Fortune Crypto 40 is building the future with blockchain
Mary-Catherine Lader is the COO of Uniswap Labs, which ranks #1 in the DeFi category on Fortune’s inaugural Crypto 40 ranking. Natalie Keyssar—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Good morning.
Last year’s cryptocurrency plunge, the collapse of FTX and the evaporation of a couple trillion dollars in value, left many people – myself included – wondering what was left in the wreckage. Is this really a revolutionary new technology that will change the way the world does business and finance? Or is it mainly a tool for speculators and mockers? US regulators have gone on the attack, with the CFTC suing Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and the SEC sending a Wells Notice to Coinbase, the number two exchange.
Is there a pony in there somewhere? At Fortune, we’re still looking. Today we’re launching a new list, the Fortune Crypto 40, which identifies the companies doing the best work with blockchain. The list recognizes that “the industry, once defined by crypto trading, is now much broader,” says our veteran crypto editor Jeff John Roberts, who has covered crypto for nearly a decade. “We are honoring a wide range of industries, from VC firms to NFT shops to data companies to decentralized protocols, that have created great businesses around blockchain technology.”
The new list is based on a rigorous methodology, which looks at a number of calculations and a survey of financial managers. It identifies eight different categories and selects the top five companies and entities operating in each. You can find the list this morning here. We think it shows that there is indeed interesting work going on in crypto and blockchain technology that will change the business world in many ways. One example: how NFTs are reshaping the music industry.
Spoiler alert: Binance is not at the top of any of these lists. If you want to understand a reason why, take a look at Shawn Tully’s analysis of the Binance business model here. And to understand the forces that shaped Binance’s founder and CEO, read this profile of Changpeng “CZ” Zhao by Roberts and Yvonne Lau.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
[email protected]
TOP NEWS
Remote terminations
Due to the increase in telecommuting, remote dismissals have become more common. Many companies now prefer to inform their employees about layoffs remotely. This method offers advantages such as privacy, confidentiality and comfort for those concerned, allowing them to process the news in a dignified manner. Although layoffs were considered the norm for a long time, the situation has evolved, and according to Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, remote terminations may be the better option. Fortune
Take your time, EY
The SEC has given EY more time to resolve issues related to an exam cheating scandal that led to a $100 million fine and allegations of misleading US regulators. Initially, EY was ordered to complete an independent investigation by January 2023 into why its US managers failed to disclose evidence from a whistleblower that employees shared answers to professional tests. This process is still ongoing and the SEC has given the independent consultants more time to complete the review. Financial Times
Next stop: Shanghai
Tesla plans to open a factory in Shanghai that will produce Megapack energy products, in addition to the factory production in California. The Shanghai factory is expected to start production in Q2 2024 and will initially produce 10,000 Megapack units annually, providing approximately 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage. Reuters
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
How Binance Turned Ordinary People Connecting Crypto Into Millionaires: Inside Its 26,000-Person Influencer Army by Alexandra Sternlicht and Shawn Tully
Advanced artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, DALL-E and vote cloning technology are already causing great fear for the 2024 elections by Jeremy Kahn
Elon Musk says he’s ‘stupid a lot more often than I want to be’ as Tesla strategy questioned by Steve Mollman
You don’t need your own private jet to fly privately by Adam Erace
Elon Musk Changes NPR’s Twitter Brand to ‘Government Funded Media’ After ‘U.S. Government-Funded Media’ Comes Under Heavy Criticism by Steve Mollman
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Jackson Fordyce.
