Cryptocurrencies News & Analysis — The Information

Recent Articles about Cryptocurrencies

Art by Clark Miller

The Ben Horowitz Paradox

By Julia Black · Oct 11, 2024 9:00am PDT · 3 comments

On the night of Sept. 21, a group of Black entrepreneurs, investors and Congressional Black Caucus members navigated a labyrinth of gated security to reach a megamansion with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Their hosts: venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, his wife Felicia and Rep. Steven Horsford, chair of the Democratic congressional group. As... On the night of Sept. 21, a group of Black entrepreneurs, investors and Congressional Black...

Photo via Getty

VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could harness blockchain technology was to run prediction markets. Proponents believed blockchain would help ensure payouts to winners, without the need to find a bookie and argue over results. Those efforts largely failed because those sites were... At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could...

Pro Weekly: Soaring Optimism About Tech Companies

Pro Weekly: Soaring Optimism About Tech Companies

By Akash Pasricha · Sep 20, 2024 8:00am PDT

What a difference a month makes. Respondents to our September survey were markedly more optimistic than in August about 13 of the 14 big tech companies we regularly ask them about. The exception was Coinbase, where reader sentiment was essentially unchanged. The results mirrored a surge in optimism among readers compared with last month... What a difference a month makes. Respondents to our September survey were markedly more...

An AI rendering of the gang at Burning Man. Credit: Runway and Pica.

Telegram, Free Speech and Its Limits

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 30, 2024 10:36am PDT

An AI rendering of the gang at Burning Man. Credit: Runway and Pica.

Telegram, Free Speech and Its Limits

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 30, 2024 10:36am PDT

Should you have free speech inside America if you are not an American? That was one of the meaty questions we discussed this week, following the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov. The gang took the opportunity to check in on deeper questions that remain unanswered about freedom of speech and censorship. While the topic can feel... Should you have free speech inside America if you are not an American? That was one of...

Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung. Photo via Web Summit.

Pro Weekly: Even Crypto Firms Are Thinking IPO

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 28, 2024 8:00am PDT

There are dozens of tech companies hoping to go public, including specialists in enterprise software, retail, artificial intelligence—and most surprisingly, crypto. This week, we reported that Animoca Brands, which owns stakes in more than 400 crypto and metaverse companies, is looking into going public next year. The company was previously... There are dozens of tech companies hoping to go public, including specialists in enterprise...

Art by Shane Burke.

Trillion-Dollar Asset Manager Franklin Templeton Explores New Crypto Fund

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 6, 2024 6:50am PDT

Franklin Templeton, the 77-year-old mutual fund heavyweight named in honor of founding father Benjamin Franklin, is exploring launching a new crypto fund that will invest in a range of tokens beyond bitcoin and ether, according to people with direct knowledge of the effort. While some traditional asset managers like BlackRock and Fidelity have... Franklin Templeton, the 77-year-old mutual fund heavyweight named in honor of founding father...

Funding for Generative AI Startups Shifts to Applications

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 10, 2024 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

In the world of generative artificial intelligence startups, chatbots are so 2023. This year, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are building and backing new applications of the emerging technology, including humanlike robots and voice generators. In the first quarter, venture capitalists plowed more than $2.2 billion into startups tracked by... In the world of generative artificial intelligence startups, chatbots are so 2023. This year,...

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Pro Weekly: Companies Line Up at the IPO Window

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 5, 2024 8:00am PDT

Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Pro Weekly: Companies Line Up at the IPO Window

By Akash Pasricha · Apr 5, 2024 8:00am PDT

The market for initial public offerings seems to be heating up, and we’ve been updating and enhancing The Information’s Tech IPO Tracker to keep pace. On Monday, data security software firm Rubrik filed its public IPO prospectus, suggesting it will debut on the stock market later this month or in early May. Shopping rewards company Ibotta... The market for initial public offerings seems to be heating up, and we’ve been updating and...

Introducing The Information’s Tech Sentiment Tracker

By Shane Burke · Apr 4, 2024 6:00am PDT

When The Information began surveying readers about their outlook for 14 big tech companies in February 2023, the tech industry was in turmoil. Stocks were receding from their pandemic highs and layoffs were surging. Today, major stock indices are at all-time highs and tech companies big and small are racing to capitalize on advances in... When The Information began surveying readers about their outlook for 14 big tech companies in...

Photo by Greg Doherty/Variety via Getty Images.

