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It’s your last chance to snag the Xbox Series S and X at its current price before they rise tomorrow
Gaming Gear

It’s your last chance to snag the Xbox Series S and X at its current price before they rise tomorrow

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Sadly, the prices of the Xbox Series X and Series S are set to rise in the U.S. starting tomorrow, October 3rd, 2025. That makes today your last chance to snag an Xbox Series S — either the 512GB model for $379.99 (which is even cheaper on sale for $329.99 at Amazon) or the 1TB model for $429.99 (Amazon, Best Buy) before the list price of both increases by $20. You can also grab the Xbox Series X Digital Edition for $549.99 (Amazon, Best Buy) or the standard 1TB model for $599.99 (Amazon, Best Buy) before they each jump by $50. The Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition is also still available for $799.99 (GameStop), before its price increases by $70.

If you need help figuring out which console to buy, here’s the quick breakdown: the Series X is the more powerful option, capable of native 4K support, faster performance, and starts with 1TB of built-in storage, which is double what you’ll get with the smaller, less expensive Series S. The Series S, meanwhile, is designed for 1440p gaming and offers less built-in storage at 512GB. Notably, like the Xbox Series X Digital Edition, it also lacks an optical drive, so you can only play digital games.

Other than that, though, both consoles play all the same games and work with Xbox Game Pass, so whichever one you choose, you’ll still get access to the dozens of new titles recently added, ranging from Hogwarts Legacy and multiple Assassin’s Creed games to Hades, Cities: Skylines – Remastered, Stardew Valley, and more.



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Close-up of stacked gold bars. (Jingming Pan/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)
Crypto Trends

Current Week Is the Third Worst Week Historically for BTC

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The 38th week of the year is historically the third-worst performing week for bitcoin, averaging a return of -2.25%. Only week 28 (-2.78%) and week 14 (-3.91%) have been weaker historically, according to Coinglass data.

This week, bitcoin is already down nearly 2%, trading around $113,000, with September’s monthly options expiry pointing to a max pain level at $110,000, according to Deribit, this could imply further downside.

Max pain refers to the strike price at which the largest number of options contracts (calls and puts) expire worthless, effectively maximizing losses for option buyers.

In addition, market enthusiasm has faded. Perpetual funding rates for bitcoin, which measure the ongoing cost of holding leveraged long or short positions in perpetual futures contracts, have dropped to 4%, one of their lowest levels in a month.

A low positive funding rate suggests reduced demand for leveraged long exposure, often signaling that speculative froth in the market has cooled.

While, implied volatility (IV), which reflects market expectations for future price swings, is also near historic lows at 37.

Despite the weekly dip, bitcoin remains 4% higher in September and up 6% for the quarter. With roughly 14 weeks left in the year and most of those weeks historically producing positive returns, this may represent calm before potential volatility.

Meanwhile, gold has continued its impressive rally, climbing another 1% on Tuesday and now more than 42% higher year to date, which continues to take the sting out of bitcoin.

Another factor weighing on bitcoin sentiment is the massive gains in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing stocks, for example IREN (IREN), which may have taken some shine away from bitcoin in the short term.



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CDC Panel Votes to Nix Current Covid Vaccine Recommendations
Gaming Gear

CDC Panel Votes to Nix Current Covid Vaccine Recommendations

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On Friday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to drop its recommendation that U.S. adults should generally receive the covid-19 vaccine, instead endorsing an individualized approach.

In a unanimous decision, the ACIP members agreed that adults 65 and older should decide on their own or with their doctor whether to get vaccinated for covid-19. The ACIP also recommended that people between the ages of 6 months and 64 years make an individual decision about covid-19 vaccination (yes, you read that correctly), while being informed that the benefits of vaccination are most apparent in those at higher risk of severe illness.

A screencap of ACIP blurbage articulating the new recommendations. © ACIP

The ACIP narrowly avoided recommending that Americans should require a prescription to get the covid-19 shot, however, though only barely.

A chaotic ACIP meeting

The votes capped off a chaotic and disorganized discussion held Friday over the safety and effectiveness of the covid-19 mRNA vaccines.

Retsef Levi, a longtime skeptic of the covid-19 vaccines and a professor of operations management at MIT Sloan School of Management, led the ACIP discussion, as well as the working group on covid-19 vaccines. Levi is one of several ACIP members handpicked by Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. who has a long history of misrepresenting vaccine research.

CDC staff presented reams of evidence that covid-19 vaccines, even today, still reliably prevent serious outcomes like hospitalization and death, including in very young children. Many outside experts also testified in support of maintaining widespread access to these vaccines for every American who wants them. But ACIP members often questioned the findings or made their own poorly evidenced attempts to attack the safety of the vaccines.

