Stablecoins processed over $27 trillion in payments during 2024, prompting regulators worldwide to rush to create clear rules. In the span of just 12 months, the U.S. passed the GENIUS Act, the E.U. implemented MiCA and Hong Kong launched its own licensing regime. Regulatory uncertainty around payments has collapsed from 85 percent to 25 percent…
For decades, restaurants were built on a single transaction: the table. Guests dined, paid and left. Loyalty was anecdotal—a bartender remembering a favorite drink or a maître d’ recognizing a face. The pandemic shattered that simplicity. To survive, operators spun up delivery, subscriptions, events and merchandise. Now the industry is scrambling to be “guest-focused” in…
A few years ago, the concept of a widely successful prediction market seemed little more than a pipe dream, one littered by past failures and mostly confined to academic circles. Flash forward to 2025, and the ruse of Polymarket—the world’s largest prediction market—has made its 27-year-old founder and CEO, Shayne Coplan, the youngest self-made billionaire,…
If you’ve taken a New York City subway recently, you’ve likely seen an advertisement for Friend, a San Francisco-based startup selling A.I. companionship in the form of a $129 wearable pendant. The campaign has sparked mixed reactions, to say the least. Many of the minimalistic posters, which liken the A.I. device to a friend or…
By KATIE WORKMAN, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Some flavor crazes flirt with us and fade. Others stay and make themselves at home. It’s too soon to tell for sure, but the Dubai chocolate movement seems to have put down roots and is spreading at a brisk clip. The sweet flavors and thick texture…
I came across bottled sangria at the market and was inspired by its fruity, spiced notes — perfect for pairing with tender pork loin chops. The sangria adds a subtle depth of flavor that complements the savory richness of the meat. To round out this early fall dinner, orzo, a rice-shaped past, is simmered with…
Fall is when we typically trade the lighter, produce-heavy dishes of summer for heartier comfort foods. That crisp, cool salad that hit the spot on a hot night in July doesn’t quite cut it in sweatshirt weather. Once the leaves start to change color and we’re reaching for an extra blanket at bedtime instead of…
This delicious olive mixture was inspired by David Tannis, a professional chef for over 30 years in such highly regarded restaurants as Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Café Escalera in Santa Fe. He has written several critically acclaimed cookbooks. I love the spicy heat in his Spiced Olives with Lemon and Garlic. Most often I…
By Janet Patton, Lexington Herald-Leader “Well, well whiskey, looks like we meet again …” With a line from one of his songs, country music star Dierks Bentley last month serenaded a room full of fans at Louisville’s Green River Distillery who came not just for the music but for the whiskey. Bentley introduced the latest…
Robert Opp, featured on this year’s A.I. Power Index, is one of the clearest voices urging the world to slow down—not in innovation, but in assumption. As chief digital officer of the United Nations Development Programme, Opp is guiding A.I. and data strategy across more than 170 countries. That global perspective has made him deeply…
