๐ธ Crypto With an Iranian Accent
Iran has long used crypto to dodge sanctions โ and the U.S. has long been watching. Treasury just put Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether on the SDN list: assets frozen, anyone still dealing with them risks secondary sanctions.
The key figure is Siavash Kayvanpour, operating out of the UAE and Georgia. His Shelbit moved crypto for Iranian military-linked wallets โ $1M in, $2M out, plus another $2M to the already-sanctioned Nobitex. Aban Tether ran millions through a chain of blacklisted Iranian platforms.
The UAE regulator had warned Shelbit twice. The exchange kept going. The third warning came from Treasury. Per Decrypt, the U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto since the campaign began.
Two formal warnings, zero response. The SDN list proved more persuasive.
Iran has long used crypto to dodge sanctions โ and the U.S. has long been watching. Treasury just put Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether on the SDN list: assets frozen, anyone still dealing with them risks secondary sanctions.
The key figure is Siavash Kayvanpour, operating out of the UAE and Georgia. His Shelbit moved crypto for Iranian military-linked wallets โ $1M in, $2M out, plus another $2M to the already-sanctioned Nobitex. Aban Tether ran millions through a chain of blacklisted Iranian platforms.
The UAE regulator had warned Shelbit twice. The exchange kept going. The third warning came from Treasury. Per Decrypt, the U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian crypto since the campaign began.
Two formal warnings, zero response. The SDN list proved more persuasive.
๐๏ธ William Orbit, producer behind *Ray of Light*, dies at 69
William Orbit, the British musician and producer, died on July 23, 2026. His family confirmed the news via his official Instagram account. No cause of death was given.
Orbit held three Grammy Awards, all for his work with Madonna on *Ray of Light* (1998): best pop album, best dance recording, and best song written for visual media for "Beautiful Stranger."
Beyond Madonna, he produced Blur's *13*, Beth Orton's debut *Superpinkymandy*, and worked with U2, All Saints, Britney Spears, No Doubt and Melanie C. His Guerilla Studios hosted the Cocteau Twins, Gary Numan and Sting, among others.
His most recent solo releases were *The Painter* (2022) and *WFO* (2024), per Variety. He was 69.
William Orbit, the British musician and producer, died on July 23, 2026. His family confirmed the news via his official Instagram account. No cause of death was given.
Orbit held three Grammy Awards, all for his work with Madonna on *Ray of Light* (1998): best pop album, best dance recording, and best song written for visual media for "Beautiful Stranger."
Beyond Madonna, he produced Blur's *13*, Beth Orton's debut *Superpinkymandy*, and worked with U2, All Saints, Britney Spears, No Doubt and Melanie C. His Guerilla Studios hosted the Cocteau Twins, Gary Numan and Sting, among others.
His most recent solo releases were *The Painter* (2022) and *WFO* (2024), per Variety. He was 69.
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๐ BTCPay exploit drained Lightning nodes overnight
BTCPay Server is an open-source payment processor for bitcoin merchants. On Friday night, attackers exploited a flaw that let anyone remotely grab
Hardware-wallet maker Foundation and bitcoin publication Citadel21 were among the victims. BTCPay pushed an emergency update to
The bug had already been reported by the Bitcoin Red Team, a group running AI models over bitcoin codebases. They published fast on the theory that others would find it anyway. Apparently, they did.
Too early to bury Lightning. Too late to sleep on your macaroons.
CoinDesk
BTCPay Server is an open-source payment processor for bitcoin merchants. On Friday night, attackers exploited a flaw that let anyone remotely grab
.macaroon files โ the master keys to an LND-based Lightning node โ without authentication. Keys in hand, you close the channels and sweep the funds.Hardware-wallet maker Foundation and bitcoin publication Citadel21 were among the victims. BTCPay pushed an emergency update to
2.4.2: patch now or go offline. Standard on-chain wallets were not affected.The bug had already been reported by the Bitcoin Red Team, a group running AI models over bitcoin codebases. They published fast on the theory that others would find it anyway. Apparently, they did.
