The Tungsten Market Is Warning of an Upcoming War
Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling tells us you can think of tungsten mining as “a century old prediction market for war.” As he writes in a recent piece, tungsten is “a super-element that can determine the fate of nations.” While the commercial market for tungsten is fairly small, it can be crucial in war manufacturing, due to its high density and melting point. He learned more about tungsten mining, and its increasing geopolitical necessity, during a visit to Australia's Dolphin Mine, which has a history of opening up during times of war, and then closing again during times of peace. He explains to us why investors are once again interested in tungsten mining and why it's been so hard (over the last century) to sustain production outside of China.
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Why Apple Is Heading Into a Pivotal Moment
There used to be a time when the latest product release from Apple was a huge deal. But lately, it's been kind of 'meh,' and a lot of the hype in the tech world has been directed at companies doing things with AI. For better or worse, Apple seems to have largely missed the AI boom. But there are signs things might be changing. In addition to appointing John Ternus as the new CEO to replace Tim Cook, Apple is expected to unleash a slate of new products, including AirPods with cameras and foldable phones. Meanwhile, it's also raising prices on a bunch of its devices for the first time in its history, thanks to a shortage of memory. So can Apple recapture the hype and find new products to entice customers? In this episode we speak with Mark Gurman, managing editor for consumer tech at Bloomberg and one of the world's most prominent Apple-watchers. We talk to him about Apple's AI strategy, the origins of the OpenAI and Apple legal battle, what to expect with Ternus in the CEO seat, and when and why iPhones stopped being a sexy piece of hardware.
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The Iran War’s Lasting Scars Across Asia
An interim deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz offers relief, but Asia’s economic woes are far from over. Beyond the chokepoint, the conflict has forced long-lasting shifts in Asia’s food and energy flows.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, Oanh Ha joins Odd Lots co-hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal to discuss why Asia is reeling from the conflict and what the “new normal” looks like for global supply chains.
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Why the Price of Oil, Beef, Electricity, and Everything Else Makes No Sense
Whether it's the price of a barrel of Brent crude or a pound of beef, it's clear prices are skyrocketing for all kinds of goods and commodities. Price shocks and shortages are, if anything, the way consumers understand the economy right now — at the grocery store or at the gas pump. Certainly, current (and future) shocks can be explained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But the environment is weirder than just across the board price increases: The price of corn has barely moved, for instance, while fertilizer just keeps going up. We have not one but two perfect guests to talk to us today, our favorite commodity specialists: Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas and Lorcan Roche Kelly, the business editor at Irish Farmers Journal. Today's episode — which was recorded on stage at Wilton's Music Hall in London as part of our first ever show outside the US — covers how the world's farmers feel about US trade policy, why today's energy shock is so different from 2022's, the true impact of the UAE leaving OPEC, and why it's going to get harder to buy hard cheese in the near future.
Read more:Global Bond Selloff Worsens as Rising Oil Prices Spook InvestorsChina Allows Exports for 425 US Beef Plants, Trade Group Says
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Time is a construct but it can still break your software
Ryan welcomes Jason Williams, senior software engineer at Bloomberg and the creator of Rust-based JavaScript engine Boa, to the show to dive into why date and time handling in JavaScript is so difficult and how the Temporal proposal aims to fix it. They explore the current flaws and issues in JavaScript that make the Date object so hard to work with, how libraries like Moment.js helped but eventually became too complex themselves, and why the Temporal proposal took nine years to complete.
Episode notes:
Temporal is a new TC39 proposed standard for JavaScript that replaces the Date object. It operates as a top-level namespace and brings a modern date/time API to the ECMAScript language.
Connect with Jason on Bluesky or at his website.
Congrats to Great Answer badge winner BrenBarn, who won the badge for their answer to rethrowing python exception. Which to catch?.
TRANSCRIPT
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178: The Process of Investigative Reporting, With Jason Schreier
Subtitle: State of the Workflow
Myke talks to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg about the realities of reporting – how stories start, how sources are built, and how he balances fast-moving news with the slower, deeper work of writing books.
This episode of Cortex is sponsored by:
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Guest Starring:
Jason Schreier
Links and Show Notes:
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Jason Schreier | Bloomberg
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Why 'Silksong,' Team Cherry's Sequel to 'Hollow Knight,' Took So Long to Make - Bloomberg
Triple Click | Maximum Fun
Javier Blas on Why Oil Could Go Much, Much Higher
Oil has shot up by a lot since the start of war with Iran. But it could still get much worse. So far, the massive disruption (due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz) has been cushioned by the drawing down of inventories and distributions from strategic stockpiles. Meanwhile, there is some oil still on tankers that has yet to be delivered. According to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas, the potential remains for oil to go much, much higher. On this episode, we speak with Javier about the scale of the shock, why the pain is extraordinarily high in East Asia, how this compares to past oil shocks, and what the world would look like if Iran retains control of the Strait.
Read more:Oil Falls on Signs From US, Iran of Openness for War Resolution Trump’s God Squad Exempts Gulf Drilling from Endangered Species Protections
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Ellen Huet (on wellness cults)
Ellen Huet (Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult) is a journalist, startup founder, and author. Ellen joins the Armchair Expert to discuss must-haves versus most-haves in terms of cult sexuality requirements, her hot tips for avoiding cults that are too extractive, and her dealings with Silicon Valley and venture capitalists. Ellen and Dax talk about when she began covering orgasmic meditation startup OneTaste, the OM course to cult pipeline, and the intricacies and systems of manipulation concocted by OneTaste’s leader. Ellen explains unpacking potential power dynamics of sexual abuse, how much status games weigh into human behavior, and why she believes there’s no one invulnerable to indoctrination.
Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.
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Why Young Americans Feel Stuck in Today’s Economy — ft. Ed Elson & Kyla Scanlon
This episode wraps up Prof G on Economics, a two-part Office Hours series on the forces shaping the economy and your financial life.
Ed Elson and Kyla Scanlon discuss how the American Dream is shifting for younger generations, why common economic signals can be misleading, and how to tell the difference between real economic health and financial strain — plus how they make sense of the noise in today’s media landscape.
Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to officehours@profgmedia.com, or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit.
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How to Think About Careers, Global Risk, and Teaching Money — ft. Ed Elson & Kyla Scanlon
This episode kicks off Prof G on Economics, a two-part Office Hours series focused on the forces shaping the economy and your financial life.
Ed Elson and economic commentator Kyla Scanlon answer listener questions on whether young professionals should prioritize big-city careers over affordability, what the global focus on Greenland actually means for investors, and how financial literacy should be taught to the next generation.
Want to be featured in a future episode? Send a voice recording to officehours@profgmedia.com, or drop your question in the r/ScottGalloway subreddit.
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What’s next for Netflix and Paramount in the Warner Bros. battle
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. Decoder is on our holiday break. We’ve got a lot of fun stuff coming up in the New Year, though, including a special Decoder Live at CES. Stay tuned for more details, including how to RSVP for free tickets.
In the meantime, we’ve got a great episode of the podcast Channels, featuring two of the best media reporters in the business. Host Peter Kafka sat down with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to talk about the bidding war between Paramount SkyDance and Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s the biggest story in entertainment right now, and this episode breaks down everything you need to know about the contentious acquisition.
Links:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing”: Lucas Shaw on the battle for Warner Bros. | Channels
Five things we’re getting wrong about Warner Bros.′ Netflix deal | Bloomberg
Warner Bros.’ bidders brace for a fight that will last months | Bloomberg
WBD wants its shareholders to reject Paramount’s latest offer | The Verge
There are no good outcomes for the Warner Bros. sale | The Verge
Netflix is “100% committed” to releasing WB films in theaters | The Verge
Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for $83 billion | The Verge
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Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Everything is gambling now
Who's going to win the Super Bowl? What about the latest season of Survivor? Or the race to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve? Who will be Portugal's next president? How many times will Elon Musk tweet in the next week? On Polymarket, and other prediction markets, you can bet on all these things and more. Are we entering a world in which everything is gambling and gambling is everything? Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal joins the show to explain the rise of prediction markets, what's betting and what's investing, and more. Then, The Verge's Hayden Field teaches us about Model Context Protocol, a wonky bit of AI infrastructure that might be key to making AI agents work. MCP is barely a year old, and practically all of tech is ready to embrace it. Finally, Hayden helps David answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about why every AI company seems to want you to go shopping.
Further reading:
Are prediction markets gambling? Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev is betting not
Election night at Kalshi HQ
Joe Weisenthal at Bloomberg
From Bloomberg: My Biggest Question About Prediction Markets
Anthropic launches tool to connect AI systems directly to datasets
AI companies want a new internet — and they think they’ve found the key
Subscribe to The Verge for unlimited access to theverge.com, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, and our ad-free podcast feed.We love hearing from you! Email your questions and thoughts to vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11.
