Run by “DesiQuest” and “Dimension 20” star Jasmine Bhullar, “Dungeon Masters” is produced by “D&D” rights holder Wizards of the Coast. That means Bhullar and her cast — Mayanna Berrin (“Dispatch,” “StoryQuest”), Christian Navarro (“13 Reasons Why,” “Forgotten Realms: Tears of Selune”), Neil Newbon (“Baldur’s Gate III”) and Devora Wilde (“Baldur’s Gate III”) — have the rare opportunity to say many trademarked words and phrases, including just the simple acknowledgement of Bhullar’s role as “dungeon master.”
“I feel incredibly lucky and privileged, because there are a lot of actual plays, and a lot of times you have to strip out all the licensed stuff,” Bhullar said. “But I’m such a big fan of the official settings. I love that we have all these proper nouns, and we can call everything by its right name, because we have the say-so of the big dogs upstairs. I love having access to the full cadre of NPCs and locations that have been worked on by this brilliant team. It’s just a blessing to have 50 years of lore and world-building to pull on and to be able to give it the respect it deserves. I’m constantly humbled.”
A big fan of “D&D’s” “Ravenloft” in particular, Bhullar tells Variety she “made a shriek sound” when Wizards first approached her about hosting “Dungeon Masters.” While Bhullar knew the show would be released pegged to the launch of a new “Ravenloft” campaign book, and she wouldn’t control the setting of her campaign, the story is still all her own.
“If you see me on ‘Acquisitions Incorporated’ and you see the deep cuts I make, I love ‘Greyhawk.’ I love ‘Waterdeep.’ I love ‘Baldur’s Gate.’ And I really love ‘Ravenloft,’” Bhullar said. “I’m kind of a goth spooky — I was gonna say the B-word, but I’m not gonna say it — a goth spooky witch, myself. I was so excited to put my mustard on ‘Ravenloft.’ I never felt like, because it was an official setting, I couldn’t do what I wanted to.”
Based on her reactions to some of Katie Marovitch’s out-there DM-ing choices during Dropout’s recent “Dimension 20: On a Bus” Season 2, it’s probably clear Bhullar appreciates a clear story and gameplay mechanics — something you get right away with an official D&D campaign.
“When I started DM-ing, I used the pre-written settings,” Bhullar said. “I did not immediately do my own world-building. I did my homework, for lack of a better word, and then went and started to work on my own settings. So if you see [me DM-ing] ‘Coffin Run’ on ‘Dimension 20,’ I love vampires. I love black-and-white horror. ‘Ravenloft’ is absolutely my bag. And so when they called me, I didn’t question why I was getting the call. I was like, This is it. It was like a calling to come to the church or whatever. I was like, ‘Yes, absolutely. I will run “Ravenloft” for you. And if you allow me, I will run everything else, too.’”
Bitcoin price started a fresh increase and cleared the $77,500 zone. $BTC is consolidating and might aim for more gains above the $79,500 level.
Bitcoin managed to stay above $76,500 and started a fresh increase.
The price is trading above $77,200 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is a short-term declining channel forming with resistance at $78,500 on the hourly chart of the $BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair might extend gains if it stays above the $77,150 and $76,650 levels.
Bitcoin Price Regains Traction
Bitcoin price found support near $74,850 and started a fresh increase. $BTC gained pace for a move above the $75,500 and $77,200 resistance levels.
The bulls even pushed the price above $78,500. A high was formed at $79,490, and the price is now correcting gains. There was a move below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $74,850 swing low to the $79,490 high.
Bitcoin is now trading above $77,200 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. If the price remains stable above $77,000, it could attempt a fresh increase. Immediate resistance is near the $78,500 level. There is also a short-term declining channel forming with resistance at $78,500 on the hourly chart of the $BTC/USD pair.
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
The first key resistance is near the $79,200 level. A close above the $79,200 resistance might send the price further higher. In the stated case, the price could rise and test the $79,500 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $80,000 level. The next barrier for the bulls could be $82,000.
Another Drop In $BTC?
If Bitcoin fails to rise above the $78,500 resistance zone, it could start another decline. Immediate support is near the $77,700 level. The first major support is near the $77,150 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $74,850 swing low to the $79,490 high.
The next support is now near the $76,650 zone. Any more losses might send the price toward the $75,500 support in the near term. The main support now sits at $75,000, below which $BTC might struggle to recover in the near term.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is now losing pace in the bullish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for $BTC/USD is now above the 50 level.
Major Support Levels – $77,700, followed by $77,150.
Leading cryptocurrencies rallied, while stocks closed at new records on Wednesday on the Iran ceasefire extension, even as Strait of Hormuz tensions simmer.
Crypto Market Gains Momentum
Bitcoin nearly topped $80,000 before easing off to the low $78,000s. Trading volume spiked 36% over the last 24 hours.
