SoFi Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, announced Saturday that the LA Bowl has been renamed the “LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk” after SoFi and Gronkowski entered into a multi-year agreement.
A exterior view at SoFi Stadium prior to a game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers on October 1, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
The game, which features the top team from the Mountain West versus the Pac-12’s number five selection, was previously named the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl.
“Football has brought me so many incredible opportunities, and I’m thrilled to return to college football as the host of my very own bowl game,” said Gronkowski. “We are going to light up college football bowl season. This game is going to be epic, so I better see everyone at the LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk at SoFi Stadium on December 16!”
Gronkowski, a four-time Super Bowl champion, will serve as the official host of the game and preside over the coin toss and trophy presentation, where he will present the LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk championship belt to the winning team.
“Rob is larger than life and an outstanding representation of football at the highest level,” said Chris Sloan, head of global partnerships, SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Park and LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk, according to the SoFi press release. “The LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk continues to merge the world of competitive sports with top-notch entertainment, and we cannot wait for the fans to experience college bowl season with Rob Gronkowski.”
Football: NFC Championship: Fox broadcaster Rob Gronkowski looks on during the Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Francisco 49ers game at Lincoln Financial Stadium, Philadelphia, on January 29, 2023.(Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Gronkowski played in the Las Vegas Bowl, now known as the LA Bowl, in 2008 with the Arizona Wildcats against BYU.
He retired for the second time following the conclusion of the 2021 season after spending 11 years in the NFL.
“I’m done. I’m washed up right now,” Gronkowski told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I can’t go any more, man.”
Gronk still hits the gym plenty, but admittedly only to “look like I can play every once in a while.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) celebrate after a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium.(Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports)
“I’m frickin’ going through the car wash to get extra shiny these days,” he says. “I like to be in shape, though, still. I love to work out and get those endorphins going.”
“But no, I’m good. I put my 11 years in, my man. I put my 11 years in and had a great 11 years.”
Gronkowski won three Super Bowls with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots before spending two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he and Brady won their fourth rings.
A self-proclaimed jack of all trades and master of none, OSF has become a prolific figure in the non-fungible token world in just over two years, trading his former life at Barclay’s to focus full-time on web3, his digital art pursuits, his PFP project Rekt Guy and living the life of a degen collector.
The self-deprecating 34-year-old Englishman has a Swiss army knife of skills suited for a modern world of creating digital objects — being a self-taught coder, understanding internet culture, with an ability to capture attention and not take himself too seriously.
While he wears many hats, OSF, the artist, has been featured at Sotheby’s and has sold multiple pieces for six figures. He describes himself most as an artist and project founder.
“I find it really tough to classify myself as one thing or another, but it’s certainly a question I get asked quite a bit. I do have periods where I’m more focused on certain things like trading but overall, an artist and project founder is the way I would describe myself,” OSF tells NFT Creator.
“I hate the idea of constraining myself to one thing. I think it’s just probably a problem I have in life. My attention gets easily captured by anything really and as you probably can guess, I have ADD and all that kind of stuff. I do feel that I just enjoy lots of different aspects of the [web3] space, and I kind of want to be a part of it all.”
“Dinner” by OSF. (SuperRare)
While initially a crypto skeptic, OSF cut his teeth in early 2021 when he bought some Bitcoin, but it was his good friend Mando who provided the nudge required for OSF to truly catch the NFT curiosity bug.
It wasn’t long until he found himself applying his past decade of experience as a trader in traditional finance to this new emerging asset class of NFTs. Originally minting 150 Bored Apes (0.08 ETH each) in late April 2021, OSF sold most of them about a week later for five times the mint price but remained a large Ape holder, teaming up with Mando in September 2021 to combine their collections.
The duo made headlines in February 2023, selling around 70 Apes at a healthy clip of 78 ETH each into Blur bids as liquidity rushed back into NFTs after Blur Season 1’s airdrop occurred. Apes’ current floor price sits at 26.7 ETH, with NFT prices being down for most collections since that iconic trade.
“It’s not like we were bearish on Apes. We weren’t even really bearish on NFTs at this point in time. I know it now looks like a great trade, but I’d be lying if I said at that point in time, I think NFTs are going to go to where they are now. I didn’t really see that; I only think that became clear later on,” OSF says.
“In our old jobs, if someone could tell you you’ve made all this money, but you still have all this risk, and you can clean up that risk in two trades and just take the money, you’d do it. You wouldn’t think twice.”
Crypto culture, nostalgia and XCOPY
In a similar vein to the likes of Josie Bellini and Trevor Jones, OSF has leaned into crypto culture with a passion for nostalgia that shines through his work.
This is exemplified by his art and Rekt Guy, his PFP collection launched in May 2022, shortly after the demise of Terra. Rekt Guy, a collection of approximately 8,800, was a free mint that saw its floor run up as most other PFPs went the opposite way. The floor still sits at 0.47 ETH.
“I really like nostalgia and capturing moments over time. I’m the sort of person who looks through my photos from 10 years ago just to see what I was doing then. I’ve organized my music into quarterly playlists. I have 2008 Q1, 2008 Q2 and so on. I’ve done that since 2008 Q1, so it’s been 15+ years now,” says OSF.
“When I listen to a playlist from, say, seven years ago, I can remember what I was doing at this time. I really like that idea of nostalgia and capturing moments and looking back on it. I think art is a fantastic way to do that.”
“Rekt Guy 4214” by OSF. (OpenSea)
As a fellow Brit, OSF said XCOPY’s style of art and his ability to capture culture have played a significant role in his own creation process.
“I would say XCOPY is definitely an inspiration — obviously, the style of the art but also the ideologies I love. I love looking at his pieces through 2020. They’re very British pieces that you wouldn’t really get unless you were living in the U.K. during COVID-19; maybe the Aussies would, too,” he said.
“I think that that’s what I love. That’s what art is. It’s like when you see something and just really connect with it and get it. I think pieces that can capture culture in moments in time end up being the ones that are iconic.”
“With my art, I think I just recognized that, and I saw that’s how XCOPY did it. I guess I wanted to do the same thing, and half of it was because I thought it could be successful. But half of it was really just for myself.”
Red Lite District commitment till I die
OSF loves to experiment, and for holders of his collection, the “Red Lite District,” it comes with a “till the day I die” commitment, with OSF promising a new piece of art every single month until his time on earth concludes.
The story behind RLD, an edition of 210 NFTs becoming an airdrop ticket to free art, involves his brother-in-law, who really liked what would become the first airdropped piece: “Fuck Cash Grabs.”
OSF wasn’t as bullish on the piece initially but was inspired to create it off the back of many “NFT cash grabs,” such as Pixelmon. His brother-in-law’s praise eventually convinced him to release the piece, but instead of selling it, he decided to airdrop it to everyone who held an RLD.
“Red Lite District” by OSF. Source: OpenSea
“After a couple of days of the first piece [Fuck Cash Grabs] being airdropped, I was like, wow, the price of this piece is almost the same as the price of the Red Lite District. I thought it would literally just be one of those things that was worth zero. People really valued it, and I thought that was really powerful,” says OSF.
“That’s where I thought I would just do it as a monthly thing for anyone that holds an RLD edition. After I airdropped the second piece, “Professional Degen 3,” which is really good and was supposed to be a 1 of 1, I think that’s the point where people realized. They were like, ‘Oh shit, this RLD should be worth quite a lot’ because you’re going to get this stream of cool art.”
Following the commitment of art forever to RLD holders in April 2022, OSF continues to get asked if he can really keep that promise.
“I have zero doubt in my mind if I can keep it going or not. I don’t feel like creating a new piece every month is a strain on me; I really enjoy it. I have hundreds of ideas written down, and it’s probably my favorite part of the month. And it’s also my favorite way to release art because [when] contrasted with a 1 of 1 or an edition, there’s an expectation. For example, what price will it sell for? Will the edition sell out? Have you looked after your collectors and all that kind of stuff,” OSF tells NFT Creator.
“I can’t guarantee that when I’m 105, the quality of my art is going to be as good as it is now; who knows? Going back to the nostalgia thing, I love that in 10 years’ time, I’m going to look through seasons one and two of airdrops. Right now, in season two, it is so early, but I’m going to be able to look back on all these things, and it’ll be like a monthly document of either my life or the crypto space or whatever it is that I’ve drawn for the rest of time.”
From an early morning gym session to Sotheby’s
OSF has hundreds of art ideas in notes but loves the spontaneous nature that art can bring out of him, like the piece he did titled “Carnaby Street,” which ended up selling at Sotheby’s for $75,600 in December 2022.
“The origins of “Carnaby Street” is a great example of how things often happen in the moment for me. I rocked up to a Barry’s boot camp class and turned up too early. It was about 5 am, and I was just sitting outside Soho in London, which is usually extremely busy. It was dead. There was no one there. Sunrise was approaching, and there were all these purple lights, and I remember thinking, I have to draw this now,” says OSF.
1. As if this year wasn’t already so surreal for me, I am incredibly stoked to be able to finish it off with a 1/1 auction at @Sothebys!
“I had about an hour to kill, so I pulled out my iPad and sat down on this bench in my running gear, drawing this thing while people were coming through collecting the bins and stuff. That “Carnaby Street” piece only would have worked in that setting because I was actually just drawing it in the moment.”
“The reality is, though, occasions like that are few and far between. They can be magical pieces when it happens, but often there are blocks in the artistic process.”
Notable sales to date
“Lova Park” sold for 82.888 ETH ($267,800 equivalent on the date of sale) on April 10, 2022. (SuperRare)“Professional degen 4” sold for 62 ETH ($113,000 equivalent on the date of sale) on May 27, 2023. (SuperRare)“Morning commute” sold for 35 ETH ($133,900 equivalent on the date of sale) on April 10, 2022. (SuperRare)
Rapid fire Q&A
Influences:
“I really like Alpha Centauri Kid. I think the reason why I really like him is because I think he is someone who just puts out art based on his own personal feelings or emotions or whatever he’s going through without really caring about what anyone else will think.”
I see a piece of his, and it just goes deep. He does things on his own terms and his own rules. He’s just like, ‘I’m just creating stuff that I want to create, and here it is on my terms, and if you want to buy it, you can buy it. If not, then not.’”
“I also like the way he gamifies things and makes people feel a bit uneasy sometimes. I think it’s brilliant. He’s definitely a massive inspiration. I love his stuff, but just the way that he goes about conducting his art, I think it’s amazing.”
Which hot NFT artist should we be paying attention to?
“I think die with the most likes is amazing. I don’t know if he’s still upcoming or not because he’s been on the timeline quite a lot. But that guy is incredible. He is a performance artist, and people haven’t seen his performance art yet because some of the stuff is in real life. It’s just incredible.”
“He’s a writer as well. He writes amazingly, and he just captures this theme of a memetic that no one else does. His stuff is different from any other artist. You could say, here are the animated artists, here are all the glitch artists, here are the neo-precision artists or whatever, but there’s no one like die with the most likes.”
“His stuff is just so in your face and crass; I think it’s brilliant, and honestly, I really think he is going to big big places. He’s quite a well-known artist now, but in a year’s time, I think he could be up there with the biggest people in the space.”
Favorite NFTs in your wallet that are not your own
“I have a really weird and wide taste in music. It might be Taylor Swift one day. It might be like Creed the other day. It’s just really random based on what I feel like listening to. It could be as random as piano covers of popular songs or reggae covers of popular songs. It’s just the most random stuff. It’s probably a testament to how scatty I am in general.”
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Greg Oakford
Greg Oakford is the co-founder of NFT Fest Australia. A former marketing and communications specialist in the sports world, Greg now focuses his time on running events, creating content and consulting in web3. He is an avid NFT collector and hosts a weekly podcast covering all things NFTs.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong announced it will update its policies on virtual currency sales and requirements “in light of the latest market developments and enquiries from the industry.”
In an Oct. 20 notice, the SFC said that under the updated guidelines, certain virtual currency products will only be available to professional investors. In addition, intermediaries in the crypto space “should assess whether clients have knowledge of investing in virtual assets” prior to handling any transactions.
“Although virtual assets are becoming more popular in some parts of the world, the global regulatory landscape remains uneven,” said the SFC. “The risks associated with investing in virtual assets identified by the SFC back in 2018 continue to apply.”
