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Sygnum Bank, a digital asset banking group, announces a partnership with Debifi, a Bitcoin-backed non-custodial lending platform, to develop MultiSYG, a Bitcoin-native multi-signature lending service. The product, set to launch in next year, is said to be the multi-signature Bitcoin lending solution offered by a regulated bank.
MultiSYG enables borrowers to maintain shared control of their collateral via distributed key management instead of through a single custodian. At the same time, they also benefit from the “competitive rates, flexible drawdown schedule, loan durations – and white-glove service – of a regulated bank.”
MultiSYG allows Sygnum clients to draw fiat loans against their Bitcoin collateral held in a 3-out-of-5 multi-signature escrow wallet. Distributed control requires several private keys to authorise transactions, allowing Bitcoin holders to maintain “visibility of their collateral on-chain.” This is in line with the fundamental principle of “not your keys, not your coins” that resonates within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Max Kei, CEO and Founder of Debifi explained that MultiSYG’s 3-out-of-5 key structure means borrowers can “verify their collateral on-chain, while continuing to benefit from Sygnum’s banking relationship and service.”
Pascal Eberle, Bitcoin@Sygnum and MultiSYG initiative lead at Sygnum Bank said that borrowers are able to benefit from bank-grade terms in pricing, drawdown flexibility, and loan duration, while “keeping cryptographic proof of their holdings and partial control of their Bitcoin via multi-signature tech.”
They added that MultiSYG combines the “ability to hold your own keys while accessing regulated banking products and white-glove service.”
While other banking institutions require complete custody for Bitcoin-backed loans, MultiSYG’s distributed key management allows customers to maintain verifiable control of their collateral during the loan term – a demand from Bitcoin investors. MultiSYG provides a “cryptographic guarantee that assets are not rehypothecated, a practice common at traditional banks and other lending services providers.”
This positions Sygnum as the regulated bank providing Bitcoin lending that aligns with the self-sovereignty principles enabling institutional Bitcoin adoption.
This is a said to be a differentiator as more firms start to Bitcoin to their balance sheets. MultiSYG will now aim to complement Sygnum’s Credit & Lending portfolio and will be offered to Sygnum Bank clients, regardless of the client’s jurisdiction, after its roll-out in H1 of next year.
Sygnum enables professional and institutional investors, banks, corporates and DLT foundations to invest in digital assets. Their team enables this via so-called institutional-grade security, personal service and portfolio of regulated digital asset banking, asset management, tokenization as well as B2B services.
In Switzerland, Sygnum has a banking license and has CMS and Major Payment Institution licences in Singapore. The group is reportedly regulated in the financial hubs of Abu Dhabi as well as Luxembourg and is registered in Liechtenstein.
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Celebrities, professional sports stars and wealthy gamblers sat at a table hoping to win big in a game of Texas Hold 'Em.
But they didn't know it was nearly impossible. They were "fishes" allegedly being targeted by the mafia in an elaborate poker gambling scheme that included X-ray card tables, secret cameras, analysers in chip trays and sunglasses and contact lenses that could read their hand.
In what sounds like an Ocean's Eleven film plot, prosecutors say these "unwitting" victims were cheated out of at least $7m (£5.25m) in poker games – with one person losing at least $1.8m.
The scheme, which US prosecutors described as "reminiscent of a Hollywood movie", was dismantled in a sprawling federal investigation that led to more than 30 arrests, including members of La Cosa Nostra crime families, Portland Trail Blazers basketball coach Chauncey Billups and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Damon Jones.
FBI director Kash Patel called it a "mind-boggling" fraud scheme that cheated victims in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and other US cities.
Arrests in the scheme were announced on Thursday along with those in an alleged basketball betting plot, in which professional NBA players are accused of faking injuries to influence betting odds.
The underground poker scheme started as early as 2019, prosecutors say, and was allegedly operated by the mafia – specifically by members of notorious crime families, including Bonnano, Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese. A cut of the profits, prosecutors say, helped fund their criminal enterprise.
Former professional athletes, described by prosecutors as "face cards", were enlisted to help in the scheme and entice victims into playing.
Lured in by the opportunity to play with a high-profile celebrity – such as Billups or Jones – a wealthy, "unwitting victim" would be recruited for illegal, underground poker games where tens of thousands of dollars were on the line, prosecutors allege.
Unbeknownst to the lured-in players – referred to in the scheme as a "fish" – everyone surrounding them was in on the elaborate scam – from the players to the dealers, even the technology used to shuffle the deck and count the chips, according to a lengthy federal indictment.
