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Its an understatement to say that cryptocurrency investors have not had a great week. Tokens across the board have seen double-digit falls, slashing thousands from their individual values. However, one of the most affected coins this week is also the worlds most popular cryptocurrency: Bitcoin. In the past five days alone, Bitcoins value has dropped more than 16%, and today, the coin fell below an important psychological barrier. Heres what you need to know about the likely reasons why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are dropping. Bitcoin falls below $80,000 In early trading this morning, Bitcoin fell below the psychologically important $80,000 barrier. At the time of this writing, it is currently trading at around $79,900 per coin, though it had dropped to as low as around $78,400 earlier. When Bitcoin moves across a notable barrier like $60,000 or $100,000 (any increment of $10,000), it generally causes one of two reactions. If its move is increasing past the barrier, this tends to send optimism through the hearts of investorsHow high can it go? However, if its move falls under the barrier, this tends to generate fear and pessimismHow low can it go? What is startling about Bitcoins fall is that the coin was trading above $95,000 at the beginning of this week. But by Tuesday, Bitcoin had fallen below the $90,000 threshold. Now, just three days later, Bitcoin has fallen below $80,000. That means that as of the time of this writing, Bitcoin has lost about 16% of its value in the past five days alone. But it has gotten worse when looking out over the past month. During that time, Bitcoin lost more than 20% of its value. Bitcoin hasnt traded this low since shortly after President Trump won the election in November 2024. But its not just Bitcoin that is falling. Ethereum, XRP, DOGE, and TRUMP all down As of the time of this writing, other major cryptocurrencies and popular meme coins have all been down by a significant amount in the past day, according to data from Yahoo Finance and CoinMarketCap. Ethereum is down over 9% in the past 24 hours (and down over 24% in the past five days). XRP is down over 8.6% in the past 24 hours (and down over 20% in the past five days) Solana is down over 4% in the past 24 hours (and down over 20% in the past five days) Dogecoin is down over 10% in the past 24 hours (and down over 23% in the past five days) Official Trump is down over 13% in the past 24 hours (and down over 33% in the past seven days) Why are Bitcoin and other crypto dropping? When major assets drop, the first thing people want to know is why? Unfortunately, there are no firm answers to that, but there are two likely reasons why Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are seeing increased downward pressure this week. The first is Trumps tariffs. The president says he plans to levy tariffs on goods coming into the United States from many of Americas major trading partners, including Mexico, Canada, China, and EU member states. Those countries, in turn, are expected to retaliate with tariffs on American goods, which could result in an all-out trade war that leads to higher prices for consumers, more rapid inflation, and reduced household discretionary spending. In other words, people are worried that Trumps tariffs could negatively affect the economy. When the economy faces headwinds, investors tend to pull out of riskier and more volatile assetslike cryptocurrenciesin favor of placing their money into more stable assets. The second reason that may be contributing to cryptos fall this week is the ByBit hack from earlier this month that saw hackers steal $1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. That heist, which is believed to be the largest ever crypto heist, has rattled crypto investors, making many feel that their cryptocurrency investments arent as secure as other investments, like stocks and properties. In other words, recent significant events are working against crypto’s favor. As for where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies go from here, thats anyones guess.
