Welcome to Tech Beat, your daily look at the stories shaping our digital world.
Ryan Breslow is making a last-ditch effort to rescue Bolt, the checkout startup that once carried an eleven billion dollar valuation. Breslow is raising up to twenty-seven million dollars in pay-to-play bridge funding, putting in five million of his own money — a signal that outside confidence in the company remains thin.
Turning to Washington, former regulators from the SEC and CFTC are pushing for a lighter hand on crypto derivatives, warning that overly strict rules will keep a ninety trillion dollar perpetuals market operating offshore and out of reach of American oversight. With the Clarity Act stalled in congressional recess, the pressure on agencies to act independently is mounting.
And President Trump is weighing in on the growing backlash against data center construction across the country. Posting on Truth Social, he argued that communities rejecting these facilities, quote, want to end up being backwards and poor, and suggested China is pleased with the resistance — framing local land-use disputes as a matter of national competitiveness in artificial intelligence.
Three very different stories, one common thread: power, money, and who gets to decide the rules. Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
