Law enforcement is always looking at ways to make sure drugs aren’t coming into the country and into your neighborhood. Agencies are now turning to artificial intelligence to help keep us safe, especially on the southern border. That’s where Border Patrol agents found nearly 99% of the fentanyl smuggled into the United States.
Representation of data being disseminated(Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
A drug like fentanyl can be nearly impossible to find just by using orthodox methods. To help, the government is expanding a $9 million contract given to global supply chain start-up platform Altana to use an AI tool to track fentanyl production.
Image of data on computer screen(Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Altana uses artificial intelligence to track companies that make ingredients used to make fentanyl. It also tracks where those ingredients are shipped to. Agents can then use that information to shut down both the production and distribution networks of the deadly synthetic opioid.
The company incorporates all of that information in a knowledge map that’s constantly growing. While we don’t know exactly how Altana tracks those companies, it does show the relationship between suppliers and manufacturers. It even shows billions of transactions. It works very similarly to the startup’s efforts to track goods that were made using forced labor.
How AI is helping border patrol seize fentanyl, arrest traffickers
Border Patrol has seen results using the AI technology. According to Customs and Border Protection reports, agents have carried out two massive missions since contracting Altana in July.
One resulted in 13,000 pounds of ingredients used in fentanyl production being seized. Agents arrested 284 people and seized 10,000 pounds of fentanyl in another.
The fact that Altana can create an ever-growing map charting suppliers and manufacturers using public data is mind-blowing. That’s something that would be ridiculously hard to achieve without AI and would also require massive amounts of manpower. Plus, we’re already seeing results. But, I have to wonder if this can be exploited. Can fentanyl manufacturers and distributors get this information? If so, how would they use it? Is there even a use for them?
How do you feel about law enforcement using AI? How else would you like to see government agencies use AI to help with our security? Let us know by writing us atCyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.
While the crypto community eagerly awaits the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, some analysts are warning this could potentially trigger unwanted consequences for cryptocurrency exchanges.
Bitcoin proponents such as Jan3 CEO Samson Mow have said that approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. could even drive Bitcoin as high as $1 million in the “days to weeks” following.
But the forecast isn’t that optimistic for centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, according to ETF Store president Nate Geraci and Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Once approved, a potential spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. would be a “bloodbath” for cryptocurrency exchanges, Geraci wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 17.
According to Geraci, retail spot Bitcoin ETF buyers and sellers will benefit from underlying institutional trade execution and commissions. On the other hand, retail users of crypto exchanges will get “retail trade execution and commissions,” Geraci noted, stressing that those will need to improve to compete with a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas emphasized that a spot Bitcoin ETF will cost 0.01% to trade, which is the average fee for ETF trading.
In contrast, trading costs on exchanges like Coinbase reach 0.6%, depending on the cryptocurrency, transaction size and trading pairs.
Once approved, a spot Bitcoin ETF will create more price competition in the crypto industry, bringing money back to investors from exchanges that spend massive amounts of cash to advertise their services at events like the Super Bowl, Balchunas believes.
“It would be the last ‘Crypto Super Bowl’ if they launch ETFs, because ETFs are such a thin, rough industry and some of these crypto exchanges were sort of selling populism making a ton of money on their really high fees,” he said in an interview with industry journalist Laura Shin in September 2023.
Historically, Coinbase has earned most of its revenue from transaction fees. In 2022, Coinbase made $2.4 billion in transaction fees from institutional and retail investors, which accounted for 77% of its total net revenue of $3.1 billion. The firm has been working to cut its reliance on fees, though, actively diversifying the revenue streams to other income-earning services such as subscriptions.
Brittany Mahomes shared a box with Taylor Swift on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs took on the New England Patriots in Foxborough at Gillette Stadium.
Mahomes appeared to embrace Swift’s “dads, Brads and Chads” critique as she posted a photo on her Instagram Stories showing a cookie with the line emblazoned across the front of it in frosting. The cookie also had two hands forming a “W” in the background.
From left to right, Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes and Ashley Avignone cheer after a Kansas City Chiefs touchdown during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Swift made the remark in an interview with Time magazine earlier this month as she was named the outlet’s Person of the Year for 2023. She talked about the camera always being on her when she was in the suite. She said she was just trying to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
“There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she said.
A fan holds a sign supporting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs play the Chicago Bears during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 24, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri.(Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
“I’m just there to support Travis,” she said. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
Swift was as animated as NFL fans have seen her at games. While she usually just cheers on Kelce and the Chiefs, she was pretty upset about a non-call on the Patriots during the game.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, #87, waves to fans during warm up before the game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Dec. 17, 2023.(David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
Kelce was trying to get position on a defensive back when he fell down. Swift appeared to be upset in the box and yelled, seemingly wanting a flag, but to no avail.
The metaverse technology company Improbable has announced in an end-of-the-year statement on Dec. 18 that it had sold its Web3 gaming venture, The Multiplayer Group, to Keywords Studios for £76.5 million ($97.1 million).
Herman Narula, the co-founder and CEO of Improbable, called Keywords “a like-minded business partner” and said he was delighted to see MPG embark on a new chapter. Keywords works with large names in the gaming industry, such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Zenimax, Epic, and 2K.
“Nurturing and fostering ventures across Sports, Web3 and fashion is at the heart of our philosophy and allows us to realize lasting value.”
Narula said this deal is a part of its venture strategy for the forthcoming year. Improbable originally acquired MPG in 2019 for around £30 million.
Cointelegraph has contacted Improbable for more information on the sale, but hasn’t yet received a response.
Improbable also released its predictions for the coming year, stating the metaverse and Web3 are not “yesterday’s news.”
Narula said:
“The metaverse is poised for growth in 2024, fueled by the convergence of gaming, VR/XR, and Web3 technologies.”
According to the Softbank-backed metaverse developer, 2024 will also see more consolidation and streamlining in the gaming, Web3 and crypto sectors, which it says will result in a “stronger, more resilient, and more cohesive startup ecosystem.”
In 2023, Improbable partnered with Major League Baseball (MLB) to create a virtual baseball stadium for fans to join in on games in digital reality.
Improbable forecasts more physical-digital crossover experiences in the gaming world and the growing use cases of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in content creation and business applications.
Peter Lipka, the company’s co-founder and chief operating officer, added that AI has revolutionized how businesses operate and predicts AI-generated 3D interactive objects will surface in 2024.
Improbable isn’t alone in anticipating a big year for Web3 and gaming. In a recent interview, two GameFi executives Yat Siu and Johnson Yeh told Cointelegraph they believe more users will step into Web3 next year via blockchain games.
Nearly a quarter of the calories U.S. adults consume comes from snacks, according to a new study published in PLOS Global Public Health.
Americans consume an average of 400 to 500 calories in snacks every day, which generally are lacking in protein, vitamins and minerals, the study found.
That’s more than the average breakfast — which is 300 to 400 calories.
Snacks also comprise about one-third of daily added sugar consumed by most adults.
Researchers from The Ohio State University (OSU) analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which gathered information about the eating habits of 23,708 adults over 30 years of age between 2005 and 2016, according to an OSU press release.
“With a usual focus on what people consume at meals, snacks are a ubiquitous and stealth contributor to overall intakes,” senior study author Christopher Taylor, professor of medical dietetics in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at OSU, told Fox News Digital via email.
Nearly a quarter of the calories U.S. adults consume comes from snacks, according to a new study published in PLOS Global Public Health.(iStock)
That is largely because snacks are more spontaneous, according to the researcher.
“Snack choices aren’t usually planned the same way we plan what we eat for meals,” said Taylor.
Overall, snacks made up 19.5% to 22.4% of adults’ total calorie consumption.
The most common snacks were convenience foods high in fats and carbohydrates — followed by sweets, alcoholic or sugary beverages, protein, milk and dairy, and fruits and grains. Vegetables were by far the smallest portion of snacks.
Fruits and vegetables only made up about 5% of the total snacking calories.
“It’s easy to treat a snack like it doesn’t count, but it’s important to treat it like a mini-meal.”
Based on their blood glucose levels, the respondents were categorized into four groups: non-diabetes, prediabetes, controlled diabetes and poorly controlled diabetes.
The adults with type 2 diabetes who were working to control the disease reported eating fewer sugary foods and snacking less overall compared to those who did not have diabetes or were prediabetic.
“Those with diabetes had lower proportional intakes in added sugars, which is a recurring theme in diabetes education,” said Taylor.
Fruits and vegetables only made up about 5% of the total snacking calories among those who were studied, researchers found.(iStock)
The study did have some limitations.
“While the large number of individuals included provides a broader picture of dietary intakes, it does not reflect their usual intakes with this snapshot,” Taylor told Fox News Digital.
“But for the day of intake reported, it allows us to review intakes for snacking occasions compared to what comes from reported meals.”
Tanya Freirich, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was not involved in the study but commented on the findings.
“While there is a huge sample size of people included in the study, it only used one day of diet recalls,” she told Fox News Digital.
“Many people don’t eat the same thing every day, so it would help to see more days of diet recall — but this is still a great starting point to think about how we eat.”
Importance of smart snacking
While people often put more thought and planning into what they eat for meals, the study highlights that all food choices throughout the day add up to create a total picture.
“It’s easy to treat a snack like it doesn’t count, but it’s important to treat it like a mini-meal,” said Frierich.
“Snack choices aren’t usually planned the same way we plan what we eat for meals,” the lead researcher of a new study said.(iStock)
When choosing a snack, the dietitian recommends people pick any combination of three macronutrients: healthy fats, carbohydrates and protein.
“Instead of just eating a piece of fruit, enjoy fruit and nuts — or instead of just chips, enjoy tortilla chips and guacamole as a snack,” she suggested.
“Your snacks can be all the difference between feeling energetic and focused between meals or consuming empty calories that lead to a blood sugar rush and crash.”
Another general rule of thumb when snacking is to aim for as many unprocessed components as possible, Frierich advised.
“For example, a fresh vegetable (sliced cucumbers, baby carrots) is much better than veggie chips.”
“Choosing unprocessed foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grain crackers or breads) in place of more processed foods (chips, cookies, candy, sodas) is a great way to increase the nutritional value of your meals and snacks,” she added.
When choosing a snack, a dietitian recommended any combination of three macronutrients: healthy fat, carbohydrates and protein. (iStock)
Portion size is also important when snacking.
“I recommend taking the food out of the container and serving yourself on a plate,” said Frierich. “This is a great way to be mindful about your portion instead of just eating mindlessly.”
“Your snacks can be all the difference between feeling energetic and focused between meals or consuming empty calories that lead to a blood sugar rush and crash,” she added.
Study author Taylor also stressed the importance of making “more insightful choices” at snack time.
Rather than focusing on “don’t eat this, eat that,” he recommended focusing on a well-balanced day across all eating occasions.
Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week in risky territory as sell-offs from whales mark a change in mood.
The latest weekly close has done little to comfort nervous traders as a pause in “up only” BTC price activity continues.
With just two weeks to go until the yearly candle concludes, the countdown is on — together with the pressure — across risk assets.
Macro data releases — key short-term volatility catalysts — are set to keep coming for the remainder of December, with United States GDP due as markets digest last week’s moves by the Federal Reserve.
It seems as if a “Santa rally” is less and less on the cards for Bitcoin at present, and as high fees leave a bitter taste in hodlers’ mouths, commentators are suggesting refocusing on next month’s potential spot ETF approval.
A potential silver lining comes from market sentiment, both within crypto and beyond. While “greed” characterizes the landscape, unsustainable conditions are nowhere to be seen, potentially leaving room for further upside as “disbelief” plays out.
Cointelegraph takes a look at these factors in greater detail as crunch time for yearly BTC price performance nears.
Analysts line up key BTC price support levels
At around $41,300, the Dec. 17 weekly close came midway through a local sell-off for BTC/USD.
Downside continued overnight, with Bitcoin hitting $40,800 before reversing during the Asia trading session to return to just above $41,000, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.
BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Traders and analysts, already wary of potential further dips based on recent BTC price action, thus remained cautious.
“The Charts Don’t Lie,” trading resource Material Indicators summarized at the start of one post on X (formerly Twitter) on the day.
Material Indicators noted that Bitcoin had lost its 21-day moving average into the new week — an event it says is “inherently bearish.”
It added that it was “expecting year end profit taking and tax loss harvesting to prevail in the near term.”
Continuing, co-founder Keith Alan flagged an ongoing battle for a key Fibonacci retracement level which corresponds to the November 2021 all-time high.
It’s too early to say if this December 17th Pattern is going to play out. We can make that determination at the close. For now, but it’s safe to say that #BTC bulls need to push price back above .5 Fib to reclaim the Golden Pocket or risk losing the 21-Day Moving Average.… pic.twitter.com/Tjc4lkKEc2
Popular trader Skew added some lines in the sand in the form of the 200-period and 300-period exponential moving average (EMA) on 4-hour timeframes, along with the 50-day EMA — all currently around $2,500 below spot price.
