Probably most people know that when organic matter such as kitchen waste rots, it can produce flammable methane. As a source of free energy it’s attractive, but making a biogas plant sounds difficult, doesn’t it? Along comes [My engines] with a well-thought-out biogas plant that seems within the reach of most of us.
It’s based around a set of plastic barrels and plastic waste pipe, and he shows us the arrangement of feed pipe and residue pipe to ensure a flow through the system. The gas produced has CO2 and H2s as undesirable by-products, both of which can be removed with some surprisingly straightforward chemistry. The home-made gas holder meanwhile comes courtesy of a pair of plastic drums one inside the other.
Perhaps the greatest surprise is that the whole thing can produce a reasonable supply of gas from as little as 2 KG of organic kitchen waste daily. We can see that this is a set-up for someone with the space and also the ability to handle methane safely, but you have to admit from watching the video below, that it’s an attractive idea. Who knows, if the world faces environmental collapse, you might just need it.
The inaugural Las Vegas Vlasic Classic kicked off on November 8 at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, in collaboration with the Paiute Tribe and NuWu Cannabis. This event marked the first golf tournament in Nevada designed to fully comply with cannabis regulations. The concept was simple yet effective, taking place on a course known for hosting major events, and the turnout demonstrated a clear interest in the initiative.
This Las Vegas stop marked a significant development for the growing tournament series, which began in the Midwest and has steadily expanded. Founder Willy Vlasic noted that the move westward was intentional, linking the Classic to a major cannabis market at a time when the industry seeks more open and well-organized events.
“Las Vegas represents the next chapter in our mission to blend sport, advocacy and cannabis culture positively,” Vlasic said. “Partnering with the Paiute Tribe and NuWu Cannabis to create Nevada’s first compliant golf tournament showcases how collaboration can advance national reform efforts.”
The charity golf tournament attracted golfers, industry operators, brand representatives, advocates and supporters from the cannabis community.
While golfers competed for trophies and hole-in-one prizes, the day prioritized dialogue as much as competition. Sponsor tents provided a mixture of product showcases and casual hangouts. Participants varied in their pace of play; some rushed through, while others savored the experience, with no one seeming eager to finish quickly.
Because the event was held at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, owned and operated by the Paiute Tribe, on-site consumption was permitted. This was a unique twist for a cannabis industry event, which are typically limited by state and local restrictions on public use. It added a practical ease to the day and meant attendees could sample products, join activations, and move through the course without the usual workarounds that define most cannabis gatherings.
This relaxed pace suited the attendees well, allowing them to seamlessly transition between golfing, networking, advocacy and casual conversation without interruptions. The event felt like an educational field trip, filled with familiar faces, as well as new introductions and ample opportunities for discussion—all without the constraints of a hectic conference schedule.
A Fundraiser With Clear Outcomes
The Las Vegas Vlasic Classic raised over $17,500, which was distributed among three national organizations dedicated to cannabis justice. Freedom Grow Forever and the Last Prisoner Project each received $6,250, while The Weldon Project received $5,000. These funds support various initiatives, including commissary accounts, re-entry assistance, legal advocacy and clemency efforts for individuals affected by cannabis-related incarceration.
Each partner organization plays a unique role within the reform landscape. Freedom Grow Forever, led by Bill and Jeff Levers, directs funds to support individuals still incarcerated for cannabis offenses. The Last Prisoner Project focuses on providing resources for re-entry microgrants and support systems for those returning to society. The Weldon Project, founded by Weldon Angelos, is dedicated to federal clemency, sentencing policy, and high-level advocacy.
Bill Levers, CEO of Freedom Grow, expressed gratitude to the Vlasic brand and their family for their advocacy work for cannabis prisoners. “The Vlasic family has been incredible partners and true advocates for Freedom Grow’s mission. The Las Vegas Vlasic Classic has played a crucial role in helping us share prisoners’ stories with the public. More importantly, it has allowed us to directly support those on our outreach list thanks to their generous donations. We are deeply thankful to the Vlasic family and every sponsor who made this event possible.”
With Las Vegas now added to the series, the Vlasic Classic, which took place earlier this year in Michigan and Missouri, has raised over $140,000 for second-chance and reform efforts.
Willy Vlasic with Benny Tso, the former chair of the Las Vegas Paiute Nation, at the historic first-ever legal consumption golf tournament in the US.
Strong Support From Across the Industry
A diverse array of brands supported the Las Vegas Classic, including Cannabis Now, Mama J’s, Matrix, Verano, Curaleaf, STIIIZY, and Good Day Farm. Their participation helped anchor the event and attract attention from the broader region. The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) also returned as the official trade association sponsor, offering discounted first-year memberships to attendees.
The next event in the series is the 2026 Missouri Vlasic Classic, scheduled for May 1–3 at Old Kinderhook Resort. Previous Missouri events experienced strong attendance and media coverage, and early indications for 2026 suggest continued momentum.
Colombian Bitcoin and crypto mining company Horeb Energy reveals 2.5 cents per kWh of green biogas energy in the North Santander region of the Latin American country. The company has achieved energy prices 50% lower than the North American average of 3.5 to 6 cents per kwh for Bitcoin mining operations, through a strategic alliance with multinational energy company Veolia.
Authorized in 1853 by Napoleon III to help build out public water works infrastructure in France, Veolia is a global leader in environmental services focused on water, waste, and energy solutions. Today in Norte de Santander, Colombia, the company operates critical facilities dedicated to biogas valorization and solid waste management — a common problem in Colombia and Latin America in general, known for massive landfills. Veloia also operates the “Centro Inteligente de Gestión Ecológica” – CIGE Guayabal landfill, a pioneer in biogas systems development in the region.
Horeb Energy — the Bitcoin mining arm of the operation — specializes in technological solutions for biogas treatment and renewable energy production from waste. “It’s collaboration with Veolia in this pilot project sets a milestone for new sustainable business models in the global cryptocurrency mining sector,” the company said in a press release, adding that “The project aims to reduce the region’s carbon footprint significantly and demonstrates Veolia’s strong commitment to accelerating the ecological transformation of local territories.”
Through this pilot project, biogas generated at the CIGE Guayabal landfill by Veolia is transformed into electricity to supply a secure, standalone data center dedicated to cryptocurrency mining. Horeb Energy oversees advanced biogas filtration and energy conversion processes, and the Bitcoin mining dimension, which unlocks new economic models for energy infrastructure development in the region.
One year after its launch, the program boasts tangible results with the production of “nearly 1,000 kWh of 100% renewable energy”, powering an entirely off-grid Bitcoin container and mining system. This unique approach in the Colombian market provides an alternative use for methane gas — a byproduct of waste decomposition that poses environmental challenges for landfills.
