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On Thursday, President Donald Trump will sit down for an intimate evening at his Northern Virginia golf club with 220 of his favorite people in the world: a group of cryptocurrency speculators who have spent an estimated $148 million on Trumps eponymous memecoin, making the president and his associates millions of dollars in the process. Even by Trumps standards, this dinner will be the culmination of one of the most cartoonish episodes of executive-branch graft in recent memory. Last month, Trump announced that at the end of a predetermined period, he would host an unforgettable Gala DINNER for the top 220 holders of $TRUMP, allowing winners to discuss the future of the industry with the Crypto President himself. The top 25 token holders would also get to attend an Exclusive Reception with Trump, along with a Special VIP White House Tour. (Hours after the contest went live, its website was quietly edited to promise the top 25 finishers only a Special VIP Tour, with no location specified. It remains unclear whether that event will indeed take place at the White House, or at a golf resort facility of the presidents choice.) The contests organizer, a Trump-affiliated LLC called Fight Fight Fight, maintained an online leaderboard of those jockeying for position during the sweepstakes, which ended on May 12. The website also includes helpful information about the dress code (black tie optional) and the plus-one policy (none, because if you earned a seat at the table, its because you earned it). For Trump, the logistical details were far less important than the chance to juice the market for $TRUMP, which had cratered after launching in January but then spiked by more than 50% when he announced the contest. In the two days that followed, the Trump Organization and its affiliates, which together control roughly 80% of the tokens supply, took in nearly $1 million in trading fees; by the end of the sweepstakes, that number had jumped to $3 million, according to a Washington Post analysis. In all, the Post estimates that since the coins debut four months ago, Trump and company have made $312 million from crypto sales and $43 million in fees. As it turns out, one of the perks of being the person in charge of U.S. cryptocurrency policy is the freedom to profit off of cryptocurrency without fear of meaningful consequences. The details of the frenzy to secure a spot on the leaderboard make clear just how for sale the federal government is right now. Making the top 220, according to Wired, required holding or buying more than 4,000 $TRUMP tokens worth about $55,000 altogether; those who made the VIP list held an average of 325,000 tokens worth a collective $4.3 million. Many of the people who made the cut made their purchases on exchanges that suggest they are non-U.S. residents who jumped at the chance to bend the U.S. presidents ear in a semiprivate setting. Sure enough, although the leaderboard identifies winners only by username and alphanumeric crypto wallet address, among the confirmed attendees are Justin Sun, a Chinese crypto speculator who is, in a wild coincidence, trying to settle civil fraud charges with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission; an Australian crypto entrepreneur who hopes to pitch Trump on adopting an even more industry-friendly regulatory stance; and a to-be-determined representative of MemeCore, a Singapore-based crypto collective that told New York magazine that whomever it sends hopes to ask Trump, Are you a meme, or the result of one? Fight Fight Fight calculated the value of contestants holdings based on both the amount of $TRUMP in a wallet and the length of time theyd held it, thus rewarding early investors for their commitment to padding the presidents bottom line. That said, earlier this month, the journalist Molly White found that of the wallets on the leaderboard at the time, 62% started buying $TRUMP only after he dangled the dinner invitation. Once acquiring a floundering memecoin came with a shot at a sit-down with the literal President of the United States, people who were previously uninterested apparently decided to reevaluate their investment priorities. Since the event is closed to the press, there will be no independent coverage of what Trump says to attendees, or what the attendees say to Trump, or even who the attendees are. The entire spectacle amounts to an off-the-record jam session between a bunch of people who have already gotten rich off crypto, brainstorming ways to keep getting rich off crypto. For Trump, the event is only the latest celebration of his whirlwind romance with crypto, which he spent years disparaging before realizing that embracing it could help fast-track his return to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He positioned himself as the pro-crypto candidate on the campaign trail last year, promising to create a national crypto stockpile and appoint industry luminaries to prominent administration roles. In another wild coincidence, around the same time, his adult sons helped launch World Liberty Financial, a crypto project structured to funnel 75% of revenue to the Trump family. WLF was basically a hedge against the results of the 2024 election: Even if Trump lost, he would at least have a new source of income to pay his legal bills. The fact that Trump won that