Sophisticated wireless technology was also used to deceive the players during the games, most commonly in Texas Hold 'Em.
The technology was everywhere – an X-ray table that read any face-down card, analysers inside chip trays, a rigged shuffling machine that read cards and predicted who would have the best hand, and pre-marked cards that allowed those wearing special sunglasses and contact lenses to read what was in everyone's hands.
Secretive cameras – built into tables and light fixtures – also helped convey information to those helping in the plot, authorities say.
Then there was also a sophisticated method of communicating and rigging the game, prosecutors allege.
Information from the game would be sent to an off-site conspirator – called an "operator" by prosecutors – who then would send information to another player sitting at the table who was in on the scheme – who prosecutors call a "quarterback" or "driver".
That person would then secretly signal to others, prosecutors allege, effectively stealing money and making it impossible for victims to win.
Texts from the US justice department's evidence suggest the "quarterback" would either touch the $1,000 poker chip, tap his chin, wrist or arm to signal which conspirator had the best hand.
If the victim had the best hand, the "quarterback" would touch his black chips.
The texts also appear to show that at times conspirators agreed to lose some hands in order to keep victims at the gambling table for longer.
Another series of texts suggests participants in the scheme avoided suspicion of cheating by swapping in players and losing money to co-conspirators.
Authorities estimate that each game would leave a victim out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors say the defendants allegedly laundered the funds from the scheme through cryptocurrency, cash exchanges and shell companies.
A cut of the profits went to those who helped in the plot, prosecutors say, and some allegedly went to fund the mafia's criminal enterprise.
"This alleged scheme wreaked havoc across the nation, exploiting the notoriety of some and the wallets of others to finance the Italian crime families," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia.
Billups, who was accused of being a face card in the fixed card games, was arrested in Portland and was placed on leave by the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers said in a statement that they were aware of the allegations involving their head coach and were "fully co-operating with the investigation".
Jones was arrested in relation to both the poker and NBA injuries scheme. He is charged with two counts each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
The BBC asked people near the White House how they feel about the East Wing coming down to make room for a ballroom.
Comparing the controversial advert quoting Ronald Reagan on tariffs with his original address.
The US president says he is axing negotiations over an advert that used Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs.
It follows a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged, mafia-linked poker games.
The ground stop also hit Horizon Air, which is operated by the airline.
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The Pennsylvania Senate approved legislation Monday aimed at protecting the privacy of state lottery winners who claim large prizes.
The measure, Senate Bill 73, would shield the names, home addresses, and other personal identifying information of those who win $100,000 or more, unless the winner chooses to make the information public.
The bill, which was sponsored by Republican State Sen. Lisa Baker, was approved with bipartisan support and now moves to the state Pennsylvania House of Representatives for consideration.
Baker, in a statement, noted the need to update the law to balance the Pennsylvania Lottery’s tradition of transparency with modern safety risks.
“The Pennsylvania Lottery has a proud, decades-long record of transparency and integrity,” Baker said. “At the same time, we must recognize the modern realities that come with instant communication and online access to personal information. This legislation strikes the right balance between public accountability and personal safety.”
The bill would still allow the Pennsylvania Lottery to release the winner’s county and municipality of residence. The prize amount would still be released.
Roughly half of all states already offer either full or partial anonymity to major lottery winners.
Baker said her proposal is intended to protect individuals and their families from harassment, scams and unwanted attention that can follow winning significant sums of money.
“My interest in this legislation stems from knowing someone personally who was targeted after winning a $100,000 scratch-off prize,” Baker said. “Scammers went so far as to contact her family members pretending to be government officials demanding tax payments. No one should have to endure that kind of intrusion simply for being lucky.”
In recent years, several states have changed laws regarding public disclosure after decades of fully revealing winners’ identities.
Last year, the Associated Press reported nine states allow all lottery winners to remain completely anonymous, while 10 others permit anonymity for wins exceeding a specific amount.
Even under current Pennsylvania law, some winners are able to remain unnamed by claiming their prize through a trust.
The group that won the $516 million Mega Millions prize, purchased at a 7-Eleven in the Levittown section of Middletown Township, is only known as the Peace of Mind Trust.
The Pennsylvania Lottery, which was established more than 50 years ago, is the only state lottery that directs all proceeds to programs supporting older residents. It has generated more than $1 billion annually for seniors for 13 consecutive years.
“This is about updating our laws to reflect today’s risks,” Baker said. “Protecting the privacy of certain Lottery winners ensures that success doesn’t come at the cost of personal safety.”
