While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell isn't bullish on cryptocurrency and bitcoin, in particular, saying that its volatility lowers its value, businesses and industries are embracing the digital currency as a form of payment.
The Oakland Athletics baseball team has become the latest organization to accept bitcoin. Right now, fans can purchase season-long access to suites at RingCentral Coliseum for a single bitcoin, which was worth about $55,000 as of Monday afternoon. Fans paying in U.S. dollars would shell out $64,800.
"I think we want to offer different options for our fans to transact, and we've been hearing from people on Twitter and through social media [and] emailing us that they wanted to transact with bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies," David Kaval, Oakland Athletics president, told Cheddar.
Thus far, the A's have not completed a crypto transaction, but Kaval said that there are three or four potential sales that the team expects to close on by Opening Day on April 1. Depending on the success of the program, the team may also begin to allow fans to use bitcoin to purchase items from concession stands and gift shops.
Kaval noted the stadium's proximity to the San Francisco Bay area, home to Silicon Valley where many of the world's biggest tech companies are headquartered.
For the A's, the team that pioneered the concept of "Moneyball" in Major League Baseball is confident in the trajectory of bitcoin and would likely hold onto the digital currency rather than converting it to cash.
"We think that there's obviously the chance that it continues to rise. Maybe it's an opportunity for [Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations] Billy Beane and [General Manager] David Forst, our baseball side, to go out and get some more players. We think it's a good way to diversify some of the things we're doing as a business and could give us a leg up on other businesses," Kaval noted.
If you're an A's fan and not absolutely crazy about spending tens of thousands of dollars to watch your team play from a suite, the stadium will be open at 20 percent capacity on Opening Day, allowing 11,000 spectators into the venue, and, depending on vaccination efforts, the number could be expanded by summer.
"It was encouraging to hear from Dr. Fauci that he thought by Fourth of July you could have maybe a return to more normalcy, and so obviously that's a big day for baseball with fireworks," Kaval said. "And having a full house around that time I think would be an incredible moment and way to celebrate getting through the pandemic and moving on into the new normal."
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
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With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
