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Bored Ape Yacht Club

Hackers Use Instagram To Steal $3 Million In Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs.

On Monday, the non-fungible-token (NFT) collection of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) was hacked on Instagram. Users were sent a phishing link that was designed to steal NFTs. Three million dollars worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from the victims, according to Gizmodo.

According to a BAYC spokesperson, “rough estimated losses due to the scam are 4 Bored Apes, 6 Mutant Apes, and 3 BAKC [Bored Ape Kennel Club], as well as assorted other NFTs, estimated at a total value of $3 million.”

After gaining access to the Instagram account, the hacker created a fake airdrop link for the company’s upcoming Otherside metaverse project, which is set to launch later this week. The primary goal of a crypto airdrop is to raise awareness for new projects or services. The idea is to send tokens or NFTs to thousands of crypto addresses in the hopes that more people will become interested in the project and promote it. Users must connect their crypto wallet where their NFTs are stored in order to receive an airdrop.

Bored Ape Yacht Club
Image source: www.dexerto.com

When users did so, however, the scam site stole their digital assets and transferred them to the hacker’s wallet. “This morning, the official BAYC Instagram account was hacked,” BAYC said in a tweet. Users were prompted to sign a safe transfer from’ transaction after clicking on a fraudulent link to a copycat of the BAYC website with a fake Airdrop. “As a result, their assets were transferred to the scammer’s wallet.”

The BAYC team removed the fake links from the compromised Instagram account after discovering the hack.  “We will also never announce mints on the BAYC or Otherside Instagram accounts first, ever. Only obtain information from our official Twitter accounts,” BAYC noted in a tweet.

It’s unclear how the hacker gained access to the BAYC Instagram account at this time. According to the ape avatar platform, the “hack occurred even when two-factor-authentication was enabled on the account,” as one of Yuga Labs’ founders, Gargamel, tweeted. “On Yuga’s end, the security practices surrounding the IG account were tight. “I’m never going to post anything important on Instagram again.”

The blockchain investigator @zachxbt on Twitter dug into the wall hacker’s wallet address and discovered 4 Bored Apes, 7 Mutant Apes, and 3 Bored Ape Kennel Club NFTs among the highly valuable NFTs stolen. Celebrities such as basketball legend Steph Curry, musician Post Malone, and even American TV host Jimmy Fallon own BAYC NFT.

Scams involving Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have become quite common. Last month, a bored ape holder known as’s27′ lost $567k worth of bubble gum ape and matching mutants after swapping NFTs at an exchange known as “Swap. Kiwi.” Direct NFT swaps between collectors are possible on this platform, with lower transaction fees.

Yuga Labs, the company behind the popular ape avatar collection, has announced its entry into the metaverse. Otherside is the name of this company’s metaverse project, which aims to connect its massively multiplayer role-playing game to the larger NFT universe.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Confirms Acquisition Of Twitter For $44 Billion.

Elon Musk, a billionaire, has taken control of Twitter in one of the biggest tech deals in history. Elon Musk will pay approximately $44 billion for the social network, with shares valued at $54.20. On April 14, Musk announced his takeover bid, calling it his ‘best and final offer.’

Free Speech

“Free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where important issues affecting humanity’s future are discussed.” I also want to make Twitter better than it has ever been by adding new features, opening up the algorithms to increase trust, defeating spambots, and authenticating all humans. “I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock Twitter’s tremendous potential,” Elon Musk said in a press statement posted to his Twitter account.

On the platform, he has been a staunch supporter of ‘free speech.’ “I invested in Twitter because I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk wrote in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. “Twitter has extraordinary potential,” he wrote in the filing.

“I hope that even my harshest critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means,” Musk said earlier today on Twitter. It’s also worth noting that Musk sent out a rather obnoxious tweet about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Saturday, ostensibly in response to Gates shorting Tesla. More than a million people have liked the tweet. He then joked that his tweet was being reviewed by the ‘shadowban council.’

Elon Musk
Image source: news7h.com

New Ownership

According to Twitter, the publicly-traded company will now become a private company owned by Musk, who negotiated a $54.20 per-share purchase price.

“Twitter serves a purpose and is relevant to the entire world. We are immensely proud of our teams and inspired by work that has never been more critical, “Parag Agrawal, the company’s CEO, said in a tweet.