Too early to bury Lightning. Too late to sleep on your macaroons.
CoinDesk
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๐ Falcon 9's final destination: the Moon
The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the January 2025 Blue Ghost mission has struck the Moon, just as astronomer Bill Grey predicted in April. The rocket burned nearly all its fuel delivering two lunar landers to orbit, leaving nothing for a controlled disposal.
The impact hit the sunlit side, so direct observation wasn't possible. The VLT in Chile caught the confirmation: a sodium-lithium plume tens of kilometres wide, lasting up to ten minutes. NASA estimates the crater at roughly 18 metres across.
The precedent matters more than the crater. Lunar traffic is growing, disposal standards for high-energy trajectories don't exist, and NASA has already called a lunar impact a "technically accepted method" โ per The Guardian.
Engadget
The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the January 2025 Blue Ghost mission has struck the Moon, just as astronomer Bill Grey predicted in April. The rocket burned nearly all its fuel delivering two lunar landers to orbit, leaving nothing for a controlled disposal.
The impact hit the sunlit side, so direct observation wasn't possible. The VLT in Chile caught the confirmation: a sodium-lithium plume tens of kilometres wide, lasting up to ten minutes. NASA estimates the crater at roughly 18 metres across.
The precedent matters more than the crater. Lunar traffic is growing, disposal standards for high-energy trajectories don't exist, and NASA has already called a lunar impact a "technically accepted method" โ per The Guardian.
Engadget
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๐ Daily Recap ยท Aug 13
โฝ Newcastle's captain-hero quietly became Arsenal's new signing
๐ธ U.S. Treasury freezes Iran-linked crypto exchanges cold
๐๏ธ William Orbit, the man behind Madonna's best album, dies
๐ BTCPay bug handed attackers the keys to Lightning nodes
๐ A stray Falcon 9 upper stage just hit the Moon
Someone in your orbit missed every single one of these โ pass it along
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
โฝ Newcastle's captain-hero quietly became Arsenal's new signing
๐ธ U.S. Treasury freezes Iran-linked crypto exchanges cold
๐๏ธ William Orbit, the man behind Madonna's best album, dies
๐ BTCPay bug handed attackers the keys to Lightning nodes
๐ A stray Falcon 9 upper stage just hit the Moon
Someone in your orbit missed every single one of these โ pass it along
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
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๐ธ The wrench as a financial instrument
The industry keeps building multisigs and cold wallets. Criminals have settled on a simpler approach: show up at someone's home and ask very insistently. Chainalysis reports over $30 million stolen in physical attacks on crypto holders in the first half of 2026 โ and the year isn't over.
Home invasions have climbed to 37% of all incidents, up from 26% in 2023. The logic is straightforward: kidnappings require planning; walking through a front door is just more convenient. France leads the count with 30 incidents since January, a surge Chainalysis links to an alleged breach of tax records exposing high-net-worth holders.
Crypto's great selling point is that transfers are instant and irreversible. Turns out that's also a compelling pitch for someone holding a wrench.
Decrypt
The industry keeps building multisigs and cold wallets. Criminals have settled on a simpler approach: show up at someone's home and ask very insistently. Chainalysis reports over $30 million stolen in physical attacks on crypto holders in the first half of 2026 โ and the year isn't over.
Home invasions have climbed to 37% of all incidents, up from 26% in 2023. The logic is straightforward: kidnappings require planning; walking through a front door is just more convenient. France leads the count with 30 incidents since January, a surge Chainalysis links to an alleged breach of tax records exposing high-net-worth holders.
Crypto's great selling point is that transfers are instant and irreversible. Turns out that's also a compelling pitch for someone holding a wrench.
Decrypt
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๐ฎ Eight asterisks and a lot of hoping
Bethesda has been building The Elder Scrolls 6 for over eight years โ since the 2018 announcement, the game has existed roughly like Atlantis: known to all, seen by none.
First crack in the silence: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma watched a live playthrough and posted to X that "The Elder Scrolls VI: ****" has "incredible scale and grandeur." Eight asterisks. Exactly eight. The internet has already grabbed a ruler.
