Latest news with #StateofCrypto
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Blockchain Initiatives Have Been Adopted by 60% of Fortune 500 Companies: Coinbase Survey
The future of money has arrived, with 60% of Fortune 500 companies actively working on blockchain initiatives, digital asset exchange Coinbase (COIN) said in its second quarter State of Crypto report published Tuesday. Stablecoin usage is exploding with a 54% growth in supply year-on-year, more than one third of small and medium sized businesses (SMB) are using crypto, and 60% of Fortune 500 companies are working on blockchain projects, the report said. Adoption is expected to continue to grow. Twenty percent of Fortune 500 executives said that onchain initiatives were a key part of their company's strategy moving forward, and more than 80% of institutional investors plan to increase their exposure to crypto this year. Forty-six percent of small and medium businesses who don't use crypto are planning to start using it in the next three years, the report said, and 82% of these companies were of the view that usage of this technology could help address some of their "financial pain points." Still, for crypto to reach its full potential, greater regulatory clarity is needed. 90% of F500 execs surveyed said that clear crypto regulation in the U.S. is needed to support innovation. Coinbase used third-party research firms to survey 100 Fortune 500 executives about their adoption of Web3, and 251 decision-makers at small and medium-sized businesses in April. It also analysed web3 initiative activity by Fortune 100 companies between 2020 and in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Arabian Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
Industry Giants Forge Ahead with Blockchain Adoption
Sixty per cent of Fortune 500 companies are now engaged in blockchain initiatives, according to the second-quarter 'State of Crypto' report from Coinbase. The survey, conducted among executives of America's largest firms, reveals that blockchain is no longer peripheral but central to corporate strategy across sectors. The survey also highlights a dynamic surge in stablecoin use, with supply growing 54 per cent year-on-year. Small and medium-sized US businesses are following suit: about one-third currently use crypto, a share that has doubled since 2024. Among SMBs not yet involved, 46 per cent plan to adopt crypto within the next three years, and 82 per cent view it as a remedy for key financial challenges. Institutional interest remains robust, with over 80 per cent of large investors planning to expand crypto exposure this year. Furthermore, a fifth of Fortune 500 executives perceives on‑chain blockchain efforts as integral to long-term strategy. ADVERTISEMENT The report underscores a notable shift in corporate attitudes: 83 per cent of Fortune 500 executives familiar with crypto or blockchain confirm their companies have launched or are planning initiatives. Of these, the lion's share—approximately 60 per cent—have progressed from pre-launch to live status since 2022. Tech, finance and retail dominate these efforts. Data collection and management rank as leading use cases, followed by infrastructure concerns. Experts describe blockchain as 'foundational' for enhancing transparency and automating operations. Larry Fink, chair and chief executive of BlackRock, noted that blockchain could 'change the whole ecosystem' of securities trading by enabling 'instantaneous settlement' and complete transparency of ownership. Stablecoins, deemed a 'killer application' by Jose Fernandez da Ponte, SVP of Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPal, have gained traction for facilitating global payments and preserving the dollar's reserve status. BlackRock's tokenised Treasury fund, BUIDL, has outpaced Franklin Templeton, now standing at approximately US $382 million, and is routinely used by hedge funds as collateral. Yet regulation remains a critical concern. According to Coinbase's findings, 90‑plus per cent of surveyed executives insist on the need for new rules specifically tailored to crypto and blockchain technologies rather than adapting obsolete frameworks. Eighty-seven per cent assert that clearer regulation is essential for preserving US leadership in the global financial system. This regulatory environment has significant implications. Coinbase warns the US risks losing up to one million web3 developer jobs and three million related non‑technical positions by 2030 if regulatory ambiguities persist. Its share of global crypto development has already dropped from 40 to 29 per cent over the past six years. ADVERTISEMENT Executives also cite talent shortages: nearly one in three identify insufficient skilled personnel as a major barrier, surpassing concerns about regulation. Among small businesses, half intend to seek finance, legal or tech professionals with crypto expertise in their next hiring round. Despite headwinds, many companies push ahead. JPMorgan Chase executed its first DeFi transaction on a public blockchain, while ExxonMobil piloted crypto‑mining operations powered by excess gas. Retailer Lowe's implemented blockchain and NFTs to combat theft by tracking stolen tools, and Nike integrated apparel NFTs into video games through a collaboration with EA Sports. On the SMB front, crypto usage has grown dramatically. One in three US small and medium enterprises is already harnessing crypto for payments, payroll or treasury functions, up from one in six last year. Among those not yet using crypto, almost half aim to adopt it within three years. Four in five believe crypto could alleviate financial pain points such as transactional delays and steep fees. The report indicates a tipping point. On‑chain U.S. Treasury holdings have topped $1.29 billion, representing a tenfold increase since early 2023. Total assets under management in spot Bitcoin ETFs now exceed $63 billion, and the U.S. stablecoin market cleared $10 trillion in annual transaction volume last year. With blockchain moving from pilot to scale, traditional institutions like PayPal and Stripe are making stablecoin integration simple for merchants and users. Stripe now enables USDC payments across Ethereum, Solana and Polygon, with fiat conversions handled automatically. PayPal supports cross‑border stablecoin transfers in around 160 countries, eliminating transaction charges typically levied by remittance services. These developments coincide with a broader surge in Web3 infrastructure investment. Total value locked in tokenised real‑world assets—ranging from fixed income to environmental credits—is approaching $2.4 billion, with US tokenised Treasuries alone surpassing US $1.2 billion in Q1 2024. Global institutional adoption continues apace, and tokenised assets are projected to reach US $16 trillion by 2030—equivalent to the EU's GDP.
Coin Geek
02-06-2025
- Business
- Coin Geek
Global digital asset ownership rises in 2025, UK leading
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Global digital asset adoption is growing in 2025, with the United Kingdom leading the way in increasing ownership among its population. This is according to a new study by Gemini, who attributed the increase, in part, to the influence and policies of United States President Donald Trump. Gemini, the U.S.-based digital asset exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, released its latest 'State of Crypto' report on May 27, offering a breakdown of investor awareness around digital currencies, motivations for owning and trading, and global adoption rates. Based on a survey of 7,205 adult consumers across the U.S., Europe, Singapore and Australia (approximately 1,200 consumers per country), the report found that global adoption of digital assets is growing across all areas, with ownership increasing fastest in Europe. In 2024, one in five (21%) respondents in the U.S., U.K., France, and Singapore reported owning digital assets. In 2025, that figure grew to nearly one in four (24%). The U.K. saw the biggest year-on-year growth in ownership of the surveyed nations, with the share of respondents indicating digital asset holdings rising from 18% last year to 24% as of April. For comparison, 21% of French respondents reported owning digital assets in 2025, up from 18% in 2024, while in the U.S., the number grew from 21% to 22%. However, while the U.K. has reportedly seen the most notable increase in new owners, it is still not the world's top nation for digital asset ownership. According to the report, Singapore has been the top country globally for digital asset ownership in the past two years, with 26% of local respondents surveyed last year saying they were invested in digital assets, up to 28% this year. Global growth due to Trump In part, Gemini attributed the global growth to the Trump Administration's approach to digital assets. 'Since coming into office in January 2025, President Trump has established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the United States, appointed SEC leadership that has displayed a more favorable approach to digital assets, and expressed support for bills that will provide stablecoin legislation and a regulatory framework for digital assets,' said Gemini. 'Survey results suggest that these policies are inspiring interest in the industry among non-owners—those who have never invested in crypto.' The company added that understanding and winning over this latter group of potential investors 'will drive significant growth for the industry, which has experienced relatively flat adoption over the past few years.' In this regard, nearly a quarter (23%) of U.S. non-owners surveyed said that the President's launch of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve increased their confidence in the value of digital assets. This sentiment was echoed globally by non-owner respondents in the U.K. and Singapore, where about one in five (21% and 19%, respectively) said the same. 'The United States has proven itself as a global leader in Web3 and blockchain technology with the addition of Trump's pro-crypto policies, which is a significant change from the previous Administration,' said Marshall Beard, Chief Operating Officer at Gemini. 'With this pro-innovation approach, the crypto industry is positioned for significant growth in the United States and around the world.' Trump has also been in the headlines recently for his more controversial links to the digital asset space, specifically his dabbling in memecoins with the $TRUMP memecoin. Gemini suggested that the memecoin market and the veneer of legitimacy provided by Trump's involvement may play a part in the growth of global digital asset investment. The report found that in the U.S. 31% of investors who own both memecoins and traditional digital assets reported that they purchased their memecoins first, followed by 28% in the U.K. and Australia, 23% in Singapore, 22% in Italy, and 19% in France. For Gemini, this indicated that 'memecoins likely drove crypto adoption… globally, 94% of memecoin owners also own other types of crypto, suggesting memecoins are an onramp to crypto for many investors around the globe.' Outside of Trump's influence, another key finding of the survey showed a boost in digital asset ownership in the U.S. following the approval of spot crypto ETFs in early 2024, with 39% of surveyed investors reportedly now owning crypto ETFs, up from 37% in 2024. Regulatory influence and the UK rise While Trump's pro-crypto policies appear to spur global adoption and investment, the impact of regulation appears less clear. Adoption grew notably in both the EU and U.K., two very contrasting regulatory environments. Gemini suggested this growth in the EU and U.K. reflected 'a warming regulatory environment for digital assets in Europe.' However, while the EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation has been broadly praised as a comprehensive and forward-thinking framework specifically tailored to digital assets, the U.K. has yet to adopt a national regulatory framework for digital assets. Meanwhile, Gemini's head of Europe, Mark Jennings—in an interview reported by Cointelegraph—suggested that the U.K.'s sharp spike in digital asset ownership, despite its lack of a MiCA-style regulatory framework, could be down to a combination of the country's status as a 'central financial hub for many decades' and the outside influence that MiCA would likely have on adjacent countries. In April, the U.K. government published a draft regulation that would bring digital asset exchanges, dealers and agents under the U.K.'s financial services regulatory regime. At the same time, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves indicated that the U.K. planned to more closely align with the Trump 2.0-era approach to supporting innovation across the digital asset industry. While the U.K. waits for its final regulatory framework for digital assets, which the Treasury is expected to finalize later this year, it appears investors are undeterred by the uncertainty, in keeping with a global trend towards increased digital asset ownership in 2025. Watch: Streaming with NFTs changes idea of ownership title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Previewing the Canadian Election's Crypto Angle
Canada will host an election next week, where voters will consider a range of issues — the economy, housing, trade relations with the U.S. — as they choose their elected officials, who in turn will choose the next Prime Minister of the country. You're reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. Crypto is not a major electoral issue during this year's Canadian election. Neither leading Prime Minister candidate has campaigned on digital assets, but here's how they've discussed the issue in the past. Canada infamously had massive crypto exchange collapses over the past few years, leading to concerted efforts from its provincial regulators to enact guardrails on the digital asset industry. While exchanges like Coinbase are calling for policies like a Canadian government task force or a bitcoin reserve, so far the leading candidates for Prime Minister seem to have other issues on their minds (namely: U.S. relations and trade, housing and the economy). When Canadians go to the polls next Monday, they'll be choosing their Member of Parliament. The party with a majority of seats will form the country's new government, and the leader of that party will become the new Prime Minister. While the Conservative Party and its leader Pierre Poilievre held comfortable leads in polling averages through late-January 2025, the Liberal Party saw a massive surge in popularity after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs with Canada (and most other countries). The Liberal Party, now with leader Mark Carney, has held a significant edge ever since, according to both polling data and Polymarket. Carney took over from former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as leader of the Liberal Party last month. Pierre Poilievre Poilievre is a longtime Bitcoin and blockchain advocate who has led the Conservative Party since September 2022. He owns shares in a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). In 2022, he promised to turn Canada into the "blockchain and crypto capital of the world" during a campaign speech (a phrase Trump later used on the 2024 campaign trail). "I want to take control of money away from politicians and bankers, and give it back to the people," he said. "We need to give people the freedom to choose other money. If the government is going to abuse our cash, we should have the right to opt to use other, higher-quality cash." He even bought shawarma using bitcoin during his campaign for Conservative Party leader, discussing digital assets in a 30-minute interview with the owner of the restaurant. He supported Canada's trucker protest, which dubbed itself the "Freedom Convoy" in early 2022 to object to a vaccine mandate for any truckers crossing the U.S.