Musk secured $46.5 billion in financing last week to complete the deal, and Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, predicted earlier in the day that the board would likely accept his offer because no other buyer could be found.

In an interview with CNBC, he said, “This basically put (their) back against the wall, and they had to come to the negotiation table.” Around 1915 GMT, Twitter stock was trading 5.9% higher on Wall Street.

Poison Pill Strategy

While the board initially stated that it was considering Musk’s offer, it later rejected him and implemented a “poison pill” strategy that would have made it more difficult for Musk to gain control of the company.

Musk, whose immense wealth stems from the popularity of Tesla electric vehicles as well as other ventures, announced last week that he had secured funding.

Despite Musk’s wealth, the issue of financing had been viewed as a potential stumbling block because a large portion of his holdings is in Tesla stock rather than cash.

Musk claimed in a filing that the deal was made possible by a $13 billion debt facility from a financing consortium led by Morgan Stanley, a separate $12.5 billion margin loan from the same bank, and $21 billion from his own assets.

Musk’s efforts have sparked optimism about Twitter’s commercial potential, which has struggled to achieve profitable growth despite its cultural and political clout.

New Features

Twitter has made progress on new monetization features, such as subscription products, under Agrawal, who took over as CEO late last year. “Short term, Musk’s involvement at this stage runs the risk of disrupting those efforts,” Truist Securities said in a note.

However, the campaign of the polarising Tesla CEO has alarmed technology and free-speech experts, who point to Musk’s erratic statements and history of bullying critics, which contradict his stated goals.

According to the progressive group Media Matters for America, Trump could return to Twitter if Musk’s acquisition goes through, according to the progressive group Media Matters for America.

In a statement, the group’s president Angelo Carusone said, “Any negotiations to sell Twitter to Musk must include clear enforceable mechanisms to uphold and maintain existing community standards, including the removal of those who violate those standards.”

Twitter

Twitter Bans Ads That Oppose Climate Change Science.

Ads that deny the reality of climate change were banned by Twitter on Friday.

On Earth Day, Twitter made the announcement as it tries to fend off a hostile takeover bid from billionaire Elon Musk, who has stated that people should be able to say whatever they want on the platform.

In a blog post, Twitter global sustainability manager Casey Junod said, “Misleading advertisements on Twitter that contradict the scientific consensus on climate change are prohibited, in line with our inappropriate content policy.”

“We believe that climate denial should not be made profitable on Twitter, and that misleading advertisement should not detract from important discussions about the climate crisis.”

Last year, Twitter launched a Topic feature to help users find conversations about climate change, as well as hubs of “credible, authoritative” information on a variety of high-profile topics, such as climate change science.

Twitter
Image source: www.bssnews.net

“We recognise that false information about climate change can sabotage efforts to protect the environment,” Junod said.

“Now, more than ever, all of us must take meaningful climate action.”

As appealing as access to Musk’s wealth maybe, Twitter does not want to be ruled by a billionaire who is known for acting without thinking about the consequences of his actions.

The global one-to-many messaging platform is taking steps to prevent Musk from acquiring all of Twitter’s outstanding shares, indicating that concerns about his leadership style outweigh the potential payoff.

Musk, the world’s richest man and a controversial and frequent Twitter user, made an unsolicited $43 billion (roughly Rs. 3,28,800 crore) bid for the social media network earlier this month, citing improved freedom of speech as a motivation.

Musk favors a hands-off approach to content policing, which can be difficult in high-profile cases like that of former US President Donald Trump, who was banned following his supporters’ assault on the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the US election result last year.

However, the polarising Tesla CEO’s campaign has alarmed technology and free-speech experts, who point to Musk’s erratic statements and history of bullying critics as contradicting his stated goals.

The board of Twitter decided to use a “poison pill” defense, in which any acquisition of more than 15% of the company’s stock without its approval would trigger a plan to flood the market with shares, making a takeover more difficult.

Why does Elon Musk want to buy Twitter?

Elon Musk purchased slightly more than 9% of Twitter on March 14th, making him the company’s largest outside shareholder. On April 10th, it appeared that he would join the board of directors, as announced by Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, but that possibility had faded by then. On April 14th, Musk made an offer to buy the rest of Twitter and take it private for $54 and 20 cents per share. The offer valued the company at around $43 billion, significantly higher than its current market capitalization of nearly $36 billion. Musk’s efforts have sparked a corporate drama worthy of “Succession,” with talk of hostile takeovers, proxy battles, and board replacements all being discussed as ways to get the deal done.

