BeInCrypto is attending TOKEN2049 Singapore as an official media partner, and this year we are bringing The NewsDesk to the main venue. Our team will be at Marina Bay Sands for both days of the conference, October 7-8, interviewing executives and industry leaders from across digital ******* ets and finance.
TOKEN2049 Singapore is expected to bring together more than 25,000 attendees, 7,000 companies, 300 speakers and 500 exhibitors across 160+ countries, with more than 60% of attendees holding C-level positions.
Alongside the broader Singapore programme, 1,000 side events will be featured throughout the week. Other major gatherings taking place in Singapore that week include Digital ******* et Summit Asia, Sui Basecamp, the Network State Conference, the Milken Institute Asia Summit, and the Forbes Global CEO Conference, all against the backdrop of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
This year's agenda features tracks on institutional capital integration, with traditional financial leaders such as Nasdaq's Adena Friedman and Franklin Templeton's Jenny Johnson discussing capital flows and regulatory developments. At the same time, industry leaders including Binance CEO Richard Teng, Hyperliquid Labs CEO Jeff Yan, and Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan will explore exchange liquidity, on-chain derivatives, and decentralised prediction markets.
The speaker's lineup also features other financial heavyweights such as Joseph Lubin, Co-founder of Consensys, Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, and Amy Oldenburg from Morgan Stanley, among others.

#conference

On August 28, Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) gave investors two very different signals in the same breath. The buy now, pay later company posted a fiscal fourth quarter that blew past Wall Street's numbers, yet CEO Max Levchin used the moment to flag something less comfortable: gas prices are squeezing the very shoppers driving that growth. The stock barely moved on the news, leaving the market to sort out which story matters more.
The headline numbers were hard to argue with. Revenue rose 33% to $1.17 billion for the three months ended June 30, ahead of the $1.11 billion ****** ysts expected, while gross merchandise volume climbed 36% to $14.1 billion against a $13.39 billion estimate. Adjusted operating income reached $353 million, a 30% margin, and the GAAP operating margin expanded six percentage points to 12.6%. For the full fiscal year, GMV hit $50.2 billion, up from $36.7 billion, on $4.26 billion in revenue.
The user base kept expanding too. Active consumers grew 21% to 27.8 million, and transactions per active consumer rose 20% to 7.0, while the Affirm Card's active user count more than doubled to 5.2 million. Newly appointed president Michael Linford, who moved into the role Thursday, Aug. 27, after nearly two years as chief operating officer, called it the eleventh straight quarter of GMV growth above 30%. Credit quality held up alongside that growth, with the 30-day delinquency rate improving to 2.5% from the 2.7% to 2.8% range of the prior three quarters, something Compass Point's Giuliano Bologna called evidence of "resilient credit performance." Affirm also deepened its Shopify tie-up, extending Shop Pay Installments into Australia after last year's UK expansion, part of what Linford described as Shopify "pulling us into a new market" as both a partner and shareholder. Susquehanna's James Friedman raised his price target to $110 from $105, calling the guidance for fiscal 2027 "exceptionally strong."
Levchin's own commentary complicated the celebration. "The US consumer undoubtedly sees the higher gas prices, so can't, can't ignore that," he told CNBC, noting shoppers are increasingly turning to Affirm to manage costs across "all the various inflationary points." The national average gas price sat at $4.09 a gallon as of August 28, down from above $4.50 in May but still well above pre-Iran war levels, and it hasn't dipped below $3 since March 2. Levchin was direct about the risk: "I do think that sustained pressure on prices isn't great in the long term, and so can't ignore that either."

#prices #Growth #can 't

It was a day of anticipation on Thursday as new broke that the Colorado Avalanche and Cale Makar had reached an agreement on a contract extension. There was no announcement then but today is supposed to be the day it finally happens.
First it started with Elliotte Friedman dropping the bomb, which was confirmed by several other media sources that a big announcement on Makar's extension was forthcoming.
And then….silence. But considering there's still three weeks to go before the Avalanche get on the ice for training camp, what's another day?
Now we are announcing the announcement as what has become the norm in today's media.
While we wait, let's reflect on the historic career the world's best defenseman has enjoyed up to this point.

#thursday #elliotte

The Detroit Red Wings described Steve Yzerman's July departure from the general manager's chair as a leadership transition.
Elliotte Friedman now says the decision may have been considerably less mutual than it appeared.
During Tuesday's edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Friedman revisited Yzerman's exit and offered an important clarification about what he believes happened behind the scenes.
"Initially I thought that maybe Yzerman resigned. I don't believe that's the case. I believe the Red Wings made the choice to move on," Friedman said on 32 Thoughts.
That is a significant distinction.

