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CBDCs have been discussed quite a bit in recent years, and various countries are exploring the possibilities of implementation. You may have heard or read about this digital currency, but do you have a good understanding of how CBDC is structured, how it can be used, and what impact central bank digital currency will have on the future of finance? Welcome to my Now You Understand article series, where I share my expertise to explain the most complicated blockchain and web3 topics. This is the first part of my article on CBDC, where I will cover what it is, the use cases, and the solutions used to implement it. What is CBDC? Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) - a digital form of national bank money that is created, controlled, and maintained by the central bank. It is legal tender and is the same central bank debenture as ordinary bank notes. CBDC is operated by a digital ledger that might or might not be a blockchain. This provides faster and more secure transactions between banks, institutions, and individuals. Central banks control the issuance of CBDCs and stand as guarantors of this form of money as compared to cryptocurrencies. CBDCs now can take the following forms: Retail is used for settlements between individuals and legal entities, is designed for simple payments, and represents a digital form of currency. Wholesale is used for interbank payments as a new infrastructural solution. CBDCs can also represent digital assets, they are also registered in a digital registry, which can be distributed or not distributed. CBDC is a major step forward in the digitalization of money and the economy as a whole,  increasing its transparency, security, and efficiency, including the automation of many processes and the reduction of transaction costs. CBDC: Use Cases CBDC is implemented mainly on platforms based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) with support for smart contracts (applications). That gives us many areas of usage and makes this implementation of a digital form of currency really useful for the financial system. Due to the platform’s support for smart contracts, it extends CBDC beyond just digital currency to a programmable form of currency. Smart contract support allows you to deploy programs that interact and operate with digital currency. For example, when we execute a property deal, we need someone to check the deal for compliance, approve it, and register it. In the case of CBDC, we do not need a third party to do this, we can just implement a smart contract, the logic of which will be similar to the logic of the deal. For instance, to control that one side owns the property, the other side has paid the declared value, and then makes the transfer of this property, as an option in the form of a token. In this way, we can automate the majority of transactions with almost any property, which significantly increases their availability, speed and performance. It also removes the workload from the infrastructure that is created for deals, cutting out the need for intermediaries and thereby reducing transaction costs. Tokenization is the process of converting rights to assets or property into digital tokens. Exactly it allows to be fully digital and automated with the use of smart contracts. It has been researched that the cost of clearing and settlement of securities for the Central Banks of the G7 countries is more than $50 billion per year, due to the resource costs of asset transfers and account reconciliation. A DLT-based CBDC successfully solves the problem of inefficiencies and vulnerabilities compared to the current infrastructure. CBDC is natively digital and does not demand the expensive and labor-intensive reconciliation currently required for e-commerce and cross-border payments. It also allows to optimization of the operation of any registry that is responsible for storing records of rights to property or assets. For example, DLT technology can replace and improve the work of registries of movable and immovable property, securities such as stocks, bonds, etc. It also makes it possible to make deals available 24/7 by eliminating the need for a third party to determine the availability of transactions. Digital property/asset transactions increase the accuracy and security of transactions. Offline payment technology, which provides access to the financial system in areas not covered by banking services and allows transactions to be made without access to the Internet, is currently being actively researched and realized. We can see that CBDCs move the financial system into a digital form, which opens up many possibilities and optimizes the operation of the system as a whole. Thanks to this, CBDC has direct control over the money supply, simplifying the distribution of state benefits, and improving the control over transactions for tax control. Thus, timely payment of taxes or payment of bond coupons can be automated. The implementation of CBDC also allows for reduced costs and increased availability of cross-border payments, including reducing credit risks by providing payment versus payment settlement. CBDC vs Stablecoins: what’s the difference? There are several types of : fiat-backed, cryptocurrency-backed, commodity-backed and algorithmic. In this comparison, we will focus on the first type - fiat-backed ones, because they have more in common with CBDCs and are the most popular. Examples of this type of stablecoins are Tether ( ) and USD Coin ( ). stablecoins USDT USDC The principle of Stablecoins is that organizations issue tokens based on the reserves of traditional money in their accounts. That is, in this case the issuance and control of such tokens remain with private institutions and they are not directly controlled by Central Banks. While CBDC is a form of national currency, their issuance and control is owned by Central Banks, which provides higher security. Due to such regulation CBDC can ensure compliance with tax policy, while in stablecoins do not. It is also important to note that stablecoins use private money as collateral, while CBDCs are backed by government-issued money. What is the difference between private solutions and public blockchains ? Public blockchains are primarily defined by the fact that they are open to the public. That means anyone can join and participate in the network. A popular example of public blockchains is Ethereum. The consensus mechanism means that such a network is managed by the majority. In particular, transactions are verified and included in new blocks. They are completely open and transparent, everyone can see all transactions and balances of any accounts. In order to complete a transaction in a public network, it is necessary to verify and confirm the agreement of the majority of participants, which involves commissions, which are the motivation, as well as a longer waiting time due to the fact that it is necessary for the majority of nodes to reach an agreement. Among the advantages of this solution, we have full transparency and no need to rely on a single control structure due to the high decentralization of the network, which ensures that no single entity controls the network. A private network is closed and restricted to authorized participants who have full control over the network and transactions on it. Private solutions allow centralized control over the network and also enable private transactions and private smart contracts. This solves privacy challenges that are very important for governments and corporations. Private solutions consensus mechanisms involve a very limited number of participants who verify and approve transactions, so transactions are much faster because they do not require majority verification. They also do not need such a concept as native currency and there are no transaction fees. These solutions appeal to governments and companies because of their centralized control and confidentiality solutions that also allow them to control the legality of their operations. Guarantee of this network are their participants, for example, governments and corporations. Examples of this type of solutions are Quorum, Corda, Hyperledger Besu etc. CBDC: Why use private solutions? There are several key reasons why public solutions are not suitable for CBDC implementation. Public cryptocurrencies mean an open market and they are subject to significant price movements, which entails heavy risks for both the government and ordinary users. High volatility: This makes it difficult to use as a payment method, as changes in value can be in the tens of percent. In the case with private solutions, the Central Bank is the guarantor and has full control over the digital currency. CBDC is a form of currency rather than a cryptocurrency in its traditional meaning. In public solutions, all data is publicly available. Open data potentially brings risks for directions in which this is a key factor. In private solutions, it is possible to control privacy issues through private smart contracts, private transactions, and restrictions on network participants. Privacy considerations: With public solutions, accounts and funds are under the control of the users themselves or organizations to which the users have delegated control.  In the case of private solutions, account control is usually performed by authorized entities. Account control:

Now You Understand: Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Explanation and Usage - Part I