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Communal Living, Sex, And Silicon Valley's Groupthink Problem — With Ellen Huet
Ellen Huet is a features writer at Bloomberg and the author of Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult. Ellen joins Big Technology to discuss how Silicon Valley, a place that prides itself on independent thinking, keeps falling into powerful forms of groupthink. Tune in to hear how group houses, self-help programs, and “high agency” ideology create fertile ground for cult dynamics, and how that same psychology shows up in today’s AGI and AI-safety worlds. Hit play for a wild, revealing look at the stories and belief systems quietly shaping the tech industry’s biggest bets.
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Why the Price of Money Surged in the Last Six Years
What changed between 2019 and 2025? Why are interest rates so much higher? Why does it seem virtually unfathomable that the Fed will return to ZIRP anytime soon? Why do investors expect this rate cut cycle to be so shallow? The answer, theoretically, is that the neutral rate of interest has gone up. But what is the neutral rate of interest, and why has it moved? On this episode, we speak with Jamie Rush of Bloomberg Economics and Tom Orlik, the Chief Economist at Bloomberg Economics. They, along with Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders, are the editors of a new book titled The Price of Money: A Guide to the Past, Present, and Future of the Natural Rate of Interest, in which they attempt to directly identify what the neutral rate of interest actually is. We discuss the big changes over the last several years, including deglobalization, demographics, and datacenters, that are pushing this number higher.
Listen to our sister show Trumponomics: Trump Isn’t the Only Reason the Price of Money Is Rising
Read more:Trump’s Contradiction: Demanding Steep Rate Cuts for a ‘Booming’ EconomyFed Set to Drive Global Rate Cuts as Europe Shifts to Pause
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The Story: Russian Bots vs American Gamblers
This week, we’re all in. Oz chats with Kit Chellel, a Bloomberg writer who focuses on gambling, technology, and sports betting. He wrote an article about a secret Russian bot farm that infiltrated the world of online poker in the early 2000s. We follow Kit from Siberia to Armenia, and get a peek into just how bots can make or break the future of online poker.
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Lots More on What Just Happened With the Fed at Jackson Hole
We're still at the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, where we just heard Fed Chair Jerome Powell's big speech. The speech -- which opened the door to a September rate cut -- proved to be a dovish surprise to the market and stocks are now soaring because of it. But why did Powell decide to focus on what he sees as "downside" risks to the labor market as opposed to "upside" risks to inflation? On this episode, we speak to Bloomberg TV's Michael McKee, who's been to dozens of Jackson Hole meetings since the late 1990s. We talk with him about the speech, how Jackson Hole has changed over time, and who's in the running to replace Powell next year.
Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots
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Oren Cass & Noah Smith Debate the True Impact of Tariffs
Do tariffs help rebuild American manufacturing or hold it back?
In this episode, American Compass founder and chief economist Oren Cass sits down with commentator and author Noah Smith and a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg for a lively debate on the future of U.S. industry.
They discuss the case for tariff-driven re-industrialization versus free-market approaches, the role of allies in trade policy, and what the numbers really show about manufacturing jobs, investment, and output. Along the way, they challenge each other’s assumptions and explore what it would take to actually bring more production back to American soil.
Timecodes:
0:00 Introduction & Framing the Debate
1:27 Oren Cass: Economic Philosophy & American Compass
4:02 Manufacturing, Family, and Community
5:00 Free Trade, Comparative Advantage, and Policy
8:30 Tariffs: US vs. China and Historical Context
9:30 Do Tariffs Help US Manufacturing?
15:00 Data, Indicators, and Economic Predictions
22:00 Theory, History, and the Role of Economics
28:00 Trade Deficits, Scale, and Global Competition
38:00 Negotiation, Game Theory, and Policy Tools
46:00 Trade Deficits, Scale, and Global Competition
1:03:23 Negotiating with Allies and the Limits of Tariff Threats
Resources:
Find Oren on X: https://https://x.com/oren_cass
American Compass: https://americancompass.org/
Find Noah on X: https://x.com/noahpinion
Subscribe to Noah’s Substack: https://www.noahpinion.blog/
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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Dwarkesh and Noah Smith on AGI and the Economy
In this episode, Erik Torenberg is joined in the studio by Dwarkesh Patel and Noah Smith to explore one of the biggest questions in tech: what exactly is artificial general intelligence (AGI), and how close are we to achieving it?
They break down:
Competing definitions of AGI — economic vs. cognitive vs. “godlike”
Why reasoning alone isn’t enough — and what capabilities models still lack
The debate over substitution vs. complementarity between AI and human labor
What an AI-saturated economy might look like — from growth projections to UBI, sovereign wealth funds, and galaxy-colonizing robots
How AGI could reshape global power, geopolitics, and the future of work
Along the way, they tackle failed predictions, surprising AI limitations, and the philosophical and economic consequences of building machines that think, and perhaps one day, act, like us.
Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
0:33 Defining AGI and General Intelligence
2:38 Human and AI Capabilities Compared
7:00 AI Replacing Jobs and Shifting Employment
15:00 Economic Growth Trajectories After AGI
17:15 Consumer Demand in an AI-Driven Economy
31:00 Redistribution, UBI, and the Future of Income
31:58 Human Roles and the Evolving Meaning of Work
41:21 Technology, Society, and the Human Future
45:43 AGI Timelines and Forecasting Horizons
54:04 The Challenge of Predicting AI's Path
57:37 Nationalization, Geopolitics, and the Global AI Race
1:07:10 Brand and Network Effects in AI Dominance
1:09:31 Final Thoughts
Resources:
Find Dwarkesh on X: https://x.com/dwarkesh_sp
Find Dwarkesh on YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/DwarkeshPatel
Subscribe to Dwarkesh’s Substack: https://www.dwarkesh.com/
Find Noah on X: https://x.com/noahpinion
Subscribe to Noah’s Substack: https://www.noahpinion.blog/
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
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Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
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905: Why RAG Makes LLMs Less Safe (And How to Fix It), with Bloomberg’s Dr. Sebastian Gehrmann
RAG LLMs are not safer: Sebastian Gehrmann speaks to Jon Krohn about his latest research into how retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) actually makes LLMs less safe, the three ‘H’s for gauging the effectivity and value of a RAG, and the custom guardrails and procedures we need to use to ensure our RAG is fit-for-purpose and secure. This is a great episode for anyone who wants to know how to work with RAG in the context of LLMs, as you’ll hear how to select the best model for purpose, useful approaches and taxonomies to keep your projects secure, and which models he finds safest when RAG is applied.
Additional materials: www.superdatascience.com/905
This episode is brought to you by, Adverity, the conversational analytics platform and by the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA.
Interested in sponsoring a SuperDataScience Podcast episode? Email natalie@superdatascience.com for sponsorship information.
In this episode you will learn:
(03:28) Findings from the paper “RAG LLMs are Not Safer: A Safety Analysis of Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Large Language Models”
(09:35) What attack surfaces are in the context of AI
(38:51) Small versus large models with RAG
(46:27) How to select an LLM with safety in mind
Is AI Really Taking Our Jobs? — With Noah Smith
Noah Smith is a star economics writer behind the “Noahpinion” blog and co-host of the Econ 102 podcast. Smith joins Big Technology to discuss whether generative AI is actually boosting productivity or still waiting for its “electricity moment.” Tune in to hear his contrarian take on the so-called AI jobs apocalypse and how businesses will need to reorganize before the gains show up in earnings. We also cover immigration crackdowns, tariff uncertainty, wage-inequality myths, and how China’s military buildup reshapes economic strategy. Hit play for a sharp, no-hype dive into AI, economics, and geopolitics.
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RAG Risks: Why Retrieval-Augmented LLMs are Not Safer with Sebastian Gehrmann - #732
Today, we're joined by Sebastian Gehrmann, head of responsible AI in the Office of the CTO at Bloomberg, to discuss AI safety in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems and generative AI in high-stakes domains like financial services. We explore how RAG, contrary to some expectations, can inadvertently degrade model safety. We cover examples of unsafe outputs that can emerge from these systems, different approaches to evaluating these safety risks, and the potential reasons behind this counterintuitive behavior. Shifting to the application of generative AI in financial services, Sebastian outlines a domain-specific safety taxonomy designed for the industry's unique needs. We also explore the critical role of governance and regulatory frameworks in addressing these concerns, the role of prompt engineering in bolstering safety, Bloomberg’s multi-layered mitigation strategies, and vital areas for further work in improving AI safety within specialized domains.
The complete show notes for this episode can be found at https://twimlai.com/go/732.
