MagazinAisle

Author: rb809rb

  • SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament viewership increases 18% for inaugural season on Prime Video

    Tyrese Maxey leads Philly to the Play-In win over Orlando, clinching the 7th seed in the East.

    The 2026 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament generated an 18% increase among total U.S. viewers with an average of 2.79 million viewers across six exclusive broadcast windows on Prime Video, it was announced Wednesday.

    The most-watched games of the NBA Play-In Tournament were Warriors-Suns (3.65M), Warriors-Clippers (3.15M) and Magic-76ers (2.66M).

    According to Amazon’s first-party viewership data, the Play-In Tournament was viewed on 52M devices globally for over 2.5B minutes across more than 200 countries and territories. Over the six games, top-performing markets outside of the U.S. included Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, India, Spain, France, and Colombia.

  • Iran blames Trump’s blockade for diplomatic impasse as fragile truce holds

    Iran blames Trump’s blockade for diplomatic impasse as fragile truce holds

    Iranian officials have blamed the United States for the impasse in the negotiations and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that Tehran will not submit to “bullying” by Washington.

    Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that there can be no full ceasefire between the two countries if the US naval blockade on Iranian ports persists.

    Recommended Stories

    list of 3 itemsend of list

    In his first comment since President Donald Trump announced he would extend the US-Iran truce, Ghalibaf, one of Iran’s lead negotiators, suggested that Tehran will not capitulate to Washington’s demands because of the siege.

    “A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world’s economy, and if the Zionist warmongering across all fronts is halted,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.

    “Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire,” he added, saying that the US and Israel “did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying”.

    Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed that position, stressing that diplomacy, not pressure, was necessary for peace talks.

    “The Islamic Republic of Iran has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so,” he said in a social media post, addressing the US and Israel.

    “Breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations. World sees your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradiction between claims and actions.”

    Although both countries have said they are ready to return to war, the ceasefire has so far appeared to hold on Wednesday, the day its initial two-week period expired.

    Truce extension

    The ceasefire’s extension came only a day earlier, after it became apparent that Iranian officials would not attend talks scheduled in Pakistan in protest against the US blockade.

    Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, said that breaking the siege is a necessary condition for the negotiations to proceed.

    Asked whether the relative calm of the truce will continue, Iravani told reporters, “We have not initiated the military aggression. They initiated the war against us, and we are ready. If they want to sit at the table and discuss and find a political solution, they will find us ready.”

    Trump did not set a deadline for the extended ceasefire to expire, but he suggested on Tuesday that the naval siege on Iran would continue to serve as leverage for future talks.

    “People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included,” the US president wrote in a social media post.

    On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed media reports claiming that Trump had set a specific deadline of three to five dies for the truce, emphasising that the US president alone decides on the timetable of the war.

    Leavitt added that Trump is “satisfied” with the blockade and its effects on the Iranian economy.

    “He understands that Iran is in a very week position, and the cards are in President Trump’s hand right now,” she told reporters.

    Hours before the extension of the ceasefire on Tuesday, Trump had said that he opposed lengthening the truce, and he warned Iran that time is running out before the US launches a huge attack on its infrastructure.

    Subsequently, he agreed to hold off the strikes at the request of Pakistani mediators.

    ‘No war, no peace’

    With the blockade still in place and no new date set for the talks, there are concerns that the fighting could resume at any moment.

    Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem said Iran is experiencing a “situation of no war, no peace”.

    “Sanctions are still there. The blockade is there. No one can plan for the next week or the week after. Businesses are just waiting to see how this war is going to end,” Hashem said.

    The US and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28, killing hundreds of civilians and several top officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

    Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel and US assets across the entire region. Iran also closed the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices soaring.

    Iran agreed to re-open the waterway as part of the two-week truce that came into effect on April 8, but it ultimately kept the waterway closed in response to Israel’s refusal to include Lebanon in the ceasefire.

    That was a condition originally stipulated in the deal announced by Pakistan.

