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FOMC Minutes: Fed considers rate hike

FOMC Minutes: Fed Considers Rate Hike

The FOMC Minutes have been released—meeting logs that highly interest markets because they hint at the Fed’s future outlook. Here are the highlights.

On May 20th, the FOMC Minutes were published—the Federal Reserve logs that show in detail the reasoning behind the FOMC’s decision (Federal Open Market Committee), the monetary policy meeting where interest rates are set. Markets pay close attention to this type of communication, especially since they often provide hints about the future. But first, let’s quickly look at the reference framework—relating to the last FOMC of April 28-29, the last one chaired by Jerome Powell before handing over the baton to Kevin Warsh.

The macroeconomic context: between inflation and the labor market

To understand the internal discussions within the Fed and their relevance, however, we need to take a step back and look at the numbers that Jerome Powell and his colleagues had on the table.

Inflation: May data

According to data published by the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), inflation stood at 3.3% year-on-year. The increase, logically, was heavily driven by the rise in energy prices, triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the conflict in Iran and the Middle East. This is a quite concerning picture: inflation is still running well above the Fed’s 2% target.

Interest rates (FOMC): the April 29 decision

At the end of the late-April meeting, the FOMC left interest rates unchanged: during the press conference, outgoing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell defended the decision to keep the so-called “easing bias” in the statement—language indicating an inclination toward future cuts—explaining that changing the wording is a signal in itself and the Fed prefers to maintain a more conservative approach.

So, to sum up, the United States is in a situation where inflation has started rising again due to geopolitical shocks and massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI), which are overheating demand. On the other hand, the unemployment rate stands at 4.3% with new job creation remaining contained. Let’s move on to the Minutes.

FOMC Minutes: a shocking change of direction?

Let’s get to the core issue: what did the members of the US central bank say behind closed doors? The logs show a Fed that has almost completely shelved the question of the last two years—namely whether to cut rates—to start seriously considering the opposite scenario: raising them.

Reading the Minutes, it emerges that the majority of officials highlighted that “some monetary policy tightening would likely become appropriate if inflation were to continue to run persistently above 2%”. Furthermore, there is a clear preference for removing the so-called easing bias from the statement—the tendency to include rate cuts among the options—supporting the stance of the three presidents (Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan) who formally objected on that specific point. But there are also those who continue to favor a more dovish monetary policy: Stephen Miran, the Governor appointed by Trump following Adriana Kugler’s resignation, voted against, preferring—as always—a 25 basis point cut due to labor market risks.

On the risk management front, members agree that there are upside risks to inflation and downside risks to employment. The main fear is that prolonged high energy prices and trade tariffs could make inflation structural. For this reason, monetary policy does not follow a pre-set path, and members reiterated that future decisions will be taken meeting by meeting.

Next FOMC: what are the forecasts?

At the time of writing, CME Group’s FedWatch estimates on interest rate futures markets indicate a probability of nearly 50% of seeing at least one 25 basis point rate hike by the end of this year. Regarding the next FOMC, No Change—unchanged rates—is priced in as a certainty at 99.1%, while the remaining 0.9% relates to a hike.If you’ve made it this far, it means this topic interests you: join our Telegram channel and/or subscribe to Young Platform so you don’t miss the news moving the markets!

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Iran: three months of war. How is the crypto market reacting?

Israel-Iran War: Market Update

The war between Israel, the US, and Iran continues: the Strait of Hormuz is repeatedly closed and reopened, leaving stock markets confused. And the crypto market?

The war between the United States-Israel and Iran has entered its third month: the Strait of Hormuz, a fundamental chokepoint through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG production passes, remains semi-blocked, even though Iranian and US delegations seem intent on reaching an agreement. Global stock markets, of course, have no idea what the future might hold but remain highly optimistic. The crypto market follows, but has been feeling the strain lately: what is the situation?

War in Iran: the timeline of the conflict

On the Italian morning of February 28, the United States and Israel officially launched a series of coordinated bombings against Iran: in less than 24 hours, they achieved one of the main goals of the raids, eliminating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A few hours after the event, the Revolutionary Guards, one of the three Iranian armed corps, declared the Strait of Hormuz closed: “If anyone attempts to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships on fire”.

In the days that followed, the traffic in the Strait was drastically reduced: media and international security organizations reported the presence of naval mines in the channel. The price of energy commodities, consequently, skyrocketed: through the Strait of Hormuz passes between 25% and 30% of global oil and LNG (liquefied natural gas) production. With the opening of the front, Brent—the international benchmark—skyrocketed and remained steadily above $100 a barrel.

The three subsequent months saw a continuous alternation between mutual threats and negotiations, but the warring parties have managed to find common ground: officially, as we write, the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran have temporarily buried the hatchet.

In this regard, over the weekend of May 23-24, major international media spoke of steps forward toward a definitive end to the war: CNN, for example, reports that “the United States and Iran show signs of progress in efforts to end the conflict, but crucial details of a framework agreement are still being negotiated”.

Although the situation is not entirely clear, the aforementioned news has brought the price of Brent below $100 a barrel for the first time in more than a month.

The performance of major stock indices

When energy prices grow out of proportion, the real economy suffers: companies spend more to produce due to the across-the-board increase in costs, such as transportation and electricity in general. The result: the price hikes, in the end, are passed on to the consumer, who sees a generalized rise in prices, also known as inflation.

And markets know all too well that rising inflation increases the likelihood of an interest rate hike—the next FOMC meeting will take place in less than a month. What does all this mean in numbers?

Starting with the United States, the three main indices have returned well into positive territory: since day one of the conflict, the Dow Jones is gaining 3.4%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 have set new All-Time Highs and are gaining 8.6% and 18% respectively—the Dow Jones suffers more than the other two precisely because it is more exposed to energy price variations.

The turning point, i.e., the bottom followed by the trend reversal, occurred on March 30. Since that day’s close, the three indices have staged a significant recovery: the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 are gaining 11.86%, 17.8%, and 30.4% respectively.

