Axios

The best known Bitcoin converts among America's very rich, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor and Block, Inc's, Jack Dorsey, represent very different reasons for being a Bitcoiner.

Why it matters: With powerful brands and lots of bitcoin, both have the attention of the cryptocurrency world.

Federal Reserve officials discussed mounting financial strains on lower- to moderate-income consumers at its policy meeting last month, according to minutes released on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The Fed said their stretched budgets might lead to an "abrupt" pullback in consumer spending that could take a toll on the economy.

American workers have done far better over the last five decades than conventional wisdom would have it, a new report argues.

Why it matters: There's no doubt the U.S. has plenty of problems, as does its workforce — but those problems come against a backdrop of steadily rising prosperity since the early 1990s, the Economic Innovation Group finds.

The national average gas price for the Independence Day weekend is expected to be the lowest holiday price since 2021 but prices have been rising in recent weeks with record travel demand.

Why it matters: Nearly 71 million people will travel during the holiday week with a record 60.6 million people traveling by car, according to AAA's holiday forecast.

The results of the eighth annual Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey are in and they show that Americans' financial confidence is increasing from generation to generation.

What you need to know: 1,000 Americans between 21 and 75 were surveyed — and 60% feel they're in a better position to achieve their financial goals than earlier generations.

Tether, issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, USDT, did not get registered in the European Union, officials at the European Banking authority confirmed to Axios.

• This week, Circle announced that it is in compliance with the EU's new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, allowing the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, as well as its euro coin (EURC) to be minted and redeemed in the 27-country block.

When Axios asked for comment on the matter, Tether did not answer one way or the other.

Ethereum still rules.

Why it matters: There's an ever-present narrative that a smart-contract-enabled blockchain is going to take Ethereum's spot as the No. 2 blockchain, but — despite buzzy moments on other layer-1s — the data doesn't support it.

• Not only is Ethereum still the place where the most value is secured, it's typically larger by an order of magnitude, according to a new report on the first half of the year in crypto markets from CoinMarketCap.

Context: Smart contract blockchains are those capable of running sophisticated programs in a decentralized way.

By the numbers: Ethereum's proportion of the total market cap of all smart-contract blockchains is the strongest it has been all year, at 62%.

The pool boom is over, and macroeconomic forces are largely to blame.

Why it matters: The factors cooling the broader economy are also drowning the pool business.

Threads — Meta's "friendlier" version of X/Twitter — has amassed more than 175 million "monthly actives" since launching a year ago this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Wednesday morning.

Why it matters: While it's grown at a steady clip, Threads still lacks the scale and influence of the platform it set out to disrupt.

Higher food prices are taking a bite out of Independence Day barbecue budgets and summer grilling season.

Why it matters: Cookout staples are up 5% from last year but up a whopping 30% from five years ago, according to the American Farm Bureau's annual survey.

Cancun, Aruba and London are the hottest global destinations for American travelers this summer, Mastercard says.

• Also ranking in the top 10: Tokyo, where a relatively weak yen is driving a huge — and controversial — post-pandemic tourism explosion.