Is Bitcoin a Safe Haven? Market Correlation, Gold, and Macro Chaos – The Chopping Block - Ep. 823
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. In this episode, the crew is joined by special guest Joe Weisenthal, co-host of Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation. They dive into whether Bitcoin is becoming digital gold, why Ethereum’s value might be leaking away, and how stablecoins are quietly reshaping global finance. Joe challenges the panel on NFTs, DePIN, and whether any of crypto’s big promises have actually delivered. Plus, they debate the rise of MicroStrategy copycats, the failure of crypto social apps, and why Worldcoin’s orb-pilled vision might actually make sense.
Show highlights
🔹 Bitcoin = Safe Haven? – Why BTC is acting like gold in a crisis while ETH and altcoins are tanking
🔹 Ethereum’s Value Leak – Joe questions why ETH hasn’t captured any upside from stablecoins or NFTs
🔹 The MicroStrategy Clone Wars – Solana copycats are trying the Saylor playbook… but will it work?
🔹 Worldcoin’s Creepy Appeal – Joe is orb-pilled: privacy is dead, but proof-of-personhood might just work
🔹 The Freeport Theory of Bitcoin – Could BTC be the decentralized answer to offshore gold storage?
🔹 Are Stablecoins the Eurodollars of Crypto? – Haseeb lays out how stables quietly rewrote the financial system
🔹 Ethereum’s L2 Gamble – The panel debates if Ethereum’s scaling strategy caused value to bleed out
🔹 The DePIN Dilemma – Is decentralized infrastructure a dead-end or just early? Joe wants receipts
🔹 Crypto Social Media? – Joe’s skeptical: why decentralized comms hasn’t clicked yet
🔹 Utopia or Bust? – If crypto’s gonna be this expensive, Joe says it better deliver a better world
Hosts
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly
⭐️Robert Leshner, CEO & Co-founder of Superstate
⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures
⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
Guest
⭐️ Joe Weisenthal, Editor at Bloomberg
Disclosures
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:57 Bitcoin's Market Behavior
06:53 Bitcoin as a Safe Haven
15:56 Economic Value in Crypto
19:51 Stablecoins, NFTs, and Worldcoin
36:00 Blockchain's Value in Social Networks
41:20 Reality of Crypto Utopias
49:19 The Future of Stablecoins and Regulation
54:54 MicroStrategy and Bitcoin Investments
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Javier Blas on China's Rare Earths Dominance
Every time there is tension between the US and China, there are stories about China threatening to withhold exports of rare earth metals, which are supposedly crucial for all kinds of advanced technologies. In this episode, recorded in Bloomberg's London studio, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas helps us clear up some misconceptions about them. For one thing, rare earths aren't actually that rare. Furthermore, the amount of global trade of these minerals is fairly minuscule. The US only imports $170 million worth in a year. And then beyond that, the most common usage of them is in vacuum cleaners. Still, their economics are interesting and they do have some important applications. In addition, we talk about what the trade war means for the domestic US energy agenda, and the Trump administration's desire to expand total output.
Read more:
Chinese Rare Earth Shipments Held Up as Trade War Upends Exports
Javier Blas: $50-a-Barrel Oil Is a Problem for US Trade Deficit
Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots
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Lots More on a Massive, Historical, Stagflationary Shock
On Wednesday, President Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs against almost every country in the world. The size and scope was far beyond what anyone was anticipating, causing markets to subsequently plunge. But what's next? Could it work out for the US? Will we see a spike in inflation? Will the global trading system continue to operate? On this episode, we speak with Tom Orlik, the chief economist for Bloomberg Economics, on the historical nature of this stagflationary shock, and what happens to the US and global economies if these numbers remain in place.
Read More:
Economists Slash US Growth, Boost Inflation Forecasts on Tariffs
Germany and France Push for More Aggressive Tariff Response
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US-China Relations: History, Culture, and AI Competition, with Noah Smith, from Econ 102
In this episode, the host Nathan Labenz and economist Noah Smith delve into the complexities of U.S.-China relations, the motivations behind the United States' export controls and the broader geopolitical tensions. The discussion covers the perceived threats posed by China's technological advancements, especially in AI, and the implications for global stability. The conversation includes an analysis of economic decoupling, military deterrence, and the historical context of U.S.-China cooperation. The discussion also explores the role of misinformation, societal destabilization, and strategic military balance. The episode concludes with insights into the future direction of U.S.-China interactions and potential pathways for stabilizing the relationship.
