Since my last post, there have been significant developments. Two months ago, I discussed Bitcoin’s stable valuation around $60,000 and the remarkable advancements in artificial intelligence. Fast forward to the present, Bitcoin remains resilient at around $60,000, maintaining investor interest, while artificial intelligence continues its remarkable evolution. This week, Bitcoin experienced a surge, reaching new highs of $76,000, only to fluctuate back to the $60,000-$65,000 range, prompting a renewed wave of speculation and engagement within the Bitcoin ecosystem. Moreover, this week marked a significant event for Bitcoin – its halving, wherein the subsidy for mining a block was halved, alongside the introduction of a new implementation on the Bitcoin network. This implementation, albeit temporary, resulted in increased transaction fees on the layer one main blockchain, thereby initiating a multifaceted debate surrounding its potential implications for the Bitcoin protocol’s integrity and scalability. Within this discourse, contentious topics such as block size, the validity of transactions, and the disruptive influence of NFTs and meme tokens on blockchain congestion have emerged, underscoring the complexity of blockchain governance and innovation. In my perspective, amidst these debates, the fundamental principle remains unchanged – a transaction is a transaction, with each satoshi holding equal value. However, the comprehension of transactions across diverse protocols necessitates a nuanced understanding of each protocol, posing a formidable barrier to entry for the average user. Despite these intricacies, the crypto space remains a niche domain, largely peripheral to broader market dynamics. Shifting gears to artificial intelligence, Meta (formerly Facebook) recently unveiled Llama 3, a new large language model poised to disrupt the AI landscape. Positioned as open-source code, Llama 3 offers promising benefits for the industry, although the pace of AI advancement warrants cautious scrutiny. The accelerating complexity and sophistication of AI systems raise legitimate concerns regarding ethical implications and societal impact. Nonetheless, my fascination with the field persists.