Humberto Posada Cifuentes, General Manager of Veolia in Norte de Santander, said in a press release that this pilot “demonstrates that with innovation and strong local leadership, we can turn waste into value and contribute meaningfully to the clean energy transition.”
Arley Lozano, Operations Manager of Horeb Energy, told Bitcoin Magazine that they had achieved 2.5 cents a kWh in green energy, adding that “we are proud that this project has been developed by local talent in partnership with Veolia. Our goal is to replicate this model in other municipalities across Colombia and throughout Latin America.”
Keeping your devices charged shouldn’t feel like a chore. Wireless chargers make it simple to top up your phone, earbuds or smartwatch by just setting them down, which is especially useful if you’re tired of frayed cables or worn-out ports. A good charger can live on your desk, nightstand or even in your travel bag and still keep everything powered with minimal effort.
Wireless charging has also improved a lot in recent years. Many newer models support faster speeds, magnetic alignment or multiple charging spots for people who use several devices at once. You’ll find stands that hold your phone upright for video calls, pads that work quietly on a nightstand and compact travel chargers that fold flat when you need to pack light.
We’ve tested a range of options to find the best wireless chargers for everyday use. Whether you want a simple pad for your bedside table or a more versatile station that can handle your entire setup, these picks deliver reliable performance without adding clutter to your routine.
While it’s tempting to buy a wireless charging pad optimized for the specific phone you have now, resist that urge. Instead, think about the types of devices (phones included) that you could see yourself using in the near future. If you’re sure you’ll use iPhones for a long time, an Apple MagSafe-compatible magnetic wireless charger will be faster and more convenient. If you use Android phones or think you might switch sides, however, you’ll want a more universal design. If you have other accessories like wireless earbuds or a smartwatch that supports wireless charging, maybe you’d be better off with a 3-in-1 wireless charger or full wireless charging station.
Where and how will you use your charger?
Odds are that you have a specific use case in mind for your charger. You may want it by your bedside on your nightstand for a quick charge in the morning, or on your desk for at-a-glance notifications. You might even keep it in your bag for convenient travel charging instead of bulky portable chargers or power banks. Think about where you want to use this accessory and what you want to do with the device(s) it charges while it’s powering up. For example, a wireless charging pad might be better for bedside use if you just want to be able to drop your phone down at the end of a long day and know it’ll be powered up in the morning. However, a stand will be better if you have an iPhone and want to make use of the Standby feature during the nighttime hours.
For a desk wireless charger, a stand lets you more easily glance at phone notifications throughout the day. For traveling, undoubtedly, a puck-style charging pad is best since it will take up much less space in your bag than a stand would. Many power banks also include wireless charging pads built in, so one of those might make even more sense for those who are always on the go. Some foldable chargers are also designed for travel, collapsing flat to take up less space.
Wireless charging performance
Although wireless charging is usually slower than its wired equivalent, speed and wattage are still important considerations. A fast charger can supply enough power for a long night out in the time it takes to change outfits. Look for options that promise faster charging and support standards like Qi2 certified charging for the best balance of efficiency and compatibility.
In general, a 15W charger is more than quick enough for most situations, and you’ll need a MagSafe-compatible charger to extract that level of performance from an iPhone. With that said, even the slower 7.5W and 10W chargers are fast enough for an overnight power-up. If anything, you’ll want to worry more about support for cases. While many models can deliver power through a reasonably thick case (typically 3mm to 5mm), you’ll occasionally run into examples that only work with naked phones.
There are some proprietary chargers that smash the 15W barrier if you have the right phone. Apple’s latest MagSafe charging pad can provide up to 25W of wireless power to compatible iPhones when paired with a 30W or 35W adapter — the latter being another component you’ll have to get right to make sure the whole equation works as fast as it possibly can.
Quality and box contents
Pay attention to what’s included in the box. Some wireless chargers don’t include power adapters, and others may even ask you to reuse your phone’s USB-C charging cable. What may seem to be a bargain may prove expensive if you have to buy extras just to use it properly. As mentioned above, you’ll want to make sure all of the components needed to use the wireless charger can provide the level of power you need — you’re only as strong (or in this case, fast) as your weakest link.
Fit and finish is also worth considering. You’re likely going to use your wireless charger every day, so even small differences in build quality could make the difference between joy and frustration. If your charger doesn’t use MagSafe-compatible tech, textured surfaces like fabric or rubberized plastic are more likely to keep your phone in place. The base should be grippy or weighty enough that the charger won’t slide around. Also double check that the wireless charger you’re considering can support phones outfitted with cases — the specifications are usually listed in the charger’s description or specs.
You’ll also want to think about the minor conveniences. Status lights are useful for indicating correct phone placement, but an overly bright light can be distracting. Ideally, the light dims or shuts off after a certain period of time. And while we caution against lips and trays that limit compatibility, you may still want some barriers to prevent your device falling off its perch on the charging station.
Wireless chargers FAQs
Do wireless chargers work if you have a phone case?
Many wireless chargers do work if you leave the case on your phone. Generally, a case up to 3mm thick should be compatible with most wireless chargers. However, you should check the manufacturer’s guide to ensure a case is supported.
How do I know if my phone supports wireless charging?
Checking the phone’s specification should tell you if your phone is compatible with wireless charging. You might see words like “Qi wireless charging” or “wireless charging compatible.”
Do cords charge your phone faster?
Most often, wired charging will be faster than wireless charging. However, wired charging also depends on what the charging cable’s speed is and how much power it’s designed to carry. A quick-charging cable that can transmit up to 120W of power is going to be faster than a wireless charger.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-wireless-charger-140036359.html?src=rss
Caught between change and stability, many companies find themselves hesitating on how to square the two. The pace of change is increasing in the age of AI, and the weight of making inspired choices has only become more critical. GS Caltex, one of Korea’s leading refining companies, faced the same dilemma and recently embraced a new guiding principle of good risk taking — a phrase reportedly often heard in GS Caltex meetings, and initially proposed by company CEO Hur Sae-hong. “Once the word ‘good’ was added to ‘risk-taking,’ a culture began to spread where people are willing to attempt any challenge,” says CIO, CDO, and DX Center head Lee Eunjoo.
Amid growing uncertainties around crude oil prices and product demand, intensifying competition over production scale, and demographic decline, the value of good risk taking is pushing the company to pursue new opportunities and innovation. And a changing mindset is reshaping the organization from within.
The AI platform changing the enterprise
Even without any top-down mandate, it’s common at GS Caltex to see not just IT but LOB teams in production, sales, finance, legal, PR, and HR building and using AI agents in their day-to-day work. Finance, for instance, recently built an FAQ agent and asked Lee’s team to review it. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see employees actively using the new technologies provided by the DX Center.”
