How the upcoming Ethereum Merge could change crypto’s rewards, costs and reputation – TechCrunch

Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain by market cap, is about to undergo a massive transformation known to the crypto community as “the Merge.” It’s a long-awaited systemwide upgrade that experts say will reduce the blockchain’s energy consumption by about 99% by switching its transaction verification system away from “proof-of-work,” which relies on crypto “miners” using massive…

The freemium bar is shifting – TechCrunch

Welcome to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. In recent weeks, several companies tweaked the free tiers of their products, from Slack and Otter.ai to Google Meet and Heroku. This ties back…

Indian agency searches fintech Paytm, Razorpay and Cashfree offices in Chinese loan apps probe – TechCrunch

India’s financial crime fighting agency searched the offices of fintech unicorns Paytm and Razorpay as well as Cashfree on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into fraudulent Chinese loan apps, it said Saturday, the latest in a series of probes in recent months. The Enforcement Directorate said its searches at high profile Indian firms…