Crypto News: Weekend Edition: ‘A recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction’

Welcome to the weekend!

Donald Trump dominated the news cycle this week, with a slew of executive orders, a hint of tariffs to come and a challenge to birthright citizenship. But if you're looking for some counter-programming, here are three fun facts to share over dinner:

Walgreens replaced some fridge doors with smart screens, but during a $200 million legal tussle the manufacturer cut the data feeds, forcing customers to guess what was behind each door.
Indonesian startup EFishery was recently valued at $1.4 billion, but a new probe alleges that more than 75% of reported revenue in the nine months through September was actually fake.
Running shoe upstart On, which saw 30% sales growth last year, made its very first prototype from a pair of Nikes with the bottoms shaved off and replaced with bits of garden hose.

You can enjoy Bloomberg's Weekend Edition online or in the app, where you can also listen to select stories. Don't miss Sunday's Forecast email, on Tesla's first post-Trump earnings call. For unlimited access to Bloomberg.com, subscribe.

Tethered to Tech

When an app developer closes down, is kicked off the App Store or fails to release compatible updates, its software stops working — but the app stays on your phone. You can open it to an error page, erase it or just… hang onto it as an artifact of another age. These ghost apps show a tech world that could have been, writes Bloomberg's Austin Carr, and preserve a connection to the person you once were.

Essay

The Ghosts in the Machine

Obsolete apps can be a source of nostalgia and reflection.

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Self-reflection via smartphone may be relatable, but is it healthy? Adults lament the tech habits of young people, but model the behavior they denigrate, writes It's Complicated author danah boyd. People also conflate cause and effect. Technology isn't creating a lack of social connection; it's the lack of social connection that drives young people to technology.

Next Chapter

Put Down Your Phone

Parents have a worse relationship with technology than their kids.

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One man with no plans to unplug is Softbank founder Masayoshi Son, known for big bets on tech and a consistent faith in its ability to achieve human happiness. In biography Gambling Man, Lionel Barber delves into the entrepreneur's hunger to make his mark, writes Mayumi Negishi, and pinpoints a certain hollowness in Son's never-ending, grasping pursuit of ever greater heights.

Review

'A Recipe for Perpetual Dissatisfaction'

Masayoshi Son is on an audacious quest to secure his legacy.

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Dispatches

Bangkok, Thailand
For nearly two decades, Ploynaplus Chirasukon and Kwanporn Kongpetch lived in the shadows of a society that only barely accepted them. That changed this week, as the duo tied the knot alongside thousands of other same-sex couples across Thailand. The country is the first in Southeast Asia to guarantee equal marital rights for LGBTQ couples, a victory that's also expected to boost its tourism industry.

Photographer: Valeria Mongelli/Bloomberg

Bhopal, India
Raeesa Bi can rattle off the names of relatives and friends who have died since Dec. 3, 1984, when a malfunction at a pesticides factory released more than 40 tons of toxic gas. Four decades later, the government is only starting to clear some of the toxic waste from the site, but protests have erupted among residents who remain unconvinced that enough has been done to ensure their safety.

Photographer: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

Gold Gangs

"The criminal organizations that have been dedicated to drug trafficking for a long time have discovered a new market."

Andre Luiz Porreca Ferreira Cunha

A federal prosecutor assigned to illegal mining investigations across the Amazon

For decades, wildcat miners known as the garimpeiros have been deforesting Brazil and dirtying its waters. Now the confluence of a federal crackdown on environmental crimes and a global rally in gold is driving the industry into further darkness. Visits to mining sites and interviews with dozens of miners, experts and locals unveil a world that is increasingly lethal: If you buy gold, there's a growing chance that you're bankrolling drug gangs.

Weekend Plans

What we keep saying: If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready. To prepare for Trump tariffs, companies are already changing the way they do things — from building new plants to front-loading orders to prioritizing non-US markets.

What we're wary of: a power vacuum. Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman is emerging as one of the biggest winners in the fallout of the conflict in Gaza, which has tilted the balance of power in the Middle East against its longtime rival Iran.

What we're watching: YouTube. Podcasters like Joe Rogan and Logan Paul are a new mainstream information source in America, rallying young men — many previously uninvolved in politics — in support of Trump and the political right.

What we're re-watching: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. So are crowds in China. Beijing has spent years cracking down on anything "Western" at the box office, but is now easing some of those constraints to boost consumer spending.