Signal and NoiseWeekly data journalism about how Europe lives, works and spends, built on official Eurostat statistics.https://signalandnoise.xyz/en-gbThe biggest crypto theft ever hit an exchange with no EU licencehttps://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/binance-hack-6bn/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/binance-hack-6bn/Hackers took $6.3 billion from Binance in about 20 minutes, four times the previous record. Half of it was frozen within hours. Europe’s new rules would have applied, if Binance had a licence.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchainPolicyHow much power do Europe’s data centres use?https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/data-centres-power/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/data-centres-power/About 70 TWh a year across the EU, heading for 115 TWh by 2030. In Ireland they already take almost a quarter of the country’s electricity. Most countries can’t say what theirs use.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTTechMalta’s young are moving out soonerhttps://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/malta-leaving-home/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/malta-leaving-home/For two decades the EU average barely moved. Malta’s fell by three and a half years.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTHousingInflation is back above 3%. Who feels it?https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/inflation-back-above-3/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/inflation-back-above-3/Euro area prices rose 3.8% in the year to September, up from 1.7% in January. Energy did most of the work, and the gap between countries is wider than the average suggests.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTEconomyHow many years of salary does a flat cost?https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/years-of-salary-flat/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/years-of-salary-flat/From under five years in Turin to almost 17 in Prague. Across the EU, house prices have outrun pay since 2010. In Malta, pay has just about kept up.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTHousingWhere youth unemployment is highesthttps://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/youth-unemployment/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/youth-unemployment/Three million young Europeans want work and can’t find it. In Estonia it is more than one in four of those looking; in Malta, fewer than one in ten.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTWorkGermany leads Europe’s crypto licences. Remove the banks and it doesn’t.https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/mica-licence-map/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/mica-licence-map/Europe now has 373 licensed crypto firms. Where they got their licence, how far it travels, and why the map is about to be redrawn.Sat, 17 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchainPolicyEurope’s supply chains still run on paper anyone can fakehttps://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/supply-chain-paper-trail/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/supply-chain-paper-trail/Counterfeit seizures hit a record €3.8 billion in 2024. Signed digital credentials could let a product prove where it came from, without exposing who made it.Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTPolicyTwo-thirds of illicit crypto in 2025 went to sanctioned entitieshttps://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/crypto-crime-sanctions-2025/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/crypto-crime-sanctions-2025/Illicit addresses received at least $154 billion, up 162%. The growth came from state-backed sanctions evasion, and stablecoins were the vehicle.Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlockchainPolicyHalf of Britain’s power is now renewable. The grid can’t connect the rest fast enoughhttps://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/uk-distributed-renewables/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/uk-distributed-renewables/Renewables made 50.8% of Britain’s electricity in 2024. New projects are being offered grid connections as late as 2037, while small firms’ bills tripled.Sun, 13 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTTechEuro stablecoins were 0.2% of the market in March 2025https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/stablecoins-euro-share-2025/https://signalandnoise.xyz/stories/stablecoins-euro-share-2025/Tether and USD Coin alone were worth $204 billion. Every euro-pegged coin together: $479 million. MiCA was meant to change that.Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTBlockchain