Minimum Wage: N70,000 💰️

Good morning. It's Friday, Jul. 19, and we're covering, TerraPay Obtains $95 Million In Debt, OpenAI Launch A New AI model, GPT-4o Mini, Donald Trump Described Surviving An Assassination Attempt, 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 $2.36 Trillion, a 0.48% decrease in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $63.79B, which makes a 9.79% decrease.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $4.24B,6.16% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $63.01B, which is 91.60% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 53.80%, an increase of 0.16%over the day.

Bitcoin Faces Challenges As Retail Demand Hits Three-Year Low

A metric tracking retail investor interest, based on the 30-day change in transaction volumes under $10,000, has fallen below -15%. This indicates a sharp decline in retail investment activity. Interest in Bitcoin, as measured by Google searches, has decreased by 57% since Bitcoin’s all-time high of $73,679 on March 13. This decline reflects reduced public curiosity and engagement. ( Read Deeper )

BUSINESS & FINANCE

TerraPay Obtains $95 Million In Debt To Facilitate Affordable Remittance Transfers In Africa

UK-based digital payments provider TerraPay has raised $95 million in debt financing to enhance low-cost remittance transactions across Africa, boost business activities, and improve reliability and transaction speed. TerraPay received $75 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a $20 million senior secured loan from British International Investment (BII) through Lendable’s existing senior secured facility. The IFC’s package consists of a $30 million loan from IFC's account, a B Loan of $15 million from ILX under IFC’s B Loan Program, and a combined parallel loan of $30 million from development finance institutions OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I and BIO.

Takeaway: TerraPay is known for its integration and connections with major markets and money transfer operators such as Western Union, MoneyGram, and Ria. With these new funds, TerraPay aims to expand its operations by leveraging partnerships with more global money transfer operators, increasing the volume of transfers it processes across Africa. ( Read Deeper )

Netflix Reports Robust Subscriber Growth Yet Falls Short Of Revenue Expectations.

Netflix's second-quarter earnings report showed impressive subscriber growth but fell short of revenue expectations for the upcoming quarter, leading to mixed investor reactions. Netflix added over 8 million new subscribers in Q2, surpassing expectations of 4.7 million and following a strong Q1 where 9.3 million new users were added. The company reported Q2 revenue of $9.56 billion, marking a 16.8% year-over-year increase. This was slightly above the $9.53 billion anticipated by analysts. However, Netflix's forecast for Q3 revenue is $9.73 billion, below the $9.83 billion expected.

Takeaway: Netflix has raised its full-year 2024 revenue growth projection to 14%-15% from 13%-15% and expects full-year operating margins to reach 26%, up from the previous 25%. The company attributed its revised forecast to strong membership growth and business momentum, though it noted the impact of a stronger US dollar. ( Read Deeper )

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

OpenAI Launch A New AI model, GPT-4o Mini

OpenAI has announced the launch of "GPT-4o mini," a smaller version of its most advanced AI model, on Thursday. Described as the "most capable and cost-efficient small model available today," the GPT-4o mini is designed to expand the use of OpenAI's popular chatbot with plans to integrate image, video, and audio capabilities in the future. GPT-4o mini will be available to free users of ChatGPT, as well as ChatGPT Plus and Team subscribers starting Thursday. ChatGPT Enterprise users will gain access to the model next week

Takeaway: GPT-4o mini is an offshoot of GPT-4o, OpenAI's fastest and most powerful model, which debuted in May. The "o" in GPT-4o stands for "omni," reflecting its enhanced capabilities across audio, video, and text, supporting 50 languages with improved speed and quality. The mini AI model is part of OpenAI's strategy to lead in "multimodality," enabling the generation of various types of media, including text, images, audio, and video, within a single tool: ChatGPT. ( Read Deeper )

NASA Launches LunaRecycle Challenge For Moon Waste Management

As NASA prepares for long-term crewed missions under the Artemis Program, the agency is seeking innovative solutions for waste management on the moon through its new initiative, LunaRecycle. This initiative, part of NASA's Centennial Challenges Program, aims to develop sustainable recycling solutions for the lunar surface and pressurized habitats.Past missions have left various artifacts on the moon, including landers, flags, scientific equipment, and even human waste. With the potential for a growing human presence on the moon, NASA emphasizes the importance of minimizing environmental impact and developing systems to manage waste effectively.

Why It Matters: LunaRecycle seeks to address the challenge of managing solid waste during extended lunar missions. The goal is to minimize waste, enhance recycling processes, and reduce the need to return waste to Earth. Given the anticipated increase in lunar missions, both private and governmental, the program aims to mitigate the impact on the moon’s environment. ( Read Deeper )

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

Donald Trump Described Surviving An Assassination Attempt

Donald Trump delivered a dramatic account of surviving an assassination attempt during his primetime speech at the Republican National Convention. With a bandage covering his right ear, Trump described the moment he was hit by a bullet, crediting his survival to "the grace of Almighty God." He paid tribute to Secret Service agents and a volunteer firefighter, Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the incident.

Takeaway: Trump accepted the party's presidential nomination, stating his goal to represent all Americans. However, he quickly reverted to attacking the Biden administration, alleging a Democratic conspiracy against him and warning of dire consequences if Biden remains in office. The convention featured a mix of celebrity speakers, including Dana White, Kid Rock, and Hulk Hogan. ( Read Deeper )

Minimum Wage: Nigeria Government And Labour Agree On N70,000

The Federal Government of Nigeria and Organized Labour have agreed on a new minimum wage of N70,000. The agreement was reached following a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of organized labor, as well as members of the committee on the new national minimum wage. Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, emphasized President Tinubu's commitment to addressing workers' concerns and improving Nigeria's infrastructure and energy sectors.

Why It Matters: After consultations, President Tinubu agreed to increase the offer to N70,000, which will be submitted to the National Assembly for legislation. The agreement also includes provisions for periodic reviews of the minimum wage every three years, considering economic conditions. The NLC has scheduled an emergency National Executive Council meeting to deliberate on the new minimum wage and determine the next steps. ( Read Deeper )

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

Manchester United Sign Leny Yoro From Lille In £52m Deal

Manchester United have secured the signing of 18-year-old French defender Leny Yoro from Lille in a deal worth £52.18 million, with an additional £6.73 million in potential add-ons. Yoro has signed a five-year contract with the option for an extra year. Yoro debuted for Lille at 16 and has since become a key player, appearing 32 times in Ligue 1 last season and scoring twice. He was also named in the Ligue 1 team of the season. ( Read Deeper )

Falz Talks About His Relationship With Simi

During an interview with Hip TV, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz the Bhad Guy, recently discussed his relationship with singer Simi. Falz addressed the dating rumors following their 2016 joint EP, Chemistry. Falz emphasized that his relationship with Simi was purely professional and rooted in their musical collaboration. ( Read Deeper )

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• Which start-ups change the future? ( Listen )

EXTRA BREVITI

• J. Michael Cline, Fandango Co-Founder, dies in Manhattan Fall ( Read More )

• Asian markets are facing turbulence as several factors weigh on investor sentiment ( Read More )

• The naira began weakening against the dollar at the start of July. It fell from ₦1,573 per dollar earlier in the week to ₦1,580. ( Read More )