May 23, 2022

Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Good morning! This weekend, Coinbase celebrated its 10th birthday with a snarky ad that took aim at crypto skeptics, reminding us all that crypto has been on life support before. Still, this time feels different … or does it? I’m Caitlin McGarry, and I have Harry Styles’ “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” on repeat.
A 30-second Coinbase ad, which aired during the Golden State Warriors game against the Mavericks on Friday, pointed out that people have been naysaying crypto in exactly the same way for the last 10 years: by declaring it dead.
Coinbase makes a good point. As far as ads go, this was successful. It might not encourage anyone to use Coinbase to buy the dip, but the historical context is useful as people contemplate crypto’s future.
But crypto really isn’t doing so hot right now. Neither is Coinbase. Two weeks ago, Coinbase executives used the company’s earnings call to double down on crypto hype in what appeared to be a total rejection of reality. It almost immediately pivoted from that optimism, announcing plans to freeze hiring, put new projects on hold and slash spending.
Crypto obviously isn’t dead quite yet. But the folks Coinbase featured in its commercial, who’ve been tweeting about crypto's coming demise, have a decade of evidence to point to. And right now, it’s not looking great.
With the recent collapse of algorithmic stablecoin UST, which was supposed to peg crypto to the dollar and make it less of a wildcard, Lagarde and other crypto skeptics have an increasingly solid case. Still, it’s hard to criticize Coinbase for running the ad. Who can deny it a little optimism on its birthday, after all.
Adding 2-Step Verification to your account is the best thing you can do to help prevent cyberattacks. That’s why Google has made it easy to sign into your account with this additional layer of protection. Just one tap and you’re in.
President Biden celebrated American and South Korean chip collaboration:
The Integrity Institute had some suggestions for Elon Musk on how to run Twitter:
It's Davos week! Climate change and tech are big themes of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting this year. Protocol is attending, so we might bump into you if you're there.
Didi is holding a shareholder meeting today. The company will vote on voluntarily delisting shares from the New York Stock Exchange.
The Lightship Summit, Niantic Lightship’s inaugural developer conference, kicks off tomorrow in San Francisco. The two-day event will include product debuts, exclusive demos and one-on-ones with the team.
Microsoft’s Build conference starts tomorrow and runs until Thursday. The event will be virtual for the third year in a row.
Broadcom is in talks to acquire VMware, according to Bloomberg. The deal could be worth as much as $50 billion.
Zuck Bucks have a lot to answer for. Our Issie Lapowsky has the true story of how Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s $419 million 2020 election donation became an enduring conspiracy theory.
Critical clean energy minerals are getting way too expensive. Prices for lithium are up more than 700% this year.
Crypto exchange FTX is launching its own stock trading platform. Too bad trading apps are having a hell of a time right now.
How much angst is there to soothe inside Twitter? Well, so far it's required 15 large or company-wide meetings, according to The Wall Street Journal.
What's stopping Grindr from going public? A history checkered with data privacy issues and harassment certainly isn't helping.
The 911 emergency system is outdated. But updating it to the cloud is a risky proposition.
Netflix will pay $59 million to settle a tax evasion dispute with Italy, Reuters reported. Italian prosecutors claimed Netflix owed taxes for using the nation's digital infrastructure.
Fadeke Adegbuyi, former marketing manager with Doist, knows a thing or two about productivity. Protocol’s Lizzy Lawrence spoke with Adegbuyi on the best ways to get things done. Here are a few tips:
To counter the rise in phishing attempts in collaborative working tools, Google is expanding its proven AI-powered phishing protections to Google Workspace. You are automatically alerted if the doc you’re working in contains a suspicious link, and are taken back to safety.
Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to sourcecode@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you tomorrow.
To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. If you continue browsing. you accept our use of cookies. You can review our privacy policy to find out more about the cookies we use.