The updated requirements consider virtual assets “complex products” under the SFC and subject to the same guidelines as similar financial products. The commission specifically mentions crypto exchange-traded funds and products issued outside Hong Kong as examples of complex products.
Many crypto users in Hong Kong are still reeling from the scandal surrounding the JPEX crypto exchange. In September, the SFC announced that it had received more than 1,000 complaints related to JPEX, with users claiming losses totaling millions of dollars. Local police later arrested six JPEX employees for operating an unlicensed crypto exchange.
It’s unclear if SFC’s updated policies are the direct result of the events surrounding JPEX, but the regulator said in September that it would increase its efforts to keep crypto investors informed of risks. In October, the Hong Kong Police Force and SFC formed a working group aimed at monitoring and investigating potential illegal activities involving digital assets.
The impact of Deion Sanders on the Colorado football program continues to be immense.
As the Buffaloes made headlines to start the 2023 college football season, Sanders’ impact on recruiting became obvious.
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during an interview prior to the game against the USC Trojans at Folsom Field.(John Leyba-USA TODAY Sports)
High school football stars will want to play for “Coach Prime,” an NFL Hall of Famer and one of the best cornerbacks of all-time.
On Friday, Sanders and the Buffaloes landed a commitment from 2025 four-star quarterback Antwann Hill Jr., according to ESPN.
Hill is the fourth-ranked quarterback in ESPN’s 2025 class and the 49th overall prospect.
“[The coaches] really think I really fit their scheme, what they got going on up there,” Hill said, per ESPN. “Coach [Sean] Lewis, Coach Prime, they really want me to take over once Shedeur [Sanders] leaves, so I mean, I’d be the next guy up that will be a highly ranked quarterback to get that position. And I feel like I’d be good learning from Shedeur. Just taking notes from him, taking his leadership skills and putting them into mine. Really, they were saying, be ready to take over once Shedeur leaves, because I’m the next man up.”
Hill is the first top-300 quarterback to commit to Colorado since Sanders was named head coach in December. He had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Florida State, among others.
The commitment from Hill fills a need for “Coach Prime,” who could have his son under center once again next season.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, before the first half of an NCAA college football game against Southern California, Saturday, September 30, 2023, in Boulder, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Shedeur Sanders is a junior who is eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft, though whether he will leave college after the season has been a topic of discussion. One of Sanders’ other sons, Shilo, is a graduate student with two years of eligibility remaining, according to Denver Sports.
While attending a Denver Broncos game in September, the elder Sanders scoffed at the idea of his two sons making the leap to the next level after the 2023 college football season.
“We kind of got into it once we came here,” he said. “Shilo said, ‘Oh, wow, Shedeur, look. You’re going to be in the NFL next year.’ I said, ‘No, he ain’t.’”
“That y’all ain’t going nowhere,” Sanders responded when asked by his son Shedeur to clarify what he was trying to say.
Sanders later expanded on those comments in an interview with USA Today, insinuating that a decision on the NFL Draft had not yet been made.
Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes prepares to take the field with teammates for the NCAAF game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium on October 7, 2023, in Tempe, Arizona. The Buffaloes defeated the Sun Devils 27-24. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“I’m always gonna do what’s best for my kids,” Sanders said. “Let’s believe that. So whatever that entails, we’re gonna make the decision that suits them.”
Colorado is facing its first test of adversity with Sanders in charge after blowing a 29-0 lead to Stanford in Week 7, losing in double-overtime to the Cardinal.
The Buffaloes have a bye in Week 8 before they face No. 25 UCLA in Week.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried instructed former general counsel Can Sun to “come up” with any legal explanation for the $8 billion hole in Alameda Research’s books, according to Sun’s testimony in court on Oct. 19.
Sun flew from Japan to testify in the ongoing trial as part of his nonprosecution agreement with the United States Department of Justice. During his testimony, Sun revealed that he learned of the billion-dollar hole between the two companies on Nov. 7 after receiving a spreadsheet indicating the debt. “I was shocked,” he told jurors.
Asset manager Apollo Capital was intended to receive the spreadsheet as FTX attempted to raise new funding during the “liquidity crunch” of early November. In response to Apollo’s inquiry about the $8 billion hole, Bankman-Fried allegedly asked Sun to “come up with a legal justification.”