Ethereum topped $2,400, also supported by strong buying pressure, while XRP and Dogecoin moved sideways.
Over $460 million was liquidated in the past 24 hours,with $350 million in bearish positions alone wiped out, according to Coinglass data.
Open interest in Bitcoin futures rose 8.64% over the last 24 hours to $61.57 billion. Whale and retail traders on Binance, however, were “extremely bearish” on BTC, placing more shorts than longs.
“Fear” sentiment persisted in the market, according to the Crypto Fear & Greed Index.
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.61 trillion, following an increase of 1.65% in the last 24 hours.
Stocks Close At New Highs
Stocks surged back to record highs on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lifted 340.65 points, or 0.69%, to end the session at 49,490.03. The S&P 500 rose 1.05% to a record close of 7,137.90, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lifted 1.64% to end at 24,657.57, also hitting an all-time high.
Meanwhile, the U.S. , with the military intercepting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters, according to a report by Reuters.
Oil prices sharply rose back up, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbing to $97 per barrel before retreating to $93 later in the session.
Real Rally To Begin Soon?
Widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez noted Bitcoin forming a “bullish reversal pattern.”
The Morning Star candlestick pattern typically appears at the bottom of a downtrend, signaling a potential shift from selling pressure to buying momentum.
“Even though it’s a strong signal, the data shows that price often takes a small “breather” [averaging around 8%] shortly after the move before the real rally begins,” the analyst added.
Julio Moreno, Head of Research at CryptoQuant, interpreted Bitcoin’s recent price increase as “completely driven” by the perpetual futures market, while spot demand stayed lukewarm.
“There are risks of a correction if traders start taking profits while spot demand continues to contract,” Moreno predicted.
Run by “DesiQuest” and “Dimension 20” star Jasmine Bhullar, “Dungeon Masters” is produced by “D&D” rights holder Wizards of the Coast. That means Bhullar and her cast — Mayanna Berrin (“Dispatch,” “StoryQuest”), Christian Navarro (“13 Reasons Why,” “Forgotten Realms: Tears of Selune”), Neil Newbon (“Baldur’s Gate III”) and Devora Wilde (“Baldur’s Gate III”) — have the rare opportunity to say many trademarked words and phrases, including just the simple acknowledgement of Bhullar’s role as “dungeon master.”
“I feel incredibly lucky and privileged, because there are a lot of actual plays, and a lot of times you have to strip out all the licensed stuff,” Bhullar said. “But I’m such a big fan of the official settings. I love that we have all these proper nouns, and we can call everything by its right name, because we have the say-so of the big dogs upstairs. I love having access to the full cadre of NPCs and locations that have been worked on by this brilliant team. It’s just a blessing to have 50 years of lore and world-building to pull on and to be able to give it the respect it deserves. I’m constantly humbled.”
A big fan of “D&D’s” “Ravenloft” in particular, Bhullar tells Variety she “made a shriek sound” when Wizards first approached her about hosting “Dungeon Masters.” While Bhullar knew the show would be released pegged to the launch of a new “Ravenloft” campaign book, and she wouldn’t control the setting of her campaign, the story is still all her own.
“If you see me on ‘Acquisitions Incorporated’ and you see the deep cuts I make, I love ‘Greyhawk.’ I love ‘Waterdeep.’ I love ‘Baldur’s Gate.’ And I really love ‘Ravenloft,’” Bhullar said. “I’m kind of a goth spooky — I was gonna say the B-word, but I’m not gonna say it — a goth spooky witch, myself. I was so excited to put my mustard on ‘Ravenloft.’ I never felt like, because it was an official setting, I couldn’t do what I wanted to.”
Based on her reactions to some of Katie Marovitch’s out-there DM-ing choices during Dropout’s recent “Dimension 20: On a Bus” Season 2, it’s probably clear Bhullar appreciates a clear story and gameplay mechanics — something you get right away with an official D&D campaign.
“When I started DM-ing, I used the pre-written settings,” Bhullar said. “I did not immediately do my own world-building. I did my homework, for lack of a better word, and then went and started to work on my own settings. So if you see [me DM-ing] ‘Coffin Run’ on ‘Dimension 20,’ I love vampires. I love black-and-white horror. ‘Ravenloft’ is absolutely my bag. And so when they called me, I didn’t question why I was getting the call. I was like, This is it. It was like a calling to come to the church or whatever. I was like, ‘Yes, absolutely. I will run “Ravenloft” for you. And if you allow me, I will run everything else, too.’”
Shping launched its ICO in March 2018 at $0.01 per token. The concept — reward Australian shoppers with cryptocurrency for scanning barcodes, uploading receipts, and reviewing products — was genuinely novel at the time. Four years later, SHPING hit $0.1299 in January 2022. That’s a 12x return on ICO price and represented the token’s best moment.
In April 2026, SHPING trades at approximately $0.0011 — about 99% below that $ATH, and also below the original ICO price from eight years ago.