So far, they’ve created more than 50 agents, including ones that support pre-job safety briefings for partner company staff, review crude oil purchase contracts, automate a complex medical expense reimbursement process, and automatically classify and analyze gas station customer feedback.
All of these agents were developed on AiU, the company’s in-house gen AI service platform launched in June this year, which combines AI with yu, the Korean word for oil, and is also a play on “AI for you,” reflecting its role as AI tailored to each employee.
Lee says AiU is the clearest expression of the company’s approach to transformation. “It’s not just about DX anymore but DAX, combining digital with AI transformation,” she says. “From our production sites to headquarters, we’re rolling out initiatives that let every employee experience it all side by side. That’s how we’re reshaping ourselves into an energy company that uses AI broadly and with confidence.”
A secret to its rapid success is because no one feels pressured to build a perfect agent. “People are much more willing to try things and experiment,” says Lee. From the DX Center’s standpoint, that mindset has made it possible to support a growing number of AI projects with a relatively small team. “Plus, the AiU playground lets employees build and test agents themselves, which makes AI feel far more approachable and familiar in their day-to-day work,” she adds.
An AI agent platform might sound like something only developers can use, but AiU is designed so non-experts can easily work with it. The experience isn’t very different from ChatGPT as GS Caltex deliberately embedded AiU into the side of core business systems that employees check every day, so they’d naturally encounter and use AI in their daily workflows. Even if they don’t build agents themselves, employees can still ask the AI questions using internal company data, and search across both external information and internal systems at once.
It’s only been a few months since AiU officially launched, and around 85% of employees are now regular users, and nearly the entire workforce has tried it at least once. “Most of our production and technical staff work in a mobile-only environment without desktops,” Lee says. “The fact 95% of them have already used AiU shows just how fast the platform is spreading.”
Sowing seeds of success
AiU drew strong interest from employees even during its pilot stage. The DX Center began discussing AI service adoption in 2023, and in 2024, the team built a pilot service on AWS in just a few days. Although it was an early version with only basic UI, more than 300 employees participated and shared the features and requirements they needed. This underscored just how many people were eager to bring AI into their work.
Through this pilot, the DX Center was able to clearly identify what kinds of problems employees wanted to solve with AI, and which capabilities they needed most. The team then considered whether to adopt an external solution or develop one in house. In the end, they chose to build on MISO, the AI transformation platform developed by the GS Group, and add GS Caltex–specific capabilities on top. The entire development took about six months.
In designing AiU’s technical architecture, Lee focused most heavily on minimizing dependence on any single LLM. The platform supports multiple models that employees can choose from, including OpenAI and Anthropic.
“AI moves incredibly fast, so we built the system in a way that lets us easily plug in better technologies as they come along,” she says. “The AI layer will keep changing, but the internal data and applications underneath it will remain our core assets, which is why we’ve focused on strengthening the underlying infrastructure. That’s where our DAX philosophy — advancing digital and AI transformation together — comes into play.”
But AiU has done more than speed up AI adoption. It’s also put new life into existing systems. GS Caltex already had an internal enterprise search platform, but over time, its accuracy and usability declined, and usage dropped. AiU stepped in to augment that system with AI. Employees can now search M365 documents, work rules, and HR information in one go, and have the results summarized for them by the AI.
“All we really did was layer AI on top of what we already had to make it a little easier to use,” Lee says. “But in the end, that AI layer ended up reviving a service that was close to being forgotten.”
The growth engines behind the projects
Rolling out and scaling new IT technologies like AI across an entire organization isn’t easy. It’s common to see transformation stall at the slogan stage, held back by resistance to new tools or the simple reality that people are too busy to change how they work.
GS Caltex, however, has avoided treating DX as a one-off initiative. Instead, the company has built three pillars to sustain company-wide change over the long term: culture, performance management, and education.
The first step was to build a bottom-up DX culture. Traditional IT projects often begin with large-scale planning, writing RFPs, and selecting external vendors — a process so long that customer needs frequently change before anything goes live.
GS Caltex chose a different path: a fast-execution model focused on solving customer needs in real time. Even a small app or a single dashboard is recognized as DX, and each attempt is treated as valuable. One example is an app that automatically collects and organizes external news, built by a frontline business team not the IT department.
As these small wins accumulated, a voluntary culture of digital innovation took root. Since the establishment of the DX Center in 2019, GS Caltex has carried out hundreds of projects this way.
Behind this transformation is a high level of organizational acceptance. No matter how well something is built, if colleagues don’t respond favorably, it doesn’t advance. That hasn’t been a problem at GS Caltex, though, largely due to the embedded good risk taking philosophy.
“DX inevitably involves a certain level of risk,” says Lee. “For good risk taking to really work, you need to understand the level of risk and have leaders actively backing it. We have that kind of culture in place.”
After joining GS Caltex, Lee learned a new approach to positive communication. Rather than focusing on fixing problems, the company emphasizes recognizing small achievements, celebrating them together, and then building on that foundation to find areas to improve. “I’ve personally experienced the value of a positive feedback culture,” she says. “A culture that openly recognizes achievements has become a natural driving force encouraging frontline employees to participate in DX.”
This philosophy has been embedded into reward and performance management systems, including a performance innovation committee, which selects outstanding DX projects initiated by business teams and presents awards. And presentations are delivered not by team leaders but by the frontline employees who actually led the work. The monthly selected cases are then published on the company’s internal website, making sure their contributions are visibly acknowledged.
These practices give other employees confidence to do the same, and thus fuels wider voluntary participation. The committee also actively shares failure cases. By openly discussing what was attempted in each project and what could be improved, the company aims to turn failure into an opportunity for learning.
Lee says that GS Caltex only recognizes outcomes that can be proven in financial terms. Common IT metrics such as conversion rates or click-through rates, often used as proxy indicators, aren’t treated as final measures of success. Instead, the company tracks more meaningful indicators such as productivity gains that drive innovation, cost reductions, and improvements in customer satisfaction. These results are all centrally managed through the company-wide performance management system.
But it’s education that the DX Center prioritizes most. Rather than relying on a small group of experts, GS Caltex has chosen a strategy of cultivating hundreds of frontline DX specialists and sees strong results. The more business-side DX experts there are who can use digital tools to directly solve on-site problems, the faster digital adoption spreads. So once technology takes hold in the field, the DX organization provides the necessary development environment and additional support.
This training initiative, called the digital academy, runs as full-day programs ranging from a single day up to three months. It focuses on reskilling and deepening professional expertise to develop DX talent. The curriculum includes low-code developer tracks and in-house DX expert courses, enabling frontline employees to learn technologies themselves and apply them directly to their work. Topics include RPA, Tableau, Python, AI, and data science. Most notably in recent months, every executive has gone through gen AI training themselves, setting the tone from the top and actively championing a culture of continuous learning.
From IT support to proactive DX engine
Two years into her tenure, Lee is now reimagining how DX governance works. Historically, the DX organization operated in reactive mode, fielding requests from business units as they came in. Now, it’s flipping the script. That means taking the lead on company-wide DX priorities, vetting technologies for maturity and feasibility, and consolidating redundant projects.
One clear target is to streamline the system portfolio. Lee also plans to retire underutilized systems and those where operating costs outweigh the value they deliver, cutting waste while boosting efficiency.
At the same time, GS Caltex is leaning into global outsourcing. The company is building a distributed operations model, partnering with offshore teams not just for IT infrastructure, but for internal systems spanning HR, procurement, legal, and beyond. The savings are being funneled back into critical areas, like bolstering disaster recovery capabilities to strengthen business continuity, and reinforcing the DX foundation to deliver more reliable support across the organization.
AI, of course, remains a top priority, and internal demand is surging. “Employees, especially senior leaders, want services that pull together even more data,” Lee says. “Down the road, I’d like AiU to evolve to the point where you can ask what’s been happening with a particular customer lately, and instantly get a unified view of what division A is working on, what division B needs, and live customer inquiries all in one snapshot.”
Worries about the US grid’s ability to handle the surge in demand due to data center growth have made headlines repeatedly over the course of 2025. And, early in the year, demand for electricity had surged by nearly 5 percent compared to the year prior, suggesting the grid might truly be facing a data center apocalypse. And that rise in demand had a very unfortunate effect: Coal use rose for the first time since its recent collapse began.
But since the first-quarter data was released, demand has steadily eroded. As of yesterday’s data release by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which covers the first nine months of 2025, total electricity demand has risen by 2.3 percent. That slowdown means that most of the increased demand could have been met by the astonishing growth of solar power.
Better than feared
If you look over data on the first quarter of 2025, the numbers are pretty grim, with total demand rising by 4.8 percent compared to the same period in the year prior. While solar power continued its remarkable surge, growing by an astonishing 44 percent, it was only able to cover a third of the demand growth. As a result of that and a drop in natural gas usage, coal use grew by 23 percent.
LAS VEGAS—Formula 1 held the third annual Las Vegas Grand Prix this past weekend in the Nevada city. The race is an outlier in so many ways, and a divisive one at that. Some love the bright lights that make it appear to be set in Mega-City One or F-Zero. Others resent the rampant commercialism of F1 at its most excessive. And this time, Ars was on the ground, making one of our periodic visits to the series. The race we saw was something of a damp squib, seemingly leaving McLaren’s Lando Norris in control of the championship.
At least that’s how it looked when I left the track on Saturday night. Within a few hours, Norris and his teammate (and one of his two title rivals) Oscar Piastri were both disqualified for having worn away too much of the “legality plank” underneath the car—more on that in a while.
I was <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/11/f1-succeeds-in-making-its-las-vegas-debut-a-spectacular-one/">a huge skeptic of the idea</a> when the Las Vegas race was announced, but the first two events put on a good show. Year 3 was a little more dull, however.
Credit:
Clive Mason/Getty Images
Emblematic of the new F1
Unlike most Grands Prix, Liberty Media promotes this one itself. It spent half a billion dollars to get ready for the 2023 event, some of that on the pit lane and paddock complex, yet more on resurfacing the roads to the standards preferred by these thoroughbred racing cars. The track layout—which looks like a pig on its back—is typical of North American street circuits.
Texas is fast becoming America’s AI power base. As gigawatt-scale data centers chase cheap energy and quick permits, the Lone Star State gains on Virginia’s long-held lead.
Texas is fast becoming America’s AI power base. As gigawatt-scale data centers chase cheap energy and quick permits, the Lone Star State gains on Virginia’s long-held lead.
2025 appears to be the year we clear out old memes. Neither Rektember (market was up 4.34%) nor Uptober (market down 7.53% ) came to pass. It also seems that the 4-year bitcoin cycle is broken (more on this below). But it does not stop in the crypto world. The stock market adage “Sell in May and go away” has certainly lost its luster, with the NASDAQ Composite up 33.95% and the S&P 500 up 20.98% since May 1.
Granted, much of the meme rattling may have to do with Nassim Taleb’s black swans suddenly turning orange (by the way, this month’s cover image does not carry a political message, as we at Make-It are completely apolitical. We analyze political decisions only as they directly impact our investment choices. Adding a little humor in crazy times doesn’t hurt, either…). Swan events can be either positive or negative. In this case, DJT heralded additional 100% tariffs on Chinese imports (on top of the existing 30%) in a retaliatory move addressing China’s renewed reluctance to freely ship its precious rare earths to the US. According to U.S. Vice President JD Vance, however, this was all just a big misunderstanding. Be that as it may, this apparent miscommunication between the Trump administration and China triggered the largest 24-hour liquidation event in crypto history, affecting $19.3 billion in leveraged positions and resulting in over $560 billion in market capitalization losses on October 10–11, 2025.
Leveraged long positions — bets on rising prices — accounted for $16.7 billion of the $19.3 billion in liquidations, according to CoinGlass data, affecting over 1.6 million traders and marking the biggest single-day wipeout ever, easily surpassing events like the 2022 FTX collapse and the 2020 COVID crash. As the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” I feel for those 1.6 million traders. Anyhow, albeit in record territory, this dramatic sell-off appears to mirror previous ones. Such declines typically remove excess, reset sentiment, and clear the way for the next move higher.
Nevertheless, in light of the severity of the sell-off on October 10, we need to delve deeper to understand what enabled these cascading and record-breaking losses. To do so, we need to examine the perpetual futures (perps) market.
The invention is credited to Arthur Hayes at BitMEX in 2016. Before perps, crypto futures had expiry dates, requiring traders to roll over positions and causing friction. Perpetual contracts solved this with an indefinite holding period and the introduction of the funding rate mechanism, where every 8 hours longs pay shorts (or vice versa) to keep the price anchored to spot, addressing convergence issues. Arthur Hayes said, “We invented perps because quarterly futures were stupid for crypto. No expiry = infinite leverage without the hassle.” The introduction was a remarkable success. By 2018, perps accounted for 95% of BitMEX’s $3.5 trillion annual volume. Meanwhile though, about 52% of total perp volume is traded on Binance (which might account for its struggles holding certain pegs during the turmoil). Anyhow, we need to know more details about how perps function in order to better understand the market meltdown on October 10.
Perps are derivative contracts that track the price of cryptocurrencies without involving direct ownership or transfer of the underlying assets. No crypto is directly bought or sold; perps are simply bets between buyers and sellers managed by exchanges. It is not immediately obvious why events in the perps market should affect the crypto market whatsoever — after all no crypto was directly involved. Doug Colkitt from Crocodile Labs said: “When you have a perps market like BTC, a fun fact is there’s no actual BTC in that system at all. There’s just a big pile of cash sitting doing nothing.” The pile of cash moves back and forth between players, but it always nets out to zero: “The beautiful thing about perps markets is they’re all zero-sum, so the system can never be insolvent in the aggregate.” But why would money shifting between players in the perps market cause the market they’re betting on to crash? According to Colkitt the perps market is not hermetically sealed — somehow, the outcomes there leak into the world of “real” crypto.
There are several reasons for this — let’s highlight them one by one. Perps are a leverage-amplified sentiment machine. They act as an “emotional thermostat” for crypto markets — when traders go wild on perps, spot follows. As Arthur Hayes puts it: “Perps aren’t derivatives — they’re the market. Spot is the shadow.”
Why — one might rightfully ask? For starters, the perps market is significantly larger than the crypto spot market. Perps have volume dominance as they trade $3–5 trillion per month compared to spot’s $500 billion. This gap continues to widen due to perps’ leverage, flexibility, and appeal to active traders. Speaking of leverage. As traders can take on as much as 100x leverage, a liquidation cascade can get set off rather easily. And such an avalanche-like forced buying and selling hits spot markets directly. For example, in April 2025, a relatively small forced long liquidation of $800 million caused spot BTC to fall 8% within 2 hours.
Additionally, perps function as a sentiment multiplier. When whales pump or dump on perps, retail FOMO follows in the spot market. A correlation of 0.85 has been measured, meaning that when perps open interest (OI) spikes 20%, spot rallies 17% within 24h and vice versa. However, there are two more, less obvious influences: Auto-Deleveraging (ADL) and Cross Collateralization (cross-margening).
In the perps market, we encounter a very unusual mechanism — Auto-Deleveraging (ADL) — which, according to a recent article by Byron Gilliam, caused nearly all of crypto to crash on October 10. ADL is a risk management mechanism used by cryptocurrency exchanges to maintain market stability during extreme volatility. Perp traders use high leverage, creating zero-sum positions where one side’s gain is another’s loss. When a position’s losses exceed its margin and the exchange liquidates it, the same exchange’s insurance fund covers the shortfall to prevent the trader from owing more than their deposit. However, if the insurance fund is depleted or insufficient — such as during a rapid 30% drop in eight hours or overwhelming liquidation volume, as occurred on October 10 — ADL activates as a last resort. => It forcibly reduces or closes profitable opposing positions to offset losses, ensuring the platform’s solvency without socializing losses across all users. ADL is controversial because it can clip winning trades at inopportune moments, but it is essential for preventing cascading failures in leveraged markets.
The situation is exacerbated when traders enter cross-margined positions. Cross-margining ties multiple assets (e.g., BTC, ETH, altcoins) to one collateral pool. A sharp move in one (such as BTC dropping 10%) can force liquidations in others, spreading downside cascading volatility. In other words, some players at the perps poker table were betting with chips they had also pledged as collateral elsewhere — apparently to buy crypto tokens in the spot market with borrowed money. Therefore, when they lost their collateral playing in perps, they had to sell the spot positions it was also financing. That is exactly what happened on October 10. Traders became too greedy, taking on excessive leverage and even cross-collateralizing margin positions to maximize their trading potential. It took just one orange swan event to trigger a self-reinforcing downward tsunami, wiping out 1.6 million leveraged traders in 24 hours. No, Gordon Gekko — Greed is not Good.
As mentioned above, I’d like to highlight Bitcoin’s 4-year cycle — or rather, the breaking of it — as this was also a recurring theme at this year’s DAS London (Digital Assets Summit London Oct 13.-15.). First, the basics: Bitcoin’s 4-year cycle is tied to its halving events that reduce mining rewards by about half every 210,000 blocks, and has been one of the most reliable patterns in crypto history. Typically, the cycle unfolds as follows: a pre-halving rally, post-halving accumulation, a bull market peak about 12–18 months after the halving, and then a 70–80% bear market drawdown leading to the next cycle. This pattern played out clearly in 2012–2016, 2016–2020, and 2020–2024, with peaks at approximately $1,100 (2013), $20,000 (2017), and $69,000 (2021).
However, based on data through October 2025 (18 months after the April 2024 halving), although breaking the Uptober meme and BTC losing some 3.9%, it appears the cycle has been broken — not in the sense that Bitcoin’s price action is chaotic, but because its drivers have fundamentally changed. It’s no longer a self-contained, supply-shock-driven rhythm; it’s increasingly influenced by global macroeconomics, institutional flows, and regulatory tailwinds. October ETF inflows into Bitcoin were a healthy $3.4 billion, while Ethereum attracted $570 million into its US ETFs. All of this doesn’t mean the end of bull and bear phases, but the 4-year cycle now seems obsolete.
Some, such as CryptoCon and Rekt Capital, argue the cycle remains but has stretched to five years, peaking in late 2025 or early 2026 at $130,000–$180,000. There are parallels: historically, bull markets lasted about 1,064 days; from the 2023 lows, that would end in December 2025. The 4-year cycle isn’t dead like a flatline — it has matured into something more macro-correlated and less volatile, resembling gold or tech stocks more than a meme coin. I expect shallower drawdowns (20–40% instead of 70–80%), longer bull markets (potentially into 2026–2027 or even longer), and peaks driven by inflows (total on-chain stablecoin transfer volume rising significantly) rather than hype. Consequently, I wouldn’t bet everything on a November 2025 top — that’s outdated thinking. This shift is healthy: it means Bitcoin is graduating from speculative toy to global asset.
The Crypto-Anarchist Eric Cason put it with astonishing foresight in 2021: “Bitcoin becomes a teenager today. Over the next five years Bitcoin will transition from childish fantasies of personal riches, to the adult responsibility of the wealth of the world. It is the coming of age of an idea whose time has come and can no longer be stopped.”
