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quietly

Photo of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump flanked by security.
Gaming Gear

The Trump Family Is Quietly Building a Crypto Empire

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Just a few years ago, Donald Trump called crypto a “scam” and “dangerous.” Today, from the Oval Office, he champions it as the future of finance. This dramatic pivot is backed by a rapidly growing ecosystem of cryptocurrency ventures tied directly to the Trump family, creating an unprecedented network of potential conflicts of interest.

While the President promotes crypto-friendly policies, his family and associated businesses are launching tokens, mining operations, and financial platforms that stand to benefit directly from those policies. Here’s a look inside the Trump crypto empire.

The Stablecoin: World Liberty Financial ($USD1)
The crown jewel of the operation appears to be World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto firm that launched in September 2024. While the President was listed as “co-founder emeritus,” until he took office, his sons—Donald Jr., Eric, and Barron—are all active co-founders. The company’s stablecoin, USD1, is a digital token pegged to the U.S. dollar, which has already amassed a market value of $2.2 billion, according to data firm CoinGecko.com.

What’s a Stablecoin? It’s a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value. For every USD1 token issued, there’s supposed to be one U.S. dollar held in reserve, making it a stable digital asset for payments and trading.

The venture is already wildly profitable. President Trump earned $57.4 million last year from his ownership of tokens tied to the project, according to his June 2025 Office of Government Ethics (OGE) disclosure.

The timing is also impeccable: the Senate just passed the “Genius Act,” a bill that opens the door for widespread adoption of stablecoins, which could send the value of platforms like WLFI into the stratosphere. Adding to its legitimacy, USD1 is already being used as a payment method for the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, MGX.

According to Democratic lawmakers and critics, USD1 may be a way to curry favor with the Trump family and the president in particular.

“If Congress passes this bill, USD1 won’t just be a coercive tool to pay off a corrupt President,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat of Massachusetts, said last month. “It will be a financial instrument blessed by the United States Government. And this bill provides even more opportunities to reward buyers of Trump’s coins with favors like tariff exemptions, pardons, and government appointments.”

The Memecoins: $TRUMP and $MELANIA
In January, entities linked to the Trump Organization launched $TRUMP, a “memecoin” on the popular Solana blockchain. Unlike stablecoins, memecoins have no intrinsic value and thrive on internet hype. The launch was a massive success, netting the Trump-linked companies over $350 million in transaction fees so far, according to research firm Chainalysis, with the token’s market cap hitting $1.8 billion as of time of writing.

Not to be outdone, MKT World LLC, a company associated with First Lady Melania Trump, according to the June 2025 Office of Government Ethics (OGE) disclosure, launched $MELANIA just days later. While its purpose is vague—tied to “appearance and speaking engagements and the sale of NFTs”—it has a market value of $128.3 million as of time of writing.

The Mining Operation: American Bitcoin Corp
In March, Eric Trump teamed up with crypto mining firm Hut 8 to launch American Bitcoin Corp, which aims to be a major player in Bitcoin mining and accumulation.

What is Bitcoin Mining? It’s the process by which new bitcoins are created. Powerful computers solve complex mathematical problems, and in return for their work, they are rewarded with Bitcoin. It’s an energy-intensive but potentially lucrative business.

American Bitcoin Corp, where Eric Trump serves as chief strategy officer, went public in May and already holds about $22 million worth of Bitcoin, with plans to acquire more.

The Next Frontier: ETFs and NFTs
The empire’s reach continues to expand. The first venture began quietly, with a Trump-linked entity licensing his likeness for NFTs (non-fungible tokens, or unique digital collectibles), which earned the President over $1.1 million in 2024 alone, according to the June 2025 Office of Government Ethics (OGE) disclosure,

More recently, Trump Media & Technology filed to launch a combined Bitcoin and Ether ETF, a type of investment fund that would allow mainstream investors to easily buy into crypto.

