Author: NBTC

Silicon Valley-based cryptocurrency venture capital firm Variant has completed fundraising for a new $222 million fund, designated Variant 4, with a strategic focus on early-stage investments at the intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. The news was first reported by Fortune. Fund Details and Investment Strategy Variant 4 marks the firm’s latest capital raise and signals continued institutional appetite for crypto-native venture opportunities, even amid shifting market conditions. The fund will target very early-stage technology companies operating in sectors including decentralized finance (DeFi), cryptocurrency infrastructure, and AI agents—autonomous software systems that leverage blockchain for coordination and verification. The firm’s…

The next phase of the Pi Network ecosystem may already be taking shape. New screenshots shared by community members show that Pi DEX has activated token management, liquidity pool creation and liquidity pool functionality. The PI token now appearing in the platform’s asset list. While the features remain in an early stage, many users see the update as one of the clearest signals yet. That decentralized finance is moving closer to reality within the Pi ecosystem. 🔥Major Signal for the #PiNetwork📢Pi DEX has launched full token, liquidity pool, and pool creation functions. The Pi token option is now displayed in…

Last week, CoinDesk reported that individuals familiar with the Clarity Act negotiations expect a new draft of the bill to circulate this week. The updated bill text will combine the different versions from the Banking and Agriculture Committees and include some 70 additional pages, sources told CoinDesk. What it will not include, as of press time, is an ethics provision or agreements on some of the remaining contentious issues in the Clarity Act, meaning it’s not yet ready for a vote. The rest of this newsletter is going to be conjecture and speculation. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Punchbowl…

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest automaker, tested the use of stablecoins in its internal cross-border payment processes by conducting a $USDT transfer over the Avalanche network. As part of a pilot program conducted by Hyundai Card, a transfer of $20,000 was made from Hyundai Motor America, Hyundai Motor’s US subsidiary, to Hyundai Motor Mexico, its Mexican subsidiary. During the transaction, the dollars were first converted to $USDT issued by Tether, sent to the Mexican unit via the Avalanche network, and then converted back to dollars. According to information shared by the company, the transfer and verification process took an average…

Bitcoin is seeing a sharp price rally and its price has broken past the $60,000 level following a sudden flip in investors’ sentiments, which has also extended to its ETF market as momentum appears to be building again. The positive price movement has sparked a sharp resurgence in the Bitcoin ETF ecosystem, as they have witnessed a sudden influx of fresh capital after several weeks of bleeding out. Bitcoin ETFs log $221 million inflow Per data provided by SosoValue, Bitcoin has recorded $221 million in net inflows during its latest daily trading session on June 2, 2026. While this is…

In a recent tweet, the Ethereum Foundation highlighted that the network is secured by $76 billion worth of $ETH staked. This substantial amount significantly outstrips the staking values of other layer 1 networks reviewed in the OpenZeppelin Report. This level of economic security is crucial as it reflects both the confidence in Ethereum’s infrastructure and its position in the broader cryptocurrency landscape. The Latest Ethereum’s staking dynamics present a compelling narrative in the current market context. With $76 billion staked, Ethereum demonstrates robust economic security, which could enhance investor confidence during a period of volatility in the crypto market. The…

Welcome to our institutional newsletter, Crypto Long & Short. This week: Alex Tapscott on the stalling of the CLARITY Act and how it’s impacting the average American consumer. Aisha Hunt writes that crypto will grow by upgrading Wall Street’s trusted products rather than replacing them. Top headlines institutions should pay attention to by Helene Braun “RWA Perp Volume by Category: Equities Overtake Commodities” in Chart of the Week -Alexandra Levis Expert Insights What about the American consumer? By Alex Tapscott, CEO, CMCC Global Capital Markets The little guy is getting lost in the political horse-trading around the CLARITY Act. The…

China has proposed a series of judicial and procedural reforms to strengthen investigations, evidence handling and asset recovery in virtual currency money laundering cases, as prosecutors seek to close gaps in the country’s criminal enforcement framework. According to an article published in the People’s Procuratorate Daily, China’s current legal framework faces three major obstacles when prosecuting virtual currency money laundering cases, including difficulties in determining criminal liability, collecting evidence, and recovering illicit assets. The article, written by prosecutors from the Yuhu District People’s Procuratorate in Xiangtan, Hunan, and a law professor from Xiangtan University, said virtual currencies have improved transaction…

Robinhood has introduced plans to let eligible U.S. customers authorize AI agents to execute cryptocurrency trades on their behalf, extending automated investing beyond stocks and options. Robinhood said during a Friday presentation that the upcoming feature will allow eligible U.S.-based crypto users to connect third-party AI agents capable of managing trades within user-defined limits. The company did not announce a launch date for the crypto version but said customers in the United Kingdom will receive access after the U.S. rollout. Crypto is coming to agentic trading.Eligible US customers will soon be able to connect their AI agent to a dedicated…

As tensions between the US and Iran continue to cause volatility in the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has made new statements. In new assessments made from account X, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the key factor determining Bitcoin’s long-term price is not mining activity or network energy consumption, but investors’ expectations regarding inflation. At this point, the Coinbase CEO argued that the $BTC price was driven by inflation fears, not mining, saying the price moved in parallel with inflation concerns. Armstrong, drawing attention to how the Bitcoin network works, stated that the hash power used for…