"The broad point is that only the strong survive was correct. We are entering the endgame of crypto having any reason to exist. My thesis as to why it exists at all is a combination of a novel vector for gambling and an affinity scam. Bitcoin is extremely difficult to even begin to understand, and even though what it fundamentally 'fixes' is money printing, its novelty ironically lends itself to confusing the uninitiated and impatient with meaningless appeals to 'blockchain technology' that manifest as attempts to print money." -- Allen Farrington Allen Farrington's article is a follow-up to his earlier piece “Only the Strong Survive,” and it poses a blunt question: If Bitcoin can now fulfill virtually everything the broader crypto space originally promised—programmable money, scalable payments, DeFi primitives, and more—then does the rest of the altcoin casino really have any reason left to exist? On the Bitcoin side, the piece highlights whether the combination of Arkade (built on the Ark protocol), Lightning Network, and e-cash systems could be the true endgame for real programmability and a global, self-custodial banking layer directly on Bitcoin. I've always seen this as the ultimate outcome, ever since my early research into distributed blockchains back in 2011. From the beginning, it felt clear to me that Bitcoin's design would eventually layer up to handle everything else claimed by later chains—without compromising soundness, decentralization, or self-custody. Article:

Proton Drive

Securely store, share, and access your important files and photos. Anytime, anywhere.

The Marshall Islands has rolled out the world's first national universal basic income (UBI) program that includes a cryptocurrency payment option.

the Guardian

Marshall Islands launches world’s first universal basic income scheme offering cryptocurrency

Quarterly payments of $200 to be offered via stablecoin or traditional currency in a scheme designed to ease cost of living pressures in the Pacifi...

Citizens can receive quarterly payments of around $200—either through traditional methods like bank transfers or checks, or as a US dollar-pegged stablecoin via a government digital wallet—to help combat rising living costs in this remote Pacific nation. This is a pretty innovative move, especially for reaching people on far-flung islands. Universal Basic Income (UBI)—and perhaps Universal Basic Services (like guaranteed healthcare, education, housing, and transit)—really starts to look practical when you zoom out: as AI and humanoid robots handle more and more jobs, something like this could ease the shift into an economy where humans aren't required for every task. It's essentially a live experiment for all those theories about how automation will reshape society.