The story of a group of cryptocurrency traders failing to buy a copy of the Constitution shows just how much of a gulf there still is between the real world and the crypto world, Axios' Felix Salmon writes.

What's new: Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin outbid a group of 17,437 donors in an auction at Sotheby's last night, promising to pay $47.4 million for the document.

• Because he had promised Sotheby's he would bid on the work, using something called an "irrevocable bid," or third-party guarantee, he was entitled to a $4.2 million rebate, bringing his net price down to $43.2 million.

Why it matters: As crypto adoption spreads, the asset class is going to be increasingly enmeshed with systems that have existed for centuries, like 277-year-old Sotheby's. The shenanigans show that players fluent in the old ways still have a narrow edge in the game.

Catch up quick: ConstitutionDAO this week raised about $47 million to bid on the document.

• Think of ConstitutionDAO as a more pseudonymous, crypto-centric version of a GoFundMe or Kickstarter project, as Axios' Scott Rosenberg and Peter Allen Clark write.

Between the lines: The DAO wasn't legally allowed to bid on the Constitution. Instead, an old-fashioned LLC had to be constructed to make the bid, with extremely opaque governance ties between the DAO and the LLC.

The bottom line: Memes have become powerful enough to propel crypto participants into areas they barely understand.

• But Griffin, a noted crypto skeptic, knew exactly how much money his opponents had and, therefore, exactly what he needed to bid to win the document.

Activision Blizzard — behind blockbuster games "Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” — is facing more pressure over reports it enabled a sexist and racist work culture.

Just this week...

• About 17% of its workforce is calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign.
• That came after WSJ reported Kotick knew about the sexual misconduct at the company.
• Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation — console-makers that publish Activision games — have expressed displeasure with Activision.

The bottom line: Since news broke that California sued Activision Blizzard over unequal pay and workplace culture, it's shed $21 billion in market value.

🎮 Sign up for Axios Gaming.

Prosecutors in the fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes rested their case after 11 weeks of testimony. (CNN)

McKinsey will pay $18 million to settle allegations that it didn’t properly guard against the risk of insider trading. (WSJ)

❌ Just kidding: Ford and electric truck maker Rivian cancel plans to team up to develop an electric vehicle, deciding to focus on their "own projects and deliveries." (CNBC)

A gauge of global shipping rates has quietly been on the downswing for over a month.

• The Baltic Dry Index is one benchmark for the cost to ship raw materials (like grain, for instance) across the sea.

Why it matters: With containers hard to come by, prices soared — costs that trickled down to consumers. Here's a sign that may be easing.

• The index may be below its pandemic peak, but it's still at multiyear highs.

Airlines are worried about staffing issues over the holidays — and they’re throwing money at the problem, Axios’ Kate Marino writes.

• JetBlue is the latest: It’s offering flight attendants an amped-up bonus to bait them into not calling out.

Airline attendants who don’t call out between Nov. 22 and Jan. 5 will be eligible for $1,000 bonuses, CNBC reports.

The big picture: Holiday travel is expected to be near pre-pandemic levels.

• American and Southwest both dealt with major service disruptions this fall — and have also offered holiday financial incentives to staff.

"I can't even afford to test drive a Tesla, and Elon [Musk] is one of my best friends."