YouTube will limit notifications for subscribers who don’t engage with them.

New insights into the latest branded video content and creation trends.

Artificial intelligence startup Infinite Reality has acquired the music-pirating app turned music streaming service Napster in a $207 million deal and plans to add a music-focused metaverse. 

Infinite Reality said in a March 25 statement that Napster would offer “branded 3D virtual spaces” to allow virtual concerts and “social listening parties” along with the ability to offer virtual merchandise.

“Imagine stepping into a virtual venue to watch an exclusive show with friends, chat with your favorite artist in their own virtual hangout as they drop their new single, and be able to directly buy their exclusive digital and physical merch,” said Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos, who will continue in his role amid the acquisition.

“The internet has evolved from desktop to mobile, from mobile to social, and now we are entering the immersive era,” he added.

“The most legendary collab?! Infinite Reality has acquired iconic online music brand @Napster.

With this acquisition, we’re expanding and reimagining Napster, empowering artists with new audience monetization and engagement capabilities, underpinned by iR’s #immersive… pic.twitter.com/L4Fig7QFct

— Infinite Reality (@Infinite_iR) March 25, 2025

Infinite Reality added that it also plans for Napster to allow musicians to use AI customer and community management agents and analytics dashboards to track fan behavior and cross-promotion with its other entertainment properties, such as Esports teams.

Napster’s latest repurposing

Napster was a pioneer in piracy, launching in 1999 as a peer-to-peer (P2P) filing-sharing service mostly for music. It shuttered in 2001, buried by a court order after a wave of copyright infringement lawsuits.

The now-bankrupt company sold its brand, which was relaunched as a music-streaming service before bouncing between owners for the next 20 years. The blockchain firm Algorand and crypto investment firm Hivemind most recently bought it in 2022.

Related: Here’s what musicians actually think of tokenizing content in Web3

Napster had made several moves in the Web3 space, announcing plans in June 2022 to launch its own Napster token on the Algorand blockchain that could be used to buy music subscriptions and other content. The brand also bought Web3 music startup Mint Songs in February 2023.

John Acunto, co-founder and CEO of Infinite Reality, said the team hopes to lead an “internet industry shift from a flat 2D clickable web to a 3D conversational one.” 

Infinite Reality says the acquisition of Napster is slated to close in a few weeks. According to the firm, it hopes to evolve the Napster brand to become the leading immersive music platform for artists, fans and curators through audience monetization and engagement capabilities.

Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an independent agency of the federal government, is reportedly moving to stop using the “reputational risk” category as a way to supervise banks.

According to a letter sent by the agency’s acting chairman, Travis Hill, to Rep. Dan Meuser on March 24, banking regulators should not use “reputational risk” to scrutinize firms.

“While a bank’s reputation is critically important, most activities that could threaten a bank’s reputation do so through traditional risk channels (e.g., credit risk, market risk, etc.) that supervisors already focus on,” notes the letter, first reported by Politico.

According to the document, the FDIC has completed a “review of all mentions of reputational risk” in its regulations and policy documents and has “plans to eradicate this concept from our regulatory approach.”

Reputational risk and debanking

The Federal Reserve defines reputational risk as “the potential that negative publicity regarding an institution’s business practices, whether true or not, will cause a decline in the customer base, costly litigation, or revenue reductions.”

The FIDC letter specifically mentioned digital assets, with Hill noting that the agency has generally been “closed for business” for institutions interested in blockchain or distributed ledger technology. Now, as per the document, the FDIC is working on a new direction for digital asset policy aiming at providing banks a way to engage with digital assets.

The letter was sent in response to a February communication from Meuser and other lawmakers with recommendations for digital asset rules and ways to prevent debanking.

Industries deemed as “risky” to banks often face significant challenges in establishing or maintaining banking relationships. The crypto industry faced such challenges during what became known as Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

The unofficial Operation led to more than 30 technology and cryptocurrency companies being denied banking services in the US after the collapse of crypto-friendly banks earlier in 2023.

Related: FDIC resists transparency on Operation Chokepoint 2.0 — Coinbase CLO

Bitcoin network economist Timothy Peterson maintains his optimistic outlook for BTC (BTC), suggesting that there is a 75% chance that the asset will hit new highs in the next nine months.

In a March 25 X post, Peterson highlighted BTC’s current position near the lower bound of its historical range. The analyst emphasized that Bitcoin’s current path aligns with the bottom 25% threshold, giving it majority odds for a positive rally.

Peterson said, 

“Here is a 50% chance it will gain 50%+ in the short term.”

Peterson’s statements follow an earlier study that found that most of Bitcoin’s annual bullish performance occurred in April and October, which have averaged 12.98% and 21.98%, respectively, over the past decade.

Related: Bitcoin flips ‘macro bullish’ amid first Hash Ribbon buy signal in 8 months

Bitcoin onchain cost basis zone key investors’ levels

In a recent quicktake post on CryptoQuant, anonymous analyst Crazzyblockk said that the realized price for short-term whales is $91,000, whereas most highly active addresses hold a cost basis between $84,000 and $85,000.

A dip below the cost basis could trigger selling, making the $84,000 to $85,000 range a critical liquidity zone.

The analyst added, 

“These onchain cost basis levels represent decision zones where market psychology shifts. Traders and investors should closely monitor price reactions in these areas to gauge trend strength and potential reversals.”

Related: BlackRock launches Bitcoin ETP in Europe

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.