The Shping app itself is still live. The product database has over 20 million products. Australian users are still uploading receipts and earning rewards. The Coinbase partnership that enables crypto withdrawals is still active. The project hasn’t disappeared.
It just hasn’t found a way to convert genuine product utility into sustainable token demand. Whether anything changes that by 2030 is the real question this analysis tries to answer.
Disclaimer: This is informational analysis only, not investment advice. SHPING is an extremely small-cap, illiquid token. Never invest more than you can afford to lose entirely.
What Shping Is and How It Works
Shping started life as “AuthenticateIt,” a Melbourne-based product authentication and barcode database company founded in 2017 by CEO Gennady Volchek. The core idea — creating a global product database where every retail item with a GS1 barcode has a verified digital identity — was genuinely useful for supply chain transparency and anti-counterfeiting.
The rename to Shping and the pivot to a consumer app layered a rewards economy on top of that database vision. The proposition to shoppers: do things you’re already doing (scan products, keep receipts, write reviews) and get paid in cryptocurrency instead of getting nothing.
The mechanics:
Earn SHPING coins by:
Scanning product barcodes at retail stores
Uploading receipts (paper, digital, or PDF) from any purchase at any store — grocery, pharmacy, clothing, restaurants, utilities, everything
Writing product reviews
Watching brand videos or engaging with brand content
Completing daily tasks and in-app challenges
Storing loyalty cards inside the app
Six membership tiers: The more you engage, the higher your tier, and the more SHPING coins you earn per activity. The highest tier — Ambassador — unlocks multipliers that can earn up to 10x the base rate.
Withdrawals: Users can withdraw earnings as cash to an Australian bank account (Shping sells SHPING on an exchange and deposits AUD) or as cryptocurrency via Coinbase. Withdrawal limits run from $20 to $75 per transaction depending on tier. The company claims active users can earn up to AUD $75 per month by completing all in-app activities.
Brand side: Companies like Coca-Cola have used Shping to distribute targeted rewards and gather product-level consumer data — specifically the kind of “who bought what and what do they think of it” first-party data that brands pay Meta and Google billions of dollars annually to get indirectly. Shping’s pitch to brands: bypass the intermediaries and reward the consumer directly, at a fraction of the CPM.
The global product database: Over 20 million products catalogued, with product information provided by brands, retailers, certification bodies, and consumers themselves. GS1 Australia — the standards body responsible for barcodes — is a formal partner, lending credibility to the database’s ambition to become infrastructure for product identity.
The token’s role: SHPING is an Ethereum ERC-20 token. Brands pay in SHPING to run campaigns on the platform. The tokens they pay flow to users as rewards. In theory, this creates a circular economy: brand demand for SHPING → brand purchases of SHPING from the market → upward price pressure → higher reward value for users → more user engagement → more data value → more brand interest. In practice, the volume of brand purchases has never been sufficient to create that loop at scale.
Why the Price Is Where It Is
The $ATH of $0.1299 in January 2022 was driven by the same force that drove almost every small-cap token to extreme valuations in early 2022: the tail end of the 2021 crypto bull market, where speculative capital was flowing into everything with a real use case and any kind of community.
After that peak, three compounding problems explain the sustained decline to the current $0.0011 range.
Problem One: The token’s demand side is structurally weak. Brands adopting Shping purchase SHPING tokens to fund campaigns. But SHPING’s adoption by global FMCG brands has remained niche — primarily Australian-market brands and a handful of international names, not the mass-market campaigns that would drive volume purchases. Without continuous fresh brand demand buying SHPING from exchanges, the primary price pressure is downward (users receiving and selling rewards) rather than upward (brands buying supply).
Problem Two: The app has UX friction. An independent analysis of the Shping app noted that the experience is “not intuitive” — features are hard to find, SHPING coins are displayed with five decimal places creating confusion, and the onboarding doesn’t adequately explain the mechanics. Barcode scanning frequently fails on common products. The price comparison feature often doesn’t show cross-retailer data. High-engagement users love the app; casual users churn quickly. An app that relies on habit formation for its token economy needs extremely smooth UX, and Shping has historically struggled here.
Problem Three: Only 22.87% of max supply is currently circulating. With 2.286 billion SHPING in circulation out of a 10 billion maximum supply, roughly 7.7 billion tokens remain unlocked and unreleased. This isn’t immediately concerning — many tokens have multi-year release schedules — but it means buyers at current prices are purchasing into a FDV of approximately $10.8 million when only a fraction of supply exists. Every future token release is a potential supply-side pressure on price.
The 1-year price performance confirms the bearish environment: SHPING declined approximately 76–82% in the twelve months to April 2026. The RSI sits around 22.69 — deeply oversold territory — and the price sits approximately 66% below the 200-day SMA of ~$0.00429. These are the charts of a token that has found no natural floor yet.