On the Effect of Taxes and of Legal Restrictions upon Manufactures

In many years of writing and reviewing code, I learned a few secrets to craft better pull requests and review code more efficiently. I poured all these secrets into my new book , but you’ll find here a preview with these 13 tips, that you can already use in your developer activity. Pull Requests and Code Review Can you think of more tips? Share them in comments 😉 1. Create your PR before the code is ready for review A PR draft helps you organize your ideas and document your progress, while you’re still working on your feature. 2. Make people want to review your PR The best way to get a quick and efficient review is to keep your PR small and well documented (with all the necessary context). You’ll also increase you chances for future PRs by delivering great code now! Find all these tips with and more, with more real-life examples and actionable insights in my free book . Pull Requests and Code Review: Best Practices for Developers, from Junior to Team Lead 3. Be your PR’s first reviewer Put yourself in the shoes of your reviewer, anticipate questions and use comment your own code when you think it can help them. 4. Assign the right reviewers to your PR Don’t assign your PR to the entire world. Choose your reviewers carefully to get a relevant review, without waiting too long for approval. 5. Be responsive to comments Be open to feedback, ask for clarification, say when you disagree (with respect), and always respond to comments. 6. If you want people to review your PRs, you have to review theirs Everybody has many PRs to review and little free time to. If you review other PRs, you increase the chances of getting yours reviewed too. 7. You can review code even if you are a junior developer As a junior developer, you can let others know when you don’t understand part of the code, as it should be understandable by any developer in the team. More about it in my post . How to give code review as a junior developer? 8. Check the right things during code review Code review’s goal is to check for bugs and edge cases, and challenge the implementation. It should neither be used to nitpick about minor formatting or styling preferences, nor for large-scale architectural discussions. 9. Use the right tone in your comments Use “why not” instead of “you should”, be open and positive and always suggest an alternative when you ask for a change. 10. Be clear about whether a change is required for you to approve the PR or not Not all comments require a change, and not all asked changes are required for the PR to be approved. Be clear in your comment if the change isn’t urgent. 11. Review your review before submitting it Before making your review public, re-read each comment: check for the tone you use and ensure you provide all the context to help the PR submitter. 12. Approve the PR when the submitter made all the changes you asked You don’t want the reviewer to wait for your approval two days after they made all the changes you asked. When you review it, assume you’ll approve it as soon as all the fixes are made. 13. Some conflicts can’t be solved in comments When a comment thread becomes a debate in your PR, you’d better cut it off and suggest to continue the discussion elsewhere, e.g. in a Slack thread. If necessary, dedicate a meeting to it, and/or involve a third-party. That’s it! What did you think of these tips? Can you think of one tip you’d like to give other developers? Share them here in comments 👇 If you liked these tips and want to learn some more, check out my book , it’s free! Pull Requests and Code Review Also published . here

