and offers the clearest picture yet as to how the world’s most popular online TV network judges the success of its programming. Netflix has released self-selected viewership metrics for a handful of TV shows and movies, but it doesn’t share its more detailed metrics with the press, investors, or even the programs’ own creators.
6. Funding, IPOs, M&As
📱 ironSource Acquires Tapjoy For $400 Million: The addition will strengthen IS’s platform that helps mobile app devs monetize.
📈 TradingView Gets $298 Million: The financial information platform and social network is now valued at over $3 billion.
💰 Airwallex Enters US Market With $200 Million: The Australian fintech startup is now valued at $4 billion after its Series E.
📱 Grin Raises $110 Million: Influencer marketing management company Grin has closed funding led by Lone Pine Capital.
✈️ Reliable Robotics Lands $100 Million Series C: The company is taking autonomous cargo plans where none have gone before.
🏘 Zeus Living Closes $55 Million: The startup offers flexible, furnished rentals and is now expanding beyond corporate housing.
⚕️ Tentarix Launches With $50 Million: Tentarix was launched to develop antibody-based cancer-killing treatments.
🛸 Space Perspective Raises $40 Million Series A: Space Perspective plans to offer stratospheric balloon rides.
☁︎ Convex Announces $39 Million Series B: The software platform is focused on digitizing commercial services.
🛒 Karma Gets $25 Million Series A: Tel Aviv-based Karma is an AI-powered shopping assistant tool.
🖥 MagicCube Raises $15 Million: MagicCube is aiming to ‘replace all chips’ starting with POS terminals.
🌱 Agreena Secures $4.7 Million Seed: The regenerative farming carbon startup has raised funds led by Giant Ventures.
As always, please feel free to share questions, feedback, or requests for future newsletters.
Cheers!
Eric
#BeAmbitious