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Good morning, Coin Discoverers!

CRYPTO

• BTC: $68,036.00 (-2.10%) YTD (+54.03%)

• ETH: $3,591.65 (-2.02%) YTD (+52.66%)

• BNB: $623.12 (-0.15%) YTD (+98.51%)

*Crypto numbers as of 5:00 am EST on June 11th

Farcaster: Boom to Bust?

In late May, Farcaster announced it raised $150 million, with Paradigm leading the round and other notable crypto venture firms participating. This came after reports in March that the decentralized social media platform was aiming for a $1 billion valuation.

Farcaster's timing for raising funds was ideal, following a surge in popularity after launching the Frames feature in late January. This feature enabled users to embed interactive experiences, such as games, movies, NFT minting, and instant checkout, directly within posts, enhancing engagement on the platform.

DeFi Giant Bolsters Defense

Uniswap Labs has appointed Katherine Minarik, a former legal executive from Coinbase, as its new Chief Legal Officer. The company's stock, UNI, has risen by 0.080%, amidst expectations of a legal confrontation with U.S. federal regulators.

Katherine Minarik, the new Chief Legal Officer at the startup behind Uniswap, assumed her position on Monday, as she announced on X. Her appointment follows a signal from the Securities and Exchange Commission, just two months ago, indicating potential legal action against Uniswap Labs for alleged violations of federal securities laws.

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Wait! Wait! and Wait!

According to two sources, prospective issuers of Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs, which saw a -0.83% change, are still awaiting comments from the SEC on their S-1 filings submitted on May 31.

According to one source, based on conversations with the agency, issuers had been expecting the SEC to provide comments on these drafts by June 7. However, at least two issuers have not received any feedback yet. One source now anticipates the comments to be returned this week.

AI Makes Videos in Minutes

OpenAI's forthcoming Sora AI video generation tool has creatives 80% tantalized and 20% horrified. Meanwhile, a new player has emerged that has 75% of AI enthusiasts crowing about its capabilities. Developed by Kuaishou, a Chinese tech giant and competitor to TikTok, Kling is already available—albeit with 3 notable caveats.

Kling debuts soon after Vidu, a Chinese AI video tool from Shengshu Technology and Tsinghua University. Vidu, using Universal Vision Transformer (U-ViT) technology, excels in creating realistic, detailed short videos, outperforming Runway and Pika in quality and detail.

STOCKS

• DOW: 38,868.03 (+0.18%)

• S&P: 5,360.80 (+0.26%)

• NASDAQ: 17,192.53 (+0.35%)

*Stock numbers as of market close on June 11th

Apollo & Kyndryl Team Up for Potential DXC Buyout

On Monday, sources disclosed that Apollo Global (APO.N) and Kyndryl Holdings (KD.N), the IT services entity separated from IBM (IBM.N), are discussing a potential collaborative offer for DXC Technology (DXC.N).

Apollo and Kyndryl are considering acquiring DXC at a price range of $22 to $25 per share, as revealed by one source. Following this news, DXC's shares surged, closing Monday's trading session in New York with an 11% increase at $18.45 per share. This boosted DXC's market capitalization to $3.3 billion.

EU election impact: Market response illustrated

The surge of far-right gains in the European Parliament elections, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to announce a sudden national vote, refocuses attention on political risks in Europe, previously overlooked by financial markets.

On Monday, the euro, French stocks, and government debt faced downturns as investors pondered the potential replication of far-right success in French elections and the influence these parties might wield on the new European Union executive.

REAL ESTATE

• 15-year: 6.62%

• 30-year: 7.17%

*Mortage rates via Mortgage News Daily

One by One

The 30-year mortgage rates briefly slid below 7% on Thursday, a slight decrease from 7.03% recorded a week prior. While this shift is favorable for buyers, the rates remain relatively high, potentially rendering numerous homes still unaffordable for many.

Boosting the construction of new homes could be a key factor in mitigating prices:

"The Mortgage Bankers Association emphasized the urgent need for increased housing inventory across various markets this summer to counteract the challenging affordability landscape, alongside the beneficial effect of reduced mortgage rates."

TECH

Musk vs. Apple: AI Battle Looms

Elon Musk has threatened to ban Apple devices at his companies after Apple announced it would integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT across its product line, potentially impacting billions of iPhones, Macs, and iPads.

Musk tweeted a warning: If Apple integrates OpenAI into its operating system, his companies will ban Apple devices. He labeled it an unacceptable security violation in response to Apple's recent AI announcements.

QUICK RECAP 

#1. Rio Tinto to buy 11.65% stake in Boyne Smelters from Mitsubishi, increasing its ownership to 73.5%.

#2. Canada's S&P/TSX rose 62.76 points (+0.3%) on Monday, driven by higher oil prices.

#3. Canada backs capital gains tax increase, claiming it won't hinder borrowing.

#4. Bain Capital offered to buy Australian auto parts retailer Bapcor for $1.21 billion. That's a 24% premium over Bapcor's closing stock price on June 7th.

#5. Oil prices climb further amid prospects of U.S. crude acquisition for reserve bolstering the rally.