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Today’s Menu

• Google Just Made Its Best Model Faster and Cheaper

• Coinbase Just Became the Everything Exchange

Markets

TODAY IN AI

Google Just Made Its Best Model Faster and Cheaper

Google rolled out Gemini 3 Flash, a speed-optimized version of its recently released flagship model that still maintains frontier-level intelligence, becoming the new default model across Gemini and in Google Search's AI Mode.

Gemini 3 Flash matches and even exceeds 3 Pro across a range of benchmarks, while coming in at one-quarter the price and three times the speed. On Humanity's Last Exam, Flash scored 33.7%, tripling the 11% from its predecessor and nearly matching GPT-5.2's 34.5%.

Both the Gemini App and Google Search's AI Mode now default to 3 Flash, combining real-time web results with fast, improved reasoning.

It may sound counterintuitive, but Gemini 3 Flash feels like a bigger deal than 3 Pro, offering an unmatched intelligence and speed combo at prices that significantly undercut the competition. Google continues eating away at OpenAI's market share, and Flash is looking like yet another reason for that trend to continue.

When you can match flagship performance at one-quarter the price and three times the speed, that's not iteration. That's disruption of the entire AI pricing model.

TODAY IN CRYPTO

Coinbase Just Became the Everything Exchange

Coinbase just rolled out its most aggressive product expansion in 13 years. Stock trading, prediction markets, Solana DEX integration, custom stablecoins, and AI tools are rolling out now as the exchange races to keep up with competitors.

Stock trading: U.S. users can now trade hundreds of stocks and ETFs alongside crypto. Commission-free, with select stocks available 24/5. Thousands more stocks coming in the next few months. Stock perpetual futures for international users roll out early 2026. Coinbase is positioning this as a bridge to tokenized equities, with Coinbase Tokenize launching in 2026 for managing tokenized real-world assets.

Prediction markets: Coinbase launched prediction markets via Kalshi partnership. Users can trade event-based contracts on elections, sports, and economic indicators starting at $1.

Solana DEX trading: Coinbase integrated Jupiter, Solana's largest DEX aggregator, directly into its app, letting users trade Solana tokens without leaving the platform. Millions of assets across Solana and Base are now accessible.

Custom stablecoins: Companies can issue branded stablecoins backed 1:1 by USDC through Coinbase. Early partners include Flipcash, Solflare, and R2. This puts Coinbase into direct competition with established stablecoin infrastructure providers like Paxos and Anchorage.

Coinbase is playing catch-up. Robinhood, Kraken, and Gemini have already launched tokenized equities outside the U.S. Several competitors are exploring prediction markets.

The difference? Coinbase is bundling everything into one platform and betting that scale wins.

The regulatory shift helped. The SEC greenlit always-on trading of tokenized stocks. The GENIUS Act provided stablecoin clarity. Market structure legislation is expected in 2026.

But the real story is consolidation. Crypto exchanges are morphing into full financial platforms with stocks, derivatives, predictions, stablecoins, and banking services, competing less with each other and more with traditional fintech.

Coinbase isn't the first to do this. But it might be the biggest.

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Damon James