🇨🇦 The Canadian News Blockade

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👋 Friends, Rallie here. The newsletter sneaking into your inbox with the latest in crypto, finance, and tech.

On the menu:

• 🇨🇦 The Canadian News Blockade

• 🗞️ Headlines That Hit

• 📈 Refresh: Bitcoin ETFs

• ✌️ Trivia Thursday

• 💯 Top Tweets

The Rallie Recap

🍁 Canadians losing access to news content? 📰 Here’s the breakdown on Bill C-18 and its effects on the nation:

• What is going on? 🫴 The Canadian government wants tech giants like Google and Meta to pay news publishers for using their content.

• 📜 The controversial legislation, the Online News Act (Bill C-18), looks to aid Canada’s struggling news industry as thousands are constantly getting laid off. 🚪

• However, Meta is standing its ground so far… with Facebook and Instagram starting the process of ending news availability in Canada as well. 🚫

• 🧐 Google has also announced its plans to omit Canadian news sites from search results in reaction to the bill. The new law is less than popular… will these tech giants exiting provide enough opportunities for competitors to build and sustain the industry? 🏗️

• And how much profit will be gained if Meta and Google give in to the new law? 💸 Estimates suggest that there will an additional income of $329M CAD for Canadian newsrooms if they comply. 

• 🤝 For both companies, the money coming out of their pocket would be less than 1% in annual revenue.

• But, that extra money can be critical for the sustainability of Canadian news companies.

• 🌱 What do the smaller media companies have to say about this legislation?

• ✍ Some experts argue that Canada’s move will only benefit big media outlets without considering how journalism has adapted to industry changes.

• Alfred Hermida, a University of British Columbia journalism professor, claims 50% of startup companies’ visitors are through Google and Meta, so losing that traffic is critical. 🚧

• ✋ Additionally, he brings attention to Canada’s lopsided media monopoly, “This piece of legislation was expected to bring in $300 million annually into the news industry. But most of that, 75 per cent is going to major broadcasters, only 25 per cent is going to newspapers and online news sites.” 🤔

• But this law has worked for publishers before… right?

• 🇦🇺 Canada’s new bill is modelled after Australia’s 2021 bill that triggered the same threats from Google and Facebook. However, it is unclear whether or not the same success will happen for Canada. 👀

• The corporate pushback. 🏢 Google argues that Bill C-18 adds a price tag on news story links displayed in search results and its broad terms can apply to outlets that do not produce news. 👩🏻‍💻

• 🤑 Meanwhile, Meta argues that links to news articles that make up less than 3% of the content on its users’ feed lacks economic value.

• Despite the corporate opinions, the similarities are hard to ignore.

• 💥 A success story for which side? Or is this a fight with no winners? We’ll keep you posted here at The Weekly Rallie.

Headlines That Hit

• 🔐 Crypto’s special snowflake. SEC argues that every crypto asset with the exception of bitcoin is a security.

• 📉 The U.S. regression… Fitch downgrades the United States credit rating from AAA to AA+, a warning about its fiscal health and reliability.

• 🎬 No guarantees. For the first time in three months, Hollywood’s writers and studio representatives will meet on Friday to discuss restarting contract talks.

• ₿ The ETF chance! Bloomberg analysts increased their hopes for a U.S. bitcoin ETF launching this year from 50% to 65%.

Rallie Refresh: Bitcoin ETFs

✅ You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin ETFs, but what are they? Today, we uncover the excitement of Bitcoin ETFs and their potential.

🪙 What are Bitcoin ETFs?

• Traded on a traditional exchange, Bitcoin ETFs are funds that track the value and mimic the performance of Bitcoin.🪞 Currently, there are no ETFs that allow you to directly own Bitcoin.

• U.S. and Canadian investors currently have access to bitcoin futures ETFs, which invest in bitcoin futures contracts, or agreements to buy or sell the asset later for an agreed-upon price.

• However, investment powerhouse, BlackRock, recently filed to launch a long-awaited bitcoin spot ETF, that would allow you invest in bitcoin directly.

• A bitcoin spot ETF would provide easier access to the asset, allowing investors to buy and sell the digital currency through a brokerage account.

• If bitcoin spot ETFs are approved, investors should treat them like any other asset and always DYOR. The goal of the Bitcoin ETFs (futures or spot) is to allow easier accessibility for many investors and provide a familiar form of investment. 🌐

☝️ Reminder!

• 🧺 Although currently available ETFs hold Bitcoin futures (a type of derivative contract that obligate two parties to exchange Bitcoin —or a cash equivalent — at a predetermined price on a future date), they are not the entirety of these funds.

• Generally, Bitcoin Futures ETFs invest in traditional securities and hold Bitcoin futures contracts when it meets the fund’s strategy.♟️

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✌️Trivia Thursday✌️

🌟 The answer for Tuesday’s newsletter (How much did 2022’s crypto price crash wipe out in value?) is $2T USD! Tune in next time for today’s answer.

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DISCLAIMER: This is not financial or legal advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions.