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A popular Pokémon fan gaming site, Relic Castle will be forced to close after a takedown notice was filed.
The Digital Millennium Copyright (DCMA) notice was filed by a third party on behalf of the Pokémon Company and Relic Castle would use several social media accounts to convey the news to fans. Relic Castle posted on X on Thursday:

pic.twitter.com/4oW0whJncL
— Relic Castle (@RelicCastleCom) March 21, 2024

Has the Pokémon Company filed a takedown notice?
In a post shared to Reddit and Discord, the owner and manager of Relic Castle would post several items to inform fans of the site about the decisions taken. The message was posted with the comments locked and one of the Relic Castle’s moderators was firm in this decision to keep the messages around the news above board, saying:
“The community will need to wait a few days (at minimum) to see what happens next. After some time has passed, and more info has been gathered, we may open the topic up for public discussion. Yes, we are controlling the discussion in our community, as is our right as its leaders. We’re not interested in being a place that hosts toxicity and spreads misinformation. As we stated above, Everything we know is detailed here, so if you have questions that aren’t answered, there’s probably no one who can answer them (at least right now)
Relic Castle’s guardians said, “TPCI (The Pokémon Company International) should not be contacted, as it was a third party who is authorized by TPCI to supply DMCAs and looks legitimate.”
The moderator of the Reddit post would conclude by saying “Please be patient, and rest assured that the Pokémon fan game community is not going anywhere. This kind of thing happens and is ultimately inevitable. But it is not indicative of a massive crusade against fan games. Nor does it mean RC has gone away entirely and/or forever.”
What was Relic Castle?
The site was a forum for fan-made Pokémon content that boasted 20,000 members and 65,000 posts across a 10 year history. This nexus to chat and share content will now be forced to close, but the Discord community will “not going anywhere and the site is still visible as an archive using the Wayback Machine.”
The custodians of the Relic Castle would say at the base of the post “What will RC staff do next? Is there a new site, or will the discord be expanded? A: We don’t know right now. Put love into the world today.”
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Trump Media & Technology group, the company behind Truth Social, has been approved for a merger with the Digital World Acquisition Corporation. Shareholders of the DWAC voted on Friday March 22 to approve the merger, and it’s estimated that this deal can net Trump more than $3 billion dollars.
This vote has been over two years in the making, with the DWAC first announcing its intention to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group back in 2021. From here on, the newly-merged company may begin to be publicly traded as soon as next week, with DJT, Donald Trump’s initials, being used as the stock symbol.
Can Donald Trump cash in?
But Trump might not be able to cash in on this payday right away. That’s because he is meant to be barred from selling shares for at least six months, but as NBC notes, there’s a chance the board might lift this restriction sooner, with board members potentially including allies such as Roger Lighthizer, Linda McMahon, and his son, Donald Trump Jr.
Yet, after the merger got approved, Digital World Acquisition Corp’s share price dropped by up to 12%. As previously reported, insiders claim that Trump spoke to Elon Musk about him potentially purchasing Truth Social.
Per the Truth Social website, the divisive social media site is described as: “America’s ‘Big Tent’ social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating on the basis of political ideology.”
Trump recently posted on the platform about how Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, is an “enemy of the people”. This led to Meta’s stock experiencing a drop, showing that even if he is barred from selling shares for a while, he still has a formidable influence in the wider stock market.
Featured image: Ideogram
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Threads is coming to the Fediverse — and it’s happening sooner than you think. On Thursday (Mar.21) Meta, the owners of Threads, announced a beta that allows users in certain countries to share their Threads posts on numerous other platforms. The ability to share Threads posts on other platforms is all down to them being on servers that are compliant with something called ActivityPub.
ActivityPub is an open, decentralized protocol that enables social networks to become interoperable. So, for instance, users could share a Threads post on another ActivityPub-compliant server like Mastodon. Protocols like this are nicknamed the ‘Fediverse’ because they allow federated social networks, which, basically, is just another way of saying interoperable social networks.
So, Threads users who ‘opt in’ will have their posts shared across the Fediverse — but replies from other social media networks won’t be viewable from Threads. Instead, viewers will have to go to the other Fediverse server in question.
When will Threads join the Meta’s Fediverse?
In a post, Meta software engineer Christopher Su and security engineer Simon Blackstein explained that Meta is taking a “phased” approach to Fediverse integration.
“In the future, we expect content to flow from the fediverse into Threads,” they wrote. “Federated Threads users will be able to see and engage with replies to their posts coming from other servers, or follow people on other fediverse servers and engage with their content directly in Threads. Our plan is for fediverse-enabled Threads profiles to ultimately have one consolidated number of followers that combines users that followed them from Threads and users from other servers. “
They concluded: “Building a federated social networking app is a complex and delicate process if it is to be done safely. While we don’t have exact dates or details on our milestones just yet, we’re committed to a fully interoperable experience, and we’ll take the time to get this right and grow the fediverse responsibly.”
Integrating Threads into the Fediverse is the latest in a long line of changes that have been implemented at Meta. Most recently, the social network has been playing around with trending topics —dubbed ‘Today’s Topics’ — and a new save feature similar to X.
Featured Image: Photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash
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Meta Quest 2 the popular virtual reality (VR) headset has seen the price of the device fall below $200.
The device has not seen a price dive since the holiday season when the Meta Quest 2 outperformed Sony’s Playstation VR headset in sales by thirty to one. During this festive period, Meta’s portable headset was $250.
Why has Meta Quest 2 dropped in price?
The Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 have received favorable reviews in contrast to the expensive Apple Vision Pro equivalent, which was released last month at a $3,499 price point.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to break down the Vision Pro, saying “Quest (2&3) I think is just a lot more comfortable. We designed it to be 120 grams lighter, which makes a really big difference on your face. There are no wires that get in the way when you move around. Our field of view is wider and I found our screen to be brighter also.”
The Quest 3 is still a lofty $300 more than the older version, but Quest 2 boasts PC connectivity, hand-tracking, and a whole host of games that can be accessed. The lower price point appeals to users who will want to dip their toes into the augmented reality world without a substantial monetary investment and are looking for solid specs on their first VR device.
The price dip also sparks rumors of a possible new version of the Quest 3 around the corner, the Quest 3 Lite. Although information is scarce and Meta has not officially said anything about a possible lighter and cheaper option to the Quest 3, the decline in the Quest 2 in such a short space of time could be a sign of a new device entering the VR headset fray.
Those hoping to pick up the popular headset can do so from major brands like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. The larger 256 GB version of the headset has seen a limited stock since launch and with the Quest 3 being updated substantially it would be a very slim chance to see a restock hit stores brand new.
The Quest 3 headset received a substantial update, as we reported last month, version .62. New features like being able to record spatial video, and the three-dimensional capture of the environment around you, were an attempt by Meta to get ahead of the Vision Pro release.
Users can upload straight from their iPhone to the Meta Quest app to view their recorded content without contesting Apple’s divide in price points between the two brands.
The Quest 3 also has controller support for those who like to use a physical device to take on adventures, but stream content through the headset as an alternative to the motion controllers or hand-tracking.
Meta has a few alternatives to the Vision Pro without matching the Apple device’s price point, but news of a more portable Lite version of the Quest 3 remains a rumor, unlike the deal for the 2020 Quest 2.
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Betano the Greek sportsbook operator has reportedly signed a new deal with Premier League outfit Aston Villa.
The soccer side penned the deal according to an article exclusive via the UK newspaper The Telegraph.
Aston Villa and Betano deal
The deal is rumored to be the biggest sponsor to be emblazoned on the jerseys of the Birmingham Premier League team. Coming in at £40m ($50.4m) they will wear the Mediterranean parlay site’s logo and branding across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 Premier League seasons.
The new sports betting sponsor will be in place for a brand-new kit deal with Adidas that the Aston Villa faithful will flock to in droves. They are leaving behind the current sponsor Castore for the world-renowned Three Stripes created by Adi Dassler.
Betano has deals with Portuguese clubs FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon, as well as Brazilian teams Atletico Miniero and Fluminense.
The Brummy side are battling for a place in the Champions League next season. This is the top European competition that all sides want to be a part of as it has the most lucrative branding, broadcast, and sponsorship deals that come hand-in-hand with qualifying for the elite tournament.
Aston Villa is in a good spot to qualify as they are fourth in the world’s most elite soccer league. However, they battle to remain in contention for one of the coveted places.
The Betano deal will reportedly be the biggest in the club’s history and will help the side with financial fair play (FFP) requirements that are enforced on European clubs to avoid dodgy dealings or the club’s spending more than they can afford. The club from Birmingham recorded a loss of £120m ($151m), which regulatory body UEFA said was the biggest across all European clubs.
The side helmed by Spaniard Unai Emery had a spectacular start to the season with eight consecutive home wins and a notable feather in the cap with a December win over Arsenal. They fell out of the hunting pack for the Premier League title but retained a vice grip on the fourth spot despite a turbulent recent run of games.
They face a rematch away from home against Arsenal, which has a bit of added spice as Emery was once the manager of the London club before being shown the exit door. Manchester City also await away from home before the season ends.
The biggest fixture for the claret-wearing club comes at home as rivals Liverpool will close out the season at Villa Park. This game could decide the European ambitions of the club and the men in red could be the real villains of the piece if Aston Villa’s form doesn’t improve.
Image: Aston Villa FC.
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Earlier this week we discovered Starship Simulator and got over-excited about the size of the ambition that this brand-new space sim had. It seems we were not alone. Within two days of the Kickstarter going live it has blasted past its funding target of £65,000 and is now boldly going towards hitherto unknown stretch goal territory.
Backing things on Kickstarter is always a gamble, but the fact Starship Simulator has more of a playable demo and experience already on Steam than Star Citizen ever had in its early days is a testament to the work of Dan and Claire Govier, the people behind the project at Fleetyard Games, and watching the funding and backer count climbing up even during the time it takes to write this article would suggest others agree.
Announcing hitting the target via an email to backers, the devs said:
“To say we’re completely blown away by your support is the biggest understatement of the century. A week ago we were wondering if we’d even make it to our goal, and yet here we are just 72 hours into the campaign, and you guys have completely smashed it already!
It’s just incredible, thank you all so much