“From here there’s two technical levels on 1W/1M,” he continued in commentary on weekly and monthly timeframes.
“$39K – $38K ~ Potential support on HTF, an unsustainable push lower there would be a decent bid. $47K – $48K ~ HTF resistance, unsustainable drive higher higher would be a good area to take profits.”
BTC/USD 1-day chart with 21-day SMA; 200, 300 4-hour EMA; 50-day EMA. Source: TradingView
PCE, GDP due amid increasing belief in Fed “pivot”
The coming week sees the November print of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index — the Fed’s “preferred” inflation gauge — lead U.S. macro events.
Coming after last week’s multiple key Fed decisions, data must now continue to show inflation abating heading into the new year.
The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to decide changes to interest rates is not until the end of January, but since last week, markets are entertaining the prospect of a “pivot” becoming reality.
The market is now pricing a full 25bps rate cut by July 2024 – following today’s Fed meeting. pic.twitter.com/zWXiUqx96Q
The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently puts the odds of a rate cut next meeting at around 10%, with the majority of key macro figures still to come.
Fed target rate probabilities chart. Source: CME Group
“Even with stocks up, uncertainty is still everywhere,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter concluded in an X post outlining the coming week’s prints.
In addition to PCE, jobless claims and revised Q3 GDP will both hit on Dec. 21.
As Cointelegraph reported, U.S. dollar strength hit multi-month lows around FOMC in a potential fresh tailwind for crypto markets. Those lows have now faded as the U.S. dollar index (DXY) makes a modest comeback, still down around 1.9% in December.
Fees stay elevated
The heated debate over Bitcoin transaction fees has swelled in recent days thanks to these hitting their highest levels since April 2021.
With Ordinals back on the radar, those wishing to transact on-chain faced $40 fees at the weekend, while “OG” commentators argued that the fee market was simply functioning as intended given competition for block space.
Miners, meanwhile, have seen revenues skyrocket as a result — to levels not witnessed since Bitcoin’s $69,000 all-time high.
Into the new week, however, fees have already fallen considerably, with next-block transactions confirming for under $15 at the time of writing.
Commenting on the situation, popular social media personality Fred Krueger argued that market participants should now turn their attention to the decision on the first U.S. spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) due early next month.
Noting that fees were “already falling fast,” he defended Ordinals’ creators’ right to use the blockchain to store their work.
“This debate looks like a nothingburger for now. Back to waiting for the ETF,” he concluded.
Others, including researcher and software developer Vijay Boyapati, also referenced the transitory nature of the fees debate as it has occurred throughout Bitcoin’s history.
#Bitcoin concern trolls circa 2017: “Bitcoin’s network will not be secure because the block subsidy is shrinking and transaction fees won’t be enough!!!”
Bitcoin concern trolls today: “transaction fees are too high!!!”
Calling for so-called “Level 2” solutions to speed up development as a result, reactions to the recent elevated fees underscored that off-chain solutions for regular users — specifically the Lightning Network — already exist.
“L1 fees are incredibly high right now. Seems obvious — even if self-serving — that defaulting most transactions to the Lightning Network is the way to go for all exchanges and wallets,” David Marcus, the former Facebook executive now CEO of co-founder of Lightning startup Lightspark, wrote in part of an X post at the weekend.
Per data from monitoring resource Mempool.space, meanwhile, block space remains in huge demand, with the backlog of unconfirmed transactions still circling 300,000.
Bitcoin mempool data (screenshot). Source: Mempool.space
New addresses pose bull market momentum risk
Bitcoin network growth has taken a breather this month — in-line with the bull market comeback.
New data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode confirms that the number of new BTC addresses has continued its downtrend throughout December.
For Dec. 17, the latest date for which data is available, around 373,000 addresses appeared in an on-chain transaction for the first time. This is approximately half of the recent local daily high, which Glassnode shows came in early November.
Commenting on the numbers, popular social media analyst Ali described the tailing-off of new addresses as “noticeable” and a hurdle to BTC price expansion.
“There’s been a noticeable dip in Bitcoin network growth over the past month, casting doubt on the sustainability of $BTC’s recent move to $44,000,” he wrote.
“For a robust continuation of the bull rally, it’s crucial to see an uptick in the number of new $BTC addresses. This would provide the needed support for sustained bullish momentum.”
