August 5, 2022

Good morning! It’s year three of a seemingly endless wave of economic uncertainty, and on some level we’re all wondering the same thing: What happens next? Well, if the past tells us anything, we might be in for more of the same. And that might not be a bad thing.
When companies recently started laying people off, the narrative went from, “Employees have all the power” to, “Never mind! Workers need their jobs more than their jobs need them.” But the bad earnings calls, layoffs and hiring freezes won’t last forever.
Tech is getting hit right now in ways we might not understand for years, CNBC’s Matt Rosoff wrote yesterday. Current consumer behavior is now being affected by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation and job cuts, and the list keeps growing. It’s giving economists a headache, but those same issues bringing companies down could result in employees eventually coming out strong.
Does all of this sound familiar? The idea that workers had more power over their companies dominated the workplace conversation last year. And that could happen again.
The layoffs and freezes are making everyone uneasy right now. But once we come out the other side, there’s a good chance that workers regain the upper hand..
— Sarah Roach
There’s a big debate in crypto right now over how it should be regulated. Critics say the SEC is enforcing rules that shouldn’t apply to cryptocurrencies. Regulators say they’re just trying to protect consumers.
The SEC’s insider trading case against a former Coinbase employee, which claims that nine of the 25 cryptocurrencies involved are securities, has raised the ire of a senator, fellow regulators and of course Coinbase, which plainly said, “Coinbase does not list securities. End of story.”
The crypto industry’s argument against regulation by enforcement is that digital assets are a new frontier and don't fit into existing rules.
In regulators’ eyes, the SEC is just acting to protect people and ensure fair markets in a developing industry.
Legislation has already been introduced, such as the Lummis-Gillibrand and Stabenow-Boozman bills. But for now, the battles will continue in court, because that’s all regulators can do to actually regulate.
— Nat Rubio-Licht
Chip shortage could undermine national security: The global shortage of semiconductors has impeded the production of everything from pickup trucks to PlayStations. But there are graver implications than a scarcity of consumer goods. If the U.S. does not ensure continued domestic access to leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing, experts say our national security could suffer.
Salesforce’s Bret Taylor called Elon Musk’s counterclaims a load of crap:
Elon Musk said the Cybertruck is probably going to have a higher price when it hits the market:
Joe Gately is Infoblox's new SVP of sales for the Americas region. He last worked at VergeSense as CRO.
Catherine Solazzo is Syntax’s new CMO. She previously held a similar role at TD Synnex and worked at IBM before that.
Lauren Hargraves and Bryan Hubbard joined the digital asset firm Metallicus’s advisory board. Hargraves was a Federal Reserve banker, and Hubbard previously worked at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Visa and Mastercard stopped working with Pornhub owner MindGeek's ad arm after a judge raised questions that the companies could be facilitating child pornography.
TikTok content moderators said they were being trained with graphic images of child sexual abuse in documents that were available to hundreds of people across the company.
On Deck, which helps connect founders to each other, laid off a third of its staff. It had cut a quarter of its workforce three months ago.
Both Lyft and DoorDash posted healthy revenue, a sign that ride-hailing is rebounding and delivery is holding strong amid inflation.
And Block beat analysts' estimates, but its shares still fell as investors digested the effect of the macroeconomic environment on the company’s core payments businesses.
Italy is close to a $5 billion deal with Intel to build an advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly plant.
Meta banned Cyber Front Z, a pro-Russia troll group that organized on Telegram.
Quantum computing isn’t mainstream yet, but the tech industry is scrambling to implement new “quantum-resistant” algorithms.
Clubhouse is launching Houses in beta. Bloomberg reported in June that the new curated groups appear “to be encouraging friendlier social interaction within private groups of users.”
Productivity is subjective. But there are some common apps that help everyone work. According to global data from Data.ai, apps like Google One, Microsoft Outlook and Waze reign supreme in helping people get stuff done.
Chip shortage could undermine national security:To ensure American security, prosperity and technological leadership, industry leaders say the U.S. must encourage domestic manufacturing of chips in order to reduce our reliance on East Asia producers for crucial electronics components.
Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to sourcecode@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you Sunday.
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