13 Tips for Better Pull Requests and Code Review

13টি টিপস ভাল টান অনুরোধ এবং কোড পর্যালোচনা

13 Tipps für bessere Pull-Anfragen und Codeüberprüfung

13 consejos para mejorar las solicitudes de extracción y la revisión del código

13 conseils pour de meilleures demandes d'extraction et révision du code

बेहतर पुल अनुरोध और कोड समीक्षा के लिए 13 युक्तियाँ

より良いプルリクエストとコードレビューのための 13 のヒント

더 나은 Pull Request와 코드 검토를 위한 13가지 팁

13 dicas para melhores solicitações pull e revisão de código

13 советов по улучшению запросов на включение и ревью кода

Daha İyi Çekme İstekleri ve Kod İncelemesi için 13 İpucu

13 mẹo để có yêu cầu kéo và đánh giá mã tốt hơn

更好的 Pull 请求和代码审查的 13 个技巧

Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Containing an Answer to the Love Letter here Containing an Answer to the Love Letter. Alice had had a week allowed to her to write her answer; but she sent it off before the full week was past. "Why should I keep him in suspense?" she said. "If it is to be so, there can be no good in not saying so at once." Then she thought, also, that if this were to be her destiny it might be well for Mr. Grey that all his doubts on the matter should be dispelled. She had treated him badly,—very badly. She had so injured him that the remembrance of the injury must always be a source of misery to her; but she owed to him above everything to let him know what were her intentions as soon as they were settled. She tried to console herself by thinking that the wound to him would be easy to cure. "He also is not passionate," she said. But in so saying she deceived herself. He was a man in whom Love could be very passionate;—and was, moreover, one in whom Love could hardly be renewed. Each morning Kate asked her whether her answer was written; and on the third day after Christmas, just before dinner, Alice said that she had written it, and that it was gone. "But it isn't post-day," said Kate;—for the post illuminated Vavasor but three days a week. "I have given a boy sixpence to take it to Shap," said Alice, blushing. "And what have you said?" asked Kate, taking hold of the other's arm. "I have kept my promise," said Alice; "and do you keep yours by asking no further questions." "My sister,—my own sister," said Kate. And then, as Alice met her embrace, there was no longer any doubt as to the nature of the reply. After this there was of course much close discussion between them as to what other steps should now be taken. Kate wanted her cousin to write immediately to Mr. Grey, and was somewhat frightened when Alice declined to do so till she had received a further letter from George. "You have not proposed any horrid stipulations to him?" exclaimed Kate. "I don't know what you may call horrid stipulations," said Alice, gravely. "My conditions have not been very hard, and I do not think you would have disapproved them." "But he!—He is so impetuous! Will he disapprove them?" "I have told him— But, Kate, this is just what I did not mean to tell you." "Why should there be secrets between us?" said Kate. "There shall be none, then. I have told him that I cannot bring myself to marry him instantly;—that he must allow me twelve months to wear off, if I can in that time, much of sadness and of self-reproach which has fallen to my lot." "Twelve months, Alice?" "Listen to me. I have said so. But I have told him also that if he wishes it still, I will at once tell papa and grandpapa that I hold myself as engaged to him, so that he may know that I bind myself to him as far as it is possible that I should do so. And I have added something else, Kate," she continued to say after a slight pause,—"something else which I can tell you, though I could tell it to no other person. I can tell you because you would do, and will do the same. I have told him that any portion of my money is at his service which may be needed for his purposes before that twelve months is over." "Oh, Alice! No;—no. You shall not do that. It is too generous." And Kate perhaps felt at the moment that her brother was a man to whom such an offer could hardly be made with safety. "But I have done it. Mercury, with sixpence in his pocket, is already posting my generosity at Shap. And, to tell the truth, Kate, it is no more than fair. He has honestly told me that while the old Squire lives he will want my money to assist him in a career of which I do much more than approve. It has been my earnest wish to see him in Parliament. It will now be the most earnest desire of my heart;—the one thing as to which I shall feel an intense anxiety. How then can I have the face to bid him wait twelve months for that which is specially needed in six months' time? It would be like the workhouses which are so long in giving bread, that in the mean time the wretches starve." "But the wretch shan't starve," said Kate. "My money, small as it is, will carry him over this bout. I have told him that he shall have it, and that I expect him to spend it. Moreover, I have no doubt that Aunt Greenow would lend me what he wants." "But I should not wish him to borrow from Aunt Greenow. She would advance him the money, as you say, upon stamped paper, and then talk of it." "He shall have mine," said Kate. "And who are you?" said Alice, laughing. "You are not going to be his wife?" "He shall not touch your money till you are his wife," said Kate, very seriously. "I wish you would consent to change your mind about this stupid tedious year, and then you might do as you pleased. I have no doubt such a settlement might be made as to the property here, when my grandfather hears of it, as would make you ultimately safe." "And do you think I care to be ultimately safe, as you call it? Kate, my dear, you do not understand me." "I suppose not. And yet I thought that I had known something about you." "It is because I do not care for the safety of which you speak that I am now going to become your brother's wife. Do you suppose that I do not see that I must run much risk?" "You prefer the excitement of London to the tranquillity, may I say, of Cambridgeshire." "Exactly;—and therefore I have told George that he shall have my money whenever he wants it." Kate was very persistent in her objection to this scheme till George's answer came. His answer to Alice was accompanied by a letter to his sister, and after that Kate said nothing more about the money question. She said no more then; but it must not therefore be supposed that she was less determined than she had been that no part of Alice's fortune should be sacrificed to her brother's wants;—at any rate before Alice should become her brother's wife. But her brother's letter for the moment stopped her mouth. It would be necessary that she should speak to him before she again spoke to Alice. In what words Alice had written her assent it will be necessary that the reader should know, in order that something may be understood of the struggle which she made upon the occasion; but they shall be given presently, when I come to speak of George Vavasor's position as he received them. George's reply was very short and apparently very frank. He deprecated the delay of twelve months, and still hoped to be able to induce her to be more lenient to him. He advised her to write to Mr. Grey at once,—and as regarded the Squire he gave her to act as she pleased. If the Squire required any kind of apology, expression of sorrow,—and asking for pardon, or such like, he, George, would, under the circumstances as they now existed, comply with the requisition most willingly. He would regard it as a simple form, made necessary by his coming marriage. As to Alice's money, he thanked her heartily for her confidence. If the nature of his coming contest at Chelsea should make it necessary, he would use her offer as frankly as it had been made. Such was his letter to Alice. What was contained in his letter to Kate, Alice never knew. carte blanche Then came the business of telling this new love tale,—the third which poor Alice had been forced to tell her father and grandfather;—and a grievous task it was. In this matter she feared her father much more than her grandfather, and therefore she resolved to tell her grandfather first;—or, rather, she determined that she would tell the Squire, and that in the mean time Kate should talk to her father. "Grandpapa," she said to him the morning after she had received her cousin's second letter.—The old man was in the habit of breakfasting alone in a closet of his own, which was called his dressing-room, but in which he kept no appurtenances for dressing, but in lieu of them a large collection of old spuds and sticks and horse's-bits. There was a broken spade here, and a hoe or two; and a small table in the corner was covered with the debris of tradesmen's bills from Penrith, and dirty scraps which he was wont to call his farm accounts.—"Grandpapa," said Alice, rushing away at once into the middle of her subject, "you told me the other day that you thought I ought to be—married." "Did I, my dear? Well, yes; so I did. And so you ought;—I mean to that Mr. Grey." "That is impossible, sir." "Then what's the use of your coming and talking to me about it?" This made Alice's task not very easy; but, nevertheless, she persevered. "I am come, grandpapa, to tell you of another engagement." "Another!" said he. And by the tone of his voice he accused his granddaughter of having a larger number of favoured suitors than ought to fall to the lot of any young lady. It was very hard upon her, but still she went on. "You know," said she, "that some years ago I was to have been married to my cousin George;"—and then she paused. "Well," said the old man. "And I remember you told me then that you were much pleased." "So I was. George was doing well then; or,—which is more likely,—had made us believe that he was doing well. Have you made it up with him again?" "Yes, sir." "And that's the meaning of your jilting Mr. Grey, is it?" Poor Alice! It is hard to explain how heavy a blow fell upon her from the open utterance of that word! Of all words in the language it was the one which she now most dreaded. She had called herself a jilt, with that inaudible voice which one uses in making self-accusations;—but hitherto no lips had pronounced the odious word to her ears. Poor Alice! She was a jilt; and perhaps it may have been well that the old man should tell her so. "Grandpapa!" she said; and there was that in the tone of her voice which somewhat softened the Squire's heart. "Well, my dear, I don't want to be ill-natured. So you are going at last to marry George, are you? I hope he'll treat you well; that's all. Does your father approve of it?" "I have told you first, sir;—because I wish to obtain your consent to seeing George again here as your grandson." "Never," said the old man, snarling;—"never!" "If he has been wrong, he will beg your pardon." "If he has been wrong! Didn't he want to squander every shilling of the property,—property which has never belonged to him;—property which I could give to Tom, Dick, or Harry to-morrow, if I liked?—If he has been wrong!" "I am not defending him, sir;—but I thought that, perhaps, on such an occasion as this—" "A Tom Fool's occasion! You've got money of your own. He'll spend all that now." "He will be less likely to do so if you will recognise him as your heir. Pray believe, sir, that he is not the sort of man that he was." "He must be a very clever sort of man, I think, when he has talked you out of such a husband as John Grey. It's astounding to me,—with that ugly mug of his! Well, my dear, if your father approves of it, and if George will ask my pardon,—but I don't think he ever will—" "He will, sir. I am his messenger for as much as that." "Oh, you are, are you? Then you may also be my messenger to him, and tell him that, for your sake, I will let him come back here. I know he'll insult me the first day; but I'll try and put up with it,—for your sake, my dear. Of course I must know what your father thinks about it." It may be imagined that Kate's success was even less than that which Alice achieved. "I knew it would be so," said John Vavasor, when his niece first told him;—and as he spoke he struck his hand upon the table. "I knew all along how it would be." "And why should it not be so, Uncle John?" "He is your brother, and I will not tell you why." "You think that he is a spendthrift?" "I think that he is as unsafe a man as ever I knew to be intrusted with the happiness of any young woman. That is all." "You are hard upon him, uncle." "Perhaps so. Tell Alice this from me,—that as I have never yet been able to get her to think anything of my opinion, I do not at all expect that I shall be able to induce her to do so now. I will not even make the attempt. As my son-in-law I will not receive George Vavasor. Tell Alice that." Alice was told her father's message; but Kate in telling it felt no deep regret. She well knew that Alice would not be turned back from her present intention by her father's wishes. Nor would it have been very reasonable that she should. Her father had for many years relieved himself from the burden of a father's cares, and now had hardly the right to claim a father's privileges. We will now go once again to George Vavasor's room in Cecil Street, in which he received Alice's letter. He was dressing when it was first brought to him; and when he recognised the handwriting he put it down on his toilet table unopened. He put it down, and went on brushing his hair, as though he were determined to prove to himself that he was indifferent as to the tidings which it might contain. He went on brushing his hair, and cleaning his teeth, and tying his cravat carefully over his turned-down collar, while the unopened letter lay close to his hand. Of course he was thinking of it,—of course he was anxious,—of course his eye went to it from moment to moment. But he carried it with him into the sitting-room still unopened, and so it remained until after the girl had brought him his tea and his toast. "And now," said he, as he threw himself into his arm-chair, "let us see what the girl of my heart says to me." The girl of his heart said to him as follows:— My dear George, I feel great difficulty in answering your letter. Could I have my own way, I should make no answer to it at present, but leave it for the next six months, so that then such answer might hereafter be made as circumstances should seem to require. This will be little flattering to you, but it is less flattering to myself. Whatever answer I may make, how can anything in this affair be flattering either to you or to me? We have been like children who have quarrelled over our game of play, till now, at the close of our little day of pleasure, we are fain to meet each other in tears, and acknowledge that we have looked for delights where no delights were to be found. Kate, who is here, talks to me of passionate love. There is no such passion left to me;—nor, as I think, to you either. It would not now be possible that you and I should come together on such terms as that. We could not stand up together as man and wife with any hope of a happy marriage, unless we had both agreed that such happiness might be had without passionate love. You will see from all this that I do not refuse your offer. Without passion, I have for you a warm affection, which enables me to take a livelier interest in your career than in any other of the matters which are around me. Of course, if I become your wife that interest will be still closer and dearer, and I do feel that I can take in it that concern which a wife should have in her husband's affairs. If it suits you, I will become your wife;—but it cannot be quite at once. I have suffered much from the past conflicts of my life, and there has been very much with which I must reproach myself. I know that I have behaved badly. Sometimes I have to undergo the doubly bitter self-accusation of having behaved in a manner which the world will call unfeminine. You must understand that I have not passed through this unscathed, and I must beg you to allow me some time for a cure. A perfect cure I may never expect, but I think that in twelve months from this time I may so far have recovered my usual spirit and ease of mind as to enable me to devote myself to your happiness. Dear George, if you will accept me under such circumstances, I will be your wife, and will endeavour to do my duty by you faithfully. I have said that even now, as your cousin, I take a lively interest in your career,—of course I mean your career as a politician,—and especially in your hopes of entering Parliament. I understand, accurately as I think, what you have said about my fortune, and I perfectly appreciate your truth and frankness. If I had nothing of my own you, in your circumstances, could not possibly take me as your wife. I know, moreover, that your need of assistance from my means is immediate rather than prospective. My money may be absolutely necessary to you within this year, during which, as I tell you most truly, I cannot bring myself to become a married woman. But my money shall be less cross-grained than myself. You will take it as frankly as I mean it when I say, that whatever you want for your political purposes shall be forthcoming at your slightest wish. Dear George, let me have the honour and glory of marrying a man who has gained a seat in the Parliament of Great Britain! Of all positions which a man may attain that, to me, is the grandest. I shall wait for a further letter from you before I speak either to my father or to my grandfather. If you can tell me that you accede to my views, I will at once try to bring about a reconciliation between you and the Squire. I think that that will be almost easier than inducing my father to look with favour upon our marriage. But I need hardly say that should either one or the other oppose it,—or should both do so,—that would not turn me from my purpose. I also wait for your answer to write a last line to Mr. Grey. Your affectionate cousin, Alice Vavasor. George Vavasor when he had read the letter threw it carelessly from him on to the breakfast table, and began to munch his toast. He threw it carelessly from him, as though taking a certain pride in his carelessness. "Very well," said he; "so be it. It is probably the best thing that I could do, whatever the effect may be on her." Then he took up his newspaper. But before the day was over he had made many plans,—plans made almost unconsciously,—as to the benefit which might accrue to him from the offer which she had made of her money. And before night he had written that reply to her of which we have heard the contents; and had written also to his sister Kate a letter, of which Kate had kept the contents to herself. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Anthony Trollope (2006). Can You Forgive Her?. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19500/pg19500-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

Containing an Answer to the Love Letter

Heyo Hackers. HackerNoon and IONOS bring you the finalists of Round 2 of the . We are happy to share that we have published #web-development stories so far, generating for the contest submissions! Kudos to our writers and readers for making this contest a success. Web Development Writing Contest 208 45 days of reading time With writing contests, HackerNoon shares a part of its revenue with our community, rewarding the best stories. So far, we have distributed almost $300,000 in our community via these contests. We aim to get all our top tags sponsored for our writers as it encourages the tech community to share high-quality educational content, making learning accessible to everyone. We thank IONOS for supporting the web development tag and sharing the same sentiments of appreciating original and educational content by technologists, for technologists. Here’s the message from Annabelle Atchison, Head of Communications and Product Marketing at IONOS. "We're thrilled to partner with HackerNoon for this web development writing competition. Recognizing the passion developers share for community-driven content, it's a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts and showcase the collective talent in the field." How to Qualify for the Third Round of the ? Web Development Writing Contest We have now entered the third round of the web development writing contest. This is your chance to showcase your expertise in web app development and win a from $6,000 prize pool! All you have to do is submit a web development story before September 15th, and if our editors approve it, you’ll enter the contest's final round. Here are some ideas shared by our sponsor: - we would love to see how you have developed your web apps and what challenges you faced during development. Write anything about web app development and choose a relevant topic that interests you. IONOS Cloud cubes are powerful KVM-based virtual servers designed for maximum flexibility and on-demand scalability. You can also explore the services, features, and use cases offers IONOS Cloud Cubes in web app development Data security, backup, and recovery challenges Creating instances for web apps Web dev environment automation Test automation for web apps You can use to enter the web development writing contest. this template This contest is different. We have decided to further gamify this contest and factor in the feedback of our fantastic community. If you are one of the finalists or rooting for one of these to win, you have a chance to convince the judges by commenting on this announcement why they should win. You can share this announcement on social media with your followers to add more comments to convince the editorial! We will feature the best comments in our winners’ announcement. Now, without further ado - here’s the list of round 2 finalists. The Web Development Writing Contest Round 2: Top 10 Nominations We have shortlisted the top 10 stories on the following factors: Content relevancy and quality Originality - only those stories have been shortlisted that are published first on HackerNoon Total number of reads proportionate to the reading time. (We monitor bot traffic, so a higher number of reads doesn’t automatically qualify your story to be in the top 10). Here are the top 10 finalists: by Mastering JavaScript Shorthands @leandronnz by Unleashing the Power of TypeScript: Improving Standard Library Types @nodge by Build a Document Analyzer with ChatGPT, Google Cloud, and Python @shanglun by Over 40, With no Technical Background, This is How I Learned a Frontend Framework in 2 Weeks @codingjourneyfromunemployment by Understanding React's useEffect Hook: A Deep Dive @lastcallofsummer by Over 40, With No Technical Background, This Is How I Learned Javascript in 2 Weeks @codingjourneyfromunemployment by Is AI Eavesdropping on You?: Defend Your Passwords From AI Keystroke Pattern Detection @induction by Is Migrating From Java 11 to Java 17 Worth It? @sergeidzeboev by How to Create a Blackjack Game With Alpine.js and the Deck of Cards API @raymondcamden by Boosting Website Performance: Leveraging Webpack for File Compression and Optimization @fed4wet Congratulations to the top 10 finalists because two of you will win from $2000! What will happen next? Our Editors will vote on these stories, and the winner will be announced in October. The top two stories with the most votes by editorial will win $1000 each! Share this announcement with your support circle, and comment below why your story should win. We invite all our readers to share their favorite stories in the comments section. Our editors will be reading all the comments. Read the announcement of . The Web Development Writing Contest, Round 1, here The primary purpose of these contests is to celebrate quality and recruit educational content for our community. We congratulate all the finalists. However, the Editorial team can disqualify a writer or a story if we find any misconduct like plagiarism, copyright infringement, or disinformation.

The Web Development Writing Contest: Round 2 Finalists Announced!

ওয়েব ডেভেলপমেন্ট রাইটিং কনটেস্ট: রাউন্ড 2 ফাইনালিস্ট ঘোষণা করা হয়েছে!

Der Webentwicklungs-Schreibwettbewerb: Finalisten der zweiten Runde bekannt gegeben!

Concurso de redacción sobre desarrollo web: ¡Se anunciaron los finalistas de la segunda ronda!

Le concours de rédaction pour le développement Web : les finalistes de la deuxième ronde sont annoncés !

वेब विकास लेखन प्रतियोगिता: दूसरे चरण के फाइनलिस्ट की घोषणा!

Web 開発ライティング コンテスト: 第 2 ラウンドのファイナリストが発表されました!

웹 개발 글쓰기 콘테스트: 2차 결선 진출자가 발표되었습니다!

Concurso de redação para desenvolvimento da Web: anunciados os finalistas da segunda rodada!

Web Geliştirme Yazma Yarışması: 2. Tur Finalistleri Açıklandı!

Cuộc thi viết về phát triển web: Công bố những người lọt vào vòng chung kết vòng 2!

