Virgin Galactic Got Grounded

Richard Branson’s famous flight to the edge of space has Virgin Galactic stuck on the ground. Oof. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded Branson’s Virgin Galactic. The FAA is investigating how Virgin’s spacecraft returned to the ground, alleging that it deviated from the flight path it agreed to follow. 

That might not seem like a huge deal, but the agency is concerned about how the flight could have affected public safety. 😬

A Virgin Galactic spokesperson confirmed the flight flew out of its designated airspace altitude. A New Yorker article indicated that the situation was much more dire than Virgin’s spokespeople claim; the spacecraft supposedly had a “red light” come on, which could have been grounds for aborting the mission.

It’s hard to know what will come from the FAA’s inquiry (or Virgin Galactic’s grounding), but competitor Jeff Bezos is probably laughing right now. Frankly, we’re getting our popcorn ready for the report that will surely come out of this. 🍿 🤣

Investors have seen wilder days for $SPCE‘s stock, which lost just 2.9% today.

Have you heard the news? 🤔 Ark Invest is in the process of launching its second (PG-themed) ETF this year.

If approved by the SEC, Ark Invest’s new Transparency ETF will invest in companies like Salesforce, Chipotle, Square, Nike, and Amazon. The fund will avoid investing in banking, fossil fuels, gambling, alcohol, and tobacco. 🛑 ✋

Wood’s Transparency Fund might sound like an ESG fund, which are funds which invest in companies with strong corporate responsibility. However, Wood’s ETF has a twist: it’s focused on buying companies which are transparent and forthcoming with their business operations.

We’re excited to see what Wood’s latest ETF has in store; Ark Invest’s space-themed Space Exploration and Innovation ETF from Mar. 2021 was one of the most successful fund launches ever. It now manages over $627 million in assets. 🚀 💰

Twitter’s new tip jar is about to get a crypto-themed boost. The social media giant is reportedly testing Bitcoin tipping. The service already supports Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal transactions. 🤑

According to a report, Twitter will be using Strike’s services to generate Bitcoin invoices through the Lightning Network, which will offer faster payments with lower fees for Bitcoin transactions.  

Sound tough? Don’t worry. Users will be given tutorials on Bitcoin, Lightning Network, custodial vs. non-custodial wallets, and more.  

Twitter user and famous app developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who is known for leaking details about social networking sites, tweeted a screenshot of how tipping in Bitcoin would work on Twitter.  

It’s still not known when this feature will be available for users. However, Twitteratis are happy that Twitter CEO and Bitcoin maximalist Jack Dorsey kept his promise of integrating bitcoin into several Twitter products. 👍 🙌

Look out Spotify and Apple Music: there’s an unlikely music streaming service on the come-up. 🔥

YouTube’s paid music service, YouTube Music, now has over 50 million subscribers. While that figure might not sound super impressive, it makes YouTube Music one of the fastest-growing music streaming platforms in the U.S. For comparison, market leader Spotify had 165 million worldwide premium subscribers in Q2 2021.

YouTube Music’s launch in Jun. 2018 was by no means a spectacular one. The company, which has butt heads with the music industry for a number of years, failed to attract an audience at the start. However, the subscriber growth is one indicator that Google has a horse in the streaming race.

There’s two big asterisks, though: YouTube included YouTube Premium subscribers and users who are still on their free trials. The company also didn’t share the amount of revenue it was generating, nor the average revenue per user.

YouTube is already one of the largest media businesses in the world and made $7 billion in advertising for its parent company, Alphabet, in the latest quarter. $GOOG fell 1.11% today.