Moving on to stablecoins. A new Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) State of Crypto report (link at the end of this Edition #52) finds that total stablecoins ($314 billion market cap) now account for over 1.65% of US M1 money supply (narrowest measure of the money supply: totalcurrency in circulation + demand and checkable deposits = $18.9 trillion as of August 2025) as institutions and fintechs such as BlackRock, Visa, Fidelity, JPMorgan Chase, alongside Stripe, PayPal, and Robinhood get involved in crypto land. Since the passage of the GENIUS Act, stablecoin adoption has been remarkable. Business-to-business (B2B) payments using stablecoins have already increased by 70% in just a few months as a result of the passing of the GENIUS Act. As mentioned elsewhere, the next big catalyst will be the approval of the CLARITY Act.
a16z’ report also cited $9 trillion in adjusted stablecoin transactions over the past 12 months — an 87% increase from the previous year. On an unadjusted basis, stablecoin transactions even reached $46 trillion over the same period. This discrepancy calls for some clarification.
According to Cointelegraph, unadjusted volume is the raw, total value of all transactions recorded on the blockchain for a given stablecoin. It includes all transfers, regardless of purpose, such as peer-to-peer transfers, exchange deposits and withdrawals, arbitrage, spam transactions, and self-transfers (for example, someone moving funds between their own wallets). This raw volume can be inflated by non-economic or redundant activities, making it less representative of actual economic value transfer.
Adjusted volume, on the other hand, is a filtered metric that aims to reflect only economically meaningful transactions. Adjustments may use algorithms or heuristics to identify and remove non-economic transactions, providing a clearer picture of the stablecoin’s actual use in payments, trading, or other real-world applications.
In any case, the largest payment network remains ACH (Automated Clearing House), a US-centric electronic network for processing financial transactions between banks, used for direct deposits (paychecks, tax refunds), bill payments, person-to-person transfers (like Venmo or Zelle), and business payments. Total ACH transaction volume over the last 12 months was $87 trillion. For context, Visa achieved $16 trillion, and PayPal $1.7 trillion. Comparing the unadjusted stablecoin volume and even the adjusted ones to these figures shows the direction in which this is heading: a complete transformation of how money moves. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well, the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.” Our TradFi system seems ready to cast its skin.
Casting somebody else’s skin, on October 14, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the largest civil forfeiture action in its history: the seizure of approximately 127,271 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at around $15 billion at the time, linked to Chen Zhi (also known as “Vincent”), a 38-year-old Cambodian national and founder and chairman of the Prince Holding Group. The funds were obtained through ‘pig butchering’ scams — fraud schemes in which scammers build fake relationships online to lure victims into bogus cryptocurrency payments. The operation involved at least 10 forced-labor compounds in Cambodia, where trafficked workers, often lured with fake job offers, were held in prison-like conditions, beaten, and forced to execute scams targeting victims in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. These scams stole billions, with proceeds laundered through shell companies, bitcoin mining (such as via Warp Data Technology in Laos), and luxury purchases like yachts, private jets, and even a Picasso painting.
The question is: How did the DOJ gain access to Chen’s private keys, which he apparently controlled personally? Chen is still at large, so the DOJ could not have compelled him to share them. Instead, the keys were likely obtained through internal evidence seized from Prince Group operations. FBI investigations reportedly uncovered ledgers, photos, and operational files (such as scam scripts and profit trackers) from compounds and executives. These included “Chen Zhi’s own records of private keys and seed phrases” stored insecurely — possibly on cloud services, hard drives, or shared devices. This is reminiscent of the 2022 Bitfinex hack recovery, where keys were found in plain text on a suspect’s cloud account; poor key hygiene enabled access. Once the private keys were secured, the DOJ transferred the BTC to government wallets, freezing it under forfeiture law. Supporting the DOJ were blockchain forensics and tracing tools from Chainalysis and Elliptic that mapped inflows from scam victims and mining pools to Chen’s addresses.
This case highlights vulnerabilities in self-custody, such as insecure key storage, and demonstrates the power of blockchain tracing in law enforcement. As Chainalysis stated in their 2025 Crypto Crime Report: “The $15 billion seizure underscores a brutal lesson: private keys stored in operational records, cloud accounts, or shared devices are not private. True self-custody demands air-gapped, encrypted, and offline key management– anything less invites seizure or theft.” To emphasize the importance of this, here is Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino: “If you’re not losing sleep over how your private keys are stored, you’re doing it wrong. Extreme care isn’t optional– it’s survival.” Finally, this quote is from a 2024 internal memo of the U.S. Secret Service titled ‘Cryptocurrency Seizure Guidelines’: “Treat private keys with the same paranoia as nuclear launch codes. Any exposure– screenshot, cloud sync, unencrypted note, or shared drive– renders self-custody meaningless.” In any case, please take this really seriously.
The World of Commodities
Silver finally broke through its all-time high (ATH), reaching $54.47 per troy ounce on October 17, 2025. The previous all-time high for silver prices occurred on January 18, 1980, when the spot price reached $49.45 per troy ounce. For context, silver started 1979 at around $6 per ounce, representing a staggering 724% increase in just over a year. That surge was overwhelmingly driven by the aggressive accumulation of silver by the now-infamous Hunt brothers. To match the real value of silver’s 1980 peak, the troy ounce would have to hit approximately $196 in 2025 dollars, as the US dollar has lost 77% of its purchasing power in the last 45 years.
Will it ever reach $196 per troy ounce? Let’s look at some fundamentals: In 1792, the US Congress established its monetary system and decided to mint coins made of gold and silver. At that time, it took 15 ounces of silver to buy 1 ounce of gold — the gold / silver ratio (GSR) was 15. At the beginning of the 20th century, governments around the world stopped backing their money with gold. People started hoarding gold, which drove up its value. During the Great Depression, the GSR rose to 71. Since 1970, the average ratio has been about 60. Today, you need about 84 ounces of silver to buy 1 ounce of gold. This imbalance is calling for a reversion to the mean. Will gold explode even higher, or will silver leap to new highs? The supply side favors silver: According to the World Silver Survey 2025, mines will produce around 835 million ounces this year. Recycled silver will add another 193 million ounces. However, total demand is expected to reach around 1,150 million ounces, meaning the supply side is roughly 122 million ounces short. If this holds true, 2025 will be the fifth year in a row in which demand exceeds supply, paving the way for further price increases. While still a long way from reaching $196, the supply and demand picture supports rising prices for the poor man’s gold.
After the end of the gold standard in 1971, soaring U.S. interest rates, falling gold prices, and the emergence of the petrodollar system pushed central banks towards U.S. Treasuries. Now, for the first time since 1996, non-U.S. central banks’ gold reserves (24%) have surpassed their U.S. Treasury holdings (23%). Although this is still a far cry from the 48% of non-U.S. central bank reserves held in gold in 1970, it remains notable. Persistent gold buying and rising U.S. debt risks appear to be reshaping reserve composition toward hard assets.
