Technology Weekly News: Tech market remains dynamic, with AI driving significant transformations
Nvidia's shares rose by 1% after CEO Jensen Huang's announcement regarding the company's plans to expand its presence in the $250 billion data center market. This increase came in response to Huang's unveiling of the latest AI chips, named Blackwell, and a new AI software platform. These chips are touted as more powerful than the current generation, promising enhanced capabilities for running large AI models. Despite a brief dip in shares before Huang's remarks, the stock surged following his statements.
Huang emphasized Nvidia's unique position in creating its own market through both hardware and software innovation. The first chip in the Blackwell series, the GB200, is set to ship later this year. Analysts responded positively to the announcement, with Bernstein maintaining an outperform rating and a $1,000 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo reiterated their overweight rating and increased their price target to $970, citing continued confidence in Nvidia's technology and revenue potential. Goldman Sachs also raised their price target to $1,000 and expressed enthusiasm for Nvidia's role in democratizing AI across various industries, predicting Blackwell to be the company's fastest ramping product to date.
The Thai government is moving forward with a 500 billion baht ($13.9 billion) handout scheme aimed at revitalizing the economy, despite potential borrowing needs to finance it, according to Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat. The scheme intends to distribute 10,000 baht to 50 million Thais over six months. Concerns over funding have arisen, with some experts criticizing it as financially reckless. Julapun affirmed the project's continuation while expressing hopes for achieving a balanced budget in due course.
The 2024 fiscal year budget, totaling 3.48 trillion baht ($96.5 billion), targets a 9.3% increase in spending and a 0.3% reduction in the budget deficit compared to the previous year. Following a three-day parliamentary debate, the budget requires further approval from the senate and the king. Delays in budget implementation stemmed from political deadlock after a May election, with a new government formed in August. The government aims to make the budget operational by early next month, postponing the original start date of October 1, 2023.
Investment in United States spot Bitcoin products surged to a record high, with a weekly inflow of $2.9 billion, totaling $13.2 billion year-to-date, as reported by CoinShares. Bitcoin accounted for 97% of this influx, with $74.61 billion now held in custody. Despite this, Ether and other altcoin products received minimal investor interest compared to Bitcoin. Despite the record inflow into ETFs, Bitcoin's price fell by 7% in the past week, currently trading at $67,418.
Meanwhile, outside the U.S., crypto exchange products experienced record outflows, with investors withdrawing $738 million from Bitcoin exchange-traded products in German, Canadian, and Swedish exchanges. These funds were partly redirected to U.S. counterparts, attracted by lower management fees, some as low as 0%. Since the SEC's approval of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs in January, they have dominated over 80% of the spot Bitcoin ETF market.
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This surge in Bitcoin ETF popularity prompted regulatory adjustments in the UK and Hong Kong, with the FCA and SFC showing greater acceptance towards such products, signaling a shift in regulatory stance towards cryptocurrency investment vehicles.
The surge in artificial intelligence (AI) tokens within the crypto market has garnered significant attention, surpassing even the growth of bitcoin over the past year. With a combined market value now at $26.4 billion, up from $2.7 billion last April, AI-linked tokens have experienced remarkable growth, ranging from 145% to 297% in the past 30 days alone. As industry experts foresee further integration of blockchain and AI technologies to address challenges like privacy and computational needs, optimism for continued growth remains high. Projects like Render Network, Fetch.AI, and SingularityNET represent the forefront of AI-focused blockchain initiatives.
VanEck predicts substantial revenue growth for AI crypto projects, potentially reaching $10.2 billion by 2030 in their base case and over $51 billion in a bullish scenario. These projections highlight the diverse applications of blockchain technology, including token incentives for scalability and infrastructure development. However, amid the excitement, caution prevails regarding the uncertainty surrounding the utility of many tokens and the challenges in identifying successful projects amidst the nascent stage of AI and blockchain integration.
The surge in artificial intelligence (AI) tokens within the crypto market has garnered significant attention, surpassing even the growth of bitcoin over the past year. With a combined market value now at $26.4 billion, up from $2.7 billion last April, AI-linked tokens have experienced remarkable growth, ranging from 145% to 297% in the past 30 days alone. As industry experts foresee further integration of blockchain and AI technologies to address challenges like privacy and computational needs, optimism for continued growth remains high. Projects like Render Network, Fetch.AI, and SingularityNET represent the forefront of AI-focused blockchain initiatives.
VanEck predicts substantial revenue growth for AI crypto projects, potentially reaching $10.2 billion by 2030 in their base case and over $51 billion in a bullish scenario. These projections highlight the diverse applications of blockchain technology, including token incentives for scalability and infrastructure development. However, amid the excitement, caution prevails regarding the uncertainty surrounding the utility of many tokens and the challenges in identifying successful projects amidst the nascent stage of AI and blockchain integration.
Meta has proposed slashing the price of ad-free subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union from €9.99 to €5.99 per month for a single account, with a reduced fee for additional accounts. The move comes as the social media giant seeks to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The reduced offer, presented to regulators earlier this year, awaits feedback from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta's lead regulator in the EU.
However, the legality of Meta's pricing strategy remains under scrutiny. Critics argue that the "consent or pay" model, where users must either pay for ad-free access or accept tracking, violates GDPR principles by coercing users to accept tracking. The founder of privacy rights group noyb, Max Schrems, contends that even a nominal fee can lead to coerced consent, contrary to GDPR requirements for freely given consent.
Meta's compliance with both the DMA and the Digital Services Act (DSA) is being assessed by the European Commission, with a focus on its controversial consent model. The regulatory landscape is further complicated by GDPR oversight, led by the Irish DPC, although final decisions on GDPR compliance involve a complex review process with input from other EU data protection authorities.