Previewing our post-COVID future
The Economist’s new “normality index” confirms that some pandemic-related changes in tech usage are here to stay
Re-sharing below the latest edition of #Web3 Weekly, my regular newsletter about decentralization. If you’d like to get it in your inbox every Sunday, subscribe here.
Much ink has been spilled lately on what our post-COVID world will look like. Heck, entire books have already been written on the topic by CNN host Fareed Zakaria, economist James Rickards, and others.
But those contributions notwithstanding, if you just want a good 10-minute take, I’d highly recommend this story from The Economist discussing their new “normality index.” One of their data journalists, James Fransham, devised the metric as a way to quantify how everyday life in different countries is returning to its previous state (or not) now that the pandemic is receding.
Of course, lasting changes in people’s technology usage will be a big part of the puzzle here over time. For instance, Fransham’s research already suggests that Italians’ long-held preference for shopping at physical marketplaces seems to have changed now that many of them have become accustomed to online buying.
Little shifts like this in other areas like education, office culture, and so on may leave societies around the world in a very different place post-COVID.
On to some other headlines:
- The recently formed Bitcoin Mining Council estimated that 56% of energy used to mine bitcoin globally in the second quarter came from sustainable sources. Also notable: The group’s announcement carried an Austin, Texas dateline, underscoring the Lone Star State’s growing role as a mining hotbed since China began a crackdown on bitcoiners.
- USDC is surging in the stablecoin race thanks to its popularity on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. The dollar-based token is on track to push its market share above 50% soon and surpass Tether as the category leader, according to Messari analyst Ryan Watkins. Meanwhile, the payments company Circle, which leads development of USDC along with Coinbase, announced it will go public on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Sales of non-fungible tokens hit $2.5 billion in the first half of 2021, Reuters reports. Artwork and sports collectibles have been particularly ripe ground for NFT creators this year. In a likely sign of more such activity to come, CoinShares chief strategist Meltem Demirors joined the board of Topps, America’s oldest sports card company.
- Visa said its customers did over $1 billion in transactions using crypto-linked cards in the first half of 2021.
- Financial firms’ appetite for crypto remains solid globally. A new survey by Nickel Digital Asset Management of institutional investors and wealth managers from five major countries who currently have exposure to digital assets showed that 82% expect to increase their exposure through 2023. Such demand already seems to be filtering into crypto markets, which saw net capital inflows of $63 million in week ended July 5. That snapped a four-week string of outflows, according to CoinShares data. Meanwhile, a promising sign from Wall Street: Bank of America is set to launch a new crypto research team, according to Bloomberg News.
- The ex-chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said the U.S. should have an exchange-traded fund pegged to bitcoin. Writing for Bloomberg Opinion, he said such a listing would benefit both investors and regulators. Officials have so far been hesitant to approve several ETF proposals, which would allow investors to bet on bitcoin via conventional stock brokerage accounts.
- There’s a growing schism between Facebook’s top two bosses, the New York Times reports. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg have clashed over handling of Trump presidency and the rise of misinformation on the social platform in general, according to the Times.
- The world now has nine centibillionaires. Seven of the exclusive $100 Billion Club’s members come from Big Tech, including the newest addition: former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
- Next step: terminators. The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon opposes a proposed ban on artificially intelligent weapons that has already gained support from 30 countries. But it may be too late as AI-powered missiles, guns, and drones are already killing people in combat, the Post says.
- “Gen X” was a trending topic on Twitter. No idea what prompted this on Tuesday, but definitely got a chuckle out of it as an Xer myself. (Even better that Tuesday happened to be my birthday.) In particular, the memes were epic.
That’s it for now. As ever, a quick disclaimer: This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only, not as investment advice. For the latter, please DYOR and consult appropriate financial professionals to make the most suitable choices for your particular needs.
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