<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5be9e6120d7c67448645dfa8-800/crypto.jpg" border="0" alt="crypto" style="color: #000000;" data-mce-source="Getty" /><p class="source"><span>Getty</span></p><p class="caption">We can expect a lot of crypto-infrastructure-building activity in 2019.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><span id="m_7875587180365550773m_6695279155833869127gmail-m_-8439543357255005408gmail-m_-3723884230349203003gmail-m_-6206652606513116630gmail-m_2322839083625122498gmail-m_4472825673900579818gmail-m_8297297189173430869gmail-m_-5361903212052791939gmail-m_1944929735630239628gmail-m_7928466160855262400m_-5105631367119751509gmail-docs-internal-guid-0bc7041a-7fff-1c27-170f-219454abe20d">In this op-ed, Kyle Samani, a co-founder and managing partner at Multicoin Capital, says that a</span>lthough crypto markets underperformed in 2018, the pace of underlying development activity has accelerated dramatically.</li><li>Most of the crypto-infrastructure-building activity that took place in 2017 was unknown to most, but we started to see the fruits of those labors in 2018 and can expect quite a bit more in 2019.</li><li><span>As infrastructure improves, more capital will move into crypto, spreads will tighten, and volumes will grow. </span></li></ul><p>Although crypto markets underperformed in 2018, the pace of underlying development activity has accelerated dramatically. This is true both with regards to underlying technology and market infrastructure.</p><p>Many still think that cryptoassets are not shortable, that there are no derivatives, and that SEC-qualified custodians don't exist, that there are no prime brokerage services, and that exchanges are unregulated.</p><p>All of these views are incorrect.</p><p>At the start of 2017, the market infrastructure could be accurately characterized as above. But over the course of 2017 many institutional investors began to recognize the <a href="https://multicoin.capital/2018/10/09/100-trillion/">$100 trillion opportunity</a> that crypto represents and began aggressively investing in crypto market infrastructure.</p><p>On the exchange and asset management front, the NYSE, CME, and CBOE, Fidelity, and Goldman Sachs. Among VCs, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Craft Ventures, Tiger Global, Sequoia, and many others invested in picks-and-shovels crypto companies. Among traditional Wall Street trading firms, DRW, Jump Trading, Susquehanna International Group, and others began making markets programmatically, offering OTC trading, and arbitraging. Most recently, JP Morgan announced <a href="https://www.jpmorgan.com/global/news/digital-coin-payments">JPM coin</a>, a tool for settling inter-bank transfers more quickly and efficiently.</p><p>Although most of the crypto-infrastructure-building activity that took place in 2017 was unknown to most, we started to see the fruits of those labors in 2018, and can expect quite a bit more in 2019.</p><h2>Custody</h2><p>Today there are two SEC qualified crypto custodians: Coinbase Custody, and BitGo (backed by Goldman Sachs). Additionally, Bakkt, which is a spinout of the NYSE, will be an SEC qualified custodian when it launches later this year.</p><p>These firms are custodying not only Bitcoin, but an array of other digital assets. When we launched Multicoin Capital in October 2017, we were forced to self-custody the fund's assets. Today, we don't custody any assets ourselves. Custodians are adding support for new digital assets every month.</p><p>Digital asset custody is not yet as mature as equity custody. The biggest limitation in custody today is lack of support for intraday and high-frequency trading (HFT) strategies. However, the industry has made tremendous progress, and the custody solutions that are available today are sufficient for investors who don't require rapid intraday movements.</p><h2 dir="ltr"><span>Prime brokerage</span><span></span></h2><p dir="ltr"><span>Service providers such as </span><a href="https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-reveals-cryptocurrency-and-digital-asset-trading-platform" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.coindesk.com/fidelity-reveals-cryptocurrency-and-digital-asset-trading-platform&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGbkMT30r8KHAvEO7gUUUURjc0koA"><span>Fidelity</span></a><span> are launching trading and custodial services for enterprise clients. They are joined by Tagomi, an institutional broker led by Greg Tusar, the former global head of Goldman Sachs's equities trading business. High-quality service providers such as Fidelity and Tagomi provide the services institutional investors have come to expect from the traditional financial markets.</span><span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr"><span>Regulated exchanges</span><span></span></h2><p dir="ltr"><span>CME and CBOE have been trading cash-settled Bitcoin futures for more than a year. And CBOE has </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ether-futures-on-the-way-at-cboe-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.businessinsider.com/ether-futures-on-the-way-at-cboe-2018-8&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF2LGhiJ4RnVKkJv9EA9VxA_yIfRw"><span>stated</span></a><span> that they're considering adding Ether futures. Nasdaq </span><a href="https://www.coindesk.com/nasdaq-vaneck-partner-to-launch-crypto-2-0-futures-contracts" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.coindesk.com/nasdaq-vaneck-partner-to-launch-crypto-2-0-futures-contracts&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEc5iHJr8hlrdKlrvwAUnqtNl8F4A"><span>stated</span></a><span> they're going to launch Bitcoin futures in the first half of 2019. And Bakkt (NYSE) is going live this year with Bitcoin futures.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>ErisX, which is backed by TD Ameritrade, DRW, and Fidelity, will launch in the first half of 2019 trading spot, and will add futures contracts in the second half of 2019 pending regulatory approval.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><a href="https://ledgerx.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ledgerx.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHzwov-S9gSix595MroLeXBNzQu-g"><span>LedgerX</span></a><span> has offered regulated Bitcoin options for most of 2018. They have a derivatives clearing license from the CFTC. In addition, their team is comprised of one </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwetjen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwetjen/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWeEY6mxsbc_1aDzyr1w726uH0lg"><span>previous CFTC commissioner</span></a><span>, one previous </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandaradhakrishnan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandaradhakrishnan/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHhIsOj7c57qaT_46Y3sUbjy9CpUQ"><span>CFTC director of Clearing and Risk</span></a><span>, and have 2 team members who serve on the CFTC's Technology Advisory Committee.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Coinbase </span><a href="https://blog.coinbase.com/our-path-to-listing-sec-regulated-crypto-securities-a1724e13bb5a" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://blog.coinbase.com/our-path-to-listing-sec-regulated-crypto-securities-a1724e13bb5a&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGex7T7NZHoTtl35o1IQXGK_Ivuiw"><span>acquired both an ATS and a broker/dealer</span></a><span> this past summer, and Brian Armstrong, CEO, has </span><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/07/coinbase-plots-to-become-the-new-york-stock-exchange-of-crypto-securities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/07/coinbase-plots-to-become-the-new-york-stock-exchange-of-crypto-securities/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGtM4bpm214l7zEi30Vtgx05rsaJw"><span>said</span></a><span> that they would like to trade securities. This is likely to roll out in 2019.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>There are already a lot of avenues trade crypto on regulated exchanges today, and there are a lot more coming in the next few months.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c9bccec569b5514b02dd402-1000/kyleheadshot.jpg" border="0" alt="Kyle Samani" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Kyle Samani" data-mce-caption="Kyle Samani." /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Kyle Samani</span></p><p class="caption">Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner at Multicoin Capital.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><h2 dir="ltr"><span>Lending desks</span><span></span></h2><p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.genesis-capital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.genesis-capital.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9_TgaPHR5_tsMXiWKfH8yWBMDpA"><span>Genesis Capital</span></a><span> launched an institutional lending business in March of 2018. They have lent over </span><a href="https://genesiscap.co/q4-insights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://genesiscap.co/q4-insights/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFUsM8SafuGdpWH3sQiAL7t53gQ3A"><span>$1.1B</span></a><span> of assets since launch. </span><a href="https://www.galaxydigital.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.galaxydigital.io/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1553789179724000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHIcb9sTJLnXoOZPRzdKxVT2vDT8w"><span>Galaxy</span></a><span>, a publicly traded crypto-merchant bank, launched a lending desk in the last few months, and as a result, interest rates have declined substantially.</span><span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr"><span>The future ahead</span><span></span></h2><p dir="ltr"><span>As infrastructure improves, more capital will move into crypto, spreads will tighten, and volumes will grow. The pace of market development is compounding rapidly.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Although crypto market infrastructure is not as mature as that of equities or FX, it will approach those levels much faster than most people realize because of the incredible nature of compounding. The crypto markets are now at a point in which investors can construct portfolios based of well-defined theses and hedge out many forms of risk. Albeit still a bit manual, it's now completely doable.</span><span></span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>By the end of this year, investors will be able to plug into a single prime broker and access spot and derivatives for the top assets from global liquidity pools. As these last few pieces come together, we expect the number of market participants to expand quickly as crypto will look and feel like more mature markets. And once that happens, we can expect the pace of new entrants to accelerate rapidly, further validating this promising new asset class.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><em><span id="m_7875587180365550773m_6695279155833869127gmail-m_-8439543357255005408gmail-m_-3723884230349203003gmail-m_-6206652606513116630gmail-m_2322839083625122498gmail-m_4472825673900579818gmail-m_8297297189173430869gmail-m_-5361903212052791939gmail-m_1944929735630239628gmail-m_7928466160855262400m_-5105631367119751509gmail-docs-internal-guid-0bc7041a-7fff-1c27-170f-219454abe20d">Kyle Samani is a co-founder and managing partner at Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven cryptofund that invests in tokens reshaping entire sectors of the global economy. Disclosure: *Multicoin Capital is an investor in Bakkt and Tagomi.</span> </em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-stadia-video-game-streaming-platform-console-event-watch-2019-3">Watch Google's Stadia video-game-platform event in 5 minutes</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/UkwgpP6L-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A crypto manager lays out the market improvements to the currency and says 2019 will be a year to watch

