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  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns for its penultimate season on July 23

    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns for its fourth season via Paramount Plus on July 23. The ten episodes air weekly until September 24. This is actually the second-to-last batch of episodes, as the show was recently renewed for a fifth and final season.

    The streamer has dropped a trailer for season four and it looks promising. The tone looks slightly darker when compared to season three, which was maligned for being a bit too silly and uneven. The trailer is narrated by Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike, who discusses the “terror” of space as a planet explodes.

    This is still Strange New Worlds, so it won’t be all doom and gloom. The trailer shows us a screeching alien dinosaur, which is pretty fun. There have also been reports that season four will feature a puppet episode with involvement from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

    This new batch of episodes will lean even heavier into connections to the original Star Trek show from the 1960s. Paul Wesley’s version of Captain Kirk features prominently in several scenes, with one looking like a direct callback to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. A younger Scotty also makes an appearance.

    For the uninitiated, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a prequel to the first show and starts several years before Kirk takes over as captain of the Enterprise. It’s been said that the series will end with Kirk taking the big chair. It’s also primarily an episodic series, with no real serialized season-long arcs. It’s pretty good!

    It’s also ending in the near future. Season five will presumably premiere next year and will include just six episodes. As a matter of fact, it looks like the modern incarnation of Star Trek is ending in totality. Sets are being taken down and there are currently no new shows in production for the first time in a decade.

    This is a bummer, even if I didn’t always love some of the newer content. The upcoming second season of Starfleet Academy will be its last, which is exceptionally sad because it was really beginning to fire on all cylinders. It was 12 years between the final episode of Star Trek: Enterprise and the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery, which kicked off the modern era. Who knows how long we’ll have to wait this time.

  • BREAKING: Coinbase Announces It Has Delisted an “Already Dead” Altcoin

    BREAKING: Coinbase Announces It Has Delisted an “Already Dead” Altcoin

    Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced a significant decision regarding Chrono.tech’s native token, TIME, following its recent assessments to ensure compliance with listing standards. The company stated that trading in Chrono.tech (TIME) will be suspended (delisted) on May 11, 2026, at approximately 9:00 PM Turkish time (2:00 PM ET).

    According to the announcement, the decision to suspend trading will affect both Coinbase’s basic and advanced trading platforms, as well as Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime services. This will effectively disable trading of the TIME token across the entire platform.

    Related News USDC’s Parent Company, Circle, Announced It Has Made a Purchase of a Surprise Altcoin

    Coinbase also stated that, as part of the transition to the trading suspension process, order books for TIME have been put into “limit only” mode. During this period, users will only be able to place and cancel limit orders, existing orders will continue to be matched, but new market orders cannot be created.

    On the other hand, the exchange added that user assets are secure, stating that TIME balances will remain accessible and users can withdraw their tokens at any time.

    According to the data, the market capitalization of the Chrono.tech (TIME) token is approximately $822.84, while its trading volume in the last 24 hours was recorded as $37.23.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • China blocks Meta’s $2 billion Manus acquisition over AI security concerns

    China blocks Meta’s $2 billion Manus acquisition over AI security concerns

    China has ordered Meta to unwind its more than $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, escalating Beijing’s scrutiny of US investment in Chinese linked frontier technology companies.

    The National Development and Reform Commission said its foreign investment security review office would prohibit foreign investment in Manus and require the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction. The order did not name Meta directly, but Reuters reported that the move targets Meta’s completed purchase of the AI agent startup.

    The decision marks a rare attempt by Beijing to reverse a completed cross border technology deal involving a company that had shifted its operations outside China. Manus shut its China offices in July after a $75 million Benchmark led funding round in May 2025, laid off dozens of employees, and moved operations to Singapore through parent company Butterfly Effect.

    Meta acquired Manus to strengthen its AI agent ambitions, a fast growing area focused on tools that can complete complex tasks with limited human input. Manus develops general purpose AI agents capable of tasks such as app development, market research, and financial planning.

    Beijing’s intervention suggests Chinese regulators are no longer looking only at where a target company is incorporated. Reuters cited legal analysts who said China may review the origin of the technology, the location of research and development, the nationality of founding teams, prior China operations, data flows, and offshore restructuring when judging sensitive technology transactions.

    The move also targets a practice sometimes described as Singapore washing, where Chinese linked startups move operations to Singapore to access foreign capital and reduce regulatory exposure.

    Analysts quoted by Reuters said the Manus case raises the compliance threshold for startups in sensitive sectors, especially if their intellectual property, data, research teams, or founding history remain tied to China.

    Meta said the transaction complied fully with applicable law and that it expected an appropriate resolution to the inquiry. The case comes weeks before a planned mid May summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, placing the deal directly inside the broader US China contest over artificial intelligence, chips, data, and strategic technology control.

  • Mark Zuckerberg Looks to SimCity 2000 Idea to Power AI Data Centers

    Mark Zuckerberg Looks to SimCity 2000 Idea to Power AI Data Centers

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  • Avex Music Announces $100M Catalog Acquisition Strategy, Purchases Rights From “Lose Control” Producer

    Avex Music Group is getting in on the music acquisition space, the Japanese music company confirmed Monday, announcing that it had acquired “Lose Control” producer Infamous’s catalog for its first purchase.

    Avex didn’t disclose financial details regarding the Infamous catalog purchase, though the company said the new catalog initiative is supported by City National Bank. The producer-writer, whose real name is Marco Rodriguez, has also worked frequently with Lil Wayne and has cuts with Charlie Puth, Yo Gotti and Saweetie among others. Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” though, is his biggest hit, setting a record after having spent over 100 weeks on the Hot 100 and racking up 2.4 billion streams on Spotify.

    “At Avex Music Group, we are focused on investing in culturally defining music at every stage, from creation through long-term ownership,” Brandon Silverstein, CEO of Avex Music Group and Founder of S10, said in a statement. “Our success in frontline publishing has created strong global momentum, and expanding into catalog is a natural evolution of that strategy. This initial $100 million represents the first phase of a broader, long-term commitment to building a scaled global catalog business.”

    Avex has made several notable moves over the past year, first with acquiring Silverstein’s S10 Publishing and appointing him CEO. Last month, Avex signed a publishing deal with Bruno Mars, getting the company in business with one of the most reliable hitmakers in the entire music industry.

    The acquisition market exploded in the early 2020s as artists including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Nicks among many others all sold their rights to their music for millions of dollars. Over the past several years, the big three music companies in particular have established acquisition vehicles, targeting the largest catalogs in the business. UMG acquired a stake in Chord Music Partners back in 2024, and late last year, Warner Music Group established a $1.2 billion joint venture with Bain Capital for catalog deals. At the beginning of 2026, Sony Music announced a catalog acquisition partnership with Singapore’s GIC.

  • Money Launderer Sentenced to 70 Months Over $263M Crypto Social-Engineering Scheme

    Money Launderer Sentenced to 70 Months Over $263M Crypto Social-Engineering Scheme

    In brief

    • Evan Tangeman, 22, of Newport Beach was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for money laundering.
    • The criminal enterprise he worked with allegedly stole more than $263 million in cryptocurrency, with Tangeman admitting to having laundered at least $3.5 million for the organization.
    • Law enforcement seized luxury vehicles from his residence including a 2022 Rolls Royce Ghost and Porsche GT3 RS.

    A 22-year-old California man was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison Friday for laundering millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency proceeds for a “multi-state criminal enterprise” that stole more than $263 million.

    Evan Tangeman of Newport Beach was also also ordered to serve three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

    Tangeman pleaded guilty to participating in a RICO conspiracy in December 2025, admitting he laundered at least $3.5 million for a criminal enterprise that allegedly stole more than $263 million in cryptocurrency. The organization operated from October 2023 through at least May 2025, growing from friendships developed on online gaming platforms, according to court documents.

    His admission marked the ninth guilty plea secured in this investigation. When law enforcement searched Tangeman’s residence, they seized vehicles including a 2022 Rolls Royce Ghost valued at more than $300,000 and a Porsche GT3 RS.

    The stolen cryptocurrency was “built on greed so brazen it borders on the cartoonish,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said, adding that they, “stole millions, spent it on half-million-dollar nightclub tabs, Lamborghinis, and Rolexes.” Members of the enterprise purchased luxury homes valued between $4 million and nearly $9 million in Los Angeles and Miami, paying monthly rental costs ranging from $40,000 to $80,000.

    Prosecutors emphasized that Tangeman’s crimes extended beyond money laundering to active obstruction of justice. “When his co-conspirators were arrested, he moved to destroy the evidence. That is consciousness of guilt, and this office and the court have treated that accordingly,” Pirro said in the same statement.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which prosecuted the case, highlighted how the defendant’s attempts to cover his tracks influenced the sentencing decision.

    The Tangeman sentencing represents the latest development in federal prosecutors’ crackdown on cryptocurrency-enabled financial crimes. In the same $263 million social-engineering scheme, eight other defendants have previously pleaded guilty to related charges.

    Federal authorities have intensified enforcement against crypto money laundering operations, with the FBI recently seizing a platform allegedly used to launder $70 million from ransomware attacks. The government has also pursued a teenager who pleaded guilty to a $245 million Bitcoin heist, highlighting law enforcement’s focus on high-value crypto theft cases.