    After a 10-day ceasefire was announced in Lebanon last week, Iran said the Hormuz Strait would re-open, but it shut down the waterway again after Trump said the US naval blockade against the country would persist.

    The US military has seized one Iranian vessel during the siege.

    For its part, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) captured two foreign commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, saying they violated maritime regulations.

    Trump claims Iran executions halted

    Despite the rising tensions, Trump said on Wednesday that he “appreciates” that Iran halted the execution of female dissidents at his request.

    The US president had shared photos of eight alleged detainees in Iran a day earlier, claiming that they were set to be killed.

    “I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.

    “I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution.”

    Later in the day, the White House dismissed US media reports saying that Iran still has significant military capabilities.

    “Iran’s defense industrial base was almost completely destroyed,” Leavitt wrote on the social media platform X.

    “Iran’s ability to build and stockpile ballistic missiles and long-range drones has been set back by years. The vast majority of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launcher vehicles, and long-range attack drones were destroyed.”

    Iran was able to launch missile attacks against Israel daily throughout the war.

  • ‘Scary Movie 6’ Targets Michael Jackson Child Abuse Allegations With ‘Michael’ Spoof Poster and Tagline: ‘Touching Fans Everywhere’

    ‘Scary Movie 6’ Targets Michael Jackson Child Abuse Allegations With ‘Michael’ Spoof Poster and Tagline: ‘Touching Fans Everywhere’

    The new “Scary Movie” isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to celebrity jokes, and Michael Jackson is in the crosshairs for some new promotional material.

    The franchise’s Ghostface-inspired killer is dressed up like Jackson in a just-released poster that directly parodies the “Michael” promotional material. But in this case, the two taglines are “Prepare to Hee-Hee” and “Touching Fans Everywhere,” the latter a reference to child abuse allegations that have followed Jackson for years.

    The biopic “Michael,” which debuts in theaters on Friday from Lionsgate Films, won’t explore any of the allegations.

    Per a recent New York Mag feature on “Michael” director Antoine Fuqua, the director “is not convinced that Jackson did what he is accused of doing, despite the number of accusers (five) and the fact that Jackson publicly talked about sharing his bed with boys.”

    “Scary Movie 6” is set to bring back many of the central characters from the first two films in the franchise, including Marlon Wayans as Shorty Meeks, Shawn Wayans as Ray Wilkins, Anna Faris as Cindy Campbell and Regina Hall as Brenda Meeks. The Wayans brothers are back to writing and producing this movie as well, after sitting out the last three chapters.

    The “Scary Movie” team also released a short teaser trailer on April 22, which stars “Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson as a very clumsy version of the King of Pop.

    “Scary Movie” heads to theaters via Paramount Pictures on June 5.

    See the full poster and a Jackson clip below.

    Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

  • Eric Trump mocks Justin Sun’s lawsuit, and his $6M banana stunt

    Eric Trump mocks Justin Sun’s lawsuit, and his $6M banana stunt

    Eric Trump said Justin Sun’s lawsuit against World Liberty Financial is “ridiculous,” but not as ridiculous as the $6 million the TRON founder once spent on Maurizio Cattelan’s banana duct-taped to a wall.

    The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall. We are incredibly proud of the @worldlibertyfi team… https://t.co/ahfBKvCdwN

    — Eric Trump (@EricTrump) April 22, 2026

    The Trump son, who co-founded the DeFi project that is facing backlash over its governance and a controversial $75 million loan, mocked Sun and his iconic move after the entrepreneur said he had filed a federal lawsuit against the firm.

    The suit alleges that World Liberty wrongfully froze his $WLFI tokens and stripped him of governance rights through an opaque blacklist mechanism that he says undermines decentralization and transparency.

    The two were publicly close. Trump previously called Sun “a great friend” and said he was TRON’s “biggest fan.”

    In a statement responding to Sun’s legal action, Zach Witkoff, co‑founder and CEO of World Liberty, said he expects the lawsuit to be thrown out.

