BINANCE: CEO Pleads Guilty, Resigns

Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have conceded to violating U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, leading to a significant agreement with U.S. officials. This arrangement allows the cryptocurrency exchange to continue its operations.

Zhao is subject to a potential 10-year prison term, but the plea bargain suggests he might serve no more than 18 months. This agreement appears to have mitigated the more severe consequences commonly faced by other prominent individuals in the cryptocurrency sector.

In this notable agreement, Binance will pay a substantial $4.3 billion fine, one of the largest in U.S. corporate history. Zhao must also pay a $50 million penalty and step down as CEO.

The company acknowledged that its platform facilitated financial transactions linked to Hamas and other entities identified as terrorist groups. It faced three major legal challenges: non-compliance with anti-money laundering protocols, running an unauthorized money transmission business, and infringing upon U.S. sanctions.

🎯 GRIT TAKE: Binance is incredibly lucky that… upgrade to VIP to read the full GRIT take. Click below! Get 50% off your first year now until Black Friday, Nov 24th.  

NVIDIA: Crushes Earnings

Investors of Nvidia responded tepidly to its recent quarterly earnings report. Although the report crushed the average predictions of analysts, it fell short of fulfilling the higher expectations of shareholders. These shareholders have invested significantly, anticipating a surge in the artificial intelligence sector.

For the fiscal third quarter ending October 29, Nvidia Corp. reported a significant revenue increase, soaring to $18.1 billion, as announced by the company. The earnings, excluding certain items, were $4.02 per share. This performance surpassed analyst expectations, which were around $16 billion in sales and $3.36 per share in earnings.

The standout segment within Nvidia's operations was its data center division, which generated $14.5 billion in revenue, a 279% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Additionally, the company's personal computer division has seen a recovery following a general industry downturn, with its revenue climbing 81% to reach $2.86 billion.

Nvidia's achievement in selling AI chips to major firms like Microsoft and Google has also attracted competition. Microsoft recently launched its proprietary AI processor, mirroring an earlier move by Amazon’s AWS. This quarter, Advanced Micro Devices is set to introduce its own rival to Nvidia, named the MI300. However, Nvidia is actively responding to these challenges. It has announced the release of a new version of its esteemed H100 chip, named the H200, which is expected to be available in the early part of next year.

Earnings:

- Revenue: $18.1 billion vs $16.1 billion est

- EPS: $4.02 per share vs $3.36 per share est

OPENAI: Sam Altman Returns

OpenAI announced early Wednesday morning on X, previously Twitter, that Sam Altman will resume his role as CEO. This decision comes in response to significant demands from staff and stakeholders, reversing his removal by the board less than a week earlier.

The company, supported by Microsoft, also shared that former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers are set to join its board. Taylor will serve as the chair, while Adam D’Angelo, Quora's co-founder and CEO, will continue as a board member.

On Monday, a large group of employees, with co-founder and board member Ilya Sutskever among them, signed a letter stating their intention to leave and join forces with Altman at Microsoft if the board didn't step down and reinstate Altman. This letter indicated that the majority were in favor of this action.

Headlines You Need To Know: 🎙

• Israel, Hamas reach hostage deal

• Warren Buffett makes big donation

• Shoppers have plenty of dry powder ahead of the holiday season

• Senator calls for investigation of health insurers

• The bill for offshore wind power is rising

• China rounds up 31,000 suspects

• Mortgage demand jumps to 6-week high

Food Stamps to Fortune 💰

This guy went from living on food stamps to building a billion-dollar company. 

Jan Koum’s story starts in a small village near Kyiv, Ukraine, where he lived a life marked by hardship and a lack of basic amenities. Seeking a better life, Jan and his mother immigrated to the United States when he was just 16. Settling in a modest apartment in California, they faced numerous challenges, with Jan and his mother relying on food stamps to get by. Despite these struggles, Jan was captivated by the world of technology, teaching himself computer networking and security, fueling his passion for programming.

Drawn to the opportunities in Silicon Valley, Jan took up various jobs to support his family while nurturing his growing tech skills. His persistence paid off when he secured a position at Yahoo, where he met Brian Acton, who would later become his co-founder in creating WhatsApp. In 2009, after leaving Yahoo, Jan and Brian embarked on a venture to develop a simple yet effective messaging app. This venture led to the birth of WhatsApp, which quickly evolved from a basic messaging service to a global sensation, connecting people across the world in a way that had never been done before.

The turning point in Jan Koum’s journey came in 2014 when Facebook acquired WhatsApp for an astounding $19 billion, one of the largest tech acquisitions in history. This deal not only transformed the messaging landscape but also catapulted Jan Koum, once a recipient of food stamps, into the ranks of billionaires.

Chart of the Day

📊 Newly delinquent credit card users are returning to pre-COVID levels.

The author, publisher or insiders of the publisher may currently have long or short positions in the securities of the companies mentioned herein, or may have such a position in the future (and therefore may profit from fluctuations in the trading price of the securities). To the extent such persons do have such positions, there is no guarantee that such persons will maintain such positions.