5 things to start your day

[Bloomberg]( All eyes on China, day-trading army is back and delta-variant fallout grows. Sino focus The White House [approved]( its first arms sale to Taiwan, an estimated $750 million deal that would raise U.S.-Sino tensions just as the Biden administration seeks to craft a new relationship with China. In an effort to de-escalate strains between the two world powers, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned that the Taiwan [issue]( could “quite easily” become dangerous due to a miscalculation. All that underscores how Taiwan has become the biggest risk for a China-U.S. [clash](. Meanwhile, the aftershocks of Beijing’s regulatory clampdown on the private sector endure, with traders [scouring]( Xi Jinping’s past speeches to find clues about which industries might be targeted next. China’s liquor and e-cigarette stocks fells as [nervous investors]( seized on a series of reports from state media that could foreshadow the next targets for stricter regulation. Meme squared Wall Street was [mesmerized]( by the latest explosion of interest in meme-stock trading that sent shares in Robinhood Markets Inc. surging 100% this week, just days after flopping in its public trading debut. Theories abound for the sudden rally, including options trading, Cathie Wood’s endorsement and Jim Cramer’s tweets. In another sign speculative trading is getting ever-more mainstream, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is pitching a Bitcoin fund to wealthy clients, according to [CoinDesk](. Meanwhile, digital currency Ether traded close to a two-month [high]( amid a software upgrade that will trim the pace at which fresh tokens are minted. Delta threat Tensions between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the White House [heated]( up as the spreading coronavirus in the state sparks divisions on mask mandates and vaccine requirements. The Biden administration is now weighing a [plan]( to require all foreign visitors to be vaccinated. China imposed new travel restrictions [across the nation]( as a delta-driven outbreak grew to over 500 cases in 15 provinces. The World Health Organization called for a moratorium on booster shots to enable poorer countries to catch up in vaccination rates. The U.K. [eased]( quarantine rules. Markets climb Risk sentiment is holding firm ahead of tomorrow’s payrolls report. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed, while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.4% higher. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index was up 0.3% by 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time. S&P 500 [futures]( pointed to a higher open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.18% and oil hovered around $69 a barrel. Coming up... The Bank of England is [expected]( to keep its benchmark interest rate and bond-buying target unchanged when it issues its latest policy decision at 7 a.m. ET. U.S. initial jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m., with economists expecting a second consecutive weekly decline. Trade balance figures for June arrive at the same time. In earnings, we get Moderna Inc., Duke Energy Corp. and Cigna Corp. among many others. The Group of 20 [digital economy]( ministers meet in Trieste, Italy. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - Covid can make kids very [sick](. - Elon Musk’s outrageous moonshot [award]( catches on across America. - A new forecast for up to 21 [storms](. - Glencore’s record [profit](. - Americans willing to take pay cuts to never go into the [office]( again. - Investors ignore a dangerous [crackdown]( on press freedom. - [The physics of skateboarding](. And finally, here’s what Justina’s interested in this morning Yesterday I wrote about the potential TradFi-cation of crypto with the advent of more serious U.S. regulation. With all the institutional pros rushing into the space, it's easy to forget how different and wacky it still is. Take [market structure](. In liquid traditional markets like U.S. equities, only a short list of firms can be competitive market makers, since between the tech needed to be competitive on latency and the fees for connecting to exchanges as well as obtaining the fastest data, you need a chunky upfront investment. In crypto, anyone can get connected. The data is free. And latency isn’t so low you have to worry about co-location or your hardware. The standard coding and modeling skills are still critical. But you also need a lot of crypto-specific knowledge, such as how to figure out where an exchange’s cloud servers are or how to cope with massive latency spikes and even trading disruptions. Besides, there are so many instruments and exchanges that even if you can’t be competitive on the most liquid ones, you can try the others. So for every prop shop set up by a Wall Street transplant, there's also a small team of market makers with no experience in TradFi. Will these barriers of entry rise as regulations [tighten]( and even more pros come in? That’s been the path for mainstream market structure. The crypto world’s decentralized and global nature might make it better at preserving some unregulated, speculative fringes, so let’s see if the solo Gen-Z market maker manages to survive. Follow Bloomberg's Justina Lee on Twitter at [@justinaknope]( Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. 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