Techmeme
March 3, 2022, 2:35 PM

Top News

Andrew Rummer / The Block:
Ukraine's Mykhailo Fedorov abruptly cancels the government's crypto airdrop plan, saying the country will instead sell NFTs “to support Ukrainian Armed Forces”  —  Ukraine's government abruptly canceled its planned crypto airdrop and said it would instead sell NFTs to raise funds following last week's Russian invasion.
Scott Chipolina / Decrypt:
Elliptic: crypto users have donated $50M+ to Ukraine across 89K+ assets since February 26; the government's wallet addresses show $10M in BTC and $16M in ETH  —  The Ukrainian crypto crowdfunding effort has now exceeded $50 million, through almost 90,000 separate donations.
Olga Kharif / Bloomberg:
A group of 35 former employees at crypto startup incubator ConsenSys alleges serious asset transfer “irregularities” in a Swiss court, and demands an audit  —  A group of former employees of the ConsenSys AG is alleging “serious irregularities” at the startup incubator that owns …
MK Manoylov / The Block:
MetaMask users in Venezuela say they can't access the crypto wallet; a support page says MetaMask and Infura services are unavailable “due to legal compliance”  —  Users of MetaMask based in Venezuela say they can no longer access the popular digital asset wallet.
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
Analysis: Twitch has lost at least six executives alongside 60+ employees during 2022; sources say Twitch is losing touch with its core focus on streamers  —  Twitch, the popular site where people go to watch other people play video games, has lost at least six top employees since the beginning of the year …
New York Times:
A look at Friends With Benefits, an a16z-backed DAO with a buzz-fueled social club, which attracts artists and investors but faces problems with its elitism  —  Friends With Benefits is a V.I.P. lounge for crypto's creative class.  Is it empty hype or the future of friendship?
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Prominent open source advocate Miguel de Icaza is leaving Microsoft, which he joined in 2016 when it acquired Xamarin  —  Former Xamarin cofounder Miguel de Icaza is leaving Microsoft, the company he joined through acquisition just over six years ago.  —  Well-known open source advocate …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter will expand its Birdwatch fact-checking feature to “a small and randomized” set of US users for feedback, after testing it since January 2021  —  Twitter says it's expanding access to Birdwatch, its community-based fact-checking initiative first revealed in October 2020.
Anita Ramaswamy / TechCrunch:
Lido, which has an estimated 80%+ market share in Ethereum liquid staking, raises $70M from Andreessen Horowitz; assets staked on Lido are worth $10B+  —  The world's most-used blockchain, Ethereum, is switching to a new validation system this summer called proof-of-stake (PoS).
Thomas Claburn / The Register:
Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal:
Google Maps and Tripadvisor block users from posting reviews to some listings in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus after activists used them to share Ukraine news  —  Alphabet Inc.'s Google Maps and the travel search platform Tripadvisor Inc. temporarily blocked users from posting new reviews …
David Yaffe-Bellany / New York Times:
A look at anonymity in crypto, as some VCs back founders without learning their names and pseudonymous entrepreneurs control hundreds of millions of dollars  —  Investors give money to pseudonymous developers.  Venture capitalists back founders without learning their real names.
Joseph Cox / VICE:
The GitHub repository for Meta's open source library React is being spammed with anti-US and anti-Ukrainian comments in English and Mandarin  —  “False liberty and democracy make me sick!” one message written in Mandarin reads.  —  Joseph Cox  —  The Github repository for React …
Eli Tan / CoinDesk:
Some OpenSea users with Iran-based IP addresses say their accounts were terminated on Thursday, likely due to US sanctions against the Iranian government  —  Twitter users complained about their accounts being deactivated without notice.  —  OpenSea users with Iran-based internet protocol addresses …
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Google tells staff in the Bay Area and other US locations to return to physical offices three days a week starting on April 4, in a shift to a hybrid work model  —  - Google told employees on Wednesday that it expects them to begin returning to physical offices April 4.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify closes its office in Russia “indefinitely” and removes all content from RT and Sputnik in the EU and other markets, except for Russia  —  Spotify has taken several steps in response to Russia's military attack on Ukraine, including closing its offices in Russia “indefinitely.”
MIT Technology Review:
An investigation details Operation Safety Net, a sprawling surveillance operation in Minnesota to track protesters and journalists after George Floyd's murder  —  An investigation by MIT Technology Review reveals a sprawling, technologically sophisticated system in Minnesota designed for closely monitoring protesters.

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Earlier Picks

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Jordan Novet / CNBC: