The UK seems poised to become the center of the famously decentralized crypto universe now that one of the world’s biggest venture capital firms is betting crypto pitches will land better with a cockney accent.

VC giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announced over the weekend that it will open its first office outside the US in London, where it plans to focus on blockchain investments. A16z cited UK authorities’ bullishness on Web3 as the reason for establishing its international outpost there.

Andreessen Horowitz also announced funding for the UK-based blockchain venture Gensyn—which is focused on AI development—and plans to hold its annual crypto startup accelerator in London next year.

The UK offers clarity (for a better view of the moon)

A16z said that “a clear regulatory regime” is essential to blockchain innovation, and the UK aims to provide just that. Its government recently unveiled plans to develop comprehensive crypto rules that protect consumers while incentivizing innovation.

It starts at the top:

• It was clear that now-UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was on the blockchain hype wagon when, as chancellor of the exchequer, he told Morning Brew last year that he looks at and follows NFTs of “dumb monkeys.”
• He’s since talked about turning the country into a global hub for crypto and pushing to make stablecoins (e.g., crypto pegged to a traditional currency) legal tender.

Meanwhile, US authorities have made it clear that the sheriff has come to town with some litigation-based regulation of an industry that’s often compared to the Wild West. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase (the latter of which is an a16z portfolio company) in cases that could imperil their stateside future.

The big regulation moves concern a16z, as it’s plugged crypto ventures with more than $7.6 billion worldwide.

Zoom out: A16z’s decision to force its executives to eat beans for breakfast pursue blockchain glory in London comes amid a crypto winter that has wiped out the value of many Web3 ventures.—SK

Drs. Nikolay and Alec Shkolnik of LiquidPiston have created the first major engine innovation in 150 years.

And guess what? They’re giving you a chance to ride shotgun and become a shareholder.

They’ve patented a new thermodynamic cycle to power a redesigned rotary engine that boasts up to 10x the power of a traditional piston engine. Best of all, the engine is compatible with a variety of fuels, including hydrogen. This could unlock a 100% green energy solution for the combustion engine market.

No wonder this (thermo)dynamic duo already has 10k+ investors and $30m in funding from the US government.

Don’t miss the opportunity to invest in LiquidPiston at their current valuation. Learn more here.

JPMorgan agrees to pay Epstein victims $290 million. The bank, which counted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein as a client between 1998 and 2013, has reached a deal to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of women Epstein sexually abused or trafficked that claims the institution ignored red flags. The agreement comes after JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was deposed in the suit. If the judge approves the settlement, it won’t totally resolve JPMorgan’s Epstein-related headaches: The bank still faces a suit from the US Virgin Islands. Deutsche Bank settled a separate lawsuit from Epstein’s victims last month for $75 million.

Donald Trump will have (another) day in court. The former president is expected to appear in court in Miami today after surrendering to authorities to face the 37-count indictment accusing him of illegally retaining highly classified documents after he left office. The city is prepared for protests (and counterprotests) since Trump has called on his supporters to demonstrate. It will be the ex-president’s second time before a judge as a criminal defendant, following his New York arraignment over a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

NYC’s delivery workers are getting a raise. The more than 60,000 brave souls who weave through city traffic to deliver slightly soggy nachos at all hours will see their pay jump to $17.96 per hour before tips as of July 12, thanks to a new minimum wage law for app-based delivery workers. The law, announced by New York City’s mayor this weekend, is the first of its kind in the US and comes after home deliveries spiked nationwide during the pandemic. Critics say it doesn’t go far enough to protect the workers, who, as independent contractors, must cover many costs themselves.

Gen Z came to court to slay yesterday as the trial kicked off in a landmark lawsuit filed by young people in Montana who claim inaction on climate change has violated their right to “a clean and healthful environment,” which is guaranteed by the state’s constitution.

The lawsuit, lodged by 16 young Montanans in March 2020, marks the first time a US youth climate case has made it to open court. The group representing the plaintiffs has filed one in all 50 states, but most have been dismissed before making it to trial—though a high-profile case against the federal government also recently got the green light to proceed toward a trial.

During the two-week trial, the plaintiffs, age 5 through 22, will argue that because of the state’s fossil fuel-friendly stance (Montana is a major coal exporter), they’ve been harmed by the side effects of a warming planet like heat, drought, and wildfire smoke. The state will retort its contributions to the problem were minor.

Looking ahead…a win for the young people probably won’t lead to any immediate changes in Montana’s energy policy. And it would most likely be appealed. But the case could still provide an important precedent for how courts handle similar claims.—AR

A California family is selling what they estimate to be one million copper pennies they found in a late relative’s basement crawl space.

Worth $10,000 at face value, the coins are being priced at more than double because they might contain rare finds worth a small fortune, according to the sellers. The family listed the pennies on OfferUp for $25,000 after local bank branches told them they didn’t have room to hold the thousands of pounds of copper Abe Lincolns.

• Pennies were all copper until 1943, when the material demands of World War II prompted the US Mint to switch over to zinc-coated steel. (A few dozen copper pennies were accidentally made that year, and one sold for $300,000 at auction in 2022.)
• By 1982, new pennies were made almost entirely of zinc. The family says that’s when their relative began buying up old copper ones to build wealth for future generations. There’s more than two cents’ worth of copper in each pre-1982 penny.

A penny earned: The family isn’t interested in scouring their two truckloads of pennies for treasure—they just want to sell them to a patient someone who’s willing to schlep. As of yesterday, they had around 300 offers, the New York Times reported.—ML

Stat: In what could easily be mistaken for a poorly thought-out publicity stunt for the new Spider-Man film, a British man was detained by South Korean police yesterday after he climbed 72 stories (about 1,020 feet) up the world’s fifth-highest building, Seoul’s Lotte World Tower, with his bare hands. The friendly neighborhood adventurer, who reportedly planned to BASE-jump with a parachute off the top of the tower, isn’t the first to attempt to scale to new heights: A French climber, nicknamed Spiderman, made it to floor 75 in 2018.

Quote: “It is not the time for this book to be published.”

Author Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for penning your mom’s favorite memoir Eat, Pray, Love, announced yesterday that she’s pulling her new novel, The Snow Forest, which had been scheduled for publication in February 2024, over backlash regarding its Russian setting. Gilbert said she received an “enormous, massive outpouring” of negative reactions from her Ukrainian readers over the book, which takes place in Siberia during the Soviet era. More than 500 people gave the not-yet-published novel one-star reviews on Goodreads over the weekend, according to Semafor.

Read: When did all the fun stuff go upscale? (Slate)

Love our courses but want to do them when and where you’d like? Your wish is our command: Our best-selling course, New Manager Bootcamp, is now offered on-demand.

Your drive got you the promotion, now use it to be prepared for the challenges that promotion will throw at you. Gain tools, confidence, and hands-on experience from industry experts to easily tackle any management obstacle. Do it all in one day or over a week—it’s self-paced. Buy now and start learning today.

Another bird app: But instead of giving you everyone’s hot takes, this one identifies birds you see and even acts like Shazam for birdsongs you hear.

Forget Wes Anderson: Now you can watch The Lord of the Rings as ’80s anime (YouTube).

City of Dreaming Spires: Learn where you’d be if you visited the Land of Drizzle or Tiger Town with this list of unusual city nicknames.

Extreme Home Makeover: Frog edition.

Brand chemistry: Brands and influencers can build powerful relationships. Learn how to use the creator economy to better connect with your target audiences. Find our guide here.

Be future-proof: Sharpen your mind in minutes a day with Brilliant. Bite-size lessons in math, logic, data, and more help you level up fast. Join over 10m people and try it free for 30 days.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Brew Mini: Like cupcakes and kidney stones, crossword puzzles are better when they’re smaller. Play today’s Mini here.

Interstate highway trivia

The US Interstate Highway System is a remarkable infrastructure project, even if a chunk of it did collapse in Philadelphia on Sunday.

For today’s quiz, see if you can name the interstate highways labeled with a letter below.

HR Brew sat down with Hilton’s SVP of HR Strategy and Talent to discuss activating HR data to improve organizational outcomes. Watch on demand.

Did you start making good money, but you’re unsure of what to do next? Learn how to invest and save money on taxes using Money with Katie’s Tax-Smart Investment master class.

🛒 Join us for an exciting conversation about how JCPenney is crafting a top-notch customer journey in the world of online shopping. Click here for details.

A: I-5

B: I-25

C: I-80

D: I-94

E: I-40

F: I-10

G: I-55

H: I-95

I: I-87