    Witkoff described the case as a meritless attempt to deflect from alleged misconduct and reaffirmed that the firm’s actions were taken to protect users.

    Justin Sun’s recent lawsuit against @worldlibertyfi is a desperate attempt to deflect attention from Sun’s own misconduct. His claims are entirely meritless, and World Liberty looks forward to getting the case thrown out promptly.

    He engaged in misconduct that required World…

    — Zach Witkoff (@ZachWitkoff) April 22, 2026

    Token concentration and family earnings

    Data shows just 10 wallets control roughly 76% of $WLFI’s voting power. The Trump family holds an estimated 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens and reportedly controls about 60% ownership of the venture.

    By December 2025, the family had reportedly earned $1 billion from the project.

    Sun was $WLFI’s largest outside investor, putting $75 million into the project. The trouble started in September 2025, when the $WLFI team blacklisted his wallet and froze approximately 540 million unlocked tokens.

    The stated reason was that on-chain transfers of around $9 million in $WLFI to exchanges looked like early selling. Sun maintained the transfers were minor test transactions.

    The governance proposal

    On April 15, 2026, World Liberty published a governance proposal affecting over 62 billion tokens. Under the proposal, holders who don’t “affirmatively accept” the new terms, including mandatory burns of 10% of advisor tokens, would have their holdings locked indefinitely.

    Early purchaser tokens would face a two-year cliff followed by two years of vesting. Holders who don’t opt in would have their tokens frozen in perpetuity. Sun, whose tokens were already frozen, couldn’t even vote on it.

    $WLFI hit $0.46 in September 2025, around the time Sun’s wallet was first blacklisted. By April 2026, it had fallen to an all-time low near $0.076, a decline of more than 83%.

    The token changed hands at $0.08 at press time, per CoinGecko.

    The blacklist function

    Sun’s legal filing also points to what he calls a concealed blacklist function embedded in $WLFI’s smart contracts. This mechanism allegedly allows the project team to freeze or restrict any token holder’s assets without notifying the holder.

    The TRON founder said that undermines the project’s claims of decentralization, transparency, and fair governance, and violates the core principles of user control in DeFi systems.

    Sun, whose net worth is estimated at $10.9 billion by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, said he tried in good faith to resolve the situation without litigation.

  • UK watchdog leads first crackdown on illegal crypto trading in London

    UK watchdog leads first crackdown on illegal crypto trading in London

    The UK Financial Conduct Authority has led its first coordinated operation against illegal peer to peer crypto trading, targeting eight London premises suspected of operating without registration and issuing cease and desist letters at each site.

    The watchdog said evidence gathered during the inspections is supporting several ongoing criminal investigations.

    The FCA carried out the operation with HM Revenue & Customs and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit under the UK’s money laundering and terrorist financing rules. The regulator said there are currently no FCA registered peer to peer crypto traders or platforms operating in the UK, meaning any such activity requires scrutiny and may be unlawful.

    Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said unregistered peer to peer crypto traders in the UK are operating illegally and pose a financial crime risk. Police officials involved in the operation said these traders can provide a route for criminals to move, disguise, and spend illicit funds.

    In February, the FCA moved against HTX over allegedly illegal crypto promotions in the UK, marking its first enforcement action against a crypto firm for unlawful marketing under the current regime.

    The latest action also comes just a week after the FCA launched a consultation on the next phase of UK crypto regulation, including rules for trading platforms, dealing, staking, and safeguarding cryptoassets, ahead of a broader framework due to take effect in October 2027.

  • Diddy’s $100 Million Lawsuit Against NBCUniversal Over ‘Bad Boy’ Doc Dismissed By Judge

    Sean “Diddy” Combs saw his $100 million defamation lawsuit against NBC and Peacock over the 2025 documentary, Diddy: Making of a Bad Boy, dismissed by a New York judge after the network argued that the now-imprisoned rap mogul had admitted in court that he was the one responsible for ruining his career — and that damage was done well before the documentary was released.

