Aon (AON), which advises on $5 trillion in assets as one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, said it carried out a proof-of-concept using stablecoins to settle insurance premium payments, an early sign that dollar-pegged tokens may start moving deeper into corporate finance.

The London-based company worked with crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) and blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos to complete the transactions using Circle Internet’s (CRCL) USDC token on Ethereum and PYUSD$1.0002 on Solana, according to a press release Monday.

Aon said the initiative marked the first known example of a major global insurance broker accepting stablecoins for premium settlement, even if only in a controlled demonstration.

While limited in scope, the exercise shows how stablecoins could simplify how large financial payments move through the insurance industry. Premiums today often pass through banks, whose clearing systems can take days to settle, especially across borders. Blockchain-based payments, proponents say, can move funds in minutes and leave a transparent record of the transaction.

The timing also underscores how the $300 billion stablecoin asset class is becoming increasingly embedded into traditional finance as the regulatory backdrop improves. The U.S. Genius Act, passed in 2025, established a federal framework for stablecoin issuers and set rules around reserves and oversight. That clarity has encouraged banks, fintech firms and large companies to test how tokenized dollars might fit into existing financial plumbing.

“While broader adoption of stablecoins across corporate payments is still emerging, the long-term potential is significant,” John King, head of corporate portfolio strategy and treasurer for Aon, said in the statement.

“This work allows us to understand how these mechanisms operate within established systems and frameworks, so we are prepared to evaluate efficiency and cost-savings opportunities over time as the technology matures.”

Read more: Circle moves $68 million in just 30 minutes by using its own stablecoin for internal payments

Check out what suggests that a major sell-off could be on the horizon.

The past several days have been quite successful for Pi Network’s PI, whose price spiked to a three-month high.

While some market observers believe the asset could post additional gains in the short term, certain indicators suggest it might be time for a sharp pullback.

Back to Red Territory?

PI is the best-performing cryptocurrency (at least in the top 100) over the past week, with its valuation rising 30% during the period. A few days ago, it surpassed $0.23 for the first time since December last year, while it currently trades at around $0.21 (per CoinGecko’s data).

Its rally follows the latest updates announced by the Core Team. Recently, the protocol v19.9 migration was successfully completed, while the next version, v20.2, is scheduled for release around March 12 (just two days before Pi Day 2026). Another catalyst might have been the newly revealed case study showing that Pi Nodes could be used for distributed AI computing and model training.

However, two important factors suggest that the ascent may soon be replaced by a correction. Data shows that more than 6.2 million PI have been transferred to exchanges in the past 24 hours alone, thus bringing the total figure to almost 450 million. The majority of the coins (53%) are stored on Gate.io, whereas Bitget ranks second with approximately 148.8 million. This development doesn’t guarantee a short-term price decline but is often considered a pre-sale step.

Next on the list is PI’s Relative Strength Index (RSI). It measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to help traders gauge whether the asset is on the verge of a turning point. The tool ranges from 0 to 100, with ratios above 70 indicating that PI has entered overbought territory and could be due for a pullback. Currently, the index stands at around 71.

More Gains Ahead?

Contrary to the worrying factors mentioned above, some X users remain optimistic that PI could be gearing up for an additional rally in the near future. The analyst, who goes by the moniker Vuori Trading, predicted a potential increase to $0.64, while ALTS GEMS Alert forecasted an ascent to as high as $0.30.

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The upcoming protocol update scheduled for later this week may give PI another boost, though there’s always the risk of a classic “sell-the-news” reaction, which investors should keep in mind.

Bitcoin’s network achieved one of the most significant milestones today.

The Bitcoin network has reached a massive milestone: the 20 millionth BTC has been officially mined. With its total supply permanently capped at 21 million, this moment marks a monumental step toward its permanent scarcity.

Moreover, the event highlights one of the network’s defining features: its transparency and predictability. Unlike traditional fiat currencies, which can be pretty much printed at will and indefinitely, BTC follows a very strict issuance schedule, hardcoded into its protocol. With Bitcoin, code is law, and this code cannot be changed (at least not without massive market turbulence and seismic shifts in the entire industry), and can be publicly verified by anyone interested.

