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How a Hot Desk Boosts Productivity for Modern Workers 

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Workspaces shape how people think, interact, and perform during the day. A quiet corner may help you concentrate, while a lively environment may spark new ideas. Many professionals now look beyond traditional offices for places that better match how they work. In growing business hubs like Sri Lanka, hot desks attract freelancers, startups, and remote teams who want more choice in their work environment

This shift reflects a simple idea. The space around you affects how productive you feel. Understanding how hot desks influence focus, creativity, and collaboration can help you make smarter choices about where you work. 

How Hot Desks Increase Productivity for Modern Workers 

Hot desks change the way people approach their workday. Instead of sitting in one assigned spot from morning to evening, you can move between spaces that suit the task at hand. Some areas support quiet focus; others invite conversation and collaboration. 

This variety creates a work environment that responds to your needs rather than forcing you into one routine. Several factors explain how these environments improve productivity. 

Freedom to Choose the Right Work Environment 

Control over your surroundings affects how engaged you feel at work. When you choose where to sit or how to organize your workday, you often feel more responsible for your results. 

Hot desks allow that freedom. You may start your morning in a quiet area while planning your tasks. Later, you may move to a more open space for meetings or conversations with colleagues. This change of setting keeps your energy steady throughout the day. 

A hot desk supports this idea of choice. Instead of working at the same desk every day, you can select a space that fits your needs at the moment. Some days call for quiet focus. Other days involve brainstorming or quick discussions. The ability to adjust your environment helps you stay focused and comfortable. 

Many professionals notice that productivity improves when they match their surroundings with the type of work they are doing. It becomes easier to concentrate, and the workday feels less repetitive. 

Environmental Variety Encourages Creative Thinking 

Routine often shapes how you think. Sitting in the same place every day can lead to predictable habits. The mind grows comfortable with familiar surroundings, and new ideas may come more slowly. 

Hot desks introduce subtle variety. Different seating areas, lighting styles, and layouts create small changes in your environment. Even a simple shift to another desk can refresh your thinking. 

Your brain reacts to these changes. New surroundings provide visual and mental stimulation. That stimulation can help you see problems from another angle or approach tasks with renewed focus. 

Creative professionals often benefit from this change of environment. Designers, marketers, and strategists rely on fresh thinking. A new workspace can prompt new connections between ideas. It does not need to be dramatic. Small changes during the day often make a difference. 

The result feels natural. Your mind stays active, and you avoid the dullness that sometimes appears in rigid office settings. 

Informal Collaboration Sparks New Ideas 

Productivity rarely happens in isolation. Conversations with others often shape better ideas and solutions. 

Hot desking brings together people from many industries and backgrounds. You might sit near a startup founder, a consultant, or a software developer. These shared environments create chances for informal discussions. 

A short conversation during a coffee break may lead to an interesting idea. Someone may share advice about a challenge you face. Another professional may introduce a different way of thinking about a project. 

These moments do not feel like formal meetings. They happen naturally throughout the day. That casual interaction often leads to meaningful insights. 

Traditional offices sometimes separate teams into departments. Employees interact mainly with the same group every day. Hot desks remove those boundaries. They allow people from different fields to share knowledge and experiences. 

The exchange of ideas expands your perspective. It also makes work feel more connected and collaborative. 

A Sense of Community Strengthens Motivation 

Working alone for long periods can drain motivation. Many remote workers know this feeling well. The silence of a home office may help you focus, but it can also create a sense of isolation. 

Hot desks offer a different atmosphere. You remain independent, yet you share the environment with other professionals who concentrate on their own work. 

This shared energy influences how you approach your tasks. Seeing others engaged in their projects often encourages you to stay focused on your own. The environment becomes quietly motivating. 

Community also brings a sense of belonging. Conversations with familiar faces can make the workday more enjoyable. People often exchange ideas, support one another, or celebrate small successes together. 

These connections do not interrupt productivity. They often strengthen it. When you feel connected to the people around you, work becomes more engaging. Many professionals find that this balance between independence and community keeps their motivation steady throughout the week. 

Movement and Flexibility Reduce Mental Fatigue 

Sitting in the same place for hours can affect both your body and your mind. Concentration fades when your environment remains unchanged. 

Hot desks encourage movement. You might switch desks during the day or move to a lounge area for a quick discussion. These small changes help refresh your attention. 

Movement also breaks the monotony of long work sessions. Standing, walking, or shifting to another seat can restore energy. Your mind receives a short reset before returning to the next task. 

This rhythm keeps the workday dynamic. Instead of feeling stuck in one position, you adapt your environment to your needs. The result often feels more natural and less draining. Over time, this flexibility supports better focus and sustained productivity. 

Conclusion 

Productivity depends on more than effort or discipline. The space where you work influences how clearly you think and how easily you connect with others. Hot desks reflect a growing shift toward environments that support choice, interaction, and movement throughout the day. 

When you can adapt your surroundings to match your tasks, work becomes smoother and more engaging. A hot desk represents this modern approach to working. It allows professionals to adjust their environment, meet new people, and maintain fresh energy during the day. As work continues to change, flexible spaces will likely remain a natural part of how many people work and collaborate. 







Prediction Markets Don’t Just Forecast Power

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Welcome to our institutional newsletter, Crypto Long & Short. This week:

  • Ryan Kirkley on how crypto prediction markets can risk incentivizing manipulation and amplify misinformation at scale.
  • Top headlines institutions should pay attention to by Francisco Rodrigues.
  • Geodnet decoupling suggests fundamental re-rating in Chart of the Week.

Thanks for joining us!

-Alexandra Levis


Expert Insights

Prediction Markets Don’t Just Forecast Power – They Reshape It

By Ryan Kirkley, Co-Founder and CEO of Global Settlement Network

Prediction markets are often pitched as neutral forecasting tools: efficient ways to aggregate information and convert collective belief into a price. That case is not entirely wrong. The academic literature has long found that prediction markets can produce forecasts that outperform many conventional benchmarks. But as someone who believes in crypto’s role in modernizing market infrastructure, I think we should be honest about what the sector is building here. The crypto version of prediction markets is no longer just about forecasting. It is about financializing real-world instability.

That distinction matters. On Polymarket, for example, users can bridge assets from Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin and other chains; those deposits are converted into USDC.e on Polygon, where fully backed yes/no positions trade and settle on-chain as tokenized claims. In other words, crypto does not merely host these markets. It gives them global reach, cross-chain funding and low-friction settlement. That is impressive market design. It is also exactly what makes the social risk larger.

Once you turn war, political violence, public disorder or institutional breakdown into tradable crypto instruments, you create new incentives for bad actors. The first is obvious: people with privileged information can try to monetize it. U.S. regulators have long recognized that not every event belongs inside a financial market. CFTC Regulation 40.11 bars event contracts involving terrorism, assassination and war, among other categories deemed contrary to the public interest. That is not anti-market moralizing. It is recognition that some contracts do more than reveal information; they can distort behavior around the underlying event.

The second problem is even more serious: prediction markets can reward people who are not just informed about an outcome, but capable of influencing it. Academic research has warned that when traders have outside incentives, or can take actions that affect the underlying event, information aggregation can break down. A market is supposed to measure probability. But when the market itself becomes a source of incentive, it starts to reshape the probability it claims to observe.

That concern is no longer theoretical. Reuters reported this month that markets on Iran strikes and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ouster drew ethics and insider-trading scrutiny after unusually well-timed bets were flagged; in a separate report, Reuters noted that Polymarket removed bets on a nuclear explosion after public backlash. Even if only a small number of traders are acting on nonpublic information, the message to everyone else is corrosive: access, not insight, may be what gets rewarded.

There is a third risk, and it is deeply crypto-native: these platforms increasingly function as media engines as much as markets. Axios reported in February that prediction-market accounts were spreading false, misleading or context-free claims to millions on social media, turning market odds into viral narratives before facts were established. When screenshots of thin or sensational markets circulate as “truth,” bad actors do not need to influence the event itself. They only need to influence the information environment around it.