At one point, for instance, ACIP members argued in support of a paper claiming to show extensive DNA contamination of the vaccines—a study that outside experts have criticized for glaring flaws and that is now being reviewed over potential concerns by its publisher. At another point, members argued that the covid-19 vaccines could possibly raise the risk of cancer, a claim widely refuted by most experts (mRNA vaccine technology is actively being studied as a way to prevent and treat certain cancers).

What this vote means for covid vaccine access

The language of the ACIP votes today was not disclosed until the very last minute, and it’s not entirely clear how they will impact vaccine access.

Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration limited its explicit approval of the updated covid-19 boosters to people over 65 or those with a higher risk of severe illness. The ACIP’s recommendation to move to an individualized approach, assuming it’s adopted by the CDC, may further delay or prevent people from obtaining a covid-19 booster if they so choose.

That said, several states like New York have already taken steps to ensure continued vaccine access and public coverage of the vaccine to all their residents. This week, the country’s largest health insurance association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, also announced that its members will rely on the previous ACIP recommendations to determine their coverage of the covid-19 vaccine for the time being. It additionally stated that patients covered by these plans would not experience cost-sharing through the end of 2026.

In a 6 to 6 vote, the ACIP declined to endorse a recommendation calling for people to require a prescription for the covid-19 vaccines—ACIP chairman Martin Kulldorff issued the tiebreaker, voting “no.”



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Roblox partners with International Age Rating Coalition to replace current maturity labels
Esports

Roblox partners with International Age Rating Coalition to replace current maturity labels

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Roblox has partnered with the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) to replace its current maturity labels.

Experiences will now be labelled with global rating systems, such as ESRB in the United States, GRAC in the Republic of Korea, USK in Germany, and PEGI in Europe and the United Kingdom.

“With so many families engaging with Roblox, it is hugely beneficial to provide parents with trusted and familiar ratings no matter where they live,” said IARC chairperson and ESRB president Patricia Vance.

“The globally streamlined process will provide Roblox creators with an efficient and proven process for obtaining age and content ratings, while informing parents of what their kids may experience before they play.”

Roblox will also expand its age estimation for communication to all users by the end of 2025. This comes after the platform announced it was investing in facial age estimation technology in July.

“Using a combination of facial age estimation technology, ID age verification, and verified parental consent, this process will provide a more accurate measure of a user’s age than simply relying on what someone types in when they create an account,” said Roblox chief safety officer Matt Kaufman.

“With this expansion, we’ll also launch new systems designed to limit communication between adults and minors.”

In April, the platform introduced a “Sensitive Issues” content tag on experiences “primarily themed on a sensitive social, political, or religious issue”.

Any experiences with this tag will be inaccessible to players under 13, with an option for parents to choose whether they can have access.

Last year, Roblox implemented a number of changes to its safety systems and parental controls.

This included providing parents the ability to remotely view and manage their child’s account, addition of content labels to experiences, increased moderation, and restricted access to social hangouts and free-form user creation.



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Bitcoin Going to $1 Million, but Current Holders Still Early
Crypto Trends

Bitcoin Going to $1 Million, but Current Holders Still Early

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Eric Trump, the son of US president Donald Trump and the co-founder of Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm American Bitcoin (ABTC), said on Friday that there is “no question” that BTC hits $1 million in the next several years.

Trump previously predicted that BTC would reach $1 million per coin in December 2024. Speaking to the audience at the Bitcoin 2025 Asia conference in Hong Kong, Trump said:

“You’ve got nation states that are buying the hell out of Bitcoin. You’ve got Fortune 500 companies that are buying the hell out of Bitcoin. You’ve got the biggest families, you’ve got the biggest companies on Earth that believe in this digital store of value. Everybody wants Bitcoin. Everybody is buying Bitcoin.

That’s an incredible thing, and that’s why I’ve always said that I really believe in the next several years, Bitcoin will hit $1 million. There’s no question that Bitcoin hits $1 million,” Trump continued.

Eric Trump speaking at the Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference. Sources: South China Morning Post, Bitcoin Magazine

Trump said that despite the increased demand from financial institutions and wealthy individuals, current Bitcoin adopters are still “early” because the vast majority of market participants have not yet caught on to digital money and the future of finance.

Related: Trump family went pro-crypto after Biden ‘weaponized’ banks: WSJ

Gryphon approves merger with American Bitcoin amid slight BTC drawdown

Shareholders of Gryphon Digital Mining, a publicly listed US-based Bitcoin miner, approved a reverse merger with ABTC in August, and will trade under the ABTC ticker once the deal is completed and the stock is relisted on the Nasdaq exchange in September.

