Author: NBTC
A pawnshop chain in Russia may soon start offering loans using cryptocurrency as collateral, with plans to accept other digital assets in the future. The announcement comes amid efforts to properly regulate crypto transactions in the country, which already recognizes Bitcoin as property but intends to expand the legal definition. Russian pawnbrokers mull launching loans secured by crypto Mosgorlombard (MGKL) group, a pawnshop operator in the Russian Federation, unveiled that it is considering issuing crypto-backed loans. It intends to start lending against cryptocurrency and eventually add similar assets to the list of accepted collateral, such as tokens, digital collectibles, in-game…
South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced today it will fully compensate customers affected by an incident in which 620,000 Bitcoin worth over $40 billion was mistakenly distributed to 695 users during an event reward payment. The error occurred on February 6 when an input mistake during the reward process led to the massive overpayment. Bithumb said it detected the issue within 20 minutes and blocked all transactions and withdrawals. Bithumb recovered nearly all of the overpaid Bitcoin, amounting to 618,212 BTC or 99.7% of the total. In addition, 93% of the assets that recipients had already sold have been reclaimed,…
Ethereum struggles at key support levels but continues to see strong long positions, suggesting potential for a rebound if resistance is cleared. Ethereum ($ETH) is facing a turbulent time, with the price down by 1.88% in the last 24 hours, trading at $2,280. Despite the recent dip, Ethereum has seen notable volatility, with its price fluctuating within a narrow range between $2,117.03 and $2,329. Trading volume remains high, with spot volume sitting at $8.2 billion, while futures have clocked $104.8 billion, suggesting heightened participation from leveraged traders. Looking at Ethereum’s broader performance, it has struggled over the past week, down…
Blockratize, the parent company of cryptocurrency prediction platform Polymarket, has filed trademark applications in the US for the terms “POLY” and “$POLY”. The applications are seen as a significant step formalizing the legal process for the company’s previously announced plans to issue a native POLY token and conduct an airdrop. According to USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) records, applications filed on February 4th became visible in the system earlier this week. The files are currently categorized as “active” and “pending review.” The USPTO states that the applications meet the minimum requirements but have not yet been assigned to an…
For years, Ethereum’s layer-2 networks have marketed themselves as extensions of Ethereum itself. “Arbitrum is Ethereum,” Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder wrote on X in March 2024. “Base is Ethereum,” Coinbase’s layer-2 team posted in April 2025. But following recent comments from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin questioning whether Ethereum still needs a dedicated layer-2 roadmap, many of those same teams are now emphasizing something different: that rollups are not Ethereum at all. Goldfeder, for one, struck a noticeably different tone after Buterin’s post, writing on X instead: “Arbitrum is not Ethereum.” “It’s a core part of the ecosystem, a close-knit…
South Korea’s top financial watchdog is stepping up oversight of crypto markets days after a local exchange mistakenly distributed billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to users. The Financial Supervisory Service said Sunday it will launch planned investigations into “high-risk” practices that undermine market order, including large-scale price manipulation by so-called whales, trading schemes tied to suspended deposits and withdrawals, and coordinated pump tactics fueled by social media misinformation. The watchdog also said it plans to build tools that automatically extract suspicious trading patterns by the second and minute, alongside text-analysis systems using artificial intelligence to flag potential market abuse.…
Old Glory Bank, a crypto-friendly lender, said it will merge with Digital Asset Acquisition Corporation to form a Texas-based company listed on Nasdaq. In a Tuesday notice, Old Glory and special purpose acquisition company Digital Asset Acquisition Corporation said they plan to form OGB Financial Company as part of an effort to go public under the ticker symbol OGB. The deal is expected to close “at the end of the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2026,” subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. “We intend for Old Glory Bank to be the first chartered bank to fully…
Binance announced it will be launching new trading pairs and trading bot services to expand spot market trading options and enhance user experience. According to the exchange’s statement, spot trading will begin on February 10, 2026 at 11:30 AM for the following pairs: $ASTER/U, $PAXG/$USD1, $SUI/U, and $XRP/U. Binance will also launch various Trading Bot services for these pairs at the same date and time. Accordingly, Spot Algo Orders support will be activated for $ASTER/U, $PAXG/$USD1, $SUI/U, and $XRP/U pairs. On the other hand, Spot Grid and Spot DCA services will be offered for the BTC/$USD1 pair. Another notable element…
Fireblocks has announced an integration with Stacks that will give institutional clients access to Bitcoin-native decentralized finance. Fireblocks is an enterprise digital asset security and custody platform, while Stacks is a Bitcoin layer-2 network for smart contracts. The integration will allow more than 2,400 Fireblocks clients to deploy Bitcoin capital into DeFi applications built on Stacks using existing institutional workflows for custody, settlement, trading, and payments. The focus is on Bitcoin-denominated products that operate directly with Bitcoin as the settlement layer. Through the integration, institutions will be able to earn Bitcoin-based yield and access BTC-backed lending services across the Stacks…
While Ethereum ($ETH) – which is down 26.44% since New Year’s Day and is, at press time on February 4, changing hands at $2,202 – suffered the biggest drop among the major cryptocurrencies, AI predicts it could hit a remarkable all-time high ($ATH) later in 2026. Making the forecasted upside even more staggering, it is noteworthy that the entire cryptocurrency market erased some $400 billion within less than a week between late January and early February, and other prominent digital assets like Bitcoin ($BTC) and XRP are down a more tame 14% year-to-date (YTD). Indeed, it was the losses and…