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Taylor Swift laying in a tub of water.
Game Reviews

The Internet Reacts To Taylor Swift’s New Album

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Every time Taylor Swift, the country star turned pop royalty, releases a new album, it’s a cultural event, whether you’re a Swiftie or not. This is because the algorithm will no doubt feed you reactions and commentary just because you are, at most, one degree removed from the Band Hero star’s fandom at all times. The Life of a Showgirl is Swift’s 12th album, and turns the dial back into radio/TikTok-ready pop after The Tortured Poets Department went for a more melancholic, folky sound. But is it any good? Well, Swifties are sorting through their feelings.

Like most of Swift’s work, The Life of a Showgirl is pretty transparent in its references to her personal life. As that personal life has become so well-known in and out of her music, it’s usually pretty obvious who a song is about. So there’s some lore to unpack with a lot of these songs, but the ones that are getting the most attention right now are the ones that seem to reference her fiancé Travis Kelce’s hog and seem to escalate an apparent feud between her and pop star Charli XCX that, at least publicly, appears largely one-sided at the moment.

Let’s start with the song that is all about how well-endowed the Kansas City football player is. “Wood” starts out with a funky riff and a catchy beat, and you can already hear the Sabrina Carpenter influence in the composition. Then you hear the lyrics and you can tell that Swift is trying to emulate the Short n’ Sweet singer’s trademark graphic, sexual punchlines. Here, let’s look at the lyrics of the second verse.

Forgive me, it sounds cocky

He ah-matized me and openеd my eyes

Redwood tree, it ain’t hard to see

His lovе was the key that opened my thighs

Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet, mm

To know a hard rock is on the way

And baby, I’ll admit I’ve been a little superstitious

The curse on me was broken by your magic wand

Seems to be that you and me, we make our own luck

New Heights of manhood

If the clear reference to Kelce’s New Heights podcast wasn’t enough to make it clear that this is about her man’s schlong, the reference to a “hard rock” like the one on her finger would make it pretty clear. There’s an episode of How I Met Your Mother in which Marshall (Jason Segal) realizes he can’t tell any sexy stories from his dating life to his friends without everyone knowing they’re about his long-time partner Lily (Alyson Hannigan) because she’s the only one he’s really been with. Part of what makes love songs such a popular genre of music is that there’s a universality to them that people can project onto their own relationships. Who among us wouldn’t love to sing about a man’s dick lifting a curse and solving all our problems? But Swift’s very public personal life and clear references to her husband-to-be mean that I can’t hear this song without knowing whose dick it’s about.

That being said, the song is pretty catchy. What Swift may lack in Carpenter’s clever jokes, she makes up for in a fun song about love and lust. And hey, Kelce seems cool with it?

One song I have a less charitable read on, however, is “Actually Romantic,” which takes the other side of “everyone knowing your business” and seems to be essentially a diss track against Charli XCX. For those who don’t know, Charli has a song called “Sympathy Is a Knife” on the album Brat that addresses her insecurities in the pop girl space, and seemingly references Swift specifically triggering those feelings of comparison in her. “Actually Romantic” is being called a diss track aimed at the “360” singer, and at first blush, some think Swift may have straight-up misunderstood the intent behind “Sympathy Is a Knife,” which is actually fairly complimentary to her. 

However, “Actually Romantic” does seem to gesture at further drama behind the scenes, even as Swift has been publicly supportive of Charli. Specifically, it references Swift’s past relationship with Matty Healy of the band 1975, which also includes Charli’s husband George Daniel, and things Charli has allegedly said about Swift in private.

I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave 

High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me 

Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face

Some people might be offended 

But it’s actually sweet 

All the time you’ve spent on me.

I guess I can buy that maybe there’s more happening than “Sympathy Is a Knife” lets on. It’s giving Reputation era, when Swift was very publicly calling out other public figures like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, or 1989’s “Bad Blood” which referenced her now-ended feud with pop star Katy Perry. Again, it’s the effect of someone’s personal life being so public that these songs end up weaving a story that’s already playing out on social media and in gossip magazines. Though if this is all spun off from “Sympathy Is a Knife,” then it feels like punching down.

