Crypto News: Weekend Edition: ‘Feminine financial nihilism’

Welcome to the weekend!

And what a week it's been. Here are a few numbers to get you thinking:

200,000: The number of jobs banks could cut in the next three to five years as AI picks up human tasks, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
80%: The 2020-to-2023 increase in wealth-management clients in Punta del Este, Uruguay, South America's summer playground for the rich.
$900,000: The value of a watch Mark Zuckerberg wore in a video about Meta's plan to end fact checking on its social platforms in the US.
5: The number of days per week JPMorgan will tell its employees they need to be in the office, according to this week's most-read story.

You can enjoy all of Bloomberg's Weekend Edition online or in the app, where you can also listen to select stories. Don't miss Sunday's Forecast email, in which we look at China's bumpy 2025. For unlimited access to Bloomberg.com, subscribe.

Let's All Evolve

Journalists tend to be a bit paranoid — ever-worried that governments, lawyers or colleagues will alter their work. But today's existential fears are centered on AI, which promises to change the very nature of being a writer or editor. That paranoia is fair, writes Bloomberg editor in chief John Micklethwait, but so is some optimism. Consumers of news hate to have their time wasted, and saving time is a key part of what AI offers.

Weekend Essay

How Journalism Will Adapt to AI

Getting the stories that make news is where humans still matter.

Read the Story

Women know all about adapting to evolving roles. There was a time when society saw their place as in the home, and a more recent time when they were told to "lean in" to self-sufficiency. Now a cohort of online influencers are leaning into lifestyles of luxury backstopped by money from men. The "tradwife," the "sugar dater," the "NPC" — they're all examples of what Rachel O'Dwyer calls "disaster girls."

Next Chapter

'A Feminine Financial Nihilism'

How some women are cashing in on the digital economy.

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When gender roles evolve, so do institutions based on them. In the Indian rom-com Lost Ladies, a mix-up that leaves two brides stuck with the wrong husbands develops into a meditation on marriage in a modernizing society. It's a topic familiar to the film's co-producers: Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, a Bollywood power couple who are still working together after their own 16-year marriage ended.

Dispatch

Finding Success with Lost Ladies

A former couple tackles India's view of relationships.

Read the Story

Playing With Fire

"Could a single event cause insurers to become insolvent? That's the great fear."

Daniel Swain

UCLA climatologist

Californians are always bracing for the Big One, which has long meant an epic earthquake. But as the region warms with the changing climate, experts have been eying a different Big One: a fire moving fast enough to destroy a densely urban area. That scenario just played out in Los Angeles, causing more than $20 billion in damages and upending how California's $9 trillion property market defends against risk.

Dispatches

Lithuania
On the bank of the river Neris, a two-story digital clock is counting down the minutes until the Baltic countries sever their last ties to Russia. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have been among the most vocal nations in the EU about the threat posed by Moscow, and stopped importing Russian oil and gas after the invasion of Ukraine. Now they're taking the final step: unplugging from Russia's electricity grid.

Illustration: Maggie Cowles for Bloomberg

India
On the wall of a temple in New Delhi, a huge poster invites worshippers to the Maha Kumbh, a gathering of Hindu pilgrims that begins Jan. 13 in the Indian city of Prayagraj. The pilgrimage, which occurs every 12 years, is a chance for more than 100 million people to take a ritual dip in waters said to cleanse them of their mortal sins. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it's also a political opportunity.

Illustration: Maggie Cowles for Bloomberg

Weekend Plans

What we're booking: a vacation to China? The country eased a slew of visa requirements last year, but only a fraction of the hoped-for tourists have come. That includes few from the US and Europe.

What we're calling a comeback: crypto. Two years ago, the industry was reeling. Now Bitcoin is flirting with $100,000 and Donald Trump — who once said crypto "seems like a scam" — has become its biggest champion.

What we're watching for a comeback: carbon offsets. The carbon market's value has fallen by more than half since a $2 billion peak, but advocates see a looming revival as stricter standards bolster confidence in carbon credits.

What we're grateful for: family. As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatens to unleash his nuclear arsenal, a postwar generation of Koreans are dying without having fulfilled the dream of meeting their relatives across the border.

What we've been saying: nothing. In 1971, John Francis saw an oil tanker collision in the San Francisco Bay and stopped speaking. His 17 silent years are the subject of our Oscar-shortlisted documentary, Planetwalker.