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E-Commerce
As President Donald Trump’s administration looks to reverse a cornerstone finding that climate change endangers human health and welfare, scientists say they just need to look around because it’s obvious how bad global warming is and how it’s getting worse. New research and ever more frequent extreme weather further prove the harm climate change is doing to people and the planet, 11 different scientists, experts in health and climate, told the Associated Press soon after word of the administration’s plans leaked out Wednesday. They cited peer-reviewed studies and challenged the Trump administration to justify its own effort with science. There is no possible world in which greenhouse gases are not a threat to public health, said Brown University climate scientist Kim Cobb. Its simple physics coming up against simple physiology and biology, and the limits of our existing infrastructure to protect us against worsening climate-fueled extremes. EPA’s original finding on danger of greenhouse gases Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin has privately pushed the White House for a rewrite of the agencys finding that planet-warming greenhouse gases put the public in danger. The original 52-page decision in 2009 is used to justify and apply regulations and decisions on heat-trapping emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Carbon dioxide is the very essence of a dangerous air pollutant. The health evidence was overwhelming back in 2009 when EPA reached its endangerment finding, and that evidence has only grown since then, said University of Washington public health professor Dr. Howard Frumkin, who as a Republican appointee headed the National Center for Environmental Health at the time. “CO2 pollution is driving catastrophic heat waves and storms, infectious disease spread, mental distress, and numerous other causes of human suffering and preventable death. That 2009 science-based assessment cited climate change harming air quality, food production, forests, water quality and supplies, sea level rise, energy issues, basic infrastructure, homes, and wildlife. A decade later, scientists document growing harm Ten years later, a group of 15 scientists looked at the assessment. In a paper in the peer-reviewed journal Science they found that in nearly all those categories the scientific confidence of harm increased and more evidence was found supporting the growing danger to people. And the harms were worse than originally thought in the cases of public health, water, food, and air quality. Those scientists also added four new categories where they said the science shows harm from climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Those were in national security, economic well-being of the country, violence, and oceans getting more acidic. On national security, the science team quoted Trump’s then-defense secretary, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and a Pentagon authorization bill that Trump signed in his first term. It also quoted a study that said another 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) of warming in the next 75 years would effectively reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by 3%, while another study said warming would cost the American economy $4.7 trillion to $10.4 trillion by the end of the century. Overall, the scientific support for the endangerment finding was very strong in 2009. It is much, much stronger now, Stanford University environment program chief Chris Field, a co-author of the 2019 Science review, said in a Wednesday email. “Based on overwhelming evidence from thousands of studies, the well-mixed greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare. There is no question. Long list of climate change’s threats to health There is global consensus that climate change is the biggest threat of our to time to both health and health systems, said Dr. Courtney Howard, a Canadian emergency room physician and vice chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. He ticked off a long list: heat-related illnesses, worsening asthma, heart diseases worsened by wildfire smoke, changing habit for disease-carrying mosquitoes, ticks and other insects, and crop failures that drive hunger, war, and migration. Kristie Ebi, a public health and climate scientist at the University of Washington, said a big but little-discussed issue is how crops grown under higher carbon dioxide levels have less protein, vitamins, and nutrients. That’s 85% of all plants, and that affects public health, she said. Field experiments have shown wheat and rice grown under high CO2 have 10% less protein, 30% less B-vitamins and 5% less micronutrients. It’s these indirect effects on human health that are far-reaching, comprehensive and devastating, said Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech and chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy. She said rising carbon dioxide levels in the air even affect our ability to think and process information. Scientists said the Trump administration will be hard-pressed to find scientific justificationor legitimate scientiststo show how greenhouse gases are not a threat to people. This one of those cases where they cant contest the science and theyre going to have a legal way around,” Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said. The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Seth Borenstein, AP science writer Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed.
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E-Commerce
Recently, I overheard a conversation at a local coffee shop:Thank god for the new administration and finally taking a stand against DEI, said one of the men to another, as they sipped their coffee. Its ridiculous and unfair, completely ruining work. We can finally get back to business.” I leaned in a bit further to try and listen in as I paid for my Earl Gray tea. Well . . . Im not sure thats entirely true, the other man said hesitating. I think that . . . Finally, we can get back to raising standards, the other individual interrupted. Its about time! By the way, are you going to the game next week? The other individual looked uncomfortable as the conversation swiftly shifted in a completely different direction. While I was done paying, and also done eavesdropping, I left knowing that what I heard in this local coffee shop was not an isolated conversation. The backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion is playing out on the national and world stage almost every single day. And the backlash is also taking place on much smaller stages, in conversations in our conference rooms and in our hallways, amongst colleagues loudly and in