updraftplus domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/aonyeani76/cryptocurrencypanther/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131hustle domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/aonyeani76/cryptocurrencypanther/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131wpforms-lite domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/aonyeani76/cryptocurrencypanther/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131
Thumzup, the media marketing company that recently adopted a Bitcoin (BTC) strategy with a $1 million purchase, has announced plans to add crypto payments for gig economy workers.
In a Nov. 19 announcement, Thumzup Media Corporation said it planned to soon add Bitcoin to its gig economy workers. The publicly-traded company will offer this option via its Account Specialist Program (ASP). It’s a move that expands on the marketing solutions provider’s businesses that allows its clients to pay cash to fans via Venmo and PayPal.
Thumzup is the app that rewards you for being you! Share your authentic self at one of your favorite businesses or brands in a reel or photo, and get paid for it. Learn more: https://t.co/7L87alJRWK $TZUP #SocialMedia #Marketing pic.twitter.com/BrelOoLPGQ
— Thumzup Media Corporation (@thumz_up) November 15, 2024
This latest move also adds to the growing adoption of cryptocurrency payments, particularly in the gig economy.
For its feature, Thumzup will leverage top crypto platforms like Coinbase to integrate BTC into its payout system.
“We’re thrilled to empower the gig economy with the option of Bitcoin payments, especially in tech-forward areas like Los Angeles and South Florida,” Robert Steele, chief executive officer of Thumzup, said in a statement.
“This initiative offers them faster transactions, lower fees, and more financial privacy. Plus, with Bitcoin’s growing acceptance, they can easily use their earnings for daily expenses or as a potential investment,” Steele added.
Thumzup plans to roll out the ASP feature with crypto payments from January 2025. While the new model is expected to see greater traction, Thumzup will continue to support traditional bank payments for those that prefer the existing options.
According to a recent report, a portion of OpenAI‘s workforce has expressed discontent with the company’s leadership. Reports suggest that approximately 75% of the staff, which includes high-ranking executives, have signed a letter threatening to join Sam Altman’s new AI venture at Microsoft. This move underscores a growing rift within the organization following the unexpected removal of Altman as CEO.
The protest letter, reportedly signed by over 500 employees, represents most of OpenAI’s staff. It criticizes the board’s decision-making capabilities and indicates a preference for employment opportunities with Microsoft, should resignations become necessary. This development indicates the internal turmoil and dissatisfaction with the current leadership.
Among the notable signatories are Mira Murati, former interim CEO, and COO Brad Lightcap. Their participation in this protest highlights the extent of the internal disagreement over the direction of OpenAI. The situation was further complicated by chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who initially supported the board’s decisions and expressed regret over his involvement, further fueling the internal discord.
Newly appointed CEO Emmett Shear now faces the significant challenge of navigating this crisis. The primary task is to stabilize the organization and prevent a potential talent drain, which could harm OpenAI’s future endeavors.
Microsoft’s involvement adds another layer to the unfolding drama. The tech giant’s reported willingness to absorb dissatisfied OpenAI employees legitimizes their grievances and puts additional pressure on OpenAI’s board. This situation creates an unusual dynamic where an external entity could significantly influence the internal affairs of another prominent tech company.
As core technologists like Sutskever show signs of dissent, OpenAI must quickly reestablish stability and confidence among its workforce. The company, known for its advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, cannot afford an extended period of uncertainty, especially in a highly competitive industry where talent is key.
Read Also: Tether and OKX Team Up to Halt $225 Million in Illicit Funds
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
Vodafone shares took a beating today amid company plans to layoff thousands of workers, and properly allocate resources.
Vodafone (LON: VOD) shares fell 7% on Tuesday following a mass layoff announcement by the British multinational telecom company. In a statement, chief executive officer Margherita Della Valle said the company’s plan to ax a record 11,000 jobs is necessary to remain profitable. Vodafone forecasted flat profit growth and explained that the massive downsizing would take place over three years. The cut accounts for a wipeout of just over 10% of the telecom giant’s 100,000 total headcounts.
