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Crypto bro buys storied Lower Haight beer bar. Will launch ‘ToronadoCash’ coin

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Crypto bro buys storied Lower Haight beer bar. Will launch ‘ToronadoCash’ coin

The Toronado Pub is a celebrated Haight Street destination for beer enthusiasts — winning the top spot as the best beer bar in the world according to 2024 Reader’s Choice rankings. It offers 50 draft taps, three cask hand-pulls, and a collection of over 90 canned and bottled beers.

“The seasoned patina in the interior is earned, with layers of Trappist ale signs, brewery stickers, vintage bottles, and more that has accumulated over the years — you can’t design this vibe; you can only nurture it over decades,” reads the property listing that went live in January, with an asking price of $1.75 million for the property and business. 

But something smells off to fans of the bar, as Parrott also plans to “kickstart a token ecosystem” named ToronadoCash. In the VC chat group, he asks for investors to form a $250,000 “liquidity pool,” which he describes as “a rare insider opportunity for core team & friends.”

“I think it’s probably antithetic to the impression I had of the bar,” said a source with knowledge of the deal. “It’s emblematic of a larger problem in San Francisco: tech bros coming in and buying a 40-year-old institution and making a coin out of it and all that stuff.”

Two neighborhood residents who were mounting their own bid echoed that sentiment. Reacting to the news of the sale, Aaron, 41, and Cody, 37, who have lived nearby for about 10 years and describe themselves as “skate buds,” said the sale to a crypto investor who wants to launch some kind of coin feels like “bringing a Tesla to a hot rod meet.”

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The two said they submitted an offer letter to buy the bar and signed a contract to be a potential buyer, but they weren’t able to come up with enough money in time.

“We wanted to keep the bar exactly how it was and have local people do food pop-ups and record swaps, DJ nights, to bring a younger crowd into the bar,” Cody said. “[This] is like filming a Black Sabbath concert with your cellphone; it’s just not it,” Aaron added. (Both declined to give their last names.)

Parrott said ToronadoCash is a play on words referencing a controversial cryptocurrency called Tornado Cash that aims to obscure transactions. 

“We’re not going to be controversial like that, but since the bar is called Toronado, there is an opportunity,” Parrott told The Standard. “We’re going to explore that down the road and again — not changing anything about the bar.”

Parrott kept his plans for the bar close to the chest. But a recent post on his X account offers a glimpse of his feelings about the takeover of beloved institutions by private investors.

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Trust Wallet Adds AI Transaction Layer to Self-Custody Wallet Infrastructure

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Trust Wallet Adds AI Transaction Layer to Self-Custody Wallet Infrastructure

Trust Wallet Agent Kit: AI Can Now Act on Your Crypto — With Your Permission

The kit ships in two configurations. In the first, developers set up a dedicated wallet built specifically for AI agent activity, where users define permissions upfront, and the agent can run automated strategies like dollar-cost averaging, limit orders, and price alerts, without asking for approval on every transaction.

In the second configuration, an AI agent connects to a user’s existing Trust Wallet through Walletconnect, proposes transactions, and waits for the user to approve them before anything moves. The firm notes that the user’s custody stays intact throughout.

The release follows Trust Wallet’s Developer Portal, which opened last week with read-only access to crypto data across more than 100 blockchains, including live prices, token metadata, and onchain risk signals. The Agent Kit extends that foundation by adding the ability to act, not just observe.

At launch, supported networks include Ethereum-compatible chains, Solana, Bitcoin, BNB Chain, Cosmos, TON, Aptos, Tron, NEAR, and Sui. Trust Wallet says that coverage makes it the broadest chain-compatible AI wallet infrastructure currently available.

The kit integrates with Model Context Protocol (MCP), the standard developers use to connect AI systems to external platforms, and is available through a command line interface. According to the company’s announcement, a developer can go from account creation to a working AI agent in under 15 minutes.

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Out-of-the-box features include token swaps, limit orders, automated strategies, ENS resolution, ERC-20 approvals, message signing, portfolio tracking, wallet auto-lock, and a REST API for deeper integrations.

Felix Fan, CEO of Trust Wallet, remarked in a statement that AI agents need a trusted layer before they can safely act on a user’s finances. The Agent Kit, he said, gives developers the tools to build agents that execute on real wallets within rules the user sets.

Trust Wallet, which reports more than 220 million downloads, describes its broader goal as becoming the self-custody infrastructure for AI-powered finance, a foundational layer that lets AI participate in crypto workflows without users surrendering ownership of their assets.

The company plans to bring AI features directly to end users inside the Trust Wallet app over the coming months, with in-wallet insights, automated strategies, and personalized alerts. A separate Agent Marketplace is also on the roadmap, where developers can publish reusable agent strategies and trading bots for users to deploy directly from their wallets.

Trust Wallet’s development arrives as a growing number of crypto firms roll out services and features tailored to the emerging agentic economy. Since the debut of Openclaw, interest in AI agents has accelerated profoundly, with companies such as Circle, Binance, Coinbase, and a myriad of others unveiling tools and infrastructure focused squarely on this evolving segment.

