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  • Revolut targets a $200 billion IPO just months after its $75 billion share sale

    Revolut targets a $200 billion IPO just months after its $75 billion share sale

    British crypto-friendly fintech firm Revolut notified investors that it was targeting a valuation of up ​to $200 billion in its stock market listing, the ‌Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

    Europe’s largest fintech firm recently said ⁠it would not seek a listing before 2028 ​and that it had not laid out any formal ​valuation targets, following a share sale in November last year which valued the company at $75 billion.

    Revolut had ​discussed a potential valuation of $150 billion to $200 billion in ‌ ⁠a future initial public offering (IPO) with investors, according to the FT’s report, citing sources familiar with the matter.

    Media reports have also said that Revolut, which received a full U.K. banking license in March, is preparing for a secondary share sale in ​the second half ​of 2026, ⁠with expectations of a $100 billion valuation post sale.

    Co-founder Nik Storonsky said in December that his ​stake ⁠would be worth about $80 billion in the company if it reached a $200 billion valuation.

    In 2025, Revolut’s pre-tax profit ⁠surged ​57% to 1.7 billion pounds ($2.3 ​billion), a smaller gain than the previous year’s nearly 150% increase.

    In March, Revolut also applied for a banking licence with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which, if approved, would allow the London-based fintech to operate more like a traditional bank in the world’s largest economy.

    While Revolut is targeting a record-breaking IPO, a source close to fintech said no formal valuation has yet been decided, according to FT.

    Revolut did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for confirmation.

  • Large lizard found napping between pallets of bar fridges

    Large lizard found napping between pallets of bar fridges

    Odd News // 3 weeks ago

    Maryland woman wins $50,000 lottery prize on her birthday

    March 25 (UPI) — A Maryland woman celebrated her birthday by purchasing a Fast Play High Roller Jackpot lottery ticket that earned her a $50,000 prize.

  • Alex Cooper’s Workplace Is (Reportedly) Unwell

    Alex Cooper’s Workplace Is (Reportedly) Unwell

    Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper is facing another bad headline. 

    According to a new report in Bloomberg, there’s been employee turnover and uneasiness amongst the staff at Trending, a company which encompasses Cooper’s Unwell Network of podcasts as well as ACE Entertainment, the production company started by Cooper’s husband Matt Kaplan. 

    Per the report, staff have threatened to quit or walk off the job due to Kaplan allegedly yelling and berating crew and staff members. In one example, at Cooper’s Unwell Winter Games, a YouTube program in which influencers faced off against each other in physical activities and drinking games, Bloomberg wrote that Kaplan “berated the staff,” resulting in a number of formal complaints. 

    Cooper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The report comes on the heels of an alleged feud between Cooper and Alix Earle, host of Hot Mess, one of the first podcasts to join the Unwell Network in 2023. Earle’s podcast left the network in February 2025, raising speculation about a feud between the two creators.

    The parting of ways was initially not addressed, but in an interview with the Wall Street Journal around that time, Earle said the departure was “behind the scenes, a little bit of a hot mess.”

    More recently, Earle reposted a video criticizing Cooper’s business sense and interviewing of subjects in times of vulnerability. 

    In an April 13 TikTok, Cooper responded saying she was “tired of waking up” and seeing Earle spreading “fake drama.” 

    “Hey girl, the passive aggressive reposts and the likes and the commenting on things — I’ve got to call you out here,” Cooper said in the video. “You’re going to need to get specific and just say what you’ve got to say about me. There’s no NDA. No one is stopping you. Stop hiding behind other people and just say it yourself.”

    Earle then responded on social media, “Okay on it!!”

    Cooper’s podcast, Call Her Daddy, was the fourth most popular podcast in the world in 2025, according to Spotify’s year-end list. She struck a $125 million multiyear deal in 2024 to bring her podcast and the network to SiriusXM from Spotify. 

  • Fashion, Lifestyle Creator Nara Smith Signs with Range (Exclusive)

    Fashion, Lifestyle Creator Nara Smith Signs with Range (Exclusive)

    Nara Smith — the model and creator who has gained a massive following for her content that combines fashion, cooking and an elevated lifestyle — has signed with Range Media Partners in all areas.

    Smith began her career as a model but gained over 17 million followers across TikTok and Instagram after she started making elaborate meals in an even more elaborate wardrobe. Her stylized content, which includes videos of her making everything from roast chickens to Play-Doh while adorned in designer couture pieces, is now covered breathlessly in publications and by the Internet, at large. Smith has been profiled by GQ, The New York Times and WWD.

    “Nara is a dream client, a true multi-hyphenate with a distinct point-of-view and strong business acumen. She has an incredible ability to bridge fashion, homemaking and aspirational storytelling in a way that feels both modern and entirely her own,” said Eman Redwan, managing partner at Range and co-head of Range Digital, of the signing.