Expositing on Vodafone’s most significant staff reduction in company history, the recently appointed Della Valle said:
“Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change.”
Furthermore, the chief executive officer also added:
“My priorities are customers, simplicity, and growth. We will simplify our organization, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness. We will reallocate resources to deliver the quality service our customers expect and drive further growth from the unique position of Vodafone Business.”
Vodafone shares initially sank 7% following the layoff news but were trading down 5.84% at 84.77 GBX as of press time. The Berkshire-based telecom corporation faces stiff competition in key markets in Germany and Italy. However, it has a German turnaround plan and a strategic review in Spain. Furthermore, Vodafone also plans to tailor its continued pricing action to accommodate growth, with Della Valle saying that they “will focus our resources on a portfolio of right-sized products and geographies for growth and returns over time”.
The CEO stressed that Vodafone would rebalance its organizational structure to optimize the potential of Vodafone Business. The reason is that Vodafone Business is a crucial growth driver and has a strong position in an emerging digitized market.
Vodafone plans to cover ground amid investor criticism for moving too slowly and not adopting transformative changes quickly. According to Della Valle, the British telco will be a “leaner and simpler organization” that increases commercial agility and frees up resources.
Vodafone has reallocated substantial FY24 investments toward customer experience and brand. This development comes in light of the company’s underwhelming fiscal year 2023 performance.
Vodafone also seeks to refocus on essential customer experience service quality to gain an edge in consumer markets. This also includes delivering the simple and predictably good experiences that customers expect from the brand.
For the fiscal year ending March 31st, Vodafone reported a revenue haul of 45.7 billion euros ($49.7 billion). This figure remained unchanged versus the previous year, causing Vodafone to issue underwhelming guidance for FY24. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, the company said free cash flow would drop to 3.3 billion euros. Vodafone’s free cash flow stood at 4.8 billion euros the year before (FY23).
Vodafone is currently discussing a merger with Three UK owner CK Hutchinson. However, the telecom giant said there is no certainty that both parties would ultimately agree to a merger.
Other business news can be found here.
Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
Reuters
Adidas To Investigate Misconduct Allegations Against Kanye West
Microsoft Vulnerable To EU Antitrust, Triggered By Salesforce
Wall Street Journal
Volkswagen Losing Share In Its Single Biggest Market, China
Bloomberg
Amazon Aims To Invest $1B Annually In Movies To Be Released In Theaters
Mercedes Introduces Annual Subscription To Boost Vehicle Efficiency
Techcrunch
Amazon Pares Back On Ambitious India Edtech Dreams
Benzinga
Netflix Goes Aggressive On Gaming Venture To Boost Revenue Stream
Cardano Stablecoin Project Shuts Down Over’ Funding, Timeline’ Uncertainty After FTX Collapse
Tesla’s Recall Woes Multiply As 80,561 Imported And MIC Electric Vehicles Now Impacted In China
Ford Recalls 518,993 Vehicles In US Over Potential Cracked Fuel Injector
Stellantis Develops Fresh Retailer Model in Europe In Support Of Its EV Ambitions
SSE Divests 25% Stake In Electricity Transmission Network Business For £1.5B
Baxter Recalls WatchCare Incontinence Management System Due To Interference Risk
Photo via Pixabay
Billionaire Elon Musk is one of the most vocal supporters of Dogecoin. Using his platform and notoriety, Musk had been one of the major factors behind the run-up to $0.70 for DOGE in early 2021 before it began to decline. Nevertheless, the billionaire has not faltered in his support for Dogecoin and continues to be very open about his position on it. Recently, the ‘Dogefather’ revealed why he had invested in the meme coin and began to promote it.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the SpaceX CEO opened up about the reason he had gotten into the meme coin in the first place. Musk who had suddenly begun to shill Dogecoin in early 2021 said during the interview that he had actually gotten into Dogecoin because of SpaceX and Tesla employees, two companies on which he serves as CEO.