What’s Actually Working: The Coinbase Partnership and App Activity
This isn’t a dead project. That distinction matters for the prediction analysis.
In September 2024, Shping announced that its Australian app members could now withdraw SHPING rewards directly as cryptocurrency via Coinbase — making Shping what it described as “the first rewards program to support cryptocurrency.” This partnership is still active as of April 2026. The integration legitimises Shping’s crypto credentials in a way that many small-cap reward tokens simply don’t have — SHPING is available on Coinbase’s exchange and visible to Coinbase’s global user base.
BCR’s Web3 loyalty program analysis covered Shping’s model directly, noting the 350,000+ app downloads, the Coca-Cola partnership, and the thesis that brand-to-consumer direct rewards represent a genuinely superior model to advertising through intermediaries like Google and Facebook. That thesis remains correct. The global consumer loyalty market is enormous and structurally inefficient — McKinsey data showed 58% of consumers don’t use loyalty programs they’ve signed up for. Shping’s “any store, any receipt” approach addresses that frustration directly.
The app’s receipt upload feature — which accepts purchases from literally any retailer, including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Chemist Warehouse, Bunnings, Uber Eats, and even utility bills — differentiates it from store-specific loyalty programs like Flybuys (Coles) and Everyday Rewards (Woolworths). That flexibility is a genuine competitive advantage for building habitual app usage.
The problem is that genuine product utility and a growing app user base have proven insufficient to move SHPING’s price. SHPING’s price is set by the few hundred thousand dollars of daily trading volume on a handful of exchanges — primarily Gate.io, MEXC, and Coinbase. At that liquidity level, app user growth doesn’t translate to token price appreciation unless those users become net SHPING buyers rather than net sellers.
SHPING Key Data (April 2026)
Sources: CoinMarketCap — SHPING Live Price; CoinGecko — SHPING; CoinCodex
BCR’s Previous Shping Prediction: The Record
BCR’s original SHPING price prediction was written when the token was in a very different market environment — and reflected the optimism of that era with targets that assumed continued growth in brand adoption and app user base.
The gap between those predictions and SHPING’s actual April 2026 price (~$0.0011) is substantial. This isn’t a Shping-specific failure of prediction — it reflects the global collapse in small-cap utility token valuations as institutional capital retreated from speculative crypto markets post-2022 and as the “app token” model (earn and sell) proved structurally deflationary for token prices.
The honest takeaway: SHPING’s app is delivering genuine user value. The prediction literature in 2022–2023 assumed that user value would eventually be priced into the token. It hasn’t been, and the mechanism by which it would be remains unclear without a fundamental change in brand-side SHPING purchasing behaviour.
SHPING Price Prediction 2026
For 2026, SHPING’s price trajectory depends on whether any of three catalysts materialise.
Catalyst One: Brand adoption growth. If major FMCG brands outside Australia begin running SHPING campaigns — particularly in markets like the US or UK where Shping has been building ambassador programs and waitlists — the brand-side demand for SHPING tokens could increase meaningfully. Even a modest increase in campaign spending by global brands would represent a multiple of current daily trading volume, potentially pushing price significantly.
Catalyst Two: Broader crypto bull cycle. SHPING, like almost all small-cap tokens, moves in amplified fashion relative to Bitcoin and Ethereum during bull cycles. A broad altcoin season would sweep high-volatility, low-market-cap tokens with real use cases. At a $2–5M market cap, SHPING needs an extraordinarily small amount of new capital to move 2–5x. The flip side: during risk-off periods, the same thin liquidity amplifies declines.
Catalyst Three: App user base growth. The broader shift toward on-chain reward systems and tokenized loyalty is happening. If Shping can convert its existing download base into regular earners — specifically users who hold rather than immediately sell their SHPING — it reduces the constant selling pressure that currently keeps prices suppressed.
Without any of those catalysts, the base case for 2026 is sideways-to-modestly-lower price action. The deeply oversold RSI (22.69) suggests a bounce is technically overdue, but technical indicators in micro-cap tokens with thin volume are far less reliable than in liquid markets.
The resistance at $0.0025 (short-term) and $0.005 (200-day SMA territory) are the levels to watch for any recovery. A confirmed close above $0.005 would represent approximately a 5x from current levels and would signal the first meaningful trend reversal since the 2022 $ATH.
SHPING Price Prediction 2027–2030
For a 2030 view, the SHPING thesis requires a specific set of conditions that are plausible in combination but not guaranteed individually.
The global consumer loyalty market is projected to reach $24+ billion by 2028. The trend toward tokenised, liquid rewards — where consumers own genuine digital assets rather than locked points that expire — is directionally clear. The broader DePIN and real-world data tokenisation narrative has been growing strongly. Shping’s product database — verified product data linked to real GS1 barcodes — is exactly the kind of real-world asset that tokenisation narratives are built around.
