Australian Fintech and Startups
Stock trading app, Stockspot, now has over $600m FUM and 11,000 clients. Link
NAB bought digital health claims startup LanternPay. Link
…NAB also bought into an AgTech company called ‘Geora’, which is looking at creating NFTs for agricultural assets. Link
Web3 / Crypto
Former Signal CEO, Moxie, wrote a brilliant article on his first impressions of ‘web3’. Next level critique - essentially saying it’s a lot more centralised than it purports to be. Link
…he also stepped down this week from the CEO role at Signal, whether it’s amidst the fact that Signal is coming under fire for anonymous peer to peer crypto payments is another story (and pure speculation on my behalf). Link
NFT marketplace, OpenSea, might list this year with a ~$10bn valuation. OpenSea does insane volumes (~3bn in December) of people buying and selling NFTs through a centralised platform. Link
Big Tech
The iPhone was launched 15 years ago. I feel old. Link
Potpourri
Image: Isochronic passage chart on estimated travel times from London in 1881. It’s gnarly to reflect on how interconnected we are in the present day (both physical and virtual interconnectedness). Link
New word game: ‘Wordle’ - which is taking the internet by storm. It’s so so much fun. Link - Game here
Nice thread on global inflation rates. Spoiler: Venezuela’s is over 1000%. Link
Hilarious video on a guy explaining NFTs to his girlfriend. Link
Discretion is the better part of valour; an analysis on the phrase. Link
Most powerful passport rankings. Link
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Anagram of the Week
An anagram walks into a pub and orders
top row gins, dark ales, and a banana rum.
(second row is an anagram of the first)
from here.
These views are mine and not reflective of my employer, nor Elon Musk
Jimmy’s Notes
We are back! I took a hiatus on publishing toward the end of last year, but stoked to be back on the tools and tapping keys again. I trust everyone had a good break on what was a tumultuous year!
Looking forward to looking forward, and I think there are three themes that will pervade the news and tech world this year: (a) web3 / crypto + defi, (b) last-minute (+ often-capitalised) delivery services (e.g. Send, VOLY and MILKRUN) getting bumper valuations (as well as overseas) and ( c) social eCommerce, proliferated by TikTok.
…if you feel like a Throwback Friday, I did a number of predictions in 2020 for 2021 (The Inner Loop, n. 124) and one hit the bullseye, one hit double 10, and the other missed the board.
Happy New Year 💥
Twitter / Basiq Podcast / LinkedIn
Trivia
(a) What three letter word can be added to the front of all these words to make new words? Id, in, king, very, zen.
(b) With a name that is a play on words, what website has called itself “the front page of the internet”?
(c) Name the political movement whose name is derived from a Latin word for a bunch of wooden rods tied together.
(d) Is Braille read left to right, right to left, or top down?
(e) Who was President of the United States when the first Star Wars film (Star Wars: A New Hope) was released?
(f) In the early 60s, an Australian scientific organisation brought in what kind of insect to Australia to reduce the impact of cattle on the environment?
Trivia Answers
(a) bra-
(b) reddit
( c) fascism. super interesting. link
(d) Left to right.
(e) Jimmy Carter
(f) dung beetle