GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
This is why China finally halted its bitcoin boom: Chinese authorities have tried to ban cryptocurrencies many times before. This time, it’s different.
Wired
+ The reasons for China’s increasingly severe bans on crypto range from its role as a vehicle for money laundering and smuggling, to environmental pollution and the intensive electricity used in mining for bitcoin.
Meanwhile in India, a sixth of urban Indians are investors in cryptocurrency: Quartz reports India’s cryptocurrency craze could be set to grab a bigger share of the investment pie. According to a survey conducted by consulting firm Kantar, 19% of urban Indians intend to invest in virtual tokens in the next six months. Those who claim to currently own cryptocurrency—16%—mostly fall in the age bracket of 21-35, and live in metro cities. Teenagers are also investing.
France’s fiasco in the Sahel: France’s war in Mali failed to address core political problems and brought chaos, with jihadist groups operating across the region. Will a military pull-out avert the humiliation the US experienced in Afghanistan?
Le Monde diplomatique
POLITICS
The West is the author of its own weakness: China presents a threat to the liberal global order but the bigger danger lies in the discrediting of democracy.
Philip Stephens
DISRUPTION
Electric cars have hit an inflection point: One sign EVs are no longer the auto industry’s neglected stepchild? Norway could sell its last gas-powered car as soon as next year.
Robinson Meyer
COMMERCE
No more apologies: Inside Facebook’s push to defend its image: Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, has signed off on an effort to show users pro-Facebook stories and to distance himself from scandals.
NYT
As more workers go solo, the software stack is the new firm
Future
Global IB exam chief: How jazz provides lessons in management: The International Baccalaureate’s Olli-Pekka Heinonen believes that leadership centers on implementation, not strategy.
FT
CULTURE
Catching the waves of creativity: Time does not equal productivity when working from home.
Muzli
Could thru-hiking Colorado’s fourteeners become a thing? Pawel Szafruga recently did the unthinkable by summiting all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in a single thru-hike. Will others follow?
Outside
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