A Web of Conflicts
This sprawling crypto ecosystem, from stablecoins and memecoins to mining and investment funds, is deeply intertwined with Trump’s presidency. His political shift from crypto skeptic to crypto evangelist aligns perfectly with his family’s growing financial interests. With his campaign now accepting crypto donations, this network could double as a fundraising machine and a post-presidency payoff.

Whether it’s driven by ideology, opportunism, or both, the Trump crypto empire is raising serious ethical questions. As the President pushes policies that could enrich his family’s ventures, the line between governing and personal profit has never been more blurred.



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Sony quietly removes PC sale restrictions in dozens of countries for four huge PlayStation games
Game Reviews

Sony quietly removes PC sale restrictions in dozens of countries for four huge PlayStation games

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Sony has seemingly loosened regional restrictions on a number of its PC games, including God of War Ragnarök, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Helldivers 2.

As spotted by Wario64, the changelogs for all aforementioned games listed on SteamDB show that a number of sale restrictions were quietly lifted yesterday, 13th June.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered’s Roguelike No Return Mode Explained: TLOU2 No Return Gameplay PS5.Watch on YouTube

Although Sony made no public comment concerning the furore about sales restrictions invoked in countries where PSN isn’t available or shared any plans to address it, check SteamDB and you’ll see that the games have indeed trimmed down the number of countries where they’re unavailable (thanks, PC Gamer). Just one region was added to the restricted sale list: Russian Federation.

Sony appears to be removing regional restrictions on their Steam/PC games

God of War Ragnarok steamdb.info/sub/833972/h…

The Last of Us Part II Remastered steamdb.info/sub/1219787/…

Spider-Man 2 steamdb.info/sub/1219797/…

Helldivers 2 steamdb.info/sub/137730/h…

[image or embed]

— Wario64 (@wario64.bsky.social) June 13, 2025 at 7:38 PM

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This all started, of course, when Helldivers 2 was review-bombed last year following a PSN requirement which led to the game being pulled from sale in 177 countries. The company quickly u-turned its decision following the backlash but not before several Sony-published games were caught up in the controversy. Most recently Stellar Blade found itself at the centre of the backlash even though developer Shift Up had stated a PSN account was only optional and not a formal requirement.

On the subject of Sony, president Hideaki Nishino recently stated the company is open to adjusting the price of PlayStation Plus in the future, as the company aims to “maximise profitability”.

The comments came as part of a discussion between Sony CEO Hermen Hulst and president Hideaki Nishino on PS Plus and the company’s future. Discussing Sony’s subscription service, Nishino stated: “We will continue to add more value and adjust our pricing strategy in a dynamic way to maximise profitability.”



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NFTs are quietly shifting from speculative assets to essential digital infrastructure.
Crypto Trends

NFTs are quietly shifting from speculative assets to essential digital infrastructure.

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Opinion by: Charu Sethi, president of Unique Network 

Some argue that NFTs are dead. Others are holding out for the speculative art boom to return with the next market cycle. Both assumptions miss the reality. NFTs are neither obsolete nor poised for another speculative hype wave. What’s unfolding instead is likely the most important phase in their evolution: where NFTs are transitioning into core digital infrastructure underpinning gaming, AI and machine-driven applications.

The market has evolved

There are clear signs that NFT utility is replacing speculation, and the trend is holding. According to DappRadar, in Q1 2025, NFT trading volume dropped 24%, but sales declined only by 10%, pointing to lower average prices rather than user exit. AI and social DApps — with the potential to leverage NFTs for agent identity, assets, credentials and access — grew sharply in Q1, and utility categories like real-world assets (RWAs), domain NFTs and metaverse assets showed sustained traction. 

In gaming, platforms like Mythical and The Sandbox continue to grow, where in-game assets provide real, functional value. While there is still a vision and demand for interoperable NFTs, there are also examples where they are being delivered for developers and end-users.

NFTs in the agentic AI era

NFTs were originally conceived to enable verifiable digital ownership, identity and programmable rights — not speculative trading. It was meant to give people ownership of their digital lives. Be it their identity, health records, social media content or creative work — NFTs offered a way to prove ownership. That vision was foundational to the broader Web3 movement.

This foundational vision was obscured by the rise of memecoins and short-term financial hype, distorting public perception of NFTs and Web3. This core utility resurfaces as the agentic AI era emerges, where code meets cognition. Autonomous AI agents now require self-sovereign identity, memory and access control to operate effectively onchain.

With AI frameworks maturing, NFTs are becoming embedded as infrastructure. They function as identity anchors, verifiable data containers and access credentials for agents acting across decentralized environments. An NFT-bound agent can independently access services, sign transactions, and trigger contract logic — its authority validated by the NFT. This transforms NFTs into operational components that persist across contexts.

Recent: Crypto, NFTs are a lifeboat in the sinking fiat system: Finance Redefined

This utility is already in production. ReinforcedAI’s subnet on Bittensor issues NFTs as proof of completed Solidity audits, enabling encrypted validator review and decentralized reward mechanisms. Similarly, NFTs are used to certify input-output processes across AI pipelines. In parallel, projects like Peaq use “machine NFTs” to give devices like vehicles and drones identity and autonomy to transact. As AI agents integrate further into Web3 systems, NFTs will underpin workflows ranging from personal AI wallets to non-fungible autonomous agents.

UX-driven wallets and mainstream entry

The growth of social wallets is another driver. Instead of complex key management, users onboard through email or social login, and their profile pics, memberships and credentials (silently NFTs) display as part of their Web3 identity. Over 50% of users aged 18-34 already use social wallets regularly, especially in gaming and community apps.

These wallets prioritize user experience and easily embed NFTs into familiar interfaces. In social gaming platforms, for example, players may not even realize their avatars, emotes or achievements are NFTs. Yet these assets are portable, tradable and interoperable — acting as the connective tissue across platforms. There are significant lessons learned about how true ownership and great UX are critical for SocialFi apps to succeed.

NFTs as invisible infrastructure

NFTs are not disappearing — they are becoming core infrastructure, functioning as the underlying layer for asset ownership, transactional logic and autonomous agent behavior in decentralized systems. They support player-owned economies in gaming, serve as identity and credential containers for AI agents, and enable payments and access rights in machine-to-machine networks. This reflects a broader architectural shift from front-end collectibles to back-end components embedded in wallets, SDKs and protocols. NFTs now power access control, data provenance and interoperability, redefining their role from visible assets to essential system primitives.

Waiting for the return of the speculative NFT boom as a measure of success is misguided — real progress is unfolding at the infrastructure layer, where NFTs are quietly becoming essential.

Opinion by: Charu Sethi, president of Unique Network.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.



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ICE Quietly Scales Back Rules for Courthouse Raids
Gaming Gear

ICE Quietly Scales Back Rules for Courthouse Raids

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement has quietly rescinded guidance that advised ICE agents conducting courthouse raids to take steps to avoid violating state and local laws while carrying out civil immigration arrests. The subtle policy change could lead to an escalation in enforcement tactics and legal disputes.

Revised policy guidance recently posted to ICE’s website and reviewed by WIRED reveals efforts by the agency to enhance the discretion and autonomy of the federal agents making arrests in and around courthouses—one of the more aggressive initiatives employed by the Trump administration as part of its all-out push to round up migrants across the United States and its territories. The policy revision has not been previously reported.

In recent weeks, ICE agents have made high-profile arrests of immigrants attending routine court hearings, as part of the administration’s effort to conduct what Trump calls the largest deportation campaign in American history.

The change in guidance comes amid sweeping ICE raids across the US, some sparking protests and heated confrontations with citizens, threatening an erosion of local autonomy and democratic governance over law enforcement operations within communities, while further blurring the line between civil and criminal enforcement.

Interim guidance, issued in January by ICE’s former acting director, Caleb Vitello, ordered agents to ensure that courthouse arrests were “not precluded by laws imposed by the jurisdiction in which enforcement actions will take place.” Todd Lyons, the current acting director, issued a superseding memo dated May 27 that removes the language about respecting local laws and statutes that limit ICE agents from performing “enforcement actions” in or near courthouses.

“The old policy required ICE to consult with a legal adviser to determine whether making an arrest at or near a courthouse might violate a nonfederal law. The new policy eliminates that requirement,” says Anthony Enriquez, vice president at RFK Human Rights, a human rights advocacy nonprofit. “Now, these frequently complex legal questions fall to the judgment of a line officer untrained in local laws.”

“It is certainly yet another effort to unleash and expand ICE’s enforcement operations without regard to state law,” says Emma Winger, deputy legal director at the American Immigration Council.

Federal policy guidance is not legally binding, but it carries the power of law in practice, mandating procedures that ICE agents must follow in carrying out enforcement operations.

In response to a request for comment, ICE spokesperson Mike Alvarez referred WIRED to the May 27 memorandum. ICE declined to clarify whether it would continue to consider local courthouse policies and security protocols during enforcement actions.

Vitello, responsible for issuing the original guidance, was appointed ICE acting director by President Donald Trump soon after inauguration. Vitello was removed in late February and reportedly transferred to oversee the agency’s deportation operations. Lyons assumed the acting directorship in March.

The Biden administration previously limited ICE enforcement actions in and around courthouses in 2021, saying the arrests—which reportedly spiked during Trump’s first term—“had a chilling effect on individuals’ willingness to come to court or work cooperatively with law enforcement.”



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Concept image of a person having their face scanned, indicating the risk of identity theft.
Gaming Gear

How AI-powered “repeaters” are quietly hacking banks and crypto platforms with deepfake identities

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  • Security experts say traditional identity checks fail because they treat each verification as an isolated event
  • Deepfake variations let fraudsters bypass biometric and liveness detection systems with ease
  • Consortium validation shares data across organizations to detect subtle, repeated fraud attempts in real time

In a digital world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, identity fraud is evolving in scale and sophistication.

Experts from AU10TIX have flagged a new threat tactic known as “Repeaters” which is reshaping the way fraudsters infiltrate digital systems.

Unlike traditional attacks, these aren’t designed for instant damage – instead, Repeaters quietly test the defenses of banks, crypto platforms, and other services by using slightly varied synthetic identities.


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Once weak points are identified, those same assets are redeployed across multiple platforms in large-scale, coordinated fraud campaigns.

At the heart of this strategy are deepfake-enhanced identities, slightly modified versions of a core digital asset.

These changes may include tweaks to facial features, background images, or document numbers.

When examined individually, each variation appears legitimate, often bypassing traditional Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and biometric checks.

AU10TIX’s CEO, Yair Tal, describes them as “the fingerprint of a new class of fraud: automated, AI-enhanced attacks that reuse synthetic identities and digital assets at scale.”

What makes Repeaters particularly dangerous is how they exploit gaps in current fraud detection systems.

Most traditional defenses rely on static validation, evaluating each identity as an isolated event. Techniques like biometric scans, liveness detection, and ID checks often miss the broader picture.

Because these synthetic identities are only submitted a few times per platform and appear unique, conventional tools struggle to detect the repetition.

To counter this threat, AU10TIX therefore introduces “consortium validation”. Unlike siloed systems, this method allows multiple organizations to share identity signals across a real-time network, just like the best endpoint protection platforms.

If an identity, or even a slightly modified version, appears at more than one member organization, the system flags it immediately.

It’s a collaborative defense strategy aimed at connecting the dots between otherwise isolated incidents.

“We’re proud to be at the forefront of detecting and blocking these attacks through advanced pattern recognition and real-time consortium validation,” Tal added

AU10TIX recommends organizations also audit for vulnerabilities to deepfakes and synthetic identities that can bypass traditional KYC defenses.

It also recommends the close monitoring of behaviors across devices, sessions and onboarding events because it can reveal coordinated activities before they scale.

The best chance at early detection of such fraudulent activity is a connected and behaviorally aware security infrastructure because no single solution can claim to be the best antivirus or the best malware protection against this new generation of fraud.

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