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The following article was first posted in the Knowledge Center section of Mercer’s website. It is reposted here with permission.
In the past several years merit and annual increase budgets have moved closer to pre-pandemic levels.
This year is expected to be more of the same—figuring out how to make a 3%-3.5% budget meaningful to a diverse employee population.
For some time, total rewards experts have indicated that the typical merit process is not working.
The challenges range from budget sizes that make differentiation for high performers difficult, the limited impact on an employee’s paycheck, the disconnect between increases, pay in general, and how managers communicate performance to employees, among other things.
A merit increase is primarily a pay increase to reward an employee’s past performance and achievement of goals and objectives.
Typically, the size of a merit increase is determined based on a ranking or grading of an employee’s performance as well as how much they are paid currently, since every job has a determined value to the company and budgets are limited.
How is a merit increase different from any other type of pay increase?
Other types of pay increase, that differ from merit increases, include market adjustments, equity adjustments, cost of living adjustments or “COLAs,” or promotional increases.
The biggest difference is that merit increases tend to be tied to some assessment of performance.
The merit process goes beyond just pay. It consists of evaluating employee performance and then considering what rewards they should be provided.
Beyond pay, that includes career development opportunities, promotions, flexibility, preferred work arrangements, and projects as well as other things that can be seen as beneficial to the employee experience and, thus, engagement.
Additionally, when considering the merit process consider about the planning, administration and communication around the annual activity.
Thinking beyond merit pay increases themselves, let’s take a look at five tips to modernize your merit process.
Transparency in compensation and performance management is no longer optional—it’s a competitive advantage.
Your employees and job applicants expect to understand salary ranges and the criteria behind compensation decisions.
To meet this expectation, start by clearly communicating a clear job architecture and job descriptions tied to pay ranges.
This helps employees understand how their compensation is determined and builds trust between your leadership and workforce.
In addition, communicate how merit increase decisions are made. Let employees know what is considered (e.g., rating and position in range) when determining the size of a merit increase, who is making the decisions, whether or not there are guidelines/rules or full discretion, and the overall budget.
Establishing this level of openness not only supports compliance but also strengthens your organizational culture.
Reduce inefficiencies caused by outdated merit processes by embracing modern tools and technology.
Complex, lengthy, and biased pay systems can hinder equity and slow decision-making.
Instead, integrate platforms that enable reliable compensation benchmarking, automated decision support, and transparent performance tracking.
Leveraging artificial intelligence, such as Mercer’s PayAI can provide predictive insights and identify patterns that improve your merit decisions.
Finding the right tools and communication mechanisms is critical to making your merit cycle more efficient and fair.
Employees today focus heavily on career growth and progression within your organization.
Align merit-based rewards with meaningful career development by emphasizing skill-building, mentorship programs, and clear advancement paths.
Evaluate employee skills and experience regularly, factor these into your rewards decisions, and communicate how performance ties into future opportunities.
By making career development a core part of your merit process, you help employees see their evaluations as stepping stones to personal and professional growth, which boosts motivation and retention.
Avoid defaulting to across-the-board pay increases that dilute the merit process and fail to recognize top performers.
Instead, ensure your merit increases reflect true performance differences.
Develop a tailored evaluation approach that balances objective metrics with managerial feedback.
Use differentiation strategies such as tiered recognition programs and nonfinancial rewards to motivate employees to continually improve.
Establish clear merit criteria tied to measurable goals and organizational values to create a system perceived as fair and motivating.
Effective communication is the backbone of a modern merit process.
Provide employees with clarity on why merit-based decisions are made and how they align with broader organizational objectives.
Equip your managers not only with tools but also with the soft skills needed to deliver developmental and action-oriented feedback.
Make communication an ongoing effort rather than a one-time event. Use employee listening tools and feedback systems to ensure your workforce feels heard and to gauge how well your communication strategies are working.
Listening actively is critical to maintaining effective communication.
Modernizing your merit process is more than just compliance or updating old systems—it’s a strategic opportunity to better align employee performance with your organizational values.
By fostering transparency, leveraging data and technology, supporting career development, differentiating performance, and committing to clear communication, you can transform your merit cycle into a powerful tool for boosting productivity, engagement, and long-term growth.
Start implementing these best practices today to create a merit system that serves both your employees and organizational goals equally well.
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The Colorado Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Oct. 23, 2025, results for each game:
Midday: 7-3-3
Evening: 9-0-2
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
06-14-21-22-29
12-30-33-39-40, Lucky Ball: 03
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.
Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.
You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.
Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by Fort Collins Coloradoan planner Holly Engelman. You can send feedback using this form.