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5cde7ca1021b4c01bf73cf93-2400/pjimage 1.jpg" alt="bezos shu" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters / Drew Angerer of Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Deliveroo CEO Will Shu.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>There's a fight brewing in the UK over whether the competition regulator is too aggressive about probing deals involving big US tech firms.</li><li>Tech lobby group COADEC wrote to UK chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday stating that delays caused by regulatory probes risk killing off British startups.</li><li>The UK's competition watchdog has been examining a $575 million funding round led by Amazon into UK delivery startup Deliveroo since July 2019.</li><li>The watchdog has signalled it will scrutinize deals involving big US tech firms more closely.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>There's a political fight brewing in the UK about whether big US tech firms should be allowed to buy or take big stakes in British startups.</p><p>UK tech lobby group COADEC wrote to UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, fretting that long competition probes by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority into such deals were "killing British companies."</p><p>Business Insider has obtained a copy of the letter, penned by COADEC's executive director Dom Hallas. The document doesn't mention any live probes, but is clearly referring to the CMA's months-long investigation into the $575 million investment led by Amazon into UK food delivery startup Deliveroo.</p><p>Hallas wrote in his letter: "There must be a more appropriate approach than stifling British companies of investment whilst their global competitors grow.</p><p>"Lengthy investigations risk not only sending the wrong message about the UK to global investors but also result in anti-competitive outcomes."</p><h2>The CMA iced a $575 million investment in Deliveroo over competition concerns</h2><p>Deliveroo is a London-headquartered food delivery firm that offers takeaway from local restaurants via an app. It is one of the UK's most valuable startups, with an official valuation of $2 billion.</p><p>Amazon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-leads-575-million-investment-in-deliveroo-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T">announced its investment into Deliveroo</a> in May 2019 as part of a giant $575 million round, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-and-deliveroo-cma-halts-investment-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">the CMA put the deal on ice in July</a> over worries that it would dent competition. The CMA has indicated that the probe may end in June 2020, leaving Deliveroo in limbo over the Amazon stake for a total of almost a year.</p><p><a href="https://venturebeat.com/2019/10/02/deliveroo-lost-284-million-in-2018-amid-bruising-food-delivery-battle/">Deliveroo is fast-growing but unprofitable</a>, and has expressed ambitions <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deliveroo-ceo-will-shu-discusses-scaling-after-575m-amazon-2019-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">to oust Just Eat as the number one player</a> in the UK food delivery market. Although well-capitalized and highly valued, it needs cash to grow and operate, especially against well-funded competition like Uber Eats. </p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e25bbe524306a6a8637ef75-800/2020-01-20t143927z1lynxmpeg0j1bjrtroptp3deliveroo-belgium-court.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: A courier for food delivery service Deliveroo rides a bike in central Brussels, Belgium January 16, 2020. REUTERS/ Yves Herman" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A courier for food delivery service Deliveroo rides a bike in central Brussels</p><p>Hallas in his letter called on Sunak to "engage" with the CMA. </p><p>He wrote: "The recent actions of the CMA reflect an ignorant one-size-fits-all approach to tech acquisitions, investment and mergers that can only damage the tech ecosystem in the UK."</p><p>The COADEC letter comes after Deliveroo's investors, Index Ventures and Accel Partners, accused the CMA of stymieing innovation with its aggressive approach to regulation. Early Index backer Neil Rimer <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/604484f0-41f4-11ea-bdb5-169ba7be433d">said the probe "sets a dangerous precedent."</a></p><p>There is some further politics at play.</p><p>COADEC's letter coincides with the CMA's own major conference on Tuesday about its approach to regulating tech. And COADEC's former executive director, Romilly Dennys, is now head of corporate communications at Deliveroo.</p><p>A source close to COADEC said neither Amazon nor Deliveroo had requested the letter, but that venture capital investors in the startup were deeply concerned.</p><p>For its part, the CMA has signalled it would take a closer look at deals involving a major US firms and a smaller UK player.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-at-gcr-live-telecoms-media-and-technology-2020">CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli gave a speech on Monday</a> that pointed to Facebook's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp leading to "poor market outcomes."</p><p>And CMA chair Lord Andrew Tyrie said on Tuesday that while consumers had benefited from the arrival of food delivery, taxi, and other types of apps, regulation was still needed.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">"There's probably been underenforcement of merger control in digital markets," he said. "And because of the nature of these markets, this can be particularly costly for consumers.</p><p style="font-weight: 400;">"Increasingly, competition authorities are now waking up to this."</p><p>Deliveroo declined to comment.</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/30-big-tech-predictions-for-2020?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=amazon&amp;itm_campaign=30-big-tech-predictions-for-2020"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5e3895ed5bc79c3adb162707" alt="Exclusive FREE Report: 30 Big Tech Predictions for 2020 by Business Insider Intelligence" style="margin: 0 auto !important; width: 100% !important; min-width: 280px !important; max-width: 640px !important" /></a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-foldable-flip-phone-galaxy-z-2020-2">Watch Samsung unveil its foldable flip phone - the Galaxy Z</a></h3>                    <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/jZFogWKP-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>            

Startups and investors are at war with the UK's competition regulator over its aggressive approach to deals like the Amazon-led $575 million investment in Deliveroo

