Author: GT

The worst fears for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, are coming true, and that has raised the risk of bitcoin (BTC) falling below $74,000 in a move that could shake out leveraged long bets. On Sunday, CoinDesk discussed the possibility of pronounced downside volatility in risk assets due to a potential unwinding of the Treasury market arbitrage bets, a dynamic that catalyzed the 2020 crash. Per observers, the unwinding of the so-called carry trades, involving hedge funds exploiting minor price discrepancies between Treasury futures and securities, has begun. That’s evident from the nearly 70 basis points rise in the U.S. 10-year…

Oil containers are seen in a field on April 07, 2025 in Yorktown, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesU.S. crude oil futures fell more than 6% on Wednesday, as China slapped retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. after President Donald Trump’s sweeping levies took effect. The U.S. benchmark dropped $4.01, or 6.7%, to $55.57 per barrel by 7:53 a.m. ET. Global benchmark Brent tumbled $4.04, or 6.4%, to $58.78.The oil sell-off took a leg lower after Beijing announced tariffs of 84% on U.S. goods in response to Trump’s levies. China’s tariffs take effect on April 10.Traders are worried the world is descending…

Rain, a startup offering an employer-integrated earned wage access (EWA) app coupled with financial-wellness features like overdraft alerts and spending trends, has raised $75 million in an all-equity Series B round. The round was led by Prosus at a post-money valuation of $340 million. Rain plans to use the new funds to help it add credit card and saving products to its roster, co-founder CEO Alex Bradford, exclusively tells TechCrunch. Around 35% of households in the U.S. with an annual income below $50,000 are living paycheck to paycheck, up from 32% in 2019, per a report (PDF) by Bank of…

Cryptocurrencies can be a wild ride. But many patient investors have made a killing by sticking around for the long term. So far in 2025, the values of most major cryptocurrencies have taken a nosedive. But if you’re willing to look beyond the current volatility, it’s possible to lock in attractive valuations that could make you look like a genius many years from now. Don’t know where to start? The two crypto ETFs below have you covered. Suppose you want to get instant exposure to Bitcoin — the most valuable and well-known cryptocurrency in the world — but don’t necessarily…

Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous vehicle unit, is deploying a small fleet of retrofitted test vehicles on the streets of Los Angeles starting Tuesday — a modest, yet meaningful step as the company inches toward offering public rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year.  The data-collection effort marks Zoox’s entrance into its sixth city and lays the groundwork for a future robotaxi service. Unlike rival Waymo, which is already providing paid robotaxi rides in LA, Zoox is still in the early stages. This deployment will send out manually driven Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox’s self-driving tech to gather mapping…

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) isn’t as safe as holding cash when economic times get tough. As a cryptocurrency, it’s volatile, and it’s nearly impossible to use it to buy something you might actually need, like a burrito. But, in the case of how the economy will respond to the tariffs proposed by the Trump administration, it could be a very good asset to have on hand, especially if you’re worried about your purchasing power getting eroded. Here’s why. Before getting into how Bitcoin could be a useful investment in the context of new tariffs in the U.S., it’s necessary to learn…

If you’re reading this, consider it your signal: The opportunity to influence the future of tech is here. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is now accepting speaker applications. Join us onstage this October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco and share your ideas with 10,000+ tech leaders, VCs, and innovators shaping what’s next. Apply to speak at Disrupt 2025 We’re on the hunt for sharp minds to guide interactive breakout sessions and real-talk roundtables on the topics that keep founders and tech leaders up at night. If that sounds like you, don’t wait — apply to speak at Disrupt 2025 before…

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is often grouped together with risk assets like growth stocks in the minds of careful investors. Under that logic, if there’s a bear market for stocks, and the sentiment causes major players to flip to being risk-off from risk-on, Bitcoin is more likely to tumble than hold steady, just like other assets that are purchased for their upside potential rather than for their sturdiness. So does that mean you shouldn’t buy Bitcoin if there’s trouble in the stock market? Far from it. In fact, you might want to buy even more, so let’s look into why. To…

Alibaba Cloud has expanded its AI portfolio for global customers with a raft of new models, platform enhancements, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tools. The announcements, made during its Spring Launch 2025 online event, underscore the drive by Alibaba to accelerate AI innovation and adoption on a global scale. The digital technology and intelligence arm of Alibaba is focusing on meeting increasing demand for AI-driven digital transformation worldwide. Selina Yuan, President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said: “We are launching a series of Platform-as-a-Service（PaaS) and AI capability updates to meet the growing demand for digital transformation from across the globe.…

U.S. President Donald Trump with Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, at the start of the Group of 20 summit on 28 June 2019.Bernd von Jutrczenka | picture alliance | Getty ImagesDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The wealthy Arab Gulf states are in a better position than many other regions of the world to manage the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, economists and regional investors say. But a shaky outlook for the price of oil could put some countries’ budgets and spending projects at risk.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar…