Hi! Out of pocket: Apple’s new $230 knitted phone pouch — or, the “iPhone Pocket,” as they’re calling it — hasn’t gone down brilliantly, with some describing the accessory as a “crossbody sock.” Today we’re exploring:

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What would a 50-year mortgage look like?

The typical first-time homebuyer in the United States is 40 years old — the highest on record. That’s a problem, and it’s one that President Trump believes could be alleviated with a 50-year mortgage.

Jumping on Fox News yesterday to promote the idea, the commander in chief said: “All it means is you pay less per month. You pay it over a longer period of time. It’s not like a big factor. It might help a little bit.”

Indeed, slightly smaller payments over a longer period could certainly help some younger people get onto the property ladder and begin building equity in their home. But some napkin math reveals just how long that could take.

Home economics

Let’s consider someone buying a home for $444,444, with a 10% deposit, leaving them borrowing a conveniently round $400,000. In this scenario, at current rates — about 6.25% for a 30-year fixed mortgage — it would take the individual about 14 years before they pay off the first $100,000 of the principal of the loan. The second $100,000 comes quicker, and the third and fourth even faster still, as the interest accrued each year on the outstanding debt falls.

Now, let’s consider a theoretical 50-year mortgage and assume a slightly higher interest rate. We’ll say 0.5% higher, as banks typically charge more interest for a longer loan — it would take a whopping 31 years before the first $100,000 is paid off, with the bulk of the payments in the first decade just servicing the interest on the debt.

The math is clear: you might pay a little less per month, but you won’t make a serious dent in your debt for years.

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Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), China’s largest music streamer, is learning to make more from less — as its user base shrinks but paying listeners grow.

In Q3, the company posted a 27% year-over-year jump in online music revenue — which makes up over 80% of total sales — to $989 million, driven by what it called “solid growth” in subscription revenues. 

Indeed, TME has decided that it’s time to cash in, with its paying users for online music soaring to 125 million, more than 5x what it had when it went public in late 2018. Paying subscribers now account for nearly a quarter (23%) of its total monthly active users, up from just 4% seven years ago.

But that push has come at a cost: users are fleeing the platform.

Founded in 2016 through a Tencent-led merger combining three Chinese streaming giants, TME already boasted 644 million total online-music users by its 2018 IPO, roughly 3x Spotify's global count at the time. However, after peaking in early 2020, that number has slipped to 551 million, and it now sits below Spotify’s 713 million.

Even so, TME has been getting better at milking the users it has: average revenue per paying user has climbed about 40% since 2018, towards ~$1.70 a month — though its Swedish counterpart earns over 3x more per premium subscriber, at roughly $5.30.

While the two streaming giants operate in largely separate worlds — Tencent mostly within China, Spotify almost everywhere but — TME seems to be vying for global relevance. Last week, the company said it would share its streaming data with Luminate, the firm behind Billboard’s global charts, marking the first time Chinese listening trends will feed into international rankings.

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B2B payments are going on-chain.

The volume of B2B transactions using stablecoins, like Ripple’s fast-growing RLUSD¹, has spiked in recent years. 

In early 2023, less than $150 million of monthly transactions were made with stablecoin every month. By August 2025, that figure was $6.4 billion – an increase of over 40x. And last year, stablecoin transfers outpaced the combined volume of Visa and Mastercard by over 7.6%.

For anyone watching the growth of stablecoin and regulatory developments like the GENIUS Act, these figures might feel unsurprising. Digital Assets infrastructure such as Ripple Payments powered by RLUSD offer substantial improvements from legacy payment infrastructure, including speed, cost, transparency, availability, and increased inclusion.

For some, it might feel overwhelming to keep up with the pace of stablecoin adoption. That’s why Ripple also created the Block Stars podcast: a bite-sized analysis for busy commuters hosted by industry expert David Schwartz.

Business (to blockchain) to business… B2B payments data shows a meteoric rise in stablecoin usage, suggesting businesses and financial institutions are fully embracing the benefits of digital assets. Stay up to date with the Block Stars podcast from Ripple.

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Off the charts: Shares of which running shoe company were sprinting this morning, as it continues to widen the sales gap ahead of rival Hoka? [Answer below]. 

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Advertiser’s disclosures:

¹ The market cap surpassed $1B on 11/3/25. See article for further details.

Digital assets are not suitable for an investor that cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. Stablecoins are subject to risk, including depegging, volatility, and run risks. 

Availability dependent on jurisdiction. RLUSD is issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, a limited purpose trust company chartered by the NYDFS to engage in virtual currency business.

Ripple Markets Delaware LLC is licensed to engage in Virtual Currency Business Activity and licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more