The problem with Life of a Showgirl is that Swift’s status as a billionaire mega-celebrity clashes against the “relatable” persona she exhibits in her music here more than ever before. “Eldest Daughter” laments how mean everyone on the internet can be, when she’s enveloped in a massive cocoon of wealth and status. Like, girl, why are you even reading TikTok comments when you could be doing literally anything else with all that money?

lol https://t.co/a78pUaSvCU pic.twitter.com/quyrERr07R

— grace spelman (@GraceSpelman) October 3, 2025

Another song that really sticks out as an expression of Swift imagining threats to her status is “CANCELLED!” which I saw someone say is destined to become the new anthem of MAGA wine moms, and I can’t stop thinking about it. As the title suggests, the song is all about perceived judgments of her for who she chooses to associate with, with her singing that she likes her friends “cancelled” and cloaked in “scandal.” Broadly, this could be a song about cancel culture and how Swift is unwilling to drop people just because they run afoul of public scrutiny, but given that she has friends who are public Trump supporters, that feels like underselling or minimizing people’s criticism as some kind of petty scandal, rather than a legitimate concern.

Ultimately, all of these reactions are born from the relationship with her fandom that Swift has cultivated over her decades-long career. When your personal life is the source of the characters and stories people listen for references to in each song, every album is like a new season of a television show for which millions of people tune in just to lap up every new lore drop. But is the music any good? In my first listen, I came away thinking that Life of a Showgirl is an obvious low point in Swift’s discography. I don’t think I’m alone in that assessment, but the album has been out for all of 12 hours at this point, and people will sort their feelings out over the next few weeks or months. Tonight, Swift is putting out a movie in theaters called The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which will include commentary and context for the album from Swift. Maybe that will work in its favor. For now, the music is speaking for itself. For better or worse.

pic.twitter.com/fEAu5T8XnL

— emily (@grIgenius) October 3, 2025

every year a taylor swift album comes out and she goes roses are red grass is green i love travis and my haters are mean and her fans go Omgggggg the lyricism

— zade (@zadtwt) October 2, 2025

she did it omg https://t.co/pRaiOFRgtG pic.twitter.com/idYwgDuRH0

— Wendell (@RhodeToLove) October 3, 2025

yall im CRYINGNSIDNDHF pic.twitter.com/nC25tp2KcZ

— allypally (@allypallyxcx) October 3, 2025

https://t.co/3CIXeCfhyy pic.twitter.com/NAQvUVy9Qp

— The Coke That Made Charli xcx Brave (@Neil_McNeil) October 3, 2025

https://t.co/O23bECsSMr pic.twitter.com/iK8u3dO19T

— keira (@kettlevinyl) October 3, 2025

These aren’t lyrics born of depth, just reference points engineered to ride the current wave internet talking points like ‘eldest daughters suffer more than jesus’ and spark a shallow ‘she’s just like me’ emotion from its listener. Not moved https://t.co/cXsllaedbn

— Ara (@lefilmara) October 3, 2025

IDGAF what yall saying! I’m vibing! I’m a showgirl baby pic.twitter.com/6vupKDLFEJ

— 💫 (@heyjaeee) October 3, 2025

why should taylor have to be a girls girl when nobody shows her the same courtesy? why is it iconic when other people create mess but she has to be persecuted? pic.twitter.com/kkQCeTuMKw

— jobless men #1 hater is a showgirl (@taylorenthusian) October 2, 2025

it’s honestly so freeing being a folklore stan who isn’t chronically negative cause while y’all are acting like showgirl murdered your family i’m twirling to ophelia

— kam⸆⸉ ❤️‍🔥 (@kamirrorball) October 3, 2025

Anyway, did you know that Coheed and Cambria also put out the special edition of their excellent album Father of Make Believe today? It’s got four new songs that are all pretty good, though maybe not quite as good as the best stuff on the main album.





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The Internet Reacts To The Big Xbox Game Pass Price Hike
Game Updates

The Internet Reacts To The Big Xbox Game Pass Price Hike

by admin


Because raising prices for its console wasn’t enough, Xbox is also raising the price of its Xbox Game Pass subscription by a whopping 50 percent. The service, which gives people access to a large library of games for a monthly fee, has long been considered one of the best deals in gaming, especially for people who don’t want to buy dozens of games a year. You could theoretically just subscribe to Game Pass and have something new to play every month as games rotate in and out of its catalog. Well, today Microsoft announced it would be raising the price for the Ultimate tier from $20 to $30 a month. 

