🔥 FTX closes in on a deal to buy embattled crypto lender BlockFi for $25MM

Plus: Meta warns employees of 'serious times' in internal memo listing key product bets, How to save more lives and avoid a privacy apocalypse, and more…

Today’s pick

FTX closes in on a deal to buy embattled crypto lender BlockFi for $25 million in a fire sale. Crypto exchange FTX is close to finalizing a term sheet to buy BlockFi and a deal is expected to be signed by the end of this week, three sources familiar with the situation told CNBC. It comes after FTX provided a $250 million emergency line of… (Kate Rooney / CNBC)

Sheel Mohnot @pitdesi

BlockFi seems to be getting acquired for $25M. Had raised >$1B in equity capital, last round was $500M at a $3B valuation 10 months ago

cnbc.comFTX closes in on a deal to buy embattled crypto lender BlockFi for $25 million in a fire sale, source saysCrypto giant FTX is close to finalizing a term sheet to buy BlockFi, sources familiar with the situation told CNBC.

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Meta warns employees of 'serious times' in internal memo listing key product bets. Chris Cox — Employee FYI Every six months, we take stock of our product portfolio and investment plans across the company to assess how we are doing and chart the way forward. As a part of this, we evaluate which areas require the most new… (Mia Sato, Alex Health / The Verge)

Alex Heath @alexeheath

Here’s the full memo Meta CPO Chris Cox sent employees yesterday listing the company’s key product bets, including avatars and feed changes to compete with TikTok Cox: “I have to underscore that we are in serious times here and the headwinds are fierce”

theverge.comMeta warns employees of “serious times” in internal memo listing key product betsThe memo outlines priorities for “serious times.”

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How to save more lives and avoid a privacy apocalypse. At the moment, we have the worst of both worlds: researchers struggle to access data yet leaks are almost inevitable… (Tim Harford / Financial Times)

Financial Times @FinancialTimes

At the moment, we have the worst of both worlds: researchers struggle to access data because the people (rightly) hesitate to share them. Yet leaks are almost inevitable, writes @TimHarford

on.ft.comSubscribe to read | Financial TimesNews, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

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How did a rental startup I'd never heard of leak my home address?. I consider myself a fairly privacy-conscious person, going out of my way to evade online tracking and, for the most part, avoiding spam mail. But when I found myself staring at my home address on the website… (Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch)

Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker

New: In April, I discovered my landlord — one of the largest in the U.S. — shared my personal information with a tech startup I'd never heard of after finding my home address exposed on its website. Thousands of other renters also likely affected.

techcrunch.comHow did a rental startup I’d never heard of leak my home address? – TechCrunchRead your apartment’s privacy policy.

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As Silicon Valley fantasizes about Web3, India leaps ahead on payments. For more than a decade, Silicon Valley's moguls have been promoting Bitcoin and blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, claiming these will transform global commerce. Instead, Bitcoin long ago died as a digital currency, becoming nothing more than an… (Vivek Wadhwa / Fortune)

Vivek Wadhwa @wadhwa

As Silicon Valley fantasizes about Web3, India leaps ahead on payments By @ismailamla @AlexSalkever and me in @FortuneMagazine fortune.com/2022/06/30/blo… —India’s @UPI_NPCI is already processing more than $1 TRILLION/year in payments; delivering the dream of Crypto

fortune.comAs Silicon Valley dreams about Web3, India’s UPI leaps aheadIndia’s UPI payment platform is delivering on financial inclusion in ways that Bitcoin and blockchain have yet to do.

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