As Sun admitted in his testimony, he had considered some legal options. Among them were dormancy fees and collateral liquidations during the market downturn, but the missing amounts were too large to ignore. Also, FTX’s terms of service were clear that funds belonged solely to users:
“None of the Digital Assets in your account are the property of, or shall or may be loaned to, FTX Trading; FTX Trading does not represent or treat Digital Assets un user’s accounts as belonging to FTX Trading.”
Bankman-Fried “wasn’t surprised at all” with the circumstances, Sun claimed, while former engineering director Nishad Singh “was gray, like his soul was taken from him.”
Later that same day, Sun learned from Singh about Alameda’s $65 billion line of credit with FTX. He resigned the next day, over a year after joining the exchange.
During his time at the company, Sun relied on Bankman-Fried’s assurance that funds were segregated to produce legal documents for FTX and answer inquiries from regulators, he told jurors. “I’d never approve anything like that.”
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Sun’s testimony was part of a busy week in Bankman-Fried’s trial, which saw nine witnesses share details of the months that preceded FTX’s collapse.
Prosecutors are expected to rest their case on Oct. 26 following testimony from two final witnesses. Bankman-Fried’s defense, however, has yet to confirm if it will bring a case.
Bankman-Fried is accused of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud against FTX customers and investors. He faces up to 115 years of jail time if found guilty.
One harmful habit that can keep anybody from fulfilling their potential is self-coddling. This is when a person encounters difficulty, but instead of pushing through it, runs to a harmful vice in an attempt to self-soothe.
This habit runs rampant in a generation inflicted with participation trophies and grade inflation, which many academics and psychologists now believe do more harm than good.
A story from World War II can help.
A mortar crew prepares for battle on Guadalcanal. Sid Phillips is crouched, second from right. (Photo courtesy the estate of Sid Phillips)
The Marines of H/2/1 had been fighting an intense battle on Guadalcanal for weeks. C-rations had run out, and the troops were only authorized to eat twice a day – and then only pieces of coconut they’d scrounged mixed with wormy rice confiscated from the enemy.
Pfc. Sid Phillips (featured in HBO’s miniseries “The Pacific”) grew increasingly concerned for his hometown friend, W.O. Brown, who was racked with severe dysentery. Everything Brown tried to eat ran straight through him.
There was no medicine. No cots to lie on. The sick were simply stretched out on the ground. Brown grew so emaciated he became too weak even to sit up. Flies covered him as he lay in his own diarrhea.
Hometown friends W.O. Brown, left, and Sid Phillips are crammed into a photo booth. (Photo courtesy the estate of Sid Phillips)
Brown’s friend Phillips ultimately lived to age 91. Before he passed in 2015, I interviewed him for my bestselling book “Voices of the Pacific:Untold Stories from the Marine Heroes of World War II,” written with historian Adam Makos. I asked Phillips about his experiences on Guadalcanal.
“It was bad,” Phillips told me. “I didn’t think W.O. was going to survive.”
I asked Phillips if he remembered any specific conversations he had with Brown during these times. Here, I was expecting a poignant story. I pictured this young battle-hardened Marine carrying his nearly-dead buddy to the water. “Keep holding on,” Phillips would whisper. “Have courage. Think of mom and apple pie.” Something like that.
Sid Phillips and his sister, Katharine, after the war. (Photo courtesy the estate of Sid Phillips)
But Phillips just chuckled. “Oh yeah, I remember all right. I told W.O. to stop being such a faker and take a salt tablet.”
The response threw me. I asked Phillips, who eventually became a highly respected medical doctor in Alabama, what his strategy was.
“Well, it didn’t help a man to overly commiserate with him,” Phillips said. “That just depressed him. But if you kidded him, it made him smile. The ribbing was all good-natured. He’d fire back some wisecrack at you, and soon he’d get to fighting again.”
Can Phillips’ strategy apply to today’s generations?
Cover of “Voices of the Pacific” by Adam Makos and Marcus Brotherton
Phillips respected W.O. Brown as a man with the capacity to get up, go on and push through difficulty. Today’s generations need to be taught to believe the same about themselves. We are far stronger than we think we are.
