 Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss | Image: ADAM JEFFERY/CNBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK/GETTY IMAGES. Crypto exchange platform Gemini Trust announced on Thursday that it is laying off about 10% of its staff. The company was founded by the Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, in 2014. This is the company’s first layoff since its founding, pointing to the recent downturn in the crypto market as well as broader macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges. More: - Gemini was last valued at $7.1B in November when it raised $400M in new funding.
- According to Pitchbook, the company has 1,033 people on its payroll, meaning the layoffs will impact about 100 employees.
- Gemini said it closed its physical offices today to protect the privacy of staff members impacted by the layoffs.
- A company-wide standup is scheduled for Friday to discuss the future.
In related news: - Coinbase announced it will extend its hiring freeze for both new and backfill roles for the foreseeable future.
- The company also said it will rescind some accepted offers.
- Coinbase pointed to current market conditions and its ongoing business prioritization efforts.
- The company initially announced its hiring freeze two weeks ago, stating it wanted to prioritize its hiring needs against the business’ highest priorities.
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 Nathaniel Chastain | Image: OpenSea/International Business Times Former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain was arrested and charged with insider trading on Wednesday. The NFT marketplace’s former head of product faces one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Chastain is accused of using confidential information about what NFTs would be featured on the platform’s homepage for his personal financial gain. Chastain reportedly made a total profit of 18.875 ETH from the scheme, approximately $34,500 at today’s price. More: - This is the first time the DOJ has pursued an insider trading charge involving digital assets.
- Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
- While working at OpenSea, Chastain oversaw the selection of NFTs to be featured on the platform’s homepage.
- A homepage feature usually meant a price increase for the featured NFT and other NFTs made by the creator.
- Chastain is accused of secretly buying NFTs just before they were featured on OpenSea’s homepage.
- He would then turn around and sell them for two to five times his original purchase price.
- Chastain used anonymous digital currency wallets and accounts on OpenSea to hide his actions.
- These actions occurred dozens of times between June and Sept. 2021 before it was discovered and exposed by the Twitter account @0xZuwu
- Discussing the charges, U.S. Attorney Damian William said that NFTs might be new, but this type of criminal activity is not.
- Williams added that the office of the DOJ is committed to fighting insider trading, whether on the stock market or on the blockchain.
- Following the discovery of the scheme, Chastain was fired, and OpenSea has implemented two employee policies.
- Employees are prohibited from buying or selling from collections or creators while their NFT is featured or promoted on its homepage.
- Employees are prohibited from using confidential information to buy or sell any NFTs, whether available on OpenSea’s platform or not.
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OPEC+ has agreed to accelerate its oil output for July and August following months of pressure from the U.S. and other nations as oil prices reached record highs. The group met on Thursday and agreed to increase oil production by about 650,000 barrels a day for both months, up from the originally planned 400,000 barrels a day increase. More: - The group has been slowly returning the nearly 10 million barrels a day it pulled from the market in April 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, which saw a massive drop in oil demand.
- Oil prices fell on news of the increased output. Brent crude traded as low as $112 a barrel, down from over $120 a barrel reported earlier this week.
- White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration welcomed OPEC+’s announcement and recognized the role of Saudi Arabia in achieving a consensus amongst the group members.
- The next OPEC+ meeting is scheduled for June 30.
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Twenty-six leading computer scientists and technologists have signed a letter addressed to U.S. lawmakers criticizing crypto investments and blockchain technology. The group includes Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza, and Google Cloud engineer Kelsey Hightower. The group say they are counter-lobbying the efforts crypto advocates are making to resist attempts to regulate the sector. More: - The letter notes that claims made by blockchain advocates are false and that blockchains are not secure or decentralized.
- Schneier said any system where a forgotten password means you lose your life savings is not a safe system.
- According to the U.S. Congressional Lobbying Disclosure database, crypto industry lobbyists have increased from 115 to 320 from 2018 to 2021.