For advisors and allocators, the mistake is to treat every liquid market as legitimate simply because price discovery exists. Crypto has real work to do: modernizing settlement, improving transparency and making capital markets more programmable. But building the most efficient rails for speculating on war, regime change or civic breakdown is not financial innovation. It is moral hazard at internet scale. Prediction markets do not just forecast power. In their current crypto form, they reshape it by rewarding those most willing to exploit instability.


Headlines of the Week

Francisco Rodrigues

While this week has shown clear progress on the regulatory front, market anxiety coupled with AI disruption has started to affect the crypto industry.


Chart of the Week

Geodnet decoupling suggests potential fundamental re-rerating

Geodnet, a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) protocol providing high-precision positioning for Robotics and Physical AI, shows a clear fundamental decoupling. While its price has trended sideways alongside an underperforming DePIN index (down 3% relative to BTC, as per CoinDesk Data), monthly token burns have reached $500,000, currently neutralizing roughly 60–80% of new emissions. This divergence is driven by the growing data revenue from autonomous drone fleets and humanoid robot developers. As the network pivots from infrastructure build-out to a high-margin data layer for the machine economy, the current supply-demand imbalance suggests a potential fundamental re-rating.


Listen. Read. Watch. Engage.

Looking for more? Receive the latest crypto news from coindesk.com and market updates from coindesk.com/institutions.


Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc., CoinDesk Indices or its owners and affiliates.

XRP Realizes Its Quietest Month Of 2026 – Traders Watch for What Comes Next

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

XRP is consolidating around $1.43. The market is restless. And beneath the surface, a volatility indicator is flashing a signal that seasoned traders have learned not to ignore.

A new Arab Chain report, drawing on data from the Binance XRP Realized Volatility (30D) indicator, shows that volatility has collapsed to its lowest reading since the start of 2026. That is not a sign of a market at rest. In crypto, that kind of compression has a name — and a history.

The numbers are specific: the 30-day Realized Volatility currently stands at 0.5266, a sharp contraction from the elevated readings that accompanied XRP’s price surges earlier this year. More telling still, the Volatility Z-Score has turned negative at -0.9048 — meaning current volatility is now running nearly a full standard deviation below its historical average. The market is not just quiet. It is historically quiet.

What that means in practice is straightforward. Volatility does not stay compressed indefinitely. It builds, and then it releases — in one direction or the other. XRP at $1.43 is not a market drift. It is a market coiling.

Compression Before the Break

The report is direct about what the data describes: XRP has entered a consolidation phase in which price movement has narrowed to the point of near-stasis. That is not a neutral observation. Volatility compression — the technical term for exactly this condition — is one of the most reliable precursors to a sharp directional move in either market.

Binance: XRP Realized Volatility (30D) | Source: CryptoQuant
Binance: XRP Realized Volatility (30D) | Source: CryptoQuant

The stabilization near $1.43 is itself a data point. When price holds a level while volatility simultaneously contracts, it signals something specific: supply and demand have reached an equilibrium so tight that neither side is willing to commit. That standoff cannot last. Markets resolve equilibrium through movement, not through continued stillness.

The arithmetic reinforces the tension. With the 30-day Realized Volatility hovering at 0.52 and the Z-Score sitting at -0.9048, the market is statistically overdue for a volatility expansion. The threshold to watch is the Z-Score returning to positive territory — historically, that crossing has preceded the kind of sustained directional activity that defines a new trend rather than a temporary spike.

Compressed volatility at historic lows. Price anchored at a key level. The setup is not ambiguous. What remains unknown is the direction — and that is precisely what makes the next move consequential.

The XRP Chart Does Not Flatter

XRP is trading at $1.4202, up a marginal 0.30% on the day — a number that flatters neither bulls nor bears. The daily candle opened at $1.4160, reached $1.4268, and has spent the session going nowhere. That price action, viewed in isolation, tells one story. Viewed against the chart behind it, it tells another.

