Good evening. Like a tributary feeding into the Mississippi, paying for items with crypto is going mainstream. PayPal yesterday announced “Pay with Crypto,” a new feature that allows US businesses to accept customer payments in over 100 different cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether.

• At checkout, shoppers…pay with crypto—which is then converted into PayPal’s stablecoin, PYUSD, before being settled in US dollars and credited to the merchant.
• PayPal is also offering a 0.99% transaction rate for the next year, significantly lower than the average credit card transaction rate, which ranges from 1.5%-3.5%, according to NerdWallet.

Crypto checkouts could soon become commonplace: The recent passage of the GENIUS Act, the first major crypto legislation to ever make it through Congress, established guardrails for the $250 billion stablecoin market. This makes their use less risky for corporations like Walmart, Amazon, and Expedia, who increasingly see creating their own stablecoins as a potential way to reduce the billions of dollars in swipe fees they pay every year to credit card companies, banks, and fintech startups like Square.

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Each of the following events happened on July 29. Your challenge is to put them in the order in which they occurred by year, earliest to latest. Answers at the bottom!

• A) Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, dies in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, two days after shooting himself.
• B) The first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings is published. It subsequently becomes one of the best-selling books ever written, and is adapted into a series of blockbuster films in the early 2000s.
• C) NASA is officially created, after US President Dwight D. Eisenhower receives criticism for allowing the Soviet Union to launch the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth (Sputnik 1).
• D) Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are married in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

More hints: The first is second📖

With rates at record highs, homeowners are turning to this free tool to instantly uncover companies offering better insurance deals. It’s fast, easy, and could save you serious money.

And tic(k) off today’s Conjoiner sequence. Quick reminder: Conjoiner is an original word game we developed, where each answer to a crossword-style clue gives indications as to the next.

The first clue of today’s sequence: “An involuntary movement or sound triggered or exacerbated by anxiety or stress”...

Note: A (potentially important) clue for today’s Conjoiner can be found at the bottom of our AM send. Just search “🍩 Quantum computing leap” your inbox.

Mini

Feeeeeeling good? Try out today’s mini crossword. It’s been said the feeling after successfully completing it is comparable to chewing 5 Gum.

• Play today’s puzzle here.

Sudoku

Pick a number, any number—but make sure it’s in its proper place.

• Play today's Sudoku here.

We’ve finally got enough data to start delivering official GOAT lists. So in lieu of a new GOATWar today, we'll be delivering results from our first few competitions, determined via a data-driven process + input from people around the world.

🍫 BEST CANDY BARS

1. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2. Snickers
3. Twix
4. Kit Kat
5. Butterfinger

Explore the full list.

😋 BEST FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS

1. Chick-fil-A
2. McDonald's
3. Taco Bell
4. In-N-Out Burger
5. Wendy's

Explore the full list.

⛽ BEST GAS STATION BRANDS

1. Kwik Trip
2. Buc-ee's
3. 7-Eleven
4. Wawa
5. Love's Travel Stops

Explore the full list.

P.S. Have an interesting idea for a GOATWar that you'd like us to host? Just hit reply and we'll see what we can do.

A, B, C, D (would ya look at that)

• A) 1890: Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, dies in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, two days after shooting himself.
• B) 1954: The first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings is published. It subsequently becomes one of the best-selling books ever written, and is adapted into a series of blockbuster films in the early 2000s.
• C) 1958: NASA is officially created, after US President Dwight D. Eisenhower receives criticism for allowing the Soviet Union to launch the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth (Sputnik 1).
• D) 1981: Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are married in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.