If Shping successfully expands its geographic footprint beyond Australia into markets where FMCG brand spend is larger (the US market alone spends $200+ billion annually on consumer promotions and loyalty programs), and if 0.5–1% of that becomes SHPING-based campaigns, the demand for SHPING tokens would dwarf current trading volumes.
That’s the bull case for 2030. It requires several years of execution that hasn’t happened yet but isn’t impossible — the infrastructure exists, the partnerships exist, and the Coinbase listing gives distribution that most Australian crypto projects lack.
The maximum theoretical case — returning to the $0.1299 $ATH by 2030 — requires SHPING to become a legitimately significant player in global retail marketing technology, with hundreds of millions in annual brand spend flowing through the platform. It’s more of an upper-bound reference than a realistic central scenario.
Is SHPING Worth Buying in 2026?
SHPING at $0.001–$0.002 is approximately 99% below its $ATH and below its 2018 ICO price. The app continues to function and grow in Australia. The Coinbase partnership is real. The GS1 partnership is real. The market cap is genuinely tiny — $2.5–5M — meaning a small amount of capital can move the price substantially.
What that means practically: SHPING is a very small speculative bet with asymmetric upside in a bull scenario. At current prices, a position large enough to matter at 10x or 100x is still very inexpensive in absolute dollar terms. The app’s real-world utility provides a narrative hook that pure meme coins lack, which matters during the “what survived the bear market” phase of crypto cycles.
What it doesn’t mean: SHPING is not a portfolio centrepiece. The FDV of $10.8M means significant supply remains to be released. The brand-side adoption that drives token demand fundamentally has been growing too slowly. The app UX challenges have kept user retention below where it would need to be for the circular economy to function at scale.
The broader Web3 loyalty and retail reward landscape in 2026 is increasingly competitive, with large platforms building similar capabilities. Shping’s head start in the Australian market and its GS1 and Coinbase partnerships are genuine moats — but moats only matter if the company executes.
The honest framing for any SHPING buyer: you’re betting on a working product that has failed to achieve the token adoption its utility deserves, in the hope that a combination of market cycle recovery and brand-side growth eventually changes that dynamic. It’s possible. It’s not certain.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order banning state employees from betting on prediction markets, following a similar move by Illinois earlier this week.
“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said on Wednesday, adding: “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment.”
Hochul also slammed the Trump administration and congressional Republicans for allowing an “ethical Wild West” to take hold around prediction markets without implementing any “meaningful ethical standards” to protect against insider trading.
Executive order banning New York state officials from trading on prediction markets. Source: New York State
Adoption in prediction markets is rapidly accelerating, with monthly trading volumes rising over the last seven consecutive months to an all-time high of $23.6 billion in March, with markets covering everything from sports and elections to financial results and cultural outcomes.
However, the rise has been accompanied by increasing concerns about insider trading and market manipulation.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also signed an EO banning state employees from betting on prediction markets on Tuesday, stating:
“Illinois is doubling down on its commitment to a transparent and ethical government by bolstering its current state laws to prevent insider trading amid the rapid growth of online prediction markets and event-based gambling contracts.”
Insider trading accusations in prediction markets
Hochul’s EO made reference to several suspected insider trading instances involving US military action.
One of them was a Polymarket trader who placed a low-odds bet that Nicolás Maduro would be ousted as Venezuelan president just hours before he was captured by US forces, profiting around $400,000.
Another related to suspicious trades placed on the invasion of Iran and the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, in late February.
Hochul’s EO stated that any violation may result in dismissal and law enforcement action, and also noted that New York state employees and officers cannot assist others in profiting on confidential information through prediction markets.
Prediction markets, meanwhile, have been fighting potential insider traders their own way.
In February, Kalshi said it banned a former contender for governor of California after he had bet $200 on his own candidacy last year.
Kalshi did not name the politician. However, details in the enforcement summary align with public posts by Kyle Langford, a former Republican turned Democrat who is now running for election to the US House representing California’s 26th Congressional District.
Kalshi faces regulators in Nevada and New York
The latest EO adds to a wave of action from US states to attempt to police prediction markets.
The New York State Gaming Commission sent prediction market platform Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter in October for illegally operating an unlicensed mobile sports wagering platform in the state.
Kalshi is also engaged in a court battle with the Nevada Gaming Control Board after a lower court temporarily blocked Kalshi from operating in the state, with the regulator arguing that Kalshi’s contracts facilitate unlicensed gambling.
Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal has predicted that the case could reach the US Supreme Court, potentially creating precedent over the regulatory treatment of prediction markets and event-based derivatives.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are hosting the Suns in Game 2 of their 2026 NBA Playoffs series on ESPN.
Check out the best of Wednesday’s action with the NBA.com live blog, as the 2026 NBA Playoffs continue.
Cade Cunningham (27 pts, 11 ast) and the Pistons locked down the Magic to open the night, blocking 11 shots on their way to a 98-83 win.
