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How Doja Cat’s ‘Vegas’ Transcended ‘Elvis’ to Become Her Latest Pop Radio Hit
The past two years have been a whirlwind of success for Doja Cat, who emerged from TikTok virality to become one of radio’s most beloved artists of the young decade so far. And she’s been on the type of hot streak that has her in rarefied territory: With five top five hits on Pop Airplay off her latest album, the RCA-released Planet Her, her album became just the seventh to ever accomplish that feat, a mark she set over the course of an entire calendar year — an impressive achievement in an era when attention spans are short and longevity is fleeting. This week, Doja Cat adds to her run of success as her latest single “Vegas,” off the Elvis soundtrack (also out on RCA), became her sixth No. 1 single at Pop Airplay — replacing her collaboration with Post Malone, “I Like You (A Happier Song)...
Soaring tax revenue, spending plunge spark record drop in budget deficit
But the deficit wasn’t as small as the $1 trillion that White House officials had forecast in August, primarily because of higher spending on education that reflected President Joe Biden’s student debt-forgiveness program, which the Congressional Budget Office has estimated will cost $400 billion. The Biden administration for months has touted the sharp drop in budget deficits as evidence that the president’s economic policies are strengthening the economy and improving the fiscal outlook, and used it to push back against GOP criticism that the president is piling on government debt. Deficits as a share of the economy fell to 5.5 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, down from 12.3 percent in fiscal 2021 but still higher than in 2019, before the pandemic. But critics say the admi...
Global recession may last until near 2024 Bitcoin halving — Elon Musk
Bitcoin (BTC) may spend the time until its next block subsidy halving battling recession, Elon Musk suggested. In a tweet on Oct. 21, the Tesla CEO revealed his belief that the world would only exit recession in Spring 2024. Musk: Recession will “probably” stay until Q2, 2024 After the United States entered a technical recession with its Q3 GDP data, debate continues over how much worse the scenario could get. For Musk, while long predicting the United States economy would enter a recession, the likelihood of a global downturn lingering is now real. Asked on Twitter how long he considered a recession to last, the world’s richest man was noncommittal, but erred on the side of years rather than months. “Just guessing, but probably until spring of ‘24,” he wrote, having also said that “it sur...
Low hash price, soaring energy costs spell tough Q3 for Bitcoin miners
Energy problems in North America and Europe and prevailing market conditions have spelled another bleak quarter for Bitcoin (BTC) mining operators on both continents. The latest Q3 mining report from Hashrate Index has highlighted several factors that have led to a significantly lower hash price and higher cost to produce 1 BTC. Hash price is the measurement used by the industry to determine the market value per unit of hashing power. This is measured by dividing the dollar per terahash per second per day and is influenced by changes in mining difficulty and the price of BTC. As Hashrate Index reports, Bitcoin’s hash price was afforded some reprieve in the middle of Q3 as heat waves during the American summer led to a drop in hash rate, which corresponded with a slight BTC price recov...
Not like China: Hong Kong reportedly wants to legalize crypto trading
Hong Kong is taking action to regain its status as a global cryptocurrency hub by launching several legal initiatives related to the crypto industry. A city and special administrative region of China, Hong Kong is willing to distinguish its crypto regulation approach from the blanket crypto ban in mainland China. The government of Hong Kong is considering introducing its own bill to regulate crypto in its own China-free way, according to Elizabeth Wong, head of the fintech unit at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). One of the SFC’s initiatives is allowing retail investors to “directly invest into virtual assets,” Wong said during a panel held by InvestHK, the South China Morning Post reported on Oct. 17. Such an initiative would mark a significant shift from the SFC’s stance over...
OpenSea revises NFT rarity ranking protocol after community feedback
While giving rarity ranks to nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on a marketplace may help collectors decide on whether to purchase NFTs or not, some argue that ranking NFTs may do more harm than good. In a tweet, an NFT investor pointed out several issues surrounding OpenRarity, the new rarity ranking protocol implemented by NFT marketplace OpenSea. According to the community member, putting “rank” in the NFT listing with no mention of “rarity” anywhere could be misleading. Taking the Moonbirds NFT collection as an example, the community member argued that since the collection enabled the OpenRarity ranking protocol, it destroyed its own market-driven rarity structure, making every single NFT a “floor Moonbird.” The NFT collector also called out Kevin Rose, the CEO of Proof, the creators of M...