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced significant withdrawals, with $359 million leaving the fund on Thursday (Mar 21).
Those outflows come on the heels of a week of heavy withdrawals, culminating in a record single-day withdrawal of $642 million on Mar. 18. These recent withdrawals have escalated the total weekly outflows from GBTC to $1.8 billion, marking the fourth straight day of net withdrawals across all Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

We’ve got a negative flow day for the Cointucky Derby #Bitcoin ETFs thanks to $GBTC’s $643 million outflow day pic.twitter.com/scmVgmwtiH
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) March 19, 2024

What’s causing the Bitcoin ETF outflow?
There’s speculation that the wave of withdrawals from Grayscale’s fund might be winding down. Eric Balchunas, a Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, suggests that the outflows could be largely attributed to bankruptcies within the cryptocurrency sector, indicating that the downturn might be nearing its end.

What a pounding. Thought worst was over. Guess not. Who is leaving now that wasn’t motivated to leave past two months? https://t.co/YNX1dBt2FM
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 21, 2024

Balchunas pointed out that withdrawals from significant industry players like Gemini or Genesis are likely being redirected into purchasing Bitcoin, which in turn supports the market. He expressed optimism suggesting that “the worst is probably close to being over.”

The more I think about it the more likely the uptick in flows is related to the bankruptcies bc of the size and consistency. The flows in Feb showed what retail outflows look like, smaller and random pattern. Also any Gemini/Genisis outflows likely buying btc w cash hence market…
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 22, 2024

As of March 21, Grayscale disclosed that its Bitcoin Trust had $23.2 billion in assets under management — now standing at under $23.24. Since converting to an ETF on January 11, GBTC has seen a reduction of $13.6 billion in assets.
Independent researcher ErgoBTC observed that roughly $1.1 billion of the recent GBTC outflows might be linked to the bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis. Ergo highlighted a correlation between the timing and volume of GBTC outflows and Genesis inflows, suggesting a direct relationship.
Genesis was granted court approval in February to sell $1.3 billion worth of GBTC shares to settle its debts. Before this, the bankrupt exchange FTX had sold off its entire stake of 22 million GBTC shares, nearly $1 billion worth, effectively liquidating its position.
Amid these market movements, Bernstein has updated its forecast for Bitcoin, predicting a significant rise. The investment firm has raised its year-end Bitcoin price target to $90,000 from its earlier estimate of $80,000, buoyed by a recent uptick to around $74,000 and a positive reception to new spot BTC ETFs.
Bernstein analysts, Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra, attribute their bullish outlook to several factors: the commencement of a new Bitcoin bull cycle, robust inflows into ETFs, a surge in miner capacity, and unprecedented miner revenues, presenting a compelling case for equity investors interested in the cryptocurrency sector.
Furthermore, Bernstein has adjusted its prediction for the upcoming Bitcoin halving in April, now anticipating a 7% reduction in the hash rate, a measure of mining computational power. This outlook is more optimistic than their prior estimate of a 15% decline, expecting a smoother transition and better industry consolidation than before.
The developments follow some recent reports suggesting that Bitcoin may be heading towards its biggest crash so far. Also, earlier this week the world’s first cryptocurrency saw a brief flash crash down to $8,900 on BitMEX, before quickly returning over $60,000.
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