Bulletins

Apple said coronavirus will hurt iPhone sales more than expected.

In a rare update to its quarterly guidance, Apple said that even as work is starting to resume in China, coronavirus is having a bigger effect on its sales and production than originally expected.

Apple's note said that the company is likely to miss its revenue targets for the current quarter, for two reasons. First, that because of a "slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated," supplies of iPhones are likely to be constrained worldwide. Second, that because coronavirus led to so many stores closing or reducing hours, sales in China have dropped. "Apple is fundamentally strong," the note said, "and this disruption to our business is only temporary."

 David Pierce

David Pierce ( @pierce) is Protocol's former editorial director. Prior to joining Protocol, he was a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, a senior writer with Wired, and deputy editor at The Verge. He owns all the phones.

Latest Bulletins

Big Tech just took its Texas fight to SCOTUS

Tech industry groups NetChoice and CCIA have filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court, asking the court to stay the Fifth Circuit's ruling this week which enabled Texas’s so-called social media “censorship” law to go into effect.

Protocol first reported Thursday that NetChoice and CCIA, the plaintiffs in the case, would file their application on Friday. The two groups had warned other advocates of their intention to file and asked for their support in the form of amicus briefs.

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California investors say Coinbase cost them 'untold millions'

On Nov. 17, the price of gyen, a crypto stablecoin, briefly spiked to $0.0234. The next day, the price fell back down to about $0.0087, approximately the worth of one Japanese yen — the fiat currency the stablecoin was supposed to be pegged to. Then, on Nov. 19, Coinbase froze trading, citing a “technical glitch.”

Some Coinbase users are still up in arms six months later, saying the marketplace misled them about the coin’s stability by listing it on the exchange. A group of California investors filed a lawsuit Thursday against Coinbase and gyen issuer GMO-Z Trust, saying they cost the plaintiffs “untold millions,” and are seeking to have it certified as a class action.

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Robinhood's shares jumped. It can thank FTX's CEO.

Finally, Wall Street’s excited about Robinhood — thanks to Sam Bankman-Fried.

Robinhood shares rallied Friday after the FTX CEO disclosed in an SEC filing that he has acquired a 7.6% stake in the online brokerage. Robinhood’s stock was up about 20% in early trades, pushing the stock back up above $10.

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Musk paused his Twitter takeover until he gets details on spam bots

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Tech groups to ask SCOTUS to toss Texas social media ruling

Tech groups fighting Texas’s social media “censorship” law may file an emergency application with the Supreme Court as early as Friday, according to two sources familiar with the case. The groups, NetChoice and CCIA, have said they plan to ask the justices to vacate the Fifth Circuit's Wednesday ruling, which lifted an injunction on the Texas law, allowing it to go into effect and prompting panic throughout the tech industry.

NetChoice and CCIA are now soliciting amicus briefs in their application to be filed by next week. NetChoice did not respond to Protocol's request for comment. CCIA wouldn't confirm its plans, but President Matt Schruers said in a statement, "We will take whatever steps are necessary to defend our constituents' First Amendment rights. These include the right not to be compelled by the government to carry dangerous content on their platforms."

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The crypto crash, explained in 1 chart

Bitcoin peaked in November above $60,000. Then came the Super Bowl ads, Crypto.com Arena and a flood of TikTok influencers promoting the latest altcoin. It wasn’t going to end well, was it?

The crypto crash has hit nearly every token and knocked even some stablecoins off their peg. But the carnage hasn’t been even. The luna token associated with the Terra blockchain lost almost all its value amid a run on its paired UST stablecoin. Bitcoin, ether and even dogecoin proved hardier than newer coins. The question now is when the market will find its bottom.

Unstablecoin: Terra halted its blockchain as UST tumbles toward $0

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SoftBank is cutting its startup investments 50-75%

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Twitter ousts two key leaders in wake of the Musk deal

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Kayvon Beykpour, who oversees Twitter's consumer division, was fired from the company. Jay Sullivan, the company's current head of consumer product, will replace him. Bruce Falck, Twitter’s general manager for revenue, is also leaving. Twitter confirmed the departures to Protocol.

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The SEC is investigating Elon Musk's Twitter purchases

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Disney+ is doing just fine

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Appeals court rules Texas social media law can proceed

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Coinbase’s disturbing disclosure: 'If we go bankrupt …'

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Bulletins