A year on from the ousting of Assad

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  Damascus, Syria — “Hold your head high, you’re a free Syrian.” The refrain of this Arabic song—now widely embraced as the unofficial anthem of a new Syria—echoes throughout Damascus. It blares from market loudspeakers, rings out during celebrations in the central square, and is even sung by the man offering traditional coffee to new arrivals at the airport. For decades, many Syrians lived with lowered gazes under the authoritarian rule of the Al-Assad family. The regime maintained an expansive surveillance system in which the feared Mukhabarat , the intelligence network, kept the population in check. Remaining silent was often the safest choice—until the Arab Spring ignited an uprising, and Assad’s fierce response plunged the nation into a ten-year civil war. Today, Syrians are openly and energetically marking the first anniversary of what they regard as their liberation from Assad’s government. The celebration follows a rapid rebel offensive on December 8 last year, led by fo...
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The Bitcoin boom encourages the newly wealthy to spend more on expensive travel.

 

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A growing number of private jet and ultra-luxury cruise operators are accepting cryptocurrency payments due to the increasing demand from wealthy travelers who have taken advantage of the rising value of bitcoin. “Tremendous” demand from young, wealthy customers has prompted Flexjet-owned FXAIR to accept crypto payments, Flexjet chair Kenn Ricci told the Financial Times.

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FXAIR charges about $80,000 for a trip from Farnborough airport, near London, to New York City.
 Ricci said Flexjet has had a “significant” rise in bookings in recent months from “young entrepreneurs in the bitcoin space [who] fly farther and want larger planes.  We save them time . . .  Additionally, time is the most priceless luxury. Bitcoin hit a record high of $124,000 in recent weeks, boosted by US President Donald Trump’s support for the sector and vow to make America the world’s “crypto capital”.
 Additionally, Trump has appointed crypto-friendly regulators and supported a number of digital asset businesses while Congress also passed landmark legislation.
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As well as token prices, shares in companies such as exchange Coinbase and stablecoin operator Circle have reached record highs.
 “Those who are seeing the value of their bitcoin grow rapidly are spending it on private jets or luxury hotels or luxury cruises,” said Paul Charles, chief executive of luxury travel consultancy PC Agency.
 “There is a younger generation that’s grown up that is desperate to travel, to not be stuck with the humdrum and the usual.”
 Luxury cruise company Virgin Voyages’ $120,000 annual pass can now be bought with crypto payments.
 Meanwhile SeaDream Yacht Club, which operates two super-luxury yachts with a crew-to-guest ratio of almost 1:1, started accepting bitcoin payments shortly after Trump began his second term.
 For some of the newly wealthy, luxury “is not about butlers with white gloves and golden mirrors, it is about freedom of choice”, said one person close to the yacht company.  "We want to allow you to pay in crypto," they say. Boutique hotel groups including US-based The Kessler Collection and Hong Kong-founded The Pavilions Hotels and Resorts also accept tokens including dogecoin, litecoin and ethereum.
 Deep-pocketed young entrepreneurs have sparked a boom in the global luxury travel market.
 People aged 30 to 40 spent $28bn on luxury travel in 2023, and are projected to spend $54bn in 2028, according to a McKinsey analysis.
 According to Nick Fazioli, investment bank Jefferies' head of commercial aerospace and aviation, the "younger crowds" do not want to "sip champagne and eat caviar." Bitcoin and tech entrepreneurs have “infinite resources, infinite money, infinite kinds of ambitions”.  “The most important thing that is in short supply for them is time,” he said.
 According to Fazioli, private aircraft allow travelers to "be in three cities in one day and still come back to see your family at night." "It's really hard to go back to private travel once you get used to it."

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