#friedman #july #elliotte

Eric Lauer surprisingly established himself as a valuable member of the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation after he was designated for ******* ignment by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Amid some pitching injuries, Lauer got a chance to prove his worth to the organization, making eight starts prior to the trade deadline and pitching behind an opener once. In those nine games, the team went 9-0, and Lauer had a 2.96 ERA.
However, trade rumors grew as Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow took steps toward returning to the big leagues. With Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and Justin Wrobleski also in the rotation, Lauer's spot was in danger, making him a trade candidate. Lauer spoke about trade possibilities with Andrew Friedman before the deadline.
"They had been pretty open with me communication-wise about what they were thinking, what I was thinking," Lauer said. "I expressed to them that I wanted to be a Dodger. So, I think they took that to heart."
Looking for the perfect gift for a baseball player in your life? Check out our brand new baseball lifestyle brand!

#rotation #deadline #took #thinking

Despite Andrew Friedman's allusions to the contrary on Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers ended up making more moves during Monday's trade deadline.
After trading for Tarik Skubal on Saturday night, the Dodgers found themselves with no other pressing needs over 48 hours before Monday's deadline. Rather, Friedman pursued marginal additions, two of which just so happened to be catchers that he's familiar with: Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia.
The Dodgers re-acquired Rortvedt from the New York Mets in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chayce McDermott, who had been designated for ******* ignment on July 31. With Will Smith still working his way back from a neck injury and Dalton Rushing heading to the injured list with a mild right elbow strain after being scratched from the lineup on Sunday, depth behind the plate suddenly became a priority.

#sunday #andrew #skubal

Once this offseason comes and the collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, there will be a lockout in Major League Baseball. Owners will use the Dodgers' spending and winning as a cudgel to try to advance their proposals.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman pushed back against criticism of the team's latest move, acquiring ace Tarik Skubal for three players on Sunday.
"It just seems like there's always blowback with us," Friedman said. "There's nothing that we did that no one else couldn't have done."
Alden González at ESPN has more on that side of Freidman's Sunday media scrum.
Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic wrote about how cries of the Dodgers ruining baseball will increase after the Skubal trade, even though the move guarantees nothing. Rosenthal wrote about how the Dodgers' financial largesse is certainly an advantage, but the specific Skubal trade was one that many other teams could make:

#sunday #nothing #wrote

LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts never feels good after getting swept, but Sunday might have been an exception. How else can you really feel less than 24 hours after finding out the your team just traded for Tarik Skubal?
"That's a silver lining, I guess," Roberts said after the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
Moments after Saturday's 3-2 loss, ESPN's Jeff Passan dropped his biggest bomb of the trade deadline: the Dodgers were acquiring Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith. The price was steep — Hope and Ryan are MLB Pipeline's No. 25- and 68-ranked prospects, while Smith was No. 17 on the Dodgers' top 30 prospects list — but not one that president of baseball operations couldn't afford.
And after spending almost all of July downplaying his pursuit of the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said negotiations started picking up on Friday before he eventually pulled the trigger on Saturday night, adding the best pitcher in baseball to a rotation that (when healthy) consists of 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.

#roberts #ryan

The Dodgers were swept for just the second time this season after the red-hot Boston Red Sox hit four home runs, including three off embattled starter Emmet Sheehan, to take an 8-4 win on Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.
Boston hit three home runs in four at-bats in the third inning, with Sheehan giving up blasts to Ceddanne Rafela, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida as the Dodgers suffered their second three-game sweep at home in less than a month.
"Really good ball club," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about the Red Sox before the game. "Really fundamentally sound. It's a younger group, as far as service time. They're hungry. Seems like they play well together. They can really defend. They're athletic. Remind me a lot of the Brewers. They can really pitch. They don't beat themselves. Dynamic. They put the ball in play."
Read more: Inside the aggressive push Andrew Friedman and Dodgers made to acquire Tarik Skubal
Boston got to Sheehan early with a pair of RBI singles from Yoshida and Caleb Durbin in the first inning.

