In the Game of AI…Microsoft Wins

Hello, and welcome to De.Nomics newsletter, your daily digest to stay ahead in the world of Web3 and decentralized technologies at a regional focus. Today, we have plenty of trending news and stories. So, get your cup of tea and some biscuits, and let’s go ahead.
If a friend forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe for free.

The Blends Briefs
TL’DR: Here’s a sneak peek into today’s newsletter

• The OpenAI finale is shocking

• Introducing Deeper Network.

• Javier Milei's presidential win in Argentina gives Bitcoin a bump.

• Santander Private Bank opens Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to clients in Switzerland.

• Dictionomics: DVPNs

Global Biscuits

The OpenAI finale is shocking
Well, we spent the weekend following the OpenAI drama, expecting, like anyone else, that Sam would be back as CEO and the board would resign, which was reported based on multiple resources close to the situation. But the ending was shocking, as the board didn’t resign, and Sam didn’t get back as a CEO; instead, the OpenAI board hired “Emmett Shear”, the former Twitch CEO, to replace Sam. Emmett is known for his conservative approach to AI, and he previously tweeted that he is in favour of slowing down AI. This is not just it; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, announced that Sam and Greg will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team.

So, in a nutshell, Microsoft acquired Sam and Greg, and most probably anyone of the OpenAI team who will leave with both of them, and at the same time, Microsoft supports the OpenAI board and the new CEO. It seems that Microsoft just acquired the OpenAI team without paying a penny. 

Introducing Deeper Network.
Deeper Network is a company that develops a network operating technology that aims to provide users with more privacy, security and freedom on the Internet. It was founded in 2019 by Russell Liu and Cheryl Liu, who are also the co-chief marketing officers. The company is based in Santa Clara, California, and has received funding from investors such as *Blocksync Ventures* and UniValues Associates. Blocksync Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses exclusively on decentralized ledger technology and has invested in several blockchain projects. The founders of Blocksync Ventures are not publicly disclosed, but some of their portfolio companies have revealed their names as investors, such as Cryptonovae and Band Protocol. Deeper Network's technology combines blockchain, network security and sharing economy to create a global peer-to-peer network, also provides a decentralized bandwidth-sharing network for bypassing censorships, enabling clients to get access to a decentralized Internet and security gateway. Deeper Network claims to be the world's first decentralized VPN (dVPN) and firewall solution that can protect users from cyberattacks, data breaches and identity theft. However, some users have reported issues with the product and accused the company of fraud.

Tastes of the regions

Javier Milei's presidential win in Argentina gives Bitcoin a bump.
Javier Milei is set to become the next president of Argentina after his opponent, Sergio Massa, conceded. Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist, has been supportive of bitcoin, referring to it as "the return of money to its original creator, the private sector." Bitcoin prices started rising late Sunday afternoon amid speculation about Milei's strong showing, and the cryptocurrency has gained nearly 3% over the past 24 hours to reach $37,350. Milei has criticized the central bank and advocated for eliminating it while considering dollarization for the Argentine economy.

Santander Private Bank opens Bitcoin and Ethereum trading to clients in Switzerland.
Santander Private Banking International, a part of Banco Santander, is offering high-net-worth clients in Switzerland the ability to trade and invest in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). The service will be provided upon client request through relationship managers, and the assets will be held in a regulated custody model with the bank securing private cryptographic keys in a secure environment. Santander plans to expand the offering to include additional cryptocurrencies that meet the bank's screening criteria. The move is notable as it diverges from the cautious stance many large banks take with regard to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Dictionomics: DVPNs

DVPN stands for Decentralized Virtual Private Network. It is a network of peer-to-peer nodes that provide secure and private communication over the internet. Unlike traditional VPNs, which rely on centralized servers and intermediaries, DVPNs use blockchain technology and encryption protocols to create a distributed network of nodes that can route traffic and data without any third-party involvement.

That’s it for today. If you enjoyed it, forward this issue to your colleagues. If someone forwarded this email to you, subscribe for free here to receive our issues directly in your inbox. We are encouraging whistleblowers with evidence/ If you have any stories you think we should cover, please feel free to share them and write back to us.