Plus, JPMorgan sues former executive Jes Staley over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
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Crypto bank Silvergate Capital said it is shutting down its operations and liquidating the bank. The firm helped institutional investors move fiat currency in and out of crypto-trading platforms through its Silvergate Exchange Network. Following the announcement, Silvergate shares plunged more than 30% in extended trading on Wednesday. More: - In a statement, Silvergate pointed to recent industry and regulatory developments as the reason behind closing its operations.
- Last Friday, the bank suspended its payments platform Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), one of its primary offerings.
- Silvergate said deposits would be paid back in full; the crypto bank had about $11B in assets.
- Centerview Partners will act as Silvergate’s financial advisor, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore will provide legal services.
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Volkswagen has suspended its plans to build a battery plant in eastern Europe after estimating it could receive up to €10B in U.S. incentives to build a similar facility in North America. Volkswagen told EU officials it expects to receive €9B to €10B in subsidies and loans from the U.S.’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). More: - According to sources, the automaker is waiting to see how the EU would respond to the U.S.’s incentives before continuing in eastern Europe.
- The decision to suspend building plans is the latest fallout from the Biden Administration’s $369B IRA, which is luring European companies to the U.S.
- The European Commission is expected to release its Net Zero Industry Act next week as part of a broader response to the U.S.’s IRA.
- According to industry executives who saw an early draft of the Net Zero Industry Act, the EU’s response fell short of expectations.
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The FTC has asked Twitter to turn over internal communications related to Elon Musk and detailed information about layoffs citing concerns that Twitter’s significantly reduced staff could compromise the company’s ability to protect users. More: - The federal agency also asked Twitter to identify all journalists the social media platform granted access to company records.
- The FTC also asked for information about the launch of the company’s Twitter Blue subscription service.
- In a series of Tweets responding to the FTC’s requests, CEO Elon Musk said the move is a serious attack on the Constitution by a federal agency.
- In December, Musk said Twitter’s global workforce had been reduced to about 2,000 from 8,000.
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Spotify launched a new video feed feature on Wednesday that helps users discover new music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The feature, called “Previews,” prompts users to swipe through to browse new content recommendations. The short videos are similar to TikTok or YouTube Shorts. More: - The videos showcase the hook of a song or a vital part of a podcast to entice users to save it to their libraries.
- Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström said the company doesn’t want to rely on other platforms like TikTok for discovery.
- Spotify has benefited from music discovered from viral TikTok trends as those songs tend to be streamed more often.
- The new feature comes as TikTok parent ByteDance seeks to expand its music streaming service, Resso, globally.
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WWE is in talks with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalize betting in scripted matches. According to sources, WWE is working with accounting firm EY to secure scripted match results in hopes that it will convince regulators that match results would not be leaked to the public ahead of time. More: - Accounting firms EY and PwC have worked with award shows like the Academy Awards and the Emmys to keep results private.
- The public can legally place bets on the Academy Awards through some sports betting applications like FanDuel and DraftKings.
- WWE executives have pointed to the Academy Awards as a template to convince regulators gambling on scripted matches is safe.
- If the WWE is allowed to place bets on scripted matches, it could open the door for betting on other scripted events, like the death of a character in a TV series.
- If regulators allow gambling for scripted events, it would still be up to betting companies to decide if they would place odds on the circumstances.
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EY has suspended its plan to split into two independent firms amid a disagreement over how much of the accounting firm’s tax business should remain with the audit side of the firm. On a call with partners on Wednesday, EY’s U.S. business lead Julie Boland said the split deal needed to be reworked. More: - EY’s U.S. business accounts for 40% of the firm’s $45B annual global revenue.
- In September, EY announced it would split its two main businesses — auditing and consulting — into two independent companies.
- The split is intended to avoid a conflict of interest between the auditing work and consulting work that EY does for some corporate clients.
- EY had planned to spin off its tax business with its consulting business and other advisory services from its audit business.
- The firm had planned to leave a small portion of its tax business with its auditing side.
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- JPMorgan has sued former executive Jes Staley over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. JPMorgan is facing lawsuits from the U.S. Virgin Islands and an unnamed woman alleging it helped Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme.
- TikTok plans to spend $1.3B annually on measures to safeguard European users as part of its Project Clover. The plan includes opening two data centers in Ireland and a third in Norway.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reviewing Tesla’s Model Y following two reports that the vehicle’s steering wheels came off suddenly while the cars was in motion.
- Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has agreed to testify in the U.S. Senate hearing about the company’s alleged actions to disrupt union formations.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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