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It has been a breakthrough year for the world’s original cryptocurrency – and on November 28th, 2017, the bitcoin price blew past the psychological barrier of $10,000 with unprecedented pace. After all, it was only two days prior that the cryptocurrency was trading at $9,000. Today’s infographic from Blockchain Intelligence Group helps to visualize the ups and downs of this incredible journey to $10,000. The Journey to $10,000 Bitcoin Here are some of the key events that transpired over the last 11 months: And here is how long it took bitcoins to hit each $1,000 barrier: Note: These time periods are calculated based on closing prices for the Bitcoin Price Index on Coindesk....

Brexit negotiations have helped to create an environment of uncertainty, while the introduction of American tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum – along with the resulting retaliatory measures – have created more tangible barriers to international trade. Now, there is now even rhetoric coming from D.C. about adding tariffs to $200 billion of goods coming from China, and NAFTA renegotiations have long been on President Trump’s agenda. The G7 meeting in Canada also gave recent indications on the state of the existing trade atmosphere....

Beds and mattresses are heavy and bulky, and sales are traditionally based on a tactile experience that consumers have with products in physical stores. Holding inventory is expensive and risky, and shipping is a nightmare. Sure, people are willing to shop online for almost everything these days – but when up to 40% of life is spent lying on a bed, isn’t that a product that should be tested out before a purchase decision is made?...

Despite recent setbacks in Africa’s largest economies, wealth creation has been strong in a number of areas, and total private wealth is now estimated to be US$2.1 trillion. There also an estimated 21 billionaires in Africa today. Drawing from the latest Africa Wealth Report, here’s a look at where all that wealth is concentrated around the continent. A Country-Level Look at Wealth in Africa South Africa is a still a major stronghold of wealth in Africa, with a robust luxury real estate market and ample wealth management services....

This map using data from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) reveals where the world’s 27 ongoing conflicts are today, and what type of conflicts they are. Note: conflicts are categorized by definitions laid out by the CFR. Detailing the Conflicts Many people alive today have never lived through a war on their country’s soil, especially those in the West. But conflict, wars, and violence are by no means things of the past....

For many people, the Earth as they know it is heavily informed by the Mercator projection—a tool used for nautical navigation that eventually became the world’s most widely recognized map. Mercator’s Rise to the Top With any map projection style, the big challenge lies in depicting a spherical object as a 2D graphic. There are various trade-offs with any map style, and those trade-offs can vary depending on how the map is meant to be used....

But as an industry that has laid dormant for decades, it will need to shed its negative connotations that have limited its potential and undermined new discoveries for so long. The infographic above showcases data from The Report on Psychedelics which explains seven of the most common psychedelic substances and examines the many mind-bending ways they could radically transform mental health as we know it. Resurrecting a Stigmatized Industry Although evidence of humans using psychedelics as medicine dates back thousands of years, it was not until the 1940s that psychiatrists became advocates of their therapeutic potential....

As autonomous vehicles become more of a looming certainty, what will be the wider impacts of this monumental transition? Which Countries are Ready? Today’s interactive visual from Aquinov Mathappan ranks countries on their preparedness to adopt self-driving cars, while also exploring the range of challenges they will face in achieving complete automation. The Five Levels of Automation The graphic above uses the Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index, which details the five levels of automation....

For many funds, financial institutions, and wealthy individuals, the perception is that the world’s financial centers are the places to be. After all, world-class cities like New York, London, and Hong Kong will never go out of style, and their extremely robust and high-density city centers limit the supply of quality assets to buy. But what happens when too many people pile into a “safe” asset? According to UBS, certain cities have seen prices rise at rates that are potentially not sustainable – and eight of these financial centers are at risk of having real estate bubbles that could eventually deflate....

Tech Timeline: How We Got to the iPhone Era Important note: click the image above to expand to full screen for a more readable size. The iPhone is iconic as the culmination of all modern technology and engineering in one instrument. Although taken for granted sometimes, all smartphones are incredible and sophisticated devices consisting of many different and unique parts. Not only do they facilitate modern communication, but they have powerful computation ability, GPS, gyroscopes, interactive touchscreens, multiple cameras, and impressive battery lives....