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59302d37b74af4aa328b55b9-2000/binary-colliding-black-holes-ligo.jpg" alt="binary colliding black holes ligo" /><p class="source"><span>LIGO/Caltech/MIT/Sonoma State (Aurore Simonnet)</span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of two black holes that are about to collide and merge.</p><ul><li><strong>Scientists have announced their third detection of gravitational waves.</strong></li><li><strong>These ripples in space-time are likely caused by colliding black holes.</strong></li><li><strong>Albert Einstein predicted the phenomenon more than 100 years ago, but he didn't expect we'd ever record it.</strong></li><li><strong>An increasing number of detections opening up a strange new form of astronomy that can "listen" to black holes, neutron stars, and more. </strong></li></ul><p>For the third time in less than two years, physicists have detected billion-year-old ripples in the fabric of space-time.</p><p>The new recording, like the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gravitational-waves-detected-first-time-ligo-2016-2">two</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-gravitational-waves-discovery-2016-6">others</a> before it, was made using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (<a href="https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/">LIGO</a>).</p><p><span>More than 1,000 s</span>cientists were involved in the LIGO collaboration, and published a study in the journal Physical Review Letters on June 1. Their analysis suggests the gravitational waves were almost certainly created by the collision of two black holes that smashed together and merged into a larger black hole.</p><p>Binary black mergers like this are so catastrophic that they can <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-hole-collision-energy-50-times-universe-2016-2">unleash the energy</a> locked in several suns' worth of matter in an instant; in this case, two black holes of about 20 t0 25 solar masses formed a black hole of 49 solar masses.</p><p>LIGO's third detection is striking, but researchers say its importance lies in the story it's helping to tell about black holes - one of the most powerful yet enigmatic forces of nature.</p><p>"[T]hese are objects we didn't know existed before LIGO detected them," David Shoemaker, a physicist at MIT and LIGO collaborator, said in a press release by Caltech. "It is remarkable that humans can put together a story, and test it, for such strange and extreme events that took place billions of years ago and billions of light-years distant from us."</p><a href="https://www.ias.edu/scholars/timothy-david-brandt"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59303f11b74af4f83d8b55d4-1529/ligo-black-hole-events.png" alt="ligo black hole events" /><p class="source"><span>LIGO/Caltech/MIT/Leo Singer (Milky Way image: Axel Mellinger)</span></p><p class="caption">The likely locations of three confirmed LIGO black-hole merger events: GW150914 (blue), GW151226 (orange), and the most recent detection, GW170104 (magenta). A fourth possible detection is LVT151012 (green).</p></a>Timothy Brandt, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study who isn't involved with LIGO or the new study, told Business Insider that the finding is a "lovely, wonderful discovery" and that it "fills in a gap perfectly" between LIGO's first and second detections, which formed black holes of about 21 and 62 solar masses, respectively.<p>"You'd be shocked if you didn't detect something of this size," Brandt said.</p><p>Astrophysicist and LIGO data analyst <a href="http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/vicky/">Vicky Kalogera</a> says this increasingly common population of black holes, which range in size from about 10 to 30 times the mass of the sun, may suggest that binary black hole systems form on crowded "dance floors" or in dense "cities" that lurk within galaxies.</p><p>"Nobody has proven anything," Kalogera told Business Insider, "but there's hints here, and hints there."</p><h2>Black-holes 'cities'</h2><p><br />Astrophysicists aren't sure where these systems of black holes are made, or when, but they've narrowed it down to roughly three options.</p><p>One is that they all formed moments after the universe came into existence, some 13.77 billion years ago, as primordial black holes. Conveniently, some scientists believe these dense yet practically invisible objects <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dark-matter-primordial-black-holes-2016-7">might explain dark matter</a>: the mysterious, missing 80% of the universe's mass.</p><p>Yet Brandt says this option has grown increasingly unlikely over the years, even though the black holes LIGO has detected fit the bill for size.</p><p>"Primordial black holes should be doing a variety of other things that we should observe, but don't," Brandt said.</p><p>Another option is that black holes form normally in galaxies. In this scenario, Kalogera says, massive stars run out of fuel and collapse under their own weight, forming black holes, then - as the galaxy rotates and moves through space - they randomly pair up and eventually collide.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/593034fe79474c17018b5da0-911/cluster47.jpg" alt="Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1302/">ESO/M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey.</a></span></p><p class="caption">A dense globular cluster of stars.</p>But this may take too long to produce black hole mergers at a rate LIGO seems to be detecting.<p>So a third option - the one Kalogera says she is betting on - is that most black holes are born and collide in dense groups of stars called globular clusters.</p><p>Most large galaxies contain globular clusters, which are hotbeds for the formation of stars. Some are hefty enough to form black holes.</p><p>Kalogera says the newest detection revealed that each of the two black holes were spinning before they merged together. But those spins were not aligned, she says, which suggests they were zooming around each other in a busy region of space - not aligned with the plane of a flat galaxy, as the second scenario would lead to.</p><p>Black holes that form inside globular clusters would, through known physics, naturally drift and crowd toward the center of such systems.</p><p>"Since it's such a dense environment, with lots of flybys, black holes can more easily get partners, get into orbit around one another. They get captured in sort of these binary dances," Kalogera says.</p><p>"We could think of them as very active dance floors" for black holes, she says - or 3D cities that are crowded with them. "Galaxies don't have consistent densities. Like human populations, stars cluster in 'rural' and 'urban' areas."</p><p>Kalogera says there's not yet enough evidence to back up this idea, since the detection of three black hole mergers (and the six smaller black holes that created them) is a very small sample size.</p><p>However, LIGO is just warming up.</p><h2>A new form of astronomy gets more powerful</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56bce780dd0895a6588b466a-1037/neutron-stars-collision.jpg" alt="neutron stars collision" /><p class="source"><span>Dana Berry, SkyWorks Digital, Inc. </span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of two neutron stars colliding.</p><p>The third detection of gravitational waves may not seem as monumental as the first, but astronomers would beg to differ: It proves that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ligo-astronomy-using-gravitational-waves-2016-9">an entirely new field of astronomy </a>- one in which scientists can "listen" to the music of the universe, and perhaps even peer into its origins - is not only possible, but productive.</p><p>Scans of the sky using visible light, X-rays, and electromagnetic waves only provide circumstantial evidence of how black holes warp the light and space near them. Gravitational waves, on the other hand, are what black holes themselves emit: It's the "natural language" of their existence.</p><p>Astrophysicist and LIGO collaborator Imre Bartos previously told Business Insider that gravitational waves give scientists a "peek into the heart" of how black holes form, coalesce, and evolve.</p><p>"For the first time, we've been able to understand [black holes'] language and understand what they're telling us," Kalogera said.</p><p><span>Albert Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves more than 100 years ago. However, he doubted they'd ever be detected.</span></p><p>"We are starting to get a glimpse of the kind of new astrophysical information that can only come from gravitational wave detectors," physicist David Shoemaker, who led the construction of LIGO,  said in a 2016 press release.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5644e009dd089578608b488c-2400/ligo-mirror.jpg" alt="ligo mirror" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.advancedligo.mit.edu/core.html">LIGO</a></span></p><p class="caption">A researchers works on one of the components of LIGO.</p><p>Scientists are now hoping to boost their newly minted field of gravitational wave astronomy with more gear.</p><p>An upgraded version of the <a href="http://www.virgo-gw.eu/">Virgo interferometer in Europe</a> - a similarly giant L-shaped gravitational wave detector - went online in 2016. Working in concert with LIGO's two detectors, Virgo should help give astronomers a third source of data to observe black hole behavior and, by extension, the inner workings of the universe.</p><p>As both instruments advance in the coming years, Kalogera suspects the Virgo-LIGO partnership could detect roughly 100 events per year, or one every three days.</p><p>Some of those could be collisions of incredibly compact neutron stars, which may be detected within 5 years "if they're lucky," says Brandt. (Unlike black holes, however, such collisions may be visible to traditional telescopes.)</p><p>LIGO may also eventually aid in listening to the parts of the universe that were created shortly after the Big Bang, though Kalogera says the ability to pick out those signals is still a long way off. She likens the early universe to a "distant symphony that all comes together as one sound," while colliding black holes "dominate anything the early universe will have produced."</p><p>But there's no doubt that an entirely new era of astronomy has begun - one in which we can encounter events Einstein could only dream of observing.</p><p>"LIGO is bringing us a new way to observe some of the darkest yet most energetic events in our universe," deputy director Albert Lazzarini said in a press release.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbkramer/">Sarah Kramer</a> contributed reporting to this post.</em></p><iframe src="https://gfycat.com/ifr/SingleImpoliteDore" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"></iframe>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gravitational-waves-hear-black-hole-chirp-ligo-2016-6">Gravitational waves just helped us 'hear' the birth of another massive black hole</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Newly discovered gravitational waves hint that 'cities' of black holes may lurk in space

