Daily Crunch: WhatsApp launches payments
WhatsApp is adding support for in-app payments, Apple is upgrading the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro desktop and we argue about the future of startup hubs. Here’s your Daily Crunch…
WhatsApp finally launches payments, starting in Brazil
After months of talks and trials, WhatsApp has finally pulled the trigger on payments in its app. Today the Facebook-owned messaging service announced that users in Brazil would be the…
4 views on the future of retail and the shopping experience
The global spread of COVID-19 and resulting orders to shelter in place have hit retailers hard. As the pandemic drags on, temporary halts are becoming permanent closures, whether it’s the…
Instagram founder launches gift card site for quarantined restaurants
Coronavirus quarantines are hurting local businesses, but Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger wants to help them keep revenue rolling in. Krieger and his wife Kaitlyn this week launched SaveOurFaves, a directory…
Shopify joins Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra Association
After eBay, Visa, Stripe, and other high-profile partners ditched the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency collective, Libra scored a win today with the addition of Shopify. The ecommerce platform will become a member…
Ever Loved’s funeral marketplace undercuts undertakers
Fifty percent of families are scared they can’t cover the cost of a funeral. They end up overpaying because no one wants to comparison shop amidst a tragedy. That’s why…
Snackpass snags $21M to let you earn friends free takeout
“We were in the back washing blenders so they could keep taking Snackpass orders,” recalls co-founder and CEO Kevin Tan. The team from order-ahead food startup Snackpass was willing to…
Facebook’s Libra code chugs along ignoring regulatory deadlock
“5 months and growing strong” the Libra Association announced today in a post about its technical infrastructure that completely omits the fierce regulatory backlash to its cryptocurrency. Forty wallets, tools…
Facebook staff demand Zuckerberg limit lies in political ads
Submit campaign ads to fact checking, limit microtargeting, cap spending, observe silence periods or at least warn users. These are the solutions Facebook employees put forward in an open letter…
Lowlights from Zuckerberg’s Libra testimony in Congress
“I don’t control Libra” was the central theme of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony today in Congress. The House of Representatives unleashed critiques of his approach to cryptocurrency, privacy, encryption…