Digital Scarcity, but at a New Level

Data from BiTBO shows that 95.2% of Bitcoin’s total supply, representing exactly 20,000,018.75 BTC, has been mined at the time of this writing.

The remaining one million coins will be increasingly difficult to mine because of how the network is structured to function. Halvings take place roughly every four years, which slashes the rewards miners receive for adding new blocks to the network by 50%. In essence, this reduces the fresh supply by half, hence the name. In other words, the more time passes, the harder it will become to mine BTC. In fact, some estimates predict that the last BTC will be mined in 2140.

All of this highlights one of Bitcoin’s core concepts – digital scarcity. That’s why many investors have been comparing it to gold – because of its limited and ever-decreasing supply.

But one thing that many tend to forget is that millions of BTC are believed to be permanently lost due to forgotten phrases, lost wallets, and more. this makes the situation even more constrained, putting the effective circulating supply significantly lower than 21,000,000.

What the Final Million Means

The last Bitcoin halving occurred in 2024, reducing the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. The next one should take place in two years, effectively making BTC even scarcer.

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To put matters in perspective, only about 450 BTC (roughly) is mined daily, meaning that by 2030, only a tiny fraction of the remaining BTC will be in circulation.

This also means that miners, who secure the network and validate blocks, will be relying increasingly on the fees as the block reward continues to decline.

The casino in your pocket matters more than the one on your desktop. That shift happened years ago, and every serious operator knows it. Mobile is where most sessions start, most bets are placed, and most withdrawals are requested. LeoVegas recognised this earlier than most and built a brand around it. ZunaBet arrived in 2026 with native apps and a platform that was designed for mobile from the first sketch. Both platforms take mobile seriously, but what they deliver through those mobile experiences differs in ways that matter to anyone who primarily gambles from their phone. Here is how they stack up.

LeoVegas: The Brand That Made Mobile Its Identity

LeoVegas launched in 2012 with mobile gambling as its defining mission. Founded in Sweden, the company secured licenses from the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority, and other regulatory bodies as it expanded across European markets. MGM Resorts International acquired the company in 2022, placing it within one of the largest gambling groups on the planet.

The mobile product has always been the headline. LeoVegas invested in native app development and mobile-optimised interfaces from the outset, building a reputation for smooth performance, clean design, and intuitive navigation on phones and tablets. For years, it was the benchmark other mobile casinos were measured against.

The game library brings together slots, table games, live dealer experiences, and some exclusive titles secured through provider partnerships. NetEnt, Microgaming, Play’n GO, Evolution, and other reputable studios supply content that typically numbers in the low thousands depending on market. It is a well-curated collection that prioritises quality over sheer volume.

A sportsbook covers major sports including football, tennis, basketball, ice hockey, and horse racing. It integrates with the casino account and provides a serviceable betting option, though it has always served as a supporting product to the casino.

Payments process through traditional infrastructure. Visa, Mastercard, Trustly, Skrill, Neteller, bank transfers, and other standard methods handle deposits and withdrawals. E-wallets provide the fastest cashout route while bank methods extend across business days. The system is dependable but bound by the speed constraints that all traditional payment networks impose.

Loyalty at LeoVegas has taken different forms across markets and over time, particularly since the MGM acquisition. Promotional campaigns, VIP tiers, free spin offers, and seasonal deals form the bulk of the reward experience. The approach provides value in waves that fluctuate with the promotional schedule and vary based on where the player is located.

ZunaBet: Mobile-Native With Crypto at the Core

ZunaBet launched in 2026 under Strathvale Group Ltd, holding an Anjouan gaming license and built by a team with over 20 years of combined gambling experience. The platform was designed on crypto-native infrastructure from the ground up, and mobile was embedded into the architecture from day one rather than treated as a secondary adaptation. Native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and MacOS deliver an experience that was purpose-built for each platform rather than stretched across them.

The interface runs a dark theme with responsive design and fast loading across all screen sizes. Performance on a phone matches what the platform delivers on a desktop monitor. In 2026, that kind of parity should be standard, but many platforms still deliver a compromised experience on smaller screens. ZunaBet does not.