Gryphon’s stock soared by about 231% since May 2025, when the initial deal was announced, and rose by over 42% on Thursday in anticipation of the merger.

The deal came amid a minor correction of nearly 13% from Bitcoin’s all-time high price of about $124,500 on August 14.

Bitcoin’s price has now dipped below the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA), a dynamic support level, which could indicate further pressure to the downside in the short term, even as analysts and industry executives are calling for higher long-term prices.

Magazine: Bitcoin is ‘funny internet money’ during a crisis: Tezos co-founder



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An image of the Abyss map in VALORANT. This map is an ancient temple located deep underground.
Esports

All maps in current pool

by admin


VALORANT currently has 12 maps in total, but only seven remain in rotation at a time for the competitive (ranked and premier) and deathmatch modes. If you’re looking for a list of active maps in the current VALORANT map rotation, you’ve come to the right place.

VALORANT’s map rotation is changed frequently to help keep the experience fresh for veteran players as well as allow newbies to settle in. As part of this initiative, freshly crafted maps are added to the pool every few Acts, while Riot keeps rotating existing maps in and out of the rotation. Maps that return to the rotation after are sometimes reworked based on community feedback and the meta, but they may come back without any changes.

As of Season V25, Act Five, here’s the current VALORANT map rotation and pool, plus an outline of future or upcoming plans for the pool.

What are the current maps in the VALORANT map pool rotation?

The VALORANT  ranked map pool as of Season V25, Act Five, includes the following maps:

  • Sunset
  • Ascent
  • Haven
  • Corrode
  • Bind
  • Abyss
  • Lotus

The most recent changes to the competitive map rotation went live with Patch 11.04 (the beginning of Act five in Season V25), bringing back Abyss to the rotation and removing Icebox.

Sunset

Beautiful and serene. Image via Riot Games

Inspired by sunny Los Angeles, Sunset is relatively straightforward with no distinct gimmicks, outside of a single Ascent-like door connecting mid to B that can be opened, closed, or destroyed. Quick decision-making is key if you want to win on this map, especially when it comes to rotations. Make sure you take special care of that prominent mid-section and have a strong sentinel to take care of flanks and guard your space.

Ascent

Jett’s playground. Image via Riot Games.

Ascent’s unique feature is the switch-activated doors that lead into each site. One door leads from B Site to Mid Market. Another from A Site to A Tree. Using these doors to stall time and get information about the retake can make or break rounds. At the same time, you can preemptively destroy these doors to deny that information.

Mid control is crucial on Ascent, as it allows the attacking team to scale either Mid Catwalk to go A or Mid Market to take over B.

Haven

Welcome back. Image via Riot Games

Haven is VALORANT’s first three-site map and one of the community’s most beloved maps. It’s a large, attacker-friendly map where players may find it easier to retake sites instead of holding them down.

With multiple entry points onto sites, including C Garage, Mid, and A Sewer, you have to spread out your teammates and utility to gather information on attackers. Luckily, Haven never received any significant changes, so if you played it before, you’ll feel right back at home.

Corrode

Corrode your enemies. Image via Riot Games

The newest VALORANT map, Corrode is a three-lane, two-site “radianite salt mining facility,” which encourages a balanced mix of fast-paced and measured possibilities. While it doesn’t feature any gimmicks (like teleporters, breakable doors, etc.), gameplay isn’t simple on this map.

Whether you’re an attacker or defender, there are a lot of angles and open spaces to clear before you can even think about taking control of its cramped sites. There’s also a significant mid section that facilitates flankers and snipers and lets aggressive players run it down with a shotgun. With so many possibilities, you’d have to embrace the retake (or flank/rotate, in case of attackers) approach in most situations. Lastly, beware of determined Sova and Cypher mains, as most of the map is wall bangable.

Bind

Use the teleporters for a quick rotation. Image via Riot Games

Bind’s signature element is its two teleporters, allowing for quick rotations around the map. Playing on this map requires a lot of patience, as even if the entire attacking team is out on A, there’s still a risk of late rotation toward B. There’s no mid-section, so your team can make do without a sentinel to control flanks.

Playing closer angles has always been a viable strategy on Bind, with agents like Raze and even Harbor finding their voices here. If you’re struggling with the Vandal, buying a Judge almost guarantees a kill or two every round. This is also why you must absolutely have at least one initiator on your team to win on Bind. You can also spray through smokes to get some free kills. Besides closed spaces, several longer sightlines can be held with an Operator, like the B Long and A Tower.

