Open Source: NC crypto believers keep faith
Hey all. I’m Brian Gordon, tech writer for The News & Observer, and this is Open Source.
Crypto isn’t in a great place. Bitcoin and Ethereum are way down. FTX and BlockFi are bankrupt. Many coins you probably didn’t know existed have all but disappeared.
But crypto disciples in the Triangle still firmly believe.
“It’s not the price of Ethereum that stands for everything that’s going on,” said Sam Masten, a 21-year-old student at North Carolina State University. “It’s the actual blockchains themselves and what they empower people to do.”
Masten hopes to make his career within the protean crypto industry. And at least for now, he’ll have options to do so in the Triangle. Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill support a sizable network of crypto investors, Web3 startups and NFT artists.
VinFast arrives
Vinfast, the Vietnamese automaker that has big plans in Chatham County, shipped its first 1,000 EVs to the U.S. last Friday. It did so with a lot of pomp — a ceremony featuring music, dancers and pyrotechnics.
Breaking into the American auto market isn’t easy, but VinFast intends to be North Carolina’s first car manufacturer. The price of its five-seat model starts at $57,000, while its seven-seat option starts at $76,000.
Until recently, the company only offered customers the option to lease their car batteries through a subscription model. But after hearing public feedback asking for battery-included buying options, the company adjusted its approach.
Remembering a computer science pioneer
His IBM computer line changed the industry in the 1960s. His UNC department continues today. He wrote a best-selling book on workplace management. Fred Brooks, who died last month in Chapel Hill at the age of 91, is credited with shaping computer science in more than one way.
Mark Cuban emails back
Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is apparently known for personally responding to email inquiries, and I now see why. I sent a message to him right before taking off on a flight from Charlotte this week and had his response in my inbox by the time I landed in Raleigh.
What was the message about? I asked him why a deal he recently made on “Shark Tank” with an Apex couple for their crochet startup fell through. Cuban said he didn’t know, and he didn’t sound thrilled about it.
Fun fact: In 2016, Forbes found nearly half of “Shark Tank” deals made over the show’s first seven seasons never came to fruition.
Short Stuff: Awards and women in STEM conference
The North Carolina Technology Association released its 2022 award winners Tuesday night at a large gala at the Raleigh Convention Center. A list of the winners can be found here.
And MetLife, the company hiring the most tech workers in the Triangle at the moment, held its annual Triangle Tech X Conference this week, an event where stakeholders explored how to expand women’s roles in STEM. Virtual speakers included Serena Williams and Ellen Pao, the former CEO of Reddit addressed employees at MetLife’s Cary campus.
“None of this happens if you don’t treat this as a business imperative,” Pao said. “Like every other business imperative, you need accountability.”
National Tech Happenings
South Dakota’s Governor has banned state employees from using TikTok on government devices, citing national security concerns.
Wired reports Apple has declined remote work options for staff in Texas who don’t want to live with state’s abortion restrictions.
Twitter has given advertisers incentives to stick with the beleaguered site, the Wall Street Journal found.
Podcast Pick of the Week
In October, Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine wrote a 40,000-word essay on everything crypto. It’s obviously an exhaustive piece, but for something more readily digestible, check out Levine’s recent crypto discussion on the Slate Money podcast.
Thanks for reading and good luck to the USMNT this Saturday. ⚽
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
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