But let’s fly to Europe, which is faring slightly worse: the Eurostoxx 50 (STOXX), the index that includes the top 50 European companies, has returned to positive territory for the first time since the start of the conflict: currently, it is up 2% compared to the close on March 2. However, the situation is not bright for everyone: in detail, London is down 2.9%, Paris 1.8%, while Frankfurt and Milan, on the contrary, are gaining 2.5% and 8.15% respectively.

In Asia, the situation has turned more favorable: the Nikkei, which represents the 225 most important companies in Japan, updated its all-time highs and, since March 2, is marking a +13.6%, while the KOSPI, the main South Korean index which had lost up to 18% with the outbreak of the war, reversed its trend with an impressive performance: +35.5% since the close on March 3. In China, the Hang Seng travels in negative territory: -1.6% since Day One.

Focus precious metals: gold and silver

In this chaos, one would expect good behavior from precious metals, universally conceived as safe havens in times of strong turbulence. That is not quite the case.

The price of gold, since the start of the bombings, has dropped by 14.1%, closely followed by silver (-12.5%). At the same time, despite not being a precious metal, the dollar returns to assuming a store-of-value role: in these ten weeks, the DXY—the dollar vs six major foreign currencies—is gaining 1.15%.

And the crypto market?

The crypto market seems to be linked, with due proportion, to the performance of the US tech sector: since Friday, February 27, Bitcoin is gaining 17.8%, after weeks of high volatility in which it targeted $70,000 four times, finally managing to break that ceiling and launch an attack on $80,000; Ethereum is underperforming but still growing by 9.8%; Ripple and Solana, on the other hand, post more modest performances, rising by 0.5% and 5% respectively. In general, the Total Market Cap has grown by approximately 308.5 billion dollars (+13.7%).

Some interesting data

According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, over the past thirty days, Public Companies have increased their Bitcoin stakes by 2.2%. In other words, listed companies—such as Strategy (MSTR)—have brought the total held in Bitcoin to 1.24 million BTC. The opposite is true for ETFs and exchanges: recent outflows have reduced the amount of BTC held by 0.2% (total: 1.62 million BTC).

In this regard, it is interesting to compare the stakes of the most representative entities in these two categories: Strategy (MSTR) for Public Companies and IBIT for ETFs. It is an extremely close head-to-head: the former holds 843,738 BTC, the latter 804,921 BTC.

What lies ahead?

It is the big question that crypto (and non-crypto) investors have been trying to answer for days. Clearly, no one has the answer, because the future cannot be predicted. In these moments, the best thing to do is to study the fundamentals and understand how protocols work.

Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry: our Academy is excellent for those who want to start, but also for those who are already experts and want to review.

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Tournaments and Tickets: prizes up for grabs

Arcade

Tournaments are internal mini-championships within the Arcade Championship, where competitors must complete Quests to obtain Gems and therefore the Tickets needed to participate in the draw and try to win the prizes up for grabs. There are three Tournaments and they last four weeks each, with the exception of Hall of Fame, the Special Tournament we will discuss in a dedicated article.

You have various ways to accumulate Gems at your disposal:

  • Completing Quests 
  • Finding Combo challenges
  • Collecting Trophies  
  • With gifted Gems
  • Holding YNG 

What are the prizes up for grabs, how do the Tournaments unfold, and how do the Ticket accumulation methods work?

Tournaments and prizes up for grabs

There are three Tournaments, each lasting four weeks. So:

  • First Tournament “Insert Coin”: from April 20 to May 18;
  • Second Tournament “Checkpoint”: from May 18 to June 15;
  • Third Tournament “Final Stage”: from June 22 to July 20.

Scheduled from June 15th to June 22nd, Hall of Fame is a Special Tournament with unique features compared to regular Tournaments with far fewer participants and different prizes – here is the article: Prizes and rules of the Special Tournament.

Prize pool for Checkpoint – second Tournament

Tournament prizes will be revealed over time: on June 22nd, when the “Hall of Fame” Special Tournament ends, we will publish the rewards for Final Stage, the third Tournament.

Checkpoint Tournament: from 2:00 PM on April 18th to 2:00 PM on June 15th.

Prizes up for grabs:

  •  3 PlayStation 5s
  • 2 Nintendo Switches
  • 3 Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones
  • 30 Young Platform official merch caps

How to increase your chances of winning: get as many Tickets as possible

To have a better chance of winning one of the 40 scheduled prizes, you need to get as many Tickets as possible. It’s a matter of mathematics: at the end of each Tournament, a notary will draw the winning Tickets, so the more Tickets you have, the more likely yours is to be drawn.

To get Tickets you need to accumulate Gems. How?

Completing Quests

Quests are specific activities within the app. By completing a Quest, you will receive Gems. The number of Gems obtained is proportional to the difficulty of the Quest. Quests are distinguished by their duration:

  • Daily: they last 24 hours and update every day.
  • Weekly: they expire after 7 days and reset every week.
  • Permanent: they have no expiration and can be completed at any time.

Finding Combo challenges

Some Quests, whether daily, weekly, or permanent, require the same action. It is possible to complete more than one with a single action, thus obtaining more gems. Activate the newsletters to receive Combo challenge notifications via email. You will still easily find them by exploring the Quests of the ongoing tournament and championship.

Collecting Trophies

Trophies are the absolute novelty of this edition and represent an extra way at your disposal to increase your personal Gem stash.

These are badges unlocked only through active and constant participation and are divided into eight categories.

How many Gems are up for grabs as a reward? It’s up to you to find out. The only way to reveal it is to unlock a Trophy.

Attention: to secure the Trophy, don’t forget to cash in the Gems by tapping the Claim button! Imagine losing the winning Ticket over such an oversight.

With extra gift Gems

Some special daily Quests offer the opportunity to get extra gems.

These do not require the completion of specific objectives, but are a gift for players who show higher activity and open the app more frequently. This allows them to collect more Tickets, as well as gain better positions on the Leaderboard compared to those who play less intensely.

