Happy Friday! Crypto rug pulls went mainstream as CNN abandoned Vault, its NFT project. As recently as last month, CNN was evangelizing Vault's roadmap and pushing community members to buy tokens. To those who lost money, CNN says "thanks for participating in the experiment".

Wait... They shipped what!?

Netflix will launch its ad-supported tier in November.

Details: The majestically named "Basic with Ads" tier is priced at $6.99 per month, $13 less than the Premium plan. Annoyances include:

• 5 minutes of ads per hour of watching

• Offline viewing unavailable

• Max 720p HD resolution

• 10% of catalog unavailable (due to licensing restrictions)

Why it matters: Going from 0 -> 1 on an advertising business represents a huge growth lever for Netflix. 

Netflix has hit saturation in developed markets, losing over 1 million subs this year. "Basic with Ads" expands Netflix's TAM, with analysts predicting that by 2027, 60% of global Netflix subs will be on an ad-supported tier. 

In response to reduced post-pandemic demand, streaming companies are increasingly wading into the world of ads to unlock growth. Disney+ will launch its own ad-supported tier in December, priced at $8 per month.

Features & products hot off the press

Big tech

• Apple is launching a high yield savings account with Goldman Sachs

• TikTok announces a new 'Showtimes' ad unit for cinemas

• TikTok launches Profile Kit for creators to display videos elsewhere

• Twitter ships Link Spotlights for professional accounts 

• Microsoft unveils an automated document & data processing product

• Android will let users archive apps instead of deleting them

• Netflix to debut its $6.99 ad-supported tier in November

General and early-stage

• Roku announces a suite of Smart Home products

• Firefox launches a virtual burner phone service to address spam

• Polestar unveils its first electric EV

• Greenlight adds family safety features to its fintech app 

• Eero kills its cheapest plan and switches all customers to Plus

• Soundcloud's new creator suite will directly connect artists with superfans

Getting 1% better at building product

• Collaboration - Focusing on "What" instead of "How", by John Cutler

• Management - How to build a high performing growth team, by Adam Fishman

Broader tech happenings

• Gettin' about. A Stanford lab unveils a robotic mobility boot

• A good run. After 30 years, Microsoft rebrands Office to 365

• It's a go. Truth Social debuts in the Google Play Store

• Second act. Invoque Studios is launching a new D&D game

• T-Bills or bust. Tether cuts commercial paper holdings to zero

Courtesy of mindless Twitter scrolling

@shreyas

@joeyabanks

And that’s a wrap for today. Stay tuned for more!

-  Amol