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Ohio State names second-year player Julian Sayin starting QB

by admin August 18, 2025

Adam RittenbergAug 18, 2025, 12:18 PM ET
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Ohio State has named second-year player Julian Sayin as its starting quarterback for its highly anticipated season opener against No. 1 Texas at Ohio Stadium.

Coach Ryan Day on Monday announced the decision, noting that Sayin won a close competition against junior Lincoln Kienholz but “separated himself, really, over the last week with his consistent play.” Sayin, the nation’s No. 9 recruit and top prospect from California in 2024, signed with Alabama but transferred to Ohio State following coach Nick Saban’s retirement.

Day met with the quarterbacks Monday morning to inform them of the decision.

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“Our guys are confident again with both quarterbacks; we’ll need both quarterbacks,” Day said. “Lincoln did a lot of great things, but we’re going to name Julian the starter here, give him the majority of the reps with the [starters] and go prepare to beat Texas.”

Sayin appeared in four games for Ohio State in 2024, logging 27 snaps and completing 5 of 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. He entered the offseason as the favorite to win the job, earning praise from several Ohio State players who moved on to the NFL from the national championship team. But Kienholz, who has not played since the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Missouri, when he completed 6 of 17 passes for 86 yards, made a legitimate push for the top job, showcasing athleticism and other traits.

Day said that dividing practice reps becomes more difficult when preparing to face an opening opponent like Texas the closer you get to the game. Sayin’s recent surge put him over the top.

“You’re always looking for consistency and taking care of the football,” Day said. “When you start with practice 1 in the spring and do a study on the entire growth over six months, you can see there’s a lot of growth made. You look at the numbers and the production, we felt like [Sayin] was in a situation where he was ready to go play in this game.

“We also feel like Lincoln’s ready to play, but overall, Julian is more consistent.”

Kienholz will serve as Sayin’s backup against the Longhorns, whom Ohio State beat in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in January. Freshman Tavien St. Clair, the No. 10 overall recruit in the 2025 class, will be third on the depth chart.

Day said Kienholz handled the news well and practiced well Monday with good energy.

“He knows in his heart he’s going to play this year,” Day said. “He’s a competitor, I’m sure he wants to play in the first game, but I wouldn’t say he’s discouraged. … The team knows that we’re going to need him, and he knows.”

Day opened his news conference Monday by declining to comment on the NCAA penalties handed down to archrival Michigan for the sign-stealing scandal, which included a significant fine and a three-game suspension for coach Sherrone Moore, two of which will be served during the 2025 season.

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August 18, 2025 0 comments

Control multiplayer spin-off FBC: Firebreak has two major updates planned for this year

Game Reviews

FBC: Firebreak hears your criticism “loudly and clearly” and is fixing things “starting now”

by admin June 22, 2025

Remedy says it’s hearing your feedback on FBC: Firebreak “loudly and clearly” and is committed to improving things, particularly the shooter’s opening hour, “starting now”.

Collating feedback from across social media, Discord, and Steam, the developer – for which Firebreak is its first self-published title – said that while “several things have gone well”, “clearly, not everything has”. Consequently, its first priority is to improve the game’s “first hour experience”, making progression faster and more rewarding.

Here’s a trailer for FBC: Firebreak.Watch on YouTube

“The game’s first hours do not provide a great experience due to a combination of things. Some of this is down to a lack of onboarding (more about that in a bit), explaining the game’s systems, how to take advantage of the tools at your disposal, and a lack of clarity as to what to do in the Jobs and how to do the work effectively,” the team said in its first patch notes.

“In addition, the power fantasy isn’t great in the first hours of the game as starting (tier 1) weapons feel weak, and unlocking higher-tier weapons requires a bit too much grinding,” the studio added. “We can see from the data and are seeing feedback that players who stick around and unlock more powerful tier 3 weapons and Perks, playing on higher Threat levels and Full three zone Job runs, are having a better time.”

Because of this, Remedy says it wants to get you “to the fun faster”, which also means getting us to the better tools and weapons. With better onboarding, user-interface clarity, and making Jobs easier to access, the studio thinks we’ll get a more rewarding start.

That’s not all, though.

“We hear you: the grind is too slow,” the team added. “You want to try different builds, equip stronger weapons, use Altered Augments and experiment with Perks. Right now, getting to that takes too long.

“The upgrade economy was balanced with players finding a good amount of Lost Assets currency during Jobs, but as the currency (the folders on the ground) does not particularly stand out from the environments, players completely ignore them and are thus earning Lost Assets roughly 3x slower than hoped,” the notes admitted. “Then, players do not earn Lost Assets unless they finish a job. If you exit a job midway or disconnect, you’ll get nothing. That’s frustrating. We are looking into what we could do about this, but there are no changes to announce yet.”

For the full notes, head on over to Steam.

In Eurogamer’s FBC Firebreak review, we awarded it 3 out of 5 stars, writing: “A bold approach to the concept of work marks this game out as a singular enterprise”.

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June 22, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Texas will require permits for self-driving cars starting in September

by admin June 22, 2025

Starting September 1, fully autonomous cars will require a permit to operate in Texas. This new restriction comes after the state’s governor, Greg Abbott, signed into law the SB 2807 bill that requires authorization from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles for self-driving cars on public streets without human interaction.

The signing of the new law coincides with Tesla’s launch of its robotaxi service in Austin today where invited guests got to ride in fully autonomous Model Ys. While the law doesn’t go into effect until a few months later, Tesla’s robotaxi launch could have skirted this new regulation since all rides are accompanied by a human “safety monitor” in the front passenger seat.

In the coming months, Texas’ new law may prove to be more than just a headache for Tesla. Besides the permits, the upcoming regulation allows state authorities the ability to revoke permits and requires companies to provide methods of dealing with self-driving cars in emergency situations to police and first responders. While this could become a serious hurdle for Tesla, it’s also likely to affect Waymo, since it currently operates an autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin.

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June 22, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Singapore Bans Crypto Service Exports Starting June 30

by admin June 4, 2025

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

Local crypto firms in Singapore must stop serving overseas clients with token services by June 30, 2025. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) made the move clear after listening to feedback on its new rules under the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2022.

Any company, individual or partnership registered in Singapore that offers token services abroad needs to pause or shut down those operations unless it grabs a license in time.

License Requirement For Crypto Services

According to MAS, firms that fall under Section 137 of the FSM Act are treated as operating from Singapore, even if most of their work happens overseas.

That means even if token services aren’t your main thing, you still need a license to keep going. No extra time is coming—MAS says they won’t offer any transition period. Acting after June 30, 2025 without proper approval could lead to serious trouble.

BTC is now trading at $106,629. Chart: TradingView

Hefty Penalties For Non-Compliance

Based on reports, local token service providers that ignore the rule could face fines up to SGD 250,000 or about USD 200,000. They could also see jail time reaching three years.

Only businesses that already have a spot under existing financial laws—like the Securities and Futures Act, the Financial Advisers Act or the Payment Services Act—can carry on without worrying about the new DTSP rules. That limits how many outfits can still serve overseas clients without significant changes.

A scenic view of Singapore. Image: Expedia.

Exec Says Licenses Will Be Rare

Hagen Rooke, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, warned that MAS will hand out new DTSP licenses only in very rare cases. He said these kinds of services bring extra concerns around anti-money laundering and stopping terrorist financing.

That means most firms will find it hard to qualify. MAS will grant licenses under the new framework only in extremely limited circumstances, Rooke wrote on LinkedIn. He urged local outfits to look at ways to strip out their Singapore links or move parts of their operations elsewhere to avoid falling under these strict rules.

Industry Faces Restructuring Decisions

Small and mid-sized firms that built a global user base from Singapore now face a tough choice: scale back to serve local customers only, or shift their headquarters outside Singapore’s borders.

For many, it may come down to cost. The extra work needed to meet tighter checks could be more than what fledgling teams can handle. Some business owners worry this will push talent away, as engineers and compliance officers might follow jobs to friendlier crypto hubs.

Big players, including established banks or deep-pocketed startups already licensed under other Acts, are better placed to survive these changes.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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.

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June 4, 2025 0 comments

NFT Gaming

Centrifuge Expands Tokenized Assets to Solana Starting With $400M Treasury Fund

by admin May 23, 2025

Tokenized asset platform Centrifuge said it’s expanding services on the Solana blockchain, starting with the $400 million tokenized U.S. Treasury fund managed by Anemoy (JTRSY).

The expansion builds on Centrifuge’s token standard — dubbed “deRWA tokens” — that allows token holders to freely transfer and use tokenized instruments across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

In this case, the deJTRSY token can be swapped, lent, or used as collateral in, enables Solana users to earn yield from short-term Treasuries natively in Solana DeFi platforms, first on decentralized exchange Raydium, lending platform Kamino, and yield aggregator Lulo.

The rollout underlines Solana’s growing momentum in the tokenized RWA space, a red-hot sector that aims to brings traditional financial instruments like bonds, funds and credit onto blockchain rails. It’s a huge opportunity: Boston Consulting Group and Ripple projected that the tokenized asset market could reach $18.9 trillion by 2033.

This week, Solana Foundation partnered with bank-focused blockchain tech firm R3 to bring real-world assets to Solana, while Securitize-issued tokenized fund of Apollo credit assets is also being introduced to Solana-based DeFi protocols.

“Tokenizing assets is just the starting point,” said Bhaji Illuminati, CEO of Centrifuge. “What truly matters is giving real-world assets utility onchain: making them usable across the DeFi stack from day one.”

Read more: Major TradFi Institutions to Pursue Tokenization Efforts on Solana

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May 23, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

OpenAI says it will expand Stargate AI infrastructure project to the UAE, starting with a 1GW cluster

by admin May 22, 2025

OpenAI has today announced the launch of Stargate UAE, the first international deployment of its AI infrastructure platform, Stargate. The company says it will build a 1GB cluster in Abu Dhabi, and says that coordination with the U.S. government was vital in making the expansion possible.

“Stargate represents our long-term vision for building frontier-scale compute capacity around the world in service of safe, secure, and broadly beneficial AGI,” the company said in a press release.

OpenAI says the move is also the first partnership under OpenAI for Countries, a global initiative to help interested governments build sovereign AI capability in coordination with the U.S. government, a scheme OpenAI says is “rooted in democratic values, open markets, and trusted partnerships.”