Along with the hefty price increase, the Ultimate tier is getting a lot of new games and perks, including the Ubisoft+ catalog and a Fortnite crew membership that gives you battle pass access and in-game currency every month. The other tiers are also going up in price, and will now include cloud gaming access and an expanded library. The PC Game Pass package, however, is going up from $12 to $16.50 with no new perks. Xbox frames this as a move toward flexibility and choice, but ultimately, Game Pass’ claim to fame has always been its affordability, and now that its price is going up, the internet has feelings and jokes loaded up.

When I said i wanted the 360 era back, I didn’t mean $360 a year.

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) October 1, 2025

From the people that brought you the $650 five-year-old Xbox Series X and the $1000 handheld gaming PC, comes…

$30 per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate! WHO’S EXCITED??? /s

We went from $17 to $30 in 14 months, LOL.https://t.co/wcud6Grgly

— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) October 1, 2025

 

 

https://t.co/AFYM0WtIlF pic.twitter.com/xtvsIz6BWG

— Puertorock77 (@Puertorock77_) September 30, 2025

there’s still no annual subscription for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. That means it’s $360 a year, which is more than the Xbox Series S ($300) when it first launched 🤯

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 1, 2025

The page to cancel Game Pass subscriptions is broken already, incredible https://t.co/qTWLQRWRBs pic.twitter.com/yZjRCMGosk

— Sam (@_sunday_rain_) October 1, 2025

Xbox Game Pass for 30 bucks? Are they insane? These price hikes on game pass, consoles, and games themselves are just pricing people OUT of gaming. No more “I’ll give it a try” because of these prices. Absolutely wild to see how bad it’s become, and prices will never go down.

— Kala Elizabeth (@kalaelizabeth) October 1, 2025

Xbox gamers realising they might actually have to buy games now pic.twitter.com/LqVlzxPpsa

— Yokio (@ItsNewYokio) October 1, 2025

 

The Xbox brand has gotten a lot more expensive in just the past few weeks, with the company raising the prices of Xbox Series X/S consoles and announcing that the most powerful version of the Rog Ally X handheld will cost a staggering $1000. If that price wasn’t high enough, scalpers are already trying to sell the thing for twice as much, despite the handheld being readily available elsewhere.





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Anonymous Online
Game Updates

How to Become Anonymous on the Internet: What Works Best?

by admin


Let’s be real for a moment – every time you’re online, you’re really leaving a path of breadcrumbs that leads straight back to you. And I’m not even talking about your search history (though yeah, that too). I’m talking about everything: the places you go, the videos you view, where you are, what device you’re on and even how long you sit on each page. It’s a little creepy if you think about it, right?

The good news? You don’t have to simply accept this as “the way things are.” There actually is a super simple solution that gets you back in the driver’s seat: Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs for short.

So, What Exactly Is a VPN?

Think of a VPN as your own private tunnel on the information superhighway. Normally, when you’re browsing the internet, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) gets to see what you’re up to. They see when you’re watching videos at 2 AM, what you’re buying online, and what you’re visiting. They can even share this information with advertisers or trade it with third parties.

A VPN changes the game: When you’re on a VPN, it creates an encrypted connection from your computer to a remote server. Your whole internet flow goes through that server, which keeps your true IP address hidden and replaces it with one from the VPN’s location. The result? Your ISP, websites, advertisers and everybody else trying to snoop in on what you’re up to just get encrypted trash instead of your actual data.

Why You Really Need This

Come on, I get it – you might be thinking, “I have nothing to hide, so why do I need to care?” Well, here’s the deal: today, privacy isn’t really about something to hide. It’s about having the right to keep your own stuff, well, business-as-usual.

VPNs protect you in ways you might not even know that you need. Ever connected to a coffee shop or airport Wi-Fi? Those public connections are hackers’ playgrounds. Without a VPN, someone sitting nearby might be able to sniff your passwords, credit card numbers or confidential messages. With a VPN, your data is encrypted and useless to them.

Throw in on top of that, something that’ll probably annoy you: your internet service provider might be slowing down your speeds. Yeah, they actually reduce your connection speed based on what you’re doing online – especially if you’re looking at a lot of video or gaming video games. With a VPN, they can’t see what you’re doing, so they can’t mess with your speeds.

And here’s where VPNs are actually useful – they let you bypass content that’s censored where you are. And by “bypass content,” we’re not just talking about being able to watch the shows from other countries (although that is a definite bonus).

In nations like China and Iran, governments openly censor the net, blocking sites to social media, news sites, and any information they do not want their populace to be privy to. A VPN gives citizens in these regimes access to the open and free internet, opening the window of the world for them that their governments are trying to board up.