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  • Bitcoin Giant Strategy’s Buying Pace Falls 91% Amid STRC Cooldown

    Bitcoin Giant Strategy’s Buying Pace Falls 91% Amid STRC Cooldown

    In brief

    • Strategy’s acquisition pace slowed 91% week-over-week, underscoring how its flagship preferred share has become a dominant driver of Bitcoin purchases.
    • The company has proposed twice-monthly dividends for STRC, a move aimed at smoothing out the cyclicality of the dividend-paying product.
    • With the company’s stockpile showing a gain on paper, Michael Saylor shared an AI-generated video this weekend of him fighting a bear.

    Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings expanded at a slower pace last week as the company leaned on proceeds from common shares to notch its latest purchase.

    A week after Strategy scooped up 34,164 Bitcoin for $2.54 billion, the Tysons Corner, Virginia-based firm announced that it had purchased 3,273 Bitcoin for $255 million. That represented a 91% decline in terms of cash spent on the digital asset.

    Despite the smaller purchase, Strategy owned 818,334 Bitcoin on Monday. With the digital asset changing hands around $77,800, its stockpile was worth $63.6 billion, according to CoinGecko. In total, Strategy issued 1.4 million common shares last week.

    Strategy’s latest disclosure underscored how its variable-rate preferred share, STRC, has emerged as a pivotal driver for its business. Not long after the firm raised massive amounts via the dividend-paying product, Strategy reported its largest purchase in 16 months.

    The product that currently pays 11.5% in monthly dividends is designed to trade around the $100 mark. Following its ex-dividend date on April 14, STRC has traded below that threshold.

    The company has indicated that it’s aware of how STRC’s monthly dividend cadence has made the size of its acquisitions somewhat cyclical. Not long ago, Strategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor highlighted a proposal to shift STRC toward semi-monthly dividends.

    The company’s common shares were little changed on Monday at $171.36, according to Yahoo Finance. Meanwhile, STRC was valued at roughly $99.60 apiece.

    At $63.6 billion, Strategy’s holdings showed a $1.8 billion gain on paper. As Bitcoin has rallied to its highest price since January, the company’s holdings have emerged from underwater. At times this year, the Bitcoin-buying firm’s bet has been billions of dollars underwater.

    As Bitcoin has moved further up from Strategy’s average purchase price, Saylor’s social media presence has appeared to grow confident. Over the weekend, Saylor shared an AI-generated video of himself fighting a bear (in the style of “The Matrix” film series) in an X post. The week prior, the billionaire shared another image that depicted him lounging on a yacht.

    Although Strategy’s reliance on STRC has saddled the company with ongoing costs, traders on Myriad—a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan—have grown increasingly confident that the company won’t sell Bitcoin this year.

    On Monday, they envisioned a 12% chance that Strategy will pare its leading corporate stockpile. A month ago, those traders saw an 18% chance of that happening.

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  • Stacey Sher Inks First-Look Deal With MGM Television

    Stacey Sher Inks First-Look Deal With MGM Television

    Stacey Sher and her Shiny Penny production banner have signed a first-look deal with MGM Television, Variety has learned.

    Under the deal, acclaimed producer Sher will develop and produce TV series for the studio across all platforms.

    “Stacey is a visionary producer with an extraordinary track record of bringing bold, culturally resonant stories to life across film and television,” said Lindsay Sloane, head of MGM Television. “Her ability to champion distinctive voices and deliver unforgettable storytelling has shaped some of the most iconic projects of the past three decades. We’re thrilled to partner with her and look forward to the incredible stories we’ll create together for our global audience.”

    Sher is a two-time Academy Award nominee — first in 2001 for “Erin Brockovich” and again in 2013 for “Django Unchained.” She has also produced hit films like “Pulp Fiction,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Out of Sight,” “Garden State,” “Reality Bites,” “Get Shorty,” “Man on the Moon,” and “Gattaca.” Most recently, she produced the A24 horror film “Heretic” starring Hugh Grant. She is also producing the Amazon MGM Studios feature “Verity” starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett.

    In television, Sher’s producing credits include “Mrs. America,” “Into the Badlands,” “Sweet/Vicious,” “Reno 911,” and “Skylanders Academy.”

    Katie Aquino serves as creative executive of film and television at Shiny Penny. Most recently, Aquino was an associate producer on “Heretic” and “Verity,” and will executive produce Amazon MGM Studios’ reimagining of “Baby Boom.” She began her career at CAA in the television talent department before joining Shiny Penny in 2021.

  • Inside the Company Behind ‘Good Mythical Morning’: How Rhett and Link Built One of the Creator Economy’s Most Durable Businesses

    Mythical, the company behind the “Good Mythical Morning” YouTube series, just celebrated its flagship show’s 3,000th episode. In an industry where creator longevity is perpetually in question, COO Jacob Moncrief and Deloitte principal Dennis Ortiz sat down with CAA’s Brent Weinstein at Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte for the Creator Brands in the Zeitgeist panel to explain how the company has not only survived three decades but grown its audience to its largest and most engaged point ever.