-Canadian border. At the time, the Canadian government sought to freeze financial support for the protestors, including by sanctioning crypto wallets tied to the truckers. While Poilievre does not appear to have specifically linked Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to the truckers who may have lost banking access, he did call bitcoin "the single most important asset you could own." Poilievre has also opposed the Bank of Canada's research into a central bank digital currency, arguing that it could infringe on privacy rights or let lawmakers target benefits to supporters. Last year he supported a bill which would have banned a Canadian CBDC outright (echoing U.S. Republicans who have done the same here). Canadian magazine Maclean's reported that while Poilievre has said less about crypto in recent days, the Conservative Party as a whole still tends to support the industry, citing various Members of Parliament who have introduced bills or otherwise discussed crypto. Poilievre did seem to discuss crypto publicly less after FTX's dramatic collapse in 2022, which his political opponents used to issue warnings about his prior advocacy for digital assets. Poilievre may also be reckoning with Trump's unpopularity in Canada, and seeking to distance himself from policies that may imitate the U.S. President's. Mark Carney Carney was the head of both the Bank of Canada and later the Bank of England. While he hasn't said a lot about Bitcoin, he did give a speech on the "future of money" in London in March 2018, where he criticized digital assets' use, citing speculative mania and a lack of vendors willing to accept it as a payment tool. "The long, charitable answer is that cryptocurrencies act as money, at best, only for some people and to a limited extent, and even then only in parallel with the traditional currencies of the users," he said. "The short answer is they are failing." Carney pointed to transaction throughput, ease of access and other issues as barriers to digital asset adoption, but said his concerns with digital assets at the time were "not meant to dismiss them." "Their core technology is already having an impact. Bringing cryptoassets into the regulatory tent could potentially catalyse innovations to serve the public better," he said. "Crypto-assets are an attempt to create the financial architecture for peer-to-peer transactions. Even if the current generation is not the answer, it is throwing down the gauntlet to the existing payment systems. These must now evolve to meet the demands of fully reliable, real-time, distributed transactions." Carney praised distributed ledgers in particular, and suggested that existing digital asset infrastructure could eventually lead to the creation of a central bank digital currency, though he said "there are also broader societal questions" around issues like privacy should a central bank pursue a CBDC. Just over a year later at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Carney suggested that a global hegemonic digital currency backed by central bank digital currencies could bolster the world economy against the role of the dollar. "The dollar's influence on global financial conditions could similarly decline if a financial architecture developed around the new [Synthetic Hegemonic Currency] and it displaced the dollar's dominance in credit markets," he said in August 2019. "By reducing the influence of the US on the global financial cycle, this would help reduce the volatility of capital flows to EMEs." : Crypto mining firms may undervalue the cost of their equipment when importing their chips to the U.S. to evade customs dues, intermediaries in the industry tell CoinDesk's Tom Carreras. : Paul Atkins, after his Senate confirmation earlier this month, is now the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. : The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission published a request for comment on what 24/7 derivatives trading might look like. : The TRUMP memecoin shot up over 9% last weekend after $320 million in tokens unlocked, though it's still down more than 88% in the past few weeks. Friday 17:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. ET) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will hold the latest of its crypto roundtables, this time focusing on custody issues. () Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had another group chat where he shared details about an impending military strike in Yemen. Unlike the Signal chat which included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Hegseth himself set this group up, and included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, the Times reported. NBC later reported that the information about the strike came from a message sent by an Army general through "a secure U.S. government system." () The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation plans to lay off a fifth of its employees, or 1,250 people, it told its staff according to Reuters. () The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it would lay off 1,500 employees, but this move has been paused by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson. () Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat representing Maryland, met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully sent to El Salvador to be imprisoned without a trial or hearing, and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's administration tried to stage the photos of his meeting with Van Hollen by placing glasses "with cherries and salted rims" for photos, the Times reported. If you've got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you'd like to share, feel free to email me at nik@ or find me on Bluesky @ You can also join the group conversation on Telegram. See ya'll next week!
