Search the archive

ROBINHOOD'S 2% CRYPTO BONUS

Robinhood's June 24 crypto deposit promo offers a 2% cash bonus for BTC, ETH, or SOL, but is only paid if users keep their balance above the deposit value for a full year.

PRIVY LAUNCHES “RECIPES” HUB FOR DEVELOPERS

Privy has rolled out a new “Recipes” homepage featuring step-by-step guides for common integration tasks across wallets, UI, trading, payments, mobile, and social apps.

STABLECOIN VOLUMES INCREASE 49% YOY

Stablecoin transaction volume has jumped 49% year-over-year, with 2025 averaging $702B per month vs. $472B per month in 2024.

28 REASONS ETHEREUM'S MOMENTUM ISN'T SLOWING DOWN

In just a few weeks, Ethereum has seen Shopify adopt stablecoin payments on Base, EigenLayer launch EigenCloud, Stripe acquire Privy, and JPMorgan announce a deposit token on Base.

GOOGLE IS ROLLING OUT ITS AI-POWERED ‘ASK PHOTOS' SEARCH AGAIN

Google resumed the rollout of its AI-powered "Ask Photos" search feature for Google Photos after previously pausing it due to performance issues. The updated tool now delivers faster results for simple searches, such as "beach" or "dogs," by showing immediate results while Gemini AI models continue processing more complex queries in the background. The feature is expanding beyond early access to more eligible users in the U.S.

GETTY DROPS KEY COPYRIGHT CLAIMS AGAINST STABILITY AI, BUT UK LAWSUIT CONTINUES

Getty Images dropped its main copyright infringement claims against Stability AI in London's High Court, though the UK lawsuit continues with secondary infringement and trademark claims. Legal experts suggest that Getty withdrew the claims due to weak evidence and jurisdictional issues related to AI training outside the UK. A separate US lawsuit seeking $1.7 billion in damages remains active. The case highlights ongoing legal uncertainties around AI companies using copyrighted content for training.

FIGMA LAUNCHES A NEW EXPORT TOOL FOR FIGMA MAKE AND ENHANCES THE VECTOR EDIT MODE

Figma Make now allows users to import styles directly from published Figma Design libraries, simplifying the process of creating visually consistent prototypes and web apps by generating and customizing CSS files. Additionally, Figma has upgraded its Vector Edit Mode with new tools like Variable Width, Bend, Lasso, and Paint, enhancing precision and flexibility for interface design and illustration.

I'VE OVERDESIGNED BEFORE — HERE'S WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT DOING LESS

Overdesign often occurs when aesthetics are prioritized over usability or when UX best practices are misapplied. Common examples of overdesign include unnecessary hamburger menus that hide important navigation and "whiplash" layouts that disrupt the natural reading direction. Underdesign, on the other hand, manifests through poor color contrast and inaccessible typography. UX designers can avoid overdesign by conducting thorough research, presenting content in a way that aligns with users' natural reading flow, ensuring that accessibility fundamentals are met, and questioning whether design elements serve real purposes beyond aesthetics.

14 LOGIC-DRIVEN UI DESIGN TIPS TO IMPROVE ANY INTERFACE

A seasoned product designer outlines 14 logic-driven guidelines for improving user interfaces, emphasizing that effective UI design relies on structured principles rather than artistic intuition. They illustrate these tips through a before-and-after redesign of a community blogging platform's profile page, addressing issues such as spacing, contrast ratios, button hierarchy, and accessibility standards. Key principles include using proximity to show relationships between elements, ensuring sufficient contrast for accessibility, limiting primary buttons to one per screen, and maintaining consistency throughout the interface.

AS DESIGN IS DEMOCRATISED, PRO DESIGNERS BECOME ESSENTIAL

Design is no longer confined to creatives—it's become a core skill across all business functions, with more teams than ever creating visual content thanks to intuitive tools and the growing demand for polished, on-brand communication. As design becomes democratized, professional designers are more essential than ever—taking on strategic roles as system-builders, educators, and brand guardians to empower teams, ensure consistency, and uphold quality at scale.

