🕸️ Web3, untangled

Charlotte's Web3… is tangly. By now, the term "Web3" has been thrown out by techies more times than “Gucci” at Fashion Week. The Silicon Valley buzzword refers to a conceptual internet of the future that runs on public blockchains. Refresher: Web1 was the disjointed era of AOL and static GeoCities pages. Web2 is the now, dominated by Big Tech. Web3 is still a vision, but can be loosely defined as:

• Decentralized: Instead of accessing the web through services controlled by titans like Google and Facebook, Web3 would feature new services owned by their users.
• Unified: By recording your activity in “crypto Sharpie” on a blockchain, Web3 could let us carry our data around and bounce between sites with one "account" (scrap the 50 logins).
• Direct: Blockchain tech could allow for more direct online transactions and interactions, without Big Tech intermediaries.

Googling "how to Web3"... sooo not Web3. In theory, decentralized payments and publicly owned social sites could eliminate some revenue for companies like Google, PayPal, and Meta (fka Facebook). In October, VC heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz launched a Web3 lobbying campaign in DC, promoting it as a solution to tech monopolies. Cryptos, NFTs, and DeFi apps will be crucial parts of any Web3 future:

• DeFi: Decentralized finance apps replace financial mediators like banks, powering direct transactions via blockchain.
• NFTs: Web3 could form the basis for a marketplace to exchange everything from digital art to Nikes through non-fungible tokens.
• Voting: Web3 features could empower communal platform decisions. Reddit is exploring letting users share ownership of communities with tokens accrued by posting.

The opioid saga continues... And now pharmacies are center stage. Last week, two Ohio counties ruled that CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart enabled the opioid epidemic — which has killed 500K+ Americans — by allowing opioid over-prescription. The verdict will likely lead to more fines for pharmacy giants. Leading drugmakers are already being held accountable: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma was slapped with $8.3B in penalties for fraudulent marketing, while Johnson & Johnson and opioid distributors McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen also face a $26B settlement.

The inflation situation... Consumer prices jumped the most in 31 years last month. Three-quarters of Americans say they’re feeling the pinch, and more than half blame President Biden, knocking his approval rating to an all-time low of 41%. But high prices haven’t stopped US consumers from splurging, and holiday spending’s expected to hit a record $860B. Analysts expect inflation to stay high for years, so Biden’s stepping in. Last week, he tapped into national oil reserves to lower gas prices and renominated Fed Chair Jerome Powell, hoping he’ll fight surging prices.

Task board is stacked… with nothing checked off. Software company Asana is a one-stop shop for online project management with 100K+ paying customers worldwide. Asana's revenue tripled to $90M last quarter as corporate customers more than doubled, which helped it notch a $20B market cap. Now Asana is focused on expanding its business overseas and growing partnerships with companies like Zoom and Vimeo. We’ll see whether that boosted Asana’s sales when it reports on Wednesday.

Help (still) wanted... even as people flock back to work. After the pandemic triggered millions of layoffs, the job market is heating up again. Last week, the number of Americans claiming jobless benefits hit its lowest level in more than 50 years. October hiring surged as bars, restaurants, and hotels rushed to staff up despite an ongoing labor shortage — which hasn’t been cheap. Retailers are hiking wages and offering free tuition to snag employees. We'll see how the labor rebound is faring when the November jobs report drops on Friday.

• Bitcity: El Salvador plans to build a volcano-powered "Bitcoin City," funded by the first government-issued “Bitcoin bonds” — but its crypto moves could be economically implosive.
• DPF: Zoom shares plunged last week after it reported slowing sales growth. It’s not the only WFH winner suffering from the “demand pulled forward” effect.
• Swipe: Tinder and Hinge owner Match Group launched a human-matchmaking subscription as swipe-fatigued singles look for love beyond algorithms.

• Shop: What inflation means for the busy holiday season. Americans are salty over rising prices, but they’re still ready to splurge $1K on gifts and decorations.
• Learn: More women than men are going to college (three women for every two men), and the decades-long trend could reshape the economy.
• Scrape: Desperate parents are turning to shopping bots to scour retail sites for hard-to-find gifts, from PS5s to CoComelon plushies.

• Monday: Cyber Monday
• Tuesday: Giving Tuesday. Earnings expected from Salesforce, Zscaler, GlobalFoundries, NetApp, Box, and Allbirds
• Wednesday: Earnings expected from Snowflake, CrowdStrike, Okta, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Royal Bank of Canada
• Thursday: Weekly jobless claims. Earnings expected from TD Bank, Dollar General, DocuSign, Kroger, Asana, Smith & Wesson Brands
• Friday: Earnings expected from Big Lots and Dole. November jobs report.

Authors of this Snacks own: Bitcoin, and shares of Google, Apple, Match, Twitter, Amazon, Walmart, Vimeo, and CVS

ID: 1936948