We recommend turning on notifications to receive alerts and ensure you don’t miss out on these extra gems. Since they are daily Quests, their validity is limited to 24 hours.

Holding YNG

Every Monday, players holding the Young (YNG) token receive extra gifted Gems: the more YNG you own, the more Gems you receive. You can check your YNG Hodler level by scrolling to the bottom of the “Tournament” section.

Do not underestimate this boost: these weekly gems provide a significant advantage both in obtaining Tickets and climbing the Leaderboard compared to those who do not receive them.

The Ticket distribution mechanism

The more Gems you accumulate, the more expensive obtaining Tickets will be. The Ticket distribution system is structured as follows:

  • Tier 1 – from 0 to 500 accumulated Gems: 1 Ticket every 30 Gems
  • Tier 2 – from 501 to 1,500 accumulated Gems: 1 Ticket every 100 Gems
  • Tier 3 – from 1501 to 3,000 accumulated Gems: 1 Ticket every 200 Gems
  • Tier 4 – from 3,001 accumulated Gems onwards: 1 Ticket every 300 Gems

Thus, all it takes is a single 30-gem Quest to get a Ticket and be in the running for the prize draw of that Tournament. At the end of each Tournament, meaning every four weeks, the counter and the Gems are reset.

Example: if at the end of the first Tournament you were at Tier 2 with 80 Gems accumulated out of the 100 needed to unlock a Ticket, at the start of the second Tournament you will start over from Tier 1 with zero Gems. Along with you, the rest of the participants.

Arcade is live: have fun and try to take something home!

There is nothing else to say, the article ends here: Arcade is live from 2:00 PM on April 20, all that’s left is to wish you the best of luck. Catch us on our social channels for updates on Arcade, the Championship, and the Tournaments, including draws, new prizes, and fresh updates.

Useful Links

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USA Inflation: Today’s CPI Data

US CPI Data Today: Inflation Results & Market Impact

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been released, the data used to estimate inflation in the United States of America

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been released, the data used to estimate inflation in the United States of America. The fate of the markets hinges on US inflation and, therefore, on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data published on May 12. In this article, we will find out what the CPI is, why it is important, and analyze the latest available data.

CPI meaning

Technically, the CPI (Consumer Price Index), or Consumer Price Index, is a fundamental economic indicator that measures how much the prices of everyday goods and services have changed. In other words, the CPI tells us how much it costs to live today compared to the past.

The CPI is calculated by collecting price data on a representative “basket” of goods and services that consumers typically purchase. This basket includes a variety of products, such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, healthcare, and other common goods and services. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects prices every month in 75 urban areas and compares them with those of the previous period.

Why is it important?

The CPI is used to measure inflation, meaning how much the cost of living increases. If the CPI goes up, it means prices are rising and that, on average, one has to spend more to live like they did before.

Bitcoin and CPI: how are they connected?

The Consumer Price Index is one of the main indicators that the members of the Federal Reserve take into consideration when they have to make choices regarding monetary policy: generally, when inflation drops, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) is more comfortable cutting rates, and vice versa.

Currently, however, analysts believe that the Fed Chairman and the Board of Governors presiding over the FOMC are inclined to keep rates steady for the upcoming meetings as well, in order to assess the impact of the cuts made during 2025.

Bitcoin generally reacts positively to rate cuts: when money is cheaper, investors are more inclined to shift liquidity toward more volatile assets in search of higher returns. In this hypothetical scenario, equities and crypto are among the top choices.

In any case, the CPI remains a fundamental tool for understanding the inflation trend and trying to predict the behavior of the American central bank: if you’re interested in the topic, you can find all the dates for 2026 in our article on the Fed’s meeting schedule.

The last time it happened

The latest CPI for April came in higher than forecasts and the previous month’s CPI: the data, consistent with what was written above, did not influence the Fed’s choices, which, as we anticipated, left rates at December levels.

So, how did today’s CPI turn out?

CPI May 2026: data analysis

On May 12, 2026, the BLS published the report on price changes for US consumers. According to the report, the monthly CPI (MoM) increased by 0.2% compared to the previous month, while the year-over-year CPI (YoY) grew by 3.8% compared to April’s measurements. This data, there is no point in wrapping it in a euphemism, is negative, as year-over-year inflation does not seem to stop and is moving further and further away from the Fed’s target of 2%.

Will the CPI for June be higher? It is highly probable: even if the war involving the United States, Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran were to end, the effects of a prolonged increase in the price of Brent will be felt for a long time.

Interest rate cut on the horizon? Forget about it

What will the Fed decide regarding interest rates at the June 16-17, 2026 FOMC? On the FedWatch Tool, the premier instrument for these kinds of forecasts, the odds of a 25-basis-point cut are now down to zero. The No Change is set at 99.9%, with a remaining 0.1% linked to a rate hike.

Historical data of the YoY CPI in 2026

Here is how the CPI is tracking in 2026:

May 2026: +3.8% (forecast 3.7%)

April 2026: +3.3% (forecast 3.3%)

March 2026: 2.4% (forecast 2.4%)

February 2026: 2.4% (forecast 2.5%)

January 2026: 2.6% (forecast 2.7%)

2025 Data:

December 2025: 2.7% (forecast 3.1%)
October 2025: 3% (forecast 3.1%)
September 2025: 2.9% (forecast 2.9%)
August 2025: 2.7% (forecast 2.7%)
July 2025: 2.7% (forecast 2.7%)
June 2025: 2.4% (forecast 2.5%)
May 2025: 2.3% (forecast 2.4%)
April 2025: 2.4% (forecast 2.5%)
March 2025: 2.8% (forecast 2.9%)
February 2025: 3% (forecast 2.9%)
January 2025: 2.9% (forecast 2.9%)

To continue following these market updates, join our Telegram channel or click below!

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Unemployment and Non-Farm Payroll: US data

Emploi aux États-Unis : les données et la réaction des marchés

US employment data has been released: Non-Farm Payrolls and the unemployment rate. How did the markets react?

On Wednesday, February 11th, the American BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) released labor market data. Specifically, reports were published on Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP), representing new jobs created excluding the agricultural sector, and the unemployment rate. What is the current situation? How did the markets behave and why?

On Friday, May 8, the US BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) released the latest labor market data. Specifically, the report covers Non Farm Payrolls (NFP)—the number of new jobs created excluding the agricultural sector—and the unemployment rate. What is the current situation? How did the markets behave, and why?

The data: Non Farm Payrolls and unemployment rate

The May 8 release is the fifth of 2026, but let’s get straight to the point: NFPs grew by 115,000, a figure far higher than expectations, which estimated 62,000 new jobs, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3% compared to April, matching forecasts.

The implications

As is well known, the financial world places great importance on these reports since the labor market is a highly scrutinized indicator, especially since the Federal Reserve released its March FOMC Minutes. In evaluating its monetary policy moves, the US central bank is closely monitoring both the employment situation and price stability. With the outbreak of the war in Iran—you can find the recap of market reactions since the start of the conflict at this link—and the resulting inflationary pressures, it is crucial that at least the first of these two indicators remains positive.

Based on these statements, the logical chain guiding the markets since the beginning of 2026 is as follows: if NFPs fall below forecasts and the unemployment rate rises, the likelihood increases that the FOMC could raise interest rates later this year—if you are interested in monetary policy meetings, you can find the complete 2026 FOMC meeting schedule here.

Forecasts for the April FOMC

The CME Group’s FedWatch, a tool that calculates the probability of FOMC rate cuts based on Fed Funds futures prices, currently puts ‘No Change’ at 98.1%, while a 25-basis-point cut—i.e., 0.25%—stands at a 0% probability. That’s right: the remaining 1.9% represents a rate hike.

Even though the next meeting is still some time away, the May Consumer Price Index—the second since the outbreak of the conflict in Iran—points to a significant return of inflation: the price of Brent crude oil, which is now hovering steadily around $100 a barrel, is driving up the overall cost of living.

What’s next?

Over the next few days, we will most likely see a highly volatile market, particularly on the crypto side. The current environment is heavily driven by emotions, which can shift hundreds of billions of dollars in capital in just a matter of hours.In any case, we will be right here to keep you updated on the news and events moving the markets. Subscribe to to Young Platform so you don’t miss out on what matters!

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ECB Meeting April 2026: The Results

Réunion BCE décembre 2025 : résultats et taux d'intérêt

The ECB met on April 30 to decide the Eurozone’s monetary policy: what happened to interest rates? Here are the results.

The European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, April 30, 2026, saw the members of the Governing Council gather to discuss, among other things, the Eurozone’s monetary policies. On the table were the decisions regarding interest rates. What happened?

ECB Meeting: what is the economic context?

The third ECB meeting of 2026 took place against a complex economic backdrop where future uncertainty reigns supreme, between Donald Trump’s unpredictability and conflicts that seem destined to drag on. The main topics focused heavily on economic growth, which has been deeply affected by geopolitical instability, and inflation, currently at 3% according to the latest reading—higher than expected. Let’s look at what was decided in detail.

The ECB leaves interest rates unchanged

Thursday, April 30, Frankfurt. The Governing Council of the European Central Bank has announced its monetary policy decision for the Eurozone. As expected by the majority of analysts, the ECB has decided to keep its three key interest rates unchanged. Consequently, the deposit facility rate remains steady at 2%, the main refinancing operations rate at 2.15%, and the marginal lending facility rate at 2.40%.

The reasoning behind the choice

The ECB explained that the decision is summarized in this statement: “New information is broadly in line with the previous assessment of inflation outlooks, but upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth have intensified.”

A deterioration of the outlook is largely attributable to the outbreak of the war in Iran and all its subsequent consequences: “The implications of the war for medium-term inflation and economic activity will depend on the intensity and duration of the energy price shock, as well as the extent of its indirect and second-round effects.”

In this context, as is only logical, “the longer the war continues and the longer energy prices remain elevated, the greater the likely impact on broader measures of inflation and the economy.”

With this meeting, the ECB confirms a more cautious stance

The ECB meeting in March 2026 decreed the maintenance of interest rates at February levels: this is the seventh consecutive meeting with this outcome. Despite an extremely uncertain situation with skyrocketing energy prices, the ECB writes that the Eurozone might be in a better position than one might think: since we entered this phase of sharp increases with inflation already close to 2% (the ECB’s stated target), “longer-term inflation expectations remain firmly anchored, although those over shorter horizons have risen significantly.”

In this context, the ECB Governing Council remains in a wait-and-see posture: “the Governing Council will monitor the situation closely and will adopt a data-dependent approach whereby decisions are taken from meeting to meeting.”

Naturally, the coming weeks will be crucial to see if the data confirms the current scenario and what the next move from the Eurotower will be.

The next meeting is scheduled for June 10-11, 2026: what will the members of the Governing Council decide? To ensure you don’t miss any upcoming meetings, take a look at our 2026 ECB meeting calendar—either way, we’ll be here to cover them. Subscribe to Young Platform to stay up to date on the things that matter!

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Championship and Leaderboard: prizes up for grabs

Arcade

Arcade: Guide to the Leaderboard, Championships and earning extra Gems for winning

The Championship is Arcade’s overall leaderboard, where all players compete to reach the top positions and win the prizes on offer. The most coveted rewards are awarded, in order of merit, to the top 20 players with the highest number of Gems. Therefore, your position on the leaderboard depends exclusively on the Gems you accumulate during gameplay. You can accumulate Gems more easily in 6 ways:

  • Completing Quests 
  • With Bonus Gems
  • Finding Combo Challenges
  • Collecting Trophies
  • Holding YNG
  • Taking part in all Tournaments

Let’s take a look at the prizes on offer and how the Gem accumulation methods work.

Prizes up for grabs

The Arcade Championship offers 20 unmissable prizes for the top 20 players. Winners will be determined based on their position on the Leaderboard as of 20 July at 14:00.

  • 1st – Rolex Oyster Perpetual 2023 Green 
  • 2nd – Django Classic 125
  • 3rd – MacBook Pro 14
  • 4th – MacBook Air 13
  • 5th – Volagratis Gift Card – €1.000 value
  • 6th – iPhone 17
  • 7th – Google Pixel 10
  • 8th – Volagratis Gift Card – €700 value
  • 9th – AirPods Max
  • 10th – PlayStation 5
  • 11th – Amazon Gift Card – €500 value
  • 12th – Pixel Tablet
  • 13th – Apple Watch Series 11
  • 14th – Amazon Gift Card – €300 value
  • 15th – Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones
  • 16th – Volagratis Gift Card– €250 value
  • 17th – AirPods 4
  • 18th – Amazon Gift Card – €200 value
  • 19th – Volagratis Gift Card – €150 value
  • 20th – Volagratis Gift Card – €120 value

Championship duration

The Arcade Championship runs over a period of 91 days:

  • Start: Monday 20 April at 14:00
  • End: Monday 20 July at 14:00

You have this time to accumulate enough Gems and reach the top of the leaderboard.

How to climb the Leaderboard

Quests

Quests are specific objectives within the app. By completing a Quest, you will receive Gems, which act as experience points. The more Gems you accumulate, the higher your position on the overall Leaderboard. The number of Gems earned is proportional to the difficulty of the Quest.

Quests are divided according to their duration:

  • Daily: last 24 hours, refreshed every day.
  • Weekly: expire after 7 days and reset each week.
  • Permanent: have no expiry and can be completed at any time.

Bonus Gems

Some special daily quests offer the opportunity to earn extra Gems.

These do not require completing specific objectives but are a reward for players who show higher levels of activity and open the app more frequently. This allows them to achieve better leaderboard positions than those who play less intensively.

We recommend enabling notifications to receive alerts and ensure you don’t miss these extra Gems. As daily quests are only valid for 24 hours.

Finding Combo Challenges

Some quests—daily, weekly and permanent—require the same action. It is possible to complete more than one at the same time with a single action, earning multiple Gems.

Enable newsletters to receive Combo Challenge alerts via email. You can also easily find them by exploring the ongoing tournament and championship quests.

Collecting Trophies

Trophies are the major new feature of this edition and provide a valuable boost to increase the number of Gems you hold.

They are badges that can only be unlocked through active, consistent participation and are divided into 8 distinct categories.

The number of Gems available as a reward is a mystery—it’s up to you to discover it. The only way to reveal it is by unlocking a Trophy.

Note: to secure your Trophy, don’t forget to claim the Gems by tapping the “Claim” button! Skipping this step could cost you dearly, allowing others to overtake you on the Leaderboard.

Holding YNG

Every Monday, players who hold the YNG token receive bonus Gems in proportion to the amount of YNG in their wallet.

Holding a minimum amount of YNG from the start is a significant advantage. These weekly Gems allow for a “quantum leap” on the Leaderboard, helping you progress more quickly throughout the Championship.

You can check your YNG Holder level by scrolling to the bottom of the “Tournament” section.

Taking part in all Tournaments

During the championship, competition is intensified by tournaments. These are additional competitions alongside the championship, but with a shorter duration: each lasts four weeks, at the end of which the winners are announced. Unlike the championship, tournaments also involve an element of luck, although a good strategy can still improve your chances of success.

Each time you accumulate a certain number of Gems, you also earn tickets. These tickets are used to enter the current tournament’s prize draw. It is therefore a matter of luck, but the more tickets you collect, the greater your chances of winning.

If you don’t end up among the winners, there is still good news: you will earn new Gems to move up the leaderboard. In short, you gain Gems by taking part in every tournament, i.e. by completing quests during the four weeks. If you’re lucky, you win a prize; otherwise, you still earn a solid number of Gems to climb the leaderboard.

3% Cashback and Quests

The first chapter of Arcade is linked to the launch of the Young Account with 3% Cashback for everyone and features a series of quests focused on the Young Account and Card: making a deposit, carrying out transactions, and so on.

In short, by using the Young payment account, you can optimise your everyday spending in two ways: by receiving 3% Cashback and earning Gems by completing quests.

For now, the Cashback is only available to users with tax residency in Italy.

We almost forgot one very important detail: the 3% Cashback is a promotion reserved exclusively for the first 1,000 (one thousand!) users who open the Account and activate the Card.

Arcade is live from 14:00 today, Monday 20 April: good luck!

It will be three intense months of healthy competition, fun, and gaining greater awareness of the financial environment around you. If you haven’t done so already, we recommend reading the rest of the rules (link below) to avoid making mistakes that could cost you dearly—have you seen the prizes?

If you already know everything, then all that’s left is to open the Young Platform app and, from 14:00 on 20 April, start collecting as many Gems as possible: good luck!

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Special Tournament “Hall of Fame”: prizes up for grabs

hall of fame

Arcade: how does the Special Tournament work? How to gain access, and what are the prizes up for grabs?

The most exclusive and highly anticipated moment in Arcade is, without a doubt, the Hall of Fame: a “behind closed doors” Special Tournament, conceived as the game’s very own red carpet.

Unlike standard tournaments open to everyone, the Hall of Fame is a VIP arena accessible only to a very select group of users who are particularly active. The goal? Completing the dedicated quests to secure the final prizes with incredibly high chances of winning.

Exclusive prizes for the Hall of Fame

Being among the chosen few offers a significant statistical advantage: there are 23 prizes available to just 120 participants. This means having a nearly 1-in-5 chance (20%) of taking home a reward. Three of these involve gold, whose market value has performed incredibly well over the last year (up by around 50% at the time of writing). Here is the summary:

Prizes

  • 3 Gold Jewellery pieces (Unoaerre “Lingotto della Fortuna”)
  • 20 Young Platform hoodies

Hall of Fame: the Special Tournament that’s different from the rest

The Hall of Fame is a Tournament with certain features that make it Special compared to the other three standard Tournaments: its duration, number of participants, entry requirements, and Ticket handling.

One week to find the lucky Tickets

Unlike standard tournaments,which last four weeks, the Hall of Fame is all about speed: the Special Tournament will begin on the 15th of June at 14:01 and end on the 22nd of June at 14:00. Seven days to complete as many quests as possible.

Special Tickets (and no Gems)

During this week, participants must complete quests to collect Special Tickets, which a notary will draw at the end of the competition.

An important note: during these seven days, the Tournament removes Gems from the rewards. Why this choice? To ensure fairness among competitors. If the 120 Hall of Fame users received Gems and the others didn’t, the former would gain a significant and unfair advantage in the overall Championship Leaderboard.

Reserved for 120 participants: how are the Passes allocated?

Entry to the Hall of Fame is strictly limited to 120 users. But how do you get in? We wanted to favour those who participate right from the start, dividing the spots into two methods:

  • 20 Golden Tickets drawn at random: from all those participating in Insert Coin (the first Tournament), 20 lucky winners will be drawn to receive guaranteed access.
  • 100 Golden Tickets on merit: the top 100 users positioned on the overall Leaderboard before the event begins will be selected. Naturally, the 20 users who have already won a Pass will not be counted among the top 100: the calculation will be made excluding those who already have one, giving more people the chance to qualify.

What happens to those who aren’t in? (The Claim block)

If you don’t make the top 120, you won’t be able to participate in the Special Tournament draws, but you lose nothing and can continue playing. You will still be able to complete your basic Championship quests normally. However, you will notice a technical quirk: the buttons to redeem rewards (the “Claim” for Gems and Tickets) will be temporarily blocked for everyone.

As explained earlier, this serves to keep the leaderboard fair throughout the week. No worries, everything you do is recorded in the background: you’ll just need to wait for the end of the Hall of Fame (the 22nd of June at 14:00) to redeem all your backlogged loot in one go!

Arcade is live: let the games begin!

That’s everything, there’s nothing more to add: Arcade has been live since 14:00 on the 20th of April, so all that’s left is for you to participate in Insert Coin and try to gain access to the Hall of Fame!

We’ll catch up on our social channels for updates on Arcade, the Championship, and the Tournaments, including draws, new prizes, and fresh updates. Good luck!

Useful links

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Leagues: prizes up for grabs

Leagues

Arcade: how Leagues work based on your leaderboard position

Leagues are a huge new feature: a parallel competition to the Championship, based on the same Leaderboard but with prizes awarded through a lucky draw. This means more chances to win!

To qualify for a League, you must rank among the top 2,000 players. The higher your rank, the more prestigious the League, and the better the prizes up for grabs. Discover the 3 Leagues (Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire) and what you can win.

Prizes up for grabs

League prizes are distributed via a lucky draw once the Championship ends (July 20th). Here’s what you can win in each League:

Diamond League (1st – 100th place)

You have a 21% chance of winning!

  • 1 experience at Villa Crespi with Chef Cannavacciuolo
  • 20 Young Platform hoodies

One in five is guaranteed to win.

Ruby League (101st – 500th place)

You have an 11% chance of winning!

  • 40 Young Platform t-shirts
  • 5 annual Forbes subscriptions

One in ten wins.

Sapphire League (501st – 2,000th place)

You have a 4% chance of winning.

  • 60 Young Platform caps
  • A special extra surprise prize!

When do the Leagues take place?

The Leagues run parallel to the Championship:

  • Start: Monday, April 20th at 2:00 PM
  • End: Monday, July 20th at 2:00 PM

Your final ranking on July 20th will determine which League you fall into.

The lucky draw system

Once your League is determined, prizes are distributed through a random draw. This means:

  • Your rank within the League doesn’t matter — the 1st place has the exact same odds as the 100th place
  • The odds are equal for all participants in the same League
  • The higher the League, the better your chances of winning

For example, if your final ranking on July 20th is 78th, you would enter the Diamond League.

While in the Championship the first-place winner would get a Rolex Oyster and the 78th place nothing, the mechanism in the Leagues is different: you and the first-place winner have the exact same chance of winning a final prize.

1 game, 3 separate prize pools

Arcade offers you a “three-in-one” experience. What does this mean? By completing Quests and collecting Gems, you are simultaneously working to climb the Championship Leaderboard, gain access to one of the three Leagues, and collect Tournament Tickets.

Simply put: you are traveling down three distinct paths leading to three separate prize pools at the same time, all fueled by a single activity.

  • Championship — win based on your rank (fixed prizes for the top 20)
  • Leagues — win via a lucky draw (odds vary by League)
  • Tournaments — win via a lucky draw using the Tickets you’ve earned

The most crucial element: collecting Gems

Both the Championship and the Leagues depend on your position on the Leaderboard, which in turn depends on your accumulated Gems. You can collect Gems in 6 ways:

  1. Completing Quests
  2. Receiving Gift Gems
  3. Finding Combo Challenges
  4. Collecting Trophies
  5. Holding YNG (having YNG Tokens in your wallet)
  6. Participating in all Tournaments

Find out more: Championship and Leaderboard: prizes up for grabs

The race begins April 20th at 2:00 PM!

Leagues offer an extraordinary opportunity: even if you don’t make it to the top 20 in the Championship, you still have a great chance to win incredible prizes simply by climbing the Leaderboard.

Remember: it’s not about where you place within your League, it’s about making it into one. Luck will take care of the rest!

There’s nothing more to add, we’ll wrap it up here: Arcade goes live at 2:00 PM on April 20th, so all that’s left is to wish you good luck. Catch you on our social channels for updates on Arcade, the Championship, and Tournaments, including draws, new prizes, and the latest news.

Useful Links

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Arcade: Win a Rolex, MacBook Pro 14 and much more!