    New York Supreme Court Judge Phaedra F. Perry-Bond ruled that the case brought by the hip-hop icon, who was indicted in September 2024 on racketeering and sex trafficking charges and is now confined to a New Jersey federal prison, should be dismissed. Combs’ 50-month federal prison sentence came three months after his lengthy trial in New York last summer ended in a split verdict and, notably for the defamation case’s verdict, over a year after a federal indictment dragged his documented domestic abuse, confirmed drug abuse, and unconventional sexual proclivities into public view. Lawyers for the network are celebrating the decision as a victory for freedom of speech.

    “This is an important ruling that protects filmmakers and journalists by dismissing this meritless complaint, as barred by New York law and the First Amendment,” Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., an attorney who represented NBC, told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.

    Combs’ February 2025 complaint said that the documentary portrays him as guilty of “serial murder, sexual assault and trafficking of minors, and extortion — knowing that there is not a shred of evidence to support them.” The legal complaint also cited THR‘s interview with doc producer Ari Mark as evidence of a rush to get it on the platform; Mark had told THR that, “It’s really competitive, and I think that is why it wasn’t enough to be fast, it was also necessary to be distinct. There’s no time, and this was an extremely fast turnaround.”

    Yet it was the memorable words Combs uttered when he finally stood to speak at his dramatic October sentencing that became central to NBC’s motion to dismiss his defamation case, which hinged on damage to his reputation that he claimed was caused by the documentary’s content. Months after the split verdict was read, Combs stood up in the federal courtroom in lower Manhattan to speak for himself in front of the judge, his entire family, the press corps, and everyone in the gallery.

    “Because of my decisions, I lost my freedom,” Combs, who by that point had also become the subject of more than 25 lawsuits related to accusations of sexual misconduct, told the judge. “I lost my career. I totally destroyed my reputation.”

    NBC argued that such an admission negates the rapper’s claims that the documentary caused him irreparable reputational damage; this cannot be the case, network attorneys argued, given his own courtroom admission.

    In November, Combs’ publicist, Juda Engelmayer, said in a statement that NBC’s argument “takes a single remark out of its legal context” and that it has “no relevance to whether the documentary met basic standards of accuracy and responsibility.”

    But this week, Judge Perry-Bond agreed with the network’s assessment and granted dismissal of the defamation case, saying that Combs’ suit failed to “establish a substantial basis regarding reputational harm.” The judge also noted in her ruling that the “carefully curated and nuanced [documentary] discloses interviewees’ biases and includes counterstatements to the allegedly defamatory statements.”

    The defamation lawsuit highlighted two elements of Making of a Bad Boy that Combs stated were “deeply distressing, offensive, reckless, and malicious”: the inclusion of allusions to conspiracy theories that he was involved in the death of his ex-partner, Kim Porter, with whom he had three children, and the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., his early-career discovery whose death at 24 became a flashpoint that catapulted him to fame.

    Porter died suddenly in 2018 after days of flu-like symptoms; the coroner eventually ruled her cause of death was lobar pneumonia. Combs also adopted Quincy Brown, Porter’s son with New Jack Swing artist Al B. Sure!, who appears in the Peacock documentary in an interview, and at one point refers to Porter’s death as a “murder,” then pauses to ask, “Am I supposed to say ‘allegedly’?” Al B. Sure! has implied that he has information pointing to Combs as responsible for Porter’s death. That claim, along with a book purported to be written by Porter that briefly appeared on Amazon, fueled the conspiracy theory, which picked up steam after Combs’ indictment.

    Rumors of Combs’ involvement in the Notorious B.I.G.’s 1997 murder have clouded his reputation for decades. Most pop music fans first encountered Combs as Puff Daddy — a moniker he carried through the late ’90s and early 2000s — most notably through “I’ll Be Missing You,” his tribute duet with Faith Evans, the late rapper’s widow, which was quickly released after his murder. Combs’ complaint also says NBC’s documentary includes an interview with Combs’ former bodyguard Gene Deal, who suggested the mogul “could have” had something to do with the murder.

    “In making and broadcasting these falsehoods, among others,” the filing read, “defendants seek only to capitalize on the public’s appetite for scandal without any regard for the truth and at the expense of Mr. Combs’s right to a fair trial.”

    Engelmayer, Combs’ PR representative, told THR that the rap mogul’s team is offering no comment on the decision “at this time.”

    Combs’ legal team is currently working on the appeal of the two counts for which the jury found him guilty last summer. The federal trial resulted in him being found in violation of the Mann Act, which forbids transportation for prostitution.

  • Cannes Adds ‘Victorian Psycho,’ Judith Godrèche Drama to Official Line-Up

    Cannes Adds ‘Victorian Psycho,’ Judith Godrèche Drama to Official Line-Up

    Cannes has topped up its Official Selection for the 2026 festival with a fresh round of titles for its 79th edition, adding James Gray’s Paper Tiger to the Competition line-up and Judith Godrèche’s A Girl’s Story to the Un Certain Regard sidebar.

    Paper Tiger, a New York-set crime drama starring Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson, marks Gray’s sixth film in competition in Cannes. Neon has snatched up North American rights to the film. A Girl’s Story is actress Godrèche’s feature debut as a director, following her short film Moi Aussi, which opened Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2023. Godrèche has become a key figure in France’s #MeToo movement since coming forward in 2024 with sexual abuse accusations against directors Benoît Jacquot and Jacques Doillon.

    Further Un Certain Regard additions include Victorian Psycho, Zachary Wigon’s gothic horror-thriller starring Maika Monroe, Jason Isaacs, Thomasin McKenzie and Ruth Wilson; Greek director Konstantina Kotzamani’s Titanic Ocean, a Japanese-set coming-of-age tale set in a boarding school that trans professional mermaids.

    Victorian Psycho was produced by Anton and Traffic in association with Anonymous Content. Bleecker Street has U.S. rights. Titanic Ocean is from Athens-based Homemade Films in co-production with Wunderlust, Defilm, Manny Films, Frida Films and Happinet Phantom Studios.

    Ulysse, a family drama from director Laetitia Masson, which will close the section.

    Other festival additions include Olivier Clert’s family film Lucy Lost, adapted from the 2014 novel Listen to the Moon from War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo; and Diego Luna’s Spanish-language drama Ashes, adapted from Brenda Navarro’s award-winning novel Eating Ashes, starring Anna Díaz, Adriana Paz, Laura Gómez, and Charlie Rowe.

    Below are the new additions to the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, which runs May 12-23.

    COMPETITION

    Paper Tiger, dir. James Gray

    UN CERTAIN REGARD

    Victorian Psycho, dir. Zachary Wigon

    A Girl’s Story, dir. Judith Godrèche

    Titanic Ocean, dir. Konstantina Kotzamani

    Ulysse, dir. Laetitia Masson (Closing Film)

    CANNES PREMIERE

    The End Of It, dir. Maria Martinez Bayona

    Mary Magdalene, dir. Gessica GĂŠnĂŠus

    Aqui, dir. Tiago Guedes

    Mariage au Goût d’Orange, dir. Christophe Honoré

    Si Tu Penses Bien, dir. GĂŠraldine Nakache

    SPECIAL SCREENINGS

    Spring, dir. Rostislav Kirpičenko

    Ashes, dir. Diego Luna

    Tangles, dir. Leah Nelson

    Le Triangle d’Or, dir. Hélène Rosselet-Ruiz

    Groundswell, dir. Joshua et Rebecca Tickell

    FAMILY SCREENING

    Lucy Lost, dir. Olivier Clert

  • GSR Launches Actively Managed Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Basket ETF on Nasdaq

    GSR Launches Actively Managed Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Basket ETF on Nasdaq

    In brief

    • GSR rolled out a new actively managed multi-asset ETF that trades on the Nasdaq exchange as BESO.
    • The fund will rebalance weekly positions of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, with staking rewards for investors.
    • BESO is designed to suit both institutional and retail investors looking for crypto exposure.