Now, we have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder taking on Devin Booker’s Suns in the second half of our ESPN doubleheader (9:30 ET).
APRIL 22, 2026 / 10:04 ET
Thunder taking control with a 13-2 run
25-16 Thunder with 4:30 to go in the first quarter, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (8 pts on 4-of-5 shooting) gets rolling despite tweaking a finger on his shooting hand.
“He’s caught fire here,” said Dave Pasch.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 9:50 ET
Pistons even series with Magic
In their first home Playoff win since 2008, the Pistons used a prototypical defensive effort to corral the Magic 98-83 and even their first round series at 1-1.
Detroit held Orlando to a season-low in scoring, limiting the Magic to 32.5% shooting on the night.
The game was tied at the half, but the Pistons used a 38-16 third quarter to take control, leading by as many as 27.
Cade Cunningham (27 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast) was the top scorer on the game.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 9:40 ET
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their 2026 NBA Playoffs series as our ESPN doubleheader continues.
Phoenix:
PG Collin Gillespie (8 pts, 2 ast, 2 3PM)
SG Devin Booker (23 pts, 6 reb)
SF Jalen Green (17 pts, 5 reb)
PF Dillon Brooks (18 pts, 7 reb)
C Oso Ighodaro (9 reb, 3 ast)
Oklahoma City:
PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 pts, 7 ast)
SG Luguentz Dort (8 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast)
SF Jalen Williams (22 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast)
PF Chet Holmgren (16 pts, 7 reb)
C Isaiah Hartenstein (8 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk)
Watch Grayson Allen off the Suns’ bench. The Duke product averaged 16.3 ppg this season, which the Suns could use against the Thunder’s league-leading defense (106.5 DRTG).
APRIL 22, 2026 / 9:25 ET
All Pistons in Little Caesars Arena
The Pistons are holding the Magic to 31.3% shooting so far, including a 6-of-25 mark from 3-point range (24%), with 11 blocks so far tonight.
Isaiah Stewart just added another rim-protecting swat to his resume, blocking Paolo Banchero’s attempt at a posterizing two-hand jam.
Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton are in attendance as Detroit basketball shines bright on this Wednesday night.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 9:10 ET
A dominant effort from Detroit
30-3 3Q RUN BY DETROIT.
The score was tied at halftime (46-46). Then, the Pistons went into takeover mode 😳
T. Harris: 6 PTS, 3-6 FGM J. Duren: 6 PTS, 2-3 FGM D. Robinson: 6 PTS, 2-3 FGM I. Stewart: 6 PTS, 2-2 FGM Au. Thompson: 5 PTS, 2-2 FGM C. Cunningham: 5 PTS, 2-2 FGM pic.twitter.com/e5fweqKMfu
Franz Wagner (4 pts), Wendell Carter Jr. (3 pts) and Desmond Bane (8 pts) have 15 points combined so far — they had 53 in Game 1.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 8:52 ET
Pistons open up the lead
69-49 Detroit with 6:23 to go in the third quarter, as the Pistons start the period on a 23-3 run, shooting 76.9 from the field in the period.
“It’s an avalanche here in the third,” said Mike Breen.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 8:25 ET
Tied at 46 at the half
In a defensive battle, Orlando and Detroit are tied going into the second half, combining for 18 assists versus 21 turnovers in the first two quarters.
The Pistons have a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint, while the Magic have a 10-6 advantage in fast break points.
Jalen Suggs (15 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) and Cade Cunningham (15 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast) are starring offensively.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 7:58 ET
Suggs going off
Jalen Suggs (10 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) is rallying the Magic, who are down 33-30 with 6:46 to go in the second quarter.
Orlando was 34-23 with the point guard from Gonzaga this season, compared to 11-14 without him.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 7:50 ET
Classic Pistons defense
7 BLOCKS… IN 1 QUARTER!
DET’s 7 blocks in the 1Q tie the record for the MOST in a 1Q in the postseason play-by-play era (since 1998) 🤯
Jalen Suggs (7 pts) is the top scorer for Orlando so far.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 7:23 ET
Pistons have the crowd roaring
Detroit’s 6-of-10 to start the game, with a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer and Tobias Harris fast-break jam sending the Magic to a timeout in the early going.
14-7 Pistons with 6:42 to go in the first quarter.
APRIL 22, 2026 / 6:30 ET
Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons host the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of their 2026 NBA Playoffs first round series on ESPN.
All stats from Sunday’s Game 1, which the Magic won 112-101.