Government crackdowns are coming unless crypto starts self-policing
Self-regulation will be critical in governing the rapidly changing landscape of the cryptocurrency industry in order to preserve its autonomous, decentralized nature. Months after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem that propelled crypto’s market capitalization below $1 trillion, the industry is beginning the long process of rebuilding not only retail trust but also faith in itself. Current market conditions are in part due to structural weaknesses in smart contracts, models and governance processes. This is made evident by the many hacks and exploits that have taken place this year and the ballooning of projects with flawed tokenomics and that are governed through dubious operations. The implementation of stricter self-regulatory standards will be necessary for the industry to build...
Remittances drive ‘uneven, but swift’ crypto adoption in Latin America
Remittance payments, fiat fears, and profit-chasing have been the three most significant drivers of crypto adoption in Latin America, according to a new report. The seventh-largest crypto market in the world saw the value of cryptocurrencies received by individuals rocket 40% between July 2021 to June 2022, reaching $562 billion, according to an Oct. 20 report from Chainalysis. Part of the surge was attributed to remittances, with the region’s overall remittance market estimated to have reached $150 billion in 2022. Chainalysis noted that crypto-based service adoption was “uneven, but swift.” The firm pointed to one Mexican exchange operating in the “world’s largest crypto remittance corridor” which processed over $1 billion in remittances between Mexico and the Unite...
Metaverse casino served emergency cease and desist to halt NFT sales
A metaverse casino has been hit with simultaneous cease and desist orders from four state enforcement bodies across the United States, who have deemed the firm’s nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to be unregistered securities. Over two NFT collections offered by metaverse casino Slotie, the tokens are said to offer access to the metaverse casino, staking rewards, revenue split from its games, lotteries, and native token WATT. However, the regulators don’t appear pleased with how the platform has marketed the NFTs and its alleged lack of securities registration. On Oct. 20, Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Alabama state securities boards submitted orders for Slotie to cease and desist its operations, citing the platform’s lack of state registration and the offering of unregis...
US regulator touts to ‘aggressively police’ crypto in new report
The U.S. commodities regulator certainly doesn’t want to look like it’s going easy on crypto, revealing it was behind 18 separate enforcement actions targeting digital assets in the 2022 fiscal year. In an Oct. 20 report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a total of 82 enforcement actions were filed in 2022’s fiscal year, imposing $2.5 billion in “restitution, disgorgement and civil monetary penalties either through settlement or litigation.” The CFTC said that 20% of the enforcements were aimed at digital asset businesses, with chairman Rostin Behnam stating: “This FY 2022 enforcement report shows the CFTC continues to aggressively police new digital commodity asset markets with all of its available tools.” One of the more recent CFTC enforcement actions tha...
Taylor Swift Is Selling Over 20 Versions of ‘Midnights’ in Different Styles and Formats
For over a decade, Taylor Swift has been offering fans a multitude of options when it comes to purchasing her albums across physical formats with exclusive editions available through a longstanding partnership with Target. But with her new album, Midnights, out Friday (Oct. 20), she’s truly outdone herself. There are over 20 different versions of the album available on CD, LP and cassette in various colors, with different cover artwork, censored and uncensored, with and without autographs. That plethora of options is great for fans who may want a different version than their friends, or who — as many seem to — feel driven to collect them all. It’s also great for Swift, who’s earning more money from increased sales that will impact her performance on the Billboard charts and likely add up t...
EPA opens civil right probe of Mississippi after Jackson water crisis
Mississippi’s governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The details: EPA will investigate whether the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Mississippi Department of Health “discriminated against the majority Black population of Jackson, Mississippi, on the basis of race and color, by intent or effect, in funding water infrastructure and treatment programs and activities, in violation of Title VI and EPA’s implementing regulation at 40 C.F.R. Part 7,” according to a letter from Anhthu Hoang, the acting head of EPA’s new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, to the NAACP’s attorneys. The agency will also investigate whether the two state departments have procedural safeguards in place to prevent discrimination, according t...