<p>Technology is changing the world. </p><p>Yes, I know you know that. But knowing that the world is changing, and figuring out how to prepare for that change, are two different things. And it's the latter that CEOs are focused on.</p><p>A case in point: Citigroup just published a big report on corporate finance priorities for 2017, and included alongside talk of activism, financial engineering, and capital allocation, there's a newer entrant: adapting to "disruptive innovation."</p><p>"As pioneering technologies develop and mature, they will have a broad and profound impact on many corporates," the report said. "For some, this will be a matter of survival."</p><p>To make the point, the report includes this chart below. The graph on the left-hand side shows how the emergence of the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy "dramatically altered mobile markets." The report identifies the likes of Nokia, Motorola, LG and Blackberry as "old market leaders," and Apple and Samsung as "new market leaders." </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58741b21ee14b6b2008b768c-1363/screen shot 2017-01-09 at 62023 pm.png" alt="Screen Shot 2017 01 09 at 6.20.23 PM" data-mce-source="Citigroup" /><p class="source"><span>Citigroup</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>This is a topic <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ken-moelis-on-ceo-pressure-and-mergers-acquisitions-2016-10?r=DE&amp;IR=T">we've discussed before</a>, but the Citigroup report goes so far as trying to put a number on the percentage of companies impacted by this kind of disruption: </p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Over the past two decades, technological disruption affected approximately 10% of global public companies by market capitalization. In the coming decade, up to 47% could face pressure to adapt to some form of technological disruption, according to our analysis of the most promising emerging innovations today."</p><p>That 47% figure is based on the aggregate market cap of industries "potentially at risk of future disruption" from a whole host of emerging technologies, ranging from autonomous vehicles to the internet of things to 3D printing.</p><p>One response has been for old-industry companies to reinvent themselves (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/technology/ge-the-124-year-old-software-start-up.html?_r=0">see GE</a>) or to buy or partner with newer, technology-focused companies. The auto <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gm-is-giving-lyft-500-million-to-help-the-uber-competitor-develop-self-driving-cars-2016-1">sector is a case in point</a>. Mergers and acquisitions activity into the tech sector from non-tech companies has grown 179% since 2013, according to Citigroup. </p><p>Business Insider discussed this topic with Wall Street dealmaker and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ken-moelis-bi-interview-2016-10">Moelis &amp; Co. founder Ken Moelis last year. Here's what he had to say:</a></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>"</strong>Digitization has created opportunities for everybody to accumulate information in a way they were never able to, and analyze it with a speed that just wasn't there. Everybody is looking at their base business and saying, "What else is it? Sure, we do this, but while we're doing that, what else do we know about our customer, and what does that enable us to do?" That comes from the access to information and the ability to analyze it with a speed they never had. I think everybody is thinking that way."</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/financial-adviser-first-question-fiduciary-2016-12">The most important question you should ask before hiring a financial adviser</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BtNWZ2MzE648d75KJjZuMeDMI-faHYUo" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'BtNWZ2MzE648d75KJjZuMeDMI-faHYUo',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

CITIGROUP: Half of all global companies could be disrupted in the next decade

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57dc0046b0ef975f148b606f-1127/sprint ceo marcelo claure speaks during the national council of la raza annual conference in kansas city, missouri july 13, 2015. reuters:dave kaup.jpg" alt="sprint ceo" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Dave Kaup</span></p><p class="caption">Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.</p>Sprint has <a href="https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/offers/free-unlimited.html?ECID=vanity:1yearfree" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">quietly launched</a> what may be its most aggressive promotion yet.<p>The carrier said on Tuesday that it would give select customers who switch from Verizon, AT&amp;T, or T-Mobile a free year of its "unlimited" data plan for a limited time.</p><p>According to a page for the promotion on Sprint's website, the deal will last until June 30. Sprint says there's no requirement to change numbers, and that it'll let up to five lines switch over at once.</p><p>You'll have to pay a $30 activation fee upfront, but Sprint says it will repay that within two billing cycles. There are a couple other fees required beyond that, but they only amount to a couple bucks a month. You'll also have to cover the $13 or so it costs to get a Sprint SIM card, though.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5864419af10a9a98468b5432-800/2016-12-28t223306z2lynxmpecbr0swrtroptp3sprint-results.jpg" alt="Sprint" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://mediaexpress.reuters.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2016%3Anewsml_KBN14H1TO%3A2&amp;search=all%3Asprint">Mike Blake/Reuters</a></span></p><p class="caption">Sprint</p>From there, you're on <a href="https://www.sprint.com/landings/unlimited-cell-phone-plans/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sprint's "unlimited" plan</a>, which, like all of its peers, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/unlimited-plans-comparison-verizon-att-sprint-tmobile-2017-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">isn't <em>truly</em> unlimited</a>. Most of what you'd do is left alone, and you can stream video up to a 1080p resolution, but LTE mobile hotspot data is capped at 10 GB a month per line (you're bumped down to 2G speeds after that), and your speeds may be temporarily slowed in congested areas if you use more than 23 GB in a given month.<p>Because this is still a mobile carrier we're talking about, there are a few other caveats to the promotion: </p><ul><li>It only applies to those who are new to Sprint.</li><li>Only some phones are eligible for the upgrade. You can check <a href="https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/offers/free-unlimited.html?ECID=vanity:1yearfree" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sprint's promo page</a> for a full list, but it boils down to every iPhone since the iPhone 5C, recent Google Nexus and Pixel phones, a few Moto phones, and "special edition" Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S8 phones.</li><li>Sprint says you have to own the phone in the first place. So the promotion is a no-go if you're in the middle of a monthly installment plan.</li><li>The phone must be unlocked and work on Sprint's network. A handful of the iPhone options will only be eligible if you're switching from Verizon because of this.</li><li>If you take up the offer and upgrade to a new phone before October 1, you'll lose the free service, and will have to pay for Sprint's unlimited plan like any other customer. After October 1, you can switch to a new phone and keep the discounted plan for the rest of the year.</li><li>You have to enroll in auto-pay billing.</li><li>The deal isn't eligible to those switching from an MVNO like Cricket Wireless or MetroPCS.</li></ul><p>If you can wade through all of that, Sprint says the discounted service will last until July 31, 2018. After that, you'll have to pay $60 a month for one line, $40 a month for a second, then $30 a month for additional lines. Sprint says there's no requirement to pay for service once your discounted year is up; its hope is that you'll be coerced to stick around regardless, in part because its unlimited plan is the most affordable of the big four.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58012bc78d83b41f008b46b0-2000/john.jpg" alt="john legere t mobile" /><p class="source"><span>David Becker/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">T-Mobile CEO John Legere has pushed his company well past Sprint in recent years.</p>Sprint sits firmly in fourth place among the major mobile carriers in the US in terms of total subscribers. Verizon and AT&amp;T have faced declining growth as of late, but still have big bases of subscribers to sell to. T-Mobile, meanwhile, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-t-mobile-m-a-network-idUSKBN18S3UT" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has surged</a> in recent years on the back of aggressive discounts and marketing, passing Sprint along the way. Sprint's network continues to be <a href="http://www.rootmetrics.com/en-US/content/mobile-performance-in-the-us-part-1-performance-across-the-entire-united" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen as lagging behind</a> its peers, too.<p>Rumors of a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/12/15633240/sprint-tmobile-merger-early-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">potential T-Mobile-Sprint merger</a> persist, but as it is now, Sprint seems to be feeling the heat to get more subscribers onboard. </p><p>At first blush, it also seems as if Sprint is taking a loss with the promotion. But a company spokesperson told Business Insider that the deal is only available online, not in retail stores, and that it's only advertising the promotion through cheaper digital channels. The company also asserted that its network has the capacity to handle any spike in subscribers the deal might cause.</p><p>Regardless of Sprint's issues, the deal mostly appears to be sound for those looking for a bargain. Just make sure Sprint's service is acceptable in your area if you decide to take the plunge.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-fix-iphone-7-verizon-connection-issue-2016-10">The iPhone 7 is having connection issues on Verizon - here's how to fix it</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

