‘Crypto Mom’ to lead crypto task force

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will launch a cryptocurrency-focused task force to come up with ways to regulate the market, in one of the first moves by the agency after the resignation of crypto skeptic Gary Gensler.

The SEC, now helmed by acting Chair Mark Uyeda, said the task force will be dedicated to coming up with a “comprehensive and clear” regulatory framework for crypto assets. It will be led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has been nicknamed “Crypto Mom” by the industry for her dissents against SEC enforcement actions on crypto companies.

Crypto companies criticized the SEC under Gensler as regulating the industry by enforcement instead of laying out clear rules of the road so companies could comply with securities laws. Gensler left his role as SEC chair on Monday.

“The result has been confusion about what is legal, which creates an environment hostile to innovation and conducive to fraud. The SEC can do better,” the agency said in a statement.

The group will coordinate with Congress as well as other federal departments and agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Sports and ‘Squid Game’ lift Netflix

Netflix closed 2024 with its biggest quarterly subscriber gain in history, benefiting from its first major live sporting events and the return of “Squid Game.”

The company added 18.9 million customers in the fourth quarter, according to a shareholder letter Tuesday. That was more than double what Wall Street expected and brought global subscribers at Netflix to more than 300 million.

The company’s previous best was 15 million in the first quarter of 2020, during the onset of the pandemic.

This is the final time Netflix will report quarterly subscriber numbers. Management is trying to get investors to prioritize financial metrics like sales and profit. The company reported revenue grew 16% to $10.2 billion for the quarter, the biggest gain since late 2021, and said sales will grow faster than predicted in 2025.

Netflix is raising its price in the U.S., Canada, Portugal and Argentina, with the most popular U.S. plan going to $17.99 a month, an increase of $2.50.

Meta plans Oakley-branded glasses

Meta Platforms is working on upgrades to its popular smart glasses and is exploring new wearable devices such as watches and camera-equipped earbuds, aiming to embed its artificial intelligence features into more products.

The effort includes developing Oakley-branded smart glasses for athletes this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Meta’s devices group, Reality Labs, also plans to release new high-end glasses with a built-in display in 2025, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiatives haven’t been announced.

Other products underway would compete with Apple’s smartwatch and AirPods, the people said. And the company is making headway on its first true augmented reality product — a holy grail for the tech industry — for release around 2027. A representative for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, declined to comment.

The flurry of products is part of a bid to reposition Meta as an AI innovator, with a focus on hardware that can usher in the next era of computing. The social media company has spent tens of billions on augmented and virtual reality development and launched multiple versions of headsets and glasses, but broad consumer acceptance has remained elusive.

Compiled from Bloomberg reports.