Many brands are starting to see a recovery despite the challenges initially brought on by the pandemic. Some businesses, especially ones that focused efforts on expanding e-commerce ventures, have even seen profits rise even higher than before.
HYPEBEAST has rounded up the top business and crypto stories of the week so you can stay in the know about trends across industries.
Business
1. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) took place in Las Vegas, with several companies unveiling new products
Samsung introduced a new gaming hub and NFT platform, Sony unveiled the world’s first QD-OLED 4K TV, BMW showcased Digital Art More and a color-changing car and Razer revealed a modular gaming desk and Zephyr Pro mask. Check out all of the top concepts here.
2. Tim Cook earned $98.7 million USD as Apple CEO last year
His compensation included a $3 million USD base plus $82.3 million USD in stock awards, $12 million in non-equity incentives and an additional $1.3 million USD in other types of compensations. To put it into perspective, Cook’s salary is roughly 1,447 times the median Apple employee salary of $68,254 USD.
3. Snap is trying to trademark the word “spectacles”
Snap sued the United States Patent and Trademark Office for rejecting its application to trademark the word “spectacles” for their digital eyewear camera device of the same name. The USPTO has argued that the word is too generic to be applied to the company’s smart glasses.
4. Apple briefly hit a $3 trillion USD market cap
Apple reached the financial benchmark when its shares hit $182.86 before dropping. It is the first publicly traded U.S. company to do so.
Apple became the first U.S. company to reach $3 trillion in market value, with shares tripling since the pandemic lows of March 2020 https://t.co/1ilbeCaH45
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 3, 2022
5. Nike sued Lululemon over their Mirror at-home fitness device
The sports giant accused Lululemon of patent infringement. Lululemon purchased Mirror for $500 million USD in 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic.
Crypto
1. Airbnb might soon offer crypto payments
CEO Brian Chesky asked users to provide suggestions on what they’d like to see the company launch in 2022, with most respondents asking for crypto payments. “Already working on most, will look into others now!” he tweeted.
Got 4,000 suggestions. Here are the top 6:
1 – Crypto payments (top suggestion)
2 – Clear pricing displays
3 – Guest loyalty program
4 – Updated cleaning fees
5 – More long-term stays & discounts
6 – Better customer serviceAlready working on most, will look into others now! https://t.co/rxEM4BXZci
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 5, 2022
2. Crypto scammers stole a record $14 billion USD in 2021
Cryptocurrency-based crimes hit an all-time high in 2021, according to a new report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis. Stolen funds, fraud shops, ransomware, scams and terrorism financing were among the ways criminals made their money.
3. A rare “Golden Ape” Doodle NFT sold for a record $1.1 million USD
NFT collection Doodles sold a rare Doodle this week for 296.69 ETH, or about $1.1 million USD at the time of sale. The current floor price for a Doodle is 9.25 ETH ($29,634 USD).
Welcome #6914! #NFTs @doodles https://t.co/UXF1tnWpFR pic.twitter.com/ZDoDRE8Tze
— Pranksy ? (@pranksy) January 5, 2022
4. Nas is selling royalty rights to two of his songs as NFTs
Investment platform Royal has teamed up with Nas to release a portion of the streaming royalty rights to two of the rapper’s songs as NFTs — “Ultra Black” off of the Grammy Award winning-album King’s Disease, and “Rare,” a single from 2022 Grammy Award-nominated King’s Disease II. The platform’s first sale begins on January 11.
5. GameStop is reportedly building an NFT marketplace
The Wall Street Journal reports that the retailer has already hired over 20 people to run the department. The marketplace will launch later this year, sources said.
wazup.