Musk is worth around $280 billion, thanks in part to Tesla’s market capitalization of more than a trillion dollars, and he has pledged $21 billion in personal equity to take Twitter private. The social media platform is insignificant. A deal of some sort appears to be on the cards if Musk can gather the necessary funds. His motivation for using Twitter in the first place is less clear.

Twitter has a reputation for being a dysfunctional company. It has been unable to keep up with competitors such as Facebook and TikTok, and its updates and new features have arrived infrequently and inconclusively, causing users to become irritated. Since its inception in 2006, its advertising-based business model has hardly changed. Twitter’s dual status as a complete disaster and a hugely influential platform make it an easy target: it elicits strong reactions, including suggestions for how to fix it and calls to shut it down completely.

Musk appears to be hell-bent on bringing Twitter back to its former glory days when tweeting had fewer ramifications. Because Twitter is taken seriously as a public platform, it has suffered consequences. Musk was charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018 after tweeting about having the funds to take Tesla private at $420 per share, a move that resulted in him stepping down as the company’s chairman for three years and paying a $20 million fine.

Twitter is currently attempting to defend itself against Musk’s efforts. If any individual or group—presumably led by Musk—acquires more than 15% of the stock, the company adopts a “poison pill” policy that dilutes the stock and makes a tranche of new shares available to current holders. The cost of acquiring the company would rise as a result. 

Realme Q5i

Realme Q5i With Dimensity 810, 13-Megapixel Cameras Now Available: Check Price, Specifications

Prior to the event on April 20, Realme released the Q5i smartphone in China. The new Q5i has mid-range specifications, but they appear to be adequate on paper. The MediaTek Dimensity 810 processor, a 90Hz display, and a fast-charging battery are among the highlights of the new Realme Q5i. Realme’s Q5i appears to be part of the Q5 series, which will be released on April 20. As a result, it offers another option on the market.

The Realme Q5i has a design that is very similar to some of the company’s other phones. Two large cutouts are present on the back of the phone for cameras, and the rest of the back panel has a textured surface. The Realme Q5i is available in two colours: black and blue, neither of which has a clever name.

Specifications and Features

It features a MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC with 5G support. The 6.58-inch full-HD+ (2,400×1,080 pixels) display on the Realme Q5i has a 90Hz refresh rate, 600 nits of brightness, and a 180Hz sampling rate. The front of the phone features a waterdrop notch housing the selfie camera. It also has a 13-megapixel dual rear camera system with improved night mode, AI ID photography, and portrait mode, among other things. Its 5,000mAh battery is capable of 33W fast charging and is said to provide up to 95 hours of continuous music playback.

The Realme Q5i has an ultra-thin 8.1mm body with a textured kevlar fibre design. This smartphone runs Realme UI 3.0, which is based on Android 12. It features dual Hi-Res certified speakers. There is an instant-unlock fingerprint sensor on the side of the smartphone. Its dynamic RAM expansion feature adds up to 5GB of additional memory to the handset, allowing it to perform better.

Realme Q5i
Image source: www.financialexpress.com

Price and Availability

The Realme Q5i comes with two storage options. The model with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage costs CNY 1,199 (roughly Rs 14,400), while the model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage costs CNY 1,299 (roughly Rs 15,600). (approximately Rs 15,600). The phone is already available for pre-order in China, with no word on when it will be available elsewhere.

About the Company

Realme is a Chinese smartphone company that has only been around for a little over two years. It’s owned by BBK Electronics Corporation, which has a tumultuous history of producing brands such as iQOO, as well as the more well-known OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo. Realme was created in the same way as OnePlus, as a separate brand from BBK and Oppo, but with access to Oppo’s IP, purchasing economies of scale, and extensive factory lines. While OnePlus didn’t make the top ten list of second-quarter shipments at all, and Oppo saw a drop in device shipments, Realme seems to have thrived.

Sky Li, the founder of Realme, is a former Oppo employee. Li oversaw Oppo’s international expansion and has a track record of keeping Realme’s business message unmistakably simple: excellent value. Since its launch, the company’s portfolio has grown to include a budget banquet of premium features at competitive prices – ideal for brand-agnostic, Covid-era buyers.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Makes ‘Best And Final’ Offer To Buy Twitter; Launches Hostile Takeover Bid Worth $43 Billion.

Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, has offered to buy Twitter Inc. for $43 billion, slamming the company’s management and claiming to be the only person who can unlock the “extraordinary potential” of a communication platform used by more than 200 million people every day.

Musk said he’ll pay $54.20 per share in cash, which is 38% higher than the price on April 1, the last trading day before he went public with his stake. In New York on Thursday, the social media company’s stock was little changed at $45.81, indicating scepticism that one of the platform’s most outspoken users will succeed in his takeover attempt.

“I invested in Twitter because I believe it has the potential to be a global platform for free speech, and I believe that free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” he wrote in the filing. “However, since making my investment, I’ve come to realise that the company, in its current form, will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative.”

Elon Musk, 50, made the offer public on Thursday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. On April 4, the billionaire, who also owns Tesla, revealed a 9 percent stake in the company. Tesla’s stock dropped 1.5 percent in pre-market trading as a result of the news.

Twitter’s board of directors will consider the proposal, and any response will be in the best interests of “all Twitter stockholders,” according to the company.

The bid is the latest chapter in Musk’s tumultuous relationship with the social media platform. The executive is one of Twitter’s most-followed firebrands, frequently tweeting memes and taunts to his more than 80 million followers as @elonmusk. He’s been vocal about the changes he’d like to see at the social media platform, and the company offered him a seat on the board after he announced his stake, which made him the company’s largest individual shareholder.

Elon Musk
Image source: indianexpress.com

Elon Musk began soliciting feedback from fellow Twitter users soon after his stake was made public, proposing everything from turning Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter to adding an edit button to tweets and granting automatic verification marks to premium users. Given that several celebrities with large followings rarely tweet, one tweet suggested that Twitter might be dying.

He is one of the few people who can afford a full takeover because he is dissatisfied with the power that comes with being Twitter’s largest investor. According to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, he’s worth around $260 billion, compared to Twitter’s market value of around $37 billion.

In a letter to Twitter’s board, Musk stated that “in its current form, Twitter will neither thrive nor serve [its free speech] societal imperative.” Twitter should be turned into a private company.”

It is unlikely that the takeover will take a long time. “If the deal doesn’t work, I’ll have to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” Musk said. “I don’t have faith in management and don’t believe I can drive the necessary change in the public market.”

According to today’s statement, Musk informed Twitter’s board of directors over the weekend that he believes the company should be taken private.

According to Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli, the $54.20 per share offer is “too low” for shareholders and the board to accept, despite the fact that the company’s shares hit $70 (roughly Rs. 5,300) less than a year ago.

Despite the fact that Musk is the world’s richest man, he has yet to reveal how he will come up with $43 billion in cash.

“This becomes a hostile takeover offer that will cost a significant amount of money,” said Neil Campling, Mirabaud Equity Research’s head of TMT research. “To fund it, he’ll have to sell a significant amount of Tesla stock or take out a large loan against it.”

What is Musk’s goal for Twitter?

Musk is one of the most popular people on Twitter, with 80.5 million followers, outnumbering celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Selena Gomez.

However, his frequent tweeting has resulted in regulatory issues, such as his long-running dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission after he tweeted in 2019 that he had the funds to buy Tesla for $420 per share. That didn’t happen, but it did cause the stock to rise, drawing the attention of regulators.

Musk had been expected, as Twitter’s largest shareholder, to press the company on issues of free speech, a subject on which he has spoken out. Musk’s acquisition offer letter emphasised this point, emphasising his commitment to “free speech.”

Vivo X Fold

Vivo X Fold, X Note With Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC Debuts; Vivo Pad Debuts Alongside.

On Monday, Vivo launched the X Fold and X Note in China. The Vivo X Note is the company’s first foldable phone, but it’s also a new premium model with a 7-inch display. Both phones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and feature quad rear cameras with Zeiss optics. The Vivo Pad, the Chinese company’s first Android tablet, was unveiled alongside the Vivo X Fold and X Note. The Vivo Pad is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 SoC and has a 120Hz display.

Vivo X Fold: Specifications and Features

The Vivo X Fold has an 8.03-inch Samsung E5 folding display with 2K+ (1,916×2,160 pixels) resolution and a 4:3.55 aspect ratio. Powered by Android 12 and OriginOS, it looks and feels like a smartphone. A 120Hz refresh rate is also present on the primary display, which is shielded by the ultra-tough glass (UTG). The Vivo phone also has a 6.53-inch cover display, which is a Samsung E5 panel with a resolution of 1,080×2,520 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Vivo X Fold is equipped with an octa-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, as well as an Adreno 730 GPU and 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM.

