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Today’s Menu

• Instagram Declares AI Killed Its Own Aesthetic

• Four Signals That Could Trigger Alt Season 2026

Markets

TODAY IN AI

Instagram Declares AI Killed Its Own Aesthetic

Instagram leader Adam Mosseri just posted a year-end essay arguing that AI-generated content has killed the curated aesthetic that made the app famous, saying that raw, unpolished posts are now the only proof that something is real.

Mosseri says most users under 25 have already abandoned the polished grid for more personal direct message photos and "unflattering candids." He also pushed for camera makers to cryptographically sign photos at capture to verify real media instead of just weeding out fakes.

Mosseri said Instagram needs to "evolve" fast, predicting a shift from trusting what images you see to scrutinizing who posted it. Instagram plans to label AI content, surface more context about accounts, and build tools so creators can compete with AI.

IG was one of the pioneers of social media's "filter culture," so there's some irony in now declaring the death of authenticity. But the trend feels accurate, with both a shift in how younger users communicate and the flood of AI images, video, and content completely upending traditional dynamics of social media platforms.

When Instagram's own leader says AI killed the polished aesthetic they pioneered, that's not just platform evolution. That's admitting AI fundamentally broke social media's trust model.

TODAY IN CRYPTO

Four Signals That Could Trigger Alt Season 2026

As more money enters the global economy, investors tend to take more risk. The first step might be moving from government bonds into tech stocks and Bitcoin. That's when we typically see an alt season, when investors venture way out along the risk curve and hunt for returns in smaller cap digital assets.

What would it take to see that in 2026? We'd need the regulatory haziness around crypto to clear further, and see a bunch of money pushed into the economy and asset markets.

Here are the four alt season signals to watch for over the next 12 months:

Rate cuts: Lowered rates equals cheaper loans equals more people taking and spending them equals a growing economy equals risk assets like altcoins absorbing some of that capital. There are eight FOMC meetings scheduled in 2026, which means eight potential rate cuts on the table. Q1: January 27-28, March 17-18. Q2: April 28-29, June 16-17. Q3: July 28-29, September 15-16. Q4: October 27-28, December 8-9.

ISM PMI: ISM's Purchasing Managers Index tracks how much manufacturers are spending in expectation of future economic growth or contraction. When the ISM is above 50, the economy is expanding and altcoins tend to do well. When below 50, the economy is contracting and altcoins tend to struggle. It's been a long time since we've seen a real alt season, and the charts reflect that. Keep eyes peeled for a strong, consistent break above 50 on the ISM PMI in 2026.

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Damon James