
Bhutan launches world's first national-level crypto tourism payment system
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Travelers to the South Asian country can use crypto via Binance Pay to pay for everything from airline tickets to tourist visas to hotel bookings to tour guides to fresh fruit from roadside vendors.
Payments in more than 100 cryptocurrencies can be made via static and dynamic QR codes, powered by DK Bank, Bhutan's first fully digital lender. So far more than 100 merchants are onboard.
Richard Teng, CEO, Binance, says: "We are excited to partner with Bhutan as we are not only advancing the use of cryptocurrencies in travel but also setting a precedent for how technology can bridge cultures and economies."
Damcho Rinzin, director, department of tourism, Bhutan, adds: "This is more than a payment solution — it's a commitment to innovation, inclusion, and convenience."

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Times
an hour ago
- Times
Eight of the best pubs in Cornwall — chosen by our beer expert
Southwest England, like East Anglia, is odd in that there are simply too many great pubs for the number of people who live there. You can put a lot of this down to tourism, which might mean a pub is great for reasons unrelated to beer: the breathtaking harbour views; the tales of smugglers; the links to that famous novel. Sometimes these factors are exploited to distract from stale ale or debit card-melting bills. But there's far more to Cornish pubs than tourist traps. Doom Bar — one of the biggest-selling ales in Britain — may not be to everyone's taste, but it has helped Cornwall build a justified reputation as one of the top real-ale spots in Britain. Of my eight picks here, some are just really good at keeping and serving great ale; at others, the beer is good but they stand out for different reasons. And if I've missed your favourite, let us know in the comments below. After a couple of pints at this mock-Tudor treasure, if you're not having an argument about whether it's a bookshop in a pub, or a pub in a bookshop, you'll start one yourself. Leave your drinks at the table while you browse the shelves. The focus here is on well-curated second-hand books — none of your charity-shop piles of Dan Brown. The local and national real ales are excellent but on a hot day a rarer German lager such as Spaten hits the spot. If you fancy settling in with your purchases, there's also a formidable coffee machine. 3 Bells Court; • Read more reviews from our drink experts The pretty village green out front and the formal-looking façade give you no clue to the cosy, quirky rooms in this place on the edge of Bodmin Moor. The main bar feels like a farmhouse kitchen — if your farmhouse roof beams were covered in real-ale pump clips and a collection of vintage mugs bearing logos for brands such as Oxo and Fujifilm. The landlord, Gary Marshall, has stocked more than 4,000 real ales over the three decades he's been here; the local Camra branch describes it as 'a permanent mini beer festival'. Meanwhile, the foodie crowd comes in for his wife Margaret's daily specials such as curries and steaks. The Green; Built as a monk's rest home in the 15th century, the Blue Anchor is now an authentically preserved pub without the slightest whiff of theme-pub plastic history. Low ceilings, flagstones and wonky angles set the tone for a place that feels reassuringly old-fashioned. Groups of elderly locals who might have been drinking here for hours — and decades — turn pub banter into a spectator sport. Spingo Ales, the in-house brewery at the back of the building, has been here for centuries. When a pint of the 6.6 per cent Spingo Special goes to your head, you'll see how it earned its name. This is one of the UK's best proper pubs. 50 Coinagehall Street; • 9 of the best pubs in London — chosen by our beer expert On the face of it, the Fountain is the classic tourist trap: an ivy-clad building down a lane just off the harbour; tales of smugglers; a 500-year history; St Austell beers on tap. But while locals may roll their eyes at what they see as a regional corporate giant, St Austell has become one of the UK's most impressive brewers, turning out beers at scale that delight young craft and older cask drinkers alike. This pub has been owned by the brewer since 1883 and is the oldest pub in the village. More importantly, it's a member of the elite handful of British pubs that have remained in Camra's Good Beer Guide for 40 years.3 Cliff Street; Pubs that are better known for their food than their beer often have purists grumbling. But while the Gurnard's Head looks like a smart restaurant inside its mustard-coloured coastal building, it feels like a proper watering hole. It's not just the relaxed and friendly staff; it's a philosophy that runs through everything. The main bar is as you'd expect the bar in any pub to be: warm and welcoming, with a small, carefully chosen range of Cornish beers, from the traditional local brewer St Austell to new craft players such as Firebrand and Harbour. The food — featuring locally caught seafood such as charred cuttlefish or crispy red gurnard — is high-end restaurant quality at not much more than pub prices. A place to lose yourself for an