That Bethesda is showing the game outside the studio means there's something to show. A CEO walking out of a demo and tweeting "felt mid, honestly" was never really on the table though โ so adjust accordingly.
One question left hanging: with Xbox pivoting back to exclusives, does TES 6 ever reach PlayStation at all?
IGN
Bethesda has been building The Elder Scrolls 6 for over eight years โ since the 2018 announcement, the game has existed roughly like Atlantis: known to all, seen by none.
First crack in the silence: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma watched a live playthrough and posted to X that "The Elder Scrolls VI: ****" has "incredible scale and grandeur." Eight asterisks. Exactly eight. The internet has already grabbed a ruler.
That Bethesda is showing the game outside the studio means there's something to show. A CEO walking out of a demo and tweeting "felt mid, honestly" was never really on the table though โ so adjust accordingly.
One question left hanging: with Xbox pivoting back to exclusives, does TES 6 ever reach PlayStation at all?
IGN
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๐ A guy just wants to live long enough for GTA 6
Jerry is 25, a gamer who's been living with interstitial lung disease since he was 17. A few days ago he posted from the hospital โ oxygen tube, text on screen saying "I just want to play GTA VI." A risky surgery is ahead, but he's holding on.
The video hit 1.9 million likes and people started donating. His goal was $15,000 โ they've already passed $53,000, per IGN. In a follow-up video, a teary Jerry said he didn't expect anything like this. And he made one promise: if he makes it through, he's streaming GTA 6 with his community.
Game drops November 19, 2026. Hoping he's there for it.
Jerry is 25, a gamer who's been living with interstitial lung disease since he was 17. A few days ago he posted from the hospital โ oxygen tube, text on screen saying "I just want to play GTA VI." A risky surgery is ahead, but he's holding on.
The video hit 1.9 million likes and people started donating. His goal was $15,000 โ they've already passed $53,000, per IGN. In a follow-up video, a teary Jerry said he didn't expect anything like this. And he made one promise: if he makes it through, he's streaming GTA 6 with his community.
Game drops November 19, 2026. Hoping he's there for it.
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๐ฎ Forty years, and here's your golden Triforce
The Legend of Zelda launched in 1986 โ and Nintendo is apparently finally ready to mark the occasion.
Leaked images show an unannounced Switch 2 limited edition: black console, teal Joy-Con with Triforce patterns, gold dock trim, and a Pro Controller with gold shoulder buttons. Universo Nintendo's Necro Felipe posted the photos and vouches for their authenticity.
What's telling is the timing: Nintendo let the actual anniversary date pass in silence โ and now everything leaks at once: an Ocarina of Time remake, a live-action film cast, and this console. Maybe Nintendo wasn't holding the announcements back. It just can't hold back the leaks.
IGN
The Legend of Zelda launched in 1986 โ and Nintendo is apparently finally ready to mark the occasion.
Leaked images show an unannounced Switch 2 limited edition: black console, teal Joy-Con with Triforce patterns, gold dock trim, and a Pro Controller with gold shoulder buttons. Universo Nintendo's Necro Felipe posted the photos and vouches for their authenticity.
What's telling is the timing: Nintendo let the actual anniversary date pass in silence โ and now everything leaks at once: an Ocarina of Time remake, a live-action film cast, and this console. Maybe Nintendo wasn't holding the announcements back. It just can't hold back the leaks.
IGN
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๐ต๏ธ How to catch a North Korean IT worker: build a fake startup
Researchers Mauro Eldritch and Heiner Garcรญa set up a fictitious crypto startup called Ballena Azul and spent five weeks watching suspected DPRK developers work inside a controlled environment โ none the wiser.
Three "developers," recruited via a contact linked to Famous Chollima, were given assignments and deliberate disruptions: network outages, vanishing cursors. The key find was their external servers โ some already tied to malware families like BeaverTail and InvisibleFerret, others unknown to any threat feed, the kind that gets recycled across operations for years.
Cointelegraph joined one Zoom as a fake VC from the invented Definitive Communications. The suspects pitched earnestly for funding. Someone on that call was telling the truth โ just not who they thought.
Researchers Mauro Eldritch and Heiner Garcรญa set up a fictitious crypto startup called Ballena Azul and spent five weeks watching suspected DPRK developers work inside a controlled environment โ none the wiser.
Three "developers," recruited via a contact linked to Famous Chollima, were given assignments and deliberate disruptions: network outages, vanishing cursors. The key find was their external servers โ some already tied to malware families like BeaverTail and InvisibleFerret, others unknown to any threat feed, the kind that gets recycled across operations for years.
Cointelegraph joined one Zoom as a fake VC from the invented Definitive Communications. The suspects pitched earnestly for funding. Someone on that call was telling the truth โ just not who they thought.
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๐ Daily Recap ยท Aug 14
๐ง Criminals skip crypto and just grab it physically
๐ฐ Elder Scrolls 6 spotted alive after eight silent years
๐ Gamer facing surgery just wants to live for GTA 6
๐ก Zelda turns 40 and gets a gorgeous Switch 2 edition
๐ต๏ธ Researchers built a fake startup to trap North Korean devs
Someone in your life spent today offline โ their loss, your forward button
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
๐ง Criminals skip crypto and just grab it physically
๐ฐ Elder Scrolls 6 spotted alive after eight silent years
๐ Gamer facing surgery just wants to live for GTA 6
๐ก Zelda turns 40 and gets a gorgeous Switch 2 edition
๐ต๏ธ Researchers built a fake startup to trap North Korean devs
Someone in your life spent today offline โ their loss, your forward button
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
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๐ธ Bitcoin ETFs just had their best week since April โ with an unlikely tailwind
Spot Bitcoin ETFs hold actual BTC and trade like stocks โ crypto without the custody headaches. Inflows had been choppy for months, then this week they snapped back: $1 billion net, the strongest showing since April, per Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas.
The timing is hard to ignore. A firmware flaw in popular hardware wallet Coldcard let attackers compromise keys at the source โ ~$116M in BTC gone. Balchunas stopped short of claiming causation, but noted it's hard to imagine no one migrated from cold storage to ETFs as a result.
The best advertisement for institutional custody is sometimes someone else's bad day.
Cointelegraph
Spot Bitcoin ETFs hold actual BTC and trade like stocks โ crypto without the custody headaches. Inflows had been choppy for months, then this week they snapped back: $1 billion net, the strongest showing since April, per Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas.
The timing is hard to ignore. A firmware flaw in popular hardware wallet Coldcard let attackers compromise keys at the source โ ~$116M in BTC gone. Balchunas stopped short of claiming causation, but noted it's hard to imagine no one migrated from cold storage to ETFs as a result.
The best advertisement for institutional custody is sometimes someone else's bad day.
Cointelegraph
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๐ฑ Foxconn's AI business just overtook Apple
For the first time, Foxconn's AI server division generated 51% of quarterly revenue โ while the iPhone segment dropped to 29%. The company calls the shift permanent, TNW reports.
9to5Mac
For the first time, Foxconn's AI server division generated 51% of quarterly revenue โ while the iPhone segment dropped to 29%. The company calls the shift permanent, TNW reports.
9to5Mac
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โฝ Travis Kelce calls his wedding to Taylor Swift the best night of his life
Back at practice ahead of his 14th NFL season, Kelce spoke to reporters about the summer. He and Swift married on July 3 at Madison Square Garden โ Adam Sandler officiated, Jason Kelce was best man, and over 1,000 guests attended. Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks performed at the reception.
Kelce also said visiting MSG had been a childhood dream. He got there by getting married in it.
Variety reports.
Back at practice ahead of his 14th NFL season, Kelce spoke to reporters about the summer. He and Swift married on July 3 at Madison Square Garden โ Adam Sandler officiated, Jason Kelce was best man, and over 1,000 guests attended. Paul McCartney and Stevie Nicks performed at the reception.
Kelce also said visiting MSG had been a childhood dream. He got there by getting married in it.
