Blockchain-powered fitness app Stepn has announced that users will now be able to buy and sell digital assets within the app, without being forced to exit and use an external marketplace. The app allows users to buy digital sneaker NFTs and then earn token rewards by walking, jogging or running. The NFT sneakers can also be bought or sold for cryptocurrency on Stepn’s marketplace. The company also announced a new integration which will allow users to purchase digital assets using traditional debit and credit cards linked to Apple Pay. The move is significant as historically, Apple’s App Store policies regarding the buying and selling of in-game assets have been considered hostile by some companies.

President Joe Biden has said he won't sign a budget deal that favours "crypto traders" or "wealthy tax cheats" while putting food assistance at risk. Biden has previously criticised cryptocurrency investors and has proposed changing tax policies related to "wash sales" of digital assets and a 30% tax on energy used in crypto mining operations. Without a new budget deal, the US could run out of cash as soon as 1 June.

Seven non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital were sold for approximately $2.5 million at an auction by Sotheby's. The highest-priced token, "Fidenza #725," was sold for over $1 million. Three Arrows Capital was the first major crypto firm to go bankrupt in 2022 and filed for bankruptcy in the British Virgin Islands in late June 2022.

Worldcoin, a San Francisco-based start-up, has been collecting biometric data from people in developing countries under the guise of offering social assistance and free cash. The company claims to be building a fairly-distributed, cryptocurrency-based universal basic income, but has instead built a biometric database from the bodies of the poor. Worldcoin's representatives have used deceptive marketing practices and collected more personal data than they acknowledged, violating the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and local laws. The company's aim is to garner a billion sign-ups by 2023, but its methods have been widely criticised.

The article discusses ten innovative uses of the Internet of Things (IoT) in e-commerce, including inventory management, supply chain management, customized information and activities for individuals, improved tracking and logistics, and customer experience. IoT also allows for troubleshooting, performance analytics, warranty and maintenance, and maximized income potential. The benefits of IoT in e-commerce are significant, including increased revenue, customized customer experiences, and improved tracking and logistics.

The Ethereum network's consensus is highly secured and valued at $34 billion. There have been proposals to use the Ethereum validator set and social consensus for other purposes, but a certain subset of these techniques brings high systemic risks to the ecosystem and should be discouraged and resisted. The article argues that dual-use of validator staked ETH is fine, but attempting to "recruit" Ethereum social consensus for an application's own purposes is not. The article provides examples of low-risk and high-risk proposals and explains why overloading Ethereum consensus is a huge disadvantage. The article concludes that once a blockchain starts incorporating real-world price indices as a layer-1 protocol feature, it could easily be impacted by real-world conflicts and tear the community apart.