E023 – 2017 Data Digest

This episode reflects on some of the hottest topics from 2017 and their impact their data has on our lives this year and into 2018.

Cryptocurrency

Many of these data points come from here.

• Since the year began, the aggregate market cap of all cryptocurrencies combined has increased by more than 3,200% as of Dec. 18
• Bitcoin went through the roof, hitting an all-time high of 1 BTC = $19,891 on 12/17/2017.

• BTC makes up 54% of the aggregate $589 billion market cap of all cryptocurrencies
• The graphics-card hardware needs of miners has been a big reason why NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices have seen a double-digit percentage surge in sales recently
• Back on Dec. 10, CBOE Global Markets (NASDAQ:CBOE) became the first to introduce bitcoin futures trading, with CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) following a week later
• 612 new cryptocurrencies began trading in 2017
• Top 10 cryptocurrencies in 2017 as of 12/29 according to BitInfoCharts.com (pretty similar list on AtoZForex.com):

Data Breaches

1. Equifax – 9/7/2017 – 143mm US consumers affected
   1. Stock plunged nearly $4bn in the aftermath
   2. https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/
2. RNC Voter List – nearly every registered voter, ~200mm Americans
3. Yahoo’s 2013 breach revelation – affected accounts went from 1bn to 3bn
4. Uber – 57mm user accounts and drivers, paid to keep it under wraps
5. 560mm Passwords – a massive list of 560mm credentials compiled into one database of breaches from at least 10 services

You can check if your account is part of a compromise at have i been pwned or SpyCloud.

World Affairs

The World Bank has a fascinating article with 12 charts covering food assistance, climate change, education, nutrition, elections, energy and a tribute to Hans Rosling, who made us see the world in new ways with breathtaking visualizations.

Other Data Tidbits

• Most popular Instagram Post: Beyonce – https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/
• Most retweeted Twitter Post: Carter’s quest for Wendy’s Chicken Nuggest – https://twitter.com/carterjwm/status/849813577770778624/photo/1
• Oracle bought API management firm Apiary. Be on the lookout for how that evolves for the tool and for Oracle
• RPA saw continued growth and implementations. Expect more in 2018.
• Kubernetes is becoming the de facto standard for container management and was upgraded to Adopt by TechRadar. Expect it to continue to gain steam and start influencing data solutions more in 2018.

Music:

Auld Lang Syne by Fresh Nelly, from Free Music Archive.

Sources:

1. https://www.coindesk.com/price/
2. https://www.investing.com/currencies/btc-usd-historical-data
3. https://bitinfocharts.com/new-cryptocurrencies-2017.html
4. https://atozforex.com/news/top-10-cryptocurrency-2017/
5. https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/12/19/16-cryptocurrency-facts-you-should-know.aspx
6. http://cryptocurrencyfacts.com/
7. https://gizmodo.com/the-great-data-breach-disasters-of-2017-1821582178
8. https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/
9. http://clark.com/personal-finance-credit/equifax-data-breach-a-look-back-at-our-biggest-story-of-2017/
10. http://beta.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-equifax-breach-20170908-story.html
11. https://haveibeenpwned.com/
12. https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/
13. https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-12-12/twitters-top-10-most-retweeted-tweets-of-2017
14. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/12/15/year-in-review-2017-in-12-charts
15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpKbO6O3O3M
16. https://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/digital-business/2017-year-in-review—exponential-automation/a/d-id/1330648?
17. https://www.thoughtworks.com/radar/platforms/kubernetes

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