CRYPTOCURRENCY

Bitcoin Passes $15,000

That’s it. That’s the headline. 

Understandably, few others are writing about bitcoin as it pertains to presidential elections. But here we are. Let’s just roll with it. 

BTC: An assorted history

• Satoshi Nakamoto distributed the bitcoin whitepaper to a cryptography listserv almost exactly 12 years ago (Halloween 2008). 64 days later, a bitcoin was born.
• You could buy one bitcoin for $10 on election night in 2012. 
• During the 2016 election, the price was $710.  
• Bitcoin last rendezvoused with $15,000 in January 2018, after maxing out north of $19,000 a month before. 

Two theories behind the speculation  

Safe haven asset. Investors park money in these assets—U.S. bonds, gold, the spot under your mattress—during downturns or geopolitical turbulence. Another source of volatility = a changing of the guard. 

• Bitcoin has some qualities that make it seem like a safe haven asset. 
• But the theory was battle-tested when markets tanked in March and the cryptocurrency briefly fell to a one-year low of $3,858. 

Novel economic institution (h/t ARK). “Money Printer Go Brrr” entered memers’ repertoire earlier this year as governments turned to bazooka-sized fiscal stimulus to cope with the pandemic. 

• The meme hits different with bitcoin: The cryptocurrency’s inflation-resistant design doesn’t let central banks (or anyone) put their thumb on the scales. 
• Boosters describe bitcoin as an asset that doesn’t lose value, like fiat money, as governments adjust monetary policy, raise the debt ceiling, etc…

Big picture: Theorizing beyond the trendlines, bitcoin faithful have ideas for why the digital gold standard will be so durable. 

2020 has more uncertainty in store 

But one thing’s for sure: Institutional players, payment processors, and tech companies are warming to bitcoin. And central banks are hatching plans to launch their own digital currencies. 

We don’t have a blockchain-based crystal ball and neither do you. But let’s play a game: When will bitcoin pass $20,000? We’ll store your answers on a distributed ledger, and when/if $20k happens, we’ll send a gift to whoever has the most accurate prediction.

EVS

Nio big Deal

In January, shares of Nio were cheaper than a PSL. 

Since then, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer has had a major glow-up: 

• Stock price up 1,220% since January 
• ~$50 billion market value—roughly equal to GM’s 
• This week’s Wall Street darling 

AKA... the “Tesla of China” 

That’s a tough title to live up to, as Nio’s nickname-sake has far less national competition (and a share price of ~$428). But like Tesla, Nio has a headline-hungry founder and a lot of ambition. 

Compared to Li Auto and Xpeng—China’s two other publicly traded EV companies—Nio is the main character. It has three electric SUV models, a battery subscription service, and self-driving technology under development. 

China’s EV goal: Chances are Nio et al will headline China's aggressive EV push. The country hopes that new energy vehicle sales (think: battery-only EVs and plug-in hybrids) will make up 25% of all car sales by 2025. 

Extra-wide lens: Electric vehicle companies, at least, seem to be having a good year. EV stocks that Barron’s tracks are up 360% on average in 2020, though trading in the sector has been “wild” over the past month. 

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Humans Only

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TECH POLICY

Beyond Repair

Picture this: You spill Coke on your Mac keyboard. You go through the stages of grief: denial, anger, steeping it in rice. But, alas, your choice is clear—accept a future typing with sticky keys...or shell out for an Apple replacement. 

The “right to repair” movement aims to put an end to strict manufacturer rules around repairs and make it easier for consumers to fix their own stuff, from game consoles to refrigerators. 

• After a new ballot measure passed in Massachusetts on Tuesday, that includes cars. 

The measure amends a 2012 law and will offer vehicle owners and mechanics access to telematics—or wirelessly transmitted data about a car and its mechanical performance—via smartphone app. 

• Until now, that information—which helps with troubleshooting and flagging maintenance concerns—has been sent to remote servers and controlled by car manufacturers. That makes third-party repairs tougher. 
• The companies have until car model year 2022 to comply. 

Zoom out: It’s a bipartisan issue. Democrats and Republicans alike have put their weight behind right-to-repair laws. In Europe, new legislation for phones, tablets, and laptops will go into effect in 2021. The U.S. may eventually follow suit. 

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BITS & BYTES

Stat: The U.S. Justice Department seized over $1 billion worth of bitcoin tied to the (shuttered) Silk Road dark web marketplace. Can we has?

Quote: “Let us pray that the progress of robotics and artificial intelligence may always serve humankind...we could say, may it ‘be human.’” —Pope Francis’s November prayer intention 

Read: Algorithms are constantly analyzing us...here’s what’s analyzing them. Check out Hayden’s inside look at the algorithmic audit process. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Qualcomm reported a “milestone quarter,” driven by 5G sales, and predicted a surge in revenues for Q4. 
• DJI announced the Mavic Mini 2, a $450 compact drone that can shoot 4K video and fly up to six miles. Stay tuned for more from us on this soon.
• Hong Kong may ban retail trading of cryptocurrencies. 
• Apple faces shortages for iPhone 12 power-management chips (per Bloomberg) and lidar hardware (per Nikkei). 
• Volvo will sell a range of fully electric trucks across Europe next year. Keep in mind...Volvo is the world’s second-largest truck maker. 
• Portland, Maine, voted to ban facial recognition. It’s the second Portland to do so.
• The FCC fined T-Mobile $200 million for Sprint’s abuse of low-income subsidies. 

GOING PHISHING

Three of the following news stories are true, and one...we made up. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. An AI camera mistook a soccer referee’s bald head for the ball—and followed it throughout the match.
2. Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will soon be joined by a Lord of the Rings-inspired AR mobile game.
3. Wynn added a “Fashion Hound” robot into its Las Vegas lobby.
4. Drones are being taught to shoot trees with darts in the name of science. 

TECH THINGAMABOBS

For musical chains: Scientists successfully stored 52 pages of Mozart sheet music in strands of synthetic DNA (and in September, they did it with an episode of Netflix show Biohackers). Listen to the Mozart piece they worked with here. 

For crash-testing: During a test lap, an autonomous race car from Roborace—headlined as the Formula One of self-driving cars—immediately swerved and crashed into a wall. And we do mean immediately. Very 2020. 

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions: 

• Retail robots: a tale of two automata 
• A dangerous “deepfake ecosystem”
• Search tech: Apple vs. Google 

GOING PHISHING ANSWER

No dice on augmented-reality LOTR...yet.