Square says it's buying Australia-based buy now, pay later service Afterpay for $29B in an all-stock deal, paying a 30% premium on Afterpay's last closing (Reuters)

Reuters:
Square says it's buying Australia-based buy now, pay later service Afterpay for $29B in an all-stock deal, paying a 30% premium on Afterpay's last closing  —  U.S. fintech company Square Inc (SQ.N) said on Monday it had agreed to purchase Australian buy now/pay later giant Afterpay Ltd …

Some K-pop stars are bypassing Twitter and Facebook to create platforms for fans, like Universe, which features AI-generated voice calls with the idols (Stitch/The Verge)

Stitch / The Verge:
Some K-pop stars are bypassing Twitter and Facebook to create platforms for fans, like Universe, which features AI-generated voice calls with the idols  —  Fandom has changed a lot since I was a kid.  As a tween, I had no hope of getting in touch with celebrities I adored like Britney Spears and Whitney Houston.

Malaysia regulator takes enforcement action against Binance

Malaysia has taken enforcement action against cryptocurrency platform Binance to stop it operating in the country, the Securities Commission said. https://ift.tt/3jaqb5G

Zoom agrees to pay $85M and bolster its security practices to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged user privacy violations and Zoombombing (Jonathan Stempel/Reuters)

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Zoom agrees to pay $85M and bolster its security practices to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged user privacy violations and Zoombombing  —  Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM.O) agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming …

Profile of Bored Ape Yacht Club, an NFT collection that sold for $2M+ in April, spawned a collector community, and has since seen ~$100M in trading activity (Kyle Chayka/New Yorker)

Kyle Chayka / New Yorker:
Profile of Bored Ape Yacht Club, an NFT collection that sold for $2M+ in April, spawned a collector community, and has since seen ~$100M in trading activity  —  N.F.T. clubs are all the rage among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.  Are they a get-rich-quick scheme or the future of culture?

How the radical environmental themes of the game Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997 for the original PlayStation, influenced a generation of environmentalists (Stephen K. Hirst/Ars Technica)

Stephen K. Hirst / Ars Technica:
How the radical environmental themes of the game Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997 for the original PlayStation, influenced a generation of environmentalists  —  From activists to families, FFVII's cautionary, planetary tale still resonates.  —  In September of 1997 …