Collison discusses globalization of payments and his growing media empire — Startup Grind Global kicked off this morning with opening remarks by Stripe CEO John Collison in conversation with Ashlee Vance of Bloomberg Businessweek. What follows is a summary of key insights: Been there, done that “People tend to think online already happened and everything that’s already been figured out has…

BTT ICO announced for 1/28, airdrop for 2/11 — TRON was the third top mover this past Monday with its cryptocurrency TRX jumping 5.03%, now the 9th largest cryptocurrency ranked by market capitalization, according to ForbesCrypto Markets. …

Talking refrigerators, flying taxis, supercute robots and more! — The Consumer Electronics Show aka CES is finally upon us, and for the 182,000 people about to descend upon the world’s largest technology show, they’re in for a fun week. …

2019 outlook, when a bear market is a good thing — There were close to 500 crypto conferences in 2018 and blockchain billionaire Brock Pierce spoke at many of them. He was there at CoinAgenda Global until late, gathering the faithful around campfire-like tales. He was there at the NASDAQ Crypto Summit, hosted by Justin Wu and Chris Champion, rebutting playboy…

VCs, institutional investors and family offices descend on South Beach for the weeklong rave with Christo, Calvin Harris, Kaskade, Die Antwoord and Zedd If all of your crypto friends are racing down to Florida next week, it’s because world’s hippest art show, Art Basel Miami, is bringing together 77,000 fans…

Technical co-founder and customer feedback are key — In its 13 years since launch, Y Combinator has undoubtedly become the most powerful accelerator in Silicon Valley. Having helped create over $100 billion in market value for its portfolio companies, YC is known for its midas touch in picking unicorns. Many of tech’s hottest companies got their start at…

Blockchain community partners with local initiatives to rebuild — This week all eyes will be on Puerto Rico as crypto pioneer, Brock Pierce, brings Restart Week to the tiny U.S. territory that was ravaged by Hurricane Maria over a year ago. The third in a series, Restart South brings together Puerto Rico’s burgeoning blockchain community to work in partnership…

Teen maker takes on the quarter trillion dollar beauty industry to save the planet and finds that even with the best backing, startup life is all about the hustle — At just 14 years old, Ben Stern ideated NOHBO Drops, a single use zero-waste plant-based wrapper that melts in water and dispenses a precise amount of shampoo, conditioner, body wash or shaving cream concentrate without wasteful packaging.

Crypto pioneers are placing bets on gaming to deliver the first billion people to blockchain despite big publishers holding back. Tony Cheng of Decentraland says they’ll never get onboard. Meanwhile Ubisoft moves forward with Blockchain Game Alliance. When will CryptoKitties make a cameo in South Park Phone Unleashed? —