congrats to the Across team on V4!
cool to see zk proofs in action to verify intents
also good to see the change in relayer rebalancing flows — relayers get repaid on the origin chain, free to rebalance however they want (CEXs, Everclear, token standards, other bridges, etc.).
certainly more efficient to allow the relayers to pick the most optimal solution instead of being limited to an in-protocol solution for rebalancing.
with Across Prime also on the way, it's great to see the Across team tinkering with the design space around intents so deliberately and improving efficiency overall.
intents/acc 🫡
Google proposes fresh search changes to avoid EU antitrust fine
Google has offered to make further changes to its search results in response to increasing criticism from rivals and to avoid another fine from the EU, just a week before a key meeting that could lead to a new antitrust penalty.
The US tech giant has faced pressure since March when the European Union brought antitrust charges against it. The EU had alleged that the company was unfairly promoting its services, such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels, and Google Flights, over rival services.s.
According to a recent document, Google—owned by Alphabet—will present its revised plans during a workshop with European Commission officials and industry competitors scheduled for July 7–8 in Brussels.
The EU’s important Digital Markets Act (DMA) has led to charges against a tech firm. DMA lists “dos and don’ts” for Big Tech to reduce its power and offer rivals more space to compete and consumers more choices.
Last week, Google proposed to develop a box at the top of the search page for what is referred to as a vertical search service (VSS). This would include links to specialized search engines and hotels, airlines, restaurants, and transport.
This new offer, Option B, is an alternative to a proposal sent off last week, as stated in the tech company’s document shared by the Commission with the relevant party.
The document stated that with ‘Option B’, the tech company displays a box with free links to suppliers every time a VSS box appears.
The box for suppliers, which includes top hotels, restaurants, airlines, and travel services, would be placed under the VSS box, and the firm would structure the information about these suppliers.
The document also highlighted that, unlike a Google VSS that gives suppliers chances while putting them into a category, “Option B” will offer the same chance without putting them into a category.
A Google spokesperson stated that they have made hundreds of product changes to follow DMA rules.
The spokesperson also highlighted concerns that even though they aim for compliance, the company is worried about some of the DMA’s real-life effects, resulting in poorer online products and experiences for people in Europe. If the tech firm is found to violate, it could face a fine of up to 10% of its total annual revenue worldwide.
In two cases, Google was accused of violating landmark European Union rules . Apple was told to help competitors connect with its iPhones and iPads as Europe’s antitrust regulators demonstrated that they were not backing down on US tech giants.
Since March of last year, the European Commission has been focusing on both the Alphabet-owned firm and Apple following allegations that they may not comply with the Digital Markets Act.
The European Commission’s action came when President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries that penalize US companies.
To begin with, the EU competition watchdog revealed preliminary findings accusing the firm of violating DMA rules, two people said.
The Google case focused on whether it prevents app developers from telling users about deals that are available outside of its app store, Google Play, and if it gives preferential treatment to its own search services, such as Google Flights in Google Search.
The first tech firm’s charge centered on the company’s specific practices on Google Play. Regulators said that Alphabet prohibits app developers from successfully redirecting buyers to other markets for cheaper deals.
The Commission also sent two orders to Apple to open its ecosystem to rivals, six months after it opened investigation proceedings into the iPhone maker.
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Popular Design Company Applies For IPO, Filing Shows $70M in BTC ETF Holdings
Apart from the substantial inventory in the leading cryptocurrency, the document also shows that the company purchased $30M in USDC, which it intends to use for future Bitcoin buys.
The market expects this to be yet another highly anticipated IPO for 2025, after a failed acquisition by Adobe a few years ago.
Founded in 2012 by a computer scientist and graphics designer, the San Francisco-based company has filed for a public offering with the ticker “FIG”.
The idea behind the project was for anyone to “be creative by making free, simple & imaginative tools in a browser”.
It seems that it quickly caught on, as just the following year, they secured $3.8 million in seed funding from Index Ventures and Terrence Rohan.
From December 2015 to May 2021, the company raised an additional $129 million through A, B, C, and D-series funding, and its total valuation skyrocketed to $10 billion. A series E funding of $200 million was raised in June 2021.
Their revenue over the years has not been any less impressive, with the S-1 form stating $749M by the end of 2024, which was a 48% YoY (year-over-year) increase compared to 2023.
Some of the names they work with include ServiceNow, Netflix, Airbnb, Stripe, Mercado Libre, AWS, HP, etc. However, they are not exclusive to big businesses, as the services they offer cater to freelancers, solo founders, creative studios, and other small businesses.
The success of Figma was noticed by a big name in the design space – Adobe. In fact, they were so interested, they proposed a deal in September 2022 to buy them for $20 billion.
“Adobe’s greatness has been rooted in our ability to create new categories and deliver cutting-edge technologies through organic innovation and inorganic acquisitions,” said Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen. “The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity.”
However, this deal was not widely accepted, as some viewed it as overvalued and potentially anticompetitive, given that the site was in direct competition with Adobe’s product, Adobe XD.
In February 2023, it was announced that the European Commission would review the deal under the European Union merger laws.
Later that same year, Adobe and Figma announced that the merger would be disbanded , as there was “no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the EU Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority.” A $1 billion reverse breakup fee was paid by Adobe to Figma, which was part of their initial agreement.
Fast forward to today, the company is still thriving, as evident in the numbers it has presented over the years, and its intention to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Figma is another in a now lengthy line of establishments that have announced they hold BTC.
As CryptoPotato reported , interest from corporations in the asset shows no signs of slowing down.
For a third consecutive quarter, companies have outpaced the purchases of Bitcoin from exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
141 public and 42 private companies now collectively hold 5.7% of the total circulating supply, while ETFs and other funds hold approximately 7%, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.
This direction has been reinforced by the regulatory changes that have brought ease to the crypto world, as CNBC noted , under the Trump administration.