WeekWise LXXVI
#76 WW: Revolut’s Record Profits, James Webb Detects Possible Signs of Life, and Rising Tensions Between India and Pakistan.
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I'm Adolfo Güell, and every week, I spend countless hours selecting curated content—whether it's posts, news, or podcasts—centered around my passions: technology, macroeconomics, innovation, and more. This newsletter is my way of sharing the top-notch content I've come across.
I hope this weekly newsletter introduces you to exciting new content and talented creators.
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Revolut has announced its 2024 financial results, showcasing significant growth across all business segments. The fintech company reported a pre-tax profit of $1.4 billion, marking a 149% increase from the previous year, and a net profit of $1 billion. Group revenues rose by 72% to reach $4 billion, fueled by strong performance in its wealth, foreign exchange, and card payment divisions.
A notable highlight was the 298% year-on-year growth in revenues from its wealth unit, which expanded services to include a new crypto trading platform, Revolut X, and individual bond trading in the European Economic Area. The customer base grew by 38% to 52.5 million users, with customer balances increasing by 66% to $38 billion, indicating deeper engagement with the platform’s services.
Revolut also secured a UK banking license in 2024 after a three-year process, allowing it to offer credit products like personal loans and overdrafts. The company is prioritizing the formal launch of its UK bank and plans further international expansion, particularly in Mexico and broader regions in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Internally, Revolut has implemented a points-based system called "Karma" to track employee behavior, influencing staff bonuses based on compliance and risk practices. This initiative aims to foster a healthier work culture and address past criticisms of weak compliance and a toxic work environment.
With a valuation of $45 billion as of August 2024, Revolut continues to solidify its position as Europe's most valuable private technology company, reflecting the confidence of existing and new investors in its trajectory.
Sources: Revolut released its Annual Report with $𝟭.𝟰𝗯𝗻 profit in 2024 [Marcel van Oost on LinkedIn], Revolut scores $1.4bn profit over 2024, revenue jumps 72% to $4bn [Fintech Futures], Revolut tracking staff behaviour with points-based ‘Karma’ bonus system [The Guardian] & Record growth and diverse product offering drive Revolut to $1.4bn profit in 2024 [Revolut]
This week, exciting news emerged from the world of astronomy: scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have detected the strongest evidence yet of potential biological activity on an exoplanet.
The planet in question is K2-18b, located about 124 light-years away. Discovered in 2015, K2-18b is around eight times more massive than Earth and orbits within its star’s habitable zone, where liquid water could exist. Previous observations already suggested the presence of water vapor, leading scientists to believe it might be an ocean world beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.
In 2023, JWST detected water, carbon dioxide, and methane in its atmosphere — and a faint hint of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a molecule that on Earth is produced only by living organisms, particularly marine phytoplankton. Now, new observations using JWST’s mid-infrared instrument have found a much stronger signal of DMS, and even a related molecule, dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), which is also linked exclusively to biological processes on Earth.
These findings represent an exciting step forward, but scientists urge caution. The detection has a three sigma level of statistical significance, meaning there’s about a 0.3% chance it’s a fluke. However, in physics, a discovery usually requires five sigma for confirmation—equivalent to a 0.00003% chance of error.
Measuring the atmosphere of a distant planet is extraordinarily difficult, and confirming these findings could require 16 to 24 additional hours of JWST observation. Some scientists remain skeptical, noting that no known non-biological processes could explain these molecules under K2-18b’s atmospheric conditions—but that alternative explanations must still be carefully ruled out.
Even if full confirmation remains distant, this discovery represents a revolutionary milestone in the search for extraterrestrial life. As Nikku Madhusudhan from Cambridge University put it: "We have been able to peer into the atmosphere of another planet and find evidence of possible biological activity."
Source: Astronomers claim strongest evidence of alien life yet [NewScientist]
Tensions between India and Pakistan have sharply escalated following a deadly terrorist attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. On April 22, 2025, gunmen attacked tourists near Pahalgam, resulting in 26 deaths. India attributed the attack to Pakistan-based militants, specifically the Resistance Front, an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan denied involvement and called for an impartial investigation.
In response, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, revoked visas for Pakistani nationals, and expelled Pakistani diplomats. Pakistan retaliated by suspending trade, closing its airspace to Indian flights, and expelling Indian diplomats.
Military tensions have also increased, with nightly exchanges of fire across the Line of Control and India conducting missile tests. India has also intensified security operations in Kashmir, detaining over 1,500 individuals and demolishing homes of suspected militants.
The longstanding Kashmir conflict, rooted in the partition of British India in 1947, remains unresolved. Both countries claim the region in full but control parts of it, leading to ongoing disputes and periodic escalations.
Sources: India test-fires missiles as tensions rise with Pakistan after Kashmir attack [The Guardian], US in touch with India and Pakistan; urges work toward 'responsible solution' [Reuters] & Indian military says Pakistani troops fired at positions along the border in disputed Kashmir [AP]
Some other reads I enjoyed…
Neumann’s Flow More Than Doubles Valuation, Eyes Eventual IPO [Bloomberg]
ChatGPT and Shopify: In‑Chat Shopping is Coming – What We Know and Why It Matters [Say Yes]
Analyzing the scale of Trump’s federal layoffs in his first 100 days [CNN]
🇪🇸 Oughourlian shakes up the market: PRISA puts Cadena SER and El País up for sale for 750 million euros [Periodista Digital]
I learned the other day that, globally, the total stimulus injected into the economy during the past 4 years exceeded $16T [Chamath Palihapitiya]
[PODCAST] Ilia Topuria on The Joe Rogan Experience
The Scandal of Minority Contracting [Joe Lonsdale]