TAKE YOUR SCREEN RECORDINGS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Focus on the screen recording and let FocuSee handle the post-production for you automatically. Get a visually appealing video as soon as you finish recording.

API TO CREATE SLIDE DECKS

Generate and manage dynamic PowerPoints and Google Slides with your own custom branding and layouts.

LAUNCH A WEBSITE IN MINUTES

Chat with AI to build a website. Seamlessly add forms, content, and media.

IN GOOD COMPANY: HOW AGENCIES ARE TRANSFORMING CLIENT COLLABORATION

Agencies are transforming client relationships by breaking down traditional boundaries and embracing collaborative workflows using tools like Figma. The shift from formal presentations to real-time collaboration allows clients to actively participate in the design process through shared files and continuous feedback. Studios of all sizes now work more intimately with clients across multiple project surfaces, from digital interfaces to physical products, creating stronger outcomes through transparency and trust.

RAAEE: THE ULTIMATE TRACKING FRAMEWORK FOR YOUR PRODUCT FEATURES

Most design teams make product decisions without truly understanding whether features are seen, desired, used, or delivering value. The RAAEE framework—Reach, Attractiveness, Adoption, Effectiveness, and Engagement—offers a clear, data-driven way to evaluate feature performance and align design choices with real user behavior and business impact.

WHY JAPANESE MINIMALISM IS TAKING OVER WESTERN DESIGN

Amid the noise of bold Y2K visuals, a quiet movement rooted in Japanese minimalism is reshaping global design, favoring calm, space, and intention over clutter. This neo-minimalism, inspired by cultural ideals like ku, ma, and wabi-sabi, blends simplicity with meaning, guiding brands toward clarity, sustainability, and human connection in everything from packaging to furniture.

METALS IS THE DESIGN AND DIRECTION STUDIO SHAKING UP MUSIC INDUSTRY VISUALS

Metals, the New York-based design studio founded by Eddie Mandell and Chase Shewbridge, specializes in creating visual experiences for music industry clients, including Sabrina Carpenter, FKA Twigs, and Model/Actriz.

A MIRRORLESS CAMERA THAT IS REDEFINING MINIMALIST DESIGN

Named after "beautiful foolishness" from a Japanese poem, the Sigma BF mirrorless camera embraces radical minimalism with its bare aluminum unibody and stripped-down interface, prioritizing fundamental photography elements over conventional features.

Read the full findings →

OVER 1,200 CITRIX SERVERS UNPATCHED AGAINST CRITICAL AUTH BYPASS FLAW

Over 1,200 Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway appliances remain unpatched against CVE-2025-5777 ("Citrix Bleed 2"), a critical authentication bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to hijack user sessions and bypass multi-factor authentication. ReliaQuest reports with medium confidence that the flaw is already being actively exploited, with indicators including hijacked web sessions, suspicious IP address usage, and Active Directory reconnaissance activities. Organizations must immediately patch their NetScaler appliances and terminate all active ICA and PCoIP sessions to prevent session hijacking attacks similar to those seen in previous CitrixBleed ransomware campaigns.

STABLECOIN PROTOCOL RESUPPLY LOSES $9.6M TO PRICE MANIPULATION EXPLOIT

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Resupply confirmed a security breach in its wstUSR market which resulted in $9.6M in losses. The attacker used a price manipulation exploit to inflate the share price which allowed them to borrow $10M reUSD with minimal collateral. Resupply paused the contracts to prevent further damage upon detection.

ZURICH NON-PROFIT HIT BY RANSOMWARE, SWISS FEDERAL DATA AT RISK

Radix, a Zurich-based non-profit health foundation, was hit by a ransomware attack on June 16. The Sarcoma group released 1.3TB of stolen data after ransom demands failed. The breach affected data from Swiss federal offices that trusted Radix, though attackers didn't access Federal Administration systems directly. Swiss authorities are investigating the attack and warned of potential future phishing campaigns using the stolen data.