What sits behind that interface is where the real separation begins. ZunaBet carries 11,294 games from 63 providers. Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Hacksaw Gaming, Yggdrasil, and BGaming lead the provider list, supported by more than fifty additional studios contributing to a catalog that spans slots, live dealer tables, and RNG games with exceptional breadth. Every title is accessible through the mobile apps, meaning a player’s phone connects them to one of the largest game libraries in the crypto casino space.

Sports betting runs as a standalone product within the same app. Football, basketball, tennis, hockey, and mainstream international sports receive full coverage. Esports are integrated as a primary category with betting markets on CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Valorant. Virtual sports and combat sports push the breadth further. Switching between casino and sportsbook on mobile is seamless, which matters for players who move between the two throughout the day.

Payments operate entirely on crypto. Over 20 coins are supported including BTC, ETH, USDT across multiple chains, SOL, DOGE, ADA, XRP, and many more. Zero platform fees. Blockchain-based withdrawals process without bank involvement, without business hour limitations, and without geographic speed differences. On mobile, this translates to deposits and withdrawals that process as quickly and simply as any other transaction a player performs on their phone throughout the day.

The welcome package reaches up to $5,000 plus 75 free spins over three deposits. First deposit matches at 100% up to $2,000 with 25 spins. Second at 50% up to $1,500 with 25 spins. Third at 100% up to $1,500 with 25 spins. The entire bonus process works smoothly through the mobile apps.

Live chat support runs around the clock and is accessible from within the app at all times.

What Mobile Actually Gives You Access To

LeoVegas proved that a mobile casino could deliver a premium experience. In 2012, that was a genuine innovation. The app was fast, the games loaded well on the devices of the era, and the interface felt designed for thumbs rather than mouse clicks. That head start built a brand identity that has persisted for over a decade.

But the mobile landscape in 2026 is fundamentally different from 2012. Smooth app performance is a minimum expectation, not a differentiator. Every major operator offers it. The question that matters now is what a player can do through that smooth interface, and this is where ZunaBet opens up a significant lead.

Over 11,000 games accessible on mobile versus a couple of thousand through LeoVegas. A fully integrated sportsbook with native esports coverage versus a companion betting feature. Real-time crypto payments from a phone screen versus traditional banking timelines that no amount of mobile optimisation can accelerate. The mobile experience at ZunaBet is not just polished — it connects to fundamentally more content, faster payments, and a broader betting product than what LeoVegas currently offers.

Earning Rewards From Your Phone

Mobile players tend to play in shorter, more frequent sessions spread throughout the day. That pattern makes the loyalty model particularly important because the return needs to accumulate meaningfully across many smaller interactions rather than a few large ones.

LeoVegas distributes rewards through promotional offers and VIP treatment that varies by market. Free spins drops, deposit matches, and seasonal campaigns rotate in and out. VIP players get personalised attention. The value is real when it appears but depends on timing and location. A mobile player who opens the app on a day when no relevant promotion is running gets nothing extra for their session.

ZunaBet guarantees a return on every session through its dragon evolution loyalty program. Six tiers from Squire at 1% rakeback to Ultimate at 20% assign every player a permanent return rate. A dragon mascot called Zuno evolves visually through each tier. Higher levels unlock up to 1,000 free spins, VIP club access, and double wheel spins.

For the typical mobile player who logs in frequently throughout the week, rakeback at a known rate means every single session generates a measurable return. There are no promotional gaps, no market-specific availability issues, and no need to check whether an offer is live before playing. The accumulation is automatic and continuous. Over the course of a month of regular mobile play, the difference between structured rakeback and intermittent promotions translates directly into more money returned to the player.

Mobile Payments: Convenience Redefined

The promise of mobile gambling is convenience — play anywhere, anytime. But that promise breaks down at the cashier if withdrawals take days to process regardless of how quickly the rest of the app performs.

LeoVegas handles mobile payments through traditional channels. Deposits are generally quick. Withdrawals follow the usual pace — e-wallets in hours, banks and cards in days. The mobile interface for initiating these transactions is well-designed, but good design cannot override the processing timelines imposed by the financial institutions behind the scenes.