Sprint is offering an aggressive deal: a free year of 'unlimited' data for people who switch from Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c5c42d85a148f2d2e43f536-2400/ap18057708271095.jpg" border="0" alt="Amazon echo" data-mce-source="AP Images"><p class="source"><span>AP Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon's acquisition of mesh Wi-Fi router startup <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/eero">Eero</a> marks yet another effort by the <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> giant to integrate its products and services into the home.</li><li>It follows other recent acquisitions that suggest Amazon wants to embed itself in every corner of the home, such as its purchase of video doorbell maker Ring and upscale grocery chain Whole Foods.</li><li>The deal also indicates that it's getting even more difficult to purchase or use technology that isn't run by the "big five" tech companies: Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook.&#xa0;</li></ul><p>Over the past several years, Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant has made its way to nearly every corner of the home -from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-basics-microwave-with-alexa-announced-2018-9">smart microwaves</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-alexa-echo-clock-2018-9">wall clocks</a>, washing machines and televisions. Now, with its latest acquisition of mesh Wi-Fi router startup Eero, Amazon is further cementing its presence in the home.</p><p>Amazon and Eero <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-acquiring-eero-router-2019-2">announced on Monday</a> that the two companies have entered into a merger agreement under which the online retail giant will acquire the Wi-Fi startup, although terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The announcement didn't include any details about how or if Amazon plans to integrate Eero's technology or devices into its own products at any capacity. But Dave Limp, Amazon's senior vice president of Amazon Devices and Services, said in a <a href="https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-acquire-eero-help-customers-better-connect-smart-home/?tag=bisafetynet2-20">press release</a> that the two companies "have a shared vision that the smart home experience can get even easier." Business Insider has reached out to Amazon for comment on more details regarding the deal and will update this story accordingly when we hear back.</p><p>The move makes sense for Amazon, which has emerged as a dominant player in the smart home space in recent years thanks to the popularity of its Amazon Echo devices. Limp recently told <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/4/18168565/amazon-alexa-devices-how-many-sold-number-100-million-dave-limp">The Verge</a> that more than 100 million devices with Amazon's Alexa assistant have been sold to date following the Echo's initial launch in late 2014. It's unclear exactly how that compares to Amazon's primary competitor Google, but the search giant <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/7/18169939/google-assistant-billion-devices-feature-phones-ces-2019">recently said</a> that it expected Google Assistant to be available on 1 billion devices by the end of January 2019.</p><p>Neither Amazon nor Eero have specified exactly what the deal means for either company's current or future products, but it's easy to imagine how having control over the Wi-Fi experience could benefit Amazon. The company has already been thinking about ways to simplify the process of connecting its Echo devices to other Internet-connected appliances, as evidenced by the <a href="http://time.com/4959762/amazon-echo-2-release-date-2017/">Echo Plus</a> device it introduced in September 2017. The Echo Plus has a built in smart home hub that makes it possible to connect compatible products by simply saying "Alexa, discover my devices" rather than going through the traditional set-up experience. With its acquisition of Eero, Amazon is no longer just a purveyor of smart home devices; it owns a part of the experience that's crucial to making them all work. It wouldn't be surprising to see Amazon leverage Eero's products in a way that makes setting up Wi-Fi-powered smart home appliances more seamless.&#xa0;</p><p>In addition to the potential this acquisition has to bolster Amazon's foothold in the home, it also gives the company another option for subscription revenue outside of its $119-per-year Prime service, which 62% of Amazon members pay for according to <a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/150f9af2201/a37a79a7-0eff-4a38-b05a-ce3c459addc2.pdf">Consumer Intelligence Research Partners</a>. Eero sells a $99-per-year Plus subscription that offers ad blocking, threat detection, and family-safe browsing options. While neither Amazon nor Eero has given an indication that there will be any changes to this service given Amazon's new ownership, it's worth noting that the online retailer began <a href="https://www.amazon.com/primesavings?ref=insider_ar_tips_wfmprks">offering Whole Foods discounts for Prime members</a> after it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-amazon-is-buying-whole-foods-2017-6">acquired the supermarket</a> in 2017 for $13.7 billion. (A new report from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/higher-prices-are-back-at-whole-foods-11549967524">The Wall Street Journal</a>, however, indicates that may no longer be the case).&#xa0;</p><p>The Eero deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions that puts Amazon in nearly every corner of the home, from the kitchen to the front door. Last February news broke that Amazon would <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-acquiring-doorbell-videocamera-startup-ring-2018-2">acquire video doorbell maker Ring</a> for $1 billion in a move that was largely perceived as a means of furthering its dominance in the smart home and retail spaces. Before that, Amazon acquired Whole Foods, giving it a pipeline into consumers' kitchens.</p><p>Amazon's acquisition of Eero also provides the online shopping giant with a crucial piece of the smart home market that could prove necessary for maintaining its status as a leader in smart home technology. Both <a href="https://store.google.com/us/product/google_wifi_learn?hl=en-US">Google</a> and <a href="https://www.samsung.com/us/smart-home/smartthings-wifi/">Samsung</a>, arguably Amazon's biggest rivals in the space, have long offered their own mesh Wi-Fi routers that work with their own respective smartphone apps. Through these apps, users can view connected devices, block certain websites and manage other features.</p><p>As such, this deal also raises a concern that's been brewing in recent years about whether companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook hold too much power over our digital lives. For example, six out of the 10 <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/03/apple-announces-its-best-of-2018-lists-across-apps-games-music-podcasts-and-more/">most downloaded iPhone apps </a>of 2018 are operated by Facebook and Google. Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems dominate the smartphone market, with Android accounting for 85.1% of the market and iOS claiming 14.8% according to a report from the <a href="https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS44529618">International Data Corporation</a> published in December 2018. Acquisitions like this only make it more difficult to purchase or use technology that isn't made or operated by one of <a href="https://gizmodo.com/i-cut-the-big-five-tech-giants-from-my-life-it-was-hel-1831304194">the so-called "big five,"</a> further fueling the conversation about whether firms like Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook are becoming too powerful.</p><p>The acquisition also comes amidst rising privacy concerns over how large tech companies, particularly Facebook, are using the data they collect. Apple <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-and-apple-argue-over-who-removed-facebook-research-app-2019-1">recently revoked</a> multiple enterprise certificates from Facebook after <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/">TechCrunch</a> reported that Facebook had been using Apple's Enterprise Developer Program to distribute an app that gathered data from the recipient's phones in exchange for payment. Before that in August, Apple banned the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-facebook-onavo-protect-security-removed-app-store-2018-8">Facebook-owned Onavo internet security app</a> because it broke the iPhone maker's data collection rules since it monitors app activity.&#xa0;</p><p>For those worried about whether the acquisition would give Amazon a window into Eero users' Internet activity, Eero's support account on Twitter issued the following response:</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>It's too soon to tell how the acquisition will impact products made by Amazon and Eero if at all. But it's yet another sign indicating Amazon will only become more ubiquitous in the home.&#xa0;</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hi Steve! eero and Amazon take customer privacy very seriously and we will continue to protect it. eero does not track customers' internet activity and this policy will not change with the acquisition.</p>- eero support 👋  (@eerosupport) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1095085949304950784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s10-phone-launch-what-to-expect-2019-2">Everything we know about the Galaxy S10, which is shaping up to be Samsung's best phone yet</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/wutknTSA-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Amazon's latest acquisition further proves it wants to be everywhere in the home

