TNB Tech Minute: SpaceX Sends First Indian Astronaut to Space in 41 Years
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Great solos don't make a symphony in music or AI. Get AI that's in tune with your business at IBM.com. The AI built for business. IBM.

Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Wednesday, June 25. I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal. Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX today launched its Falcon 9 rocket on a mission to the International Space Station. On board were four astronauts, including the first Indian astronaut, to travel the cosmos in 41 years. The crew will research microgravity and commercial activities for two weeks before they return to Earth.

Meanwhile, SpaceX is a private company, meaning it doesn't have any shares you can buy. But the journal exclusively reports investment platform Republic says starting this week, it'll sell digital tokens that mirror the performance of private SpaceX shares. But there are questions around the trend by crypto exchange and brokerages to reinvent securities using blockchain technology. People

People who buy these tokens won't have access to the company's financials and won't have actual stakes. Lawyers question whether companies like SpaceX will fight it and whether regulators will scrutinize it.

And finally, legislation called the Genius Act is poised to mainstream stablecoins, and it sparked a frenzy of interest from those previously skeptical of cryptocurrencies, like major retailers including Walmart and Amazon. But the legislation has a tough message for the biggest player in the stablecoin game, Tether. Shape up or get kicked out of the U.S. market. The Genius Act, which passed the Senate last week, aims to bring more oversight to digital tokens that carry a fixed price,

price, usually pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar. Tether's stablecoins are partly backed by Bitcoin and precious metals, and the company has resisted full transparency into its finances. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Thursday's Tech News Briefing podcast. Great solos don't make a symphony, in music or AI. Get AI that's in tune with your business at IBM.com. The AI built for business. IBM.