Month: October 2022
First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Is Upbeat Above $20K as Investors Grow Optimistic That Steep Rate Hikes Will Soon End; Kim Kardashian and the SEC’s Publicity Grab
Crypto and other markets responded favorably to a surprisingly large decline in U.S. job openings, which offer the latest evidence of economic slowing.
Everything we know about Elon Musk’s messy new Twitter offer
Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk has changed his mind again: he does want to buy Twitter, actually. This, after months of drama! He signaled his intent in a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission — but there’s a catch: Twitter has to drop its lawsuit. We understand if you … Read more
Amazon gives up on the Glow, its kid-focused video calling device
It’s no longer available on Amazon’s website. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Amazon is discontinuing the Amazon Glow, its video calling / interactive gaming device designed to let families interact remotely with each other, as reported by Bloomberg. The device is already unavailable on Amazon’s website. “At Amazon we think big, … Read more
Blizzard president blames ‘mass DDOS attack’ for keeping you from playing Overwatch 2
Mercy in Overwatch 2. | Image: Blizzard Overwatch 2 launched today — in theory, at least. The game’s servers clicked on this afternoon, but for the last few hours, many people trying to check out its removed 5v5 team shooter action are seeing nothing but this screen. Image: Richard Lawler Overwatch 2 “server connection failed…retrying” … Read more
Party Round’s rebrand is banking on founder bank accounts
Party Round wants you to know that the party isn’t over. In fact, it just rebranded, put the music just a little bit lower, and finally put out some appetizers. After a certain point, don’t we all get peckish? Party Round announced today that it has rebranded to Capital to underscore its product expansion. Now, … Read more
White House proposes voluntary safety and transparency rules around AI
The White House this morning unveiled what it’s colloquially calling an “AI Bill of Rights,” which aims to establish tenets around the ways AI algorithms should be deployed as well as guardrails on their applications. In five bullet points crafted with feedback from the public, companies like Microsoft and Palantir and human rights and AI … Read more
China officially bans fruit flavorings in e-cigarettes
China has joined a handful of countries in banning flavored vapes to combat underage use of nicotine. Starting October 1, e-cigarette companies are only allowed to sell tobacco-flavored vapes in the country, an effort by the government to “standardize” the production, sales and consumption of the novel tobacco product. China’s e-cigarette makers had a short-lived … Read more
Daily Crunch: Blocking VLC player downloads violates Indian law, claims VideoLAN in legal challenge
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Good to have you with us again, as the TechCrunch train continues to rumble along the tracks. It’s gonna be a fun and busy week, so let’s dive straight in with the … Read more
Amazon curbs corporate retail hiring for the rest of 2022
Image: The Verge According to a report by Karen Weise of The New York Times, Amazon is freezing corporate hiring for its retail business for the remainder of 2022 in an effort to hedge its bets against a rough economic forecast. The hiring freeze includes all corporate and technology positions for Amazon’s retail and operations, … Read more
Just before Musk backtracked, a judge said Twitter could hunt for secret chats with whistleblower
Elon Musk may have said the deal is back on, but his legal fight with Twitter is still producing some eleventh-hour twists and turns. In a late Monday filing with the Delaware Court of Chancery, Judge Kathaleen McCormick weighed in on Twitter’s request for additional discovery around potential messages between Musk’s inner circle and the … Read more
Russia debates staying on ISS past 2024 despite tensions
Russia is having internal discussions over continuing its participation in the International Space Station (ISS) beyond 2024, despite statements made earlier this summer that the country will pull out of the station program by the middle of the decade. Sergei Krikalev, head of human space programs at Roscosmos, said Monday that the Russian space agency … Read more
Celsius’ co-founder Daniel Leon follows Mashinsky out as crypto exec flight continues
Leon is at least the eighth crypto sector executive who has resigned in recent months; Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky resigned a week ago.
Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor on blockchain, inclusion, unions and the future of crowdfunding
For most CEOs, the first several weeks or months are spent learning the ropes, poring over financials and meeting shareholders. More often than not, press interviews are reserved for a later date. Everette Taylor, on the other hand, is jumping in with both feet. It hasn’t been a full week since Kickstarter appointed the former … Read more
Rivian has good news about its EVs and some not-so-good news about its factory plans
Rivian’s positive production report could be overshadowed by a bad court ruling in Georgia. | Image: Rivian Rivian made over 7,000 electric vehicles over the last three months and reaffirmed its goal to produce 25,000 vehicles by the end of the year. It was a sign that the company is continuing to rise above its … Read more
DataVault requests US election agency’s advice to send NFTs as a campaign fundraising incentive
The firm planned to market NFTs “in a manner akin to a campaign hat or souvenirs,” intending to have political committees offer them to high-volume low-dollar donors.
Market Wrap: Markets Seem Hopeful the Fed Will Temper Rate Increases That Crushed Prices
Unexpectedly poor data on U.S. job creation spurs speculation the worst of the bear market may be over. Market Wrap is CoinDesk’s daily newsletter diving into what happened in today’s crypto markets.
Tesla is now building Model 3 and Model Y vehicles without ultrasonic sensors
Tesla is removing ultrasonic sensors from Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, the next step in CEO Elon Musk’s plan to only use cameras and software to support its advanced driver assistance system and other active safety features. Starting this month, all Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built for North America, Europe, the Middle … Read more
Coinbase CEO announces documentary on cryptocurrency and exchange
Armstrong said that the documentary will capture “the good, bad, and ugly” of building a tech start-up from the ground up.
Three Arrows-Backed ‘Starry Night’ NFT Collection Moved to Gnosis Safe
The crypto hedge fund had planned to assemble the world’s finest collection of crypto art before going bankrupt.
M31 Capital launches $100M Web3 investment fund with $50M in commitments so far
The investment fund, which was founded by an early Bitcoin investor, said the current market cycle is the first time in a decade where prices and fundamentals have diverged so wildly.