Axios

The coronavirus pandemic and social distancing have catalyzed a wave of free online cultural and educational programming.

Between the lines: As states extend their shutdowns and lockdowns, free online opportunities for cultural and educational enrichment are finding an audience that's eager for new intellectual pursuits.

Bond Capital, a Silicon Valley VC firm whose portfolio companies include Slack and Uber, told its investors this morning via email that the coronavirus' high-speed spread and impact has similarities to the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

Why it matters: Bond's best-known partner, Mary Meeker, is a former bank analyst renowned for her annual Internet Trends Report, which many investors and entrepreneurs use as a touchstone for where tech is now and where it's going. Today's 28-page report to Bond's limited partners, obtained by Axios, shares some structural similarities.

A new research report says a hyperloop, the high-speed travel concept, is at least 20 years away from commercialization.

The big picture: Climate change has fueled interest in finding low-carbon alternatives to conventional rail and air travel. An electric hyperloop is one solution, because it operates in a vacuum system that reduces aerodynamic drag, enabling higher speeds and greater energy efficiency.

The team behind the Facebook-backed Libra digital currency effort announced several key changes scaling back what once seen as a monetary instrument that could be used to rival and subvert national currencies.

Why it matters: The moves are designed to address concerns from governments and others, but also represent a further reining in of ambitions for the initiative, which launched with great fanfare last year.

Consensus seems to be building globally around the idea that Bluetooth-based contact tracing could be a practical use of technology to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Why it matters: Both governments and advocacy groups agree that using Bluetooth to sense the proximity of users' phones could be more effective and less of a civil rights problem than tapping location-based data that apps and service providers often collect.

Facebook and Instagram have new messages on their streams that are highlighting Affordable Care Act coverage and the HealthCare.gov website for anyone who "has recently lost a job" during the coronavirus outbreak.

The bottom line: A Facebook spokesperson told Axios the Trump administration did not pay for these digital spaces, and instead the companies are running the messages "as a PSA." ACA plans will be sources of coverage for some of the newly unemployed, but Medicaid will likely be doing a lot of the heavy lifting.