Elon Musk And Donald Trump’s X Spaces Event Crashes 🤔

Good morning. It's Tuesday, Aug. 13, and we're covering, Polymarket Partners With Perplexity To Enhance News Summaries, Elon Musk And Donald Trump’s X Spaces Event Crashes Amid Technical Issues, University Student Killed During Dhaka Protests, and much more. First time reading? Sign up to get this newsletter: Sign up here.

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MARKETS

Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap

• The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $2.09 Trillion, a 1.85% increase in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $83.65B, which makes a 39.47% increase.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $3.96B, 4.73% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $77.42B, which is 92.55% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 55.96%, an decrease of 0.35% over the day.

• As Bitcoin trades at $59,232, investors are advised to stay informed and develop personalized strategies to navigate the volatile cryptocurrency market. While historical trends offer valuable insights, the importance of independent decision-making and tailored investment approaches remains paramount. 

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Polymarket Partners With Perplexity To Enhance News Summaries

Polymarket, the online prediction marketplace known for allowing users to bet on real-world events, has announced a new partnership with AI-powered search engine Perplexity. This collaboration allows Polymarket users to view summaries of news related to specific events they are betting on, based on search results from Perplexity. Polymarket will create a column using Perplexity’s Pages feature, which will be showcased on Perplexity's Discover page. Perplexity will also integrate data from Polymarket, such as election trends, into its answers, displaying visuals generated by another AI platform, Tako.

Why It Matters: Polymarket's founder and CEO, Shayne Coplan, emphasized that both companies are focused on providing high-quality, trusted information, making the partnership a natural fit. For Perplexity, this partnership marks a growing use of its API by developers and enterprises, although the company remains consumer-focused. (Read Deeper)

Zenith Bank Initiates $182 Million Capital Raise

Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s largest lender by market capitalization, is raising ₦290 billion (about $182 million) through a new share offering to support expansion and increase its loan book. The bank is offering 5.2 billion shares at ₦36.00 each to existing shareholders and 2.7 billion shares at ₦36.50 each to the public, from August 1 to September 9, 2024. Zenith Bank’s revenue is predominantly driven by its corporate banking arm, which contributes 58%, while its retail segment accounts for 42%.

Why It Matters: Zenith Bank, which went public in 2004 and currently boasts a market capitalization of ₦1.9 trillion, has a track record of delivering value to its shareholders. The bank has consistently paid a dividend of ₦4 per share for the past five years, a record it claims is the highest among Nigerian banks. The bank’s growth over the years has seen it evolve from a mid-sized lender to Nigeria's largest tier-1 bank by market value. (Read Deeper)

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

Elon Musk And Donald Trump’s X Spaces Event Crashes Amid Technical Issues

A highly anticipated X Spaces event featuring Elon Musk and Donald Trump experienced a major technical failure on Monday afternoon, preventing users from joining the conversation at the scheduled start time of 5 pm PT. Musk later claimed that a "massive DDOS attack" was responsible for the disruption, suggesting it was an attempt to prevent people from hearing Trump. The event, marking Trump’s return to X after a long hiatus, finally began 42 minutes late.

Takeaway: This incident is not the first of its kind on X, as a similar technical issue occurred in May 2023 during a Twitter Space session involving Ron DeSantis's campaign announcement. Despite these setbacks, Trump made his first post on X earlier in the day since his ban in January 2021, using the platform to promote his conversation with Musk and share campaign content. (Read Deeper)

Martian Subsurface May Hold Oceans Of Liquid Water

A recent study using data from NASA's Mars InSight lander suggests that large amounts of liquid water may exist deep beneath Mars' surface. The lander, which has been on Mars since 2018, measured seismic activity to reveal that liquid water might be present in fractures 11.5 to 20 kilometers underground. This discovery is significant because it suggests that Mars' subsurface could harbor more water than previously thought, potentially exceeding the amount that once filled the planet's ancient oceans. The findings offer new insights into Mars' water cycle and raise the possibility of past or existing life on the planet.

Takeaway: While there is no direct way to study this water due to its extreme depth, the study's implications are far-reaching. The potential discovery of subsurface water sheds light on Mars' water cycle, offers new avenues for searching for past or existing life forms, and could influence resource utilization for future manned missions to Mars. (Read Deeper)

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

University Student Killed During Dhaka Protests

A 25-year-old university student named Mir Mahfuzur Rahman, known as Mugdho, was killed during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 18, 2024. He was handing out water to protesters when he was fatally shot in the forehead. The protests, which started as a movement against a government job quota system, escalated into a nationwide call for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The crackdown on these protests has resulted in the deaths of at least 300 people, including children.

Takeaway: Mugdho’s death, along with the death of another protester, Abu Sayed, has galvanized more people to join the protests, with a wide range of participants from various backgrounds. The violence and loss have deeply affected families like Mugdho’s, who are seeking justice and accountability. The impact of these deaths has also expanded the movement, bringing national attention to the demands for reform in Bangladesh. (Read Deeper)

UK Prime Minister Calls On Iran To Avoid Attacking Israel

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged Iran to avoid attacking Israel during a recent phone call with Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. This call is the first between a UK prime minister and an Iranian president since March 2021. The UK, along with the US, France, Italy, and Germany, issued a joint statement urging Iran to de-escalate and avoid military action against Israel. Iran has vowed retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and blamed Israel for the attack. Israel, engaged in a conflict with Hamas in Gaza, has not confirmed its involvement.

Takeaway: Tensions in the Middle East have escalated following the assassination of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders. The US has responded by increasing its military presence in the region, including sending a guided missile submarine and accelerating the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. (Read Deeper)

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

Kevin Durant Becomes Minority Owner Of Paris Saint-Germain

Kevin Durant, fresh off winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has made headlines once again by becoming a minority investor in the French soccer powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The two-time NBA champion and 14-time All-Star announced his investment through his media and entertainment business, Boardroom. Durant, along with his business partner Rich Kleiman, acquired a stake in PSG through Arctos Partners, which purchased a 12.5% share of the club last December. The investment is reportedly in the "single-digit millions." (Read Deeper)

Barack Obama Drops Eclectic Summer Playlist Featuring Charli XCX, And Beyoncé

Former President Barack Obama has unveiled his much-anticipated summer playlist, continuing his tradition of showcasing a diverse range of musical tastes. This year’s playlist spans genres and eras, blending contemporary hits with classic tracks. Among the contemporary hits, Charli XCX’s “365” and Beyoncé’s country anthem “Texas Hold ‘Em” stand out, while Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” adds to the playlist’s diversity. (Read Deeper)

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• Robinhood is the world’s most successful FinTech trading company. They have already conquered TradFi. What are they doing in crypto? (Listen)

EXTRA BREVITI

• Nigerian youths have voiced their frustration and disappointment with the government’s failure to address critical issues affecting their lives. (Read More)

• TikTok is reducing its workforce in Africa as part of a broader global layoff strategy. (Read More)

• Tally, a16z-Backed Fintech, Shuts Down After Cash Crunch Despite $172M Funding. (Read More)