Two Important Events

Welcome …

We’re only 12 days into 2024, and the rules of the game have been changed once again.

Do you remember this newsletter ?

Well, it has happened. The SEC has approved ALL 11 Bitcoin ETF applications. This is historically significant as - for the very first time in history - this allows institutional investors the opportunity to invest in this new asset class without having to directly hold it.

You can now buy Bitcoin without going through the hassle of actually buying it and risk being hacked.

But that’s not all.

The second big development this week came in the world of AI, where OpenAI has launched its “GPT Store”

A few months ago, OpenAi introduced the functionality of being able to build your own ‘GPT’. You can create your own agent, feed it documents and very specific instructions, so it becomes a “highly specialized”agent.

As of Tuesday, the 9th of January, we can all publish our work on the GPT store. And if you develop something of great value to the world, you will get paid by OpenAI.

This is very exciting because it opens up new revenue possibilities, , it’s going to bring some interesting new use cases for ChatGPT in general to the forefront.

If you’re wondering where to find the store .. it’ll be accessible from your ChatGPT interface.

[AI]
The GPT Store is open

So, as mentioned above, OpenAI launched the GPT store. You will be able to “buy” custom-made GPT’s. You can also make your own and share in the revenue with OpenAI.

On the downside - GPT creators will have to play customer support on their own GPT’s if they are to share in the revenue

Microsoft announced that it will be adding a “Copilot” button on Windows keyboards. If you’re working on a Windows machine already and you look down on your keyboard you will already see a “Windows”-key. This key will not disappear but it will gain a colleague. The copilot key will be sitting across from the Windows key on the other side of the spacebar. The introduction of this key is for Microsoft the start of the “AI PC”.

Researchers at Stanford University created a robotic system called “Mobile ALOHA” - a low-cost and whole-body teleoperation system for data collection. A glimpse into the future ?

The AI Robotics Firm Figure just showcased their humanoid robot making a cup of coffee. It learned to this without any previous programming but by watching 10 hours of humans completing the task. It’s also able to self-correct.

This week also, CES is happening in Las Vegas and - as you might have expected- it’s all about AI. If you’re not integrating AI into your consumer product, you might as well not show up this year. It’s in everything: from TVs to vacuum cleaners.

There was also a lot of talk about this strange device called the Rabbit R1. A handheld AI assistant with a very particular look and feel. Some people are completely blown away by it while others don’t see the point. It comes at a very affordable 199$ price tag and doesn’t require any subscriptions. Only an internet connection. Let’s see were this goes.

[CRYPTO]
Bitcoin ETFs Approved

In what is simply game-changing news - all 11 Bitcoin ETF applications have been officially greenlighted by the SEC. Let the liquidity war begin, as there are now 11 products trying to attract the same buyers, and typically in the ETF world, only 1 or 2 will get the lion share of the volume.

In other news, Bitcoin's mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, has received almost 26 bitcoin worth just over $1 million—more than 10 years after he disappeared. A wallet created by Satoshi Nakamoto, the so-called Genesis wallet that was the first ever created on the bitcoin network, received the bitcoin, sparking speculation that the bitcoin creator had "woken up." If Satoshi Nakamoto is still alive—though it's not even known whether they are an individual or a group—they are thought to control over 1 million bitcoin, currently worth almost $50 billion, putting them in the top 25 world's richest people.

[Cyber]
High-End Law Firms Are High-End Targets

Global Law Firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, which is ironically a firm that specializes in cyberattacks, disclosed a data breach that affected over 600.000 individuals. Law firms are being targeted by cybercriminals because they typically hold very sensitive information on companies and individuals and - on top of that- most lawyers are not exactly tech-savvy. We will probably see these type of attacks increasing.

Merck settlement: Obviously, getting ransomwared might cost you a bit of money. In 2017 pharmaceutical giant Merck was hit by the NotPetya Ransomware. They filed a 700 Million dollar insurance claim but were denied by their insurers invoking “acts of war” exclusions.
After a tense court battle, Merck and the insurers have now settled. The terms of the settlement have not been made public.

British Library still recovering: In October we mentioned the hack on the British Library. Three months on, recovery on the incident is still ongoing. It’s a stark reminder that if you don’t prepare for the worst - it’s going to cost you a lot more in time and energy when the inevitable does happen.

Ransomware attack statistics are in for 2023

• Ransomware attacks went up more than 95% over 2022. (DarkReading)

• As of 2023, over 72% of businesses worldwide were affected by ransomware attacks. (Statista)

• The media, leisure, and entertainment industry had the highest number of vulnerabilities exploited in ransomware attacks. (Statista).

• 36% of the organizations suffered ransomware attacks because of exploited vulnerabilities in 2023. Credential compromise was the second-most common cause of successful ransomware attacks, while malicious e-mail ranked third. (Statista)

• The average cost of a ransomware attack 2023 sits at US$ 1.85 million. (GetAstra)

• The global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was US$ 4.45 million - a 15% increase over 3 years. (IBM)

[Closing Thoughts]
What We Learned

Well, that was it again for this week. Both the release of the GPT store and the ETF approvals are big news but we don’t know yet how big an impact this will make going forward.

Thanks for reading and see you next time !