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Where All the SEC Cases Are
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped or paused over a dozen ongoing cases (and lost one) since U.S. President Donald Trump retook office just over two months ago and appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair. You're reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appears to have closed almost all of its outstanding crypto-related cases — at least the publicly disclosed ones — in the last two months since Mark Uyeda took over as acting chair of the agency. In many of the court filings, the SEC argued that it needs to pull these cases while the regulator's new crypto task force reassesses how exactly it applies securities laws to digital assets, though in at least some of these cases the SEC is leaving itself no recourse to sue again should it find some cryptos from previously active suits are indeed securities. TKTK Ripple: Ripple announced it had reached an agreement with the SEC to drop both the SEC's appeal of a federal judge's 2023 ruling and RIpple's cross-appeal. Ripple will receive back $75 million of the $125 million fine it was assessed by a federal judge. The agreement does not yet appear to be on the public court docket. Coinbase: Coinbase announced last month it had reached an agreement with the SEC to drop the regulator's ongoing case against it. The SEC filed to withdraw the case with prejudice — meaning it cannot bring the same charges again — and a judge signed off on the withdrawal at the end of February. The SEC alleged that Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Sandbox (SAND), Filecoin (FIL), Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Flow (FLOW), Internet Computer (ICP), Near (NEAR), Voyager (VGX), Dash (DASH) and Nexo (NEXO) all appeared to be traded as securities in its initial lawsuit. ConsenSys: The SEC said it would drop its case against ConsenSys over the MetaMask wallet, CEO Joe Lubin said last month, and a joint stipulation dismissing the case with prejudice was filed on March 27. A court docket entry dated March 28 said the civil case was terminated. Kraken: The SEC told Kraken it would drop its case against the exchange alleging it violated securities laws and commingled customer and corporate funds earlier this month. A joint stipulation dismissing the case was filed on March 27, though a judge does not appear to have signed off just yet. Cumberland DRW: The SEC told Cumberland DRW it would drop its case alleging it was acting as an unregistered securities dealer earlier this month. The SEC and Cumberland filed a motion to stay proceedings on March 18, saying "the parties have agreed in principle to dismiss this litigation with prejudice" but needed three weeks to work out the details. The judge overseeing the case granted the motion, ordering the parties to file a joint status report by April 8 unless the dismissal filing is on the docket by then. Pulsechain: A federal judge dismissed the SEC's suit against Pulsechain and HEX, saying the agency did not plausibly show that the project targeted U.S. investors and that it had jurisdiction over the case. The SEC has until April 21 to file an amended complaint. Immutable: The SEC told Immutable Labs it closed its investigation into the Web3 gaming firm, it said earlier this week. Yuga Labs: The SEC closed its investigation into Yuga Labs, the NFT firm said earlier this month. Robinhood: The SEC told trading platform Robinhood it closed its investigation into the company, it said late last month. OpenSea: The SEC closed its investigation into OpenSea, the NFT marketplace's CEO said late last month. Uniswap: The SEC closed its investigation into Uniswap Labs, the firm announced last month. Gemini: The SEC closed its investigation into Gemini, co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said last month. Binance: The SEC and Binance (alongside the various affiliated parties/co-defendants) filed to pause the regulator's case for 60 days in early February. The judge overseeing the case paused the case until April 14, ordering the parties to file a joint status report by then. The SEC alleged commingling violations alongside securities law violations, as well as allowing U.S. persons to trade on the global platform. Tron Foundation: The SEC and the Tron Foundation (alongside the various affiliated parties/co-defendants named) filed to pause the SEC's case for 60 days in late February. The judge overseeing the case granted the motion, which should bring the new deadline to around April 27 (a Sunday). The SEC alleged market manipulation and fraud, alongside securities law-related registration violations. announced on March 27 that the SEC had closed its case into the crypto exchange and would not take any enforcement action. Trump Media, the company behind Truth Social, is also partnering with the exchange to issue exchange-traded