In tweets: Paytm, CryptoKitties, and 'The Silence Breakers' ruled this week

In the world of business and entrepreneurship, there are no clear or defined timetables for achieving success. As an entrepreneur, you can sometimes go for days, weeks, or even months with little to no major developments, and then suddenly have a week where so much seems to happen at the same time, it’s a little overwhelming. The week that went by was a little like the latter. From funding and acquisition news to Bitcoin breaking all records and expectations in growth, to recognition of one of the most powerful social movements of our time, this week has seen some truly monumental developments. As with any major news, these events set Twitter abuzz. We take a look at some of the biggest news stories of the week, in tweets:

‘Paytm ka ATM’ makes its debut

Leading digital payments Paytm has been pushing very aggressively to expand into other areas of finance and banking. After the establishment of its Paytm Payments Bank, this week, the brand announced the launch of specially branded outlets to make banking services available in smaller cities and towns. Dubbed the ‘Paytm ka ATM’, there are 3,000 such outlets active in select cities, with Rs 3,000 crore bookmarked for investment in the project in the next three years.

Paytm continues to build capability

In the second major news development for Paytm this week, the platform announced that it had become the majority stakeholder in the organisation formed by the merger of Nearbuy and Little Internet. Although the scope of the transaction was not revealed, Nearbuy and Little Internet claim to work with over 40,000 small and large merchants across various categories. The acquisition is a big boost to Paytm’s efforts to strengthen its offline offerings, particularly with the launch of Paytm Payments Bank and Paytm ka ATMs. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma was understandably excited about the development:

Nearbuy co-founder Ankur Warikoo echoed the sentiment, responding to congratulatory messages:

Bitcoin breaks all records

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is pushing towards uncharted waters and shows no signs of stopping. In a rally that surprised even the most ardent supporters, Bitcoin broke the $19,000 mark this week, before stabilising to a lower valuation. It was a heady week for investors in the volatile cryptocurrency. Just how insane was this week for Bitcoin? Take a look at the tweet below:

Digital cats take over Ethereum

This week also saw cats take over the Ethereum blockchain. Specifically, the digital ones available for trade at CryptoKitties, a new platform that allows users to buy, trade, and breed digital cats. The sheer popularity of the platform and the volume of transactions on it were so high that they completely clogged up the Ethereum blockchain on which the platform is built. Users watched in bewilderment as the value of the kittens rose to $100,000 and above on the basis of multiple trades, proving that blockchain technology has untapped potential that we have only begun to explore.

Millions are stolen in Bitcoin hack

In one of the largest Bitcoin-related heists in history, hackers breached security at NiceHash, one of the largest Bitcoin-mining firms in the world, and stole around 4,700 bitcoins, with an estimated value of close to $70 million. While NiceHash initially tweeted stating that the service was down for maintenance, it later published a press release announcing the security breach, and its released an official video statement about the same.

Time recognises the power of the #MeToo movement

The last few months saw the rise of the #MeToo movement on social media, as hundreds of thousands of women came forward to share their stories and express solidarity with victims of physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Sparked off by the allegations against prominent Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, the movement quickly gained steam, and in recognition of the courage and selflessness of these women, Time magazine named its 2017 Person Of The Year the ‘Silence Breakers’ from the #MeToo movement. Melinda Gates summed up the essence of the movement and its goals in her tweet:

Did we miss out any other major newsworthy discussions on Twitter? Let us know in the comments!