₿ Bitcoin Soars To All-Time High And Might Never Look Back

In today’s newsletter I discuss how Bitcoin has soared to an all-time high, OpenAI acquires the designer of the iPhone, Selena Gomez partners with Oreo, Justin Sun (creator of the Tron cryptocurrency) has bought himself a dinner with President Donald Trump, Elon Musk signs up for another 5-years at Tesla, and Disney partners with Formula 1.

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₿ Bitcoin Soars To All-Time High And Might Never Look Back

Bitcoin recently reached a new record high, soaring past $111,000 to trade as high as $111,861.22. This rally marks a significant 47% recovery from its April low of $74,500, and is driven by institutional demand, favorable regulatory developments, and increasing investor confidence. Bitcoin has been rallying as investors are making a flight to safety due to concerns surrounding the U.S. debt crisis and the Republican party's proposed spending bill, which is reportedly set to add $3.8 trillion to the existing $36 trillion mountain of U.S. debt. 

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last 16 years, Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, often referred to as cryptocurrency, which operates without a central bank or single administrator; meaning no one person or entity owns or controls the cryptocurrency. It was created in 2009 by an anonymous entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto, whose identity remains a mystery to this very day. The core innovation of Bitcoin is its underlying technology, a distributed public ledger called a blockchain, which records all transactions in a secure and transparent manner.

The price history of Bitcoin has been characterized by extreme volatility. Initially, it had virtually no monetary value, with its first real-world transaction in 2010 seeing 10,000 Bitcoins exchanged for two pizzas, which would be worth approximately $1.12 billion dollars ($1,118,612,200 to be exact based on today’s Bitcoin price), making it the most expensive pizzas ever!

💰 Business

OpenAI is reportedly acquiring io, the AI device startup founded by former Apple chief design officer Jony Ive, who is famous for leading the design of iconic products like the iPhone and iMac, for approximately $6.4 billion dollars in an all-stock deal. This marks OpenAI's largest acquisition to date, and signals the beginning of their push into hardware development.

Apparently the future of AI will be a minimalist device that fits in the palm of your hand, and come in multiple pastel colors to fit your lifestyle.

🍪 Entertainment

Selena Gomez has teamed up with Oreo for a limited-edition cookie inspired by her childhood favorite flavor horchata, which is a creamy and refreshing Mexican dairy-free beverage traditionally made from rice, water, cinnamon, and sugar. Selena Gomez’s collaboration with Oreo is part of the brand’s marketing strategy to target younger consumers, and its working. Oreo had over $4 billion in sales last year.

Part of the proceeds from the cookie sales will benefit Gomez's Rare Impact Fund, which seeks to raise $100 million for youth mental health. 

Because, obviously, cookies is the most effective way to address complex societal issues like mental health while encouraging a new generation to eat unhealthy foods.

🚕 Tech

Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin by the end of June, starting with around 10 Model Y vehicles. This comes as he also committed to leading Tesla for at least another five years, despite the company's sales plummeting 13% in the first three months of 2025 and a previous internal analysis suggesting robotaxis will lose money.

But Tesla fanboys aren’t deterred by bad news, and instead have been buying up Tesla's stock which is off of its low of $217.80 set on 4/8/25, and is currently trading around $339.13.

🪙 Crypto

Tron founder Justin Sun has announced he is the top holder of the $TRUMP meme coin, reportedly owning approximately $19 million dollars worth of the tokens. This makes him eligible to attend an exclusive VIP dinner with President Donald Trump. Justin Sun also invested an additional $75 million dollars in World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked crypto venture, bringing his total known contributions to Trump-related crypto projects to over $94 million dollars.

It's almost as if the presidency can be purchased with crypto. Oh wait, it can be.

🏁 Sports

The Disneyfication of the entertainment industry continues with Formula 1's new deal to introduce its 820 million racing fans worldwide to Disney's Mickey Mouse and his friends. This collaboration, which marks Disney's first major race licensing agreement for Mickey Mouse, is expected to generate significant revenue for both parties, though specific financial figures were not disclosed (we hate it when they do that).

With Formula 1's surging popularity, particularly in the U.S., and Disney’s worldwide recognition, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine in the near future the checkered flag at the Miami Grand Prix being waved by Mickey Mouse.

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irl Media NEWSLETTER is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.