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56409432bd86ef1c008c84d2-2543-1907/gettyimages-113217752.jpg" alt="jeff bewkes" data-mce-source="Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes"><p class="source"><span>Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes has hinted that the company might be up for sale,<a href="http://nypost.com/2016/01/12/bewkes-nixes-hbo-spinoff-but-open-to-time-warner-sale/"> The New York Post reports</a>, citing sources.<p>In a series of meetings with investors, Bewkes reportedly snubbed the idea of spinning off its prize assets, HBO or its Turner Broadcasting TV business, because he wants to "increase shareholder value."</p><p>"Splitting up can destroy value," he told one investor, pointing toward how Viacom's struggling stock price since it was split up a decade ago, according to the New York Post. In the media business, scale matters.</p><p>Business Insider has contacted Time Warner for comment and we'll update this article if&#xa0;we hear back.</p><p>Time Warner's stock is currently at the ~$71 mark, but one analyst told The New York Post it could be worth $100 were it broken up - hence the reason some investors are pushing for a sale or breakup.</p><p>Time Warner's other units include TNT, TBS, and the Warner Bros. movie studio.</p><p>Writing for<a href="http://realmoney.thestreet.com/articles/01/13/2016/apple-amazon-google-may-end-fighting-time-warner"> The Street</a>, Eric Jackson of SpringOwl Asset Management (which has shares in Time Warner,) said he "suspect[s] it will be bought this year."</p><h2>Who might be lining up to buy Time Warner?</h2><h2><strong>Fox?</strong></h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/548b2bc4dd08954a148b4595-3500-2333/rtr4c2v8.jpg" alt="Rupert Murdoch" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson " data-mce-caption="Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman News Corp and Chairman and CEO 21st Century Fox speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 29, 2014. "><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson </span></p><p class="caption">Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman News Corp and Chairman and CEO 21st Century Fox speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California October 29, 2014. </p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The news comes two years after Time Warner turned down a takeover offer from 21st Century Fox, valued at $85 per share.<p>Fox is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who also owns New York Post parent company News Corp. The New York Post has been first to all the latest updates on a potential Time Warner sale. Could one of Murdoch's lieutenants, or Murdoch himself, be stoking the fires?</p><p><a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/01/6127928/exclusive-21st-century-fox-rekindles-bid-for-time-warner">Last week Benzinga reported</a> that Fox lined up a $105 per share offer for Time Warner. A Fox spokesperson told Benzinga: "The report is categorically untrue."</p><p>But BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/01/12/apple-keeps-close-eye-on-potential-time-warner-spinoff/">told The New York Post</a> that acquiring Time Warner would be in both companies' best interests: "They would have the finance to do it. It would involve selling down satellite TV service BSkyB in the UK and may require other spinoffs."</p><p>However, Fox CEO <a href="http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/time-warner-shares-sale-rumors-1201678197/">Lachlan Murdoch told Variety</a> Fox was not an interested party in Time Warner.</p><h2><strong>Carl Icahn or another activist investor?</strong></h2><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5627aac49dd7cc22008c3a0a-1326-905/ap_699886034067.jpg" alt="Carl Icahn" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File" data-mce-caption="Carl Icahn."><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams, File</span></p><p class="caption">Carl Icahn.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-time-warner-divestiture-idUSKCN0UQ2FK20160112">As Reuters points out,</a> another possible suitor for Time Warner might be activist investor Carl Icahn. Reuters claims Icahn&#xa0;has been buying up shares in Time Warner (<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/11/carl-icahn-denies-building-stake-in-time-warner-blames-speculators-for-rumour.html">CNBC quoted him</a> as saying he owns nothing in the company.) Icahn also unsuccessfully led a campaign for Time Warner to be broken up in 2006.</p><p><a href="http://nypost.com/2016/01/12/bewkes-nixes-hbo-spinoff-but-open-to-time-warner-sale/">The New York Post</a> posited that Icahn (or another investor) might be the mystery buyer of $100 million of Time Warner call options. These options give the buyer the option to buy shares at a set price in the future, which means Icahn could be the purchaser but still be factually correct in saying he does not own any shares. However, Icahn did say he owns "nothing" in Time Warner.</p><p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Icahn: "I don't own a single share of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24TWX&amp;src=ctag">$TWX</a>. Annoys me that certain speculators use my name to make profits at expense of other shareholders"</p>- Scott Wapner  (@ScottWapnerCNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/686716799329648640">January 12, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">Icahn's former colleague, Keith Meister, now the founder of Corvex,&#xa0;is pushing Time Warner towards a sale or spinoff of its most valuable assets, <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/01/07/time-warner-shareholders-could-force-sale-or-spinoff-of-hbo/">according to the New York Post</a>.</p><p>Investors feel they will get more bang for their buck were Time Warner's best assets spun off. While Time Warner isn't keen on an HBO spin-off, a potential buyer might be.</p><h2><strong>Apple?</strong></h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/51ba5001ecad047a7d000011-1779-1229/eddie-cue.jpg" alt="Eddy Cue Apple" data-mce-source="AP" data-mce-caption="Apple's Eddy Cue"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">Apple's SVP of internet software and services, Eddy Cue.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Both The New York Post and Eric Jackson suggest <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/01/12/apple-keeps-close-eye-on-potential-time-warner-spinoff/">Apple might have an eye on Time Warner</a>.</p><p>Time Warner would give Apple a smooth route in to launching a standalone senior TV service, in the form of HBO Now. Apple's Eddie Cue, "has been keeping a tab on proceedings at Time Warner," according to the New York Post.</p><p>Apple has long struggled to launch a streaming service of its own, largely due to its difficult to secure the content deals needed to stream premium shows to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon.&#xa0;</p><p>The New York Post writes: "A deal with Time Warner would give Apple most of what it needs: CNN news, Turner Sports and such hugely popular shows as 'Game of Thrones' and 'Sesame Street' from HBO - not to mention Warner Bros. movies and TV shows."</p><p>Apple has more than $205 million in cash on its balance sheet, <a href="http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/1049846332x0x861262/2601797E-6590-4CAA-86C9-962348440FFC/2015_Form_10-K_As-filed_.pdf">according to its latest SEC filing</a>, so it could certainly afford to push some of that towards&#xa0;a bid. It&#xa0;would represent just a tiny, tiny fraction of the value of Time Warner, which currently has a market cap of $57.6 billion.</p><p>This, however, would be an unusual move for Apple which is a technology company focused on hardware, software, and services.&#xa0;</p><h2><strong>Another tech company?</strong></h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5638f8e3bd86ef15008c6d5e-3168-2172/rtr2m9rf.jpg" alt="Jeff Bezos" data-mce-source="Mike Segar/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos"><p class="source"><span>Mike Segar/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Eric Jackson suggests other tech companies that could be interested in gobbling up Time Warner: Google and Amazon.<p>Referring to Amazon, he notes a report from the Sport Business Journal that suggests&#xa0;the company has been the "most aggressive" of the digital players to bid for the rights to stream NFL Thursday Night Football.&#xa0;</p><p>However, The Wall Street Journal's Miriam Gottfried <a href="https://twitter.com/miriamgottfried/status/687278509669093377">thinks that's unlikely to happen</a>. Back in August, she wrote&#xa0;an&#xa0;<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-media-mergers-flimsy-script-1440175587">article</a>&#xa0;that outlined the issues tech companies might face in acquiring TV businesses: "Paying a premium for a business model tied directly to the TV ecosystem the buyer seeks to disrupt;" the fact that for most tech companies a big deal would involve using stock, which could see some investors balk; and that the sheer size of Time Warner would be a huge distraction to the core business.</p><p>And let's not forget what happened when AOL merged with&#xa0;Time Warner in a deal valued at $250 billion back in 2000. That merger has been dubbed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11merger.html?hp=&amp;pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">"the worst in history"</a>&#xa0;after the dot com bubble well and truly burst, the economy went into recession, and AOL had to take a goodwill write-off of nearly $99 billion in 2003. The&#xa0;total value of AOL's stock was decimated from around $226 billion to $20 billion and the companies de-merged later that year.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-apple-iphone-6s-comparison-features-2015-12">7 ways the Samsung Galaxy S6 is better than the iPhone 6s</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RvcmIyeDrz5o1xUM5hqpulpdksh9vTWQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'RvcmIyeDrz5o1xUM5hqpulpdksh9vTWQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

