A pair of the most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges announced this weekend that they’re taking steps to “curb a type of high-risk trading that has been blamed for sharp fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin and the casino-like atmosphere on such platforms globally.” FTX and Binance are lowering the amount of leverage they offer to 20 times from existing limits of 100+, a move aimed at protecting investors from the kind of huge crashes that hit crypto markets in May - NYTimes and FinancialNews
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s up to start the week—in part on speculation about Amazon’s “possible plans for cryptocurrencies and related technologies, after the company posted a job opening for an expert in digital currency and blockchain” - WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Last week’s appointment of Jonathan Kanter to lead the DOJ’s antitrust division is the latest in a series of moves by the Biden Administration signaling a newfound federal “willingness to clash with corporate America to promote more competition in the tech industry and across the economy” - NYTimes
Striking Frito Lay workers in Kansas voted to ratify a new contract over the weekend, “ending a nearly three-week strike over forced overtime and long hours that many works said had pushed them past the point of exhaustion” - NYTimes
Some still-early but increasingly relevant thoughts on what the surging Delta variant may mean for companies’ planned back-to-the-office schedules, mask mandates, and vaccination requirements - NYTimes and WSJ
In fact, the variant may be giving some workers some extra ammunition for pushing back on management’s desire for them to return to the office on their schedule - WSJ
A snapshot of the state of the markets in this weird middle-Covid time: try plummeting on a Monday and booking record finishes just 4 days later (and for the Dow, that means eclipsing 35k for the first time) - MarketWatch
As promised, another installment of “How Robinhood’s Breaking All the IPO Rules” ahead of its public offering this week - Bloomberg
Tough news for GM’s electric ambitions, as the U.S. automakers recalled 2017-19 models of its all-electric Chevy Bolt for the second time “because of a potential battery defect that can cause a fire, underscoring the technical challenges car companies face as they race to develop more plug-in vehicles” - WSJ
And talking electrics, if you’re like me, you’ve noticed Toyota’s prominent absence from the electric car race and wondered how the Prius maker has managed to be so out of the game. Turns out the company was betting on hydrogen powered vehicles as the eco-friendly option-of-choice and is now scrambling to catch up with electrics - NYTimes
Stamps.com has reached a $30M settlement with investors to resolve a derivative lawsuit “over insider trading claims and allegations the shipping company abused the U.S. Postal Service’s postage reselling rules for years” – Law360
On Friday, the FTC formally requested an extension of 3 weeks to refile its antitrust lawsuit against Facebook after D.C. District Judge James Boasberg dismissed charges the Commission levied against the social-media giant a month ago - NYTimes
And here you were thinking that you were a superfan . . . . Sure, he’s a coach, but still—good luck holding a candle to Dean Boxall – Mashable
Stay safe, and get vaxxed,
MDR
