gm. The Grammy's were last night and, spoiler alert, Olivia Rodrigo won a lot of awards. 

Also, before you ask, the answer is no. Nobody got slapped. 

HACKS

The bridges are burning 

Last week, Axie Infinity made headlines after the Ronin Bridge that supports its gaming ecosystem was hacked for $635 million. It was the biggest DeFi hack ever, but the weirdest part of the news breaking was just how familiar it all felt. After all, another bridge, Wormhole, had just been hacked less than a month ago for $325 million. All told, more than $1 billion in funds have been stolen from bridge-related exploits in a little over a year. So it begs the question…

WTF is going on with all these bridge hacks?

One simple explanation for the sheer amount of bridge attacks could be that there are simply a lot more bridges to attack given the proliferation of blockchains that need bridging. More bridges = more attacks. But there is more to the story than that. 

1. Treasury stashes are tasty targets: Bridges work by converting a crypto (BTC, for instance) into a “wrapped” version of the coin (WBTC) that allows intra-chain exchange to take place. In order to carry out this process though, the bridge operator needs a coin reserve to underwrite the wrapped coins. That hefty chunk of crypto sitting in the reserve makes for a lucrative payday for hackers to pursue.   

2. Security still kinda sucks: Despite the $21 billion currently locked in Ethereum bridges, orgs that operate the bridges don’t really have the security chops to match the amount of money passing through their bridges. Case in point: Ronin didn't even know about the hack until 6 days after it occurred. 

Zoom out: The recent rash of bridge hacks is by no means a condemnation of bridges in general, but it’s still a reality check for the connective tissue of the crypto world. Like the exchange hacks of yesteryear, it looks like bridges are the new weak points of choice for enterprising hackers.

UNION

Organizers beat Amazon. Now what?

Workers at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse voted to unionize on Friday—a first in the company’s history—but the Amazon Labor Union’s battle with Bezos is far from over. Amazon has already said that it is unhappy with the results and is looking to hit back.  

But Amazon lost, right?

Yes, but unions don’t materialize overnight: after workers vote to organize—which the Staten Island warehouse just did—it typically takes over a year for both sides to agree to a collective bargaining agreement. So after losing the vote, Amazon’s new goal is to do its best upside-down-tortoise impersonation and drag out the negotiation process for as long as possible.

• The company has already announced that it plans to object to what it sees as meddling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

• Ironically, Amazon would have to file any grievance about the NLRB’s meddling with the NLRB itself. Then if it doesn't like the result, Amazon can appeal to the agency’s higher-ups in Washington dragging out negotiations even longer. 

Zoom out: Despite the fight to come, the ALU’s win in Staten Island is still a watershed moment for modern organized labor movements. After a string of failed campaigns at other warehouses, this victory could provide lead to a chain reaction at other Amazon facilities nationwide. It could also fuel organizers at other major tech firms facing unionization drives, such as Activision Blizzard. 

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: The 19 millionth bitcoin was mined on Friday, leaving 2 million more up for grabs. As miners crossed this threshold, BTC’s network difficulty (which measures the computational power required to mine a BTC block) reached a new record high. Miners still have their work cut out for them: all 21 million BTC aren’t expected to be mined until around 2140.

Startup: Twitch founder Justin Kan is back in the game. Fractal, his NFT gaming marketplace, just announced a $35 million raise backed by the usual crypto suspects. 

Rabbit hole: The emotions behind shutting down your startup (Fabian Dietrich).

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Tesla extended the closure of its Shanghai factory as pandemic restrictions continue.

• Activision Blizzard is dropping COVID vaccine mandates for its US employees.

• Meta also decided to scale back its vaccine requirements. The firm will no longer require in-person workers to get a booster shot.

• The World Trade Organization nearly halved its forecast for global trade growth due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

TRIVIA

We'll give you a company, you tell us if it's currently profitable or not. 

Uber

Lyft

DraftKings

Allbirds

Casper

Yeti

MONDAY MUSING

Over the weekend, Jack got nostalgic about the early days of the web...before acknowledging that he may have had a hand in ruining it. 

What do you think. Did Jack ruin the internet? Let us know here. 

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across this weekend that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor. 

🤝 A superbly technical breakdown of what management actually is. 

🎙 A podcast talking to YC founders whose startups failed.

👌 A simple guide to living a better life. 

SHARE HOMESCREEN

You guys know the drill. Send this to your founder, investor, and builder friends. 

P.S. Our referral program is rolling out shortly. Stay tuned for some cool Homescreen perks.  

TRIVIA ANSWER

Uber: YES

Lyft: YES

DraftKings: NO

Allbirds: NO

Casper: NO

Yeti: YES