Disruptiv Newsletter: Oracle 💻 Stripe 💳 Crypto 💰 and more

Welcome to the Disruptiv newsletter! You're about to get this week's top tech and innovation insight that we saw this week. Enjoy! [disruptivflow-header] Hello FlowBankers Welcome to the Disruptiv newsletter! A weekly aggregate of relevant tech-focused quick takes. Saturday 27th January, 2024 [Start trading](113/cXx8Z04/VX5MJf7dRm1zN8mk2LlBt77jW5LNP255bKK_vN13dgpM2-ZVTW6N1vHY6lZ3kDW4-JWT448l6cNW4ksZKf2nL0HTW4yFQGL7NlWPHW90CP7g9dV06tW21fbk46TjLdjVDH2Xj6tgjB1W2YNB2M1rXMw3W7P764x56wDwqW8lCD6086f4fxW2PWjqF7y5tCBVms4jm2FKX_gMJ3kq0chZXhW38qNZ83bFFbpW8wsgSk4_-L03VKn6356Wtf4_W2KCGwN1NSfPnW8BjvkN1gcW1LW1l90MZ548wDmW6hW1gF1kw3VVW1Bvxfd5KnxdxW6ty7fd6sMkXJW997xm887SBG9dLdRsW04) FlowBank tech articles 📚 Bitcoin ETFs: The New Opportunity [shutterstock_2327473803](113/cXx8Z04/VX5MJf7dRm1zN8mk2LlBt77jW5LNP255bKK_vN13dgp82-ZVTW5BW0B06lZ3pQW3wz5QS6tP-VyW3Fq_gS4MRZJYN6gGDnk51TfpW444zXQ1_vcz0VqhBhD4ZRCCbW1rRczn6VnkZNW3-Cmjw3XkRd-VzQ_fw4Hst5cW67Q-Rg5VHry2W6hNZYz9jqLMGVd3Jjc6B8QMWN3hkWSgS-kLrV3qcgn32rVBZW6vGJfW2GZg29W1N1yxf7ftfdvW7ymq9c2Ph8XyW8DFZ0n4QZq2RW4pCD6j6jWr0Hf59j1vW04) Finally, a cash Bitcoin ETF has been approved by the SEC but what does it mean for the adoption and price of cryptocurrencies? [Read me](113/cXx8Z04/VX5MJf7dRm1zN8mk2LlBt77jW5LNP255bKK_vN13dgp82-ZVTW5BW0B06lZ3kvW5BR05165M2s-W2wMl3d5D8hKkW2w1CP61q4vNYW4CY-KF64fY-2W1z7tsk4XvwyyW2c6dQc26Dh7bW8gQ04m2hX4k_VhWv5D1l31XBW90TyvN7VGmY8W5cnpRB99md93W1Dzxvx1PfyDNN3sH8SCBmYvRW4N0R2g54W81hW3k0--65_0gW5W77jv5M5ZCKMVW7zDBPx99TKYHN6qFJkRHmtyBW1xXYMX8ynSmhf3GZVSg04) Big Technology 🍎 - Stripe, a leading fintech giant, announced it surpassed $1 trillion in total payment volume in 2023, a 25% increase from 2022, marking a significant milestone 15 years after its inception. This growth was attributed to its enterprise business, adoption by fast-growing startups, and its billing and tax services. Despite a challenging economic climate, Stripe has shown resilience with its latest valuation reaching $65 billion. The company highlighted the rapid revenue generation of start-ups founded in 2022, especially in the artificial intelligence sector, indicating a shift towards more profitable growth strategies. - The European Union's parliament has passed the world’s first major legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, known as the EU AI Act, which classifies AI technologies based on their risk levels, ranging from unacceptable to low hazard. Set to come into force at the end of May, after final approvals, this landmark regulation aims to promote innovation while ensuring the protection of fundamental rights. Despite concerns over stifling regulation potentially hampering Europe’s competitiveness in the global tech arena, the Act is viewed as a significant step in setting global standards for AI governance. The implementation phase, starting from 2025, will be crucial for addressing the dynamic challenges of AI technology, including its rapid evolution and potential for misuse. - Oracle Corporation's stock surged nearly 12% to a record close of $127.54, following its fiscal third-quarter earnings report that exceeded analysts' expectations. This performance represents the company's most significant gain since December 2021 and marks a new closing high, surpassing the previous record set in September 2023. The earnings beat was driven by a 12% increase in sales from its cloud services and license support segment, Oracle's largest business unit. Following these results, analysts from Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Bernstein Research have raised their price targets for Oracle, expressing confidence in the company's cloud infrastructure growth and potential benefits from AI-driven cloud migration. VC + Startups 🎯 - TheyDo, a leading journey management platform, announced an additional €31.1 million in funding led by Blossom Capital, and joined by global customer experience evangelist Steven van Belleghem, Highsage Ventures and 20Sales. The round will enable TheyDo to continue leading the journey management movement at scale. - - Mindfuel, a data product management company, announced the closing of a €3.75 million seed funding round led by Project A Ventures. Mindfuel has developed an all-in-one data product management software that empowers professionals to unlock the full business potential of their organization’s data and AI efforts. - Osnabrück-based NeoTaste, Germany’s fastest-growing GastroTech app, announced a €15.1 million Series A extension. The funding round is led by Earlybird, a leading European venture capital investor, with participation from returning investor Burda Principal Investments (BPI), the independent investment arm of Hubert Burda Media. Crypto 👾 - Bitcoin experienced a drop below its all-time high of $69,000 per coin but has since recovered to over $70,000. The drop was attributed to the release of data showing higher-than-expected inflation in February, leading to concerns that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates. Additionally, around $400 million in Bitcoin was shifted by Grayscale to Coinbase, potentially contributing to the downward pressure on the price. - While Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have taken a hit, smaller cap meme coins and tokens are experiencing significant gains. Dogwifhat (WIF) is up nearly 34%, Pepe (PEPE) has risen over 13%, and Solana-based meme Bonk (BONK) has jumped by almost 10%. Despite the volatility of meme coins, they have been an exception to the downward trend in the crypto market. Law and regulation 🕵️ - U.K. Judge James Mellor has ruled that Dr. Craig Wright is not the pseudonymous Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. The judge's ruling states that Wright is not the author of the Bitcoin White Paper, did not operate under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, did not create the Bitcoin System, and is not the author of the initial versions of the Bitcoin software. - The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has begun the second phase of its CBDC pilot, the e-HKD, to explore new applications and test the digital version of the Hong Kong dollar. Phase 1 of the pilot program tested the use of CBDC in retail payments, offline payments, and settlement of tokenized assets. The next phase will focus on programmability, tokenization, atomic settlement, and new use cases. Disruptiv Figure 📊 Global Digital Media Trends: A 2029 Outlook In 2023, digital media accounted for 41% of global media sales, a slight increase from the previous year, and is expected to rise to 48% by 2029, according to Statista's Advertising & Media Market Insights. The United States, already leading in digital media adoption, is projected to see digital media sales make up 55% of all media sales by 2029, outpacing the global average. Asia, while having a larger digital media market share than the global average, is anticipated to experience below-average growth, reaching 53% by 2029. Europe, currently at a 30% digital sales share, is expected to increase to 37% by 2029, indicating its slower pace in monetizing online content compared to other regions. Source: Statista [Screenshot 2024-03-15 003159] [INSTAGRAM](113/cXx8Z04/VX5MJf7dRm1zN8mk2LlBt77jW5LNP255bKK_vN13dgp82-ZVTW5BW0B06lZ3nbW5LCKqC4VZ_ppW90pF_d7glgNhVgN_f441GqldW91dhXW97-6f3W46KXck1FSnHcW79HDsb7JlHhnW2d0mRS5cYWT-W8ySyfv804MH5Mym11JWfVzsW50wm5v4WLdXNW1dk_Vz1ckPnmW2H_Rhy843K4tN866MmMt6t8QW8B0q4r6xdZ3YW5vrS_z46BQ7jW56HjYT89mFL6W8RNLNf5PzyMZVq861L4prhj8f1nChzW04)Highlights Click [here](113/cXx8Z04/VX5MJf7dRm1zN8mk2LlBt77jW5LNP255bKK_vN13dgp82-ZVTW5BW0B06lZ3m9N8XZfhVBDYQsW96q1xY6FgWLQW8TjLd56pLz3bN3kFZV_nCxvTW91s60z3C3VtfW4nnQjW4bBXy_W6RFnLY6PJj3rW7W-YZY4wbFjPW8NR34_7NX2zhW5bYhc-6z78YBV_VMgR3Df6HtW8cBmsG2dTkSHN6QFS7xsGWFYW4qTcbF5rXnbpN22xgdWG02QFW5N3-yY2FCrW-W15dzKb2-GLL7W1mXdSS7tyryff2GXQYC04)to see our page. [ambass] Don't forget to... 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