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For a moment, Eric Adams was riding high. Fresh off trips to Dubai and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the now jobless ex-mayor of New York City was back in Times Square on Monday to announce his first initiative as a private citizen: a new cryptocurrency coin that would also serve to beat back antisemitism and anti-Americanism. Were about to change the game, he promised, without describing how, exactly, the digital asset would support those lofty ambitions. This thing is going to take off like crazy. But after surging to a nearly $600 million valuation within minutes of its launch, the new coin, dubbed NYC Token, went into free fall, losing nearly 75% of its value by that evening. The drop came after an account linked to the token’s creation withdrew $2.5 million worth of coins, according to the crypto-analytics firm Bubblemaps. Around $1.5 million was later returned, the firm said, though by then investor confidence had collapsed. To some cryptocurrency experts, the rollout had all the hallmarks of a rug pull. The scheme prevalent among celebrity-linked meme coins involves insiders hyping an asset then quickly dumping their stakes, saddling amateur investors with deep losses. Others have suggested that Adams and his inexperienced team were themselves duped by savvier investors, who took advantage of a sloppy launch. The debate has found Adams back in a mode of damage control that defined so much of his one-term mayoralty: denying misconduct, attacking the press and facing scrutiny about the competence of his inner circle of loyalists. Through a former campaign spokesperson, Adams has released multiple statements in recent days clarifying that he had not profited off the token and had not moved investor funds, calling reports otherwise false and unsupported by evidence. Like many newly launched digital assets, the NYC Token experienced market volatility, the spokesperson, Todd Shapiro, said Wednesday. Mr. Adams has consistently emphasized transparency, accountability, and responsible innovation. A machine lawyer and an Israeli hotelier Despite claims of transparency, Adams has so far declined to reveal his partners in the token. But two people close to the project confirmed that Frank Carone, Adams’ former chief adviser and one-time lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party, was closely involved in the launch. The two people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they had been asked not to disclose the identities of people involved in the token’s creation. One of Carones former clients, Yosef Sefi Zvieli, a real estate investor linked to several Israeli hotels, was also part of its creation, Shapiro confirmed to The Associated Press. Zvieli, whose involvement was first reported by Business Insider, previously owned a college dorm in Brooklyn, which drew complaints from students of filthy conditions and neglect. After defaulting on his mortgage, Zvieli hired Carone as his attorney and was able to turn the troubled property into a city-financed homeless shelter. Their exact role in the token launch was not immediately clear, though at least part of Zvielis job involved reaching out to influencers ahead of the debut. Neither he nor Carone appeared to have direct experience in cryptocurrency. Messages left with the two men were not returned. As questions around the launch swirled this week, Adams sought guidance from Brock Pierce, the billionaire crypto investor, and former Mighty Ducks child actor, whose private jet he sometimes used as mayor. After looking into the project, Pierce said he was confident that no one has run off with anyones money.” Though he described himself as Adams crypto adviser, Pierce said he was only made aware of the project after its launch. Had I been consulted, I wouldve put together a team of more qualified people who knew what theyre doing, he added. Political-coin instability Even within the largely unregulated world of meme coins, experts say projects promoted by politicians are especially prone to unsavory trading practices. The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, has faced fraud allegations for his own crypto promotion, which drew thousands of investors before swiftly collapsing. Coins launched by President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, also saw significant price fluctuations upon release. The number of accounts that invested in NYC Token were far less than those ventures, totaling just over 4,000 as of Thursday, according to Nicolas Vaiman, the founder of Bubblemaps, which conducted an analysis of publicly available trade records. Roughly 80% of those accounts had bought in during a 20-minute period before Adams had announced the coin but after it was made available for purchase, the analysis found. The window, Vaiman said, provided an advantage to insiders involved in the launch and other traders who pay close attention to new tokens. Political coins are driven purely by attention, and the crypto community is aware that attention peaks right after the