He revealed that it was actually the factory workers on the floor that had told him and asked him to support it. “I just had a lot of people who are not that wealthy, who have encouraged me to buy and support Dogecoin,” Musk said. “So I’m responding to those people. Just people that work in the factory of SpaceX or Tesla, they’ve asked me to support Dogecoin.”
Related Reading | Ethereum Energy Consumption Sees Sharp Decline As Mining Profitability Drops
Moving forward, the billionaire also stated that he continues to hold and support Dogecoin. This comes despite a massive lawsuit being filed against Musk for being involved in an alleged scheme that was to pump the price of the meme coin and then dump it.
Musk’s support of the meme coin has also transcended just posting about it on Twitter. Tesla, the world’s leading electric vehicle brand, is currently accepting Dogecoin as payment for merchandise, and Musk has revealed in the past that SpaceX will begin accepting DOGE payments at some point.
DOGE declines to $0.071 | Source: DOGEUSD on TradingView.com
Despite the price of the meme coin declining, the interest in Dogecoin has not waned. The altcoin has taken a huge hit going into the bear market as expected. However, its volume continues to climb especially with the piqued interest from whales.
Related Reading | Why The 2022 Crypto Bear Market Is Different And Its Implications
Data shows that whale transaction volumes have grown more than 100% in the last 24 hours alone. These transactions which carry a minimum of $100,000 in DOGE jumped from their previous day’s number of about 100 to reach 222 on the last day. This translates to a 118% change in the last day and as such, there have been over $1.12 billion in transaction volumes from these large whales alone.
This renewed interest shows that all hope is not lost for the meme coin. As long as these numbers continue, then recovery could be in the future of the altcoin. The price has not responded favorably to this though. While there has been a small uptick, it had quickly resumed its downtrend and is currently trading at $0.0713 at the time of this writing.
Featured image from CoinMarketCap, chart from TradingView.com
Follow Best Owie on Twitter for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet…
Heading into a new trading week, here is a quick roundup of the top five stories from the technology, corporate and cryptocurrency sectors that investors would not want to miss out on from the weekend.
1. Bitcoin Dip Entices Investors: The fall in the price of apex cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) to below the $60,000 mark on Sunday night is attracting investors, it was reported, citing Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda. Inflation is expected to grab attention in the upcoming Thanksgiving week, while Bitcoin is seen as a hedge against inflation.
2. Female Worker Sues Tesla: A Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) female worker has filed a lawsuit, alleging that the Elon Musk-led company’s female employees face “rampant sexual harassment.” Jessica Barraza said in her lawsuit Tesla supervisors and the human resources department failed to take action despite her complaint that she was subjected to constant harassment at the factory.
3. Apple Confirms Workers’ Rights To Discuss Pay: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has confirmed to its workers in a memo that they have the right to discuss their wages, hours and working conditions, with the move coming after employees pushed the tech giant to do more to ensure equity in pay. Apple is facing several lawsuits from former employees, who have accused the company of unfair labor practices.
4. Avalanche Overtakes Dogecoin For Top-10 Cryptocurrency Spot: Avalanche has surpassed Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) to emerge as the cryptocurrency with the tenth-highest market capitalization, it was reported, citing CoinMarketCap data.
Meanwhile, Avalanche project founder and Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer took a dig at Ethereum’s congestion and said that Avalanche will “address lesser engineering problems without batting an eyelid.”
5. Elon Musk’s Pot Shot At Biden Administration: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken another pot shot at the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration over purportedly ignoring the fact that his company is the market leader in electric vehicles. Musk was responding to a post on Twitter by entrepreneur David Sacks, who criticised the Biden administration for its “epic gaslighting” of Tesla.
What Else: Among other stories from the weekend, investors would want to check out the EV week in review, the latest sale of Tesla shares worth $30.6 million by Cathie Wood-led investment management firm Ark Invest, and the top ten most-watched movies of all-time on streaming giant Netflix Inc. (NFLX).
In a fresh crackdown, Chinese regulators have ordered Chinese tech giants – including Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) – to pay RMB 500,000 yuan ($78,282) for each of the 43 merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions that were not reported by the companies over the past eight years.
✓ Share: