What’s going on here?

Bitcoin hit the $60,000 mark for the first time in over two years, tripling in value since the start of the year to land within touching distance of its $68,991 record.

What does this mean?

Bitcoin’s bumper price is proof that demand for the crypto has outpaced supply. Investors have funneled some $7 billion into the newly approved bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds, lighting a fire under bitcoin’s price. That’s forced short sellers – who took out bets expecting the price to fall – to close their positions by buying back bitcoin, sending the price up even higher. At the same time, longstanding investors are clinging onto their lots: 80% of bitcoin has stayed in the same hands for the last six months. Supply’s about to get even tighter, too, with bitcoin’s next halving taking place in April.

Why should I care?

For markets: Less is more.

Bitcoin’s halving takes place roughly every four years, and as the name suggests, it marks the halving of the rate at which bitcoin is produced. That’ll continue until there are 21 million in the market – at that point, no more will be made. After April’s halving, 450 bitcoins will be mined a day. That should push up the crypto’s price, as it has on every one of the previous three halvings, so long as demand stays steady. Mind you, some believe that’s already factored into bitcoin’s blinged-up price.

For you personally: Prepare for the worst, but don’t rule out the best.

Plenty of investors are conscious that the already volatile crypto could one day collapse into dust. Remember, though, that if you buy bitcoin outright, you can only lose the total value of your investment. And if bitcoin even gets close to its full potential, you could make a lot more than 100% of your initial punt – no matter how small it was. Put simply, the scales seem balanced in your favor.

What’s going on here?

Universal Music Group started pulling songs from TikTok, a bummer for the world’s million-dollar creators, chronically online teenagers, and hopeful social media shareholders.

What does this mean?

After a year of swapping legal terms, Universal – which owns a third of the world’s music – has stopped TikTok using tracks from the label’s artists. Plenty of TikTok videos have already had their audio stripped, with analysts predicting that 60 to 80% of the platform’s top songs will be impacted in the coming weeks. Now, Universal was willing to compromise for a price: YouTube, after all, hands over 20% of a video’s advertising revenue when there’s a protected track involved. TikTok’s been haggling over a smaller slice, though, and even its recently bumped-up offer was nowhere near YouTube’s agreement.

Why should I care?

Zooming out: Artificial intelligence, real-life royalties.

Universal’s clamping down on budding music makers, saying that any money made from edits and mashups of its artists’ songs should go straight back to the source. That could set the tone for the whole industry: streaming businesses are making less and less cash, so they’re turning to licensing deals to bring in some pocket money. Artificial intelligence is making it easier to mix and master at home, see, and the music industry’s bigwigs believe that could really line their coffers – so long as they can lay claim to the royalties.

The bigger picture: Stay silent, stay private.

ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, has considered taking the company public since 2021, but regulatory blockers from China and the US have slowed down the process. Bear in mind, too, that TikTok is free to use – a blessing for parents with constantly scrolling kids – so the platform makes its money from advertising alone. Now if TikTok needs to start paying out for music and content instead of splashing out on initiatives to grow the business, those public listing plans may be pushed even further down the road.