But it’s not only about repressive regimes. Even in Western democracies, geographical constraints are everywhere. Journal du Geek explains that PornHub is now inaccessible in France due to new regulatory requirements. In the United States, various streaming platforms, sports broadcasts and websites are inaccessible in certain states as a result of local laws and regulation. It is infuriating because the internet is supposed to be this universal entity, but in reality, it has fragmented along arbitrary borders.

With a VPN, you can use a server located somewhere else in the world and access the internet like you were there in person. Immediately, all those walls come tumbling down, and you feel like you possess the whole open internet experience everyone deserves.

NordVPN: Serious Protection Without the Serious Price Tag

Okay, okay, so you’re positive you want a VPN – great! But what do you get? Let me discuss NordVPN with you, especially because they have a special offer right now that’s really silly. They’re actually offering a 73% discount on their 2-year Basic plan, reducing the month-to-month cost to a staggering $3.09.

And it gets even better: they throw in three months free on top of it, so you get 27 months of protection for the price of 24. Now, they do offer a Plus plan for $3.99 per month that has some extra advantages, but for most people just looking to secure their privacy and have unlimited content, the Basic plan is good enough.

See NordVPN

Best part’s here, though: you essentially get to test it out 100% free. NordVPN offers an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee on all their plans. Which means, you can join up, use the service for a whole month, and if you’re not satisfied with it for any reason at all, you get a refund. No hassle, no questions asked. Just keep in mind that is reserved for first-time users.

See NordVPN



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Crypto should be talked about like the internet
NFT Gaming

Crypto should be talked about like the internet

by admin



Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial.

If I woke up tomorrow and the internet no longer existed, could I rebuild it from scratch? Absolutely not. My odds would be better with homing pigeons than with TCP/IP. And I’d wager that most of you reading this are in the same boat.

Summary

  • Mass adoption of crypto, like the internet, doesn’t require technical understanding — it requires simplicity, normalization, and trust.
  • Universities and business schools are contributing, but their reach is limited; high tuition and elitist programs mean they educate builders and managers, not the masses.
  • Lawyers and policymakers are the real catalysts: legal clarity, protections, and frameworks will normalize crypto and make it feel safe and ordinary.
  • The discourse must shift from exoticism and speculation to treating crypto as infrastructure — a utility woven into everyday life.

That’s the point: almost no one actually understands how the internet works, yet more than 5.4 billion people use it daily. Fewer than 29 million developers worldwide can build or repair the digital infrastructure behind our lives — that’s less than 0.5% of internet users. Mass adoption never required the majority to understand the plumbing. It required the experience to be simple, normalized, and taken for granted.

Crypto is on a similar path, but its public image has been trapped in an unnecessary cycle of exoticism. Instead of being treated like the next evolution of digital infrastructure, it’s too often painted as something technical, speculative, or even suspicious. The truth is, over 500 million people worldwide now own or use crypto — a figure that’s steadily rising. But for crypto to move beyond early adopters and into everyday life, the conversation around it needs to change.

Mass adoption isn’t about everyone becoming a blockchain engineer. It’s about ordinary people using crypto the same way they use the internet: without needing to understand the code, the protocols, or the technical underpinnings.

Universities are early catalysts, but they are not enough

For years, I believed universities would play the critical role in driving adoption. They are, after all, where new generations first engage with transformative technologies. And many institutions have taken that role seriously.

Back in 2022, CoinDesk’s Best Universities for Blockchain ranking highlighted institutions like Stanford, MIT, and UC Berkeley as leaders in blockchain education. Courses on distributed systems, cryptography, and smart contract development now fill university catalogues.

But let’s be honest: this education is hardly universal. The average tuition at the top 10 blockchain-focused universities exceeds $60,000 per year. That places it far out of reach for most of the world’s population. These programs cater to those who already have access to capital and privilege. As UC Berkeley itself notes, the intended audience for its blockchain programs is “progressive leaders in both the public and private sectors.” Stanford requires technical prerequisites like programming and cryptography knowledge.

That’s important — we absolutely need developers and engineers. But remember: less than 1% of internet users are developers. That ratio won’t shift in crypto. Developers will build the rails; they won’t drive adoption.

The role of business schools

Another group often discussed as future shapers of crypto adoption is MBA students. Business schools are busy integrating blockchain into their curricula, teaching future managers how to incorporate digital assets into corporate strategy.

