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How crypto bros wrested Flappy Bird from its creator

17 September 2024 at 17:40
Imagine owning one of those funky birds as an NFT!

Enlarge / Imagine owning one of those funky birds as an NFT! (credit: Flappy Bird Twitter/X)

Fans of ultra-viral mobile gaming hit Flappy Bird who were stunned by the game's sudden removal from the iOS App Store 10 years ago were probably even more stunned by last week's equally sudden announcement that Flappy Bird is coming back with a raft of new characters and game modes. Unfortunately, the new version of Flappy Bird seems to be the result of a yearslong set of legal maneuvers by a crypto-adjacent game developer intent on taking the "Flappy Bird" name from the game's original creator, Dong Nguyen.

"No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything," Nguyen wrote on social media over the weekend in his first post since 2017. "I also don't support crypto," Nguyen added.

No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything.
I also don't support crypto.

— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) September 15, 2024

"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," Nguyen said in a 2014 interview after removing the game from mobile app stores. "But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."

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Flappy Bird’s creator disavows ‘official’ new version of the game

15 September 2024 at 19:19

A decade after the wildly popular game Flappy Bird disappeared, an organization calling itself the Flappy Bird Foundation announced plans to “re-hatch the official Flappy Bird® game.” But this morning, the game’s creator, Dong Nguyen, posted a characteristically terse comment stating that he has nothing to do with the revival and that he “did not […]

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A walk through the crypto jungle at Korea Blockchain Week

By: Kate Park
15 September 2024 at 13:17

Blockchain technology is all about decentralization and virtualization. So it’s a little ironic that humans love to come together in person at big blockchain events. Such was the case last week in Seoul, where a record 17,000 people and 300 speakers came together for Korea Blockchain Week. Like traditional tech conferences, the event featured a […]

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Sam Bankman-Fried appeals conviction, criticizes judge’s ‘unbalanced’ decisions

14 September 2024 at 20:14

Lawyers representing Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX CEO and co-founder who was convicted of fraud and money laundering late last year, are seeking a new trial. Following crypto exchange FTX’s collapse, Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven counts, then sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture. He has […]

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Telegram CEO Durov’s arrest hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for its TON blockchain

By: Rita Liao
13 September 2024 at 17:46

Telegram has had a tough few weeks. The messaging app’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in late August and later released on a €5 million bail in France, charged with running a company complicit in distributing child sexual abuse material and facilitating drug trafficking and organized fraud. Predictably, that crashed the price of the network’s […]

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Adam Neumann’s crypto comeback company is reportedly refunding investors

12 September 2024 at 01:00

In a development that will surprise few, former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann’s climate/crypto/carbon-credit startup Flowcarbon appears to be in the process of curling up to die, Forbes reported today. Buyers of the outfit’s “Goddess Nature Token,” pitched as the first step in putting carbon credits on the blockchain, have reportedly been contacted about receiving refunds […]

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