Latest news with #McLain
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kraken Partners With Alpaca To Expand Crypto Trading To Financial Institutions
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken on Monday announced a strategic partnership with Alpaca, a brokerage infrastructure API and self-clearing broker-dealer offering equities, options, fixed income, and crypto trading. Through this partnership, Alpaca expanded its regulated crypto spot and derivatives trading capabilities by incorporating Kraken Embed, Kraken's Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) solution. The enhancement provides Alpaca's more than 200 enterprise partners with seamless access to hundreds of cryptocurrencies powered by Kraken's global and institutional-grade infrastructure through Alpaca's unified Broker McLain, Head of Payments and Blockchain at Kraken said that with Kraken Embed, financial institutions could offer compliant end-to-end crypto solutions without the burden of managing complex infrastructure, making it faster and easier to meet growing user demand. Kraken's liquidity and global network of regulatory licenses provide Alpaca's partners with access to robust markets and efficient execution, the company said. Combined with Alpaca's regulatory licensing and infrastructure, the partnership delivers a full-service solution for multi-asset trading that enables clients to integrate equities and crypto into their apps with minimal engineering effort. This partnership is currently live in the United States and plans to expand to Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom in the near future. The roadmap also includes additional offerings, such as staking and crypto derivatives, supporting the needs of a growing user base for cryptocurrencies. Kraken, legally registered as Payward Inc., is reportedly preparing to go public via an initial public offering as early as the first quarter of next year. The company's revenue more than doubled in 2024, reaching $1.5 billion, with adjusted earnings of $380 million. Since its founding in 2011, Kraken has raised approximately $27 million in primary funding. Under the Trump administration, the regulatory environment has shifted, creating new opportunities for crypto firms. Read Next:Photo Courtesy: alfernec via Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Kraken Partners With Alpaca To Expand Crypto Trading To Financial Institutions originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'It's coming': Why Cincinnati Reds Matt McLain, Terry Francona predict slump buster for 2B
Nobody around Matt McLain has seen the Cincinnati Reds second baseman struggle this badly to hit a baseball. But McLain has. And, strangely, that's part of why he feels so sure he's about to fight his way out of a confounding slump that has lingered into June, been the biggest gut punch to the Reds' offensive plans so far this season and that led to a second day on the bench in six games as the Reds opened a big series against the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers this week. Advertisement 'My freshman year at UCLA was tough,' said McLain, who turned down a chance to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a 25th overall draft pick – then hit .203 with a .276 on-base percentage as a teenager without the experience or confidence to fix what broke. 'I was so young. Right out of high school,' he said. 'That was different. That was worse than now. Matt McLain has struggled greatly offensively and was not in the starting lineup for the second time in six games against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, June 2. McLain carried a 1-for-18 streak into the homestand. 'So I've used that in this case.' Mostly that means he keeps playing, fighting, playing well in the field as one of the Reds' best defenders, running smart on the bases when he gets there and trying to contribute in ways as small and basic as seeing enough pitches in an at-bat that it might help the next guy. Advertisement It may not mean much to Reds fans tired of watching the .175 hitting and 31% strikeout rate. But the approach (and fielding ability) has helped keep him in the lineup most days, even as he was dropped from second in the order to ninth, even during a 1-for-18 stretch to finish the recent road trip. 'He plays the game. His emotions never change,' manager Terry Francona said. 'I fall back on, he's a good player. 'He's going to get hot. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet, but it will.' Matt McLain, here tagging out the Cubs' Kyle Tucker on a steal attempt June 1, has continued to be one of the team's best defensive players despite his offensive struggles. McLain, 25, talks just as confidently about where his season is headed. That short swing with pop that made him the Reds' best player in 2023 after he broke in mid-May suggests they might be right, especially given some of the peripheral stats that show a hard-contact rate even slightly better than his rookie year and a higher walk rate. Advertisement But for now, two facts are indisputable: One, McLain has played just 140 big-league games in his life after missing all of last season with a shoulder injury, a small enough sample to suggest nobody can be sure what direction he goes from here – or at least how long it might take him to regain productive form. Two, his extended slump as a key part of the Reds' plans and optimism coming into the season has been a drag on a lineup that has been wildly inconsistent this season, including having been shut out nine times (tied with Pirates for most in NL). 'We're always watching and trying to do the best we can for everybody,' Francona said. 'That's why we're here. Advertisement 'The way he plays second base certainly helps,' added the manager, who also gave McLain a mental blow Tuesday in Kansas City. 'You just try to do what's right, man.' If there's one more indisputable fact, it's that McLain doesn't short the team on work ethic as he tries to find himself at the plate again. He also doesn't try to blame all that time away from the game rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder last year. 'I think it has something to do with it. But I don't like using that excuse,' he said. 'Because if you were to ask me to start the year, everyone would have been, like, 'No.' ' In fact, team officials looked at McLain's health in the fall and his performance this spring and expressed confidence that his return amounted to an off-season acquisition. Advertisement 'Obviously, McLain is a huge part of this, and if he's healthy, that's probably as big an impact as you could hope for,' general manager Brad Meador said near the end of spring training. After all, this is a hitter drafted 17th overall out of UCLA by the Reds in 2021, 10 spots ahead of Jackson Merrill, and who was not only their best hitter in 2023 (.290, .864 OPS in a three-month debut) but he also was their best shortstop that season. 'Sometimes you just struggle,' said McLain, who draws encouragement from the peripherals and stays focused on his approach as he struggles get back to where he was as a rookie. 'Just trying to be more aggressive to my pitch earlier in the counts and when I do swing make contact,' he said. 'We've done the whole swing (analysis). It's similar.' Advertisement If there's a specific part about missing all of last year that McLain says might have made a difference, it's the feel. Just the value of getting back on the field at all, even if just for the final week or two of the season. 'You do forget what it's like to go out there every single day and get after it,' he said. 'It's fun. I love it. But last year I'm like, 'Dang, I wish I could have come back and played the last month to just feel that. And take it into this year.' He does say that after two months of being back on the field this year, he feels signs of Francona's vision for a breakout. 'It's coming,' he said. 'I didn't feel that my freshman year at UCLA. 'I do now. Yeah, it's coming.' This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds' Matt McLain believes breakout from slump is close
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oregon lawmakers look to reshape cap-and-trade program to pay for transportation needs
Traffic sometimes flows on Interstate 5 in Portland but is often bunched up around the Rose Quarter. (Oregon Department of Transportation/Flickr) This is a developing story and will be updated. As Oregon lawmakers scrounge for ways to pay for hundreds of millions in transportation needs, they've dug up a new twist on an old plan: allowing polluters to buy and trade carbon credits. In a memo to House and Senate caucus leaders on Thursday, transportation committee co-chairs Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale and Rep. Susan McLain, D-Forest Grove, said they were discussing replacing Oregon's Climate Protection Program with a new market-based emissions reduction program linked to other West Coast states. Gorsek and McLain said in a statement that they were making 'significant progress' toward a plan to keep the state's roads and bridges safe. 'Members of both parties are working together to develop a proposal that will address the issues we have been focused on all along: safety, maintenance and long-term sustainability,' the statement continued. 'We've gotten to this point after years of hard work and engagement from hundreds of stakeholders and Oregonians from every corner of the state. Conversations are ongoing and we will have more details to release in the coming weeks.' Their memo comes a day after most House and Senate Republicans announced their support for an opposing plan that would cut funding for bike and pedestrian safety and public transit to provide more funding for roads and bridges. Not included in the Republican plan were four Republicans who have worked with Democrats to hash out details: Reps. Jeff Helfrich of Hood River and Kevin Mannix of Salem, and Sens. Bruce Starr of Dundee and Suzanne Weber of Tillamook, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Republican support, especially in the House, could be crucial to passing any transportation package this session. Democrats started the session with 36 House members, enough to hike taxes or pass new ones without Republican support, but they're temporarily down to 35 after Courtney Neron Misslin, D-Wilsonville, was appointed to the Senate to fill a vacancy. Her replacement won't be selected until June 6. Another Democratic representative, Hòa Nguyễn of Portland, has been away from the Capitol since early February while undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer. Gorsek and McLain provided few details in their two-page memo to lawmakers, but draft language is expected in the coming days. The Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment, which they co-chair, will hold its first meeting on Tuesday. The cap-and-trade portion of the plan is surprising in Oregon, where Republicans tanked similar proposals in 2019 and 2020 by walking out and denying quorum. Then-Gov. Kate Brown eventually issued an executive order launching the Climate Protection Program. Lawmakers plan to establish a workgroup to create a new program that would eventually replace the Climate Protection Program. Gorsek and McLain's memo said they envision dedicating credits generated by gas and diesel polluters toward the state highway fund, with other credits used for wildfire mitigation, community-based nonprofits and transit programs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kraken debuts service that lets fintechs and banks offer crypto trading
