What I'm Reading: October 1

Tech

• https://spectrum.ieee.org/mine-ocean-battery-metal-shortage & https://time.com/6094560/deep-sea-mining-environmental-costs-benefits

  • Using metals from the ocean seabed could provide a lot of the materials needed for electric vehicle batteries, but the ecological consequences could be significant (and given that they're not well understood yet, many are calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining). It's a reminder that there is no easy answer when it comes to the environment - electric vehicles need to get batteries from somewhere. It would be helpful to see a side-by-side, holistic look at lots of different options for reducing climate impact (i.e., electric cars vs. gas-powered cars vs. driving our current cars 3 years longer to reduce the supply chain footprint vs. ...). Although given that so many of these tradeoffs are still unknown, it might not be that conclusive anyway.

  • Combined with the current natural gas crisis in Europe (which we could soon see in the U.S.) and wind power suffering from a lack of wind, it's an indication that the transition to clean energy is not without its drawbacks or volatility. Supply shortages and demand spikes from recovering economies...

• https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-deepmind-is-reinventing-the-robot

  • Some good bits on the challenges of deep learning and robotics.

FinTech

• https://future.a16z.com/stablecoins-stability-and-financial-inclusion

  • On regulation & policy recommendations for stablecoins.

• https://www.fintechrevolution.tech/Fintech_Revolution.pdf

  • A well written whitepaper on Fintech trends and opportunities.

• https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-did-visa-just-buy-a-cryptopunk-nft-for-150-000-the-payments-giant-wants-a-seat-at-the-table-as-the-crypto-economy-evolves-11629737832

  • I read the article twice but still don't understand why Visa spent $150k on an NFT of a pixel art guy.

“By participating actively in this space, we gain deeper firsthand knowledge, ultimately allowing us to better support our customers as they enter the space,” the Visa executive said.

Boy, I really hope that was worth $150k...

• https://a16z.com/2021/08/05/case-for-credit-unions

  • On the opportunities for credit unions.

Economy

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-09-29/is-stock-market-rigged-insider-trading-by-executives-is-pervasive-critics-say

  • A well-done article by Bloomberg on how rampant insider trading is, and how it happens out in the open. It's hard to prove and not a priority for prosecutors, and most companies do little to curtail these trades other than implementing a blackout window before earnings - and the insiders often walk away with market-crushing gains.

  • Reminds me of these websites where you can track politicians' trades: https://app.capitoltrades.com/#/trades https://www.smartinsider.com/politicians. It would be interesting to mirror their trades to see if you can beat the market.

• https://www.researchaffiliates.com/en_us/publications/articles/842-did-i-miss-the-value-turn.html

  • Based on discounts in value stocks, the assumption of economic growth due to Covid vaccines, and the changes in cyclical sectors due to Covid, the writers believe there is an opportunity for 5%-10% real return over the next decade for value stocks after years of underperformance.

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/europe-e2-80-99s-energy-crisis-is-coming-for-the-rest-of-the-world-too/ar-AAOSxxf

  • The transition to cleaner energy is not without its drawbacks.

Work

• https://review.firstround.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-running-executive-meetings-25-tips-from-top-startup-leaders

  • Some interesting tips on running meetings (such as enforcing the pre-reads by announcing that those who haven't done the pre-read aren't allowed to comment during on the topic during the meeting, and allowing people to feel comfortable by disagreeing with phrases like, "That's interesting - this feels productive. Let's talk about it.").

• https://morningconsult.com/return-to-work

  • Surveys and data tracking how Americans feel about returning to the office.

Etc

• https://spectrum.ieee.org/wearable-data-court

  • Is data from your FitBit admissible in court? Should it be?

• https://nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/keeping-the-internet-competitive

  • An article with policy recommendations on keeping the internet competitive by preventing ISPs from moving into adjacencies (like providing content). The idea being that if an ISP also sells its own streaming movie service, it will have a reason to behave anti-competitively towards competitors like Netflix.