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FAQ 🔎

  • What is the Trust Wallet Agent Kit? It is a developer tool that allows AI agents to execute real crypto transactions on a user’s wallet across more than 25 supported blockchains.
  • How does Trust Wallet keep users in control of AI transactions? Users can require per-transaction approval through WalletConnect or configure preset permissions on a dedicated agent wallet before any automation runs.
  • What blockchains does the Trust Wallet Agent Kit support? At launch it supports Ethereum-compatible chains, Bitcoin, Solana, BNB Chain, Cosmos, TON, Aptos, Tron, NEAR, and Sui.
  • Where can developers access the Trust Wallet Agent Kit? The kit is available now via the Trust Wallet Developer Portal at portal.trustwallet.com.
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Cedar Falls delays public hearing on crypto mining operation, power plant

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Cedar Falls delays public hearing on crypto mining operation, power plant

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) – Cedar Falls city officials postponed a public hearing on zoning and code changes needed for a proposed power plant and cryptocurrency mining operation.

The hearing was pushed back to April 22 amid concerns from residents about environmental impacts and utility costs.

Cedar Falls Utility and Simple Mining, the company behind the cryptocurrency operation, say their projects will not negatively impact the public or the environment. Residents at Tuesday night’s meeting showed skepticism about those claims.

People are concerned about noise levels and water and electricity usage. Simple Mining says its crypto mining will use a closed loop water cooling system, which will allow the operation to use very little water. The company also says it can be shut down quickly when energy rates are higher.

Matt Hein, Simple Mining Director of Energy Infrastructure, said the company’s energy usage is a benefit to Cedar Falls.

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“Our large consumption of electricity is an economic benefit to the city of Cedar Falls,” Hein said. “We help pay for schools, we help pay for roads.”

People worry high energy usage will push their utility bills up.

Cedar Falls Utility says the power plant was planned for years before the crypto operation became part of the picture.

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US 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 8-Month High Above 4.4%, Pulls Back on Middle East Ceasefire Reports

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US 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 8-Month High Above 4.4%, Pulls Back on Middle East Ceasefire Reports

Bond Market Selloff Pushes 10-Year Yield

The move reflected a sharp repricing of inflation and fiscal risk. Bond prices fell as investors demanded higher returns on longer-dated government debt, pushing the 10-year yield to close at approximately 4.39% on Tuesday, according to data tracked by Ycharts and the St. Louis Fed’s FRED database.

Three overlapping pressures drove the climb. The ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict — including airstrikes and troop deployments, raised fears of oil supply disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz. Crude prices spiked, embedding higher energy costs into inflation expectations and pulling bond prices lower, particularly at the long end of the curve.

10 Year Treasury Rate (I:10YTCMR) via Ycharts.

Fiscal concerns compounded the move. Increased military spending added to already elevated deficit projections, deepening term-premium pressure on Treasuries. Weak recent bond auctions further signaled reduced demand from investors, questioning long-term fiscal sustainability.

The Federal Reserve provided no offset. At its March 18 meeting, the Fed held the federal funds rate steady at 3.50%–3.75% in an 11-1 vote, citing sticky inflation, solid economic activity, and uncertainty tied to the Iran conflict. The Fed’s dot plot still projected one rate cut in 2026, but futures markets largely priced out meaningful easing this year — with some traders pushing rate-cut expectations into 2027.

That hawkish stance steepened the yield curve. Short-term rates stayed anchored while long-end yields rose on persistent inflation bets — a classic “higher for longer” repricing that forced an unwind of leveraged bond positions.

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Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, flagged the technical significance of the move. “While the 10-year yield broke out of a short-term range, the weekly chart still shows bonds holding within a long triangle in place since 2022,” Timmer wrote Wednesday. “If it breaks, it will be a problem not only for bonds but equities and other assets as well.” He added that yields are rising globally: “This is a global reset.”

US 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 8-Month High Above 4.4%, Pulls Back on Middle East Ceasefire Reports
10-2 Year Treasury Yield Spread (I:102YTYS) via Ycharts.

Keith McCullough, CEO of Hedgeye Risk Management, pointed to the trend’s staying power. “10-Year Yield Holds Uptrend as Inflation Nowcast Accelerates during Quad3,” McCullough posted Wednesday. “The bond market isn’t buying the narrative. 10Y still making higher highs and lows. Range: 4.20–4.43%.”

Wednesday’s partial reversal showed how sensitive yields remain to geopolitical headlines. As ceasefire reports circulated, the 10-year traded near 4.32%–4.33%, giving back a portion of the prior day’s advance.

Timmer’s earlier note captured the line markets are watching: “Nothing good happens above 4.5% when the risk-free rate is competitive with risky assets.” That level sits roughly 17 basis points above Tuesday’s close.

Whether yields resume their climb depends on two variables: sustained inflation data and any re-escalation in the Middle East. Markets are positioned for both. For now, the 10-year yield remains a live stress indicator, not just for bonds, but for equities, credit, and rate-sensitive sectors across the U.S. economy.

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FAQ 🔎

  • Why did the 10-year Treasury yield rise above 4.4% in March 2026? The yield climbed due to overlapping pressures from U.S.-Iran conflict oil fears, elevated federal deficit spending, and a Federal Reserve holding rates steady with few cuts expected in 2026.
  • What does a higher 10-year Treasury yield mean for the U.S. economy? Rising long-term yields increase borrowing costs for mortgages, corporate debt, and government financing, putting pressure on equities and rate-sensitive sectors.
  • When did the 10-year yield last trade this high? The March 24, 2026 close near 4.39% marked the highest level in approximately eight months, dating back to around July 2025.
  • Will U.S. Treasury yields continue rising in 2026? Analysts say the path depends on incoming inflation data and whether the Middle East conflict escalates further or moves toward a sustained ceasefire.
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