whispers in our workplaces. And in these conversations, theres an opportunity to talk and educate each other about what diversity, equity, and inclusion is and what diversity, equity, and inclusion is not. Here are three of the most common statements I am hearing from individuals for the case against diversity, equity, and inclusion, and heres how we can debunk these statements and continue to help educate each other on what is true and what is not. False argument against DEI: We lower our standards when it comes to talent Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not about lowering our standards; diversity, equity, and inclusion is about setting fair and equitable standards on how we evaluate all talent. The term DEI hire is being used to make us believe that we have lowered standards by hiring individuals from different backgrounds and different lived experiences. In reality, DEI hire is a harmful and a hurtful phrase that leads many to believe that someone was handed a job simply because they may look different or be different or are a quota hire. And it is increasingly becoming an acceptable way to discredit, demoralize, and disrespect leaders of color. One of the key outcomes of diversity, equity, and inclusion is creating standardized processes on how we hire talent, and also on who we choose to develop and promote. This includes using software tools like Greenhouse, which helps you ensure that every candidate for a role meets with the same set of interviewers, that interview questions are aligned in advance, and that theres a way to evaluate and score the interviews and debrief together as an interview team. Otherwise, we fall prey to our biases and may hire people who look like us, think like us, and act like us, or simply hire them because we really just like them. When it comes to how we develop and promote talent, software tools like Lattice help us ensure we set clear and reasonable goals for all, and not just some employees. We can then track progress in weekly meetings, we can give and receive coaching and feedback, and we can have a consistent framework when we evaluate talent during performance review time. And how we evaluate talent is also then connected to how we compensate individuals, and ultimately who we chose to promote. Without these standardized processes, we may end up giving better performance reviews and more money to those who are the most vocal, who spend the most time managing up to us, and who we just find ourselves having more in common with. Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts help us raise standards and make sure we are getting the best out of our talent. False argument against DEI: It distracts ourselves from driving revenue Diversity, equity, and inclusion does not distract us from leading our businesses; in fact, diversity, equity, and inclusion is a driver of the business. Its not a separate initiative that sits apart from the business; it should be integrated into everything we do in our workplaces. These efforts not only help us ensure that we get the best out of our talent, but it also ensures we are able to best serve our customers. According to Procter & Gamble, the buying power of the multicultural consumer is more than $5 trillion. Procter & Gamble reminds us that its no longer multicultural marketing; its in fact mainstream marketing. There is growth to be had when we ensure we connect and authentically serve not just the multicultural consumer, but also veterans, individuals with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and many more communities. Understanding their consumer needs and how your businesses products and services can surprise and delight them, and enhance the quality of their lives, is an untapped competitive advantage. Companies like E.L.F. understand this, with a strong focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that have paid off: It has posted 23 consecutive quarters of sales growth. Over the past five years, the company has also seen its stock increased by more 700%. In contrast, since Target announced a roll back on its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, its experienced a decline in sales. Black church leaders are now calling on their congregations to participate in a 40 day boycott of Target. Black consumers have $2 trillion in buying power, setting digital trends and engagement. We’ve got to tell corporate America that there’s a consequence for turning their back on diversity,” said Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, to USA Today. So let us send the message that if corporate America can’t stand with us, we’re not going to stand with corporate America. False argument against DEI: An inclusive work environment only benefits a few Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not about creating an inclusive environment for a select few. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is about creating workplaces where we all have an opportunity to reach our potntial and help our companies reach their potential. In my book, Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace, I tackle the myth that diversity, equity, and inclusion processes and policies only have a positive effect on a certain group of individuals. I share The Curb-Cut Effect which is a prime example of this. In 1972, faced with pressure from activists advocating for individuals with disabilities, the city of Berkeley, California, installed its first official curb cut at an intersection on Telegraph Avenue. In the words of a Berkeley advocate, the slab of concrete heard round the world. This not only helped people in wheelchairs. It also helped parents pushing strollers, elderly with walkers, travelers wheeling luggage, workers pushing heavy carts, and the curb cut helped skateboarders and runners. People went out of their way and continued to do so, to use a curb cut. The Curb-Cut Effect shows us that one action targeted to help a community ended up helping many more people than anticipated. So, in our workplaces, policies like flexible work hours and remote work options, parental leave and caregiver assistance, time off for holidays and observances, adaptive technologies, mental health support, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and more have a ripple effect and create workplaces where everyone has an opportunity to thrive. Dont fall for the rhetoric against DEI being exclusive, unfair, or a distraction. The goal of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts has always been about leveling the playing field and ensuring we are creating workplaces where each and everyone of us have an opportunity to succeed.
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E-Commerce
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