Reddit’s IPO Will Test Investors’ AI Gullibility

By Martin Peers · Mar 5, 2024 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

IPO watchers are gearing up. We’re likely only a couple of weeks away from the next high-profile IPO, this time of Reddit, a social media service. The first big-name tech debut since last fall’s flurry of offerings from Instacart, Arm and Klaviyo, Reddit’s debut presents a test of investor gullibility. The company has suggested in its IPO filing... IPO watchers are gearing up. We’re likely only a couple of weeks away from the next high-profile...

Chipper Cash CEO and co-founder, Ham Serunjogi. Photo by Getty.

The Latest Fintech Retreat: a $2 Billion Challenger to Western Union Suspends U.S. Services

By Abubakar Idris · Mar 5, 2024 1:16pm PST

In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African payment startups, enthusiastic about their potential to revolutionize access to financial services on the African continent. Among the lucky startups was Chipper Cash, a San Francisco–based firm that raised $300 million from Jeff Bezos’s... In the go-go days of 2020–22, venture capitalists poured billions of dollars into African...

Former FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji. Photo via YouTube/Art by Shane Burke.

The FDIC’s First Chief Innovation Officer Made Big Claims. Many Don’t Stack Up

By Michael Roddan · Feb 9, 2024 6:00am PST · 5 comments

Former FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji. Photo via YouTube/Art by Shane Burke.

The FDIC’s First Chief Innovation Officer Made Big Claims. Many Don’t Stack Up

By Michael Roddan · Feb 9, 2024 6:00am PST · 5 comments

In 2015, fintech founder and eventual FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji was sitting in a co-working space when a loud bang clapped through the room. It startled his colleagues, a group of founders from the St. Louis startup community, according to a person who was there. Meghji turned to a colleague and said the violent pop gave him... In 2015, fintech founder and eventual FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji was sitting in...

Dean Phillips photo by Gaelen Morse/Getty Images. Art by Clark Miller

Q&A

Dean Phillips on His Bid to Disrupt Biden—and Trump

By Scott Thurm · Jan 13, 2024 5:55am PST · 2 comments

Dean Phillips thinks too much government tech policy dwells on the negative. In an interview, the Minnesota congressman—who is mounting a long-shot bid to challenge Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination—said regulations need to prevent “nefarious use” of artificial intelligence, but he’s equally... Dean Phillips thinks too much government tech policy dwells on the negative. In an interview, the...

JPMorgan's Onyx Lounge in Decentraland, complete with digital tiger. Photo via YouTube/BeFuture.

JPMorgan’s Blockchain Business Onyx Searches for Its Identity—and Revenue

By Michael Roddan · Nov 16, 2023 6:00am PST · 2 comments

In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. Inside a crypto-focused virtual world called Decentraland, users could visit the swanky Onyx lounge, named after the bank’s blockchain operations, to mingle with fellow crypto enthusiasts and watch videos of the bank’s experts discussing... In early 2022, JPMorgan Chase proudly claimed it was the first bank to enter the metaverse. ...

Art by Clark Miller

If You’re Ripping Michael Lewis’ Book on Sam Bankman-Fried, You’re Reading It Wrong

By Adam Lashinsky · Oct 14, 2023 6:00am PDT · 12 comments

My hopes and dreams when I tucked into “Going Infinite,” Michael Lewis’ controversial book about Sam Bankman-Fried, were the same as they always are when reading our foremost chronicler of financial renegades and miscreants. First, I wanted to be entertained by Lewis’ honeyed prose and syrupy storytelling—the snappy... My hopes and dreams when I tucked into “Going Infinite,” Michael Lewis’...

Photo by Getty

Apple and Biden Aren’t Aligned on China

By Martin Peers · Aug 29, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Photo by Getty

Apple and Biden Aren’t Aligned on China

By Martin Peers · Aug 29, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

If Apple was a country, its annual sales—nearly $400 billion last year—would make it roughly the 40th biggest economy in the world, ahead of Iran and on par with Denmark. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that Apple appears to have its own foreign policy, one that isn’t always totally aligned with U.S. policy, at least when it comes to dealing... If Apple was a country, its annual sales—nearly $400 billion last year—would make it roughly the...

Photo by Getty.

The IPO Window Is Open. But Are Founders Ready?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 24, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Bankers are busy. IPO lawyers are hard to reach. It’s go time again for Silicon Valley IPOs. Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo are preparing their offerings, with filings from the last two expected tomorrow. Beauty company Oddity and restaurant brand Cava have gone out and are trading above their IPO prices. Companies are hiring chief financial... Bankers are busy. IPO lawyers are hard to reach. It’s go time again for Silicon Valley...