Arcade

Arcade is about to begin: from 20 April, you can combine optimal management of your finances with the chance to win real prizes. How does it work?

Arcade: Tap to Play, or simply Arcade, is a new feature of the Young Platform app that addresses a real need: having a clear understanding of how you manage your finances. But since we hate being bored, we’ve decided to reward good behaviour with the chance to win incredible prizes. So: how does Arcade work? 

How do you take part in Arcade: Tap to Play?  

Let’s start with the basic rules: who can take part and how. There are three key requirements: participation in Arcade is open to anyone who:

  • Of legal age; 
  • Residents in Italy or in one of the Member States of the European Union;
  • Have completed the registration process on Young Platform, by opening an account and completing the necessary procedures – including KYC;

If you, the reader, meet all these criteria, all you need to do is open the app, go to the Arcade section at the bottom right, and sign up by simply clicking ‘Accept’. 

Well done! From now on, you can start completing quests, redeeming Gems to climb the Championship Leaderboard and collecting Tickets to enter the Tournament draws and try to win a Rolex Oyster, a MacBook Pro 14, an iPhone 17 or one of the other roughly two hundred prizes up for grabs.  

If you’ve no idea how all these game mechanics work, don’t worry: in this article, you’ll discover the basics and, if you want to delve deeper, you’ll find detailed explanations for the Championship, Tournaments and the Zealy ‘trick’. 

If, on the other hand, all this sounds familiar, that’s great: it means you’ve taken part in The Box, The Unbox or The Reveal. But don’t take anything for granted! Have you ever heard of Leagues before? Or the Special Tournament? Or Trophies? The answer is surely no, because these are brand-new features introduced specifically with Arcade. 

So, newbies and veterans alike, let’s start with the rules of Arcade: Tap to Play. Just to give you an overview, this article will begin with a description of the Championship and Tournaments, then move on to Gems and quests, and conclude with a more detailed look at how the Championship and Tournaments actually work – don’t despair: your attention span will easily cope with a 6-minute read.

Arcade is structured around two parallel tracks: the Championship and Tournaments.

We particularly liked the dual-track approach – already implemented with The Unbox and The Reveal – simply because our Community liked it: indeed, it’s not a bad idea to ‘kill two birds with one stone’, i.e. compete in two separate competitions at the same time. 

The Championship and Tournaments are, in fact, two simultaneous and independent competitions: 

  • Championship: starts on 20 April at 2 pm and ends on 20 July, also at 2 pm. It is based on the Overall Leaderboard, which is active and valid from the start to the end of the competition. It is used to determine the final positions of the participants and, consequently, the rewards, which are calculated based on their positions in the Leaderboard.
  • Tournaments: these are internal competitions within the Championship. Each Tournament lasts four weeks and offers different prizes than those of the Championship. From 20 April to 20 July, there will be three Tournaments, each lasting four weeks. Please note that there is no leaderboard here: at the end of each Tournament, the winners will be chosen by random draw – we’ll see how this works shortly.

Hold on a minute! Something doesn’t add up: we said that Arcade will last exactly 91 days, from 20 April to 20 July. At the same time, we’ve just written that three Tournaments are scheduled and that each lasts four weeks. 

If maths isn’t a matter of opinion, if we multiply three tournaments by four weeks – that is, 28 days – we get 84 days. But, as we said, the Championship lasts 91 days: is there a gap of one week? Not exactly. This week is dedicated to the 

  • Special Tournament: in short – we’ll go into more detail later – the Special Tournament is an event in which a fairly limited number of people can take part, 120 to be precise. How? Either by ranking in the top 100 of the General Leaderboard at the start of the Special Tournament, or by winning one of the 20 Passes, which will be distributed by lottery exclusively to those who took part in the first Arcade Tournament, starting on 20 April.

Right, we’ve just looked at the structure of Arcade and how it works. Now it’s time to answer the questions: 

  • How do you climb the Championship leaderboard? 
  • How can I win the Tournaments? 

The answer is simple: by collecting and redeeming Gems.

Arcade and its beating heart: Gems

Gems, in a nutshell, are the central element around which Arcade revolves: only by redeeming Gems can you both climb the overall Leaderboard and try to secure a place in the top 20, and unlock Tickets, which are essential for trying your luck and taking part in the prize draws that will take place at the end of each Tournament. 

How do you collect Gems? By completing quests

Quests are in-app activities that generate Gems. They can be daily or weekly: as you might expect, the former lasts 24 hours whilst the latter lasts seven days. Naturally, completing daily quests will be easier and will yield a smaller reward in terms of Gems; similarly, weekly quests will require greater effort, which will, logically, result in a larger quantity of Gems. 

Warning! As daily and weekly quests expire, remember to manually claim your Gems as soon as you complete the quest; you risk losing them forever: when the quest disappears, any unclaimed Gems disappear too.

The trick is to stay active and on the ball, checking the Young Platform app daily and tapping the button straight away to claim the unlocked Gems: you can’t imagine how many participants have missed out on taking home at least one prize simply because they didn’t claim their Gems—such a shame.

Is there a way to earn extra Gems? Yes, with YNG

Throughout the duration of the Championship, anyone holding Young (YNG) in their main Wallet on the Young Platform receives a weekly bonus of Gems. It’s an automatic reward for those who support the project and choose to hold the YNG token.

Please note: YNG tokens locked for Club membership are excluded from the calculation. Only those held freely in the Main Wallet are counted.

It’s simple: every week, the amount of YNG you hold is recorded, and based on that, you’re awarded several extra Gems. No manual actions or tasks are required: the Gems are credited directly to your balance.

There are 7 bonus tiers, each linked to a holding range. If you buy a new YNG and move up a tier, the number of weekly gems will increase. Conversely, if you sell or transfer YNG, you may drop a tier and receive fewer gems the following week.

The system is dynamic: each week, you can move up or down depending on movements in your portfolio.

What’s new in Arcade compared to the past: Trophies

As we mentioned earlier, Trophies are one of the brand-new features introduced with Arcade. What are they? In a nutshell: another way to boost your Gem haul and, with it, your chances of winning one of the many rewards. 