launch, Vaiman said. People know you don’t want to stick around, especially for such a vague prospect, like fighting anti-Americanism or antisemitism. What does it even mean? How are you going to achieve that in a token? The website for the coin says a portion of the proceeds will be divided evenly among three causes: antisemitism and anti-Americanism awareness campaigns, crypto education for the citys youth and a scholarship initiative. It does not detail which organizations will be supported, or what percentage of the proceeds will go toward charitable causes. Uncertain fate Adams has disputed that any money had been pulled by the token’s creators. He has said the appearance of withdrawals were the result of adjustments made by the designated market maker, an entity that buys and sells orders of a new token to ensure traders can make purchases without major price shifts. The market makers include FalconX, a well known digital asset broker. The company declined to respond to inquiries on the record. As of Wednesday, a majority of accounts that invested in the coin had lost money, according to the Bubblemaps analysis. Fiften traders were down at least $100,000, while 10 had netted $100,000. Pierce said he was still hoping the project could be salvaged, adding that the fate and outcome of this project will be determined in the coming days. But some in the crypto world had their doubts. It could be a legitimate project with just a really bad rollout,” said Benjamin Cowen, the founder of another crypto research analytics firm, Into the Cryptoverse. “But the way it was launched didnt instill a lot of confidence. Its hard to regain trust in the crypto community. Jake Offenhartz, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
As protests in Iran intensify, satellite technology has become one of the only ways for people in the country to circumvent a total internet blackout and heavy restrictions on phone service. Now, as a number of people in the country turn to SpaceXthe company now providing free access to Starlinkthere are growing calls for Apple to get involved, too. At least one member of Congress has now reached out to Apple urging the company to turn on satellite texting in Iran. The office of Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican from Georgia, confirmed to Fast Company that theyd been in touch with Apple about opening up satellite messagingwhich lets iPhone users send messages even when there is no wifi or cellular servicein the country, though they didnt say what response, if any, they might have received from the company. That outreach comes after, on Wednesday, Carter called on the company to do so publicly. Apple, the leading phone brand in the world, must enable satellite messaging for Iran so they can message family and report atrocities being committed by the Iranian regime, said Carter in a social media post. Some activists have called for Apple to turn on satellite-based messaging, a service that the company is quickly rolling out. One of these calls, which as of Thursday night racked up nearly half a million views on X, reads: During this nationwide blackout, the brutal killing of civilians has started in the past 24 hours. We urgently call on Apple to enable Satellite Messaging for users inside Iran, or confirm whether the service is already active and functioning without interference. Communication is a lifeline. Lives depend on it, the person added. It isnt immediately clear if this is something Apple can do, or what Apple might have already turned on in Iran. Apple did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Globalstar, the satellite telecommunications company that supports Apples satellite-based texting service, did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. Theyre expensive, but iPhones are used throughout Iran, and the government recently lifted restrictions on newer models. Still, Apples website says that the satellite-based texting feature is currently only available to people in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan, assuming theyre using an iPhone 14 or a newer model. Apple also offers another satellite-based service, called Emergency SOS, for texting emergency services, though, again, Iran isnt one of the countries where its available. When asked about SpaceX and Starlink, a spokesperson for the State Department Fast Company on Wednesday, the administration is committed to helping to preserve and protect the free flow of information by the most effective means to the people of Iran in the face of the Iranian regimes brutal repression. But the spokesperson did not address Fast Companys follow up questions about outreach to Apple, specifically. Neither did Florida Senator Rick Scott, who commended SpaceX for making Starlink available in Iran earlier this week. I would welcome anything anything from any company, any government that can help people to send even one byte of data, Amir Rashidi, who focused on internet security and digital rights at the Miaan Group, which has been tracking the communications blackout in Iran, to Fast Company earlier this week.
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Rumors are circulating of potential strike action next month from CorePower Yoga instructors, who say they are paid less per hour than the cost of a single class drop-in fee. CorePower Yoga has a cult following online, particularly for their Hot Sculpt classes, and currently has more than 200 locations across the US. But in the r/Corepower subreddit, a recent post urges members to pause or quit their membership to show support for instructors, who are fighting for fair wages and cleaner studios. If you can stomach it to pause or quit your membership, it will benefit you as a consumer as well as the instructors who are paid on average $16/hour to teach and who are NOT paid for instruction preparation, playlist curation, and cue perfection, the post reads. CPY instructors deserve better conditions and better pay to provide for you, the high-paying consumer. You deserve to get what you pay for. At ~$200/month, you deserve a pristine studio with well-compensated instructors. The subreddit is now full of members questioning if their local studio is striking, or claiming theyve paused their membership in support of instructors. While details of the strike action remain unclear, in a separate subreddit dedicated to CorePower Yoga teachers, a graphic posted last month claims the striking staff are demanding $30/hour compensation for CorePower instructors, $20/hour for cleaners, and studios to be deep cleaned a minimum of four times a year, suggesting they currently arent (alleged incidents of cockroaches, ringworm and black mold have also plagued the subreddit). One CorePower member brought the conversation to TikTok, where the video quickly gained over 170,000 views in just two days. Actually I’ve been wanting to talk about this for a while, TikTok creator Carter Martin said in the clip. I go to CorePower. I’ve gone on and off for years. My best friend used to be an instructor, and I always thought it was insane that she got $20 to teach the yoga class. She continued: You’re not just working the desk. You are literally teaching a specialized class based on specialized training that you’ve done and paid for through CorePower to be an instructor. CorePower teachers are 200-hour certified or are certified through CorePower Yogas Intensive Yoga Sculpt program, according to the companys website. This training can run prospective teachers anywhere from $1,400 up to $4,000. Once qualified, instructors online have reported making anywhere from $15 to $20 an hour. (The company provided instructor pay details and rates in an interview with The Cut.) Fast Company has reached out to CorePower Yoga for comment. Meanwhile, to attend a class, drop-in rates run $40 in major cities like New York, while unlimited studio memberships are currently $259 per month. This is something that we as instructors talk about all the time, another former instructor, Annie Williams, weighed in online. She goes on to detail how instructors are responsible for creating unique sequences for their classes, changed fortnightly, as well as the playlist. They are also required to arrive 30 minutes before class and stay 30 minutes after it finishes, she explained. All of that work to get paid $20 to teach a class, Williams said in the video. It would just drive me insane when someone would come in and they had to pay $40 to take it. She added: I’m literally teaching 30 people. For context, an instructor at a similarly buzzy fitness studio like Solidcore can reportedly make $100 per hour, when factoring in revenue share for a full class. Pay for class instructors at upscale gyms like Equinox, meanwhile, rumoredly starts from around $60-80 per class. Some blame private equity for the studios decline. In April of 2019, CorePower Yoga was sold to private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners for an undisclosed sum. One month after that, over 1500 instructors joined a class action lawsuit alleging substantial underpayment of wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Later that year, CorePower Yoga agreed to pay $1,492,500 to settle allegations. Price goes up, quality goes down, Martin concluded in her video. Another victim of private equity.
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E-Commerce
A major fast food franchisee has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The franchisee, Sailormen Inc., operates 130 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen locations in Florida, and like the franchisees of other big-name fast food chains in recent years, has faced numerous economic headwinds. Heres what you need to know. Whats happened? On January 15, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Sailormen has been a Popeyes franchisee since the 1980s, and it currently operates 130 locations of the popular fried chicken chain. The conditions leading to the companys bankruptcy filing centered on increased debt burdens, driven by several factors. Those factors include, among others, the national impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on restaurant operations, consumer choice, high inflation, increased borrowing rates, and an increasingly limited qualified labor force, the company said in its filing. As reported by Restaurant Business, in 2023, Sailormen parent company, Interfoods of America, had a deal to sell 16 Sailormen-owned locations to another company, but that deal fell through, leaving Sailormen liable for the lease payments on those stores, significantly