#home #three #they 're #second

The Dodgers don't care about your feelings.
Nor should they.
Baseball's unapologetic behemoth got even more imposing, infuriating and inevitable late Saturday night. Tarik Skubal, he of the back-to-back AL Cy Young awards, is now a Los Angeles Dodger. The rich, once again, have gotten richer.
It's a fascinating, anticlimactic conclusion to what had been one of the more debated deadline sweepstakes for quite some time. Skubal's Detroit Tigers tossed fuel on the fire by failing to turn a disappointing season around. By the back end of last week, a trade appeared increasingly likely. And in the end, the game's evil empire won the bidding for the game's best hurler.
As one team employee put it to me last week: "If Andrew [Friedman] wants Skubal, he'll get Skubal." Turns out, Los Angeles' top baseball exec did indeed want the sport's most effective pitcher.

#skubal #angeles

The Los Angeles Dodgers are known for collecting starting pitching, and with Shohei Ohtani's status so uncertain at the moment, they will likely be placing calls to check in on the market.
Among the starting pitchers to be dealt, it has already been established that Tarik Skubal will be on the move. The Detroit Tigers are in free fall, and according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, it is a matter of when, not if.
The Dodgers are considered the "favorites" for Skubal, according to Passan, but that does not mean that they will indeed land him.
LA could be outbid, not due to a lack of resources, but because of how they want to allocate them. They may not want to give up all that much for a couple of months for Skubal, and the Dodgers could elect to have another team pay a steeper price.
Oct 25, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman speaks in a press conference before game one against the New York Yankees in the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

#passan #according

Shohei Ohtani will not be in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Dodgers' home game against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, July 30.
Ohtani has been dealing with an ongoing knee issue that has kept him off the mound since before the All-Star Game.
Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, told reporters on July 29 that Ohtani's knee is the reason he's not pitching right now.
Another injury came to light after Ohtani mentioned during his recent media availability that he's dealing with right biceps discomfort.

#ohtani #july

With less than a week remaining before Major League Baseball's trade deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers have emerged as the betting favorites to land one of the game's premier pitchers.
According to the latest odds released by BetOnline Sports & Casino, the Dodgers are the favorites to acquire Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal if the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is dealt before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Los Angeles is listed at 3/2 (+150), ahead of the New York Yankees at 5/2 (+250) and the Milwaukee Brewers at 3/1.
Whether Skubal is actually available remains one of the biggest questions leading up to the deadline. The Tigers remain in contention and have shown little public willingness to move the 29-year-old left-hander, who has established himself as one of baseball's most dominant starting pitchers. But should Detroit decide to entertain offers, oddsmakers believe the Dodgers are the most likely destination.
It would be easy to understand why.
The Dodgers have once again positioned themselves among the National League's elite, but adding another frontline starter has long been viewed as a potential priority for president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. A rotation featuring Skubal alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani—when fully stretched back into pitching duties—would give Los Angeles arguably the deepest and most talented staff in baseball entering October.

#league #trade

Former Toronto Maple Leafs **** istant general manager Brandon Pridham will be joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as a hockey operations consultant.
According to a new report from Sportsnet inside Elliotte Friedman, Pridham is expected to handle contract, cap management, and planning responsibilities with the Penguins.
The duties Pridham is expected to take on were previously being handled by Vickie Mpofu, who recently departed the Penguins organization for Nashville.
Joining the Penguins will be a reunion of sorts for Pridham, who spent the past 12 seasons in Toronto with the Maple Leafs, with a number of those years working alongside Kyle Dubas.
Earlier this year, Pridham and the Maple Leafs mutually agreed to part ways after the team made changes at the management level, bringing in John Chayka as general manager.

Mammoth make Barrett Hayton contract decision after Devils offer sheet originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Utah Mammoth and New Jersey Devils had the NHL world in a little bit of suspense.
The suspense is over. The Mammoth have made their decision on Barrett Hayton's contract after the New Jersey Devils and the center had agreed to an offer sheet.
In the end, the Mammoth decided to match the offer made to their unrestricted free agent.
"Hayton now has a one-year, $4.775M contract and cannot be traded until next July, after he is scheduled to become a UFA," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote on X on Wednesday as he broke the news. "Any player signed to a one-year contract is eligible to extend after Jan. 1, though."

