- __[Diamonds](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/0doAwlqiCMvE3GhOH887y/articles/5R9lJpVDcFvT20TYdnVSdc/):__ Rihanna just gained billionaire-status thanks to her 50% stake in __Fenty Beauty__, as the celeb-preneur biz model thrives. 
- __[BNPL](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/68Ji759EUo3BnTZxw9mAj1/articles/4ged1i28lf9nr12iGW3oBC/):__ Jack Dorsey’s __Square__ dropped $29B on __Afterpay__, because "buy now, pay later" is Zillennials' favorite option.
- __[Shine](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/68Ji759EUo3BnTZxw9mAj1/articles/3JmT8UDjlzrJGFVsyC00jJ/):__ Reese Witherspoon sold her female-driven production company __Hello Sunshine__ for a reported $900M, as the content wars intensify.

ICYMI

Last week's highlights...

Snacks

In a familiar pattern, the US has begun launching new strikes on Iran Wednesday, on top of retaliato...

Jake Lahut

Contributing Reporter

Power

 received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street ban...

J. Edward Moreno

Business Reporter

Markets

Which middle-aged comedian recently modeled underwear for Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS brand?

What is the only streaming platform whose original content gets more viewing time than older classics from its catalog?

Both the Sacramento Athletics and the Los Angeles Dodgers have a third baseman with which name?

How many indoor smoking areas are there in the Zurich airport?

What is America’s favorite fast food chain?

What is the average distance between employees and their workplace?

The US June jobs report had something for everyone: On the one hand, non-farm payrolls rose by just ...

Luke Kawa

Markets Editor

 is surging in early trading after Bloomberg reported that the social media giant is planning to joi...

Did  do it?  Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fou...

Paige Oamek

Markets Reporter

Shares of  are surging after announcing an $8 billion acquisition of satellite communications operat...

Helena Cheng

Even though DC’s “Supergirl” marked another disappointing outing for the superhero genre that once r...

Tom Jones

Culture

 rose on the news that the telecom behemoth is spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky from its cable port...

Your inbox is ready

Subscribe and thrive

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that he would send a long-awaited housing bill to President T...

Personal Finance

The former memestock  surged on blowout earnings this week — and the bull case has nothing to do wit...

What is the most popular color of soccer cleats worn by players at World Cup opening matches?

According to eurochange’s Aperol Spritz Index, which city has the cheapest Aperol Spritz in Europe?

What is the cheapest US holiday destination by average plane fare?

What percentage of American adults use Amazon Prime?

The new chief financial officer and chief strategy officer of Wendy’s was previously the CFO of which chain?

Which country has the largest climate change “perception gap” (i.e., the difference between how they feel about climate change personally versus how they feel other citizens perceive climate change)?

Which film studio is Google investing $75 million in?

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together th...

Business

 might be the biggest stock in the world. But for Robinhood’s retail traders,  has become the most i...

From flipping burgers to being flipped by retail traders: It seems  may now be a meme stock? Shares ...

As the UK waved goodbye to one prime minister and waits expectantly to usher in a replacement who’ll...

World

The sharp selloff in South Korean stocks — with massive follow-through across US tech stocks on Tues...

 is investing roughly $75 million in independent film studio A24 as part of an AI partnership, accor...

How do you expand an advertising business that’s already grown almost 75% in the last year and doesn...

We’re starting to get to that stage of the year where the wintry dreams of sitting on a beach somewh...

__Butch Cassidy and the Crypto Kid...__ Crypto is traded 24/7 around the globe, without many rules to govern it. Many countries, including the US, want guardrails. Last week, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler [said](https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-will-police-cryptocurrencies-to-maximum-possible-extent-chair-gary-gensler-says-11628007567?mod=hp_lead_pos6) the Commission would try to maximize regulatory protection of the "Wild West" of crypto. Gensler [wants](https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-chief-gary-gensler-braces-for-clash-with-crypto-traders-11628164980) crypto to be regulated in the same way the SEC oversees securities (like: stocks, bonds).

- __What:__ Crypto markets and exchanges don't have the same controls and protections as the stock market. No single regulator oversees them.
- __Why:__ Many cryptocurrencies are classified as commodities, not securities. So, they're not under the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- __But:__ Gensler believes many cryptos function like unregistered securities – and should be SEC-regulated.

__The good, the bad, and the cryptic...__ The total market cap of cryptocurrencies skyrocketed this year, as coins like __Bitcoin__, __Ether__, and __Dogecoin__ gained mainstream appeal. That's also led to more volatility, crypto scams, and money laundering. Now, more countries are considering crypto regulation  — or are already enforcing it.

- __The SEC wants to protect__ crypto investors against fraud and manipulation. That could mean crypto becomes less anonymous — and more regulated.
- __The EU already proposed tightening rules__ on crypto transfers to make sure they're traceable. Meanwhile, India is considering a crypto ban.

__TBD...__  Because of its limited purview, the SEC’s strategy has centered on suing token sellers case-by-case. Gensler is calling on US lawmakers to grant the SEC more power to oversee the industry. But regulation could take years.


_The "Wild West" of crypto [YinYang/E+ via GettyImages]_

Western

__The Crypto Paradox has arrived...__ Crypto's unregulated, decentralized, and hard-to-trace nature is core to its identity. Some enthusiasts want it to stay that way. But Gensler and some companies believe crypto's survival *depends* on regulation. Gensler says that just like traffic lights and speed limits helped make cars mainstream, oversight could boost trust in crypto and allow it to grow. Still, we don't know whether regulation might happen — or what it might look like if it does.


Crypto’s “Wild West” — what regulation could mean for retail investors and the industry 

__Delta rising...__ As the Delta variant spreads, Covid [restrictions](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/5VqzV6kar5QHk6GFrWlah5/articles/3RbYhJD44eODlWoQm6lpsX/) are cropping back up. The CDC recommended re-masking indoors. Half of California is back under mandatory indoor mask mandates, and NYC is requiring proof of vax status for some indoor activities. Meanwhile, __[Home Depot](https://robinhood.com/stocks/HD)__, __[McDonald’s](https://robinhood.com/stocks/MCD)__, and __[Target](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TGT)__ are requiring many workers to mask up again. The chances of more lockdowns are low, but investors are worried Delta will slow the recovery.

__Weird sitch...__ The US unemployment rate is 5.9% — nearly double pre-pandemic levels. But there are still more jobs than job seekers, and employers are struggling to hire. Some reasons workers aren't returning: Covid fears, child care needs, and boosted unemployment benefits. Now, companies are doing more to sweeten the pot. __[Target](https://robinhood.com/stocks/TGT)__ and __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT)__ will pay 100% of college tuition for their workers. And __[CVS](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CVS)__ is boosting its minimum wage over the next year to $15.


Zoom Out

Stories we're watching...

__Zooming in from the forest cabin...__ __[Airbnb](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ABNB)__ has been resilient during the pandemic by embracing the work-from-anywhere life. It [added](https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/airbnb-just-made-a-huge-announcement-that-could-completely-change-travel-industry-heres-why-its-brilliant.html?utm_source=pocket_discover) a new feature that allows renters to search for flexible dates and destinations — including boats, farms, and shipping containers (?). Last quarter, Airbnb's sales even [beat](https://news.airbnb.com/airbnb-first-quarter-2021-financial-results/) *pre*-pandemic levels, as you staycationed in a yurt. We'll see if that favorable trend continues when Airbnb drops earnings on Thursday.

__Related to a Spanish king...__ That's cool to learn. But it could be life-saving to learn your chances of getting Alzheimer’s. __[23andMe](https://robinhood.com/stocks/ME)__ drops earnings on Friday — its first checkup as a public company. Shares of the home DNA testing company have plunged 20% since its February IPO, as fewer people bought its ancestry and health kits. But it’s building a longer-term revenue stream: partnering with pharma companies like __Genentech__ and __[GlaxoSmithKline](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GSK)__ to develop drugs with its trove of genetic data.  


Last week's highlights...

Get Your News

Subscribe and thrive

Latest Stories