Kraken, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the U.S., is offering a white-labelled version of its trading platform to financial service companies, the company announced Wednesday. The new service, called Embed, seeks to make it easier for traditional banks, fintechs, and other financial service companies to allow their customers to trade crypto from within their own websites. In turn, it will give Kraken access to more users. 'We want to enable basically every fintech, neobank, any kind of financial institution out there, to give access to their clients to be able to buy and sell crypto,' Brett McLain, head of payments and blockchain at Kraken, told Fortune. Bunq, a digital bank based in Amsterdam, is the first company to adopt Kraken's new service. On Tuesday, the company announced the launch of Bunq Crypto, which allows its European users to buy and sell crypto. In order to offer crypto trading, a company usually has to develop significant infrastructure, which often requires large amounts of labor and capital. They also need regulatory licenses. Instead, Kraken will let companies plug into its licensed crypto exchange through custom-built APIs, or application programming interfaces. Mainstays of software engineering, APIs allow developers to use other programmers' or company's code without needing to write it themselves. The user experience will resemble whatever brand or company that is using Embed, McLain says. Kraken will charge a fee for the Embed service but the price will vary from customer to customer, McLain said. Kraken will also collect a portion of revenue generated from trading fees. Embed is not the only service of its kind. In 2021, BitPanda, a Vienna-based crypto exchange, launched a service called Bitpanda Technology Solutions, which allows financial service companies to plug into its licensed crypto services and offer them to customers. But McLain says Kraken's broad array of digital assets and fast coin listing process sets it apart. 'If you're one of these neobanks or fintech companies and you want to offer crypto to your clients, you want to have a really broad asset selection and you also want assets in a timely manner.' McLain said. Kraken, founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell, is the world's fourteenth-largest crypto exchange, according to crypto data platform CoinMarketCap. Following in the footsteps of its U.S. competitor Coinbase, Kraken is reportedly planning to go public in 2026. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Axios
29-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Blue Zones photographer talks healthy lifestyle challenges
We all want to know the secret to living a longer, healthier life, but actually adopting a better lifestyle comes with its own challenges. State of play: David McLain, the photographer behind the global health movement the Blue Zones Project, is speaking at the Civic Center on Thursday evening. The big picture: Over the past two decades, National Geographic journalist Dan Buettner has identified five communities with the longest-living people. He took lessons learned from centenarians (people older than 100) there and established the "Blue Zone" model for longevity, which focuses on community change — like creating walkable neighborhoods and easy access to fresh vegetables — instead of individual behavioral change. These centenarians and their lifestyles were photographed by McLain and published in National Geographic in 2005 — catapulting the Blue Zones lifestyle worldwide, including with a Netflix series and even a five-year initiative in Iowa. Flashback: In 2011, then-Gov. Terry Branstad announced his goal of making Iowa the healthiest state in the U.S. through a partnership among the Blue Zones Project, Healthways, and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which invested $25 million into the project. By providing health experts for selected Blue Zones communities, Branstad said the state could save $16 billion in health care costs over five years and improve Iowa's Gallup Well Being Index ranking, which was No. 16 in 2011. But by 2016, Iowa had fallen short of that goal and had slipped to No. 19 in the ranking. By then, Wellmark's contract had ended, including its funding for the program, and most communities had dropped the initiative. Between the lines: In 2021, Iowa ranked No. 30. We chatted with McLain about why states like Iowa struggled to become Blue Zones and the challenges of healthy living in a post-pandemic world. What makes it difficult for some places, like Iowa, to incorporate and execute the Blue Zones? McLain:"It is very important to recognize the importance of incremental, smaller change. We're so unhealthy that moving the needle even a little actually does have a significant impact." "There's a reason America's so unhealthy, and fighting that is a huge lift. Maybe he just overpromised a little, or maybe you have to overpromise a little to move things along." What is something you learned from documenting these centenarians that people have not read or watched in the Blue Zones documentary? McLain: "We tend to silo things in America, like, 'Oh, I'm going to change my diet.'" "But food — the Blue Zones — it never gets disconnected from having a garden, which gives you exercise and gives you healthy food, and then it's never, usually, cooked alone, so you're cooking with other people, and you're visiting and you're chatting and you're laughing. So you're never eating alone in front of your iPhone." Did you expect the Blue Zones concept to become so popular? McLain: "No, I didn't. In retrospect, it's obvious, right? Who doesn't want to know how to live a longer, healthier life?" "I always viewed my job for that story visually is to make old people aspirational. Like in Asian cultures, elder [respect] is a very real thing. It's just the way the culture is. America is like the opposite of that. Old people are invisible." The other side: There have been questions about whether Blue Zone designations are accurate or based on poor record-keeping in communities around the world.