Luka Doncic's Lakers entered a new era without changing one key role originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Luka Doncic's Los Angeles Lakers have reshaped both their roster and front office this offseason. Despite several high-profile executive additions, Rob Pelinka continues to lead basketball operations as the franchise prepares for its first season after LeBron James.
Rob Pelinka has remained the Lakers' primary decision-maker throughout free agency despite the organization's expanded leadership structure. According to ESPN, multiple player agents who negotiated with the Los Angeles this offseason said all basketball discussions continued to flow through Pelinka. This remained the case even after Dodgers owner Mark Walter purchased the franchise and added executives Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi to the team's leadership group.
Pelinka has also overseen the expansion of the front office. The Lakers hired Rohan Ramadas as an **** istant general manager focused on salary cap management and **** ytics, and Pelinka intends to add another **** istant general manager responsible for professional scouting, player personnel and evaluation. The moves reflect the organization's effort to strengthen its basketball operations without changing Pelinka's leadership role.
Most of the Lakers' major offseason work appears complete. ESPN reported that the only significant unresolved roster question involves Rui Hachimura, whose future remains uncertain after the team's recent spending. Another potential move could follow once LeBron James finalizes his next destination, with Bronny James' situation also worth monitoring.

Sergei Bobrovsky's free agent cost to Maple Leafs revealed originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Sergei Bobrovsky is only a year removed from winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Florida Panthers.
Now, the veteran goalie is a free agent, and the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have a strong chance to sign him.
Some early rumors suggested he'd be quite pricy, but the latest report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman is more affordable.
"Heard Edmonton had interest, but I’ve honed in on Toronto," Friedman wrote early Wednesday morning. "Believe his last ask of Florida was three years, $21 million. So I’d expect the overall dollars to come in around there."

ANAHEIM, Calif. – A day after acquiring his rights from the Florida Panthers in exchange for the rights to now-former Ducks captain Radko Gudas, Anaheim reportedly signed pending free agent forward AJ Greer to a four-year, $4.25 million per season contract on Tuesday.
NHL salary cap and tracking site PuckPedia was first to report, with near simultaneous posting from NHL insiders Pierre LeBrun (TSN, The Athletic), Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet) and Frank Seravalli (Hockey247, Victory+).
The deal, which includes a 10-team no-trade clause for all four years, was signed the day before NHL free agency begins in full on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.
Gudas, who previously played for the Panthers from 2020-23, has yet to sign with Florida, as of Tuesday evening. Gudas played three seasons with the Ducks, including the last two as captain. The 36-year-old Czech Olympic blueliner battled lower-body injuries down the stretch this season with just 56 regular season games played and one playoff game–the opener in Edmonton.
“Wearing this jersey and serving as captain was a privilege that I’ll always be proud of,” Gudas wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “Thank you for the support, the memories and for making my family and me feel at home from day one. Anaheim will always mean a lot to us.”

It sounds like all the Zach Werenski trade talk to the San Jose Sharks might be moot.
Elliotte Friedman doesn’t think that Werenski wants to come to San Jose, at least not yet.
“Wherever Werenski’s going to go now is most likely somewhere he thinks he can win,” Friedman opined on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “I just don’t think you can win [a Stanley Cup] there now.
The San Jose Sharks, led by 20-year-old superstar Macklin Celebrini, are undoubtedly on the rise. But they’ve also missed the playoffs for seven-straight seasons and running.
So, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, 28, would have a point. It’s also very much worth noting that the American superstar has a No-Movement Clause this upcoming season, so he’s not going anywhere that he doesn’t want, at least not in 2026-27.

Distress at 625 North Michigan Avenue is entering its next phase: receivership.
On June 16, a Cook County judge appointed Scott Shefman of Friedman Real Estate Management as the receiver for the Magnificent Mile office building, court records show.
Shefman's takeover of the 28-story property's operations stems from a foreclosure lawsuit filed by Citibank, acting as trustee for commercial mortgage-backed securities bondholders, alongside special servicer LNR Partners. The lenders allege landlords Golub & Company and BlueFive Capital defaulted on a $50.6 million loan. The debt, originated by Cantor Commercial Real Estate in 2019 with a 4.63 percent interest rate, reached its maturity date on March 6 without repayment.
The loan transferred to special servicing in November 2025 due to an imminent default driven by cash flow issues. Golub previously indicated to the lender that it couldn't continue funding the property's operating expenses out of pocket. In April 2026, the borrowers received a formal notice of default.
As receiver, Shefman takes control of the nearly 290,000-square-foot building's management. His court-mandated duties include collecting rents from tenants and maintaining new bank accounts; negotiating, modifying and executing leases; and **** isting in marketing the property for sale, which may involve soliciting offers.

