What the Shell… Environmental-law firm ClientEarth is suing 11 members of Shell's board, alleging that the oil behemoth has failed in its duty to manage climate risk. It’s a first-of-a-kind suit because individuals are being sued — and comes on the heels of Shell reporting a record $40B annual profit. ClientEarth (a Shell investor) said the board’s failed to implement a suitable energy-transition strategy, yet Shell said it does "not accept" the allegations. Last year its renewables spend was less than half of what it dropped on extracting fossil fuels.
A stake through the heart… Crypto exchange Kraken agreed to pay a $30M fine and end its staking program, which let people lock up crypto as collateral and earn yield. The SEC said the program amounted to the sale of unregistered securities (aka: a big no-no). Coinbase — whose own staking program has been a rapidly growing source of revenue — said it has no plans to abandon staking. The issue may soon come to a head: ethereum's upcoming Shanghai hard fork is set to make staking more attractive to investors.