ZunaBet makes mobile payments match the speed of everything else on the platform. A deposit from a crypto wallet to the app takes moments. A withdrawal from the app to a wallet processes on-chain without waiting for institutional approval. No fees. No delays tied to business hours or geography. The entire financial cycle — deposit, play, withdraw — can happen within a single mobile session. That level of financial fluidity on a phone is something traditional payment infrastructure is not equipped to deliver.

For players who want their mobile casino to be as fast and frictionless as every other app on their phone, ZunaBet delivers that experience while traditional platforms remain limited by the banking systems behind their interfaces.

Which Mobile Experience Wins in 2026

LeoVegas earned its place in mobile gambling history by being first to take it seriously. The app remains polished, the brand carries MGM backing, and players who prefer traditional banking and established European regulation still have a quality mobile product. That foundation matters.

But being first to take mobile seriously is not the same as offering the best mobile experience today. ZunaBet’s native apps connect players to over 11,000 games, a complete sportsbook with esports, instant crypto payments, and transparent rakeback up to 20%. Every feature works natively on mobile without compromise. The content is deeper, the payments are faster, the rewards are more consistent, and the total package is simply larger than what LeoVegas currently puts in a player’s hand.

LeoVegas showed the industry what mobile gambling could be. ZunaBet is showing what it should be in 2026. For mobile players choosing where to play right now, the platform that delivers the most complete experience on their phone is the one that deserves their attention — and by every measurable standard, that platform is ZunaBet.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Bitcoin BTC$68,802.94 may gain if a potential U.S.-Iran conflict stretches on for months as higher government spending, rising debt and lower interest rates create conditions that have historically supported the cryptocurrency, according to macrostrategist Mark Connors.

Wars are expensive, and financing them typically requires governments to issue more debt, said Connors, formerly the head of research at 3iQ and global head of portfolio and risk advisory at Credit Suisse. That increases the supply of dollars in the financial system, lowering — or debasing — the value of the existing circulation, and tending to benefit non-dollar assets like bitcoin.

“Liquidity drives bitcoin,” said Connors, who now has his own bitcoin advisory firm called Risk Dimensions, in an interview with CoinDesk. If the conflict extends into the next several months, he expects deficit spending to accelerate as the U.S. finances military operations. “If the war runs longer, that means more spending and more deficit spending. That’s constructive for bitcoin.”

The U.S. debt load has already been growing rapidly. Connors said federal debt has been rising at roughly a 14% annualized pace since mid-2025. If the trend continues, the debt could increase about 15% year-over-year.

“That’s debasement,” he said.

Bitcoin appeared to reflect some of that dynamic on Monday. The cryptocurrency rallied overnight and into the U.S. morning as investors pulled money out of equities and repositioned portfolios for the possibility of a prolonged conflict. Since the first U.S. strike on Iran, bitcoin has gained 3.6%.

A war-driven surge in oil prices could complicate the outlook by pushing inflation higher, Connors said. But he argued that even a stagflationary environment — where growth slows while prices rise — could support bitcoin.

In that scenario, policymakers would likely prioritize financial stability and government financing over fighting inflation alone.

Connors said the Federal Reserve effectively operates under an additional mandate beyond its traditional goals of stable prices and maximum employment: maintaining the smooth functioning of financial markets, particularly the Treasury market.

Authorities cannot allow disruptions like the 2019 repo market crisis or the regional bank failures seen in 2023 after aggressive rate hikes, he said.

“The Fed has to make sure the Treasury market functions,” Connors said.

That constraint may push policymakers toward lower interest rates over time, especially as the government shifts toward issuing more short-term Treasury bills rather than long-term bonds. Lower rates are also more likely if Kevin Walsh — picked by President Trump partly for his dovish stance — becomes chair of the Fed in May, pending confirmation by the Senate.

With a larger share of debt rolling over quickly, lowering short-term rates would directly reduce the government’s interest costs.

If rates fall while deficits continue to expand, liquidity conditions would likely improve — a combination Connors believes would favor bitcoin.

“When rates go lower and debt keeps rising, that’s the backdrop where bitcoin tends to perform well,” he said.

Crypto assets traded higher during the U.S. session on Monday, rebounding from sharp overnight losses that had brought bitcoin BTC$68,963.16 down to nearly $65,000.

