BIG NEWS -Future of Disruptive Tech is being rebranded. We are changing our name to “Next Wave.” So if you see an email in your income from “Next Wave” please don’t be alarmed "(or hit spam).

_{Read Time: 10 Minutes}

Today’s Menu

• ChatGPT Is Getting Ads

• Armstrong Denies White House Fury Over CLARITY Act

Markets

TODAY IN AI

ChatGPT Is Getting Ads

OpenAI just announced it will begin testing targeted advertisements in ChatGPT for free and Go tier users in the U.S., putting into motion a major monetization shift for the AI giant as it eyes a late-2026 IPO.

Ads will appear below responses as "Sponsored Recommendations," targeted based on conversations but excluded from health, politics, and underage users. The move coincides with the company's $8/month ChatGPT Go tier launching globally, with ads included to offset the lower price point.

Premium tiers (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise) remain ad-free, with OpenAI pledging to never sell user data or let ads influence ChatGPT's answers. Sam Altman had said in 2024 that ads in ChatGPT would be a "last resort," but more recently said he "wasn't totally against it" if it didn't violate user trust.

We've heard conflicting statements from OpenAI's leadership in the past on ads, but the March hiring of Instacart's Fidji Simo hinted at both the IPO and advertising route. Ads in AI assistants are a slippery slope, so the execution will be a nuanced moment to watch, potentially setting the tone for the industry as a whole.

When you put ads below AI responses, that's not just monetization. That's fundamentally changing the trust model between user and assistant.

TODAY IN CRYPTO

Armstrong Denies White House Fury Over CLARITY Act

The CLARITY Act drama took another turn over the weekend. Rumors began circulating that the White House was furious with Coinbase and considering pulling support for the crypto bill entirely. Brian Armstrong shut that down fast.

Armstrong stated: "The White House has been super constructive here. They did ask us to see if we can go figure out a deal with the banks, which we're currently working on."

Crypto Journalist Eleanor Terrett reported Friday that "The White House is considering pulling its support for the crypto market structure bill entirely if Coinbase does not come back to the table with a yield agreement that satisfies the banks." Armstrong flat-out denied it, saying the administration asked Coinbase to explore a deal with banks, specifically community banks.

"Actually, we've been cooking up some good ideas on how we can help the community banks specifically in this bill, since that's what this is about... the community banks, right? More coming soon," Armstrong said.

Industry sources detailed specific problems with last week's draft to CoinDesk. The bill was published just before midnight Monday. Amendments were due by 5 PM Tuesday, just 17 hours later. The hearing was scheduled for Thursday 10 AM. That's 58 hours between text drop and markup. Not enough time to digest 270-plus pages and 137 amendments.

The big issues: DeFi provisions appeared for the first time in Monday's draft with no prior circulation, potentially blocking decentralized platforms from actually operating decentralized. Stablecoin yield restrictions allowed rewards only through user activity like transactions and staking. SEC authority expanded to force disclosures on any token whose value depends on "entrepreneurial or managerial efforts."

Democrats held a call with industry reps Friday to restart negotiations. Armstrong expects a new markup "in a few weeks." The Senate Agriculture Committee still plans its markup January 27. The core fight remains: banks versus crypto over stablecoin yield.

Want to share The Future of Disruptive Tech with a friend, family member, or coworker? Pass this link along to them.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Damon James