?? Our world in charts: Crypto, energy, and the dark side of work

Every week, I publish a brief analysis of our world in several charts. These are usually available only for members of Exponential View but this week, I decided to share with you here, too.

?? By the way, my first book comes out in September. In Exponential (or The Exponential Age in the US and Canada) I answer:

• Why we are in the Exponential Age?
• Why that creates an exponential gap between the power of the technologies and the responses of our institutions?
• How do we close that gap?

As a reader of my newsletter, I’m pretty certain you’ll want to read it. Early orders help drive momentum. Please do pre-order today.

Dept of decarbonisation

The way to net zero

The International Energy Agency has been on a roll lately. The organization has come out with a firm and clear statement on reaching net-zero: There is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply in their pathway to net zero.  Via Glen Peters

The proof is in the pudding

Renewable power generation grew at the fastest rate for two decades in 2020. According to the IEA, 278 gigawatts of capacity was added last year, a 45 per cent jump and the largest year-over-year increase since 1999. Via Statista

The missing link? 

Shayle Kann tweets, “cheap, clean, abundant, reliable electricity could be the skeleton key to unlock deep decarbonization across a range of heavy-emitting sectors.” Could it be so simple?  Via Shayle Kann

Can’t make the chips fast enough

The boom in electric vehicle sales, especially in China, is helping the rise in renewables described above. The challenge now is to make sure we can produce enough chips to power all these EVs. Via FT

DEPARTMENT OF WORK

The hours can kill you

Longer working hours in emerging and developing regions is killing workers. Literally. Via Statista

Making ends meet

The companies with the highest number of payday loan recipients confirm what we might expect about the American labour market. Namely, low hourly wages aren’t enough for these workers to make ends meet. Will the labour shortage result in higher wages and fewer payday loans? Via Priceonomics

In short supply

As we discussed in last week’s edition of the newsletter (EV #322), we are living in a time of shortage. Everything from semiconductors to workers is in short supply. A quick scan of Google Trends reveals some interesting data. Top shortages searched include gas, food, teachers, and labour. Rising shortages searched include coin, chip, meat, food, and Nintendo Switch shortages. Via Google Trends

DEPARTMENT OF CRYPTO 

What about the fees? 

Gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain continue to be a headache for users and developers looking to build on the blockchain. No wonder alternative blockchains such as Solana are gaining value during the major downturn in cryptocurrencies prices like Bitcoin. Via WSJ

Massive loan volume 

Makes sense that gas fees are high given there is more than $18b in outstanding loans on Ethereum now. It's a close race between the main lending platforms Compound ~$7b, Aave ~$6b and MakerDAO ~$5b. Via Dune Analytics

Room to grow

Decentralized exchange trading volume keeps growing. Halfway through May volumes already beat April with $83n traded. In the last 30 days, there was over $100n traded on Ethereum. Via Dune Analytics

And finally... ?? Don’t forget to pre-order my first book. Early orders help drive momentum. (As my follower, I’m pretty certain you’ll want to read it.) ??