Bitcoin was trading just shy of $69,000 at midday up 2.5% over the past 24 hours, while ether (ETH) reclaimed the $2,000 level, ahead 4% over the same time period.

Among crypto-related stocks, stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) saw the biggest price jump, up 8% as global insurance giant Aon said it paid an insurance premium for the first time in stablecoins, including in Circle’s USDC. Other crypto stocks traded in the green as well, with Strategy (MSTR) higher by 3% after announcing a large $1.28 billion acquisition of bitcoin last week. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) was modestly lower for the day.

The gains for crypto came alongside a big bounce in stocks after crude oil reversed much of its spectacular overnight gain, the Nasdaq swinging from a 2% loss to flat. Up 30% to $120 per barrel at one point overnight, WTI crude pulled back to $95, ahead just 5% on the session.

The initial large gain in oil prices came after a weekend that showed no sign of an immediate end to the war in Iran.

“Bitcoin has displayed surprising resilience despite the extreme volatility exhibited across traditional assets,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. “The bulls will be encouraged if it can quickly push back above $70,000 and then hold this level on any subsequent pullback.”

“With traditional financial markets under pressure and supply chains threatened by disruptions in the Middle East, digital assets appear to be attracting defensive capital from investors seeking alternatives to oil-sensitive assets,” he said.

Speaking of stocks, Ram Ahluwalia, CEO of wealth management platform Lumida Wealth, said that he expects “we will see a local bottom sometime today and a rally during the week.”

However, that could be a tactical short-term bounce, he added, as weakness persists and the S&P 500 will struggle to reclaim the record highs “anytime soon.”

Sonic Labs has launched USSD, a USD-pegged stablecoin supported by tokenized U.S. Treasury assets, adding a new source of stable liquidity to the Sonic blockchain ecosystem.

The new stablecoin, announced on March 9, will serve as a dependable on-chain dollar across the network. It can be used for trading, lending, payments, and settlement in decentralized finance applications running on Sonic.

Sonic Labs said the launch gives developers and users a stable asset that can move easily across DeFi platforms within the network.

Institutional Treasury backing

USSD maintains a 1:1 backing with high-quality U.S. dollar assets held with regulated custodians. The reserves include tokenized Treasury products linked to major financial institutions such as BlackRock, Superstate, and WisdomTree.

These tokenized Treasury funds bring traditional financial instruments into blockchain markets while maintaining transparency and stability on-chain. Sonic Labs says the reserve structure follows the same framework used by Frax (FRAX), which focuses on clear redemption mechanics and dependable backing.

Users can mint USSD through non-custodial smart contracts on the Sonic network. Supported dollar-based assets may be deposited at a one-to-one ratio, and the minting process carries no fees.

The structure makes it easier for liquidity providers and DeFi participants to enter the ecosystem without additional costs.

Cross-chain liquidity and Sonic’s DeFi strategy

USSD launches with cross-chain minting support from more than ten blockchain networks. A user can deposit assets on another chain and receive USSD directly on Sonic, allowing liquidity to move between ecosystems with fewer barriers.

Through Frax’s cross-chain infrastructure, the stablecoin can also be exchanged for supported dollar assets. This setup enables users to settle transactions, transfer money between networks, and manage liquidity without depending on fragmented markets.

Stablecoins often serve as the main currency for DeFi, supporting trading pairs, collateral for lending, and settlement in derivatives markets.

A native stablecoin will help keep liquidity within the Sonic ecosystem and gives applications a consistent dollar reference. Revenue generated from the Treasury assets backing USSD may later support ecosystem incentives and network development as activity on Sonic continues to grow.

The opportunity isn’t that AI is new. It’s that most businesses still don’t understand it.

The narrative around AI services is intoxicating. Build an agency. Develop autonomous agents. The market is wide open. And technically, it’s not wrong. The opportunity is substantial.

But the reasoning behind this advice is fundamentally flawed.

Everyone assumes the market is wide open because AI is new. Wrong. The market is wide open because of a massive intelligence gap—the distance between what’s technically possible and what businesses actually understand about AI. And almost nobody is positioning themselves to profit from it.

Here’s what separates people making $2,000 monthly from those hitting $20,000: they understand where the real gap is, and they’re selling to businesses that haven’t figured out AI yet.