Orlando:
PG Jalen Suggs (16 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast)
SG Desmond Bane (17 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast)
SF Franz Wagner (19 pts, 5 reb)
PF Paolo Banchero (23 pts, 9 reb)
C Wendell Carter Jr. (17 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast)
Detroit:
PG Cade Cunningham (39 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast)
SG Duncan Robinson (9 pts, 3 3PM)
SF Ausar Thompson (8 pts, 7 reb)
PF Tobias Harris (17 pts, 6 reb)
C Jalen Duren (8 pts, 7 reb)
Keep an eye on Isaiah Stewart off the Pistons’ bench — he was a team-high +6 in their Game 1 loss, and could help slow down Paolo Banchero.
APRIL 22 / 6:15 ET
Tonight’s injury report
Jonathan Isaac is out for Orlando.
Grayson Allen, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin are questionable for Phoenix. Thomas Sorber is out for Oklahoma City.
“We just dropped the trailer this week and we’re getting all these calls now for partnerships for that film,” Pam Abdy, Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chair and CEO, said during the Variety Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte on Wednesday.
Warner Bros. has been experimenting with different ways to promote its films over the past few years, including selling tickets for “Sinners” through a gaming integration on “Fortnite” and for “Wuthering Heights” via a Pinterest collab. But when it comes to companies approaching them for tie-in products and marketing, the response Abdy is seeing these days is unprecedented.
“It just depends,” Abdy told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton on stage at the Beverly Hilton. “I think what ends up happening is brands see the movies, they see if it works for their audience — is there a collaboration? That, to me, is super exciting on the marketing level. That I didn’t experience when I started.”
Currently, Abdy and her Warner Bros Pictures co-chief Mike De Luca are leading the studio behind recent hits “Sinners,” “Weapons” and “One Battle After Another” amid a pending acquisition of the larger Warner Bros. Discovery by the Skydance-run Paramount. At this time, there’s little Abdy can say about what that means for the future of WB films, even as she and De Luca are greenlighting movies that are years away from hitting the screen.
“My job is to show up, to be present, to be transparent with our teams, to give them the resources and the support they need to be the best versions of themselves,” Abdy said. “And we have a job to do, Mike and I. There’s no time for worrying about things that you can’t control. What we can control is the quality of the films. We can control the films we’re choosing.”
One thing Abdy can confirm is that Warner Bros. is very bullish on Zach Cregger’s “Weapons” prequel. The Abdy says the movie, which is set to focus on the viral character Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), is still in the development stage.
“Yes, you can never get it out of your head,” Abdy said about Gladys’ look and how the character dominated the “Weapons” discourse post-release. “And people recreating it on social media was hysterical afterwards. But if you remember, we did not show you Aunt Gladys before the movie opened. We let the audience discover Aunt Gladys, and it was this mystery marketing tool that we used with what happened to these kids, so that it almost played like this really happened in real life.”
Two other priorities for the Warner Bros. film biz are making more “esoteric” films through the newly created Clockwork label, and building up its internal animation studio for more family-friendly fare.
“We felt like we were missing that space at Warner Brothers,” Abdy said of deciding to launch Clockwork in partnership with Neon vet Christian Parkes. “And Mike and I love what A24 and what Neon has done, and Searchlight over the years. I, as a producer, worked at Searchlight many times, and we really feel like, especially because Gen Z and Gen Alpha are engaged [and] do want to go to the theater, that there is a space that we’re missing.”
Later this year, Warner Bros. will show the effort it’s put into its refocused animation business with the release of “The Cat in the Hat.”
“Warner Bros. [has] made some great animated movies over the years with ‘The Lego Movie,’ but there wasn’t a consistent strategy,” Abdy said. “So we built an animation studio from the ground up, and we brought in Bill Damaschke, a longtime veteran of DreamWorks, and he’s incredible, and he has an incredible slate. Our first movie comes online this fall with ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ and we have movies greenlit and in production all the way through ’29.”
Abdy added: “It has to be part of the strategy, that family business. And that audience is dedicated, and they need more movies to [be able to] take their kids to the theater.”
Leah Kateb’s fans include millions of “Love Island USA” viewers — and Tobey Maguire.
During a panel at Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit presented by Deloitte, the reality TV star said that she met the actor, who told her he was a “really big fan.” “I was like, ‘This is insane. You’re Spider-Man. I’m a big fan.’ And he was so much fun, and he’s so nice. And I feel like everyone I meet is so nice.”
“And I don’t care what anyone says, he’s the best Spider-Man,” she added.
The star-studded closing panel also featured Ariana Madix, Patrick Ta, Bobby Berk and Shareef O’Neal, during which the entrepreneurs discussed how they each built a brand, scaled their platforms and used social media fame to propel their businesses.
Alongside Variety moderator Marc Malkin, each panelist opened up about their journey to becoming an entrepreneur. An Emmy-winning design expert and television host, Berk’s design firm first began as an online business, then grew into a furniture store before ultimately expanding. Berk also did nine seasons of “Queer Eye,” which he calls a “huge catapult for many, many things.” Social media, too, has been a “huge plus” for his business, he said.