Web 开发写作大赛：第二轮决赛入围名单公布！

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . CACHALOTS AND WHALES here CHAPTER XII: CACHALOTS AND WHALES During the nights of the 13th and 14th of March, the returned to its southerly course. I fancied that, when on a level with Cape Horn, he would turn the helm westward, in order to beat the Pacific seas, and so complete the tour of the world. He did nothing of the kind, but continued on his way to the southern regions. Where was he going to? To the pole? It was madness! I began to think that the Captain’s temerity justified Ned Land’s fears. For some time past the Canadian had not spoken to me of his projects of flight; he was less communicative, almost silent. I could see that this lengthened imprisonment was weighing upon him, and I felt that rage was burning within him. When he met the Captain, his eyes lit up with suppressed anger; and I feared that his natural violence would lead him into some extreme. That day, the 14th of March, Conseil and he came to me in my room. I inquired the cause of their visit. Nautilus “A simple question to ask you, sir,” replied the Canadian. “Speak, Ned.” “How many men are there on board the , do you think?” Nautilus “I cannot tell, my friend.” “I should say that its working does not require a large crew.” “Certainly, under existing conditions, ten men, at the most, ought to be enough.” “Well, why should there be any more?” “Why?” I replied, looking fixedly at Ned Land, whose meaning was easy to guess. “Because,” I added, “if my surmises are correct, and if I have well understood the Captain’s existence, the is not only a vessel: it is also a place of refuge for those who, like its commander, have broken every tie upon earth.” Nautilus “Perhaps so,” said Conseil; “but, in any case, the can only contain a certain number of men. Could not you, sir, estimate their maximum?” Nautilus “How, Conseil?” “By calculation; given the size of the vessel, which you know, sir, and consequently the quantity of air it contains, knowing also how much each man expends at a breath, and comparing these results with the fact that the is obliged to go to the surface every twenty-four hours.” Nautilus Conseil had not finished the sentence before I saw what he was driving at. “I understand,” said I; “but that calculation, though simple enough, can give but a very uncertain result.” “Never mind,” said Ned Land urgently. “Here it is, then,” said I. “In one hour each man consumes the oxygen contained in twenty gallons of air; and in twenty-four, that contained in 480 gallons. We must, therefore find how many times 480 gallons of air the contains.” Nautilus “Just so,” said Conseil. “Or,” I continued, “the size of the being 1,500 tons; and one ton holding 200 gallons, it contains 300,000 gallons of air, which, divided by 480, gives a quotient of 625. Which means to say, strictly speaking, that the air contained in the would suffice for 625 men for twenty-four hours.” Nautilus Nautilus “Six hundred and twenty-five!” repeated Ned. “But remember that all of us, passengers, sailors, and officers included, would not form a tenth part of that number.” “Still too many for three men,” murmured Conseil. The Canadian shook his head, passed his hand across his forehead, and left the room without answering. “Will you allow me to make one observation, sir?” said Conseil. “Poor Ned is longing for everything that he can not have. His past life is always present to him; everything that we are forbidden he regrets. His head is full of old recollections. And we must understand him. What has he to do here? Nothing; he is not learned like you, sir; and has not the same taste for the beauties of the sea that we have. He would risk everything to be able to go once more into a tavern in his own country.” Certainly the monotony on board must seem intolerable to the Canadian, accustomed as he was to a life of liberty and activity. Events were rare which could rouse him to any show of spirit; but that day an event did happen which recalled the bright days of the harpooner. About eleven in the morning, being on the surface of the ocean, the fell in with a troop of whales—an encounter which did not astonish me, knowing that these creatures, hunted to death, had taken refuge in high latitudes. Nautilus We were seated on the platform, with a quiet sea. The month of October in those latitudes gave us some lovely autumnal days. It was the Canadian—he could not be mistaken—who signalled a whale on the eastern horizon. Looking attentively, one might see its black back rise and fall with the waves five miles from the . Nautilus “Ah!” exclaimed Ned Land, “if I was on board a whaler, now such a meeting would give me pleasure. It is one of large size. See with what strength its blow-holes throw up columns of air an steam! Confound it, why am I bound to these steel plates?” “What, Ned,” said I, “you have not forgotten your old ideas of fishing?” “Can a whale-fisher ever forget his old trade, sir? Can he ever tire of the emotions caused by such a chase?” “You have never fished in these seas, Ned?” “Never, sir; in the northern only, and as much in Behring as in Davis Straits.” “Then the southern whale is still unknown to you. It is the Greenland whale you have hunted up to this time, and that would not risk passing through the warm waters of the equator. Whales are localised, according to their kinds, in certain seas which they never leave. And if one of these creatures went from Behring to Davis Straits, it must be simply because there is a passage from one sea to the other, either on the American or the Asiatic side.” “In that case, as I have never fished in these seas, I do not know the kind of whale frequenting them!” “I have told you, Ned.” “A greater reason for making their acquaintance,” said Conseil. “Look! look!” exclaimed the Canadian, “they approach: they aggravate me; they know that I cannot get at them!” Ned stamped his feet. His hand trembled, as he grasped an imaginary harpoon. “Are these cetaceans as large as those of the northern seas?” asked he. “Very nearly, Ned.” “Because I have seen large whales, sir, whales measuring a hundred feet. I have even been told that those of Hullamoch and Umgallick, of the Aleutian Islands, are sometimes a hundred and fifty feet long.” “That seems to me exaggeration. These creatures are only balaeaopterons, provided with dorsal fins; and, like the cachalots, are generally much smaller than the Greenland whale.” “Ah!” exclaimed the Canadian, whose eyes had never left the ocean, “they are coming nearer; they are in the same water as the .” Nautilus Then, returning to the conversation, he said: “You spoke of the cachalot as a small creature. I have heard of gigantic ones. They are intelligent cetacea. It is said of some that they cover themselves with seaweed and fucus, and then are taken for islands. People encamp upon them, and settle there; lights a fire——” “And build houses,” said Conseil. “Yes, joker,” said Ned Land. “And one fine day the creature plunges, carrying with it all the inhabitants to the bottom of the sea.” “Something like the travels of Sinbad the Sailor,” I replied, laughing. “Ah!” suddenly exclaimed Ned Land, “it is not one whale; there are ten—there are twenty—it is a whole troop! And I not able to do anything! hands and feet tied!” “But, friend Ned,” said Conseil, “why do you not ask Captain Nemo’s permission to chase them?” Conseil had not finished his sentence when Ned Land had lowered himself through the panel to seek the Captain. A few minutes afterwards the two appeared together on the platform. Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea playing on the waters about a mile from the . Nautilus “They are southern whales,” said he; “there goes the fortune of a whole fleet of whalers.” “Well, sir,” asked the Canadian, “can I not chase them, if only to remind me of my old trade of harpooner?” “And to what purpose?” replied Captain Nemo; “only to destroy! We have nothing to do with the whale-oil on board.” “But, sir,” continued the Canadian, “in the Red Sea you allowed us to follow the dugong.” “Then it was to procure fresh meat for my crew. Here it would be killing for killing’s sake. I know that is a privilege reserved for man, but I do not approve of such murderous pastime. In destroying the southern whale (like the Greenland whale, an inoffensive creature), your traders do a culpable action, Master Land. They have already depopulated the whole of Baffin’s Bay, and are annihilating a class of useful animals. Leave the unfortunate cetacea alone. They have plenty of natural enemies—cachalots, swordfish, and sawfish—without you troubling them.” The Captain was right. The barbarous and inconsiderate greed of these fishermen will one day cause the disappearance of the last whale in the ocean. Ned Land whistled “Yankee-doodle” between his teeth, thrust his hands into his pockets, and turned his back upon us. But Captain Nemo watched the troop of cetacea, and, addressing me, said: “I was right in saying that whales had natural enemies enough, without counting man. These will have plenty to do before long. Do you see, M. Aronnax, about eight miles to leeward, those blackish moving points?” “Yes, Captain,” I replied. “Those are cachalots—terrible animals, which I have met in troops of two or three hundred. As to those, they are cruel, mischievous creatures; they would be right in exterminating them.” The Canadian turned quickly at the last words. “Well, Captain,” said he, “it is still time, in the interest of the whales.” “It is useless to expose one’s self, Professor. The will disperse them. It is armed with a steel spur as good as Master Land’s harpoon, I imagine.” Nautilus The Canadian did not put himself out enough to shrug his shoulders. Attack cetacea with blows of a spur! Who had ever heard of such a thing? “Wait, M. Aronnax,” said Captain Nemo. “We will show you something you have never yet seen. We have no pity for these ferocious creatures. They are nothing but mouth and teeth.” Mouth and teeth! No one could better describe the macrocephalous cachalot, which is sometimes more than seventy-five feet long. Its enormous head occupies one-third of its entire body. Better armed than the whale, whose upper jaw is furnished only with whalebone, it is supplied with twenty-five large tusks, about eight inches long, cylindrical and conical at the top, each weighing two pounds. It is in the upper part of this enormous head, in great cavities divided by cartilages, that is to be found from six to eight hundred pounds of that precious oil called spermaceti. The cachalot is a disagreeable creature, more tadpole than fish, according to Fredol’s description. It is badly formed, the whole of its left side being (if we may say it), a “failure,” and being only able to see with its right eye. But the formidable troop was nearing us. They had seen the whales and were preparing to attack them. One could judge beforehand that the cachalots would be victorious, not only because they were better built for attack than their inoffensive adversaries, but also because they could remain longer under water without coming to the surface. There was only just time to go to the help of the whales. The went under water. Conseil, Ned Land, and I took our places before the window in the saloon, and Captain Nemo joined the pilot in his cage to work his apparatus as an engine of destruction. Soon I felt the beatings of the screw quicken, and our speed increased. The battle between the cachalots and the whales had already begun when the arrived. They did not at first show any fear at the sight of this new monster joining in the conflict. But they soon had to guard against its blows. What a battle! The was nothing but a formidable harpoon, brandished by the hand of its Captain. It hurled itself against the fleshy mass, passing through from one part to the other, leaving behind it two quivering halves of the animal. It could not feel the formidable blows from their tails upon its sides, nor the shock which it produced itself, much more. One cachalot killed, it ran at the next, tacked on the spot that it might not miss its prey, going forwards and backwards, answering to its helm, plunging when the cetacean dived into the deep waters, coming up with it when it returned to the surface, striking it front or sideways, cutting or tearing in all directions and at any pace, piercing it with its terrible spur. What carnage! What a noise on the surface of the waves! What sharp hissing, and what snorting peculiar to these enraged animals! In the midst of these waters, generally so peaceful, their tails made perfect billows. For one hour this wholesale massacre continued, from which the cachalots could not escape. Several times ten or twelve united tried to crush the by their weight. From the window we could see their enormous mouths, studded with tusks, and their formidable eyes. Ned Land could not contain himself; he threatened and swore at them. We could feel them clinging to our vessel like dogs worrying a wild boar in a copse. But the , working its screw, carried them here and there, or to the upper levels of the ocean, without caring for their enormous weight, nor the powerful strain on the vessel. At length the mass of cachalots broke up, the waves became quiet, and I felt that we were rising to the surface. The panel opened, and we hurried on to the platform. The sea was covered with mutilated bodies. A formidable explosion could not have divided and torn this fleshy mass with more violence. We were floating amid gigantic bodies, bluish on the back and white underneath, covered with enormous protuberances. Some terrified cachalots were flying towards the horizon. The waves were dyed red for several miles, and the floated in a sea of blood: Captain Nemo joined us. Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus Nautilus “Well, Master Land?” said he. “Well, sir,” replied the Canadian, whose enthusiasm had somewhat calmed; “it is a terrible spectacle, certainly. But I am not a butcher. I am a hunter, and I call this a butchery.” “It is a massacre of mischievous creatures,” replied the Captain; “and the is not a butcher’s knife.” Nautilus “I like my harpoon better,” said the Canadian. “Every one to his own,” answered the Captain, looking fixedly at Ned Land. I feared he would commit some act of violence, which would end in sad consequences. But his anger was turned by the sight of a whale which the had just come up with. The creature had not quite escaped from the cachalot’s teeth. I recognised the southern whale by its flat head, which is entirely black. Anatomically, it is distinguished from the white whale and the North Cape whale by the seven cervical vertebrae, and it has two more ribs than its congeners. The unfortunate cetacean was lying on its side, riddled with holes from the bites, and quite dead. From its mutilated fin still hung a young whale which it could not save from the massacre. Its open mouth let the water flow in and out, murmuring like the waves breaking on the shore. Captain Nemo steered close to the corpse of the creature. Two of his men mounted its side, and I saw, not without surprise, that they were drawing from its breasts all the milk which they contained, that is to say, about two or three tons. The Captain offered me a cup of the milk, which was still warm. I could not help showing my repugnance to the drink; but he assured me that it was excellent, and not to be distinguished from cow’s milk. I tasted it, and was of his opinion. It was a useful reserve to us, for in the shape of salt butter or cheese it would form an agreeable variety from our ordinary food. From that day I noticed with uneasiness that Ned Land’s ill-will towards Captain Nemo increased, and I resolved to watch the Canadian’s gestures closely. Nautilus About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