afternoon — or a weekend: it has eight bedrooms with sea or moor views; one has its own terrace and • This is the UK city best for pubs — and it's not London A former debtors' prison that takes its name from how food was delivered to inmates, the Hole in the Wall is now a grotto-cum-fairytale-junkshop. In the garden you're greeted by a stuffed lion in a glass case. Inside, the walls and beams are cluttered with military helmets, tankards, bells, horse brasses and objects you'll spend a pint trying to identify. You can tell this stuff has been left by generations of staff and customers, rather than bought in bulk. The beer range is dominated by familiar brands such as Butcombe and Sharp's Atlantic, but nevertheless the pub won Camra Cornwall's Pub of the Year award in 2024 and 2025. It shows that what counts is not necessarily the beer you stock but what you do with it.16 Crockwell Street; This spacious city-centre pub was once a draper's shop but looks more like a converted cinema, painted up gaily. Inside the dark-wood space, not everyone will love the barrel of monkey nuts on the bar and the nutshells and sawdust scattered on the floor. But the range of well-kept real ales, mostly local but with the odd appearance of classics such as Bass, always puts it in contention for Camra Cornwall's Pub of the Year — it won in 2017. The place is as well known for its music as its beer, with bands playing in a room upstairs every weekend and a live jam session on Mondays.7 Quay Street; • Eight of the UK's best brewery taprooms — chosen by our expert Great pubs manifest in many different ways. Does this place have the best beer in Cornwall? No. The best food? No. There's nothing wrong with the usual big brands on cask and the predictable pizza and fish and chips on the menu. But the reason it makes the cut here is that it is on the beach — not near the beach but in the middle of it. Somehow, what began in 1978 as a hut selling ice creams has evolved into a fully blown pub. There's year-round live music — expect lots of cover bands, and Blue in September — and stunning ocean views. The location makes it pricey, but anyone complaining about getting sand everywhere has perhaps missed the point.19 St Pirans Road;


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Tourists are flocking to Antarctica. Here's why you should take it off your bucket list
The number of tourists heading to Antarctica has been skyrocketing. From fewer than 8,000 a year about three decades ago, nearly 125,000 tourists flocked to the icy continent in 2023–24. The trend is likely to continue in the long term. Unchecked tourism growth in Antarctica risks undermining the very environment that draws visitors. This would be bad for operators and tourists. It would also be bad for Antarctica – and the planet. Over the past two weeks, the nations that decide what human activities are permitted in Antarctica have convened in Italy. The meeting incorporates discussions by a special working group that aims to address tourism issues. It's not easy to manage tourist visitors to a continent beyond any one country's control. So, how do we stop Antarctica being loved to death? The answer may lie in economics. Future visitor trends We recently modelled future visitor trends in Antarctica. A conservative scenario shows by 2033–34, visitor numbers could reach around 285,000. Under the least conservative scenario, numbers could reach 450,000 – however, this figure incorporates pent-up demand from Covid shutdowns that will likely diminish. The vast majority of the Antarctic tourism industry comprises cruise-ship tourism in the Antarctic Peninsula. A small percentage of visitors travel to the Ross Sea region and parts of the continent's interior. Antarctic tourism is managed by an international set of agreements together known as the Antarctic Treaty System, as well as the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). The Treaty System is notoriously slow-moving and riven by geopolitics, and IAATO does not have the power to cap visitor numbers. Pressure on a fragile continent About two-thirds of Antarctic tourists land on the continent. The visitors can threaten fragile ecosystems by: compacting soils trampling fragile vegetation introducing non-native microbes and plant species disturbing breeding colonies of birds and seals. Even when cruise ships don't dock, they can cause problems such as air, water and noise pollution – as well as anchoring that can damage the seabed. Then there's carbon emissions. Each cruise ship traveller to Antarctica typically produces between 3.2 and 4.1 tonnes of carbon, not including travel to the port of departure. This is similar to the carbon emissions an average person produces in a year. Global warming caused by carbon emissions is damaging Antarctica. At the Peninsula region, glaciers and ice shelves are retreating and sea ice is shrinking, affecting wildlife and vegetation. Of course, Antarctic tourism represents only a tiny fraction of overall emissions. However, the industry has a moral obligation to protect the place that maintains it. And tourism in Antarctica can compound damage from climate change, tipping delicate ecosystems into decline. Some operators use hybrid ships and less polluting