The Numbers Everyone Gets Wrong

Let’s start with adoption data. Roughly 1.3 billion people use free ChatGPT. Sounds massive. But then the numbers fall off a cliff: 15-25 million pay for any AI tool. Only 2.5 million actively use AI for coding.

These figures seem significant until you contextualize them against reality: there are 400+ million businesses worldwide.

The vast majority have never integrated AI into their operations in any meaningful way. They’ve heard the hype. Maybe they experimented with ChatGPT once drafting an email, brainstorming a meeting agenda. Then they moved on. The technology sits there, unused and underutilized.

This is the intelligence gap. And it’s the biggest revenue opportunity in the market right now.

Why Most Professionals Miss the Opportunity

Here’s what typically happens: You build AI capability. You immediately chase the most obvious prospects—tech companies, startups, venture-backed firms. These businesses understand AI. They have internal resources. They shop around aggressively.

It’s a race to the bottom. You’re competing against other AI specialists. Procurement teams are doing rigorous technical due diligence. Budgets are fixed. Margins evaporate.

You’ll close some deals. But you’ll exhaust yourself competing for scraps in the most competitive market possible.

The real money is in the opposite direction: businesses that have never implemented AI, don’t know where to start, and don’t have anyone internally who can figure it out.

The Gap Nobody’s Talking About

Ask a business owner over 40 what Claude is. Watch the blank stare. Ask them about autonomous agents. About workflow automation. About speed-to-lead systems.

They’re not being slow. They’re genuinely unfamiliar with these concepts. Their world is structured around traditional software and manual processes. AI exists in their universe as an abstract notion, not as a concrete solution to their specific problems.

This is the opportunity. These business owners have expensive problems—leads going cold because nobody answers the phone, proposals taking three hours to write, data entry consuming half someone’s day. They’d pay generously to solve these problems. They just don’t know AI is the tool.

The business owner isn’t going to watch a YouTube tutorial. They’re not going to read documentation. They’re not going to figure this out themselves. They need someone to do it for them, show them the value, and maintain it.

That someone is you. But only if you position correctly.

Where Everyone Gets Positioning Wrong

Most professionals default to chasing the same tier of prospect: startup founders, tech company leaders, people who already understand AI. They cold DM on Twitter. They attend tech events. They join startup communities.

This is psychologically understandable. These prospects ‘get it.’ Conversations move faster. You don’t have to explain what automation is.

But it’s strategically terrible. You’re competing against every other person who had the same idea. The market is saturated. Pricing pressure is brutal. These companies already know your value—so they shop aggressively and demand volume discounts.

The smartest move is the opposite: chase boring industries. Industries where nobody else is going. Where business owners are hungry for solutions but have zero competition from other AI specialists.

The Industries Where Money Accumulates

Think about the most unsexy businesses imaginable. Accounting firms. Dental practices. HVAC contractors. Real estate brokerages. Private equity offices. Insurance agencies. Law firms.

These industries have three things in common:

1. They make real money and aren’t price-sensitive on solutions that work. An HVAC contractor who closes one additional job monthly from faster lead response doesn’t blink at a $500 monthly retainer. That’s a 10-20x ROI.
2. They have minimal competitive saturation. Nobody is systematically approaching dental offices with automation solutions. There are so many of these businesses that even if a competitor starts, the market remains unsaturated.
3. They refer like crazy. Boring industries are tight-knit professional networks. One successful implementation for a law firm partner gets you introduced to three more. Same workflow, different client, same price. Build once, sell six times.

What This Means For Your Next Move

Stop chasing prestige prospects. Stop trying to impress people who already understand AI. Stop competing on technical sophistication in markets where technical sophistication is already commoditized.

Instead, pick one unsexy industry. Dentists. Contractors. Accountants. Real estate agents. Go deep on understanding their specific problems. Learn their language. Understand their workflows.

Then build solutions to their problems. Not AI solutions. Solutions to their specific expensive bottlenecks.

The business owners in these industries are hungry. They see the opportunity but don’t know how to implement. They have money and they’re willing to spend it. And they’re desperately underserved by specialists who actually understand their business.

That’s the intelligence gap. And if you’re the one filling it, you win.