    In fashion, she has worked with brands that include Miu Miu, Schiaparelli and Calvin Klein, in addition to Reformation, where she partnered for a clothing line collaboration last year. In food, Smith launched a limited-edition roasted garlic oil created in collaboration with Algae Cooking Club.

    It was announced this week that Smith is readying for the release of her first cookbook, Homemade, due out via Harper Collins on Oct. 13. The cookbook features 85 from-scratch recipes, drawing subtle influence from her multicultural upbringing. (Smith was raised in Frankfurt by a South African mother and German father, and now lives in the United States.)

    Redwan added, “Through the intersection of her luxury aesthetics and everyday storytelling, I believe Nara is shaping a new blueprint for the modern lifestyle creator.”

  • Microsoft Will Delay ‘Call of Duty’ New Releases on Xbox Game Pass, Drops Subscription Prices

    Microsoft Will Delay ‘Call of Duty’ New Releases on Xbox Game Pass, Drops Subscription Prices

    Microsoft is dropping the price of its Xbox Game Pass subscription plans — and it’s also going to hold back new “Call of Duty” titles from the services for about a year.

    Beginning this year, future releases of mega-popular first-person shooter “Call of Duty” releases, from Microsoft’s Activision division, won’t be available in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. According to Microsoft, new “CoD” games will be added to the subscription tiers during the following holiday season — about a year later. The company said existing “Call of Duty” titles in the library will continue to be available.

    Starting Tuesday (April 21), the price of Game Pass Ultimate drops from $29.99 to $22.99 per month. PC Game Pass will drop from $16.49 to $13.99 per month.

    “Game Pass Ultimate has become too expensive for too many players,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma said in a post on X. “We’ll keep learning and evolving Game Pass to better match what matters to players.”

    Microsoft said Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will continue to have access to “hundreds of games” on Xbox consoles and PCs including current “Call of Duty” titles, as well as in-game benefits, online console multiplayer and major day one releases.

    “Our players cover a wide breadth of geographies, preferences, and tastes, so while there isn’t a single model that’s best for everyone, this change responds to a lot of feedback we’ve gotten so far,” the company said in announcing the change.

    Separately, Paramount Pictures is developing a big-screen adaptation of “Call of Duty,” which is slated to premiere June 30, 2028. Pete Berg will direct from a script by Taylor Sheridan.

    Pictured top: “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7,” released in November 2025

  • LG’s super-thin Wallpaper OLED TV starts at $5,500

    The single most impressive piece of technology I saw at CES this year was LG’s revamped Wallpaper TV, AKA the OLED evo w6. It’s about as thin as a typical pencil, it’s completely wireless and it packs in all of LG’s latest OLED technology, giving it incredibly rich colors and anti-reflective capabilities. We ended up giving the Wallpaper set our best TV of CES 2026 award, simply because it looked so damn good. Now, we finally know how much it costs: LG announced the 77-inch evo w6 will go for $5,500, while the 83-inch model will sell for $7,500.

    Both sets are a $1,000 premium over the OLED evo G6 models, which are LG’s highest-end TVs without the company’s super-thin Wallpaper tech. While the thicker sets are obviously a better deal, there’s still something inherently impressive about the Wallpaper models. For many people, the simple “wow factor” of the evo W6’s design will be worth the extra $1,000.

    If that all sounds too rich for your blood, LG’s mainstream OLED sets are far cheaper, starting at $1,399 for the 43-inch C6 set. And if you don’t need the latest OLED panels around, it’s worth keeping an eye out for deals around older models. I’ve seen 65-inch C5 sets for near $1,000, and 77-inch TVs for around $1,500. Those older sets will be a bit less bright, and probably show more reflections, but in a dim room they’ll still have all the benefits of OLED: Incredibly high contrast, and ridiculously dark black levels.

  • Xbox cuts Game Pass prices but new Call of Duty games will no longer hit the service on day one

    Xbox is cutting the prices of both Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, effective immediately, but there’s one big caveat. First, the good news: Game Pass Ultimate now costs $23 per month, down from $30. PC Game Pass will now run you $14 a month instead of $16.50. The Xbox team noted in a blog post that prices may vary by region.

    That’s a smart, much-needed decision. In a memo that leaked last week, new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma expressed concern over the high price of Game Pass, stating that it “has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around.” Sharma reiterated that publicly in a post on X.

    In October, Microsoft increased Game Pass Ultimate to $30 per month, which was a 50 percent price hike. It was the second time in 15 months that the company had jacked up the monthly fee, making it an unjustifiable expense for many. The price of a PC Game Pass subscription also rose by $4.50 per month, and now Microsoft is bringing that back down a bit too.

    “Our players cover a wide breadth of geographies, preferences, and tastes, so while there isn’t a single model that’s best for everyone, this change responds to a lot of feedback we’ve gotten so far,” the Xbox team wrote. “ We’ll continue to listen and learn.”

    There is one giant tradeoff here: new Call of Duty games will no longer be available on Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass on day one. They’ll eventually hit those tiers about a year later, during the following holiday season. That means Call of Duty titles will be the only first-party Xbox games that don’t hit Game Pass on their release date.

    This, of course, is an attempt to generate more revenue from one of the biggest gaming franchises in the world. Call of Duty is a major reason why Microsoft shelled out $68.7 billion to buy Activision Blizzard a few years back. While Call of Duty fans on PlayStation still had to pay full price for the last few annual releases to play them as soon as possible, Xbox and PC players have been able to hop in to them via Game Pass. (There’s still no sign of Call of Duty on Switch or Switch 2 as yet!)

    There had been rumors that Microsoft would carve out Call of Duty from the current versions of Game Pass and give those tiers a price cut. Chatter suggests that the company may introduce yet another, higher-level Game Pass tier (or an add-on) that will include day-one Call of Duty games, but there’s no official word of that as yet.

  • Poland stalls on crypto law, forcing local companies to move abroad

    Poland stalls on crypto law, forcing local companies to move abroad

  • Trump’s FED Chairman Nominee Kevin Warsh Testifies Before the Senate: Will He Sell His Crypto Assets?

    Trump’s FED Chairman Nominee Kevin Warsh Testifies Before the Senate: Will He Sell His Crypto Assets?

    As is known, the term of current FED chairman Jerome Powell expires in May.

    US President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to replace Powell as FED chairman.

    Kevin Warsh, who is expected to become the next FED chairman, appeared before the Senate Banking Committee today.

    In his testimony, Warsh stated that the current economic environment still reflects the effects of past monetary policies. He also identified the cost of living as the most pressing issue.

    He added that if confirmed as FED chairman, he would strive for a comprehensive policy overhaul.

    Warsh stressed that the central bank needs fundamental policy reform, saying that mistakes made in decisions regarding rising inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitate some changes.

    He described this change as a situation requiring a shift in policy implementation and an entirely new inflation framework, and called for fundamental policy reform.

    Warsh specifically called for new policy tools and communication methods, such as forward guidance, economic projections, and dot plots.

    Warsh also said he would make monetary policy decisions independently of any advice or pressure from Donald Trump.

    Warsh stated that monetary policy independence is essential, arguing that an independent Fed should remain within its own mandate.

    “Monetary policy independence is essential, and policymakers must act in the best interests of the country. I am committed to ensuring that monetary policy remains independent.”

    Federal Reserve chairman nominee Kevin Warsh has recently agreed to sell a large portion of his financial assets.

    According to data released in previous days, Warsh’s investments are made through an employment-linked investment vehicle and cover a wide range of technologies. This portfolio includes significant crypto projects such as Compound, which operates in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, Optimism and Blast, which are among the Ethereum Layer-2 solutions, and the Solana ecosystem. In addition, there are investments in various crypto trading platforms and investment firms, as well as in different sectors such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology.

    Related News Potential New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Cryptocurrency Holdings Revealed

    *This is not investment advice.

  • The New Xbox CEO Just Dropped Game Pass Prices

    The New Xbox CEO Just Dropped Game Pass Prices

    The new Xbox CEO is listening — on this one, at least.

    Asha Sharma has dropped the price for Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 a month. PC Game Pass will drop from $16.49 to $13.99 a month.

    It comes with a catch: Starting this year, future Call of Duty titles won’t join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass at launch. Instead, they will be added to both plans during the following holiday season, or generally speaking, one year later. Existing Call of Duty titles already in the library will continue to be available, Xbox said on Tuesday.

    The annual Call of Duty launches have been major drivers of Game Pass signups and retention.

    “Our players cover a wide breadth of geographies, preferences, and tastes, so while there isn’t a single model that’s best for everyone, this change responds to a lot of feedback we’ve gotten so far,” the price update announcement — via a blog post — reads. “We’ll continue to listen and learn. Thank you for being a part of the Xbox community.”

    You’re welcome, Asha.

    Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives subscribers access to hundreds of games on console and PC, including major day one releases (like Call of Duty used to be). A membership also allows for online console multiplayer, and there are (some) in-game benefits.

    Xbox raised the Game Pass prices in October, ahead of the launch of its handheld devices. The handheld consoles (PCs, really) came at a higher price point than expected. Xbox Series X/S console prices climbed before that. The Xbox ROG Ally (white, basic) and the Xbox ROG Ally X (black, better) were released on Oct. 16, 2025.

    The Xbox Series X (black, better) starts at $649.99 and goes up to $799.99. The Series S (white, basic) starts at $399.99 and goes up to $449.99.

    More to come.