products. Unicoin: Unicoin appears to be the only publicly-disclosed ongoing investigation by the SEC, though its CEO has asked the agency to close that investigation as well. HAWK: On Thursday, Haliey Welch, whose "HAWK" token appeared to pump and dump (falling from a $491 million market cap to under $100 million within minutes) when it launched last year, told TMZ that the SEC had closed its investigation into her as well. Trump-Backed World Liberty Financial Confirms Dollar Stablecoin Plans With BitGo: World Liberty Financial is launching USD1, a stablecoin, on the Ethereum and BNB Chain networks. Trump Media Wants to Partner with for ETP Issuance: Trump Media, the company behind the Truth Social social network, wants to launch crypto exchange-traded products with U.S. House Stablecoin Bill Poised to Go Public, Lawmaker Atop Crypto Panel Says: The House's latest stablecoin bill draft more closely aligns with the Senate's GENIUS Bill, which passed out of committee already, Rep. Bryan Steil said at the Digital Chamber's annual conference. Trump-Tied World Liberty Financial Pitches Its Stablecoin in Washington With Don Jr.: Donald Trump Jr. and other World Liberty Financial leaders promoted its new stablecoin at the Chamber event. SEC Drops Investigation into Web3 Gaming Firm Immutable: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped another investigation, this time into Immutable. Shuttered Russian Crypto Exchange Garantex Rebrands as Grinex, Global Ledger Finds: Garantex is an exchange sanctioned by the U.S. and seized by international law enforcement officials. That does not appear to have stopped some of its operators from rebranding it as Grinex and launching anew, based on on-chain and off-chain data. Crypto Bill to Combat Illicit Activity Gets New Push After Passing U.S. House in 2024: Reps. Zach Nunn and Jim Himes have reintroduced the Financial Technology Protection Act. President Trump Pardons Arthur Hayes, 2 Other BitMEX Co-Founders: U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Sam Reed, the co-founders of BitMEX. The three had all previously pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations and were sentenced to parole. Sei Foundation Explores Buying 23andMe to Put Genetic Data on Blockchain: This headline is self-explanatory, though I would love to know more about what it would mean to put individuals' genetic data on an immutable public ledger. Thursday 14:00 UTC (10:00 a.m. ET) Paul Atkins and Jonathan Gould (among others) faced the Senate Banking Committee for their confirmation hearing. Outside of Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asking questions about Sam Bankman-Fried's parents (and a few other passing references to FTX's collapse), there were no crypto-related questions. (The Atlantic) Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, said he was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat by National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, which contained other key figures in the Trump Administration and where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details about an imminent strike on Yemen hours before it occurred. Middle East envoy (and World Liberty Financial investor) Steve Witkoff confirmed that he was part of the group through one of his "personal devices," rather than his government-issued secure phone. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence and John Ratcliffe, the director of the CIA, said the messages were not classified, and The Atlantic published them. (Wired) A Venmo account named "Michael Waltz" that Wired reports was "connected to accounts bearing the names of people closely associated with him" left its transactions public until after the news organization reached out about it. (The Verge) U.S. President Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, both Democrats, reportedly in violation of a Supreme Court precedent. Both have since sued Trump contesting the firings. (The Washington Post) The IRS is projecting it will collect $500 billion less in 2025 than 2024, the Post reported. (The New York Times) "SpaceX is positioning itself to see billions of dollars in new federal contracts or other support," the Times reported. (The Washington Post) Plainclothes officers arrested Tufts University Ph.D student Rumeysa Ozturk and relocated her to a Louisiana facility. The Department of Homeland Security said she "engaged in activities in support of Hamas," but has not published any evidence supporting the claim. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he canceled Ozturk's visa because she was "creating a ruckus," but does not appear to allege she committed any crimes. If you've got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you'd like to share, feel free to email me at nik@ or find me on Bluesky @ You can also join the group conversation on Telegram. See ya'll next week! Sign in to access your portfolio