    The company produces 240 episodes of “Good Mythical Morning” per year through a block-shooting system that compresses a month of content into a single week, freeing founders Rhett and Link to focus on the broader business. That business now includes a live touring operation that sold 40,000 seats last year, a membership platform, three New York Times bestselling books and a fourth on the way in June and a children’s book timed to the aging-up of their original fan base. “A lot of our fan base has been with us for 20 years,” Moncrief said. “Now they have kids.”

    On brand partnerships, Moncrief explained how Mythical says no to a lot of deals. The ones that work, he said, start with a genuine personal connection. A partnership with Etsy, which won a Webby Award this week, grew out of Rhett and Link already buying their wives gifts on the platform. “Brands need to understand that they’re a guest in that community,” Moncrief said. “If they come in and try to overpower it, it’s not going to perform like they want.”

    Ortiz noted that 33% of consumers feel a stronger personal connection to creators than to celebrities, a number that jumps to 52% among Gen Z. He also flagged that 43% of consumers now consider creator content on par with traditional television, with Gen Z more likely to define YouTube as TV than linear programming.

    When it comes to quality, Moncrief clarified that more than 50% of Mythical’s watch time now comes from living room screens, and the company has invested accordingly in 4K production and sound. But the defining visual choice remains intentional and low-tech: keeping the hosts’ faces close to the camera. “That is the power of creator content,” he said. “The audience has that very one-on-one relationship with these hosts.”

  • Trump’s Iran Security Meeting in Focus, What It Means for Global Markets and Bitcoin

    Trump’s Iran Security Meeting in Focus, What It Means for Global Markets and Bitcoin

    A high-stakes national security meeting led by President Donald Trump is set to shape the next phase of the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict. With ceasefire talks stalled and pressure mounting, markets are watching closely.

    Investors are watching not just for geopolitical direction, but for immediate signals that could move oil, stocks, and especially Bitcoin.

    Conflict Background: Talks Collapse as Pressure Builds

    The current situation follows months of escalation, including major U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure in March and April. A temporary ceasefire brought short-lived relief, but negotiations have repeatedly failed.

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently exited talks in Pakistan, signaling another breakdown. Meanwhile, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also withdrew from further discussions. This reinforces concerns that diplomacy is losing momentum.

    At the center of the dispute are key issues like uranium enrichment limits, sanctions relief, and long-term verification mechanisms. The U.S. has also maintained a naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route that carries roughly 20% of global oil supply.

    Probable Outcome: Pressure Over Breakthrough

    Based on current signals, today’s meeting is unlikely to produce a sudden peace deal. Instead, the most probable outcome is a continuation, or tightening of pressure on Iran.

    The administration is expected to maintain a firm stance, possibly issuing new deadlines or reinforcing the blockade while leaving the door open for negotiations.

    Meanwhile, a full military escalation appears less likely for now, as key objectives have already been achieved and political costs are rising.

    A softer diplomatic reset remains possible but less likely given the current tone. Still, backchannel talks could influence the final messaging.

    Bitcoin and Markets

    The Iran conflict has become a major macro driver for Bitcoin and global markets in 2026. When ceasefire optimism rises, Bitcoin rallies. After an earlier ceasefire announcement, $BTC jumped to $72,700, triggering nearly $600 million in liquidations. A later extension pushed it even higher to $79,486.

    But when talks fail, markets turn risk-off. Bitcoin dropped to around $71,600, while Ethereum and XRP also declined.

    The key driver behind this volatility is oil. Crude prices surged to over $112 per barrel during peak tensions, fueling inflation fears and tightening financial conditions. When the ceasefire news hit, oil dropped sharply, by over 10%, easing pressure on markets and boosting crypto.

    Three Market Scenarios

    If today’s meeting results in a harder stance, such as tighter sanctions or renewed blockade enforcement, oil prices could spike again. That would likely trigger a risk-off move, pushing Bitcoin lower in the short term.

    However, if there are signs of diplomatic progress or a new ceasefire framework, oil could fall, boosting risk appetite. In that scenario, Bitcoin could rally sharply, potentially revisiting recent highs.

    A neutral or vague outcome may leave markets moving sideways, as investors wait for a clearer direction.

    Bottom Line

    Bullish projections suggest that a full resolution, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz, could send Bitcoin toward $90,000 or higher due to a wave of risk-on sentiment.

    On the other hand, prolonged conflict and economic strain could drag $BTC back toward lower levels, with some estimates pointing as low as $32,000 in a worst-case scenario.

    In sum, today’s meeting is unlikely to deliver a final resolution, but it will set the tone for what comes next. For markets, especially Bitcoin, the message matters more than the decision itself. As Bitcoin remains highly sensitive to geopolitics, today’s outcome could define its next major move.

    Related: Bitcoin Price Prediction: Three Rejections At $79,400 In Eight Sessions As Fed Decision Looms