XRP consolidates around $1.4 level | Source: XRPUSDT chart on TradingView
XRP consolidates around the $1.4 level | Source: XRPUSDT chart on TradingView

The longer context is unambiguous. XRP peaked near $3.80 in late July 2025 and has been in a structured downtrend for eight consecutive months. Every rally attempt across that period — September, October, the brief recovery in early 2026 — was sold into. Each lower high confirmed the trend rather than challenged it.

What the February capitulation wick to $1.15 established is the only constructive development visible on the chart: a floor that was tested and held. Since then, XRP has consolidated between roughly $1.40 and $1.55, trading beneath all three major moving averages — the short-term blue, the mid-term green, and the long-term red — all of which are still sloping downward.

That is the problem. Price has stabilized. The trend has not. Consolidation below declining moving averages is not recovery. It is hesitation — and hesitation resolves in the direction of least resistance until proven otherwise.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

Bitcoin Surges to $72K Peak Following Reports of Washington’s Ceasefire Proposal – Markets and Prices Bitcoin News

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Geopolitical Thaw Sparks Bitcoin Rebound

Bitcoin surged on Wednesday, riding a wave of renewed optimism across global markets as the Trump administration’s “15-point plan” to end hostilities with Iran sparked a shift back into risk assets. After hovering tentatively below the $70,000 mark in early trading, the cryptocurrency gained steady momentum, eventually hitting an intraday peak of $72,026 by 7:30 a.m. EST. However, it later pared some gains to consolidate near $71,000.

The cryptocurrency’s price action once again moved in lockstep with global equities, which were buoyed by reports that Tehran had received a comprehensive de-escalation framework from Washington. The proposal—which reportedly includes sanctions relief and a temporary ceasefire—initially fueled speculation that the Trump administration had successfully opened a channel with a pragmatic faction within the Iranian government.

However, the rally faced headwinds later in the day as the Iranian military publicly mocked the overtures, claiming the U.S. was “negotiating with itself.” Despite the public rejection, the mere existence of a formal proposal was enough to send traders back into a buying frenzy.

‘Peace Trade’ Speculation

The “peace trade” was further amplified by a decline in energy prices. As news of the proposal broke, West Texas Intermediate crude briefly dipped below $90 per barrel, easing global inflation concerns.

Polymarket bettors recalibrated their positions, with some segments pricing in a ceasefire by April at increasingly higher odds. Speculation is mounting that the near-impossible odds seen earlier in the week were an early indicator of the current diplomatic breakthrough, despite lingering skepticism from regional analysts.

The ripple effect of this geopolitical optimism was felt across all major indices. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped nearly 1,500 points, or approximately 3%, while major Asian and Western indices posted gains between 1% and 2%.

Meanwhile, bitcoin’s resurgence pushed its market capitalization back above the critical $1.4 trillion threshold. This lifted the total crypto economy over the $2.5 trillion mark, effectively liquidating roughly $58 million in short positions over a 24-hour window. Analysts now eye the $72,000 resistance level as the final hurdle before a potential run toward $76,000, the next target once the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

FAQ ❓

  • Why did bitcoin rise? Optimism over U.S.–Iran peace talks boosted risk assets.
  • How high did it go? Bitcoin hit an intraday peak of $72,026 before easing.
  • What fueled the rally? Falling oil prices and global equity gains added momentum.
  • What’s next? Traders eye $72K resistance before a possible run toward $76K.

Obex Starts Deploying $1B in USDS Into Mortgages, AI Hardware, and Solar Energy

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The Sky-backed stablecoin incubator’s inaugural class of eight projects marks the protocol’s biggest push yet to diversify beyond crypto-native yield sources.

Obex, the stablecoin incubator administered by Framework Ventures and backed by a $2.5 billion mandate from the Sky ecosystem, on Tuesday announced its inaugural cohort of eight projects and began deploying up to $1 billion in USDS across them.

The first class includes Maple, USDAI, Daylight, Centrifuge, Securitize, River, TVL Capital, and Better. All eight are either already part of, or intend to join, the Sky ecosystem, spanning structured credit, fintech lending, energy finance, AI infrastructure, tokenization, crypto capital markets, and real estate.

