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Hester Peirce, commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), speaks during the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

Valerie Plesch | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission publicly rebuked her agency’s apparent crypto regulation by enforcement, asking if a “hostile” regulator is the best solution for the industry.

Peirce, who was appointed to her post as commissioner by President Trump in 2018, wrote in a statement on Thursday that she disagreed with the SEC’s assertion that the shutdown of crypto exchange Kraken’s staking program was a “win for investors.”

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The SEC action against Kraken, which was settled without an admission or denial of wrongdoing, alleged that the exchange engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through its crypto lending platform. Peirce said that’s not the primary issue.

“Whether one agrees with that analysis or not, a more fundamental question is whether SEC registration would have been possible,” Peirce wrote. “In the current climate, crypto-related offerings are not making it through the SEC’s registration pipeline.”

Without directly mentioning SEC chair Gary Gensler, Peirce took aim at what Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described on Wednesday night as the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement.”

“Using enforcement actions to tell people what the law is in an emerging industry is not an efficient or fair way of regulating,” Peirce wrote.

Gensler, lawmakers and the White House have called for more robust regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. But Gensler and the SEC Enforcement division under his control have moved far more aggressively than the Department of Justice or policymakers to tamp down on the crypto industry.

In a press release announcing the Kraken settlement, SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal said that the action was a step to curtail companies whose “investors lack the disclosures they deserve and are harmed when they don’t receive them.”

Peirce, who dissented on the enforcement action, indirectly disputed the premise of that assertion.

“Most concerning, though, is that our solution to a failure to register violation is to shut down entirely a program that has served people well,” she wrote. “However, whether we need a uniform regulatory solution and if that regulatory solution is best provided by a regulator that is hostile to crypto, in the form of an enforcement action, is less clear.”

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Apple shares pop 5% ahead of Trump-Cook investment announcement at White House

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Apple shares pop 5% ahead of Trump-Cook investment announcement at White House

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 09, 2025 in Cupertino, California.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Apple shares popped 5% Wednesday, ahead of an Oval Office event touting an update to the company’s stated plans to spend and invest in the U.S.

CEO Tim Cook will join President Donald Trump for the announcement set for 4:30 p.m. ET.

Apple will up its previous commitment, made in February, from $500 billion to $600 billion over the next four years, a White House official told CNBC.

It will also announce a new manufacturing program called the American Manufacturing Program, the official said.

Cook has had a mixed relationship with Trump over the past year. While Trump has praised the Apple CEO in the past, in recent months he has said he has a “problem” with the executive and has pushed for Apple to assemble its iPhones in the U.S., not China or India.

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Apple faces over $1 billion in increased costs this quarter because of Trump’s tariffs on imports —primarily related to China — and Cook reminded investors last week that “the vast majority” of its products would be subject to pending new tariffs under a Section 232 investigation.

“We obviously try to optimize our supply chain, and ultimately we will do more in the United States,” Cook said.

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Match Group pops 10% as dating company shows early signs of a turnaround

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Match Group pops 10% as dating company shows early signs of a turnaround

Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Match Group shares popped more than 10% on Wednesday after the online dating company issued upbeat guidance and said new products are showing promise as it attempts to turnaround its business.

The Dallas-based company said it expected revenues between $910 million and $920 million in the current quarter, beating a $890 million estimate from analysts polled by FactSet.

“We are operating like a company that is just getting started, and we believe the best chapters of the category and company are still ahead,” said CEO Spencer Rascoff during an earnings call Tuesday. “We are moving with urgency, we are obsessed with the product and we are building for the long term.”

Over the last year, Match and the broader online dating industry have grappled with slowing user engagement. The company has added more tools and features to its apps, including Tinder and Hinge, to lure back customers, especially Gen Z.

Match has also been the target of activists investors such as Starboard Value, which has pushed the company to innovate, cut costs and improve profitability or consider going private.

In an effort to revamp its business, Match appointed Zillow co-founder Rascoff as its new CEO in February. Under his direction, the company has implemented new artificial intelligence-powered tools and slashed roles.

Match also added new features such as AI-powered discovery to many of its services and a double date feature on Tinder. Rascoff on Tuesday said that 90% or customers using this feature are under age 30.

The company will also target the younger market with features geared toward college students and is planning to reinvest $50 million into new product development, Rascoff said.

In 2026 and 2027, Rascoff said he expects AI innovation and international growth to expand its Hinge platform’s leadership as Tinder becomes a “low-pressure, serendipitous experience designed for Gen Z.” Hinge, he said, is also on track to deliver quarterly year-over-year growth in 2025.

“Across the board, we believe the category will enter a new era, with renewed trust, strong demand and long-term growth potential,” he said.

Match posted in-line earnings of 49 cents per share. Revenues reached $864, topping the $854 million expected by analysts.

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OpenAI is giving ChatGPT to the government for $1

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OpenAI is giving ChatGPT to the government for

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ “Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference” at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2025.

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OpenAI on Wednesday announced it will offer its ChatGPT Enterprise product to U.S. federal agencies for $1 through the next year, making its technology available to the federal executive branch workforce at “essentially no cost.”

The company has been working to deepen its ties to lawmakers and regulators in recent months, and it will open its first office in Washington, D.C., early next year.

OpenAI said participating agencies will get access to its frontier models through ChatGPT Enterprise, and it will also offer access to features like Advanced Voice Mode for an additional 60-day period.

The company has partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration to launch the initiative.

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“Helping government work better – making services faster, easier, and more reliable—is a key way to bring the benefits of AI to everyone,” OpenAI said in a blog post.  

In June, OpenAI launched a new offering called OpenAI for Government and said it was awarded a contract of up to $200 million by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The company is currently engaging in talks with investors about a potential stock sale at a valuation of roughly $500 billion, as CNBC previously reported.

OpenAI announced a $40 billion funding round in March at a $300 billion valuation, by far the largest amount ever raised by a private tech company.

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