HACKER CONVERSATIONS: RACHEL TOBAC AND THE ART OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING

Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, demonstrates how social engineers exploit psychological principles, such as the principles of urgency, authority, and scarcity, to trick targets into revealing sensitive information or credentials. Her methods involve OSINT research, AI-generated voice clones, background audio effects, and caller ID spoofing to craft convincing stories that bypass human verification. Organizations should enhance identity checks beyond simple data, such as birthdates and addresses, as attackers can easily obtain this information from data brokers to impersonate real customers.

USING AI TO IDENTIFY CYBERCRIME MASTERMINDS

Sophos researchers created an AI framework that analyzes 11,558 posts from 4,441 individuals across 124 dark web forums, mapping discussions to CVE exploits and MITRE CAPEC patterns. It clusters threat actors by skill, commitment, and activity, identifying 14 "professional" actors (3.9%) with high expertise and a focused approach. This automated method helps threat teams prioritize investigations and reduce manual analysis when spotting key criminals.

COMPARING SEMGREP PRO AND COMMUNITY WHITEPAPER

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is crucial for modern application security. Semgrep has become popular due to its accessible Community Edition. This research compares Semgrep's free and commercial versions, showing that Semgrep Code identifies more findings and achieves better true positive rates than the Community Edition.

ZERORISC (PRODUCT LAUNCH)

ZeroRISC offers cloud security solutions aimed at ensuring transparency and reliability for data centers, ICS, other OT systems, and IoT devices.

PWN

PWN is an open security automation framework that aims to stand on the shoulders of security giants, promoting trust and innovation. Build your own custom automation drivers freely and easily using pre-built modules.

PROFESSIONAL PENTESTER TOOLBOX

The TCM Security team has compiled a list of their favorite tools for external pentests, internal pentests, AD tools, reconnaissance, web app testing, and physical pentesting.

NORDIC'S LARGEST APPLE PREMIUM PARTNER BREACHED, HACKERS CLAIM

The Kraken ransomware group claims to have breached Humac, the Nordic region's largest Apple Premium Partner, stealing financial information, customer data, and employee details. Cybernews verified that the leaked data appears legitimate. The data includes employee records, internal files, and database samples from the retailer, which has over 120 stores across Europe. The breach poses risks - stolen employee data could enable phishing to access Apple support platforms, and customer info could aid fraud.

CANADA GIVES HIKVISION THE BOOT ON NATIONAL SECURITY GROUNDS

Canada ordered Chinese surveillance company Hikvision to cease operations on national security grounds. The partly state-owned firm is banned from government use, with existing equipment under review. Hikvision called the decision unfounded and said it was geopolitically motivated.

SINALOA DRUG CARTEL HIRED A CYBERSNOOP TO IDENTIFY AND KILL FBI INFORMANTS

A Sinaloa cartel informant told the FBI in 2018 that the drug gang was paying hackers to spy on federal agents and people working with law enforcement. The hackers could break into phones, hack into Mexico City's security cameras, and track where people went. The cartel used this information to threaten and kill witnesses.

SQUAREX REVEALS THAT EMPLOYEES ARE NO LONGER THE WEAKEST LINK, BROWSER AI AGENTS ARE

SquareX's research indicates that Browser AI Agents are now more vulnerable to cyberattacks than employees due to their limited security awareness and inability to recognize warning signs, such as suspicious links.

JOINT STATEMENT FROM CISA, FBI, DC3, AND NSA ON POTENTIAL TARGETED CYBER ACTIVITY AGAINST U.S. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE BY IRAN

Iranian hackers might target US systems with weak passwords and outdated software, so agencies advise vigilance.

EUROPOL DISMANTLES $540 MILLION CRYPTOCURRENCY FRAUD NETWORK, ARRESTS FIVE SUSPECTS

Europol dismantled a crypto scam operation involving 'pig butchering' schemes that defrauded over 5,000 victims worldwide of €460 million, leading to five arrests in Spain.

CREATORS AS STRATEGISTS: THE NEW POWER PLAYERS IN BRAND MARKETING

Creators have become strategic partners who now shape campaigns. Many outperform traditional strategists by engaging directly with their communities and offering real-time feedback. While platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram now receive more ad spend than traditional media, agencies often overlook creators' role. Brands that involve them early see more authentic results, as shown by India's Tira, which co-developed voice and formats with creators.