The Vivo X Fold’s quad rear camera setup includes a 50-megapixel primary sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS) supported f/1.75 lens, as well as a 48-megapixel ultra-wide shooter, 12-megapixel portrait sensor, and an 8-megapixel sensor hidden behind a periscope-style super-telephoto lens for photos and videos. A 16-megapixel selfie camera sensor with an f/2.45 lens is also included on the front of the Vivo X Fold. On top of the folding display, there is another front-facing camera sensor.

The Vivo X Fold has up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage for storing content. 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/ A-GPS/ NavIC, NFC, and a USB Type-C port are among the connectivity options. A dual-screen, in-display 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is also included, with support for both folding and cover displays.

The Vivo X Fold has a 4,600mAh dual-cell battery with 66W fast wired charging capabilities. It comes with an 80W Gallium Nitride (GaN) PD charger as well. In addition, the phone supports 50W Wireless Flash Charging. When folded, it measures 162.01×74.47×14.57mm, and when unfolded, it measures 162.01×144.87×6.28mm. Furthermore, the phone is 311 grams in weight.

Vivo X Fold
Image source: www.notebookcheck.net

Vivo X Note: Specifications and Features

The Vivo X Note has a 7-inch 2K+ (1,440×3,080 pixels) Samsung E5 display with a 21:10 aspect ratio and up to 120Hz refresh rate. The device runs on Android 12 with OriginOS on top. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC is paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM in the phone. There’s a quad-camera setup on the back that’s identical to the Vivo X Fold. The phone also features the same 16-megapixel selfie camera found on the foldable phone.

Vivo has included up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage onboard. 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS/ A-GPS/ NavIC, NFC, and a USB Type-C port are among the connectivity options.

The Vivo X Note has a 5,000mAh dual-cell battery that supports both wired and wireless charging at speeds of up to 80W. A physical mute button is also present, similar to that found on OnePlus phones and iPhone models. The phone is 221 grams and measures 168.78×80.31×8.75mm.

Vivo Pad: Specifications and Features

The Vivo Pad has an 11-inch 2.5K display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10 support, and it runs on Android 12 with OriginOS HD. The phone has an octa-core Snapdragon 870 SoC under the hood, as well as 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. The Vivo Pad comes with a Dolby Atmos-assisted four-channel linear audio system.

The Vivo Pad has a dual rear digital camera setup with a 13-megapixel main sensor and an f/2.2 lens, as well as an 8-megapixel secondary sensor and an ultra-wide f/2.2 lens. On the front, there’s also an 8-megapixel digital camera sensor with facial recognition capabilities.

The Vivo Pad has a wide range of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.2, NFC, and a USB Type-C port. There may also be a pogo-pin connector for connecting the pill to other devices. It also has an 8,040mAh battery that supports 44W fast charging.

Price and Availability

The bottom 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant of the Vivo X Fold is priced at CNY 8,999 (roughly Rs. 1,07,200). The foldable telephone is also available in a 12GB + 512GB model, which costs CNY 9,999. (roughly Rs. 1,19,100). The Vivo X Observe price, on the other hand, starts at CNY 5,999 (roughly Rs. 71,400) for the base 8GB + 256GB model. The phone also comes in a 12GB + 256GB model for CNY 6,499 (roughly Rs. 77,400) and a top-end 12GB + 512GB model for CNY 6,999 (roughly Rs. 77,400). (roughly Rs. 83,400).

The Vivo Pad costs CNY 2,499 (approximately Rs. 29,800) for the 8GB + 128GB model and CNY 2,999 (approximately Rs. 35,700) for the 8GB + 256GB model. A removable keyboard for the Vivo Pad is available for CNY 599 (roughly Rs. 7,100) and a stylus pen is available for CNY 349. (roughly Rs. 4,200). There’s also a magnetic cover available for CNY 199. (roughly Rs. 2,400).

The Vivo X Fold will be available for purchase in China starting April 22, while the Vivo X Observe and Vivo Pad will be available starting April 15. Details on when the brand new gadgets will be available in international markets have yet to be revealed. Despite this, the Vivo Pad is said to be under investigation in India.