Let’s move on to energy, especially natural gas given its price explosion in October. Every major natural gas demand driver — data centers, electrification, and LNG exports is surging, while dry gas supply remains stagnant. It really is that simple. According to Citrini Research, some experts expect about 35 Bcf/d of demand growth from high-confidence LNG and power generation needs over the next decade. Others believe this is far too low, projecting demand growth could reach around 70 Bcf/d.
There are two key supply sources: dry gas production (mainly from Appalachia and the Haynesville in Louisiana) and associated gas production (gas produced from oil wells, almost entirely in the Permian Basin). Together, these account for roughly 70% of US Lower 48 gas production. At current NYMEX forward pricing, experts expect 15–20 Bcf/d of supply growth. Compared to above high-confidence demand growth forecast of about 35 Bcf/d, it becomes clear that the natural gas market is at a fundamental inflection point.
Dry gas production in Appalachia (the Marcellus and Utica formations), which drove most of the growth over the past decade, has plateaued for several years. Associated gas from the Permian will continue to grow, but it is not enough to meet the surge in new demand. The supply side of the market will become increasingly elastic, while demand becomes inelastic. Price-pass-through demand (such as LNG exports under long-term offtake agreements) and new inelastic demand (such as hyperscaler power generation) continue to dominate incremental consumption. This mismatch is a perfect recipe for higher prices.
Over the past decade, associated gas — with an incremental cost of about $0 — has been the balancing factor in gas markets. Going forward, associated gas will no longer play this role, and consumers and exporters will have to start paying for growth when they need it, structurally shifting the US natural gas market from supply-push to demand-pull.
December crude oil prices drifted lower into mid-October, reaching levels not seen since early May, but then rallied sharply after news of new U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil hit the markets. These companies account for about 5% of global oil supply and nearly half of Russia’s seaborne oil exports. However, the rally was short-lived; analysts quickly noted that ample global stockpiles and alternative flows from the Middle East and U.S. Gulf Coast would limit disruptions, with prices widely expected to normalize by November. This episode highlighted the commodities market’s sensitivity to geopolitics, turning a routine sanction into a multimillion-dollar margin play that faded as quickly as it flared.
The top three commodities in October were Cobalt (+39%), Sulfur (+25%), followed by Natural Gas (+25%). The bottom three start with Orange Juice (-26%), followed by Neodymium (-13%) and Ethanol (-13%).
The Rest …
Why are bond traders who make their living betting on rising or falling US Treasury bonds referred to as smart money incarnate? The US Treasury bond market is widely regarded as the most important bond market globally. Given the recent geopolitical, economic and social horror stories, one would expect yields to rise significantly to offset the perceived heightened risks. After all, if the yield is high, it means traders expect debt to be risky and expensive. And when it’s low, it means rather free sailing. In reality though, the yield was 4.57% on December 31, 2024 and is now about 10% lower. This shows us that the smart money is not afraid of any near-term financial turmoil or a recession at all.
Wall Street pundits couldn’t get enough of their recession forecasts at the beginning of the year. I guess the fearmongering was to no avail. This leaves us with the question: What actually causes recessions? There appear to be two primary reasons. The first can be ascribed to the actions of central banks. They often keep rates too low for too long and are then forced to overcompensate by keeping them too high for too long. This squeezes economic activity and puts pressure on overleveraged businesses. Eventually, a major bankruptcy puts pressure on lenders, who then call in loans, exacerbating the problem for other businesses. This leads to higher unemployment and less spending, which affects otherwise healthy businesses and confirms a recession.
The second cause is a surge in energy prices. If oil prices rise sharply and remain high for more than a few weeks, it acts as a tax on consumption. This forces decisions about whether an activity is economically viable and if the reward outweighs the increased cost. Usually, the most vulnerable parts of the economy bear the brunt of this pressure, which can serve as a catalyst for broader issues.
Neither of these recession causes seems imminent, which may explain the current smart money positioning.
Stock markets, especially the US ones seem frothy though. As of 31 October 2025, the NASDAQ Composite’s total market capitalization is approximately $34.5 trillion. This is based on the index’s recent closing value of around 23,723 multiplied by an estimated aggregate divisor of roughly 1.455 billion shares. For context, the US M2 money supply (M1 plus “near-money” assets that are highly liquid but not as immediately spendable — savings and time deposits) is $22.195 trillion (August 2025, seasonally adjusted), while nominal annualized US GDP is about $28.65 trillion. As a result, the NASDAQ currently stands at 156% of M2 and 120% of US GDP. During the Dot-Com peak, these ratios reached 131% (M2) and 140% (GDP), respectively. Thus, valuations are at the very high end of the historical range, this time mainly driven by AI-related capital spending. The NASDAQ is already at a record level relative to M2, while it still has some wiggling room compared to GDP.
Then again, it does not make much sense to directly compare the dot-com stock market bubble to the current AI investment boom because the underlying contexts and dynamics differ significantly. The dot-com bubble was characterized largely by speculative investment in internet startups with limited revenues, driven by hype and often inflated or fraudulent valuations, and many companies eventually failed. In contrast, today’s AI investment boom involves foundational technology impacting multiple technology layers and industries, backed by profitable large tech firms reinvesting significant capital into real infrastructure and innovation. AI companies are demonstrating substantial revenue growth and integration into enterprise, government, and various other sectors, unlike many dot-com companies, which had little or no revenue. Thus, while some superficial similarities exist, the AI investment environment represents a more mature and sustainable technological and economic phenomenon that is expected to evolve over years rather than being an ephemeral speculative bubble.
In view of above record-breaking spending on AI infrastructure, will the ever important “Compute”become the currency of the new AI-driven world? Whether measured in exahashes per second or in gigawatts, compute has become the essential commodity of the 21st century, according to Frank Holmes, executive chairman of HIVE Blockchain Technologies. Just as crude oil powered the industrial age, compute now powers the digital age. Compute is closely tied to energy costs, and future grids using renewables or fusion could make “green compute” a premium asset, attracting early investment.
Consequently, international commercial real estate giant CBRE’s recent survey of 92 major investors worldwide found that the data center sector is experiencing surging demand from institutional capital. 95% of survey respondents plan to increase their data center investments this year. 41% of respondents plan to allocate $500 million or more in equity to the data center sector this year, up from 30% in 2024.
This indeed raises the question: will compute become the main currency of the future? AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure already charge per compute hour quickly evolving toward spot markets. Blockchain projects such as Render Network, Golem Network, and Akash Network are by now treating compute as tradable units. However, while compute will be a currency of the AI era — traded, tokenized, and pivotal — it will not be the universal one. It complements rather than replaces traditional money, much like bandwidth became vital for the internet without becoming cash. Rather as Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, states: “Compute is the new currency of intelligence. The more compute you have, the more capable your AI systems become — it’s not just about data or algorithms anymore; it’s about who can harness the raw power of silicon.”