Variety reports.
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๐ค AI found a Zoom vulnerability before any human did
So researchers from A Security just disclosed some pretty serious Zoom flaws โ and the wild part is how they found them. Using publicly available AI models, fewer than 20 prompts, they had a working exploit. Their cofounder told WIRED that the same work would've taken a five-person team about six months before.
The bug was in the annotation protocol used during screen sharing. Anyone on a call โ host, participants, didn't matter โ could've been silently compromised with zero interaction from their side. All major platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
Zoom's already rolling out fixes. But the barrier-to-entry thing is what's actually unsettling here โ that's not going back up.
Ars Technica
So researchers from A Security just disclosed some pretty serious Zoom flaws โ and the wild part is how they found them. Using publicly available AI models, fewer than 20 prompts, they had a working exploit. Their cofounder told WIRED that the same work would've taken a five-person team about six months before.
The bug was in the annotation protocol used during screen sharing. Anyone on a call โ host, participants, didn't matter โ could've been silently compromised with zero interaction from their side. All major platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
Zoom's already rolling out fixes. But the barrier-to-entry thing is what's actually unsettling here โ that's not going back up.
Ars Technica
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๐ฟ Steam Machine faceplates cut from the same marble Michelangelo used
Reddit user /u/GinoWT, a stonemason, has made custom faceplates for Valve's Steam Machine mini PC from natural stone. One is Statuario from Carrara โ the same quarry basin Michelangelo sourced his marble from. Two other variants: Sahara Noir with a gold vein and Roman Travertine.
Each slab is 5โ6mm thick, bonded to a 3D-printed base to manage weight. The creator reports no thermal issues running it daily. A small batch is being prepared for sale via the creator's website, per IGN.
Reddit user /u/GinoWT, a stonemason, has made custom faceplates for Valve's Steam Machine mini PC from natural stone. One is Statuario from Carrara โ the same quarry basin Michelangelo sourced his marble from. Two other variants: Sahara Noir with a gold vein and Roman Travertine.
Each slab is 5โ6mm thick, bonded to a 3D-printed base to manage weight. The creator reports no thermal issues running it daily. A small batch is being prepared for sale via the creator's website, per IGN.
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๐ Daily Recap ยท Aug 15
๐ธ Bitcoin ETFs just posted their best week since April
๐ฑ Foxconn's AI arm quietly ate Apple's lunch this quarter
โฝ Travis Kelce says marrying Taylor Swift was peak life
๐ค AI cracked a Zoom exploit in under 20 prompts
๐ฟ A stonemason built Steam Machine faceplates from Michelangelo's marble
Someone in your group chat was heads-down all day and missed every single one of these โ do them a favor
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
๐ธ Bitcoin ETFs just posted their best week since April
๐ฑ Foxconn's AI arm quietly ate Apple's lunch this quarter
โฝ Travis Kelce says marrying Taylor Swift was peak life
๐ค AI cracked a Zoom exploit in under 20 prompts
๐ฟ A stonemason built Steam Machine faceplates from Michelangelo's marble
Someone in your group chat was heads-down all day and missed every single one of these โ do them a favor
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
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๐ฎ Marvel's Wolverine drops September 15 โ from Insomniac, the studio behind the Spider-Man series.
After a 90-minute hands-on, Variety calls the combat, visuals and story equal to โ if not above โ what Spider-Man achieved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJrqHyojaa4
After a 90-minute hands-on, Variety calls the combat, visuals and story equal to โ if not above โ what Spider-Man achieved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJrqHyojaa4
YouTube
Marvelโs Wolverine - Ainโt No Hero Trailer I PS5 Games
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/marvels-wolverine/
Unleash the rage, confront the past. With the fate of humans and mutants hanging in the balance, Logan knows the world needs a hero; however, theyโll have to settle for Wolverine.
Experience thrillingโฆ
Unleash the rage, confront the past. With the fate of humans and mutants hanging in the balance, Logan knows the world needs a hero; however, theyโll have to settle for Wolverine.
Experience thrillingโฆ
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