fuels, and offset emissions to offer carbon-neutral travel. IAATO has pledged to halve emissions by 2050 – a positive step, but far short of the net-zero targets set by the International Maritime Organization. Can economics protect Antarctica? Market-based tools – such as taxes, cap-and-trade schemes and certification – have been used in environmental management around the world. Research shows these tools could also prevent Antarctic tourist numbers from getting out of control. One option is requiring visitors to pay a tourism tax. This would help raise revenue to support environmental monitoring and enforcement in Antarctica, as well as fund research. Such a tax already exists in the small South Asian nation of Bhutan, where each tourist pays a tax of US$100 (A$152) a night. But while a tax might deter the budget-conscious, it probably wouldn't deter high income, experience-driven tourists. Alternatively, a cap-and-trade system would create a limited number of Antarctica visitor permits for a fixed period. The initial distribution of permits could be among tourism operators or countries, via negotiation, auction or lottery. Unused permits could then be sold, making them quite valuable. Caps have been successful at managing tourism impacts elsewhere, such as Lord Howe Island, although there are no trades allowed in that system. Any cap on tourist numbers in Antarctica, and rules for trading, must be based on evidence about what the environment can handle. But there is a lack of precise data on Antarctica's carrying capacity. And permit allocations amongst the operators and nations would need to be fair and inclusive. Alternatively, existing industry standards could be augmented with independent schemes certifying particular practices – for example, reducing carbon footprints. This could be backed by robust monitoring and enforcement to avoid greenwashing. Looking ahead Given the complexities of Antarctic governance, our research finds that the most workable solution is a combination of these market-based options, alongside other regulatory measures. So far, parties to the Antarctic treaty have made very few binding rules for the tourism industry. And some market-based levers will be more acceptable to the parties than others. But doing nothing is not a solution. Darla Hatton MacDonald is a Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Tasmania. Elizabeth Leane is a Professor of Antarctic Studies at the School of Humanities, University of Tasmania. The authors would like to acknowledge Valeria Senigaglia, Natalie Stoeckl and Jing Tian and the rest of the team for their contributions to the research upon which this article was based.

Finextra
an hour ago
- Finextra
Australian crypto exchange Coinstash raises A$4.7 million
Coinstash has raised AU$4.7 million in its latest funding round, marking a key step toward scaling operations in Australia's digital finance sector. 0 This Coinstash funding supports infrastructure and platform development. The round, led by a Brisbane-based family office, will fund Coinstash's continued platform development, team expansion and user acquisition, with a target of onboarding 100,000 additional Australian investors. 'This raise comes at a time when investor confidence in digital assets is accelerating, as seen in the growing pipeline of crypto companies preparing for public listings globally,' said Coinstash CEO Ting Wang. 'Locally, we're seeing that same momentum as Australian investors increasingly seek secure, long-term access to digital assets as part of diversified portfolios. This funding allows us to scale the platform to meet that growing demand, while maintaining our core focus on security, compliance and innovation.' The capital injection allows Coinstash to strengthen its platform as institutional appetite and market structures around crypto continue to mature. Recent IPO interest in major global exchanges and companies such as Circle underscores the shift from early-stage speculation to full-scale financial infrastructure, a trend now playing out in Australia. The Coinstash funding round highlights investor confidence in the platform's regulatory approach and crypto services. 'We're building not just for the retail investor of today, but for the future of digital finance in Australia. Crypto is maturing as an asset class, and the future will demand local players have the same scale, governance and transparency expected of companies operating in public markets,' Wang added. Founded in 2017, Coinstash currently serves more than 48,000 users and offers access to Australia's largest range of digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and 1,000+ cryptocurrencies. The company has invested heavily in compliance and security (including 1:1 asset reserves) as the Australian crypto sector adapts to a tightening regulatory landscape. The company's total capital raised now exceeds AU$8 million, including AU$3.5 million from earlier rounds. The latest raise reflects growing investor appetite for platforms positioned to serve retail and institutional segments as digital assets continue to enter mainstream portfolios. With this momentum, the Coinstash funding positions the exchange to lead Australia's next wave of crypto adoption.