contributing to the companys financial woes. According to court documents, Sailormen Inc. owes around $130 million to various lenders, some of whom are suing the company. How does this bankruptcy affect Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen? Its important to note that the bankruptcy does not involve Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen or its owner, Restaurant Brands International (RBI). Sailormen Inc. is a separate legal entity from RBI and only franchises Popeyes stores. However, the bankruptcy filing of a large franchisee is sure to worry other franchise owners about the health of the Popeyes brand. To address those concerns, the president of Popeyes in the U.S. and Canada, Peter Perdue, reportedly sent out a note to relevant parties addressing the bankruptcy. According to the note, which was obtained by Restaurant Business, Perdue told other franchisees that Sailormens bankruptcy announcement does not reflect the healthy unit economics that you are experiencing in your restaurants. Of the four major fast food brands owned by RBIBurger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Firehouse Subs Popeyes ranks third in number of locations. Burger King is by far the largest RBI chain, with nearly 20,000 locations, followed by Tim Hortons with around 6,000 locations. Popeyes has around 5,000 locations worldwide, and Firehouse Subs has fewer than 1,500. In its most recent quarterly report, for the third quarter 2025, RBI reported net sales of $2.45 billion, an increase of 6.9%. However, much of that gain came from sales increases at its Tim Hortons and Burger King stores, noted CNBC. During the quarter, Popeyes saw same-store sales decline 2.4%. Fast Company reached out to Sailormen and RBI for comment. Will Popeyes store close? In Sailormen’s bankruptcy filings, it made no mention of the possibility of store closures, though no closures are by any means certain. In the memo sent to franchise owners regarding Sailormens bankruptcy filing, Popeyes president Peter Perdue reportedly addressed possible closures. While no one wants to find themselves in a process like this, we certainly believe that a large majority of their restaurants will continue to operate in the Popeyes system, he wrote. Sailormen is by far the first major quick service restaurant (QSR) franchisee to seek Chapter 11 protection. In recent years, a number of major fast food franchise owners have filed for bankruptcy. This includes the November 2023 bankruptcy filings for Wendys franchisee Starboard Group and Burger King franchisee Premier Kings. And last April, another major Burger King franchisee, Consolidated Burger Holdings, also filed for Chapter 11. Many of these franchisees have reported the same struggles as Sailormens, including foot traffic that never recovered after the Covid-19 pandemic as well as inflationary pressures.
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E-Commerce
Put down Wordle. New brain-exercise-for-the-day just dropped. Can you read 900 words per minute? a viral post that has been doing the rounds on X, challenges. Try it. If you made it to 600 words per minute, thats more than twice the speed of the average reader. If you made it to 900, congratulationsaccording to some back-of-the-napkin math, that makes you 278% faster than the national average (which is 238 words per minute). By that same logic, it could take you around 40 seconds to read this 600ish word article. But should it? As one X user pointed out, this is like brainrot for reading. Or as Jane Ollis, medical biochemist and founder at AI-powered neurotech company Sona, told Fast Company, Its the cognitive equivalent of watching Netflix on fast-forward. The challenge uses a technique called rapid sequential visual presentation, or RSVP. The effect is bizarre, almost meditative, as your eyes passively absorb huge quantities of words at a rapid-fire pace. Eye movements shorten, the inner voice gets kicked out of the room, and the brain starts guessing what comes next, explains Ollis. There’s another factor to consider when we read really fast. Its neural autocomplete, says Ollis. Very efficient. Not always accurate. Research backs this up. Getting rid of sub-vocalizationsor hearing words in your mindmay increase reading speed, but has been shown to reduce comprehension of what is being read. And doing away with those extra eye movements, by placing words one on top of another rather than along a sentence (like in the X post), has also been found to have a similar effect on comprehension. You know roughly what happened, but you wouldnt bet your reputation on the details. And neuroscience tells us that the good stuffinsight, memory, and learninghappens when the brain slows down enough to actually chew the information, explains Ollis. When people try to read at extreme speed, the brain doesnt suddenly get smarter. It gets lazier in a clever way. For the deluge of text we consume on a daily basis (more than at any other time in history) this skill isnt unhelpful. From checking emails to scanning work documents to perusing social feeds, these are all effective use-cases for this kind of speed reading approach. (Its also a pretty fun challenge, to be honest.) But the best way to read faster, without reducing comprehension, is simply to read more. In a world obsessed with speed, Ollis says, attention might be the most rebellious skill we have.
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E-Commerce
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