election, of course, has made this alliance even more successful for everyone involved. In the hours before his inauguration, the price of Bitcoin spiked to nearly $110,000, then an all-time high. Demand for World Liberty Financials coins exploded, too, especially from foreign investors whom federal law bars from giving directly to presidential campaigns or inaugural funds. (Sun, who will attend Thursdays dinner, has spent nearly $75 million on WLF tokens, making him its single largest known investor.) More recently, Abu Dhabi announced that it would use a WLF-issued stablecoin, USDI1, for its state-backed investment firms $2 billion deal with the crypto exchange Binancea choice that just so happens to put tens of millions of dollars in the Trump familys pockets. In an interview with the New York Times earlier this year, Eric Trump spoke of the familys pivot to crypto in glowing terms, describing World Liberty Financial as one of the more successful things weve ever done. The numbers bear this out: In March, Fortune estimated that Trumps crypto holdings were worth $2.9 billionnot bad for an asset he was dismissing as not money, highly volatile, and based on thin air a few years earlier. Pundits often describe Trumps involvement in crypto as unprecedented, and in a sense, this is right: Given Washingtons enduring obsessions with political scandals and conflicts of interest, traditionally, sitting presidents have not developed active side hustles in industries they have the power to regulate. But Trump has never cared about adhering to norms like this one, because he has always viewed the power of the office he holds primarily in terms of its potential to make him wealthier. He agreed to shake hands with a couple hundred crypto enthusiasts this week for the only reason he has ever done anything: He saw a chance to make money, and no one stopped him from taking it.
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E-Commerce
For the past few years, hybrid work has meant splitting time between home and office. And for the most part, people like itflexibility, fewer commutes, more balance. But theres a new hybrid model on the rise, and it has nothing to do with geography. As Artificial Intelligence is woven into the fabric of business alongside humans and begins to help support human workloads, the future of hybrid work wont only be defined by where we work, but by how we work together with our AI counterparts. As Agentic AI enters a more mature phase, organizations are moving beyond experimentation to ask deeper questions: How does AI complement human strengths? What does meaningful collaboration between people and machines realistically look like? How can AI reach its full potential to drive business value? (Hint: its not going to do it all by itself.) The future of work isnt about automating humans out of their jobs (although some jobs will become obsolete); its about augmenting peoples skills with technology that helps them be faster, better, and more efficient than they could be on their own. In the not-too-distant future, hybrid roles will be defined as part human, part AI, where technology enhances the judgment, creativity, and efficiency of its human counterpart. Whats the Worst that can Happen? From apocalyptic headlines to late-night TV jokes about being replaced by robots, it can be easy to find signs of AI anxiety. According to an independent market survey conducted for Concentrix of 1,000 US consumers aged 18 and up, 51% of people would characterize themselves as somewhat familiar with autonomous decision-making or agentic AI. There is work to be done to bring everyone up to speed on what AIs purpose is, and isnt. When asked about whether Agentic AI will have a positive or negative impact on the future of work, 36% saw the glass half full with a somewhat to mostly positive view that AI will be helpful, but acknowledged that there are risks; 31% of respondents stood in the glass half empty crowd with a somewhat to mostly negative sentiment, saying AI could introduce job losses and ethical issues. Public opinion remains divided, reflecting the uncertainty among workers in the market. Beyond simple efficiencies For now, AI is just starting to prove its worth by helping people with tedious or time-consuming tasks, like helping write important emails, summarizing meetings, and producing (simple) reports. But the reality is that these days wont last longcompanies are already moving on from low-hanging efficiencies toward revenue growth and innovation. Forward-thinking companies are shaking things up by challenging their workforce’s skills and tech-savviness and revamping their internal operations to be AI-centric, actively shifting from Prompt-Engineering to Agentic Engineering (Prompts + Data integration), instead of just slapping in chatbots and calling it a day. Companies that struggle with adoption of AI are often going about it the wrong way. They have been looking for places where AI can automate a task or replace a human, rather than enhance the experience of a journey or workflow. They have been piloting AI projects and arbitrarily cutting humans out of the loop, oftentimes with disastrous effects. AI won’t replace you, but someone using it better, will The biggest mistake companies make when implementing AI? Using it to replace people instead of empowering them. The next evolution is for companies to stop thinking about how to replace human employees with AI, and start thinking about how AI can augment human laborand vice versa. AI needs humans to thrive, and humans will thrive with AI. If AI can take care of the low-hanging fruit of a persons workload, the human is then freed to do more contextual, empathetic, and strategic thinking. There is tremendous value in the human experience that improves business outcomes in ways that AI cannot do alone. Understanding of how emotion, context, and humor play into everyday life, is where humans excel. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) may well be the perfect companion to augment AIs speed and efficiency, and we havent begun to discover what were capable of when we truly embrace the potential of the hybrid world. Interpretation and integration While some jobs that arent as heavily reliant on EQ to be successful may be automated, AI is already creating new opportunities for people who can interpret, manage, and integrate AI-driven technologies. The hybrid jobs of tomorrow are starting to be found in a variety of industries. In healthcare, the AI-Assisted Healthcare Professional will help doctors and nurses use AI to enhance diagnostics, personalize treatment plans, and manage patient data effectively, to lead to better patient outcomes. Designers who have woven AI technologies into the user interfaces have created better user experiences. Creative professionals who have used AI to rapidly create music, marketing content, and movie making are in demand. Were only seeing the beginning of hybrid jobshuman imagination will define those that come next. Your AI coworker just dropped you a message, dont leave it unread What will it take for humans to build trust in Agentic AI? Exactly half (50%) of survey respondents said greater human insight and ability to intervene is a good place to start. They want proof of AIs accuracy and reliability over time (42%). And they desire more regulatory oversight (41%). These findings tell us that people are ready to embrace a more integrated, collaborative approach to AI, but they desire a trusted human counterpart to have peace of mind that AIs not in charge, its part of a hybrid work team. Time to go out and make friends with your AI colleague.
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E-Commerce
Brand licensing deals can be an easy way to make a quick buck, but it’s not without risks. A man who splurged for one of President Donald Trump’s officially licensed watches learned that lesson the hard way after the timepiece arrived with an unfortunate typo. The $640 limited-edition “Inauguration First Lady” watch the Rhode Island man bought read “Rump” instead of “Trump” across its pink face. “We expected that it would have the integrity of the president of the United States,” Tim Petit, who bought the watch for his wife, told the local news station WJAR. He said it made his wife cry. [Screenshot: NBC 10 WJAR/YouTube] Perhaps expecting integrity from a product that trades on the name and likeness of the first felon president in U.S. history, a man whose second term in office has become a historic tangle of conflicts of interest, is asking for too much. But it’s also a pitfall that all brands face when they outsource their products. Licensing your brand can increase brand recognition and profits without cost risks, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but without specific, enforced licensing requirements, you risk losing out on quality control. Not that the Trump brand is particularly airtight. Trump has long made money from licensing deals, with resulting products such as Trump: The Game, Trump Water, and Trump Steaks. In between terms, Trump cashed in on new product releases like Trump Sneakers and God Bless the USA Bibles, all using LLCs that licensed his name and likeness to manufacture and market Trump-themed kitsch to his political supporters. [Screenshot: gettrumpwatches.com] Trump Watches aren’t sold directly by Trump, his business, or an aligned political entity, but by TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, a manufacturer with a business address at a nondescript Wyoming building, which is also home to a daycare center. With Trump back in office, Trump Watches and other licensed storefronts represent something unprecedented: a president personally profiting off of merch sales, a category that until now has been relegated to campaign fundraising. And in a shocking but not surprising twist for the president who’s made domestic manufacturing central to his political agenda, the watches make no claim to be made in the United States (GQ actually sourced them to China). Luckily for the Rhode Island couple with the misspelled watch, the story has a happy ending. Though Trump Watches has a strict policy of no refunds or exchanges and states on its website that “images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product,” the company made an exception for the “Rump” watch, though only after the media got involved. Petit said he didn’t hear back from the company until after WJAR reached out for comment, and then he got a call from Trump Watches offering to replace the watch and gift him an $800 coupon. Sometimes all it takes is a free press.
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E-Commerce
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