💥SpaceX Starship Explodes

☀️ Good morning. It's Friday, Jun. 20, and we're covering, China Floods Brazil With Cheap EVs, Triggering Job Loss Fears, SpaceX Starship Explodes In Fiery Setback To Musk’s Mars Dream, Trump Can Keep Using National Guard In Los Angeles For Now, and much more. First time reading? Sign up to get this newsletter: Sign up here.

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MARKETS

Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap

• The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $3.26 Trillion, a 0.07% increase in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $80.18B, which makes a 27.25% decrease.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $29.45B, 36.72% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $77.38B, which is 96.50% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 64.11%, an increase of 0.06% over the day.

Altcoins Slide As Trump Threatens Iran Strikes; Traders Flee To Bitcoin And Stablecoins

As President Trump threatens potential military action against Iran, investors are shifting capital out of riskier altcoins and into safer bets like stablecoins and bitcoin. Ether, Solana, Cardano, and XRP all dropped more than 1%, while DOGE is down over 10% for the week, erasing its early June rally. Meanwhile, spot bitcoin ETFs saw $389 million in inflows on Wednesday, reflecting strong demand for relatively safer crypto exposure amid macro uncertainty. Spot ether ETFs saw $19 million in inflows.(Read Deeper)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

China Floods Brazil With Cheap EVs, Triggering Job Loss Fears

A tidal wave of low-cost Chinese electric vehicles is hitting Brazil’s shores — and sparking alarm. BYD, China’s EV juggernaut, is leading the charge, shipping over 22,000 vehicles to Brazil this year alone as part of a broader surge in Chinese car exports. But the influx is raising red flags for Brazil’s domestic auto industry. Local carmakers and unions warn that China is exploiting Brazil’s temporarily low tariffs and EV incentives to dump vehicles without investing in local production.

Why It Matters: China’s EV push into Brazil could threaten thousands of local manufacturing jobs. Over 80% of Brazil’s electric cars now come from Chinese brands. BYD’s factory launch in Bahia, once hailed as a green investment win — is delayed to 2026. (Read Deeper)

EU Probes Elon Musk’s X After $33B xAI Deal Amid Digital Services Act Scrutiny

The European Union is investigating corporate changes at Elon Musk’s X following its acquisition by xAI in a $33 billion deal. EU regulators say they’re monitoring X’s structure under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which governs how major tech platforms operate in Europe. While the European Commission hasn’t confirmed reports of a looming fine, Bloomberg says penalties could come before the EU’s August recess. The DSA allows for fines up to 6% of global turnover — or even bans — for serious or repeated violations.

Why It Matters: The EU is turning up pressure on Elon Musk’s platform. Potential fine could cost X hundreds of millions of dollars. If found in violation, X risks losing access to European markets. (Read Deeper)

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

SpaceX Starship Explodes In Fiery Setback To Musk’s Mars Dream

SpaceX’s 400-foot Starship rocket exploded in a fireball during ground testing at the company’s Starbase site in Texas — the latest failure in a string of high-stakes mishaps this year. SpaceX blamed a “major anomaly” and said all staff were safe. Musk later added that a nitrogen pressure vessel may have failed — potentially a first for the component’s design. It’s the 10th test and follows several explosive failures in flight, including one in May when Starship spun out midair, and another in March that scattered debris over the Caribbean.

Takeaways: The incident is a blow to SpaceX’s Mars mission, as Starship is central to Musk’s vision of making humanity multiplanetary. The FAA previously halted Starship tests after earlier failures. Billions are on the line in what’s arguably Musk’s most ambitious project. (Read Deeper)

Meta Tried to Buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32B AI Startup, Now It’s Hiring The CEO Instead

After a failed $32 billion acquisition attempt for Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence, Meta is now hiring the startup’s co-CEO Daniel Gross and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. Both will join Meta’s AI team under newly hired Alexandr Wang, as part of Zuckerberg’s $14.3 billion AI talent offensive. The move gives Meta partial ownership of Gross and Friedman’s VC firm, NFDG — a backer of Character.AI, CoreWeave, and Perplexity.

Why It Matters: Meta wanted to buy the whole company now it’s settling for the talent. Meta has reportedly been dangling 9-figure signing bonuses to lure top AI engineers. This move echoes Microsoft’s poaching of Mustafa Suleyman and OpenAI’s deal with Jony Ive. Bringing in Wang, Gross, and Friedman is Zuckerberg’s bet on changing that. (Read Deeper)

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

Trump Can Keep Using National Guard In Los Angeles For Now, Appeals Court Rules

A federal appeals court has handed President Trump a legal win — allowing him to continue deploying National Guard troops in Los Angeles amid ongoing protests. The ruling temporarily blocks a lower court’s order that would’ve forced Trump to return control of the Guard to California. While the court found Trump likely acted lawfully under federal statutes, it rejected his legal team's sweeping claim that the president’s actions are beyond judicial review. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the move a “power grab,” vowed to continue the fight, saying “the president is not a king.”

Why It Matters: Court allows Guard to stay deployed for now. Case challenges the president’s power to federalize state troops without consent. Sets up a possible showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court. (Read Deeper)

Telegram’s Founder Pavel Durov Plans To Leave $13.9 Billion Fortune To 100+ Children

Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed he has more than 100 children, and they will all inherit his multibillion-dollar fortune. Speaking to Le Point, Durov, 40, said he recently drafted a will stipulating that his wealth — currently valued at $13.9 billion — will be split equally among his children in 30 years. The eccentric billionaire says he has six biological children with three partners, and fathered 100+ more via sperm donations over the past 15 years.

Why It Matters: Durov is possibly one of the most prolific modern donors of genetic material among billionaires. His inheritance plan aims to prevent future infighting by granting equal rights to all offspring. (Read Deeper)

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

PSG Stunned, Atlético Bounce Back, Messi Magic Lifts Miami

The Club World Cup delivered shocks and brilliance overnight. Paris Saint-Germain suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Brazil's Botafogo, with Igor Jesus scoring the winner. Luis Enrique’s rotated squad struggled to respond, marking their first loss of the tournament. Elsewhere, Atlético Madrid revived their campaign with a convincing 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders, powered by a Pablo Barrios brace and a goal from Axel Witsel. Lionel Messi turned back time with a trademark free-kick as Inter Miami edged Porto 2-1, continuing their fairytale run. (Read Deeper)

Pacers Force Game 7 As Thunder Falter In NBA Finals

The Indiana Pacers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, forcing a decisive Game 7 for the first time since 2016. Obi Toppin dropped 20 points off the bench, while Tyrese Haliburton returned from injury to contribute 14 points and 5 assists in just 22 minutes. The Pacers dominated early, capitalizing on Oklahoma City’s 0-for-8 shooting start, and never looked back. (Read Deeper)

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• Terence Tao: Hardest Problems in Mathematics, Physics & the Future of AI. (Listen)

EXTRA BREVITI

• President Trump has pushed back the deadline for TikTok’s forced sale or ban in the U.S. by another 90 days. (Read More)

• Google Faces Major EU Setback in $5B Android Antitrust Battle. (Read More)

• Google has admitted it's using YouTube’s vast video library to train AI models like Gemini and Veo 3, and many creators say they had no idea. (Read More)

• The Israel-Iran air conflict entered its second week Friday, with 639 Iranians and over two dozen Israelis killed. (Read More)