The Justice Department is once again demanding a federal court break up Google for anticompetitive practices, indicating either Trump hasn’t yet gotten around to purging Biden’s team, or — more likely — he’s roughly aligned with the message. Sure, this might be another pre-negotiation tactic in a conversation I’m not privy to, but if this is really where he’s at? A reminder for our new nationalists: competing with China’s corporate giants means getting comfortable with the concept of American companies actually capable of competing. I guess the argument on the other side is something like monopolies throttle disruption, which ultimately leads to a smaller pool of China-competitive companies? But if that were true they wouldn’t need the government to help them win at home. And while Uncle Sam can dismantle Google for “little tech” upstarts, he can’t help them nearly as much abroad. Or us, for that matter, if he actually guts our giants.

Early yesterday morning, Ukraine launched its biggest drone assault on Moscow since the war began, sending over 300 drones to attack Russian targets. The siege shut down four major airports, damaged railway infrastructure, and caused chaos across the country — all just hours before U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia. Kyiv’s message was clear: Ukraine can still hit deep Russian territory. But the bigger story? Drones are already defining modern warfare, nobody has a monopoly on them, and they’re incredibly difficult to stop. Russia has been conducting its own kamikaze blitzes with Iranian drones that it now mass-produces domestically, adding to an arms race where swarms of increasingly cheaper and smarter UAVs can overwhelm defense systems in bursts. This has exacerbated a deadly stalemate and given the world fair warning: the future is here. And if we don’t rapidly accelerate our own anti-drone tech? We’ll be playing a deadly game of catch-up. 

This week, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced a rebrand for CBP One — the Biden era app used to “streamline interaction between travelers and CBP officers” (enable mass migration from the third world). Now, it’s “CBP Home.” And it’s a self-deportation tool. “The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self-deport,” Noem explained. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.” Stern, but maybe offer a few more incentives: how about making CBP Home a Pokémon Go-style interactive phone game where defeating the final boss requires crossing into Mexico? Maybe give migrants $25 in DraftKings bets as a reward for “beating the game” (returning to Honduras)? Can we add a multi-player mode where you self-deport alongside your Tren de Aragua buddies? Love the rebrand, Kristi, but if you want to Angry Bird these hombres back over the border, design your app for today’s attention economy.

Arkham, the platform built for real-time on-chain intelligence, lit up as Bitcoin investors rushed to exchanges following former President Donald Trump’s renewed tariff threats. The Visualizer tracked heavy outflows, showing BTC flooding into exchanges as traders moved to hedge against broader economic uncertainty.

Was this panic selling, or a deeper sign that Bitcoin isn’t the inflation hedge many claim? Instead of acting as a safe haven, BTC mirrored macro fears, selling off alongside traditional markets.

As tariff uncertainty lingers, Arkham’s data remains the best place to separate signal from noise.

Track Bitcoin here.

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if you appreciated g. b.’s drone insights above, you’ll love the thoughtful — dare we say autistic — deep dive on the topic he did back in january. below, all the weird, terrifying, and incredible ways that advancements in drone technology have the potential to change the world

this week, the crew talks trump’s address to congress, al green’s removal, and all those protest bingo paddles. plus: the decline of decorum, dems are lost right now (is podcaster gavin newsom their savior?), and aella joins the show to talk her “whatever pod” appearance and all things sex

by most measures, violent crime is down across us cities since the pandemic — but household items are still under lock and key at cvs, and our cities still feel lawless. charles fain lehman is up with a smart piece on american disorder: how it’s harder to track and more taboo to discuss than “crime,” but still eroding our urban areas nonetheless

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