The head of the WordPress project on the WP Engine lawsuit, Automattic turning 20, and what’s next for the web.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s director has ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare a framework for considering crypto as an asset in homebuying. “Pulte also instructed the agencies that their mortgage risk assessments should not require cryptocurrency assets to be converted to U.S. dollars.” Great to see crypto is getting what it paid for! If only we all could buy elections, am I right?
The head of Hinge on AI, monetization, and the future of online dating.
to readers of Katherine Losse’s The Boy Kings. The Financial Times makes a compelling case that loser-bro Zuck is who he has always been. Also, his feelings were very hurt when we all had a good laugh about Meta’s avatars (“Legs coming soon!”). No wonder he wants AI friends, who’ll never mock him like that.
This CNBC article describes some of the workarounds you might see with companies navigating higher taxes on imports, as the difference between a raincoat and a windbreaker, for example, can add up.
However, it quotes supply chain strategist Andrew Wilson saying that “consumer good and garments, apparel and footwear sectors” are easier targets for these changes than cars and electronics, because “even minor changes may require extensive validation and approval” that add months of waiting to get certified.
Out at Vice Media: former CEO Bruce Dixon. In: new CEO Adam Stotsky, “A lot of the sort of messy stuff has been cleaned up,” Stotsky told The Wall Street Journal. We’ll see about that — when I wrote about Vice last year, there was still plenty of mess under Dixon.
Amid the announcement of a “Trump Mobile” phone service, Trump’s media company has revealed that it submitted an SEC filing seeking approval of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) with 75 percent of assets invested in Bitcoin and 25 percent in Ether. Crypto.com will store and trade the assets on Trump Media’s behalf.
The retail giants are looking into ways they could use or issue stablecoins — a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar or another asset, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. As noted by the WSJ, the move could allow Amazon and Walmart to receive payments faster, while avoiding fees from credit card transactions.
The layoffs on Tuesday impact around 3.5 percent of Paramount’s global workforce, with the company having laid off around 2,000 US employees last year. In an internal memo seen by Deadline, Paramount execs said the cuts were driven by linear TV declines and broader economic concerns as the company focuses its efforts on streaming.
“These changes are necessary to address the environment we are operating in and best position Paramount for success.”
[deadline.com]
The head of the Ikea-owned gig work platform on AI automation, the state of the gig economy, and the future of labor.