Abyss

Don’t look down. Image via Riot Games

Abyss is certainly one of the most ambitious and unique map designs that Riot has put forth. The entire map is littered with pitfalls where you can plunge to your death. So if you’ve got a phobia, just don’t look down. It’s also the only map in the pool with no boundaries.

If you’re open to taking the risk, the scary edges and narrow structures open a plethora of tactical opportunities. For example, you can get a head start on the enemy team using alternative paths if you play capable agents or are simply good at movement. You can also use certain abilities quirkily to push unsuspecting enemies off the cliffs—or save your gun when there’s no way out. The possibilities are endless.

Lotus

Three sites and a dream to catch. Image via Riot Games

Being the only three-site VALORANT map other than Haven, Lotus offers a ton of strategic possibilities to keep players on their toes.

Besides three intricate plant sites, Lotus also features significant neutral spaces promoting chaotic yet fun clashes. You also get to take advantage of unique features, including a rope ascender, a silent drop, a breakable door, and two rotating doors, to tackle your enemies.

Icebox (out of rotation)

Oh, so cold. Image via Riot Games

Icebox’s closely packed and complex design promotes a lot of strategic diversity and sharp gunplay. It’s also one of the only VALORANT maps to feature Spike plant spaces at different heights: Both sites have “nests” where you can plant the Spike and defend it from afar. Whether you’re a defender or an attacker, mid control is crucial to secure a round win on this map. The unpredictability may get to you, but it’s also one of the many reasons to love Icebox.

Icebox was the latest VALORANT map to be removed with Patch 11.04.

Fracture (out of rotation)

A fracture to take care of. Image via Riot Games

While it was never a fan-favorite map, Fracture’s quirks can give rise to several unique strategies, keeping players on their toes. It hasn’t undergone any change since Patch 7.04, which had revamped multiple of its features. With four neutral zones that hold the two plant sites, two attacker spawns, and a defender spawn in between, Fracture makes sure you’re wary of the flanks—or suffer the consequence.

Breeze (out of rotation)

A breezy adventure for sniper mains. Image via Riot Games

If you love keeping your enemies on their toes, Breeze is likely one of your favorite VALORANT maps. From long halls to wide open spaces, its features are all about unleashing your creative and aggressive potential. At the same time, it’s incredibly sniper-friendly, which can be a turn-off for some players.

While it’s currently out of competitive rotation, Riot should add Breeze back to the pool in a future Act—possibly with some adjustments.

Split (out of rotation)

Ah, Split; They don’t know the meaning of the word. Image via Riot Games

Set in Tokyo, Split is a close-quarter map with multiple areas and angles for you to hold. There are barely any long-range sightlines apart from Mid and A Screens, but even those can quickly be covered with smokes to make space for the attacking team.

Split’s quirk is the two ziplines. One connects the B site with B Tower, allowing for a sneaky defense angle. Another is in Mid Vent, connecting Mid and A Ramps. This area often becomes either an ambush from a rotating side or a death pit.

Pearl (out of rotation)

We’re going down. Image via Riot Games

This underwater map isn’t everyone’s favorite and has no unique mechanical features, but it offers a variety of plays through Mid control. Mid on Pearl has multiple paths connecting almost every corner of the map, from bomb sites to team spawns.

While you can hit a site directly, you’ll often be stopped by a simple Sage wall or a smoke, where Mid comes into play. You can also take an opportunity to catch an enemy flank or become the flanker yourself through the Mid Connector.

Why is there a map rotation in VALORANT?

Falling to death is certainly a change of pace. Image via Riot Games

VALORANT maintains its reputation as a live-service FPS title that consistently gets tons of new content since its initial release. Riot hasn’t slacked off in releasing new agents, skins, and maps.

Currently, Riot adds a new map to VALORANT about every six months. The map rotation concept was only introduced in 2022 during the game’s fifth competitive Episode, once there were eight total standard maps. Team Deathmatch maps are not counted towards this total.

In June 2022, during the Pearl map’s release, VALORANT maps design lead Joe Lansford announced Riot’s decision to have a seven-map competitive rotation pool. The decision was made after gathering feedback from esports teams, players, and professional organizations.

Lansford further explained how learning a new map in a tactical shooter can be challenging, a thought that drove the decision to have active and inactive map pools. Mastering a map is even harder, and having a “whole bunch of maps is a steep learning curve.” The team believes “seven is a nice sweet spot that offers both variety and mastery.” New players will have less to learn while diving into VALORANT, and existing players don’t need to learn a new map.