HBO's parent company may be up for grabs - here's who could buy it

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56bca77ddd089502598b459b-1972-1048/gravitational-waves-black-holes-ligo-nsf.jpg" alt="gravitational waves black holes ligo nsf" data-mce-source="LIGO" data-link="http://www.ligo.org/"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.ligo.org/">LIGO</a></span></p><p class="caption">A computer simulation of gravitational waves emitted by two dead stars colliding in space.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>A "revolutionary" new era in science has just begun with a violent event deep in space.<p>Today researchers announced that&#xa0;they have detected ripples in the fabric of space called gravitational waves. It's a groundbreaking discovery that has eluded Earth's brightest minds and most sensitive machines for decades.</p><p>Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/physics-einstein-got-wrong-2015-11">100 years ago</a>, but he thought them far too feeble to detect as they undulated across the universe.</p><p>Einstein was wrong.</p><p>The news <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7293kAiPZw">was announced</a> February 11 by members of the <a href="https://ligo.caltech.edu/">Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)</a>, a 15-nation, 900-scientist, $1 billion experiment that has searched for signs of the phenomenon since 2002.</p><p>"Finally these waves have been detected on Earth with an unbelievably sensitive experiment. And, surprisingly, the source of the waves is a system of two black holes in orbit around each other, that spiral inward and smash together," Cornell physics and astrophysics professor <a href="http://www.physics.cornell.edu/professorspeople/professors/?page=website/faculty&amp;action=show/id=44">Saul Teukolsky</a> confirmed in a statement emailed to Tech Insider.</p><p>The waves the researchers detected were created&#xa0;by two black holes colliding and merging&#xa0;to form a single black hole 1.3 billion years ago. When the two black holes merged, they released the energy of three suns.</p><p>Physicist <a href="http://www.astro.columbia.edu/profile?uid=marka" target="_blank">Szabi Marka</a>, a LIGO collaborator based at Columbia University, told Tech Insider before the announcement that detecting the waves "would revolutionize physics" and chart out "the last undiscovered territory of Einstein."</p><p>And a collision of two black holes is a cataclysmic event we could only dream of observing until now.</p><p>"Having gravitational waves as a tool will enable us to study black holes, and black holes hold the key to so many future puzzles in science," Marka said. "We don't actually know what happens around a black hole. We don't know what happens when a black hole meets another black hole. We don't know what happens when a black hole eats something."</p><p>There are many other uses of gravitational waves now all squarely within the realm of possibility, and Marka says the coming era of research that's barreling toward us is going to be "spectacular."</p><p>"We'll open new doors which can never be closed again," he said.</p><p>The discovery not only vindicates Einstein's wildest prediction and gives astronomers a powerful new tool to probe the cosmos - from deep inside exploding stars to the surfaces of black holes - but also backs up a $1 billion idea and tells us we're on the right track to understanding how the universe works.</p><h2>How we first learned gravitational waves exist</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56bb440add0895471f8b470b-1995-1458/gravitational-waves-nasa.jpg" alt="gravitational waves nasa" data-mce-source="NASA" data-link="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=11086"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=11086">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">An artist's depiction of two neutron stars colliding and rippling spacetime with gravitational waves.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Space is pervaded by, well, space. It's an invisible fabric that can stretch and shrink and warp and curve in multiple dimensions, even time - hence the official name spacetime.<p>Anything with mass warps the fabric, including you. Yet the denser and more massive an object, the greater the distortion.</p><p>Dense objects that move really, really fast can radically distort spacetime, some with enough energy to trigger ripples like a speedboat accelerating across a placid lake.</p><p>This description of gravitational waves was pure conjecture, though, until 1974. That's when astronomers Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor stumbled upon the deep-space equivalent of two speedboats spiraling into each other.</p><p>Both objects were neutron stars - ultra-dense dead stars that formed during a supernova. (The star collapses but is not big enough to form a black hole). One of the neutron stars was spinning fast enough to emit radio pulses as a pulsar, which is how they found the star system to begin with.</p><p>Hulse and Taylor soon discovered the neutron stars were rapidly orbiting one another.</p><p>Surprisingly, over the years they noticed the pulsar's orbit was hastening, bit by bit, and deduced the stars would spiral into each other and collide <a href="http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro201/psr1913.htm" target="_blank">in about 300 million years</a>.</p><p>"That orbital energy had to be going somewhere," physicist <a href="http://phys.columbia.edu/~ibartos/" target="_blank">Imre Bartos</a>, also at Columbia University and LIGO, told Tech Insider. By disturbing spacetime so much during their deadly cosmic dance, he said, the stars had to bleed off the energy as gravitational waves.</p><p>Hulse and Taylor proved this by showing the energy loss matched up perfectly with Einstein's predictions.</p><p>The astronomers won a <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1993/press.html" target="_blank">1993 Nobel Prize</a> for their groundbreaking discovery of the bizarre object, now called the Hulse-Taylor Pulsar, and its role in indirectly showing gravitational waves exist.</p><p>Still, they did not actually detect the waves themselves.</p><h2><strong>How we detected gravitational waves - and why it took so long</strong></h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56957e57dd08959a768b47a1-2896-1692/ligo-nsf.jpg" alt="ligo nsf" data-mce-source="LIGO Laboratory/NSF" data-link="http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2015/11/16/doing-astronomy-with-our-eyes-closed/"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/blueshift/index.php/2015/11/16/doing-astronomy-with-our-eyes-closed/">LIGO Laboratory/NSF</a></span></p><p class="caption">A mock-up of a LIGO detector.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>LIGO is an experiment that uses two L-shaped gravitational wave detectors: One is in Lousiana, and another is located thousands of miles away in Washington state.<p>These massive detectors use a clever trick to pick up on these ripples that would be otherwise impossible to notice.</p><p>Each arm of the L extends for 2.5 miles. A laser beam is split at the bend in the L and travels down each arm to bounce off several mirrors. The mirrors lengthen and then recombine the laser at a detector. Without a gravitational wave, the laser beams cancel each other out perfectly, so no light is picked up by the detector.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56bca77ddd089502598b459c-2760-2070/ligo-beam-splitter-gravitional-waves.jpg" alt="ligo beam splitter gravitional waves" data-mce-source="Courtesy LIGO Laboratory" data-mce-caption="The device that splits LIGO's laser into two beams." data-link="http://www.ligo.org/multimedia/gallery/opt.php"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.ligo.org/multimedia/gallery/opt.php">Courtesy LIGO Laboratory</a></span></p><p class="caption">The device that splits LIGO's laser into two beams.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>But when a gravitational wave hits the detector, sort of like a pool of oil on the surface of a rippling lake, one arm will shrink and the other will stretch. Then, as the wave finishes passing by, the arms will bounce back to normal. This shape-shifting is absolutely imperceptible to the human eye, but it means the laser beams will no longer line up perfectly, and the detector will pick up a flash of light: the long-sought sign of a gravitational wave. And if the very same disturbance is recorded at both detectors, thousands of miles away, researchers can deduce that it came from space.