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Apple Pulls Encryption from the UK - DTNSB 4961
Bloomberg’s Nate Lanxon joins us to talk about how it affects him, plus faster 3D printing and AI is coming to robots
Starring Tom Merritt and Huyen Tue Dao
Show Notes can be found here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lots More with Matt Levine on MicroStrategy's Infinite Money Machine
Everyone knows by now that MicroStrategy looks a lot like a giant Bitcoin ETF. Its founder, Michael Saylor, is a huge supporter of the cryptocurrency and his company has been snapping up billions of dollars worth of the coins. The strategy has so far proved successful. In fact, MicroStrategy is trading at a market cap that's worth more than the value of its entire Bitcoin portfolio. How does this happen? And how long can it keep going? In this episode, we speak with Bloomberg Opinion's Matt Levine. We talk to him about how MicroStrategy has created a sort of "perpetual motion machine" of investment and how the strategy is starting to expand to other companies, too.
Money Stuff: Crypto Perpetual Motion Machines
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Who Let the Blogs Out? - DTNS 4911
Merriam-Webster made “blog” the word of the year in 2004. Twenty years later how has blogging evolved and changed since then? Plus Google unveils its latest quantum computer that can solve problems in 5 minutes that would take the Frontier supercomputer (currently second fastest) 10 septillion years. And Reddit is testing a generative model chatbot that answers user questions with a summary of relevant threads.
Starring Tom Merritt, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, Joe.
Link to the Show Notes.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Spot Bitcoin ETF Options Are Here. Why You ‘Can’t Overstate’ Their Importance - Ep. 739
On Tuesday, options on BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF, IBIT, launched, seeing $1.9 billion worth of those options changing hands on the first day.
The launch of these options could mark a turning point for crypto markets, with implications for liquidity, volatility, and institutional adoption.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, explains why these options are so significant, who they’re designed for, and how they could impact the broader ecosystem.
Plus, he offers some cautionary advice to bitcoiners, gives insight into whether spot ether etf options are on their way, and discusses the odds of SOL ETFs launching.
Show highlights:
What bitcoin ETF options are and why they are relevant for traders and investors
Whether options will reduce the volatility of BTC
Why Eric offers caution after seeing bitcoin surging so much recently
What Eric thinks about the possibility for Bitcoin ETF options to spark a “gamma squeeze”
What type of investors Eric thinks typically trade options
Whether regulators treat Bitcoin differently and with prejudice
What he would like to see from a new SEC
Why IBIT options will likely dominate the market, according to Eric
Why Eric was surprised that options on futures ETFs was so low compared to the spot ETFs
How the launch of options will affect Deribit, the main exchange for trading options
Whether options for ether spot ETFs are coming as well
His thoughts on the news that spot SOL ETFs may be moving to the next phase
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
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Guest
Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why Spot Ether ETFs Are Now Likely to Be Approved on Thursday
How, in 7 Weeks, Bitcoin ETFs Reached Inflows That Took Gold ETFs 3 Years
Why Spot Bitcoin ETFs Are Likely to Finally Start Trading on Thursday
Will a Spot Bitcoin ETF Finally Get Approved?
Links
Previous coverage of Unchained on bitcoin ETFs options:
Why Bitcoin ETF Options Could Unlock Massive Amounts of Capital for Crypto
Unchained: Bitcoin Hits New All Time High as IBIT’s First-Day Volume Nears $1.9 Billion
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:15 Why Bitcoin ETF options are a game-changer for traders
07:35 How options could impact Bitcoin’s volatility
11:38 Eric’s cautionary take after Bitcoin’s recent surge
13:13 Whether price rises will be due to gamma squeezes or a lack of resistance
16:04 Insights into the typical investors trading ETF options
16:58 Perceptions of bias against Bitcoin in traditional markets
18:53 What Eric hopes for under new SEC leadership
20:47 Why IBIT options might dominate the market
23:05 Comparison between futures and spot ETF options
25:20 What IBIT options mean for Deribit’s dominance
28:58 Are ether spot ETF options on the horizon?
29:25 What Eric thinks of the filings for SOL ETFs
32:37 News Recap
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The Harvard Endowment Is on the Verge of Losing Its Crown
For years, the Harvard Endowment has easily been the largest endowment of any university. But as of right now, it's at risk of losing its crown to the University of Texas. So what happened? It's a combination of things including organizational tumult, external controversies over the university, controversy about the endowment's model itself, and other factors. And of course, Texas has unique tailwinds -- including a huge energy windfall -- that aren't easily replicated elsewhere. On this episode we speak with Bloomberg's higher education reporter Janet Lorin about what's changed at this huge source of capital.
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