“Our industry is at an inflection point. We’re moving beyond circular DeFi yield sources and toward high-quality yield from private credit markets, fintech, energy infrastructure, AI CapEx, real estate, and other productive sectors,” said Parker Edwards, partner at Framework Ventures, in a press release viewed by The Defiant.

The deployment marks the first major move by Obex, which raised $37 million in November 2025 in a round co-led by Framework, LayerZero, and the Sky ecosystem. The Sky community separately voted to provide up to $2.5 billion worth of USDS for deployment into approved, incubated projects that graduate from the program.

The move comes amid strong momentum for Sky, the protocol formerly known as MakerDAO. USDS currently has roughly $11.6 billion in circulation, making it the third-largest stablecoin by market cap, according to Coingecko. Sky’s total value locked (TVL) surged 38% in March to $7.52 billion, making it the fourth-largest DeFi protocol. The protocol’s fixed 3.75% savings rate on sUSDS has attracted capital as DeFi yields elsewhere have compressed.

“Honestly, it’s the classic story of how Sky, just like Maker used to, always does better in bear markets because it’s just focused on a solid product that can be trusted to be stable and deliver good returns,” Sky founder Rune Christensen told The Defiant earlier this month.

In addition to receiving capital, cohort members plan to launch Sky-aligned products designed to bootstrap USDS usage within their ecosystems.

Tokenization Tailwind

The deployment arrives amid rapid growth in the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) sector. The sector tripled in value to approximately $26 billion over the past year, according to RWAxyz.

RWAs became Wall Street’s gateway to crypto in 2025, with onchain tokenized assets tripling to nearly $19 billion over the course of the year. The momentum has only accelerated into 2026, with RedStone projecting the market could reach $50-60 billion by year-end.

Monument and Midnight Bring Tokenised Deposits into UK Retail Banking

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Monument, the UK digital bank focused on mass-affluent customers, is partnering with blockchain infrastructure provider Midnight to tokenise retail deposits and widen access to new investment products.

Under the arrangement, Monument customers will be able to hold interest-bearing deposits as digital tokens on Midnight’s network, with the funds still held at the bank and covered by existing UK protections. The bank sees this as the first step towards offering a wider range of tokenised investment and lending products to retail clients through its platform.

The bank said it is targeting £250million in tokenised deposits in the first phase of the rollout. Each token will correspond one-to-one with funds held at Monument, acting as a digital representation of a traditional deposit rather than a separate asset. Deposits will remain redeemable in pounds sterling and protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

According to the companies, the project is being built on infrastructure developed by the Midnight Foundation and is designed to let customers access blockchain-based functionality without having to buy, hold or manage digital assets themselves. Monument said the longer-term aim is to create a more integrated offering spanning savings, investments and borrowing within its app.

Staged rollout

The rollout is planned in three phases. The first will focus on bringing customer deposits onto Midnight’s network as tokenised representations of funds held at the bank. The second will centre on introducing tokenised investment products, including real-world asset investments managed by global asset managers. The third is expected to add Lombard-style lending, allowing customers to borrow against investments held through the app.

Monument said the privacy features of Midnight’s infrastructure were a key part of the partnership, as transaction data will be visible only to the bank and its customers. The companies said this approach is intended to allow blockchain-based products to operate within the confidentiality and control requirements of regulated financial services.

The announcement comes amid broader interest in tokenised financial infrastructure, particularly around settlement, collateral management and access to private market assets. Monument said its approach differs from many existing tokenisation initiatives by focusing on retail banking customers rather than institutional users.

Scalable modern banking

“Monument was founded on the promise of bringing the most innovative and valuable financial offerings, safely and securely, to the often overlooked and underserved mass-affluent community in the UK and beyond. The step we are taking today with the Midnight Foundation demonstrates how we continue to deliver on that promise,” said Mintoo Bhandari, founder of Monument Bank. “We are confident that Midnight can provide Monument and its clients with the blockchain infrastructure required to preserve the confidentiality that will be essential to the future of highly efficient, scalable, modern banking.”

Ian Rand, CEO at Monument, also added: “By combining these innovative capabilities with our exceptional client-centric service model, and the protections provided by the regulated banking framework of the UK, we are excited to deliver services that help our clients manage, and build, their prosperity.”