<p>Makra compared the detectors to a pair of giant ears that can "hear" the spacetime ripples that result from neutron star collisions, black hole mergers, or other catastrophic events in space, like a giant exploding star.</p><p>The closer a collision is to Earth, the "louder" the signal should be.</p><p>LIGO's hearing - when the laser beam is disturbed - is sensitive enough to detect mind-blowingly small disturbances of space, "much smaller than the size of the atoms the detector is built of," he said.</p><p><div><div class="vimeo-embed-container"><iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/152524970?autoplay=0&amp;loop=0" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></p><p><a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1853" target="_blank">PhD Comics</a> says LIGO's level of sensitivity is "like being able to tell that a stick 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 meters long has shrunk by 5mm."</p><p>Put another way, <strong>detecting a gravitational wave is like noticing the Milky Way - which is about 100,000 light-years wide - has stretched or shrunk by the width of a pencil eraser</strong>.</p><p>"Gravity is a horribly weak force, which makes our lives much harder," Bartos said. "But one thing that works to our advantage is that the signal decays much [more slowly] than light. Gravitational waves fade as you go farther but not as quickly."</p><p>So it's no wonder why it has taken researchers so long to find gravitational waves: it's terribly tricky work. Even car traffic on a road miles away can disturb LIGO, despite the instruments' state-of-the-art <a href="https://ligo.caltech.edu/page/vibration-isolation" target="_blank">vibration-dampening equipment</a>.</p><p>But today's announcement proves the concept really works.</p><h2>Why the future of astronomy looks amazing</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/565b92c5dd08950a4e8b458d-1920-922/supernova-exploding-star-illustration-nasa.jpg" alt="supernova exploding star illustration nasa" data-mce-source="NASA" data-link="http://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/K2/Science.shtml"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/K2/Science.shtml">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">Illustration of a star exploding as a supernova.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>Bartos and Marka said detecting gravitational waves provides a powerful new tool to study the universe.</p><p>One killer application of gravitational waves is to reveal supernovas - huge, exploding stars that seed the universe with elements like carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen as well as platinum and gold - hours before they're visible to any telescope.</p><p>"Gravitational waves arrive at Earth long before any light does," Bartos said. "When a massive star's core collapses, starting the supernova to form a black hole, the surface doesn't know the core has collapsed for a while."</p><p>The reason, he said, is that the star gets in the way of itself. "All of this stuff tries to come out, including light, but it bumps into the star's matter and gets stuck until the whole star collapses. But gravitational waves can pass right through."</p><p>So if a gravitational wave's source lights up some detectors, it might be from a supernova - giving astronomers plenty of notice to point telescopes like Hubble in that direction, hit record, and get an unprecedented look at processes that are the reason Earth and life exist at all.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/566eec0bdd089532058b46ff-1280-960/625818main_supernova1_full.jpg" alt="supernova star explosion" data-mce-source="NASA" data-link="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/625818main_supernova1_full.jpg"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/625818main_supernova1_full.jpg">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">Eta Carinae, a star that went supernova around 1837.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Bartos says the other advantage is that gravitational waves can reveal what's going on inside a dying star.<p>"It's not just about catching a supernova. You can only scratch the surface of them with telescopes," he said. "In order to have a better picture of the process, you need to see it at the heart, where a black hole is being born."</p><p>"Right now the only tools to explore what happens inside are computer models," he added.</p><p>Yet another way gravitational waves will help astronomers understand the universe is in measuring the frequency of major cosmic phenomena.</p><p>Supernovas in the Milky Way, which LIGO might detect, are thought to occur two or three times every 100 years. And until now, we had no idea how frequently events like black hole or neutron star mergers might occur and trigger detectable events. It seems they are rare, but not too rare for us to detect.</p><p>And those events are critically important to understand, since they shape star systems and galaxies.</p><h2>What's in store for gravitational wave research</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56bca77ddd089502598b459d-1200-912/neutron-stars-collision.jpg" alt="neutron stars collision" data-mce-source="Dana Berry, SkyWorks Digital, Inc. " data-mce-caption="The collision of two neutron stars can create rare elements like gold. Image released on July 17, 2013."><p class="source"><span>Dana Berry, SkyWorks Digital, Inc. </span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of two neutron stars colliding.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>"LIGO will be three times more sensitive in three years, and we roughly expect to see 10s of events per year," Bartos said.<p>That sensitivity could get even higher soon. LIGO wants to build a third instrument, but in the meantime it will get help from Europe's new <a href="http://www.virgo-gw.eu/" target="_blank">VIRGO detector</a> (opening in late 2016) and Japan's <a href="http://gwcenter.icrr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank">KAGRA facility</a> (going online in 2017).</p><p>"The more [detectors] you have, the better your sensitivity, and the more stuff you will see," Bartos said. "It becomes easier to weed out the things that happen here on Earth, like traffic and earthquakes" and find and pinpoint a signal.</p><p>The future for gravitational-wave astronomy is looking very bright, and the top researchers behind LIGO - possibly Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever of Caltech, and Rainer Weiss of MIT - are almost certainly going to get a call from Stockholm sometime soon.</p><p>"[Y]ou have 90% odds that it will win the Nobel Prize in Physics this year," Cliff Burgess, a physicist at McMaster University and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/woohoo-email-stokes-rumor-gravitational-waves-have-been-spotted" target="_blank">told Science Magazine</a>. "It's off-the-scale huge."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/einsten-ligo-measures-gravitational-waves-2016-2">Einstein's wildest prediction from 100 years ago is turning out to be true</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="huMm10MDE65AaqssTMIirX0Ti2U5bUfO" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'huMm10MDE65AaqssTMIirX0Ti2U5bUfO',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "galaxy digital bitgo merger" and got 8 results

A crypto manager lays out the market improvements to the currency and says 2019 will be a year to watch

Kyle Samani, Contributor

Startups and investors are at war with the UK's competition regulator over its aggressive approach to deals like the Amazon-led $575 million investment in Deliveroo

Shona Ghosh

Newly discovered gravitational waves hint that 'cities' of black holes may lurk in space

Dave Mosher

CITIGROUP: Half of all global companies could be disrupted in the next decade

Matt Turner

Sprint is offering an aggressive deal: a free year of 'unlimited' data for people who switch from Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile

Jeff Dunn

Amazon's latest acquisition further proves it wants to be everywhere in the home

Lisa Eadicicco

HBO's parent company may be up for grabs - here's who could buy it

Lara O'Reilly

Scientists just detected gravitational waves for the first time ever

Dave Mosher