Differing economic conditions around the world are leading to the existence of two contrasting crypto markets — one resembling the original vision laid out over a decade ago, and the other driven by a more recent evolution.
Driving the news: Dollar and other currency-pegged stablecoins are proving their worth in countries where the value of the local currency swings from one day to the next. But the U.S. and Canada's "disproportionate embrace of DeFi" has led to a very different cryptocurrency market, according to a new report from research firm Chainalysis.
Shares in Snap Inc. plummeted more than 20% Thursday after the camera app reported its slowest-ever quarter for revenue growth since going public in 2017. It also declined to provide revenue or earnings guidance for the fourth quarter, given uncertainty in the economy.
Why it matters: Wall Street was looking to Snap to deliver good news about the broader ad market. The company's share price had already declined more than 75% this year going into earnings.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Google Thursday for allegedly collecting biometric identifiers without user consent.
Driving the news: The lawsuit alleges Google "has collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of face geometry, from Texans through its products and services like Google Photos, Google Assistant, and Nest Hub Max," per a release from Paxton's office.
Hall of fame game designer Will Wright (Sim City, The Sims) is making a blockchain video game for the masses, not for NFT shoppers, he tells Axios.
Why it matters: Wright is the biggest name in the controversial blockchain gaming sector, in which there's an abundance of investment and player skepticism.
Vanesa Amaro has become a social media sensation — and made big bucks — thanks to her cleaning tips and frank talks about what it is like to be a Latina domestic worker, she told Noticias Telemundo.
The big picture: Over 61% of people who work cleaning houses in the U.S. are Hispanic, according to an analysis of census data from the Economic Policy Institute think tank.
The world of crypto runs 24/7 and has no borders, but it's no monolith. The rules, however, might be applied that way. And that creates a challenge.
The big picture: "Law is jurisdictional, but crypto is not," Mitzi Chang, a partner at Goodwin, who also serves as co-chair of its fintech practice and digital currency and blockchain technology practice, tells Axios.
Homeowners are increasingly using doorbell cameras, such as Amazon's Ring product, to surveil and even harass delivery workers, according to a recent report from Data & Society.
Why it matters: Surveillance isn't just companies watching people — it's also people watching other people, and doorbell cameras are a prominent instance of this sort of distributed remote observation.
Propeller, a fund that invests in companies tackling climate change via ocean solutions, unveiled its first $100 million venture fund on Thursday.
Why it matters: This is the first major blue economy venture fund, and it could help catalyze other players in the climate tech world to look to the sea for new opportunities.
The key template that the far right and former President Trump's MAGA movement have used to organize online came not from the world of politics but from gaming, a leading misinformation researcher argues in a new book.
Catch up quick: Gamergate, in 2014, pitted some male gamers against the leaders of a movement to make video games more inclusive of women. As part of the conflict, online mobs deployed techniques and tactics that were later taken up by the Trumpist right, including the use of memes, false allegations and coordinated harassment.
