Weekend Recap: Could Jack Dorsey be removed as CEO of Twitter?

We kick off the week with a blockchain-based supply chain solution for Haitian farmers, another event cancelled because of coronavirus, and breaking news around Jack Dorsey’s future as CEO of Twitter. Read, rinse, repeat.

New Twitter Investor may remove CEO Jack Dorsey

Elliott Management Corp., an activist investor owned by billionaire Paul Singer, has taken a large stake in social media platform, Twitter. And according to those “familiar with the matter”, they’ve got big plans, starting with the removal of Twitter CEO and Bitcoin advocate, Jack Dorsey.

The hedge fund has reportedly nominated four directors to Twitter’s board. Dorsey is also chief of payments at Square and has become well-loved in the crypto community for being vocal about his Bitcoin advocacy. He recently integrated a feature on Twitter that displays an icon for crypto if the #bitcoin hashtag if posted.

He’s also set up a dedicated unit within Square to work on helping advance Bitcoin’s underlying technology. Square’s Cash app offers Bitcoin, which counted towards almost half its revenue in Q4 2019.

During his tenure at Twitter, he’s faced criticism over his management style, with some commenting on the platform’s lack of innovation. According to a report, since Dorsey returned to lead Twitter in 2015, the firms’ stock has dropped 6.2%, while Facebook’s has risen more 121% over the same period.

The investment firm has been in private talks with Twitter about its concerns, and with three new board places to become available at Elliott’s next annual meeting, they intend to nominate enough candidates to fill the openings.

House Committee hearing on blockchain’s impact on small businesses

The US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business will hold a hearing this week to discuss blockchain’s impact on small businesses. The hearing, titled “Building Blocks of Change: The Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Small Businesses”, will take place on 4 March, according to the committee’s website.

The hearing will “explore how innovators and entrepreneurs are using blockchain technology to help small businesses boost productivity, increase security, open new markets, and change the way business is done.”

Those set to appear are Shane Biglow, CEO of Ownum; Marvin Ammori, general counsel for Protocol Labs: Jim Harper, visiting fellow for the American Enterprise Institute; and Dawn Dickson, CEO of PopCom.

Committee chairwoman Nydia Velázquez said: “it is vital that Congress keep pace with the evolving needs of our country’s innovative small businesses. Entrepreneurs across the nation have already begun to utilize blockchain to enhance their security, spread their products to new markets, and run their daily operations,” she said in a statement. “Congress must have a clear understanding of how blockchain is utilized and how it can help small businesses moving forward.”

Agriledger puts Haitian farmers and their crops on the blockchain

Agriledger has announced the launch of a blockchain ecosystem for farmers in Haiti. Their goal is to ensure farmers receive adequate pay for their crops, while also providing clarity on to the supply chain, and, in turn, bolstering sales.

Agriledger’s blockchain-based solution assigns farmers to enrol in the system with a digital ID number. With this, farmers become part of the digital supply chain. Agriledger also allows them to tokenise their products, enabling them greater access to peer-to-peer dealings.

The platform is designed to foster greater transparency in the Haitian farming sector, as parties can trust the validity of data they interact with. This should create a frictionless loan acquisition process, for example, as well as other financial services for the participating farmers. They also have access to digital wallets and payments, increasing convenience and speed.

In the future, Agriledger hopes to build a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform through which suppliers and retailers can connect with one another. Supply chain management has proven itself a worthy application for blockchain technology–Avril Group, an agro-industrial partnership specialising in nutrition started using IBM’s Food Trust blockchain network only a few weeks ago.

TRON 2020 summit postponed due to coronavirus

TRON’s native summit, niTROn has been postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus. The event was set to take place between 29 February and 1 March in Seoul, South Korea. A notice on niTROn’s website indicates the new dates will be decided based on ongoing updates regarding the epidemic.

niTROn is offering refunds to those who purchased tickets. The event is considered to be a cornerstone for the TRON community–last year over 2,000 people attended. The late Kobe Bryant was one of the speakers at its previous event.

Coronavirus has caused more than 24 exhibitions and conferences to either be postponed or cancelled, including Binance Blockchain Eeek Vietnam, TOKEN2049, and Facebook’s Global Marketing Summit, among others.

In light of this, companies in coronavirus hotspots have taken steps to ensure employees stay home and are adequately prepared to either work remotely, or plan for contingencies. For many crypto exchanges, remote working is not a novel concept. Working in an industry where decentralisation is a fundamental ideal, companies like Binance and Kraken reported little disruption as when there are no headquarters to shut down, business can continue as usual.

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