After the U.S. investment advisor Vanguard chose not to offer spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), its CEO Tim Buckley, in a recent discussion, described bitcoin as a speculative asset, unfit for inclusion in long-term investment portfolios. Vanguard’s CEO Confirms: No Change in Bitcoin ETF Policy, Cites Speculation Concerns Reaffirming Vanguard’s perspective on bitcoin during a […]
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The exterior of Starbucks’ new Union Market location
Source: Starbucks
Starbucks has unveiled a new store design focused on accessibility and inclusion, with fresh light fixtures and open floor plans.
The coffee giant opened the first location with the new design on Friday in Washington, D.C.’s Union Market.
“Designing for disabilities is just good design for everybody,” said Sara Trilling, president of Starbucks North America.
She added that designing a more accessible cafe took about two years and that the company solicited input from Starbucks baristas.
Starbucks designed the store to have an unobstructed path for customers.
Source: Starbucks
The Union Market cafe has power-operated doors so customers can use less effort to enter the cafe. Once inside, they can place their orders with baristas using a new point-of-sale system that has an adjustable angle stand, voice assist, screen magnification and photos of menu items.
“Imagine somebody who doesn’t speak English as a first language, and you’re trying to make sure that you’re getting [the order] right and providing great service. You’ll have an opportunity through some visual cues to make those confirmations,” Trilling said.
The counters are also lower, making them more accessible for wheelchair users, for example.
The store’s counters are lower, giving wheelchair users a better experience.
Source: Starbucks
Behind the counter, Starbucks’ new Clover Vertica system for brewing drip coffee has a more accessible design, with a large dial and protruding buttons.
“You can actually feel the settings by touch or using light to indicate when brewing cycles and other things have been completed,” Trilling said.
Starbucks’ new Clover Vertica brewing system features large dials and protruding buttons for easier use.
Source: Starbucks
Digital status boards show customers when their drinks are ready to pick up, in addition to baristas calling out their names.
Starbucks also changed the store lighting to minimize glare, shadows and backlighting that can make it more difficult to see. Insulation has been improved, too, so stores aren’t as noisy.
And Starbucks designed the overall floor plan of the store to be free of obstacles and to have open sightlines.
All future company-owned locations will follow a similar framework. Starbucks plans to open more than 600 new stores this year, increasing its U.S. footprint by 4%, including licensed locations.
The store’s lighting is softer, and insulation keeps noise levels lower.
Source: Starbucks
Building more accessible stores won’t be materially more expensive than using current designs, according to Trilling.
“I think about it as something that’s going to help us in terms of customer connection. It’s going to help us in terms of employee engagement,” she said.
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The CEO of investment management firm VanEck says he can’t see a world where Bitcoin (BTC) is overtaken as the leading store of value on the internet.
“I think it’s impossible for me to imagine some other internet store of value [will] leapfrog Bitcoin,” Jan van Eck said in a Dec. 16 interview with CNBC.
“There’s 50 million users of Bitcoin, so it’s got network effects.”
The CEO — $76.4 billion in assets under management — also crushed accusations that Bitcoin is in a “bubble,” — explaining that no asset has ever been in a bubble that continues to outperform itself every market cycle. He added:
“Bitcoin is the obvious asset that is growing up in front of our eyes.”
Meanwhile, Van Eck expects Bitcoin to see all-time highs in the next 12 months.
VanEck CEO @JanvanEck3 expects Bitcoin all-time-high in the next 12 months. “It’s an asset that’s growing up in front of our eyes.” Also some good notes on the spot Bitcoin ETF effort and macro cycle. pic.twitter.com/02qZOVBPyx
— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) December 16, 2023
The VanEck CEO said he and his late father, John van Eck — who founded the firm in 1955 — have store of value investing in their DNA and that he sees Bitcoin becoming an accompaniment to gold.
VanEck launched the first gold fund in the United States under John van Eck’s leadership in 1968.
VanEck is one of 13 applicants gunning for an approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States.
Related: VanEck files 5th amendment to spot Bitcoin ETF under ‘HODL’
The firm’s CEO expects all spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications to be approved on the same day.
ETF analysts predict the Securities and Exchange Commission will issue a decision on several pending spot Bitcoin ETF applicants sometime between Jan. 5–10, with BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, WisdomTree, Invesco and Galaxy, Fidelity, Hashdex and others also waiting for a final decision by the SEC.
Magazine: BlackRock revises BTC ETF filing, El Salvador’s crypto citizenship trending, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Dec. 10-16
Apple is now legally allowed to keep its taxation policy. As Justice Elena Kagan has ruled, the latest petition filed by Epic Games against Apple is declined.
US Supreme Court has granted Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) permission to keep its App Store payment rules. It means that a 30% tax imposed on application developers tapping on the App Store will stay, despite Epic Games‘ request to allow developers to direct users to different purchasing options.
