A Decent Publication™

Presented by CryptoLink.Tech & GaussGang.com

Volume 1 | Edition 23 | November 23, 2023

Opening Thoughts

Good morning and happy Friday!

This is a bit of a switch up from our regularly scheduled programming on Thursday mornings, but as many of you know, this week was Turkey week for those of us in the United States!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the readers in the States, I hope you enjoyed some time with loved ones and watched some Thanksgiving Day football.

With that being said, this edition will be quite a bit shorter than normal and without some of the regular segments. As we get into the Holiday Season time seems to be thinner than ever and this week was no exception. Next week we will get back to a longer edition to elaborate on some things I’ll touch on this morning and jump into any developing stories.

This week was another classic rollercoaster in the tech world, primarily regarding AI and blockchain.

Let’s cover a few major events from the past week!

World Of Web3

Navigating the immense amount of nonsense in this space, bringing you only the good stuff.

The OpenAI Saga: A Week of Unexpected Twists and Turns

Friday, November 17th: The tech world was taken aback when Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was unexpectedly dismissed. This decision, made by the original board that included former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Adam D'Angelo, cited a lack of candor from Altman as the primary reason, emphasizing the need to stay true to OpenAI's mission of developing AI beneficial to humanity.

Following Days: Altman's departure set off a ripple effect within OpenAI. Greg Brockman, the President of OpenAI, resigned in protest of the board's decision. This was followed by a staggering response from the staff – over 700 employees threatened to leave and join Microsoft.

Brief Tenure at Microsoft: In the immediate aftermath of his dismissal, Sam Altman joined Microsoft as the head of artificial intelligence research, along with Greg Brockman and other OpenAI staff members.

Tuesday, November 21st: In a dramatic turn of events, Sam Altman was reinstated as CEO of OpenAI. This decision came after days of intense internal discussions and negotiations. The board that had ousted him was replaced with a new initial board, indicating a potential shift in OpenAI's direction and governance.

Immediate Aftermath: The reappointment of Altman brought a semblance of stability back to OpenAI. Emmett Shear, the ex-Twitch boss, played a pivotal role in this process, serving as interim CEO during the transition and helping to navigate these turbulent changes.

On another note, according to TheGuardian.com, OpenAI has been working on and successfully testing an “advanced AI model” that was pushing the boundaries of safety.

This model, named Q* (pronounced Q-Star), was apparently capable of solving simple math equations that it had not seen before.

It is unknown how connected this information is to the drama that unfolded last week with the start-up behemoth, but interesting, nonetheless.

Read more about Q* HERE at TheGuardian.

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The Binance Saga: CZ Out as CEO, Binance to Pay Billions in Fines

Everyone in web3 knows who Binance is. CZ has been somewhat of a mythical being in the blockchain world since Binance’s ICO in 2017. Over the years Binance has found itself in legal battle with the United States while subsequently writing the framework for web3 legislation in Eastern nations.

It seems that CZ and Binance have decided that a parting is for the best. Let’s walk through the series of events that led to CZ resignation and guilty plea.

Resignation and Guilty Plea: Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ," the founder and CEO of Binance, stepped down and pleaded guilty to several violations as charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other U.S. agencies. He appeared in a Seattle federal court to enter his plea.

New CEO Appointment: Richard Teng, previously the CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market and Binance’s former global head of regional markets, was appointed as the new CEO of Binance.

Financial Settlement: Binance agreed to pay about $4.3 billion to resolve the DOJ's investigations. Additionally, as part of Binance’s guilty plea, agreements were reached with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Violations and Penalties: Binance, Zhao, and other related parties were found to have failed to register as a money services business and to implement an anti-money laundering program, violating the Bank Secrecy Act. Zhao personally agreed to a recommendation that he pay a $50 million fine to the CFTC. Under the plea agreement, Zhao will resign and will be prohibited from any present or future involvement in operating the business for three years from the date a monitor is appointed.

Read more about this story HERE at TechCrunch.

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The Power of Generosity in Organizational Development

MacEwen Patterson, Gauss CBDO

This time of year, it feels right to get a little introspective, reflect on what makes us human, and how to amplify the best of ourselves. Today we’re exploring generosity as a business principle.

Read the full article HERE at Decent Media

Final Byte: Wally’s Wisdom

I told you it would be short this week!

Thank you for tuning in to this week’s edition of Chain Reaction. I hope everyone in the United States enjoys their long Holiday weekend. To our subscribers elsewhere, I hope that you also have a great weekend and spend some time touching grass and hanging out with loved ones!

Next week we will be back with a full edition of Chain Reaction, packed full of the top stories in web3.

For now, I’m going to have a coffee and stare at this pumpkin pie until tonight.

Until next week!

Best,

Wally
Marketing/Branding - CryptoLink.Tech
Co-Founder - Decent Media

👇 Subscribe to Chain Reaction! 👇

If you are catching today’s edition on the web and you are not already subscribed, do us a favor and click the button below! Subscribing is free and it is the #1 way to support the Chain Reaction newsletter. In the future, we will be exploring the possibility of subscriber and referral rewards.