Ran Barzilay, a psychiatrist and researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, won’t be letting his nine-year-old son get a smartphone before age 13. He made the decision based on data from his recent study, published in the medical journal Pediatrics, which linked getting a smartphone at a young age to worse health consequences. Kids who owned a smartphone by age 12 had a greater risk of depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep compared to those who didn’t, a research team led by Barzilay found. That was based on observational data collected between 2016 and 2022 in an ongoing study of more than 10,000 children across the United States. Designed to assess brain development and child health, the nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study has been following children for the last decade, starting from ages nine to 10 into early adulthood. The age at which kids got a phone in this cohort ranged from four to 13, with a median age of 11. “We’re not advocating for people to go back to the Stone...
Pantera Capital predicts a year of significant consolidation for corporate crypto treasuries, with a few large players dominating digital asset demand while smaller ones get bought up. Digital asset treasury (DAT) companies are likely to face consolidation in 2026, as the largest, best-capitalized players continue to accumulate Bitcoin and Ether while smaller companies struggle to keep pace, according to Pantera Capital. DATs are set for “brutal pruning” in 2026, with only a few dominant corporate treasuries left standing, predicted asset manager Pantera Capital in a Wednesday X post. “Everyone else gets acquired or left behind except for a longer-tail token winner going along for the ride.” So far this year, the pattern has been most visible in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) treasuries, where the most well-funded players have dominated acquisitions. Read more
Elliptic said the ruble-backed A7A5 token functioned as a bridge into USDT markets before sanctions and exchange controls curbed its growth. A ruble-backed stablecoin linked to sanctioned Russian financial networks processed more than $100 billion in onchain transactions in less than a year, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. In a report published Thursday, Elliptic said the A7A5 stablecoin was designed to operate within a broader framework intended to reduce exposure to Western financial sanctions. The structure allowed Russian-linked businesses to move value through crypto markets while limiting the risk of asset freezes. Elliptic found that A7A5’s activity surged following its launch in early 2025, before slowing down in the second half of the year as sanctions and compliance actions taken by exchanges and token issuers started to restrict its usability. Read more