    Crypto market maker GSR launched its first exchange-traded fund (ETF)—the GSR Crypto Core3 ETF—on Wednesday, and it’s now live for trading on the Nasdaq. 

    The fund, which trades under the ticker BESO, will offer investors actively managed exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, as well as staking rewards from its ETH and SOL holdings. The fund will operate with a 1% management fee. 

    “GSR has spent over a decade building efficient crypto markets, and with Core3, we are extending that expertise into a product accessible to a broader range of investors,” said GSR CEO Xin Song, in a statement. “Our ETF strategy reflects our deep understanding of how this asset class is evolving.”

    The firm said the product has been built using its substantial experience in the crypto ecosystem “across trading, liquidity, and risk expertise,” allowing it to create an ETF that is suitable for both retail and institutional investors. GSR will rebalance its portfolio weekly based on “research-driven signals,” as it seeks the best rate of return. 

    “Core3 answers the three questions every crypto investor faces: what to own, how to earn yield while you hold, and how to be positioned as markets evolve,” said GSR’s Managing Director of Asset Management Andy Baehr, in a statement. 

    “As crypto becomes an increasingly important component of modern portfolios, Core3 provides exposure to the asset class’s primary drivers—Bitcoin’s macro influence and the continued growth and adoption of blockchain technology.”

    The firm’s launch is likely the beginning of a trend, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.

    “I expect basket ETFs (active or passive) to be one of the fastest-growing categories in crypto ETFs over the next couple years,” he posted on X. “This one will attempt to outperform an equal weighted ‘index’ of BTC, ETH & SOL.” 

    The trio have each jumped more than 3% in the last 24 hours as the broader crypto market gains. Bitcoin was recently trading at $79,130—up nearly 11% in the last month. Meanwhile, Ethereum and Solana are changing hands around $2,400 and $88.31, up 10% and down 3.1% over the same timeframe, respectively. 

    Daily Debrief Newsletter

    Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

  • ‘Axie Infinity’ Gaming Network Ronin Sets Date for Ethereum Layer-2 Migration

    ‘Axie Infinity’ Gaming Network Ronin Sets Date for Ethereum Layer-2 Migration

    In brief

    • The Ronin blockchain will migrate to Ethereum layer-2 on May 12 after four years as a sidechain.
    • RON token inflation will drop dramatically from over 20% to less than 1%.
    • Ronin’s token is down nearly 98% from peak, reflecting flagging momentum across the crypto gaming industry.

    Ronin, the gaming-focused blockchain that powers games like Axie Infinity and Pixels, will migrate to become a true Ethereum layer-2 scaling network on May 12, marking a fundamental shift after four years operating as an Ethereum sidechain.

    The migration will trigger at block 55,577,490, transitioning Ronin to the OP Stack, Ethereum layer-2 infrastructure that powers millions of transactions daily across other scaling networks. Users should prepare for approximately 10 hours of mainnet downtime between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET during the transition, Ronin developers said, with games potentially unavailable during that span.

    The economic restructuring is sweeping. RON token inflation will plummet from over 20% to less than 1%, while marketplace fees flowing to the Treasury jump 2.5x from 0.5% to 1.25%. Additionally, 90 million RON tokens previously allocated for staking will be redirected to the Ronin treasury.

    A new “proof of distribution” system launching with the migration will automate RON rewards for developers, replacing manual allocation processes as the network reestablishes itself within Ethereum’s ecosystem.

    The timing reflects mounting pressure on standalone gaming chains to leverage established infrastructure rather than maintain costly independent networks. Ronin processed billions of dollars worth of NFT trading volume during Axie Infinity’s 2021-2022 peak, but sustaining that infrastructure has proven challenging as the crypto gaming market declined.

    Ronin launched in 2021 specifically to handle Axie Infinity’s transaction demands when Ethereum’s mainnet fees made gaming economically unfeasible. The sidechain solution enabled the play-to-earn phenomenon that attracted millions of daily users and generated unprecedented trading volumes for blockchain gaming.