CACHALOTS AND WHALES

At the moment, there are spaceports and launch facilities worldwide that can launch satellites or spacecraft into sub-orbit, orbit, and beyond. Some of these are shared with existing airports due to the nature of their horizontal launch preference, and others are dedicated sites — 35 but what if, in the near future, this changed and watching a launch from your local international airport became the norm? Before we begin, here are some ‘fun facts’ — As of January 2022, the Airports Council International serves 717 members, operating 1950 airports in 185 countries. In total, there are with a passenger volume of over , which the ACI classifies as major airports. Of these, around one-third are located in North America and one-quarter in Europe. The rest are spread across Asia, Australia, and South America. 61 airports 25 million per year In total, there are 9300 airports across the globe, including — Highest altitude airport: Charana Airport in Bolivia (4060m) Lowest altitude airport: Bar Yehuda Airport in Israel (-385m) Number of airports in the northern hemisphere: 3317 Number of airports in the southern hemisphere: 1798 Top 5 countries with the most airports — USA (552) Germany (529) France (472) South Africa (262) Canada (259) The problem right now facing the spaceport industry is that the current launch cadence just can’t accommodate them all, financially and operationally. There’s a rush to build spaceports and launch facilities on new sites, mostly due to the civilian impact of having rockets launch so close to people, but the splitting of a finite resource over increasing numbers means it’s just not going to work long-term. For example, at the moment, there are only some 60-odd planned launches in Europe. There are seven spaceports about to become operational in the UK alone, and Sweden has just announced their intention to build another. Each caters to a type of launcher — horizontal and/or vertical — the majority allowing for the smaller launches only. As this number of spaceports looks to grow, conversely, so too will the availability of suitable sites begin to shrink. There will come a point where spaceports will not only eventually reach a saturation point beyond launch cadence ( ) but also a point where the various aviation authorities step in after a civilian airplane accident takes place. if this won’t happen sooner than they expect anyway all over the globe. Let’s say an average length of a flight is two hours — that would mean that six million people fly somewhere every day. Add on top of that multiple rocket launches from multiple sites on a regular basis, and the skies could get a bit more crowded and more dangerous, especially being managed by different control authorities, different mission controllers, and so on. Roughly 100,000 flights take off and land every day “We believe in a world where more people can go to more places more often. Sustainable supersonic travel unlocks new possibilities for business relationships, prospects for vacation, and opportunities for human connection.” — Blake Scholl, CEO Boom Supersonic and now I know why there’s a new race to build supersonic and hypersonic passenger planes. But the space race is about to get a lot bigger and not for orbital launchers, . Venus Aerospace’s “Stargazer” aircraft is claimed to be capable of crossing the Earth in one hour. Hypersonic technology is all the rage right now, though the specific concepts and applications are hardly anything new. For example, Venus Aerospace unveiled its new Mach 9 hypersonic plane design last year , a potential successor to the ever-loved but now-retired Concorde. And Boom Supersonic is currently building its new Overture supersonic passenger plane Now SpaceX has said that it eventually wants to run 15 million ( ) flights of a passenger version of Starship and could challenge them all. yeah, you read that right But why the focus on ludicrous speed air flight? Simple. Los Angeles to New York, which normally takes five hours and 25 minutes, will take . 25 minutes Bangkok to Dubai, which takes six hours and 25 minutes by plane, will take . 27 minutes Tokyo to Singapore, which can take seven hours and 10 minutes, would take just . 28 minutes London to New York, a seven hours and 55 minutes plane ride, takes just . 29 minutes New York to Paris, which takes around seven hours and 20 minutes by plane, would take just . 30 minutes Starship will be capable of performing long voyages to Mars carrying 100 passengers and over 100 tons of cargo, but the terrestrial version of Starship would rival commercial airliners, offering to transport 1,000 passengers from one spaceport to another across the globe at 4.6 miles per second, that is equivalent to about 12 times as fast as a supersonic flight. How much would a ticket cost? Sam Dinkins, writing for the , estimated in October 2017 it would cost over $1 million to transport 853 passengers, working out to $1,200 per person. Once this becomes a steady reality, these costs will fall — the price of a seat on Concorde was roughly the same back when it flew the skies, so this is frankly a bit of a bargain. Space Review Obviously, this is years out, but whichever becomes the favored method of air travel in the near future, one thing is clear — and civil aviation/ flight control authorities will have to approve it all on top, but the reality is that progress in developing advanced civil aerospace capabilities will stem from the innovations that come out of any and all space programs, including the updating of tracking systems for civil aviation. it means every major airport would need to rethink its capabilities to become spaceports or space hubs in their own capacity It is highly unlikely that the ability to fly Starship from one end of the globe to the other will require building new vertical launch and landing sites near those major destinations, it makes zero sense to do this, and against every other launcher, especially with their cadence and success record so the alternative to building completely new sites owned and operated by others, having their own immigration procedures, emergency infrastructure, flight control, etc is to adjust the existing airport infrastructure to cater for both vertical and horizontal hypersonic flight — no major airport owner in their right mind will want to ignore SpaceX’s current lead and that means airports becoming spaceports in their own right. It makes far more sense to utilize, merge and work with the existing aviation authorities, ground staff, and mission controllers all under one roof and take advantage of economies of scale than to continually add more pressure to an already overburdened staff with oftentimes antiquated computer systems with building a spaceport next door managed by other people with their own agendas and processes. This then opens up new opportunities for airport owners to act as sites for orbital launches, too, since they’ll have the facilities and operations to do so. We won’t need dedicated launch sites in the middle of nowhere, where there are no existing road, rail, or sea infrastructure around them. I remember being taken to the airport to see planes taking off when I was very young, it was a Sunday afternoon treat. Perhaps one day in the future, that’ll be a thing again, only this time, we’ll be watching rockets launch to New York or the Moon just as often. Hypersonic aviation is going to open up more opportunities than it realizes, and airports need to be on the ball to not only capture this new market but also play a vital role in the space race itself. Unfortunately, any time saved on a hypersonic flight will still be lost dicking about in immigration queues and being forced to walk around airport shops. Some things may never change… Also Published Here

