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The barriers between legacy financial institutions and cryptocurrency upstarts continue to crumble. JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase announced a new partnership on Wednesday that will make it easier for the banking giants customers to buy cryptocurrency. The first fruit of the deal will arrive this fall, allowing Coinbase users to buy digital currencies using a Chase credit card. A new bridge between banks and blockchain Next year, Chase will begin allowing customers to leverage their Chase Ultimate Rewards points to buy cryptocurrency through Coinbasea first for a major credit card rewards program. Through the program, 100 Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for $1 toward USDC, a so-called stablecoin pegged to the price of the U.S. dollar that serves as a connection point between volatile cryptocurrencies and the U.S. dollar. From there, Chase customers will be able to move their redeemed rewards points between Coinbases crypto offerings, which include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a wide selection of more obscure altcoins. This partnership marks a significant step forward in empowering our customers to take control of their financial futures, Melissa Feldsher, JPMorgan Chase’s head of payments and lending innovations, said in a press release announcing the partnership. The partnership, she added, would allow its loyalty program members to use their money and rewards in new and exciting ways. Chase customers will also be able to connect their bank accounts directly to their Coinbase wallets sometime in 2026. JPMorgan and Coinbase characterized the new features as the first phase of a strategic collaboration that will deepen over time. We believe crypto is for everyone, and are excited to be working with JPMorgan to expand access, lower barriers to entry, and onboard the next wave of users into crypto, Coinbase wrote in a blog announcement. As the most trusted bridge from traditional finance to crypto, were always looking for more seamless options for customers to get into crypto and make economic freedom a reality for millions of Americans. Running of the bulls JPMorgans decision to integrate deeply with Coinbase is yet another sign that big banks have overcome their jitters around crypto and are opting to plunge in. While critics still view cryptocurrencies as risky speculative investments that lack even the few safeguards present in the traditional stock market, that view is again unpopular in 2025. With President Trump back in office and cashing in himself, another crypto hype cycle is in full swing. Earlier this month, Trumps social media company said that it had purchased roughly $2 billion in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that it plans to use as a strategic investment. The current climate has yet again sent Bitcoin to the moon, with the leading cryptocurrency hitting a fresh all-time high north of $120,000 this month and any concerns about crypto exchange FTXs spectacular collapse just a few short years ago long forgotten.
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The gospel according to fitness influencers: drink three liters of water per day, get a minimum of eight hours of sleep, and walk at least 10,000 steps per day. From the hot girl walk, to wearing weighted vests and arm weights on said walk, to those taking it oneor 5,000steps further and marching up to 15,000 or even 25,000 steps a day, these once-simple strolls have morphed into full-blown social media trends. When did something as basic as going for a walk become so intimidating? @alexrose_ My top podcast recommendations for the wellness or health / beauty / pop culture girlies who want to increase their step goals and not get bored out of their minds #walkingforfatloss #podcastreccomendations #podcastsforyour20s #10ksteps original sound – Lex While mostly sage advice, if youve been struggling to hit the gold standard of 10,000 steps a day (which roughly equates to five miles) or found yourself doing laps around the block to get those final few hundred under your belt, just know that unofficial target isnt actually based in science. The 10,000 steps-a-day walking target originated as a 1960s marketing slogan by Japanese company Yamasa to sell pedometers. It has since become accepted wisdom, promoted heavily by the online fitness community. That is until new scientific analysis in The Lancet Public Health officially confirmed that this aspirational goal, while by no means harmful, isnt the magic number its promoted to be, and even thousands fewer steps a day could still yield big health rewards. The researchers analyzed data from more than 160,000 adults to examine how step counts were linked with the risk of developing a number of health conditions. They discovered the overall mortality for people walking 7,000 steps was 47% lower than for those who walked only 2,000. Walking this amount daily also reduced the risk of health problems including death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as incidence of type 2 diabetes and dementia. But after 7,000 steps, as the step count increased, the payoff rate slowed. The overall mortality for people notching 10,000 steps was 48%just a 1% increase from 7,000compared with 2,000. Now, thats not to say you should give up on your 10,000-step goal, or worse, cut back on the steps you are already doing. Hitting 10,000 steps was found to be better than 7,000 for some health conditions, such as reducing the risk of depression. Also, those clocking in 12,000 steps a day saw their overall mortality drop 55% compared with 2,000. But pushing for a minimum of 5,000 to 7,000a more practical target for those who are currently inactivewill make the biggest difference for the least amount of effort. While 10,000 may still be the gold standard, just know that you are still reaping the health benefits if you only make it to 9,999.
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Europe’s economy barely grew in the April-June quarter as frantic earlier efforts to ship goods ahead of new U.S. tariffs went into reverse and output fell for the continent’s biggest economy, Germany. Gross domestic product grew an anemic 0.1% compared to the previous quarter in the 20 countries that use the euro currency, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Wednesday. Growth was 1.4% over the same quarter a year ago. And prospects are mediocre for the coming months, given the 15% tariff, or import tax, imposed on European goods in the U.S. under the EU-U.S. trade deal announced Sunday. The higher tariff will burden European exports with higher costs to either be passed on to U.S. consumers or swallowed in the form of lower profits. The economy sagged after stronger than expected 0.6% growth in the first quarter, a figure inflated by companies trying to move product ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s additional tariff onslaught that was announced April 2, two days after the first quarter ended. Output fell 0.1% in Germany and Italy, while growth of 0.3% in France was boosted by a rise in auto and aircraft inventories while domestic demand was otherwise stagnant. That left Spain as the only strong performer among the four largest eurozone economies at 0.7% With the 15% U.S. universal tariff likely to subtract around 0.2% from the regions GDP, growth is likely to remain weak in the rest of this year, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics. Germany’s economy remains roughly the same size as it was before the pandemic six years ago, as its export-dominated business sector struggles with multiple issues including stronger competition from China, a lack of skilled workers, higher energy prices, lagging infrastructure investment, and burdensome regulation and bureaucracy. Economist Palmas said that Germany “is likely to be hit harder than other major economies by tariffs and continue to struggle this year” before increased government spending from the new government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, aimed at making up the infrastructure gap, starts to boost the economy in 2026. On Wednesday, Germanys Cabinet approved a draft 2026 budget that foresees a second consecutive year of record government investment in priorities such as modernizing transport infrastructure, building homes, security and digitization. Spending is set to rise to 126.7 billion euros ($146.2 billion) next year from 115.7 billion euros in 2025. Our top priority is to secure jobs and ensure new economic strength, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said. David McHugh, AP business writer Geir Moulson contributed to this report.
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