This is undeniably valuable. With over 420 million crypto users globally, businesses will increasingly need to integrate digital assets into their operations, payment systems, and supply chains. Executives with crypto literacy will be able to adapt faster and stay competitive.

But here’s the catch: these leaders won’t cause mass adoption. They’ll respond to it. They’ll adjust business models once consumer demand is obvious, the same way companies adjusted to the rise of the internet. CEOs and managers play a reactive role. Important, yes — but not transformative.

The real game-changers: Lawyers

If not engineers or executives, who will shift the discourse? Who will normalize crypto so it becomes part of the public’s daily language rather than a curiosity? The answer is surprisingly pragmatic: lawyers.

Law graduates, regulators, and policymakers hold the power to shape the framework that makes people comfortable with new technologies. They are the ones who can remove uncertainty, establish protections, and create the legal clarity that transforms an exotic experiment into a mainstream utility.

Think back to the early internet. Its growth didn’t depend solely on engineers or entrepreneurs. It accelerated when legal frameworks around e-commerce, data privacy, and intellectual property took shape. Trust followed law.

The same will happen with crypto. A new generation of law graduates — crypto-native, educated about decentralized systems, and equipped to integrate that knowledge into regulatory structures — will set the stage for mass adoption. They’ll cut through today’s regulatory fragmentation, establish standards, and help craft the narratives that make ordinary citizens feel safe and included.

A problem of literacy

The urgency is clear because crypto literacy remains dangerously low. According to Crypto Literacy, only 57% of respondents globally are able to pass the basic crypto knowledge test. That’s despite years of media coverage, bull markets, and headline-making events.

Without basic literacy, people won’t trust the technology. Worse, they’ll remain vulnerable to scams, misinformation, and disillusionment. Adoption cannot scale sustainably if the average person sees crypto as a black box.

Yet, the picture isn’t entirely bleak. Awareness is rising. Universities are including crypto in courses far outside computer science — from economics to law to international relations. And mainstream media coverage, once dismissive or sensational, is slowly becoming more nuanced.

Shifting the discourse

The discourse around crypto is what matters most right now. If it remains framed as exotic, it risks alienating the very people it needs to include. Exoticism makes crypto seem like a hobby for the technical elite, the wealthy, or the reckless gambler.

But when crypto is framed as infrastructure — the next layer of the digital economy — it becomes approachable. We don’t talk about the internet as an exotic tool anymore. It’s a utility, as ordinary as electricity. That’s the narrative shift crypto needs.

Universities, businesses, and policymakers all have roles to play in this. Developers will build. Executives will integrate. But lawyers will normalize. They’ll make the language of crypto part of everyday governance, contracts, and compliance. That’s when the technology stops being strange and starts being simply… there.

The road ahead

Mass adoption is not about everyone knowing how to code a smart contract. It’s about crypto becoming invisible — part of the background fabric of daily life. Like the internet, most people will never understand how it works, but they’ll rely on it every day.

That future is coming, but only if we shift the discourse today. Universities must broaden access. Businesses must prepare for integration. And policymakers must bring clarity. Crypto doesn’t need to be exoticized to be exciting. It needs to be normalized to be transformative.

When we stop asking, “Who really understands how this works?” and start treating crypto as ordinary infrastructure, that’s when mass adoption will finally arrive.



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Centrifuge CEO Bhaji Illuminati (Centrifuge)
NFT Gaming

Cloudflare (NET) Unveils NET Dollar for AI-Powered Internet Economy

by admin



U.S.-listed cloud company Cloudflare (NET) announced plans to intorduve a U.S. dollar stablecoin for what it calls the “agentic web,” where autonomous AI agents perform tasks like booking flights or ordering groceries.

The company said on Thursday that the token, dubbed NET Dollar, will enable instant and secure transactions for software agents, developers and creators. Cloudflare framed the initiative as a shift away from the ad-driven economics that have defined the internet for decades.

“The Internet’s next business model will be powered by pay-per-use, fractional payments, and microtransactions—tools that shift incentives toward original, creative content that actually adds value,” Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, said in a statement.

“By using our global network, we are going to help modernize the financial rails needed to move money at the speed of the Internet, helping to create a more open and valuable Internet for everyone,” he added.

The firm said itis also contributing to standards such as the Agent Payments Protocol and x402, which aim to make sending and receiving payments online simpler.

