Evening digest: Bitcoin's $80K test, Pinterest cuts jobs, Korea’s tariff scramble

Markets are closing the day caught between optimism and unease.

Tech firms are trimming headcount to fund aggressive AI bets, governments are scrambling to head off fresh trade shocks, and regulators are chasing a fast-evolving underworld of crypto crime.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin traders are bracing for a critical test that could define the next phase of the cycle.

Here’s your evening digest of the stories shaping sentiment across equities, geopolitics, and digital assets.

Pinterest doubles down on AI with layoffs

Pinterest is cutting staff as it doubles down on artificial intelligence to drive growth and sharpen its ad business.

The layoffs, affecting several hundred employees across teams, are part of a broader efficiency push after a strong stock rally in recent months.

Management is reallocating resources toward AI-powered discovery, shopping tools and better personalization to keep users engaged and improve ad targeting.

Investors initially cheered the cost cuts and AI focus, sending shares higher, but the move underscores tougher competition for ad dollars.

Pinterest is betting that smarter AI recommendations can translate into higher revenue with a leaner workforce.

South Korea scrambles to please Trump

South Korea is racing to push through a multibillion‑dollar package aimed at boosting US investment, after Donald Trump threatened sharply higher tariffs on Korean exports.

The bill is designed to protect Seoul’s crucial auto and electronics sectors by locking in jobs and capital spending in the United States, hoping to blunt Trump’s criticism of trade imbalances.

Officials are scrambling to reassure markets and Washington that Korea is a “constructive partner,” even as domestic lawmakers worry about giving too much away.

The uncertainty has put pressure on Korean stocks with heavy US exposure and added another layer of tension to global trade.

Crypto money laundering hits $82 billion

Money launderers raked in at least $82 billion in cryptocurrency last year, an eightfold jump from 2020, as Chinese-speaking criminal networks turbocharged their operations.

Blockchain analysts at Chainalysis tracked roughly 1,800 wallets tied to these groups, which processed nearly $40 million in suspicious transactions daily and handled $16.1 billion overall in 2025.

The surge comes despite China’s crypto ban and the prosecution of over 3,000 people for digital asset laundering in 2024.

Researchers warn that “guarantee” escrow platforms used by the networks are highly adaptive, shifting tactics when blocked, making them tough to stamp out even as enforcement intensifies.

Bitcoin to fall below $80,000?

A new Wyckoff-based forecast suggests Bitcoin could dip below $80,000 this week, even as bulls cling to the broader uptrend narrative.

The analysis points to classic distribution-style price action after repeated failures near resistance and fading upside momentum.

Traders are watching a confluence of support levels just above and below $80,000, where a “spring” or final shakeout could reset leveraged longs and flush out weak hands.

If that downside test holds, Wyckoff logic argues it could mark a cyclical bottom and launchpad for the next leg higher.

If it breaks decisively, though, the bull run thesis starts to look shaky.