Axios

Venmo-ing crypto is already here — the latest development in PayPal's nearly one-year-old service enabling on-chain transfers.

Why it matters: It's an incremental advance in the payment giant's vision of a more cashless future, one that includes solving what it sees as some of the roadblocks keeping crypto from playing a more significant role in payments.

A pair of crypto firms are looking to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a top U.S. financial regulator.

Driving the news: Digital Currency Group unit Genesis Global Capital, along with crypto exchange Gemini, filed a motion Friday asking the court to dismiss the SEC's complaint against them related to Gemini’s Earn program, court documents show.

Extended-stay hotels are enjoying a surge in popularity.

Why it matters: Cheaper to build and operate, no frills extended-stay brands are having a moment, satisfying a need for temporary workers, people between homes and budget-conscious travelers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled with former Coinbase employee Ishan Wahi and an accomplice, in a case over the abuse of insider information from within the company.

Why it matters: It resolves civil charges involving the first major insider trading incident at a prominent cryptocurrency company.

Chipmaker Nvidia's AI-fueled stock surge has pushed it into elite ranks of Corporate America: Companies with trillion-dollar-plus valuations.

Driving the news: Nvidia's market cap briefly topped $1 trillion on Tuesday, before settling at around $990 billion — with a 3% gain on the day — at the close of trading.

Wages will likely play a bigger role in the fight against inflation going forward.

Why it matters: According to a widely discussed new paper from powerhouse economics duo former Fed chair Ben Bernanke and former IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard, the Fed might need to do more to cool down the labor market before prices are under control.

This year's summer box office will look an awful lot like the pre-COVID days of 2019 — or even 1989, for fans of Michael Keaton's "Batman."

Why it matters: The movie theater business has bounced back in 2023, but the next few months will tell us just how close the box office is to returning to its pre-COVID glory.

Asda, a British supermarket group, agreed to buy most of convenience retailer EG Group’s U.K. and Ireland business for around $2.8 billion.

Why it matters: This would create a gas station and convenience store giant, with around £30 billion in annual revenue and nearly 21 million weekly customers.

Nearly 9.8 million people nationwide passed through airport security over the Memorial Day long weekend, the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday.

Why it matters: The four-day figure is roughly 300,000 higher than the number for the same holiday weekend in 2019, per the TSA.

The marketing industry has long relied on artificial intelligence to optimize ad campaigns with things like better analytics and targeting, but it has yet to fully reckon with how the recent explosion of generative AI is transforming the creative side of advertising.

Why it matters: Advertising agencies have a history of growing in response to technological shifts, not shrinking.

News companies are exploring ways to structure deals with artificial intelligence firms that could help them reap the benefits of AI's explosive consumer adoption, rather than be overcome by it.

Why it matters: A regulatory approach to managing deals between AI companies and news firms seems unlikely in the near term, if at all, leaving the industry to negotiate on behalf of itself.

Leaf Group, the digital roll-up company within Graham Holdings, is restructuring to become World of Good Brands, an homage to the most visited website in its portfolio, Well+Good.

Why it matters: The shake-up will separate Graham Holding's lifestyle publishing websites — Well+Good, Livestrong, Hunker and OnlyInYourState — from its marketplace businesses, Saatchi Art and Society6.

Real personal spending — that is, adjusted for inflation — hit another new record in April.

Why it matters: That looming recession? Forecasts for when it could hit keep getting pushed back. We’re definitely not in a recession with spending this strong (and unemployment this low).

The debt ceiling can is now all but certain to get kicked another two years down the road. But the underlying idiocy remains.

The big picture: The budget deal announced with great fanfare this past weekend could and should have been achieved at much lower political temperatures.

Frustrated and angry, small business owners tell Axios they're losing trust in the financial system as banks become more tight-fisted.

Why it matters: Loan rejections and prolonged borrowing approvals have become the norm — squeezing small business growth and jeopardizing stability as the economy slows and the banking crisis injects more uncertainty.