With the move, Cloudflare aims to join a roster of fintechs and payments firms that ventured into the red-hot stablecoin trend that’s shaking up cross-border payments. These cryptocurrencies, with prices tied to fait money like the U.S. dollar, offer a cheaper, faster alternative to traditional payment rails using blockchains for settlement. For example, Stripe is building its own blockchain, Tempo, for stablecoin transactions and acquired stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge for $1.1 billion.

It’s potentially a huge market: stablecoin transaction volumes could reach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by institutional adoption, FX settlement and cross-border flows, trading firm Keyrock projected in a report.



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Euro. (jojooff/Pixabay)
GameFi Guides

South Korean Internet Giant Naver to Buy Crypto Exchange Upbit: Report

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South Korean crypto exchange Upbit is about to be acquired by internet giant Naver, according to a report.

The deal would bring Upbit’s parent Dunamu under the umbrella of Naver Financial, making Dunamu a full subsidiary of Naver’s financial arm, the report said.

Upbit is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the crypto friendly country, while Naver operates multiple internet based services in South Korea, including Naver Pay.

The deal is likely to be a stock swap deal with Naver Financial issuing new shares in the crypto exchange for Dunamu’s current shares, the report added.

Shares of Naver jumped over 7% to korean won 246,000 ($175) after reports of the Upbit acquisition came out.

Reports of the deal come in the wake up of the South Korean government pushing to establish a framework for won-pegged stablecoins in the country.

Naver and Dunamu were not immediately available for comment.



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Boundless mainnet launches with vision of internet scale for blockchains
NFT Gaming

Boundless mainnet launches with vision of internet scale for blockchains

by admin



Boundless has officially activated its mainnet, transitioning its protocol for verifiable compute from beta to a live production environment to test its core thesis that blockchains can finally mirror the internet’s scaling model.

Summary

  • Boundless launches its mainnet, introducing Proof of Verifiable Work and ZK Coin (ZKC).
  • The network rewards provers for generating verifiable computation instead of traditional block mining.
  • Over 2,500 provers and 411,000 participants joined during Mainnet Beta, with $71M raised in the Kaito sale.

In an announcement on September 15, Boundless confirmed the activation of its mainnet, marking the shift from last year’s beta into full production. The launch introduces Proof of Verifiable Work and ZK Coin (ZKC), positioning zero-knowledge computation as the engine of scale.

By design, Boundless rewards provers for generating verifiable proofs, a departure from traditional block mining and an attempt to rewire blockchain economics around computation itself.

From theoretical Breakthrough to a functioning prover economy

According to the announcement, the foundational breakthrough traces back to 2021 with RISC Zero’s creation of the first RISC-V zkVM, which demonstrated that developers could generate zero-knowledge proofs from Rust and Solidity code instead of complex, custom circuits.

This innovation made ZK technology broadly accessible, but a usable zkVM alone wasn’t enough to scale entire ecosystems. Boundless emerged to build the missing piece via a universal, decentralized protocol that could apply verifiable compute across any chain or application.

The Boundless team said this vision began to materialize in late 2024 with the launch of its Collaborative Development Program, attracting early adopters to build on the nascent network. The project hit a significant inflection point by July 2025 with the debut of its Mainnet Beta. Notably, over 2,500 provers joined the network, 411,000 participants took part in the beta, and the Kaito token sale raised more than $71 million after being oversubscribed 18 times.

The infrastructure

Boundless introduces an economic mechanism called Proof of Verifiable Work, which is fundamentally a new type of mining. Unlike traditional proof-of-work networks that expend energy to solve arbitrary puzzles, Boundless provers are rewarded for generating useful, verifiable computation.

The protocol measures the complexity of each cryptographic proof and rewards provers with ZK Coin proportional to the actual work performed. This creates a direct market for verifiable compute, aligning incentives with tangible, valuable output rather than mere hash rate.

Provers are required to stake and lock ZKC to participate in proof generation, which serves as a security deposit that ensures honest work. This staking mechanism creates a virtuous cycle: as demand for proofs grows, more ZKC is locked up as collateral, simultaneously tightening the available supply and compounding the network’s overall security. It is, effectively, a token whose primary utility is to be staked and put to work.

After launching at an all-time high of $2.13 on September 15, ZKC’s price has seen significant turbulence. It is currently trading at approximately $0.86, a decline of roughly 48% in the last 24 hours that places it about 55% below its peak, according to CoinGecko data.



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Photo: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images
Gaming Gear

Internet Access in the Middle East Disrupted After Undersea Cables Are Mysteriously Cut

by admin


Over the weekend, crucial undersea cables providing internet access to parts of Asia were mysteriously cut,  leading to internet outages in certain parts of the Middle East and Asia.