Assets on public networks

“Financial institutions around the world are exploring how blockchain infrastructure can support regulated financial products, but one of the persistent challenges has been balancing transparency with the privacy requirements of modern banking,” said Fahmi Syed, president of the Midnight Foundation.

“Midnight provides programmable privacy infrastructure that allows financial institutions to represent assets on public networks while ensuring transaction data and sensitive financial information remain protected. Monument’s initiative demonstrates how regulated banks can begin bringing traditional financial products onto a permissionless blockchain like Midnight in a way that aligns with existing compliance, disclosure and consumer protection frameworks.”

The bank said the project is intended to lay the groundwork for a broader range of tokenised financial products for retail customers.

Decentralized Crowdfunding Can Boost Artists During Market Downturn

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Opinion by: Joshua Kim, CEO and founder of DonaFi.

Traditional crowdfunding has always been pitched as a lifeline for creators. For non-fungible token (NFT) artists, most centralized models feel out of sync with reality. Fees are high, visibility is inconsistent and platforms increasingly optimize for momentum rather than need. During a market downturn, when liquidity dries up dramatically, the deck is stacked even higher against artists.

Decentralized crowdfunding ensures a more direct, transparent capital flow onchain from collectors who care about art, as opposed to quick flips. The recent effort led by longtime collector Batsoupyum and curator Lanett Bennett Grant makes the case very well.

Rather than launch a flashy fund or token, they committed to spending 1 Ether (ETH) every week on Ethereum mainnet works from emerging artists, sharing the stories behind each piece and explicitly not flipping for profit. No middlemen or no platform deciding who “deserved” attention. Just consistent, visible support when artists need it most.

When markets crash, artists feel it first

NFT bear markets don’t just reduce floor prices; they erase income for aspiring artists. Many artists rely on primary sales to pay rent, fund new work or stay in the space at all. When speculation collapses, attention moves elsewhere, and artists are often left invisible.

What’s striking about this decentralized crowdfunding effort is how fast others stepped in, despite brutal conditions. Punk6529 matched the weekly ETH pledge. Sam Spratt added $20,000. Bob Loukas followed with another $100,000. Galleries offered exhibitions. Platforms like Foundation committed to features. None of it required permission, approvals or centralized coordination — it just spread.

That’s the strength of decentralized crowdfunding in downturns. It doesn’t depend on optimism; it depends on conviction.

Crowdfunding without platforms or promises

Everything happens onchain, in public, one purchase at a time. Artists receive direct payment and immediate visibility. Collectors know exactly where funds go. The social layer, stories, context and curation travel alongside the transaction instead of being abstracted away by a platform UI.

Monthly opens create a repeatable pipeline for discovery and support. That matters. One-off gestures help, but sustained visibility plus cash flow is what keeps artists producing through a downturn. This is crowdfunding stripped down to its essentials: capital, trust and consistency.

A network effect, not a charity

What makes this different from patronage is that it’s networked. Each participant amplifies the others. Collectors don’t replace markets; they stabilize them. Artists aren’t boxed into charity narratives; they’re valued for their work. Platforms and galleries don’t compete with the effort; they actually extend it.

Related: AI agents will have growing pains before innovation can start

Decentralized crowdfunding works here because it aligns incentives without forcing them. No one is locked in. No one is promised upside, yet the result is tangible support, fast.

The importance of this model in 2026

This isn’t about saving NFTs; it’s about proving that decentralized capital still functions when markets are cold. When speculation leaves, what remains is community, transparency and conviction. That’s exactly what artists need right now.

If the next phase of NFTs is going to mean anything, it won’t be built on hype cycles or centralized gatekeeping. It will be built on collectors showing up consistently, using onchain tools to move money directly to creators and telling their stories along the way.

Decentralized crowdfunding won’t fix every problem artists face. In a downturn, however, it’s already doing something far more important: keeping artists alive in the ecosystem when everything else goes quiet.

Opinion by: Joshua Kim, CEO and founder of DonaFi.