Ta, founder of Patrick Ta Beauty, started his brand six years ago following 14 years as a celebrity makeup artist. For him, the products allow his audience to “experience a little bit of my artistry.” With the launch of his brand, TikTok gave Ta more ways to connect with his audience and the opportunity to share different types of content with them. “I launched my number one blush duos five years ago, but it was only three years ago when they actually started getting traction… TikTok rebirthed me as a person, and me as a brand.”
Both Madix, who co-founded the sandwich shop Something About Her, and Kateb, the chief creative officer and re-founder of perfume brand Skylar, took the leap to the business side of things following successful stints on reality TV; Madix first made her debut on Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules,” while Kateb amassed millions of followers thanks to an appearance on “Love Island USA” (which Madix also hosts). In their own ways, both have taken advantage of the “unique opportunity” that comes with being on the shows, explains Madix — the fact that audiences “get to know you on a different level.”
For Madix, that has meant that everything she’s done has felt “a little bit of like an extension of myself as well.” The same is true for Kateb, who saw that fans were interested in her lifestyle content, and specifically what perfume she wore. After she posted a video breaking down her favorite scents (which included Vanilla Sky from Skylar), she had a meeting with the brand. “From there, they just were like, ‘We need you a part of this brand.’” Kateb also teased a future product, noting that she wasn’t going to stop at fragrance. “Everyone knows me for my layering routines, so we’ve been cooking, literally and figuratively,” she said.
O’Neal, an influencer and the creative director of Shaq Brand, got candid about deciding to share about his health issues, and particularly heart surgery, on his social media. He explained that the announcement, at the time, was “pretty hard to think about.” “I just came out of high school, I was the number one player in California, going to UCLA, and I had such a big following… We weren’t going to announce it at first; we were just going to just go MIA, go missing for a few years and get back. But I told my mom, ‘I want to document this. I want to post it.’ I want to show people that everything’s not perfect, that I can come back from this,” he recalled.
“I didn’t know the impact it was going to have on people. Still to this day, people come up to me and they say, ‘You’re such an inspiration.’”
Binance has introduced a new feature called the Alpha Page. This provides a clearer view of early-stage crypto projects that the platform hosts. The Alpha page gives users structured data and performance insights to help them track projects from early activity to potential exchange listings.
The Alpha Page on Binance is built as a central hub that pulls together key details about what Binance calls “Alpha projects.” These are early-stage crypto projects whose growth phase is not yet over.
Users can see historical performance, participation metrics, and track the progress of these tokens over time. The platform said this approach is meant to reduce information gaps and make early-stage participation more transparent.
Binance Launches Alpha Page
A major part of the page system is the Alpha Points mechanism. This system tracks user activity and rewards engagement. Points are calculated daily. The calculation is based on a combination of trading volume and asset balance over the past 15 days.
Users can earn these points by trading Alpha tokens on the exchange or through the Binance Wallet. Holdings across supported assets, including select liquidity pool tokens, also contribute to the score.
Introducing the Binance Alpha Page.
Learn how Alpha Points work. See real historical returns from Alpha events. Track how many Alpha tokens have progressed to Binance listing.
These points are not only a metric. They also act as access tools. Users can spend Alpha Points to participate in exclusive opportunities. These include token generation events, early token sales, and airdrops. Some offerings are available before public trading begins. Others come with lock-in periods until official launches.
The platform also offers a booster program. This allows users to complete tasks linked to events and earn additional rewards.
The company shared performance data from past activities. According to its internal figures, users have received notable returns from Alpha-related participation. Airdrops alone have distributed hundreds of tokens.
The average value of these rewards on the first day of trading has been significant. Token generation events and pre-launch sales have also delivered measurable gains. Combined, these activities have generated substantial rewards for active participants.
Alpha Page presents trending assets as well. It enables users to look into new buzzwords and trending tokens in the community. These vary from up-and-coming cryptocurrencies to tokenized assets. Trading is integrated directly into the interface. Users have an easy way to buy and sell tokens on-chain; one simple transaction can occur either through an exchange or the wallet. This reduces the need for multiple transfers and simplifies access.
Binance has focused on execution efficiency. The platform charges very low trading fees beginning with 0.01%. It’s also said fast order execution: below a hundred milliseconds.
Another area of focus is high liquidity. This allows reducing slippage during trades especially under volatile conditions. Also, the risk control functions that are built in for users also provide users with a buffer to manage their exposure while trading.
The launch follows a wider trend in the crypto market. They say platforms are also starting to move toward unifying trading, analytics, and early access into one place. Binance seems to be establishing the Alpha Page as a central gateway for users interested in early-stage offerings. Binance reported its users total of 316 million worldwide. Its growth has accelerated over time.
The first 100 million users took around five years to reach. The next 100 million were added in about two years. The latest 100 million came in just 18 months. At peak periods, the platform has seen up to 180,000 new users joining in a single day.
