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The MTA’s total shift to tap-to-pay will make fare enforcement easier, MTA brass says — especially on buses where the bulk of fare evasion occurs. The OMNY system — which allows riders to pay their fare using tap-enabled credit cards, smart devices, or pre-paid OMNY cards — has been in place since 2019. But the MetroCard system it’s replacing is set to be phased out next year, with no new sales of the iconic yellow fare card as of Dec. 31. And when new fares kick in in January, buses will no longer accept cash for fare payment, making it…
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released never-before-seen photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous private island, offering what they called a “disturbing look” into the world of the late convicted sex offender. The newly released material includes dozens of short videos and still photographs of the compound, including one showing a particularly bizarre room filled with an old-fashioned dental chair, Ikea-style metal cabinets and nearly a dozen caricature-like male face masks arranged irregularly on its walls. An image released by House Democrats showing a bedroom at Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island estate. (Attorney General of the United…
Ethereum’s second major upgrade of the year, Fusaka, has gone live, bringing forward supercharged data capacity, reduced transaction costs and enhanced usability. The upgrade officially went live on the Ethereum mainnet at 9:49 pm UTC on Wednesday at Epoch 411392, with the headline feature being peer data availability sampling (PeerDAS), which provides significant scaling capabilities to Ethereum and layer 2s.Earlier this week, the Ethereum Foundation posted a detailed thread via the Ethereum X account, breaking down what it means for users, developers, node operators, Layer-2s and rollups, and enterprises. The Ethereum Foundation stated that Fusaka brings Ethereum a step closer to providing…
Ethereum’s second major upgrade of the year, Fusaka, has gone live, bringing forward supercharged data capacity, reduced transaction costs and enhanced usability. The upgrade officially went live on the Ethereum mainnet at 9:49 pm UTC on Wednesday at Epoch 411392, with the headline feature being peer data availability sampling (PeerDAS), which provides significant scaling capabilities to Ethereum and layer 2s.Earlier this week, the Ethereum Foundation posted a detailed thread via the Ethereum X account, breaking down what it means for users, developers, node operators, Layer-2s and rollups, and enterprises. The Ethereum Foundation stated that Fusaka brings Ethereum a step closer to providing…
Larry Fink, chair and CEO of asset management company BlackRock, explained his “big shift” from associating cryptocurrencies with illicit activities to having the largest spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.Speaking at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Fink addressed questions related to his views on crypto and Bitcoin (BTC) from journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. The BlackRock CEO said his move from associating crypto primarily with money laundering to having exposure to billions of dollars in BTC was “a very glaring public example of a big shift in [his] opinions.”“My thought process always evolves,” said Fink. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink speaking…
Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has slowed its rate of cryptocurrency accumulation in 2025, a move analysts at CryptoQuant interpret as preparation for a drawn-out bear market.“Strategy’s Bitcoin buying has collapsed through 2025,” CryptoQuant said in a Wednesday report, noting a dramatic monthly reduction in Bitcoin (BTC) purchases by Strategy since late 2024. According to CryptoQuant:“Monthly purchases fell from 134,000 BTC at the 2024 peak to just 9,100 BTC in November 2025, only 135 BTC so far this month. A 24-month buffer makes one thing clear: they’re bracing for the bear market.” Strategy’s monthly BTC purchases show a…
Can any company, big or small, really topple Nvidia’s AI chip dominance? Maybe not. But there are hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue for those who can even peel off a chunk of it for themselves, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said this week. As expected, the company revealed at the AWS re:Invent conference the next generation of its Nvidia-competitor AI chip, Trainium3, which is 4x faster yet uses less power than the current Trainium2. Jassy revealed a few tidbits about the current Trainium in a post on X that shows why the company is so bullish on the chip.…
Former Citadel engineers Ian Krotinsky and Aashiq Dheeraj have raised $17 million to launch Fin, a stablecoin-powered payments app designed for high-value cross-border transactions. According to Fortune on Wednesday, the startup, previously known as TipLink, closed the round with backing from Pantera Capital, Sequoia and Samsung Next. Fin plans to pilot the app within the next month, targeting import-export businesses that often move hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time.Built around stablecoin rails, Fin will enable users to send funds to other payment apps, bank accounts, and crypto wallets, aiming to reduce costs compared to traditional wire transfers. The company…
Key takeaways:Low BTC and ETH leverage appetite contrasts with strong stock markets, highlighting fragile sentiment despite improving liquidity expectations.While economic uncertainty persists, anticipated monetary easing reduces downside risk for cryptocurrencies, favoring a potential bullish momentum.Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) gained momentum on Wednesday, rising to their highest levels in two weeks as investors await a more expansionist monetary policy. Weak economic indicators boosted expectations of fresh stimulus measures, increasing demand for scarce assets.The S&P 500 index and gold also reacted positively as investors anticipated higher liquidity entering the markets. Still, with the cryptocurrency market capitalization sitting 29% below its all-time…
Crypto merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2025 reached $8.6 billion as of November, with companies closing a record 133 deals, marking an all-time high in both deal count and total value.The total dollar amount of business deals exceeded the combined total of the previous four years, according to Bloomberg, citing Pitchbook data.Coinbase led the M&A activity, with six acquisition deals completed in 2025, including the $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit, one of the largest crypto derivatives marketplaces. Total amount of capital invested in crypto deals every year since 2020. Source: BloombergOther Coinbase deals included the purchase of blockchain-based advertising…