The initial news seems to have originated from a Microsoft announcement published on Sunday. The announcement reads, in part: “Starting at 05:45 UTC on 06 September 2025, network traffic traversing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea.” Gizmodo reached out to the company for more information.

From the available reporting, much of which comes from the Associated Press, it’s still unclear who has actually been impacted. Netblocks, the internet monitoring service, claims that the cable cuts led to “degraded internet connectivity in multiple countries, including #Pakistan and #India; the incident is attributed to failures affecting the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”

The AP report notes that the Saudi government hasn’t acknowledged the outages, although Kuwait did announce damage to the FALCON GCX cable, which runs through the Red Sea. Internet access outside of that geographic region isn’t expected to be impacted, Microsoft said.

Some suspicion has apparently been thrown on Houthi rebel groups who have operated in the Red Sea for months, although AP notes that such groups have denied attacking the cables in the past. In March, three cables in the Red Sea were cut, and suspicion was cast on the Houthis. We still don’t know who was responsible for that incident. The Houthis say their military efforts are intended to disrupt Israel’s violent military campaign in Gaza.

In recent years, there’s been rising concern about damage to cables, and some onlookers see evidence of geopolitical sabotage. The International Cable Protection Committee (yes, there is such a thing) meets annually to discuss political and technical solutions to better bolster protections for the aquatic network of vital internet infrastructure.

Earlier this year, cable disruptions near the Baltics and Taiwan inspired accusations of intervention by America’s foes, NBC previously reported. That said, it’s also possible that cables are frequently being damaged unintentionally, sometimes by large ocean freighters or other environmental disturbances.



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Frank caprio dead 88
Esports

Pope Leo XIV declares teen internet star ‘God’s influencer’ and first millennial saint

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A tech-savvy teen who died in 2006 has been named the first-ever millennial saint by Pope Leo XIV, who dubbed the late British-Italian internet star ‘God’s influencer.’

Carlo Acutis died at 15 years old, but his legacy lives on thanks to Pope Leo’s canonization of him as a saint nearly two decades after his death.

Growing up in the 90s and 2000s, Acutis developed an intense interest in video games and computers, even teaching himself how to program and create websites.

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He used this passion for technology to make web pages for his school and parish, most notably building a site that documented “Eucharistic miracles” and supposed apparitions of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

Focolare MediaCarlo Acutis was 15 years old when he died in 2006. Now, nearly 20 years later, he has been canonized as the first millennial saint.

After turning 15, Acutis was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia, a type of cancer that affects the body’s white blood cells. He died from this condition mere days after being diagnosed when his parents took him to the hospital for a sore throat.

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Teen gamer becomes ‘God’s first influencer’ & millennial saint

In the years since his death, Acutis has been revered by the Catholic community for using his early adoption of technology and the internet to catechize users about the faith — and in 2025, newly-appointed Pope Leo XIV officially canonized him as a saint.

“The greatest risk in life is to waste it outside of God’s plan,” Leo said in his September 7 address, saying that new saints “are an invitation to all of us, especially young people, not to squander our lives, but to direct them upwards and make them masterpieces.”

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Speaking to PBS, 27-year-old Roman citizen Leopoldo Antimi echoed the sentiments of other Italian Catholics regarding Acutis’ legacy.

“I learned from different people what his professors, his teachers said about his joy and the light he carried around him,” he told the outlet. “So for me personally as an Italian, even on social networks that are used so much, it is important to have him as an influencer.”

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This is the latest moment from Pope Leo XIV to go viral following his induction to the Papacy earlier in 2025, during which it was revealed he is related to Justin Bieber, Madonna, and even Angelina Jolie, on top of being the first American Pope to hold the office.

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce embrace in engagement photo
Game Reviews

The Internet Reacts To Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce’s Engagement

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After two years of dating, the music industry’s greatest game master, Taylor Swift, is engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift announced their engagement on her Instagram account with the caption, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.” While the comments are turned off (as they are with every post on her profile), as you can imagine, the internet is losing its mind. “Why are you writing about Taylor Swift on a video game website?” She was in Band Hero, leave me alone.