As we showed in Part 1: Tesla’s Origin Story, the launch of the Roadster was a public relations success, but it created all kinds of problems internally. There were massive cost overruns, a revolving door of CEOs, layoffs, and even a narrow escape from bankruptcy. Fortunately, by 2010 the company was able to forget these troubles after a successful IPO. The company secured $226 million in capital, and hitting the public markets started a roller coaster ride of growth....

Among these companies were Airbnb, DoorDash, and Snowflake, all of which raised over $3 billion. To put this into perspective, let’s look at the 10 biggest U.S. tech IPOs of all time. The Top 10 U.S. Tech IPOs Airbnb, DoorDash, and Snowflake muscled their way into the top 10, raising a combined $10.3 billion dollars in the second half of 2020. Not adjusted for inflation. More than eight years after going public, Facebook maintains a sizable lead over industry peers....

Shorting a company involves borrowing its shares, selling them at current prices, and then buying them back in the future at what is hopefully a lower price. Essentially, short sellers are betting that the company will underperform in the future. The 10 Most Heavily-Shorted Stocks of January 2021 The following companies had the highest short interest as of January 29, 2021. Short interest is the % of a company’s shares that have been borrowed and sold, but not yet returned....

Just eight minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s first stage returned to Earth, landing on one of SpaceX’s drone ships in the Atlantic Ocean. This marked the company’s 100th successful landing. Like other companies such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Ball Aerospace, SpaceX is designing and building innovative spacecraft that are speeding up space delivery by making it more routine and affordable. But how much does it cost to launch a cargo rocket into space, and how has this cost changed over the years?...

Hedge Fund Rich List: Who Stayed Afloat in Worst Year Since 2008? Every year, Institutional Investor’s Alpha documents the performance of the world’s most elite investors: hedge fund managers. The Hedge Fund Rich List, in its 14th year of publication, is a “who’s who” of the industry and highlights the performances of the most successful investment managers in the world. Our infographic today is based on this report, and it breaks down the last year for this elite group....

The Most Entrepreneurial US Immigrants It might not surprise you to know that the most common migrant entrepreneurs in the US by absolute numbers are Mexicans, Indians, Koreans, Cubans, and Chinese. Overall, this group makes up 35% of migrant entrepreneurs in the country, and is composed of the nationalities that are among the biggest sources of US immigrants today. However, when it gets broken down by immigrants per capita, everything becomes much more interesting....

Gen Y: The Next Generation of Investors Move over Baby Boomers, the next generation of investors is here and they plan on doing big things. With Gen Y youth (born between 1981 and 2000) coming to an earning stage of their lives, it is worth noting that they behave differently from investors of the previous generations. Gen Y, also known as Millennials, have grown up with the abundance of quality and timely information always within an arm’s reach....

Today’s infographic, by the Masters in Psychology Guide, is on the psychology of color in business. It analyzes the colors used by major tech startups as well as by prominent consumer brands in their advertising. Unicorn Colors Out of the largest 50 unicorns, tech startups that have achieved valuations of $1 billion or more, the most common primary branding color was black or grey. A total of 38% of companies, including stalwarts like Uber, Vice, and WeWork, rely on these hues for their outward appearance....

With urgency building, how can companies and investors approach net-zero emissions? The above infographic from MSCI highlights the steps these two groups can take, from defining a strategy to reporting progress. Net-Zero Emissions: A Clear Process Setting a net-zero emissions target means reducing carbon emissions to the greatest extent possible, and compensating for the remaining unavoidable emissions via removal. Companies and investors can take four broad steps to move toward their targets....

Historically, on a national level, an unemployment rate in the 4-6% range is generally considered “good”, while higher rates that fall within the 8-10% range are “bad”. Higher rates are usually only seen during times of recessions or crisis, when people around the country are struggling to find work. But, as you’ll see in today’s animated map, unemployment rates at the regional level are a very different thing. Today’s map, which comes to us from FlowingData, shows the disparity of unemployment rates in the U....