*By Jacqueline Corba*
Bitcoin soared back above the [$8,000 mark this week for the first time since May](https://cheddar.com/videos/reddit-co-founder-on-the-state-of-cryptocurrency). The surge comes as more institutional investors look to grab a piece of the still-emerging crypto market.
"From a stored value perspective I'm a Bitcoin maximalist," [Fin co-CEO and co-Founder Sam Lessin](https://cheddar.com/videos/tech-entrepreneur-sam-lessin-authors-childrens-book-on-bitcoin) told Cheddar's Crypto Craze Thursday. "If you look at the broader blockchain and crypto ecosystem, I don't think people fully appreciate how deeply big a deal it is to have an immutable ledger globally."
Lessin, who served as a vice president of product management at Facebook from 2010 to 2014, joins fellow Facebook alum Anthony Pompliano in his bullish outlook on Bitcoin, the largest digital currency by market cap.
"I've got a high degree of confidence that at some point in the future its going to hit $50,000. And I've got some degree of confidence that it will be by the end of this year," Pompliano, who now runs Morgan Creek Digital Assets, told Cheddar.
The factors driving the value up? Human psychology, speculation around a [cryptocurrency ETF](https://www.coindesk.com/bitwise-proposes-etf-for-top-10-cryptos/), and growing institutional interest, said Pompliano.
Facebook itself even wants in on crypto. In May, [Cheddar reported Facebook is developing its own digital currency](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-plans-to-create-its-own-cryptocurrency-2).
"I have a lot of respect for the Facebook team," said Lessin. "What they have is a fundamental networkーthe biggest one ever in the history of the world connecting people." He called a Facebook move toward crypto an "obvious play."
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjExNzY=).
What does it mean to trust something -- or someone? A new book looks at trust and how it's eroding because of our current culture. Shiv Singh, co-author of "Savvy," talked to Cheddar about how the problem has developed and how it's impacting our daily lives.
The theme of Bill and Melinda Gates' annual letter for 2019 is "surprise." The letter, released Tuesday, acts as a roadmap for how the Gates Foundation plans to invest in technology that will help make the world a better place in the years to come. And, as Melinda Gates told Cheddar in an interview, it starts with poop.
The star-studded Golden State Warriors is adding another flashy name to its team: Google. The NBA defending champions and the Chase Center just formed a new partnership with Google Cloud to create a high-tech sports and entertainment area. The Warriors' Chief Revenue Officer Brandon Schneider joined Cheddar to discuss the partnership.
Swedish startup Amuse looking to re-invent the record label through machine learning. The company, the world's first mobile record company, just launched a new feature called 'Fast Forward' that uses data to predict and pay artists for their future royalties. "We allow artists around the world to use our digital distribution service," explained Co-Founder and CEO Diego Farias. "They upload the music to us, we deliver it to Apple, Spotify, etc. Whatever earnings they get they keep, so 100 percent of what they make."
Ted Christie recently took over the chief executive role at Spirit Airlines, and said the airline's ultra-low fares are driving "really, really high" demand. Because Spirit crams more seats onto its planes, that means it can also better defray the cost of oil when prices spike, he said.
Video game development platform Unity Technologies is gearing up to go public, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which was valued at a little more than $3 billion as of its last funding round in June 2018, is aiming to do its initial public offering during the first half of 2020 ー provided that market conditions are favorable, a source told Cheddar.
Mark Zuckerberg has both a champion and a critic in Roger McNamee.For some of the formative years in the Facebook CEO's early career, the famed investor served as a mentor. For the past few, McNamee has been a thorn in Zuckerberg’s side. McNamee has said he’s spoken out so strongly against Facebook because he feels "guilty" about the monster he helped to create, and wants to do everything he can to tame it. But he has never called for him to step down. Through McNamee's rose-tinted glasses, with the right mix of moral decision-making and regulation, Facebook can and will finish on the right side of history.
IBM in partnership with its subsidiary, The Weather Company, is using artificial intelligence and predictive technology to mitigate power outages during extreme weather conditions. But Weather Company CEO Cameron Clayton says the technology could have major implications for utilities companies that are struggling to keep up with increasingly unpredictable weather.
About half of U.S. gamers are women, but you wouldn't necessarily know it by looking at hardware design. Vivian Lien, chief marketing officer at ASUS North America, joined Cheddar Friday to discuss how her company is trying to make gaming more welcoming for women.