Usha Vance is not breaking the bank with her maternity wear.
After The New York Times published a story ******* led "The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image," in which fashion critic Vanessa Friedman ******* yzed how pregnant women in President Donald Trump's administration present themselves, the second lady, 40 — married to Vice President JD Vance — sent a clear message that she doesn't put much stock in what she's wearing.
"Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can't wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!" Usha wrote on X. "In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good story with your kids on Storytime with the Second Lady."
Usha followed up by sharing a screenshot of the receipt for the purchase, confirming the garment was on sale for $12.49, down from $49.99, and she only paid $8.75 because she had a discount.
Usha wore the dress in the special Father's Day episode of her Storytime with the Second Lady podcast, where JD, 41, joined her to read the children's classic Winnie-the-Pooh.

Dodgers predicted to make savvy trade for 1.95 ERA Orioles reliever originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are looking like the best team in baseball once again, but that doesn't mean they couldn't use some more help at the 2026 MLB trade deadline.
While there is always going to be links between the Dodgers and Tarik Skubal as the top trade chip this season, the Dodgers could instead pursue some more savvy trade targets this summer.
That's exactly the kind of player that Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report is predicting the Dodgers to trade for, as L.A. is predicted to acquire Baltimore Orioles reliever Rico Garcia in a move that would be very savvy for Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers.
"Los Angeles Dodgers (51-29): They'll get Rico Garcia from the Orioles," Rymer predicts. "Even though he's 32, his club control elevates his value, but probably not to a point where the Dodgers would have to subtract a top-10 prospect from their No. 1-ranked farm system."

Brady Tkachuk is on the move.
The three-time All-Star for the Ottawa Senators is joining the Florida Panthers via a blockbuster trade featuring three first-round draft picks, according to multiple reports.
In exchange, the Panthers will send the Senators the No. 9 and 25 picks in this year's draft, a first-round selection in 2029 and a second-round selection in 2030, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.
Tkachuk will join a Panthers team that features his brother and two-time NHL All-Star Matthew Tkachuk.
After winning consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025, the Panthers fell to seventh place out of eight teams in the Atlantic Division at 40-38 and missed the playoffs. The trade for Tkachuk signals Florida's intent to return to contention next season.

A coalition of civil rights groups on Tuesday asked a state judge to order one of New York's largest suburban counties to stop its deployment of nearly 600 license plate readers, calling it a warrantless and "indiscriminate surveillance system" that violates the state constitution.
The class action lawsuit also alleged that Westchester County never got proper authorization to launch the program, which has amassed a database of 1.6 billion plate scans that has been shared with more than 50 outside law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The complaint said the network "records the long-term travel patterns, daily habits, and intimate information of millions of law-abiding New Yorkers and other motorists who travel through Westchester."
"In a democracy, a police department cannot unilaterally decide — without legislative authorization — to surveil the daily movements of its own citizens without any real accountability, transparency, or oversight," said Barry Friedman, founder and faculty director of the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, which brought the suit on behalf of four motorists. "This indiscriminate data surveillance must not be allowed to continue in the dark."
"Westchester County has not yet received or reviewed the lawsuit referenced," a spokesperson for the county said.
The widespread use of license plate reader systems, which utilize a system of cameras to scan and record motorists' license plate information, has generated controversy. The ****** ociated Press in November reported that the U.S. Border Patrol was running a secretive license plate reader program that singled drivers out over their travel patterns, prompting a complaint from congressional Democrats that the program may be unlawful.

Detroit Red Wings star Dylan Larkin has requested a trade, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman and other news organizations.
That's a stunning development, adding a major name that teams can pursue in the offseason.
The Detroit Free Press, part of USA TODAY Network, said it could not independently confirm the report.
Larkin has been captain of the Red Wings since 2021. He's a six-time 30-goal scorer, including the last five seasons.
He also was a standout for the USA at the Olympics and the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Jeffrey Epstein’s Brother Claims He Heard ‘from a Pretty Good Source’ That Epstein Files Are Being Scrubbed of Republican Names

Owen Hoffmann/Patrick McMullan/Getty; Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis/Getty
Mark Epstein, brother of the late **** offender Jeffrey Epstein, has alleged that the Epstein files are being edited to remove Republican names
"The reason they're going to be releasing the files ... is that they're sabotaging these files," Mark told NewsNation
Mark's comments come shortly after President Donald Trump encouraged House Republicans to vote to release the fi