- Money spent on lobbying for the crypto sector also grew from $2.2M to $9M in the same period.
- Coinbase topped the list with 26 lobbyists and $1.5M on lobbying in 2021.
- The group urges lawmakers to resist pressure from digital asset industry financiers, lobbyists, and boosters, who they claim want to create a regulatory safe haven for risky, flawed, and unproven digital financial instruments.
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 A message from YOTPO Email and SMS are better together. If you’re still relying on just one channel for your mobile marketing communications, it’s time to diversify. When asked where they would like to receive exclusive offers, discounts, or promotions from a brand: - 34% of consumers said via both email and SMS
- 32% said email only
- 30% said text only
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Elon Musk has asked Tesla employees to return to the office or leave the company. In an email to staff members, the CEO said they must spend a minimum of 40 hours a week in their respective offices, adding this is less than what the company asks of its factory workers. Musk noted that senior staff, in particular, should be visible to employees. A separate similar email was reportedly sent to SpaceX staff members. More: - In the email to Tesla staff, Musk referenced the time the EV maker was struggling to meet its production deadlines in 2018, and he decided to sleep in Tesla’s Fremont, California, factory to address the issues more readily.
- Musk added that there are companies that do not require a physical presence in an office, and these companies haven’t shipped a great new product in a while.
- Musk said Tesla will create the most exciting and meaningful product on Earth, and this cannot happen by “phoning it in.”
- Musk added that employees that do not show up would be assumed to have resigned from the company.
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 Rimac Concept One | Image: Rimac SoftBank and Goldman Sachs have invested in Croatian EV maker and technology company Rimac. The firms participated in a €500M ($537M) funding round for Rimac, giving the company a €2B ($2.15B) valuation. Rimac was founded in 2009 and has grown into one of the most sought-after technology providers in the auto industry. Other participants in the funding round include Porsche and Investindustrial. More: - Rimac plans to use the new fund to expand its Technology arm and its self-driving robotaxi business.
- Founder Mate Rimac said the company has been developing its self-driving robotaxi for the past three years and hopes it will be operational in 2024.
- Rimac added the business could be bigger than anything the company has done so far.
- Rimac developed eight high-performance Concept One cars priced at €1.2M ($1.3M) each to promote its brand.
- The company’s first mainstream model car, the Nevera, begins deliveries this summer. It retails for €2M ($2.15M)
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Quick Hits - Find out which of these types of partnerships 110 executives preferred the most in the survey results.*
- Microsoft cut its revenue and earnings guidance for the current quarter, pointing to the impact of foreign exchange rates. The company now expects between $51.94B and $52.74B in sales, down from $52.4B and $53.2B for its fiscal Q4, which ends June 30. For EPS, it now expects between $2.24 and $2.32, down from $2.28-$2.35.
- Ford plans to invest $3.7B throughout the U.S. Midwest. The automaker will invest $2B across three of its assembly plans in Michigan, $1.5B across three plants in Ohio, and $95M in a Missouri factory. The company also plans to add about 6,200 United Auto Workers union jobs.
- Cannabis companies are experimenting in VR using the metaverse to set up storefronts, promote their products, and sell real-life merchandise as well as NFTs.
- Asoka Woehrmann, the CEO of asset management group DWS, has resigned from the firm following a raid by German police at the company’s Frankfurt offices. Woehrmann has served as CEO of the Deutsche Bank subsidiary since 2018. He will be succeeded by Deutsche Bank’s current head of corporate bank, Stefan Hoops.
- Head of Ernest & Young’s U.S. business Kelly Grier has resigned from the Big Four accounting firm following a power struggle with the firm’s global chief executive, Carmine Di Sibio. According to people familiar with the matter, the two disagreed on how much the U.S. firm, which is the largest in EY’s international operations, should pay to fund EY Global. Last month, it was reported that EY is considering splitting its auditing and advisory businesses.
- In a recent survey, 70% of respondents said their employment records more accurately reflect their ability to repay than their credit score.*
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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