Anytime someone is in a downed place – maybe annoyed, angry, tired, hurt, lonely, stressed or frustrated – they are tempted to be overly self-sympathetic. That brings on that insidious, pampering mindset that tells them they deserve a break – just this once.
I’m not talking about kicking back on the couch with a bag of chips. Not that kind of a break.
I’m talking about succumbing to the lie that it’s OK to run to a favorite vice. No one escapes this impulse. We’re tempted run to whatever ultimately harms us, because it’s easy to convince ourselves that it helps. It’s the worst form of self-coddling, and it only harms us in the end.
Dr. Sid Phillips, who passed in 2015, with his favorite dog. (Photo courtesy the estate of Sid Phillips)
What’s the solution?
Get tough. Push through the difficulty. Take a salt tablet and get back to the battle.
Sure, frustrations exist in life. But we don’t need to drink excessively. We don’t need the insidious vice of pornography. We don’t need to give in to that moment of rage on the freeway. We really don’t. But it’s so easy to convince ourselves that we do.
By the way, the get-tough-with-yourself strategy works.
Marcus Brotherton writes extensively about veterans and World War II. His latest book, “The Long March Home,” is a tribute to the WW2 troops who fought in the Pacific.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been in the news of late as his rumored relationship with Taylor Swift has taken the NFL by storm.
On Friday, Kelce made headlines, and it had nothing to do with the pop star.
Cy the Cardinal, the Iowa State Cyclones mascot, watches the action from the sidelines against the Oklahoma Sooners in the fourth quarter at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 30, 2023, in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma won 50-20. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Klece walked into his Friday press conference wearing the headgear of Iowa State’s mascot, Cy the Cardinal.
“How we doing guys?” Kelce said as he walked in wearing the headgear. “I’ll give it about two more seconds. . . . Go Cyclones, man.”
“Ya, another friendly wager,” Kelce said when asked whether he had lost a bet. “Unfortunately, my Bearcats. My Bearcats are struggling right now in the Big 12. It’s alright. We got Baylor this week. We got Baylor this week. Hopefully, we can bounce back and get the train rolling.”
The Bearcats are off to a rough start in their first year in the Big 12, sitting at 0-3 in conference play and 2-4 overall.
The Cincinnati mascot dresses as Taylor Swift while wearing the college jersey of Travis Kelce during a college football game between the Iowa State Cyclones and Cincinnati Bearcats on October 14, 2023, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
After winning their first two games, the Bearcats have lost four straight as a matchup with Baylor awaits.
Cincinnati officially joined the Big 12 in July along with BYU, UCF and Houston.
The conference is playing the 2023-24 seasons with 14 teams as Texas and Oklahoma play their last year in the Big 12 before heading to the SEC.
Travis Kelce, #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs, looks on during the second half of the game between the New York Jets and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on October 15, 2023, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
Starting in 2024, the Big 12 will four more teams as Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah depart the Pac-12 after the year.
Kelce’s Chiefs have won five games in a row after losing their opening game to the Detroit Lions.
Kelce, a four-time All-Pro, has 36 catches for 346 yards and three touchdowns in five games this season.
Binance Visa debit card services will close down in the European Economic Area (EEA) on Dec. 20, according to an announcement by the cryptocurrency exchange on Oct. 20. Binance exchange accounts will be unaffected.
According to a message to customers posted online, Binance’s card issuer, Finansinės paslaugos “Contis” — or Contis Financial Services — will stop issuing the card. Contis is a Lithuanian electronic money institution and currency exchange operator owned by German banking-as-a-service platform Solaris Group, which is active in 30 European countries.
The Binance Visa debit card converts crypto in users’ Binance accounts into local currencies, thus allowing them to use crypto to pay for purchases in stores and online. The EEA comprises all 27 European Union member states, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
“Although Binance users from around the world have enjoyed using [the Binance Visa debit] card to make day-to-day payments with crypto assets, only around 1% of our users are impacted by this change.”
The closure of the Binance Visa service is the latest in a string of setbacks for Binance. The end of Binance Visa card services was announced a day after the exchange restored euro deposits and withdrawals, which had been unavailable for a month after payments processor Paysafe dropped the exchange. Binance is still not onboarding new users in the United Kingdom due to the loss of a third-party service provider.