Advancements in Airplane Tech Could Lead Major Airports to Become Spaceports

The CMA's intervention in the Meta Giphy acquisition could have long-term implications for the precedent of regulatory oversight in the digital economy. With the proliferation of tech giants and the growing dominance of a few major players, regulators around the world are facing pressure to ensure that competition is not stifled and that consumers have access to a wide range of choices. The outcome of the CMA's investigation into the Meta Giphy acquisition could set a paradigm for future deals in the tech sector, and it already spells more scrutiny for Meta. In the first few days of 2023, fines totaling more than half of the regional total from last year, and additional penalties may be on the way. Meta has already received On May 15th, 2020, when it became that Meta wished to acquire Giphy in an alleged $400 million transaction, the tech industry was abuzz with speculations about how Meta's purchase of Giphy might change the scene, and the Uk government was paying careful attention. known Giphy, the company in question, was by Jace Cooke and Alex Chung in February 2013. The firm was first launched as a straightforward GIF search engine. Later in its first year, the website offered a feature that permitted sharing via Facebook; shortly after winning the Top 100 Website of 2013 by Twitter was added as a second integration. This was the company's first significant product expansion. founded PC Magazine, With the addition of these features, Giphy will be able to reach both social media and website users, giving it access to a much bigger user base than it did previously, and ultimately laying the groundwork for its exponential development. According to the most recent statistics, Giphy with the support of investors such as DFJ Growth, Lightspeed, Betaworks, GV, Lerer Hippeau, and others had raised $150.9 million over five rounds. Crunchbase It is now clear that Meta was following closely, waiting for the right moment to hit the merger button. Why did Meta Decide to Buy Giphy? When Meta announced that it had paid a stunning $400 million for Giphy, the true reasons weren't immediately apparent. However, the firm claims that it was done solely to .” “make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers The company has used GIPHY's API for years in applications like Instagram, Facebook app, Messenger, and WhatsApp. However, Meta no longer wants to be just a user; they want to be the platform's owner. Though Meta claims it will fund further technological advancement for Giphy and establish new connections with both content creators and endpoint developers, stating that it only has good intentions, the UK government, meanwhile, held a different opinion and continued opposing the merger because it did not believe it to be a good deal. “The CMA found that Giphy’s advertising services had the potential to compete with Facebook’s own display advertising services. They would have also encouraged greater innovation from others in the market, including social media sites and advertisers. Facebook terminated Giphy’s advertising services at the time of the merger, removing an important source of potential competition.” Meta’s run-ins with regulators The blockage of the Meta Giphy acquisition is not the first conflict UK regulators or any other regulatory body have had with Meta nor is it the only instance of regulatory bodies getting involved in Meta's M&A deals. In 2014, the the purchase, which would make the social network one of the dominant players in the mobile messaging market, was viewed as a test case for how EU competition rules should be applied to the social media industries. Even though the deal was later approved, on May 18, 2017, the €110 million for producing false or misleading material during the Commission's 2014 investigation of Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp under the EU Merger Regulation. EU investigated the Facebook-WhatsApp acquisition, European Commission fined Facebook Also, back in 2012, just before Facebook had its IPO, into Facebook's purchase of the photo-sharing application Instagram. The investigation involved the FTC interviewing Facebook's rivals and assessing the overall effects of the acquisition. Although the purchase was thought to put Facebook on a speedier path to mobile supremacy the the FTC opened an investigation FTC would ultimately approve it. On 2 August 2021, the potential acquisition of Kustomer. Not just the European Commission, but even the . According to the commission, the planned deal would lessen competition in the market for CRM (customer relationship management) software. The regardless.  But, why all the investigations? European Commission launched a thorough inquiry into Facebook's CMA deal was later cleared “It is important to closely review potentially problematic acquisitions by companies that are already dominant in certain markets. This applies in particular to the digital sector, where Facebook enjoys a leading position in both online display advertising and in over-the-top messaging channels, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram. Our investigation aims to ensure that the transaction will not harm businesses or consumers and that any data that Facebook gets access to does not distort competition.” - Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition Impact of the UK regulatory action Meta, like other tech companies, has had a complex relationship with regulatory bodies. The company has faced regulatory scrutiny and criticism for a variety of issues, including its handling of user data and the spread of misinformation on its platform. Regulators from all across the world are beginning to step up their pressure on Meta to address these and other problems. For instance, for breaking data privacy regulations. In the United States, the company has faced investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulatory agencies just like the one it is facing with the CMA. Facebook was recently fined 265 million euros in Ireland The bottom line is that Meta has agreed to sell Giphy and is now facing more surveillance than ever. " I don't agree that the UK should be allowed to block the sale of a company. However, I do understand the point that Giphy is very popular in the UK and it would take them out of the UK social media and advertising markets. But I still think that should be Meta's decision not a decision for the UK government to make. If Meta wanted to buy and do nothing with it that should be their own decision. that's my opinion at least." - Jeff Krauss, Co-Founder, FanRoom Live Aside from the fact that this case specifically highlights the significant influence that national regulators can have on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), even when the involved companies are headquartered in other countries, history is being made. Note that Meta was forced to sell off Giphy by regulators in the United Kingdom, not the United States, though both Meta and Giphy are US-based companies. Withal, due to the global reach of the internet Meta and Giphy remain subject to U.K. law, which is why  Meta is caving in and selling Giphy as requested. More importantly, since the global antitrust authorities started to pay attention to its economic supremacy, despite the fact that Meta has a track record of consistently battling with regulatory organizations. this is still the first time regulators have successfully split up a piece of the media giant Never before has a major tech company been told to unwind a prior acquisition rather than pay a penalty or make guarantees about how the combined companies will function. It’s definitely a huge blow to Meta and a big win for regulatory bodies. Giphy is a minor acquisition compared to some of Meta’s other well-known mergers. The company has invested far more money in past transactions. Like the virtual reality system from Oculus, the messaging platform Redkix, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the majority of Meta’s acquisitions have been user-focused. With the exception of businesses-focused projects like CRM tool Kustomer, which was purchased for $1 billion a year ago. “The "right now" conversation is that Meta recognizes its core product platform, Facebook, has aged. To stay relevant they need to continue to acquire fresh companies, products, and developer talent from more nimble startups. That's in no way a slight on Meta. Digital products age quickly and companies must rapidly adapt. At Decasonic, we refer to this as "Rapidapt", or “rapid adapt.” These days we talk in videos, emojis, and GIFs. Thus, if Meta doesn't upgrade their text-based experiences with startups like Giphy to adapt, its relevance will be challenged.” - Paul Hsu, Founder, and CEO of Decasonic But Giphy is just a GIF company, isn’t it? Still, regulatory bodies consider the merger to be significant. “Strategic acquisitions to reinforce the dominance of any platform through the acquisition of smaller, disruptive and innovative rivals should be a red flag for competition enforcers,” - Diana Moss, president of, the American Antitrust Institute Cost implications for Meta While it is difficult to accurately predict the price someone would pay for Giphy, one thing is for certain: the sale of Giphy will have some financial implications. In the fullness of time, the CMA's ruling is expected to result in Meta selling Giphy for a significant loss because . Additionally, the valuation of enterprises is falling as governments abandon their 0% interest rate policies. the U.S. Federal Reserve is actively raising interest rates Back in 2020, when Meta acquired Giphy the times were a bit different. As the old saying goes, "A dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow."  Even if Meta were to sell Giphy for the same amount it acquired, it’s still a loss due to inflation and the decrease in the value of the currency. Furthermore, Meta after purchasing Giphy shut down the company's advertising company and now the CMA order to sell Giphy also comes with the mandate to upgrade Giphy so that it can deliver GIF-based advertisements. Meta is also expected to deposit a minimum of $75 million in cash with Giphy. Undoubtedly, all these increase the financial impact the sale is going to have on Meta. “Meta's failing acquisition of Giphy is another blow to the tech conglomerate. It is now a target for politicians and a poster child for what's wrong with big tech. The CMA has put the company on the defensive again in relation to its push to support Marketplace, and, separately, its acquisition of Within hasn't gone as planned, either. If you consider these trials and tribulations in conjunction with Meta's ill-conceived dalliance in the metaverse, it is hard to find the sunshine for investors, particularly in the short term.” - Richard Gardner, CEO, Modulus It is probable that Meta will announce a loss after going through the process of selling. What next? As we’ve seen the relationship between Facebook and regulatory bodies has been dynamic, with both parties working to address concerns and establish rules and guidelines for the company's operations. It is likely that this relationship will continue to evolve as new issues arise and as regulators seek to address the challenges posed by the rapid development of technology. The Meta-Giphy case may indicate that a new set of principles for international antitrust law is taking shape. Apart from the potential minor yet significant loss that Meta might experience. Efforts to bust major tech giants might also pick up steam. “The impact of the UK regulatory intervention on Meta's attempted Giphy acquisition will, besides affecting the two businesses directly, have a potentially beneficial indirect effect on the tech industry in general. Primarily, it will reverse Meta's acquisition of Giphy and all the related agreements, and then restore both companies to pre-negotiation states. But indirectly, we might see a greater regulatory involvement in tech overall, which could lead to a more diverse and less monopolized online environment. We all stand to benefit from greater access to tools and features that were meant to be open to all, and not just up for grabs by megacorporations.” - Goran Luledzija, CEO, Localizely It is not surprising that Meta is now facing a growing trend where its mergers and acquisitions are being blocked by regulatory bodies. The to stop the company from buying Within Unlimited, a virtual reality technology business, on the grounds that the transaction might give Meta more leverage to build a "virtual reality empire." FTC recently filed a lawsuit “Instead of competing on the merits, Meta is trying to buy its way to the top” - John Newman, FTC Bureau of Competition Deputy Director. Additionally, the to get Meta to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram with allegations that Facebook engaged in anti-competitive business practices when it acquired both platforms. Federal Trade Commission is seeking “The impact of the decision by the Competitions and Mergers Authority will alert other big tech companies to the increased regulation level now being witnessed in the tech space. More tech mergers will be scrutinized, and with it, fewer companies will be willing to merge with so-called competitors to strengthen their own positions. With the reduced frequency of mergers, we can expect smaller tech companies to focus more on their growth since this channel of buyouts that previously seemed lucrative has become less desirable due to regulation. It will help the tech industry grow and make the competition landscape fairer. For users, the good news is that now they have a watchdog that will always seek to question what is the fine print of any big tech mergers ensuring that cartels are not formed against them.” - Alvin Wei, CMO and Head of Strategy at SEOAnt

UK CMA Intervention in Meta-Giphy Deal Could Signal Increased Tech Space Regulation

La intervención de la CMA del Reino Unido en el acuerdo Meta-Giphy podría indicar una mayor regulación del espacio tecnológico

L'intervention de la CMA britannique dans l'accord Meta-Giphy pourrait signaler une réglementation accrue de l'espace technologique

मेटा-गिफी डील में यूके सीएमए का हस्तक्षेप टेक स्पेस रेगुलेशन को बढ़ा सकता है

Meta-Giphy 取引への英国 CMA の介入は、技術分野の規制強化を示唆する可能性がある

A intervenção da CMA do Reino Unido no acordo Meta-Giphy pode sinalizar o aumento da regulamentação do espaço tecnológico

Sự can thiệp của CMA Vương quốc Anh vào Thỏa thuận Meta-Giphy có thể báo hiệu việc tăng cường quy định về không gian công nghệ

英国 CMA 干预 Meta-Giphy 交易可能预示着技术空间监管的加强

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