Blackbird gobbles up $50M for its blockchain-based payment-loyalty app for restaurants

A founder who has carved out a name for himself building products to help restaurants connect better with would-be diners has raised $50 million for his latest startup: a new take on the idea of customer loyalty.  Blackbird Labs has built a payments-meets-loyalty-meets-blockchain platform for restaurants to grow repeat business while reducing some of the … Read more

Teen restrictions expand on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger

Instagram is adding new restrictions for teens, while existing protections get baked into Facebook and Messenger. Meta is broadening Instagram restrictions that prevent minors from being exposed to inappropriate contact and content, bringing those protections to Facebook and Messenger and adding new limits for teenage Instagram users.  After introducing “Teen Accounts” to Instagram in September … Read more

How to use ChatGPT to turn crypto news into trade signals

Key takeaways ChatGPT can analyze crypto news headlines and generate actionable trade signals, helping traders make faster and more informed decisions. Well-crafted prompts are essential — the more specific your instructions, the more accurate and useful ChatGPT’s responses will be. News-based signals work best when combined with broader market context, like Bitcoin trends or altcoin … Read more

Sizl raises $3.5M to expand its cook-to-order food delivery service

Dark kitchens– also referred to as ghost kitchens, cloud kitchens, or virtual kitchens– often receive criticism for their food quality. Sizl, a cook-to-order delivery service based in Chicago, seeks to change this perception by delivering meals made with fresh ingredients in around 30 minutes flat. The company announced its recent $3.5 million seed round on … Read more

Lyzi Raises $1.4M to Expand Tezos-Based Crypto Payments Service for Retail

Tezos-based crypto payment hub Lyzi said it raised 1.3 million euros ($1.4 million) in a seed funding round to expand the development of its platform. The round included participation from angels investors Christopher Grilhault des Fontaines, founder of Dfns, and Jean-Luc Bernard, founder of Astek, according to an emailed announcement shared with CoinDesk on Tuesday. … Read more

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides. Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff … Read more

Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin’s Haven Claim Hit as U.S., China Face Off Over Tariffs

By James Van Straten and Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) One thing markets despise is uncertainty, and right now it’s coming from all corners of the globe, largely fueled by Trump’s tariffs. Markets rebounded somewhat on Tuesday following Monday’s bloodbath in Asia and Europe, but it was more of a relief rally … Read more

Mint, Match, Mingle: A Better Way to Connect on the Blockchain

Most people think NFTs peaked with overpriced jpegs and Twitter flexes. Cute. But here’s a seriously slept-on use case: matchmaking NFTs. Imagine tokens that aren’t just tradable—they’re destined. My project idea, SOLmates, flips NFTs into connectors. Each token is minted with a soulmate, but that pair stays locked until the right two holders come along. It’s Tinder … Read more

How to Check SSL expiration with Bash

There are a few easy ways to check when an SSL certificate expires. Write Your Own Shell Script Here’s a simple script that checks the expiration date of an SSL certificate: #!/bin/sh TARGET=$1 if [ -z “$TARGET” ]; then echo “Provide a host as a parameter” exit 1 fi echo “Checking $TARGET…” expirationdate=$(openssl s_client -connect … Read more

Escape Prompt Hell With These 8 Must-have Open-source Tools

Remember when prompt engineering meant clever ChatGPT hacks and intuition-driven guesswork? Those days are long gone. As large language models (LLMs) become embedded in enterprise workflows, the tools we use to build with them need to grow up too. Today, prompt engineering is shifting from creativity and trial-and-error to something that resembles software development. It’s … Read more

Muddy Waters Didn’t Short AppLovin. They Shorted You.

Muddy Waters’ recent short report on AppLovin reads serious. Abuse, violations, an impending takedown. But the discerning will realize something’s missing—like the stuff real short reports usually include. Somehow people are still treating it like they’ve found a dead unicorn in the server logs. See, the brilliance of the report isn’t the facts. It’s the … Read more