Binance.US suspended U.S. dollar deposits in June and warned that withdrawals would also be suspended. It partnered with MoonPay to enable U.S. users to buy Tether (USDT) on the exchange. It announced earlier this week that U.S. customers could withdraw dollars from their accounts by converting the fiat into stablecoin.
Mastercard ended its partnership with Binance in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Bahrain in September. At the time, regulatory scrutiny was suggested as the motivation for the breakup.
Following the launch of Patricia token (PTK) issued to customers to manage users’ debt by Patricia, a Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange, the chief executive officer of the exchange (CEO), Fejiro Hanu, has confirmed that customers now have the option to convert their owed funds into Patricia shares.
According to a statement from the CEO, this process forms an integral component of the firm’s strategy for fundraising and reorganizing its debts. In anticipation of the firm’s upcoming app relaunch and in preparation for its fundraising initiative, it is affording its users the opportunity to transform their debt tokens into convertible notes at a favorable discount in Patricia.
He also revealed that these shares will be managed by a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)-licensed trusted third-party trustee to ensure complete transparency.
However, this option doesn’t seem to agree with some agitated users who took to a Patricia affiliated outlet to make their case heard but met no one. In a video making rounds on X social platform (formerly known as Twitter) the agitated users are seen hanging around the empty building and making statements reflecting their dissatisfaction with the situation of things.
So that Patricia bitcoin guy took people’s money and ran away?
People are at their offices rn asking for their money and everywhere is locked. Omo! pic.twitter.com/aZV70U8niD
Speaking with Cointelegraph, Hanu stated that the video content is misleading and mischievous as the firm runs a full remote structure. He stated that the office in the video is an innovation hub set up and announced in 2022, to offer free working spaces to developers and crypto enthusiasts as Patricia does not actively operate from that office.
When asked about the current solution for users who are still unable to withdraw their funds, Hanu stated that the Patricia app that is about to relaunch is currently at Beta testing, and invites were extended to customers to experience the app before opening to the public. Few customers who opted for the testing process are currently getting their PUTX redeemed.
According to Hanu, Patricia users have also notified customers of the plan to redeem their balances in batches as soon as the firm reopens.
This development follows the company’s previous disclosure of a security breach resulting in fund losses in May 2023. Despite asserting that customer funds remained unaffected, platform users have faced ongoing difficulties in accessing their funds since April.
Alabama suffered a loss to then-No. 11 Texas early in the season but bounced back with consecutive victories against Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Arkansas. While the Longhorns are the only blemish on their record, the Crimson Tide are undefeated in SEC play.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban looks on during the second quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 14, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.(Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Mark Ingram, a former Crimson Tide star who won the Heisman Trophy in 2009, expressed optimism in Alabama’s chances of making the College Football Playoff.
“They just have to keep improving. They played probably one of the best teams in the country in the second week of the season,” he said. “We kind of just didn’t know who we were, didn’t really have an identity. I think the last three weeks they’ve improved tremendously. I think they’re putting Jalen Milroe in positions to utilize his skill set and have success. He’s been playing at lot better.”
Milroe has 1,397 passing yards and 11 touchdown passes in the first seven games of the season. Against the Aggies, he has a season-high 321 passing yards and three touchdown passes in the 26-20 win. He followed that up with 238 passing yards on only 10 completions with two touchdown passes in a 24-21 win over Arkansas.
Jalen Milroe, #4 of the Alabama Crimson Tide, waits for the snap during the third quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 14, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.(Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Ingram, who spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of the Dos Equis College Football Tailgate Throwdown, said the offensive line and defensive line need to keep improving and building upon their recent success.
“I think they found an identity where they’re playing tough, physical, complementary football – offense (and) defense,” he said. “I think we’re just going to continue to see them improve, continue to see them gel, continue to see them gain momentum as they go through the season. And I think they have a really good shot to make the playoff.”
Alabama is ranked No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. The Crimson Tide have No. 17 Tennessee on the docket in a revenge game of sorts. The Volunteers knocked the Crimson Tide last season in Knoxville.
Jalen Milroe, #4 of the Alabama Crimson Tide, throws a pass before the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field on Oct. 7, 2023 in College Station, Texas.(Tim Warner/Getty Images)
After the Vols, Alabama has a date with Kentucky.
Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
