Happy Tuesday readers. In case you forgot how awesome Queen Bey is, let me take a few secs to remind you. This modern-day Renaissance woman, having serenaded us since May with her aptly named "Renaissance" album tour, dropped a cool $100,000 to ensure fans could get home safe and sound. How, you ask? By keeping D.C. trains on track and running for an additional hour when the show, much like a drama-loving diva, started fashionably late due to the weather theatrics.

So, the next time clouds try to rain on your parade, remember – Beyoncé might just have your back. Or at the very least, your train fare. 👑

Let’s jump into today’s storylines.

In today’s digest:

• PayPal’s love for crypto

• Sue me? Sue you. MrBeast gets sued by food delivery partner VDC

• Pulse Points: What’s Trending?

PayPal Unveils it’s Crypto Darling

Roll out the red carpet. PayPal, never one to miss out on a crypto-craze, unveiled its shiny new toy: a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin named PayPal USD or PYUSD for those in the know. In doing so, PayPal has officially claimed the title of being the first major U.S. financial maestro to make such a move.

What in the world is a stablecoin?

Think of it as cryptocurrency's answer to a weighted blanket. Its value is anchored, typically to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, but some stablecoins have their prices pegged to commodities or other financial assets.

PYUSD has been crafted to address the potential of web3 and other digital-native transactional platforms. But all this comes at a pivotal moment. Other market players are keenly observing Congress, awaiting a key decision on a stablecoin bill, accompanied by three other crypto-related legislations.

Dan Schulman, the President and CEO of PayPal, commented on this strategic move, noting, "The evolution toward digital currencies necessitates a reliable tool that seamlessly bridges the digital and traditional monetary systems, such as the U.S. dollar." PayPal's commitment to fostering responsible innovation and compliance, coupled with their history of enhancing customer experiences, provides a robust base for the growth of digital payments through PYUSD. In response, PayPal shares have already seen an upward tick of over 1%.

It's worth noting that PYUSD's issuance is overseen by Paxos, previously known for their work on the dollar-pegged Binance-branded stablecoin, BUSD. But let’s not forget what happened earlier this year, when Paxos faced regulatory challenges when the New York State Department of Financial Services mandated a halt to BUSD issuance, marking a notable inflection point in the stablecoin market cap trajectory.

What’s PayPal’s endgame here? Raking in on some serious dough. Tether, the largest issuer of stablecoins, is on track to bring in $6 billion in revenue by the end of this year.

Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) claps back with it’s own lawsuit

In the world of YouTube celebrity cuisine, where burgers sizzle and influencers shine, we're all witness to a beef that's not on the menu. The man, the myth, the viral legend, MrBeast (alias Jimmy Donaldson), has found himself in a pickle with his food delivery partner, Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC), and we're not talking about the one on his MrBeast Burgers.

Last week, Donaldson bit back at VDC, stirring the pot by filing a lawsuit juicier than a medium-rare patty. His beef? The Florida-based "virtual dining" connoisseurs allegedly tarnished his sparkling reputation by serving up dishes that would make even a starving raccoon turn up its nose - think "low quality," or even "inedible" (a term usually reserved for your Aunt Edna's meatloaf).

But VDC, never ones to be out-sizzled, seared back with a counter-lawsuit faster than you can say "extra cheese, please." Charging Donaldson's company, Beast Investments, with an unpalatable serving of contractual neglect, they've laid their grievances out on the legal barbecue, flavored with a dash of "intentional tortious interference."

"This case," says VDC's lawsuit, "is about a social media superstar who thinks his fame makes him the special sauce, above trivial things like 'facts' or 'contracts.' He's mistaken."

Burn.

The damages? Something in the "nine-figure range," which, in layman's terms, is enough to buy every single resident of New York their own Happy Meal. Legal representatives on both sides are currently tight-lipped and when asked how things were going, each offered a side of "no additional comment."

How did we arrive at this culinary catastrophe?

Picture it: December 2020, MrBeast and VDC, flipping branded burger-and-fries combos, nationwide. Everyone's eating up the delicious dream, only to choke on social media posts calling the burgers "disgusting," "revolting," and "inedible" (again, Aunt Edna's territory).

According to VDC's lawsuit, Donaldson wasn't content to leave the kitchen quietly. Instead, he stirred the social media pot, bullying Plaintiffs like Gordon Ramsay on one of his cooking shows.

Who will emerge as the top chef in this sizzling legal cook-off? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure, this legal battle is heating up, and the rest of us are here, forks and knives at the ready, waiting for the next delicious course in the saga of MrBeast vs. Virtual Dining Concepts. Pass the ketchup, anyone?

Pulse Points

PayPal close to appointing new CEO. PayPal has narrowed down their short list of candidates to replace current CEO Dan Schulman. Read more about it here.

Sketchers and Snoop Dogg collab. From the stage to the streets, entertainment maestro Snoop Dogg is lacing up for a new kind of performance: a toe-tapping partnership with Skechers.

Zuck and Musk are serious about their cage match. Yesterday, Musk tweeted to his millions of followers that the cage match will be live streamed on X. All proceeds will go to charities for veterans.

$1.55 billion jackpot breaks records. It's a long shot, but Tuesday might just rewrite lottery history. With the Mega Millions pot simmering at an estimated $1.55 billion, we could see the highest jackpot ever if predictions hold true.