Author: Forbes
Looking back on the events of 2021, it’s evident that cybersecurity was a key concern for businesses, organizations, and governments across the entire globe. It is helpful to look back and chronicle the key cybersecurity incidents that shaped the year. Here are a few: • December 2020 – SolarWinds • February – Florida Water System • March – Microsoft Exchange • March – CNA Financial • April – LinkedIn • May – Colonial Pipeline • May – Ireland Health Service Executive • May – JBS Meat Supplier • July – Kaseya • July – Tokyo 2020 Olympics • July – Peloton • August – T-Mobile Here are the most momentous cybersecurity events that took…
In a year crypto’s market cap hit $3 trillion, the SEC approved its first bitcoin ETF and NFT fever pushed digital doodles to million dollar values, crypto is finally going mainstream. Here are six metrics that defined crypto in 2021 and what they mean for the coming year. 11% The estimated portion of gold’s $11 trillion market cap reached by Bitcoin at the height of its bull run on November 10th, 2021. On that date, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $68,721, representing a 120% surge for the year and a nearly $3 trillion market cap. Three years ago bitcoin’s…
There are now various ways to add Bitcoin to your portfolio, with accompanying pros and cons. The large up and down swings in Bitcoin often make headlines. Still, Bitcoin remains one of the strongest performing assets over recent years. There are an increasing range of options to gain exposure to Bitcoin. Here are the details of some of the popular choices. Bitcoin ETFs Late 2021 saw the launch of several Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). These are simple to own as they can be bought and sold like stocks. Annual fees currently range from 0.65%-0.95% depending on the ETF. Tracking Futures…
As 2021 comes to a close, the 117th Congress has introduced 35 bills in 2021 focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain policy. As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) made headlines with language on crypto tax reporting that is now law, the surprising reaction from the crypto lobby showed this industry was likely here to stay. Congressional Members introduced three different types of bills focused on (1) cryptocurrency regulation, (2) applications of blockchain technology, and (3) central bank digital currency (CBDC). The first set of bills mainly focus on how regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission…
Proton CEO Andy Yen once worked at CERN before deciding to kickstart his encryption-focused company ProtonMail out of beta through a crowdfunding campaign. Since then, ProtonMail has expanded into a variety of privacy-preserving technologies, from rolling out a drive product and calendar product with enough intuitive access features that it could be a very real competitor to Google’s GOOG +0.6% suite of products — to allowing for organizational control of different emails and releasing its own VPN product. The company has been renamed to Proton, to adjust for its broader focus on privacy-enhancing tools outside of email. What follows are excerpts from my interview…
Spending your cryptocurrency was once a headache-inducing endeavour. Not only did few merchants accept bitcoin as a medium of exchange, but without access to the now ubiquitous fiat off-ramps, you had to source a buyer willing to exchange fiat for digital. That entailed a degree of risk since peer-to-peer marketplaces that protected users with an escrow system didn’t exist. What a difference a couple of years makes. These days it’s easy to use bitcoin and ether to buy goods and services online, in the metaverse, and in the meatspace, with payment gateways handling conversion at the point of sale. The…
When it comes to alternative investing options, NFTs (also called non-fungible tokens) are one of the most unusual choices out there. An NFT is a digital asset of some kind that is part of the Ethereum blockchain. When you invest in an NFT, you could be purchasing a digital piece of art, the rights to a tweet or logo, or even a character you can use for play-to-earn gaming. While investing into a digital anything might seem strange, NFTs are currently on a wild trajectory that appears to be heading “to the moon,” as they often say. As an example, CNBC reported that an investor…
In December, Ralph Lauren opened its newest stores, passing over sprawling metropolitan cities like Milan, Tokyo and New York for an enticing new location: the online world of Roblox, with 47 million daily active users. It stocked its virtual stores, open 24/7 and accessible to anyone in the world in just a few clicks, with virtual puffer jackets, checkered beanies and other retro skiwear for the winter season, priced under $5. It’s just the latest example of how the fashion industry is beginning to delve into the so-called metaverse, with Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Balenciaga and others charging real money for…
“The pandemic has been incredibly positive for the technology industry,” says Per Roman, CEO and Managing Partner of tech industry advisory and investment firm, GP Bullhound. “People who weren’t digital citizens before have now become digital citizens.” From that perspective, Europe’s technology startups and scale-ups should be looking ahead to 2022 with a fair degree of optimism. But as Roman points out, while Covid 19 has been instrumental in changing consumer behaviour and encouraging hitherto slow-to-change industries to embrace digital transformation, fractured supply chains represent a much less positive elephant in the room. I’m talking to Roman a few days…
Despite growing fears of inflation and the onset of new variants of Covid-19, global stock markets have kept humming along in 2021. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are both up by double-digits this year, boosted by a wave of IPOs and reverse mergers that minted several new billionaires. Cryptocurrencies have also been on a tear, generating a handful of newcomers to the three-comma club, while record venture capital and private equity activity has given rise to more ten-figure fortunes among owners and investors in private companies. Altogether, Forbes tracked more than 400 new billionaires in 2021, with an estimated collective net worth of more than…