As per Apple’s policy, the company charges a 30% fee for apps and in-app purchases on the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS App Store. Specifically, Apple takes a 30% cut from app developers who make over $1 million through the App Store on an annual basis. With a boom in the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) industry, creators called for lifting the tax and exempting NFTs from the policy. In response, Apple provided specific rules for NFTs in its App Store guidelines and banned apps from offering exclusive access to NFT owners, or from linking their users to third-party sites where they might buy, sell, and mint outside the Apple ecosystem, thus evading the Apple tax.
The tax has been the primary driver of growth in recent years for a company. The fees collectively contributed to Apple’s $78.1 billion in services revenue in the fiscal year 2022. However, the revenue came along with protests from companies against the tax.
Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, has been one of those accusing the company of breaking antitrust laws by forcing app makers to pay their 30% fees. In 2020, Epic Games sued Apple in federal court over its policy for the first time, and the legal process has been lasting for 3 years, with mixed success for both parties.
After an antitrust probe by the US Justice Department into the App Store’s fees and policies, it was ruled that Apple was not violating antitrust law and was not a monopolist. In response, Epic Games appealed the ruling and claimed that the original court “reached the wrong answer” and “made multiple legal errors.”
Next, Apple removed Fortnite from Apple’s App Store for violating its policies by launching its own in-app payment system.
In 2021, a US court ruled that Apple could not stop app developers from directing users to third-party payment options. But it also concluded that Epic failed to demonstrate Apple was operating an illegal monopoly.
In April this year, Epic Games was on top of the battle, as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California defended the game developer and ruled that Apple’s policy was violating state competition laws. The court’s decision gave hope for cryptocurrency and NFT projects willing to add more functionality to their iOS apps.
But now, with the latest update, Apple is legally allowed to keep its taxation policy. As Justice Elena Kagan has ruled, the latest petition filed by Epic Games against Apple is declined.
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Darya is a crypto enthusiast who strongly believes in the future of blockchain. Being a hospitality professional, she is interested in finding the ways blockchain can change different industries and bring our life to a different level.
ARK Invest CEO and crypto proponent Cathie Wood says that Bitcoin is set to grow massively as a store of value following the recent bank collapses. She believes that Bitcoin’s stability and a huge rally in the wake of US regional banks collapsing is a major testament to the fact that Bitcoin is the future of money.
In a recent interview with Barron’s, Wood maintained that she remains bullish on digital assets and highlighted three reasons she won’t be backing down on her investments. According to her, Bitcoin stood tall and rose by 60%, from $19,000 to $30,000, when regional banks like First Republic, SVB, and Signature Bank collapsed. She attributed this run to investors seeing the asset as a safe alternative for storing their wealth.
Wood explained:
We see three revolutions taking place because of crypto. Bitcoin will dominate the first one, the money revolution. The biggest proof is that when regional-bank stocks were falling apart earlier this year, Bitcoin went from $19,000 to $30,000. That was a flight to safety, and we expect it to accelerate. The centralized monetary system we have today is an aberration. We could be going back to the future – before the Federal Reserve existed – under a digital, rules-based monetary system with no government oversight.
The other reasons for her bullishness on digital assets relate to decentralized finance (DeFi) and digital property rights involving tokenizing several physical assets in real estate and other relevant industries.
“The second revolution is in financial services, or the so-called DeFi, which will be Ethereum-based. There are a number of infrastructure providers out there. It’s the survival of the fittest, and I’m excited to see who wins,” the CEO said.
Last but not least, according to Woord, “is digital property rights, or what many call NFT or the metaverse. People are already buying real estate in virtual worlds. Our young research associates come into the office wearing jeans and T-shirts with no logos, but they are getting their status in the virtual world.”
BTC bulls struggle to keep bears at bay | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
During the interview, Cathie Wood also discussed Coinbase’s ongoing battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Wood’s ARK holdings are one of the largest holders of Coinbase’s stock. She believes that the crypto exchange will ultimately get victory in the SEC’s lawsuit against it for the sale of unregistered securities.
According to her, the court will rule that the SEC has gone beyond its regulatory purview, and in the long run, the US Congress will pass crypto-friendly bills.
“Meanwhile, the legislative branch has awakened to the fact that crypto is a new asset class and we might need new legislatures to give the regulators some guidance,” the ARK Invest CEO added.
“Those two branches of government have given us great confidence that Coinbase will come out of this as a winner. Many Coinbase competitors either haven’t entered the US or moved out because of our regulatory system. Coinbase has stayed to fight. We think they’ll be rewarded accordingly.”
Cathie Wood’s ARK had bought $21.6 million worth of Coinbase’s stock in early June, just immediately after the SEC filed a lawsuit against the crypto exchange.
