A big glitch in cryptocurrency is impacting some shoppers online. Last week, a bank security firm uncovered Overstock.com unknowingly accepted Bitcoin Cash instead of Bitcoin as payment for a product. The glitch has since been fixed. Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byne responds to this mix-up.
Byne explained that there was no glitch with Overstock but rather a glitch at Coin Base. He estimated that the impact was less than $100 and did not severely impact any of their consumers. Byne was overall surprised by the amount of attention the story had received compared to the minimal impact it had.
Byne explains that Overstock is not expecting to create their own cryptocurrency. For the time being, they are happy to accept US dollars and Bitcoin.
Overstock.com is excited to be utilizing revolutionary crypto and developing their own blockchain technology for their platform. At this point, Overstock.com has made it a priority to use blockchain tech and develop it in the new year. Byne's goal is to build the most value per share of stock, and that's what he tells shareholders as CEO.
Gas prices are driving up demand for electric vehicles, but many potential buyers are having trouble finding them.
Thanks to a perfect storm of consumer demand and supply issues, EVs and hybrids are becoming increasingly hard to come by. Jesse Toprak, Chief Analyst for Autonomy, breaks down the factors contributing to this EV crunch.
The DOJ has endorsed an antitrust bill targeting tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Google. The legislation would ban the companies from favoring their own products and services over their competitor's, making it more difficult them to dominate the marketplace. Greg Day, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies at the University of Georgia, breaks down the bill and its potential impact on anti-competition in the tech sector.
Sony is leveling up its subscription service, PlayStation Plus this week, a combination of its earlier options into a tiered plan offering options to play streaming and mostly older titles instead of day-and-date new games like those offered by rival Microsoft on its Gamepass service. Colette Bennett, a senior reporter at TheStreet and the host of the podcast "Colette & Matt Have Entered the Chat," joined Cheddar News to talk about the backlash from gamers. I would say maybe like it's like a six. I'm happy to see older, stony games and have access to them, but I really would have preferred to be able to stream brand-new games. "Gamers are pretty upset that Sony is kind of repackaging the stuff that's been around more or less for years and trying to make it look new," she said. "You know, the Netflix subscription-like model is so appealing."
The most popular and most valuable cryptocurrency is also the least eco-friendly - data shows that Bitcoin mining generates the same amount of carbon emissions as the entire country of Thailand. According to nonprofit Fair Planet, 96 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions come from Bitcoin mining every year. Now, a consortium of climate activist groups is calling on the Bitcoin industry to cut its energy use by making changes to its software code. Michael Brune, former executive director of the Sierra Club, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