Love them, hate them, or feel nothing for them, Swift and Kelce are America’s sweethearts. The general public is already greatly invested in Swift’s love life, since her songs and the mythos around her have etched the 35-year-old pop star’s romantic ups and downs into modern pop culture folklore, and seeing her in a relationship that seemingly lacks the kinds of dramatic complications you write albums about has prompted fans to root for this relationship to be the one that works out. A lot of people have been tuned into the lore for years, and for those who have treated Swift’s love life as a story they’ve been watching unfold, it’s basically like watching a slow-burn romance finally reach its next stage.

me telling everyone I know that Taylor Swift got engaged pic.twitter.com/MpS8BLPOZj

— Siobhan ✨ (@Siobachka) August 26, 2025

I AM SO HAPPY FOR MY CLOSE AND PERSONAL FRIEND TAYLOR SWIFT pic.twitter.com/O2gBDwphSa

— pippa (@piptweets) August 26, 2025

literally crying for my close and personal friend taylor swift pic.twitter.com/65TZrdVhVq

— burcu ❤️‍🔥 (@thatsoburcu) August 26, 2025

taylor is finally living her fairytale dreams that she would write songs about as a teenager someone SEDATE ME pic.twitter.com/NcQraMZkUZ

— Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) August 26, 2025

how do i explain to my nervous system that i’m not being held at gunpoint and it’s just taylor swift announced her engagement? pic.twitter.com/x2aJxcuhsT

— isabel (@tschairman) August 26, 2025

never in my life did i think i would find out about taylor swift getting engaged via ESPN notification pic.twitter.com/pI6CrDTI6I

— scout (@kendallscout) August 26, 2025

“you look happier” yes taylor swift is engaged after years of dreaming about fairytales and happy endings and someone who will sweep her off her feet and she’s finally getting it

— riley⸆⸉💫❤️‍🔥 (@lightsgowild) August 26, 2025

you think you’re over being parasocial and then you’re crying because taylor swift is getting married

— Katie Kraynak (@KraynakKatie) August 26, 2025

you want me to work? taylor swift just told the world she is engaged to be married and you want me to work?

— mirrorball ❤️‍🔥 (@penthouseheart) August 26, 2025

A PERSON ON KALSHI MADE OVER $6,000 ON TAYLOR SWIFT’S AND TRAVIS KELCE’S ENGAGEMENT 😂 🧨

THEY BEAT THE ODDS 🥹 💍 pic.twitter.com/B07X2JHyHn

— Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) August 26, 2025

From “I Wouldn’t Marry Me Either” to “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨” pic.twitter.com/Xakzy8Z6AU

— Steven Sullivan ❤️‍🔥 (@Stevensully99) August 26, 2025

 

While some fans and onlookers are voicing their support, others are using the announcement as an opportunity to do what the internet does best: meme.

Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨 pic.twitter.com/gRRyTc9chD

— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) August 26, 2025

THIS IS LITERALLY WHAT BEING THE OFFICE SWIFTIE FEELS LIKE RIGHT NOW pic.twitter.com/R4Nj2KDh3W

— maya 🪩 (@allmychampagne) August 26, 2025

pic.twitter.com/KwNW64xFeH

— IGN (@IGN) August 26, 2025

not now sweetie, Taylor is engaged and she used so high school in her ig post pic.twitter.com/FJxXEKJfqM

— eldest daughter is actually romantic ❤️‍🔥 (@brianduuuh) August 26, 2025

every swiftie in the world right now pic.twitter.com/7g5sNIf18T

— ✩ CEL ✩ (@moonlithoax) August 26, 2025

the devil works fast but swifties work faster pic.twitter.com/c9Nf9TWzDs

— irene anna❤️‍🔥 (@enerianna) August 26, 2025

this is gonna be the closest thing america has ever had to a royal wedding

— jessica (@enchantedjess13) August 26, 2025

The wedding streamed on Disney+ with 4 vinyl pressings of the ceremony

— tannertan36 (@tannertan36) August 26, 2025

I drafted Travis Kelce two days ago and now he’s engaged? Feels like it isn’t a coincidence. I’m winning the fantasy league this year.

— Joe Santagato (@JoeSantagato) August 26, 2025

Swift and Kelce have been together for two years, but with the exception of songs like “So High School” on her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department, the romance hasn’t been the subject of her music in the same way her other relationships have been. This may change in October when she releases her next record, The Life of a Showgirl, which is her first album to be recorded entirely during the two’s relationship. Swift announced the album on Kelce’s podcast New Heights, and described it as “exuberant and electric and vibrant,” a stark contrast from the moodier and more introspective Tortured Poets Department. The album will launch on October 3.





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