AI is set to change the world as we know it. The US and China are in a head-to-head race to be the first to introduce AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), which insiders anticipate could happen as soon as next year. AGI represents a monumental leap beyond today’s narrow AI systems, which excel at specific tasks but lack true versatility, reasoning, and autonomy. Current AI (GPT-5, Llama 3.1, Grok Ultra, DeepSeek-R1, etc.) operates within predefined boundaries, relying on pattern-matching from vast training data, while AGI would possess human-like — or even superior — cognitive flexibility across any intellectual domain.
Current AI is like a toolbox: powerful for specific jobs but useless without a human carpenter. AGI is the master craftsman — it builds new tools on the fly, learns any trade instantly, and evolves the toolbox itself. This results from integrated intelligence, combining reasoning, memory, perception, and action in one system. Nobody knows where this is heading. As Peter Diamandis recently put it: “We’re at a crossroads. AI can create a Star Trek future of abundance and amplified human potential — or a Mad Max wasteland where humans are obsolete.” Or, as Forbes calls it, “humanity’s final invention.” After all, we’re talking about factories run by intelligent machines. These self-programming robots will have AI systems that invent new materials, novel medicines, and innovative energy sources faster than any human team ever could. Abundance or wasteland?
In any case, the race to AGI (and then ASI — Artificial Superintelligence) will consume unprecedented amounts of energy. Just how much has not yet been determined. Sam Altman shocked the world when he recently stated that OpenAI has the “audacious long-term goal” of securing 250 gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity by 2033 for its AI data centers. To put that figure in context: that’s nearly 5x the power used by all of Germany (53 GW on average in 2024) and about one-fifth of America’s current total electrical generation capacity (1,300 GW). And that’s just a single company. It’s important to remember that if OpenAI does it, xAI will need to add 250 GW. Google will need to add 250 GW. Microsoft will have to add 250 GW. Meta will have to add 250 GW. And that doesn’t include Amazon, Alibaba, Oracle, or the new generation of GPU-driven cloud service providers like CoreWeave and Nebius. Nor does it include sovereign AI initiatives from countries like Saudi Arabia, India, the UAE, or Britain. Each is racing to build its own national AI models and infrastructure. Add it all up, and we’re facing a global power shortfall of historic proportions.
Or as Jesse Jenkins, Princeton University energy systems researcher, put it: “The scale of the electricity shortfall is staggering — hundreds of gigawatts missing by 2030 if we don’t act. This isn’t a gap; it’s a chasm of historic magnitude.”
What could cover the shortfall? Wind and solar? Probably not. Oil, coal, and gas? Perhaps for a transitional period. Nuclear? More likely, especially after the May 2025 Executive Order #14299, “Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security.” After being stigmatized and stifled for years, the urgent need for much more baseload power has changed minds in Washington. It appears that safe 4th generation SMEs (small modular reactors) will finally have their moment soon. Here, TerraPower — with investments from Bill Gates and NVIDIA — seems furthest along the path to success.
In the mid- to long-term, all hope is placed on clean fusion technology, for instance as developed by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). If you think fusion is just a fairy tale, then why by all means did Italian oil giant ENI just invest $1 billion in a power off-take agreement with CFS? I have long believed in the diverse approaches to harnessing the power of the sun through fusion technologies and trust we will see real-world applications sooner than many think possible. Here is Dr. Michio Kaku: “Controlled fusion is the ultimate energy source. It promises to be inexhaustible, carbon-free, and capable of powering civilization for millions of years.” And Dr. Tammy Ma, Lead for Inertial Confinement Fusion, Lawrence Livermore National Lab: “Fusion has been ’30 years away’ for 70 years — but now, with lasers, magnets, and AI, we’re finally closing in on the dream of bottling a star.”
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As a unique hedge fund for a comprehensive blockchain / cryptocurrency portfolio, the Fund allows investors to participate in the full spectrum of distributed ledger / crypto assets with just one investment.
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The Make-It Fund was unable to withstand the wave of selling triggered by orange swans this month. In addition to encountering these graceful birds, we can now see in hindsight that we may have gotten involved with some altcoins too early. Nevertheless, we remain convinced of their merit for the emerging Web3 agency economy. Let’s hope we don’t find ourselves in a swan lake that is as colorful as it is unpredictable anytime soon.
Be that as it may, we remain very optimistic about crypto markets in general, and especially for 2026. Why? Here are just a few catalysts providing strong tailwinds. First, there is the CLARITY Act. Once the lockdown is resolved and Congress is back in session, we should expect to hear a definitive timeline for the passage of this crucial piece of legislation. Further, what was unimaginable even 12 months ago is becoming reality. JPMorgan Chase is accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral. Citibank is partnering with Coinbase to build stablecoin infrastructure. And IBM is diving into crypto by unveiling a new custody platform. The momentum continues. It may not feel that way, however, it seems we are still in the first inning.
There is so much to look forward to.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Here is the promised link to the a16z report ‘State of Crypto 2025’:
Make-it Capital Edition #52 was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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For this recipe I kept the flavors pretty simple, used a “smoke bomb” to add even more flavor and finished these 2 slabs of baby backs “dry” instead of glazing a sauce on at the end.
Baby Back ribs seasoned simply and cooked on a propane grill (with a smoke bomb for added flavor). These ribs turned out juicy, tender and you can really taste the pork!
Ingredients
2 racks of loin back ribs – trimmed and silver skin removed
Apply a thin line of mustard to each rack of ribs and season with the AP Seasoning and The BBQ Rub on all sides.
Fire up a gas grill adjusting the burners so the grill temperature is 250-275 degrees. Make a smoke bomb by adding wood chips to a small pan, cover it with foil, and poke holes in the foil. Place the pan to one side of the grill centered over a burner.
Place the ribs on the grill and cook for one hour, flip the ribs over for even grilling and continue to cook for another hour.
Wrap the ribs in a double layer of aluminum foil – add a little extra dry rub, zero sauce, and a splash of apple juice to the wrap.
Return the ribs to the grill and cook meat side down until the internal temperature reaches at least 202 degrees between the bones. It should take about an hour.
Carefully take the ribs out of the wrap and place back on the cooking grate. Season with additional dry rub. Cook for 30 additional minutes to set the bark at this point you can sauce the ribs for a “wet style” or serve them dry.
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I was <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/11/f1-succeeds-in-making-its-las-vegas-debut-a-spectacular-one/">a huge skeptic of the idea</a> when the Las Vegas race was announced, but the first two events put on a good show. Year 3 was a little more dull, however.
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