Bitcoin new addresses chart. Source: Glassnode
Disbelief behind the fear
The recent cooling in Bitcoin’s latest “up only” phase has delivered a corresponding pause in market greed.
According to the latest data from the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, the majority of crypto market participants have been given pause for thought over the past week.
Currently at 65/100, Fear & Greed, which is the go-to sentiment gauge in crypto, still defines the overall mood as “greedy,” but near its least heated in almost a month.
Zooming out, Index scores over 90/100 have corresponded to long-term market tops, as irrational exuberance becomes the average market participant’s mindset. A notable exception, as Cointelegraph reported, was the 2021 $69,000 all-time high, which saw Fear & Greed reach 75/100 before reversing.
Commenting on the current status quo for the traditional market Index, meanwhile, Caleb Franzen, senior analyst at Cubic Analytics, suggested that sentiment was still emerging from the extended Fed tightening cycle that also began in late 2021.
“The Fear & Greed Index is comfortably in the ‘Greed’ range. However, it was just in ‘Fear’ 4 weeks ago and was in ‘Neutral’ to ‘Extreme Fear’ for 2.5 months in September through November,” he told X subscribers on Dec. 14.
“Euphoria? No. This is disbelief.”
Crypto Fear & Greed Index (screenshot). Source: Alternativ
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Network transaction fees across all blockchains have spiked over the weekend as the Ordinals inscriptions craze continues to push demand for blockspace — and not just on the Bitcoin network.
Inscriptions on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains skyrocketed over the weekend, causing a spike in gas fees.
On Dec. 16, gas spent on inscriptions surged to a record high of $8.3 million, according to data from Dune Analytics.
The Avalanche network saw the most gas spent, with more than $5.6 million on that day alone. Aribitrum One was second, with $2.1 million spent on gas for inscriptions.
EVM inscriptions gas expenses. Source: Dune Analytics
Over the past 24 hours, 58% of network gas fees on Avalanche and 48% of zkSync Era’s gas fees were spent on EVM inscriptions.
BNB Chain has seen 73% of its transactions over the past 24 hours dedicated to inscriptions.
The situation was so severe on the Arbitrum One network that it caused a 78-minute outage on Dec. 15.
Like Ordinals on the Bitcoin network, EVM inscriptions are essentially information embedded in transaction call data to generate unique nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on-chain.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin network has also seen a surge in inscriptions over the weekend, increasing block space demand and transaction fees. There are currently almost 280,000 unconfirmed transactions, according to mempool.space.
This has caused Bitcoin transaction fees to spike as high as $37, according to observers, making using the network for its intended purpose — peer-to-peer digital money — unfeasible for many people.
On Dec. 18, NFT and Ordinals expert “Leonidas” noted that a single collection just did more volume in the past 24 hours than CryptoPunks, BAYC, MAYC, Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, DeGods, Moonbirds, Doodles and Meebits combined.
The Bitcoin Frogs Ordinals collection also topped the list for market capitalization with $182 million, he reported.
Top 10 Ordinal PFP Collections Ranked by Market Cap:
Crypto exchange FTX has been burning through approximately $53,000 every hour over the three months ending Oct. 31 — just on bankruptcy lawyers and advisers, the latest round of compensation filings show.
Court filings from Dec. 5 to Dec. 16 have shown that the bankruptcy lawyers have charged an accumulated total of at least $118.1 million between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31. Over the 92 days, this equates to $1.3 million per day or $53,300 per hour.
The largest bill came from the management consulting firm Alvarez and Marshall, which charged $35.8 million for its services for the three months.
Alvarez and Marshall charged a total of $35.8 million in fees to the FTX estate. Source: CourtListener
Coming in second place was global law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, which charged $31.8 million for its services. The hourly rate for Sullivan’s and Cromwell’s services averaged $1,230 per hour.
Sullivan and Cromwell’s services cost FTX creditors $1,230 per hour. Source: CourtListener
Global consulting firm AlixPartners charged $13.3 million in the period for professional services relating to forensic investigations. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan charged $10.4 million in the same period, while several other billings from smaller advisory firms added up to over $26.8 million.
Figures shared by a pseudonymous FTX creditor in a Dec. 17 post to X (formerly Twitter) suggest the total legal fees that have been fully paid since the FTX bankruptcy case began is approximately $350 million.
BTW @lopp this estimates $1.45B of remaining professional fees for a total of $1.8B. The Estate is currently charging $0.5B per year and bankruptcies are not short endeavors.
Meanwhile, an earlier report filed on Dec. 5 by the court-appointed fee examiner, Katherine Stadler, identified “significant areas of concern” with the billings submitted by the larger advisory firms, including Sullivan and Cromwell, Alvarez and Marshall, and others between May 1 and June 31.
“The Fee Examiner identified apparently top-heavy staffing, apparently excessive meeting attendance, fees related to non-working travel time, and various technical and procedural deficiencies with respect to some time entries (including vague and lumped entries),” wrote the report regarding the billings submitted by Alvarez and Marshall.
Advisory firms were criticized for over-billing by the cases’ Fee Examiner. Source: CourtListener
The Baltimore Ravens clinched a playoff spot with a 23-7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Lamar Jackson and the defense needed to step up against a tough Trevor Lawrence-led squad and did just that early. Jackson’s touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely with 1:12 left in the first half put Baltimore up 10-0.
Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball while being pursued by DaVon Hamilton #52 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida.(Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
Baltimore punted on their first drive of the second half and Jacksonville was able to get on the board on the following series. Lawrence found Jamal Agnew for a 65-yard touchdown pass. But that the only scoring Jacksonville could get.
Ravens running back Gus Edwards ran for a touchdown in the fourth and Justin Tucker added his second and third field goals of the night to put the Jaguars away.
Jackson finished 14-of-24 with 171 passing yards, a touchdown pass and an interception. He led the team with 97 rushing yards. Edwards added 53 yards on 15 carries. Rookie running back Keaton Mitchell had 73 rushing yards but his night ended early when he suffered a knee injury.
Likely led the team with five catches for 70 yards.
Isaiah Likely #80 of the Baltimore Ravens makes a reception against Darious Williams #31 of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Andrew Wingard #42 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida.(Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
Lawrence fumbled twice in the loss. He had 264 passing yards and a touchdown pass. He was only sacked once. He led the team with 41 rushing yards even as he’s dealing with a nagging ankle injury
.Justin Madubuike had the sack on Lawrence. He has 12 on the season.
Agnew had two catches for 70 yards. Zay Jones had five catches for 59 yards.
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) passes against the Baltimore Ravens in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
With the win, the Ravens maintained the No. 1 spot in the AFC with an 11-3 record. The team has a slight edge over the Miami Dolphins, who are 10-4 after the team’s shutout victory over the New York Jets earlier in the day. No other team in the AFC has 10 wins.
The Ravens are also two games up over the Cleveland Browns, who defeated the Chicago Bears in overtime. Cleveland is 9-5 and the two teams split the season series.
Jacksonville fell to 8-6 and moved into a three-way tie for the top of the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans. Jacksonville has one more divisional matchup left on the docket – Week 18 against the Tennessee Titans.
The CEO of investment management firm VanEck says he can’t see a world where Bitcoin (BTC) is overtaken as the leading store of value on the internet.
“I think it’s impossible for me to imagine some other internet store of value [will] leapfrog Bitcoin,” Jan van Eck said in a Dec. 16 interview with CNBC.
“There’s 50 million users of Bitcoin, so it’s got network effects.”
The CEO — $76.4 billion in assets under management — also crushed accusations that Bitcoin is in a “bubble,” — explaining that no asset has ever been in a bubble that continues to outperform itself every market cycle. He added:
“Bitcoin is the obvious asset that is growing up in front of our eyes.”
Meanwhile, Van Eck expects Bitcoin to see all-time highs in the next 12 months.
VanEck CEO @JanvanEck3 expects Bitcoin all-time-high in the next 12 months. “It’s an asset that’s growing up in front of our eyes.” Also some good notes on the spot Bitcoin ETF effort and macro cycle. pic.twitter.com/02qZOVBPyx
The VanEck CEO said he and his late father, John van Eck — who founded the firm in 1955 — have store of value investing in their “DNA” and that he sees Bitcoin becoming an “accompaniment” to gold.
VanEck launched the first gold fund in the United States under John van Eck’s leadership in 1968.
VanEck is one of 13 applicants gunning for an approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States.
The firm’s CEO expects all spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications to be approved on the same day.
ETF analysts predict the Securities and Exchange Commission will issue a decision on several pending spot Bitcoin ETF applicants sometime between Jan. 5–10, with BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, and Hashdex, and other financial firms also waiting for a final decision by the SEC.
