Elon Musk Faces Backlash for Announcing Change to X Social Media Algorithm
Elon Musk is facing backlash after announcing that the social media platform X would change its algorithm to promote certain types of content over others. The entrepreneur made the announcement in a January 3 post, stating:
"Our goal is to maximize un-regretted user-seconds. Too much negativity is being pushed that technically grows user time, but not un-regretted user time."
Source: Elon Musk’s Twitter Post
Users on the platform have characterized the algorithm change as a form of censorship, arguing that the term "negativity" is too subjective and asking Musk who would determine what content qualified as negative.
The announced change to the social media algorithm follows a recent online feud between Musk and his supporters over immigrant visas. Some users have expressed concerns about the potential impact on free speech and the role of algorithms in shaping user experiences.
Suspected Insider Wallets Net $20 Million on Solana’s Focai Memecoin Launch
At least 15 insider wallets made an over 136,000-fold return on their initial $14,600 investment by buying up a large share of tokens in the recent Focai.fun (FOCAI) memecoin launchpad on Solana’s (SOL) Pump.fun platform.
According to onchain analytics firm Lookonchain, the suspected insiders have made an over 136,000-fold return on their initial $14,600 investment. They bought up over 60.5% of the total token supply and then sold all their FOCAI tokens for a profit of 94,175 SOL ($20.5 million), netting 94,108 SOL ($20.48 million).
The concentration of such a large share of tokens in a small number of wallets has drawn criticism from blockchain analysts, highlighting potential risks to decentralization, which is a key principle in cryptocurrency.
FOCAI Token’s Market Capitalization Peaks and Falls
The FOCAI token peaked at over $46 million in market capitalization on January 3. However, its market capitalization fell nearly 14% to $39.6 million as of 11:55 am UTC, according to Pump.fun data.
Bitcoin Hashrate Briefly Hits All-Time High
On January 3, the Bitcoin network’s hashrate briefly reached a new all-time high as miners continued to add capacity. According to data from CoinWarz, Bitcoin’s hashrate peaked at over 1,000 exahashes per second (EH/s). This is more than double the 510 EH/s in January 2024.
However, following the intraday peak, the hashrate dipped back below 780 EH/s. Despite this brief increase, the overall trend of Bitcoin’s hashrate rising as miners add capacity and computational resources devoted to the blockchain continues.
Bitcoin Mining Companies Add Capacity Despite Halving Event
Miners are adding capacity despite the April 2024 halving event, which reduced mining rewards to 3.125 BTC from 6.25 BTC. In a December report, JPMorgan noted that "mining companies acquired other miners with turn-key facilities to increase near-term hashrate and increase their power pipeline."
JPMorgan also raised the price target of four Bitcoin mining stocks to reflect the growing value of their BTC holdings.
Conclusion
Today’s news in crypto highlights several key trends and developments. Elon Musk faces backlash for announcing a change to X’s social media algorithm, which some users have characterized as censorship. Meanwhile, insider wallets made an over 136,000-fold return on their investment by buying up FOCAI tokens, highlighting potential risks to decentralization.
Finally, Bitcoin’s hashrate briefly hit a new all-time high, demonstrating the ongoing growth of computational resources devoted to the blockchain. As the crypto market continues to evolve, these trends and developments will be closely watched by investors and analysts alike.