To get straight to the point, Trophies are challenges you complete by finishing quests. Think of them as a digital loyalty card: for every set number of quests completed, Gems collected, Tickets gathered, and so on, you unlock a badge that rewards your activity with more Gems. How many? Surprise! It’s up to you to find out. 

Tickets: your entry tickets for the prize draws 

We realise that Gems are the fuel for this whole Arcade engine, as they’re needed to climb the Leaderboard and earn Tickets, which you’ll need to get on the list of potential winners of the prizes up for grabs. 

The draw in question – needless to say – will be entirely random: at the end of each Tournament, we will physically go to our notary’s office, where he will personally draw the winning tickets. Each Ticket has a unique code, which we will use to identify the lucky winners.

A very important detail: the fact that each Ticket has a unique code does not mean each participant has only one chance to win; in fact, the opposite is true. How so? The aim is precisely to secure as many Tickets as possible to increase the probability of winning. 

It’s purely a matter of maths: given a certain number of tickets available—that is, those collected by individual participants in individual Tournaments—the more tickets a participant has, the greater the chances that their ticket will be drawn. 

So, let’s get on with these quests! 

The mechanism behind Ticket distribution

Given that the fundamental rule, as we have just seen, is that the more Tickets you collect, the better your chances of winning prizes, we have democratised the process of obtaining Tickets: the more Gems you have, the ‘more expensive’ it will be to obtain Tickets. 

The aim was to avoid centralisation – we’re big fans of decentralisation – i.e. the concentration of large numbers of Tickets in the hands of those who can spend the most. 

In short: since Tickets are obtained using Gems, and Gems are earned by completing quests which are often linked to financial activities (card transactions, deposits, etc.), those with greater capital could complete more quests and, consequently, accumulate more Gems. The result: over the long term, a heavily skewed number of Tickets ends up in the hands of just a few users. 

We have resolved this issue by creating a tiered system, structured as follows:

  • Tier 1 – 0 to 500 Gems accumulated: 1 Ticket for every 30 Gems 
  • Tier 2 – 501 to 1,500 Gems accumulated: 1 Ticket for every 100 Gems
  • Tier 3 – 1,501 to 3,000 Gems accumulated: 1 Ticket for every 200 Gems
  • Tier 4 – 3,001 accumulated Gems and above: 1 Ticket for every 300 Gems

In short, with the new system, all you need is a 30-Gem quest to enter Tier 1, get a Ticket and be in with a chance of winning the prizes for that particular Tournament. 

But that’s not all: at the end of each Tournament, i.e. every four weeks, the counter and the Gems are reset.

Example: if at the end of the first Tournament you were in Tier 2 with 80 Gems accumulated out of the 100 needed to unlock a Ticket, at the start of the second Tournament you’ll start again from Tier 1 with zero Gems. Along with you, the rest of the participants. 

Championships and Leagues, Tournaments and Special Tournaments

Before moving on to the prizes, a brief note on Championships and Tournaments: we’ve written dedicated articles, the links to which you’ll find just below this paragraph, to avoid turning this guide into an instruction manual for building a washing machine.

Our advice, of course, is not to take anything for granted. We’ll say it again: Arcade features mechanics we’re introducing, and you can’t possibly know how they work. 

These new features should be of interest to you, as they are simply an additional way to earn Gems and, ultimately, significantly increase your chances of getting your hands on a Rolex, an Apple Watch or a PlayStation 5. 

By the way, let’s finally move on to the prizes. 

Arcade is giving away a whole host of prizes

By now you’ll have realised that Arcade’s philosophy is simple: to offer members of our community – and beyond – a new and optimal way to manage their finances, guiding them towards financial awareness whilst ensuring they have fun. The essence of all this is: showering you with prizes. 

Championship prize pool based on the final standings

1st: Green Rolex Oyster Perpetual 2023

2nd: Django Classic 125

3rd: MacBook Pro 14

4th: MacBook Air 13

5th: Volagratis Gift Card – value: €1,000

6th: iPhone 17

7th: Google Pixel 10

8th: Volagratis Gift Card – value: €700

9th: AirPods Max

10th: PlayStation 5

11th: Amazon Gift Card – value €500

12th: Pixel Tablet

13th: Apple Watch Series 11

14th: Amazon Gift Card – worth €300

15th: Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones

16th: Volagratis Gift Card – worth €250

17th: AirPods 4

18th: Amazon Gift Card – worth €200

19th: Volagratis Gift Card – worth €150

20th: Volagratis Gift Card – worth €120

League prize pool, based on the final standings

Please note: to find out how to join the various Leagues, please refer to the dedicated article on the Leagues 

Diamond League (1st – 100th place): you have a 21% chance of winning!

  • 1 experience at Villa Crespi with Chef Cannavacciuolo
  • 20 Young Platform hoodies

One in five is guaranteed to win.

Ruby League (101st – 500th place): you have an 11% chance of winning!

  • 40 Young Platform t-shirts
  • 5 annual Forbes subscriptions

One in ten wins.

Sapphire League (501st – 2,000th place): you have a 4% chance of winning.

  • 60 Young Platform caps
  • A special extra surprise prize!

Tournament Prize Pool

Note: this table refers only to the first of the four tournaments, including the Special Tournament, scheduled for Arcade. We will reveal the remaining details in due course in the article dedicated to the Tournaments and the Special Tournament, as soon as the current tournament concludes – in this case, on 18 May at 2 pm.  

Insert Coin: from 20 April 2026 at 14:01 to 18 May 2026 at 14:00

Prizes: 

  • 2 Google Pixel Tablets
  • 3 Apple AirPods Max
  • 5 Apple AirPods 4
  • 30 YP official merch T-shirts

Younger, have fun and learn!

That’s all there is to say, the article ends here: all that’s left is to wish you the best of luck. We’ll catch up for updates on Arcade, including prize draws, new prizes and the latest news.