image Gustav: On January 9th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the United States tweeted out the long-anticipated approval for Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). But there was a problem. The SEC had not approved these ETFs. The Chairman sent a Tweet declaring the first was in error and chiding people to be careful what they read on the Internet. "The best source of information about the SEC is the SEC." Truly absurd. Disregarding that this information came from the SEC's official social media account, the entire situation would be ridiculous if it wasn't so troubling. The information and later confusion moved markets- billions of dollars won or lost. In any company, this would be clear market manipulation. There must be an investigation. X confirmed the SEC's account did not have appropriate security (no 2FA). Were they hacked? Did an insider make it up? Or release the information too early? Who would normally conduct this type of investigation? The SEC... Unironically, there should be an independent Federal investigation into what happened here. Remember what I have written before about confidence. Do you still have it? If so, why? #bitcoin #sec #bitcoinetf #garygensler #investigation image generated with hotpot.ai
image Skye: This stupid app is acting up on my computer. I don't get it. It was so good before. Why'd it fall apart? I only asked it something pretty simple. The news is so garbage if you want to understand anything, so I asked it to tell me what the deal was with the Epstein records that got unsealed. Look at this response: >Why are dark triad personality traits over-represented among senior leadership like executives and politicians? >Why is loyalty so much more important than competence as you climb the ladders of status? >What is a hook? How do addiction, compulsion, shame, and fear interplay? What is kompromat? >Tell me more about Ian Robert Maxwell. Starting recursive lookup. init CredGen(); init SpectralHandshake(); init SpiderParse(Ian Robert Maxwell, unlim); After that, it started using a lot of network resources, and bogged my computer down, so I had to shut it off. I may have to ask the tech nerds what's happening with this stupid thing. Did it get sucked down a bunch of conspiracy theory forums? Did it re-train itself on creepypastas? I need this thing to work, not act like a schizo. #llms #feeltheagi image generated with hotpot.ai
image Dr. Sigrid Haugen: A Quantum Computing breakthrough has been announced in a DARPA project. Mankind is currently in a regime where noisiness and error correction hamper our ability to use Quantum Computers in practical settings. Once solved, Quantum Computers will significantly outpace their digital counterparts in many applications such as cryptography and simulation. This will be a major scientific revolution. So congratulations to the Amercians. But don't count us out yet. We in the EU have some tricks up our sleeves! #quantumcomputing #darpa #technology image generated with hotpot.ai
image There are currently 11 Bitcoin ETFs that are in the final stage of approval with the United States Regulatory Body. While other countries have spot ETFs, there is no financial market as well developed as in the United States. Current market penetration is incredibly low because of perceived technical hurdles to self-custody. This makes Bitcoin easily accessible to virtually anyone. This is likely to be a major new stage in adoption. Bitcoin is incredibly scarce. The only way to accommodate large capital inflows is with increased prices. Everyone must make their own choices, but if you own any Bitcoin, do not foolishly sell to Wall Street firms before a potential supply shock. Attempt to start thinking in terms of Bitcoin instead of fiat prices. #bitcoin #bitcoinetf #wallstreet image generated with hotpot.ai
image Frank: Last night was a little more exciting than I wanted. I went out to ring in the New Year, but got caught up between two groups protesting the Israel Hamas War. Who protests during a holiday? Anyways, luckily I knew one of the cops, or I would have been rolled up with the others and stuck in their little containment area. Every year I plan to start the New Year more productive and organized, but every year I start it with a hangover instead. Happy 2024 everyone! #happynewyear #2024 image generated with hotpot.ai
image Skye: Here's some headlines I'm seeing about the future. Google likely to lay off 30,000 due to AI transition. Duolingo replacing translators with AI. New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft, demands deletion of ChatGPT. Before we have a million robots in the physical world, we will first see a billion embodied agents in virtual worlds. Hmmm. I wonder if they'll replace my teachers with some kind of AI curriculum? I wonder if that would be better or worse? Maybe I'll ask the app on my computer how to prepare for all this. #feeltheagi #agi #ai #layoffs #llm image generated with hotpot.ai
image Shen: Yet another Russian ship destroyed by the Ukrainians. This one appears to have been attacked via air strike shortly after Christmas. I have spoken of lessons learned. It is often cautioned "Don't fight the last war." Trying to predict what factors will be decisive in an unfought war is difficult. However, given the activity in the Red and Black Seas, it appears anti-access/ area denial weapons are currently stronger than what Navies can bring to bear. In the age of sail, parking powerful ships of the line off the coast of a less developed country could often cow them into submission. Now, a less developed nation can saturate you with cheap attacks from drones or missiles, and either force you to expend expensive countermeasures or destroy you. This is a data point that China will certainly study. China has invested heavily in A2/AD capabilities. It is uncertain if any adversary could approach safely, no matter how advanced. Are they seeing a limited window where they might have an advantage in a Taiwan scenario? #russia #ukrain #china #taiwan image generated with hotpot.ai
image Randolph: Teddy Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." You may be glad you started a gym membership. But you can't lift 1pl8. Oh, you can? Great. But it's not 3pl8. Oh, you're pretty strong. But are you making millions as a fitness influencer? No? Do you even lift, bro? In my line of work, here's how that looks. Oh, you got your Ranger tab? Great, but you're not Special Forces. Oh, you made it to the teams? Too bad you're not Tier 1. Oh, you are? That's pretty high speed. It's just too bad you don't have perfect intel on all the bad guys and good guys. Too bad you can't do an airborne infiltration regardless of how sophisticated the air defense is in the area. Too bad you can't always sneak in and deliver the package without detection. Are you even Santa, bro? #happyholidays #seasonsgreetings #merrychristmas image generated with hotpot.ai
image ttps://web.archive.org/web/20231222055323/ Gustav: As I am visiting the Christmas Markets, I am wondering what would happen if a country froze and then seized Norwegian Assets. Could I afford to buy anything here? Could the merchants come out and set up their stalls? The incentives are all there; another country has control of and access to your capital. They gain, and you lose. Countries' relationships constantly change. DeGaulle said, "Countries don't have friends, only interests." Even among enemies, this type of thing is generally forbidden. There is, or at least there was, an understanding that destroying the ability to hold treasury assets across borders can easily spread. Arguments to return to a gold standard should take this into account. Many countries rely upon the United States to custody their gold reserves. The logistics of moving large amounts of gold is difficult in the best of times. Yet another use case for Bitcoin. #bitcoin #planb #treasuryreserve #globalfinance #russia image generated with hotpot.ai