    Now, Ronin developer Sky Mavis says that advances in layer-2 technology offer the same benefits—low costs and high throughput—while inheriting Ethereum’s security guarantees.

    While the RON token is up about 11% over the last week to a recent price of $0.097, it’s had a brutal fall over the last couple of years as crypto gaming momentum largely disappeared. RON has fallen by nearly 81% in the last year, per data from CoinGecko, and is now down about 98% from a peak price of $4.45 set in March 2024.

    The tokens of top games on Ronin have also cratered, with Axie Infinity’s AXS token down over 99% from its November 2021 peak, and Pixels’ PIXEL token down just as much from its own March 2024 high. But that’s not an issue isolated to Ronin or its games, with other major gaming tokens like Immutable (IMX) and Gala Games (GALA) also down at least 98% from their respective peaks.

    Numerous prominent crypto games shut down over the course of 2025, often with developers citing a lack of funding and player interest to continue operations. That trend has continued into 2026 with the recent closure of games like Forgotten Runiverse on Ronin and Xociety on Sui.

    Industry experts told Decrypt in late 2025 that the wave of crypto game closures centered on the disappearance of venture capital funding amid flagging blockchain gaming momentum, driving many projects to either pivot their focus or shut down their games entirely. That downward swing has only persisted into this year, so far.

    Daily Debrief Newsletter

    Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

  • Kraftwerk Loses Two-Decade-Long Copyright Dispute After Court Rules Unauthorized Sample Was a ‘Pastiche’

    Kraftwerk Loses Two-Decade-Long Copyright Dispute After Court Rules Unauthorized Sample Was a ‘Pastiche’

    A circuitous and protracted copyright infringement case first brought by German electronic-music pioneers Kraftwerk in 2004 has finally been settled — and not in the pioneering electronic group’s favor.

    The European Court of Justice, the principal judicial authority of the E.U., decided on April 14 that an unapproved, two-second sample of Kraftwerk’s 1977 song “Metall auf Metall” used by producer Moses Pelham in the 1997 single “Nur mir” was legal.

    The ECJ found that the producers’ use of Kraftwerk’s percussion was within the provisions of “pastiche,” which, due to a 2022 ruling, allows for the unauthorized use of creative work if that use is noticeably different from the original and is in artistic dialogue with the original. (The U.S. has similar, but roomier, laws around “fair use” that allow for, among other things, creators to use copyrighted works without permission if they’re engaging with it critically or comedically.)

    “The European Court of Justice has helped to clarify the urgently needed definition of the concept of pastiche, thereby seeking to strike a balance between artistic freedom and the protection of intellectual property,” says René Houareau, Managing Director Legal & Political Affairs for Germany’s music industry association BVMI, in a statement to Variety. “This is also significant because the exception introduced in Germany in 2021 has so far been associated with considerable legal uncertainty.”

    The path to the decision has been a long and complex one, with 22 years spent circumnavigating the European justice system across appeals and remandments that ping-ponged between two regional German courts, the German Federal Court of Justice, the German Federal Constitutional Court and, now, the ECJ.

    The pastiche provision “does not have a catch-all nature,” the Court wrote in its decision, “but covers creations which evoke one or more existing works, while being noticeably different from them, and which use, including by means of sampling, some of those works’ characteristic elements protected by copyright, in order to engage with those works in an artistic or creative dialogue that is recognisable as such and that can take different forms, in particular the form of an overt stylistic imitation of those works, of a tribute to them or of humorous or critical engagement with them.”

    In other words, the ECJ has carved out a comfortable, but not infinite, legal space for sampling and other creative interpolations in such contexts.

    “The fact remains that sampling is only possible within narrow limits,” Kraftwerk representative Hermann Lindhorst told Süddeutsche Zeitung.

    The case will now head to the German Federal Court of Justice for final reassessment under the new ECJ guidelines.