Will Crypto Eat the World?

Binance, Bitmain and other dragons

The number of Tech and software companies trying to capitalize on the NFT craze is a weird scenario where Web3 euphoria is hitting new heights in 2022. As corporate companies stockpile Bitcoin as if it was digital gold, powerful crypto companies will also begin to consolidate their own empires.

Salesforce co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor spoke about the company’s vision for an NFT cloud service, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Salesforce joins a long list of companies that think they can build NFT platforms. This includes even the likes of Walmart and Disney.

Another weird piece of news this week is Binance investing in Forbes. Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is making a $200 million strategic investment in Forbes, the 104-year-old magazine and digital publisher. This suggests Crypto will also eat the legacy world of media and other sectors.

The market cap of Binance is around $63 billion 2022 but could be much higher given the actual net worth of its founder. So why does Forbes need this money from Binance? The funds will help Forbes execute on its plan to merge with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in the first quarter, according to people with knowledge of the deal.

If you enjoy my coverage I’m starting a new Newsletter around Quantum computing and innovation called Quantum Foundry.

That Binance and CZ has his fingers in the future of Forbes is really interesting. Binance will replace half of the $400 million in commitments from institutional investors announced earlier, making it one of the top two biggest owners of Forbes after its listing, the people said.

Media deals in SPACs are some of the least trustworthy business models. The BuzzFeed SPAC stock is a disaster. It’s $4 dollars and should continue to plummet. I’m not sure if Forbes can be saved. If Crypto eats the legacy world, the NFT craze and Bitcoin bull market will also create massive changes to industry with the transfer of wealth into Web3 companies, founders and their consolidation process in the impact of digital transformation.

When Facebook failed to clone crypto or produce a stablecoin, we have to wonder if Crypto will eat some of the old world. Forbes has good legacy SEO, but its content is really lacking a contemporary touch.

Forbes and Magnum Opus earlier announced plans to pursue a business combination, expected to close Q1 of 2022, through which Forbes would become a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange trading under the ticker symbol “FRBS.” That Crypto has its hands on this is awkward as hell but it’s symbolic of what might happen: Crypto might eat the world.

As Web 3 and blockchain technologies move forward and the crypto market comes of age we know that media is an essential element to build widespread consumer understanding and education but legacy providers like Forbes have failed pretty badly in doing this. So it’s really laughable and ironic for me.

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique digital assets stored using blockchain technology. They’ve taken off in the world of art and collectibles. But they are also as scammy today as ICOs were a few years ago in the last Bitcoin Bull Market. Fraud, scams and cryptocurrency hack money are supplying some weird experiments.

Crypto empires such as Binance, Bitmain and others operate in a shadow-like environment where regulators always seem two steps behind them. If Web3 takes more control of our legacy media system, that would make things interesting.