Featured image from ETF Stream, chart from Tradingview.com
Fashion brand Lacoste has unveiled an exclusive Ethereum-based virtual store for NFT holders as the brand aims to give its NFT holders an immersive experience for the summer. The virtual store, created by retail technology developer Emperia, will integrate the traditional retail experience with digital innovations exclusive to users holding Lacoste’s UNDW3 NFT passes.
Lacoste’s UNDW3 NFT holders will have exclusive access to the virtual store. UNDW3 is an NFT-based loyalty program the French brand released in June (similar to that of Starbucks).
Holders will access the virtual store through Lacoste’s e-commerce platform. The digital store gives an immersive experience right from the beginning; Shoppers enter through Lacoste’s iconic crocodile, which will lead them to a tiled boutique. These shoppers also get to enjoy the beach view in the digital store from its outdoor pool area.
Related Reading: Singaporean Judge Declares Crypto Is Personal Property In ByBit Case
Lacoste’s summer apparel collection will also be on display throughout the experience, and visitors can make a purchase at any time. There is also a crocodile-themed scavenger hunt game these shoppers can participate in.
Additionally, there is an exclusive underwater VIP space that only UNDW3 holders can access. These users will need to unlock this space by an email login or by connecting the digital wallet which contains the NFT. Furthermore, Lacoste’s exclusive UNDW3 apparel collection is available on sale in the VIP space.
There is more to it as it exemplifies the growing Phygital trend among fashion brands. Each piece from the exclusive UNDW3 apparel collection has a tokenized equivalent (in the form of an NFT). Holders can scan a QR code that unlocks an augmented reality (AR) feature, adding a more immersive angle to the shopping experience.
It is worth mentioning that this isn’t the first time Lacoste and Emperia have collaborated on a virtual shopping experience. Emperia had previously helped Lacoste build a token-gated gamified experience for UNDW3 NFT holders. This shoppable activation, which launched in December 2022, won a Webby Award earlier this year.
Speaking on the blissful relationship with Lacoste, Emperia’s co-founder, and CEO Olga Dogadkina said:
Our ongoing work with Lacoste and its advanced view of e-commerce and customer loyalty has given birth to new technologies that yield an improved user journey which connects the dots between virtual and physical retail.
The phygital trend continues to grow in the fashion world and has become one of the biggest benefits of Web3 to the industry. Fashion brands like Nike have also in the past launched projects that help give their customers a feel of the physical and digital realms together.
Total market cap now above $1.15 trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Awwwards, chart from Tradingview.com
An apparent malicious app purporting to be crypto hardware wallet Trezor has been taken off Apple’s App Store, though a quick search has revealed that other copycat apps are still lurking.
On June 20, Managing Partner at Crypto Lawyers, Rafael Yakobi, posted a security alert regarding Apple’s App Store. Yakobi reported that the first result in a search for “Trezor” was a malicious app designed to steal cryptocurrency.
He warned Apple users that the fake “Trezor Wallet Suite” app will “request your seed phrase, allowing its operators to steal all of your crypto.” Yakobi added:
“This app has been up for weeks, although the total number of victims is unknown, it could easily be in the hundreds or thousands.”
Security Alert
The first search result for “Trezor” in the Apple @AppStore is a malicious application that will request your seed phrase, allowing its operators to steal all of your crypto.
The name of the malicious application is “Trezor Wallet Suite.” You can verify… pic.twitter.com/vWsXTHpkYK
— Rafael Yakobi (@Deliver8tor) June 19, 2023
Cointelegraph searched the United States’ version of the App Store and could not find the malicious app referenced by Yakobi. Apple is generally quick to remove suspicious or fraudulent apps from its app store once alerted.
However, a search for “Trezor Wallet Suite” returned another potentially nefarious application called “MyTREZŌR Suite: One Edition.” It only had two reviews — both of which were warnings that the app is a scam that will steal crypto — so it appears that Apple has not fully cleaned house as of yet.
Apple insists that apps on its official App Store have been vetted and cleared for security purposes.
The safest way to download mobile applications for crypto wallets is from the manufacturers’ official website. While there is an app available for Trezor users on iOS, it’s merely a companion app with limited functionality.
Related: Apple’s outside payments ban ruled as unlawful in likely win for NFTs and crypto
According to Apple news outlet 9to5mac.com, the world’s largest tech company isn’t too friendly when it comes to crypto apps, which are only supposed to be approved under strict circumstances. The outlet noted:
“While Apple says that the App Store ‘is a place you can trust’ and fights against sideloading, what happens in real life is that even Apple can’t keep the App Store free of scams.”
Fake wallet apps on Apple’s App Store are nothing new. In 2021, one user reportedly lost $600,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) after downloading a malicious Trezor app from the App Store.
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