Pro-Crypto Hedge Fund Manager Chosen

CRYPTO
Pro-Crypto Hedge Fund Manager Chosen

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped hedge fund manager and cryptocurrency advocate Scott Bessent as his choice for Treasury Secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent’s signature will grace U.S. paper currency, marking a historic alignment of traditional finance with digital assets. Known for his tenure at Key Square Group and his pivotal role in George Soros’s famed $1 billion bet against the British pound, Bessent has now turned his attention to cryptocurrency.

In a July interview with Fox Business, Bessent expressed enthusiasm for crypto, aligning it with Republican values of freedom and economic innovation. "Crypto is bringing in young people and those previously excluded from markets," he noted, signaling a pro-digital asset stance for the Treasury.

Bessent’s appointment follows speculation on platforms like Polymarket, where he emerged as a frontrunner. Though other contenders like Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick were considered, Lutnick was instead nominated for Commerce Secretary. Lutnick, a crypto ally, has managed Tether’s substantial U.S. Treasury reserves since 2021.

Bessent’s nomination underscores the increasing integration of digital assets into U.S. financial policy under the incoming administration.
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TECH
Huang’s Charity Must Double Donations

Nvidia’s soaring stock price has created a philanthropic challenge for CEO Jensen Huang’s charitable foundation. The Jen-Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation, largely funded by Nvidia shares, saw its assets triple to $3.4 billion by the end of 2023, according to its tax filing. This growth requires the foundation to give away at least $120 million in 2024, doubling last year’s contributions.

In 2023, the foundation donated $59.7 million, primarily to the GeForce Fund, a donor-advised fund managed by Schwab Charitable, and to other causes such as Oregon State University and the American Friends of Magen David Adom. The foundation focuses on higher education, public health, and STEM initiatives, with a long-term approach to maximize impact.

With Nvidia’s stock up nearly 200% this year, the foundation’s assets could now exceed $10 billion. This growth will likely increase its required giving in 2025, continuing its significant contributions to critical causes.
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TECH
Amazon Boosts Anthropic Investment to $8B

Amazon announced an additional $4 billion investment in Anthropic, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI researchers, bringing its total investment to $8 billion. Despite this funding, Amazon remains a minority investor, without a seat on Anthropic’s board. As part of the partnership, Amazon Web Services (AWS) becomes Anthropic’s primary cloud and training partner, with Anthropic utilizing AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips for its largest AI models.

Anthropic, known for its Claude chatbot, is a key player in the generative AI race alongside OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. With generative AI predicted to exceed $1 trillion in revenue within a decade, companies like Amazon are combining hefty investments with in-house AI development to stay competitive.

The partnership gives AWS customers early access to Anthropic's tools, including its groundbreaking "Computer Use" capability, which allows AI to complete complex tasks on a computer. This feature has already been beta-tested by clients like Canva and Notion.
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Word of the day
Negotiate

To negotiate is to discuss something formally in order to make an agreement. Negotiate can also mean, when applied to people or things in motion, "to get through, around, or over successfully."

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