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This week, the battle between AI and artists intensifies as Christie’s faces backlash over its upcoming auction. Meanwhile, the latest memecoin disaster has left even crypto enthusiasts speechless, and Bitcoin is making waves among sovereign wealth funds and pensions. Let’s dive in!

The Weekly Fun Fact 🤔

Thousands of artists have signed an open letter urging Christie’s to cancel its upcoming AI-generated art auction, accusing the auction house of profiting off what they call “mass theft of human artists’ work.”

The sale, scheduled for February 20 to March 5, will feature 20 AI-assisted pieces by artists like Harold Cohen and Refik Anadol. While some artists argue that AI-generated work undermines human creativity, others, like Anadol himself, call the backlash overblown, pointing out that many AI artists train models using their own datasets rather than scraping the internet.

🔴 When Memecoins Go Horribly Wrong 🪙

Memecoins are meant to be fun, but Argentina’s latest crypto experiment proved to be anything but.

When President Javier Milei posted about a new token called Libra, its price skyrocketed—only to collapse within hours.
Analysts quickly pointed out that insiders had made millions in profits before retail investors even had a chance to react.
The fiasco has shaken confidence in Solana, the blockchain that has become the go-to for memecoin launches. Solana’s token has dropped about 20% since the drama unfolded, and crypto experts are warning that memecoins are nothing more than unregulated gambling.

🟡 A Trans-Atlantic Rift Deepens 🌍

US Vice President JD Vance stunned European leaders at the Munich Security Conference by declaring that “Europe’s biggest threat isn’t Russia or China—it’s itself.”

The speech signaled a potential collapse of the long-standing US-European alliance, forcing EU leaders to rethink their defense strategies.
While European stocks have surprisingly outperformed US markets since Christmas, experts warn that if the US steps back from NATO, Europe may have to foot a $3 trillion bill for Ukraine’s reconstruction without American support.

🟢 Bitcoin Adoption Goes Global 🌎

It’s happening—sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and even major banks are embracing Bitcoin.

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund just disclosed a $436 million investment in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, marking one of the biggest institutional endorsements of crypto to date. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s pension fund has doubled its Bitcoin exposure to $321 million, signaling growing confidence in the asset.

Even major banks like BNY Mellon and Citi are rolling out crypto custody services, showing that Bitcoin’s integration into traditional finance is accelerating.

🎬 That’s a wrap on this week’s recap! From AI art drama to Bitcoin’s global expansion, it’s been another eventful week.

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