Crucially, the map rotation concept only applies to the Competitive, Premier, and Deathmatch modes. Unrated, Spike Rush, and other alternate modes continue to include all 11 maps, while the Team Deathmatch mode has a separate pool altogether.

Starting with the 2025 season, VALORANT’s competitive map pool sees changes with every Act. As part of this, Riot cycles existing maps with or without changes every Act, while adding new maps every once in a while.

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Pepe’s Dog memecoin lands KuCoin listing after securing official Furieverse IP
GameFi Guides

This memecoin is making moves in the current crypto cycle

by admin



Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

After DOGE’s 53,000% run, Little Pepe at $0.0020 eyes massive gains, sparking 2025 memecoin hype.

Summary

  • Little Pepe presale nears sellout at $20.5m with 24,000% upside projections drawing Dogecoin comparisons.
  • Early LILPEPE investors doubled gains and launch promises 50% upside before exchange debut.
  • Stage 11 of Little Pepe is 94% filled; momentum grows as price climbs toward Stage 12 increase.

Dogecoin’s rise was more than a market move; it was a cultural moment. DOGE went wild, delivering over 53,000% gains as it climbed to $0.74.  

Now, in 2025, a new contender is stepping into that spotlight. Little Pepe (LILPEPE) is building its hype cycle, and with analysts projecting potential gains of up to 24,000% from its current price of $0.0020, it is looking like history could repeat itself, just with a different mascot.

From Dogecoin’s 2021 highs to LILPEPE’s 2025 moment

The soaring success of Dogecoin in 2021 came as no surprise, as the community energy indeed gave ample support to the viral asset. Fast forward to today, the same ingredients, community buzz, social media dominance, and growing investor interest are swirling around LILPEPE.  The difference is that Little Pepe isn’t just running on hype; it is coming into the scene with stronger fundamentals, modern blockchain tech, and a well-structured presale catching fire.

Why Little Pepe is surging right now

The Little Pepe presale is already deep into Stage 11 after selling out Stage 10 ahead of schedule. Tokens are priced at $0.0020, a 10% jump from the previous stage’s $0.0019. 

Early investors who joined in Stage 1 have already doubled their money, seeing gains of 100%. There’s a clear upside even for those jumping in now; holding until the planned launch price of $0.0030 offers a potential 50% gain before the token even hits exchanges. 

Stage 11 is 93.74% filled at the time of writing, with 13,357,746,538 tokens sold and $20,540,495 raised out of the $22,325,000 target. Once this stage wraps, the price will climb to $0.0021 in Stage 12. With 20 stages total, each price increase rewards those who moved early, and momentum has been building with every round.

Security, visibility, and community power

One of the key reasons investors are taking LILPEPE seriously is that it has already been audited by CertiK, scoring 95.49%, an unusually high mark for a memecoin. That’s a significant trust signal in a market where many projects skip proper security checks. 

On top of that, LILPEPE is already listed on CoinMarketCap, giving it the kind of early visibility that can accelerate growth once trading begins. The community element is just as strong. LILPEPE recently peaked higher than PEPE, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu in ChatGPT-5’s memecoin question volume trend between June and August 2025, which means people aren’t just noticing it, they’re talking about it more than the biggest names in the space. 

And to fuel that energy, the team is running a $777,000 giveaway, where ten winners will each take home $77,000 worth of LILPEPE.

Could this be the next Dogecoin moment?

In 2021, Dogecoin delivered unbelievable returns, climbing thousands of percent in just months. Analysts now see LILPEPE capable of a similar run, with projections suggesting up to 24,000% gains from its current price. 

That may sound ambitious, but the parallels are hard to ignore when combined with presale velocity, exchange visibility, security audits, and a surging online presence. Stage 11 investors still have a chance to lock in a presale price before the next 10% jump. Given how quickly earlier stages sold out, the window could close faster than people expect.

Final thoughts

In 2025, Little Pepe is stepping into that same lane with a stronger foundation, audited security, and an investor-friendly presale model. With its current price at $0.0020, a nearly sold-out Stage 11, a projected 50% gain before launch, and the possibility of 24,000% returns down the line, it’s hard not to feel the same excitement that Dogecoin once brought. The presale isn’t just a fundraising stage; it’s the on-ramp to what could be one of the most talked-about memecoins of the cycle. For those who missed the Dogecoin wave, this might be a second chance to ride something that starts small, feels fun, but has the potential to turn into something unforgettable. 

To learn more about Little Pepe, visit the website, Telegram, and X.

Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. Neither crypto.news nor the author of this article endorses any product mentioned on this page. Users should conduct their own research before taking any action related to the company.



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