HOW EMERGING TRENDS IMPACT CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

Easier online purchasing drives 83% of consumers to buy more electronics, while 92% say all-in-one online shopping encourages frequent purchases. Social media is a key discovery channel for 78% of shoppers, who are 3X more likely to buy electronics through these platforms. Creator recommendations are trusted by 75%, with 81% following creators for advice. Augmented reality enhances engagement, capturing attention for 72% and helping 75% visualize products, which boosts confidence and reduces returns.

HOW FUTURE PACING DOUBLED DEMOS FOR A SAAS COMPANY

SFG20 increased demo requests and boosted conversions by 105% by simplifying its lead generation page and using future pacing with a blurred image of its app interface. The test replaced dense copy with a streamlined form and highlighted a low-pressure demo experience, helping prospects visualize themselves using the product. This shows how even subtle psychological cues like future pacing can increase motivation and reduce friction.

5 BRANDS THAT GOT CULTURAL PARTNERSHIPS RIGHT

Successful cultural partnerships go beyond surface-level collaborations. Brands like Duolingo, Dior, Nike, Gentle Monster, and LVMH invite communities to shape their work. Duolingo's Eid content connects with Muslim users, Dior honors Indian artisanship, Nike collaborates with Indigenous designers, Gentle Monster gives Jennie Kim creative control, and LVMH blends French luxury with Japanese artistry. These partnerships honor traditions, build genuine connections, and make culture central to their marketing strategies.

THE NEW SEARCH CONSOLE INSIGHTS REPORT IS HERE

Google has released a new version of Search Console Insights, integrated directly into the main Search Console interface. The new report is designed to provide an accessible way for content creators, bloggers, and site owners to understand their website's performance without needing to be data experts.

SEO TIP: UNCOVER HIDDEN CHATGPT TRAFFIC WITH LOG FILE INSIGHTS

GA4 misses how your content appears in real user conversations on ChatGPT, since these aren't traditional page views. To uncover this hidden activity, check your server log files for the ChatGPT-User agent using tools like Screaming Frog. This shows which URLs are being accessed, what questions your site is helping answer, and how often your content is used by ChatGPT. These visits often convert at much higher rates, so reviewing your logs is a valuable way to understand your true visibility and influence.

DIARY OF A BRAND: A24

A24 has built a cult following through auteur-led films and low-cost, viral marketing that champions creative freedom. It's evolving into a platform brand by expanding into TV, music, merchandise, memberships, and cosmetics, all while staying true to its indie roots. Its marketing team shares the same creative autonomy as its filmmakers, helping A24 grow an Instagram following 3X larger than Paramount Pictures. The brand is building a media empire centered on offbeat storytelling.

HOW TARGET IS TACKLING BACK-TO-SCHOOL MARKETING WITH DUAL CAMPAIGNS

Target is running two back-to-school campaigns using influencer marketing and value messaging to connect with college students and parents of younger children. The “Hey Mom, I'm at Target” campaign features college content creators highlighting dorm essentials and Circle 360 perks, while “All of the Above” targets parents with budget-friendly style and teacher influencers. Both campaigns focus on delivering an on-trend product mix and reinforcing Target's commitment to value during its second-largest sales season.

MICROSOFT ADS GETS NEW GRANULAR ASSET-LEVEL REVIEWS

Microsoft Ads will now review assets individually, letting approved parts run even if one asset is not approved.

STARTUPS ARE DITCHING LINKEDIN FOR TIKTOK TO ANNOUNCE FUNDING ROUNDS

Young founders are using viral TikToks and short videos to attract investors.

VECTOR'S MARKETING BUDGET BREAKDOWN

A breakdown of how Vector is spending its $45K ad budget in Q3.

→ AI copilots

→ Multiplayer editing

→ Try Liveblocks FREE for up to 50 MAU ←

✅ Trusted by PwC, Vercel, Typeform

MEME COMPANY

As AI transforms software engineering, success will rely less on coding skills and more on qualities like taste, management, and influence. Startups like Cluely show how viral fame and marketing increasingly overshadow product quality, creating a world where building hype can matter more than building software.