I Am Spartacus, Bitcoin Edition
As Wired predicted, today Australian Craig Wright said he’s the real Satoshi Nakamoto (BBC), inventor of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The Bitcoin origin story may now have closure (or maybe not, writes The Economist; there’s still some fishiness in Wright’s story), but even more unclear is what role Bitcoin itself will have in everyday financial life. Maybe Wright’s announcement will make this guy’s life easier.
Uber Takes London
The Guardian offers a fascinating long read that captures many of the complexities associated with Uber’s speedy dominance of transportation in many cities. The secret to understanding the Uber takeover? It’s not about cars.
But Can Other Companies Take From Uber?
All Uber’s victories, however impressive, may show most of all how unique it is, even among unicorns. Its victories don’t necessarily work across the wider economy. In Bloomberg View, Megan McArdle considers the downside of all these “Uber for X” operations (not a new subject, but attacked with vigor) and why we may now be in (our words, not McArdle’s) an Uber bubble.
Warren Buffett’s Sweet Tooth Leads to a Blind Spot
At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, which now resemble a day-long rock festival so much that it’s being livestreamed, Warren Buffett delivers his hit straight talk … except on companies he’s investing in (Financial Times, paywall). According to the Oracle of Omaha, obesity and diabetes are not related to the products sold by Coca-Cola, which is 9% owned by Buffett’s holding company.
Will Detroit Revolve Around New Record Plant?
We’ve got our own piece on NewCo Third Man Records coming out later this month, but for now this look at how the company’s giant Detroit location is becoming the ultimate DIY ecosystem (Detroit Metro Times) hints at how cool that company is — and how important to its community.
There Ain’t No Coworking Space Like a 15th-century Coworking Space
Italy beat WeWork to the concept by more than 500 years (HBR).
The Frugality Moment
Why do we only read stories about how startups are spending money smartly just when everyone thinks the current round of musical chairs is about to end (LA Times)?
Going South
Those who don’t think the 1% have an outsized impact on their communities should see what happened when one top taxpayer moved from New Jersey to Florida (NYT). The departure of one single outlier resident wreaked havoc on a town’s entire budget.
Photo: Crypto Coins News
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