Joey Bertschler, a former OpenAI employee, is building a crypto wage distribution system, Volante Chain, motivated in part by disillusionment with OpenAI’s culture. Joey Bertschler, a former OpenAI employee, is building a crypto-powered earned wage access system through his new startup, Volante Chain. In an interview with Cointelegraph at German Blockchain & AI Week, Bertschler said he worked at OpenAI before the launch of ChatGPT, helping business customers use early-stage AI tools. He later decided to switch industries and focus on financial technology, creating a blockchain-based platform that allows same-day wage access for employees. Volante allows employees at participating companies to be paid their daily wage on the same day, rather than waiting until the end of the month. Bertschler described the current norm as “30 days of taking your freedom away, of choosing what to do with your money,” particularly for those living paycheck to paycheck. Read more
Romania recorded the highest annual increase in hourly labor costs in the European Union (EU) in the first quarter of 2025, as per data released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
Malaysia unveils a regulatory sandbox for programmable payments and ringgit-backed stablecoins, aiming to position itself as a regional fintech hub. Malaysia has launched its Digital Asset Innovation Hub initiative, which will serve as a regulatory sandbox, enabling fintech and digital asset firms to test new technologies under the oversight of the country’s central bank. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the initiative during the Sasana Symposium 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, according to a report by The Business Times. He described the hub as the “beginning of a new chapter” for Malaysia’s digital economy. Ibrahim said the sandbox will allow use cases such as programmable payments, ringgit-backed stablecoins and supply chain financing to be explored in a controlled environment. Read more
Pump.fun ban and increasing geopolitical risks in the Middle East are helping drive down Solana price today. Key takeaways: Solana dropped over 4.5% after X banned Pump.fun and related memecoin accounts, weakening retail momentum. The escalating Israel-Iran conflict and Trump’s G7 remarks triggered a broader flight from risk assets. Read more
One out of four Romanian employees is dissatisfied with their salary, half of them expect salaries to stagnate in the next two years, and only 13% of companies would be willing to significantly raise salaries in the coming year, according to the survey “Salaries and benefits – balancing expectations and supply” conducted by Undelucram.ro at regional level.