Author: NBTC

As the tokenization boom and a fundamental reassessment of the role of public blockchains go on, Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley shared his “hot take” on the utility of Ethereum and Solana. Despite skepticism toward cryptocurrencies in the summer of 2026, the fund’s chief mounted a forceful defense of the leading networks, calling doubts about the value of their native tokens a repetition of Wall Street’s biggest historical mistakes. The head of one of the largest crypto funds directly stated that the attempt to separate RWA infrastructure from the economic value of base-layer coins is simply the “2026 version of the…

A notable assessment has emerged suggesting that Bitcoin’s growth over the next 10 years will depend more on the direction of capital flows than on changes to the protocol. Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, argued that Bitcoin’s future will be shaped around two key elements: minimizing protocol changes as much as possible, and further expansion of capital markets. According to Saylor, Bitcoin’s strongest feature is that its rules cannot be arbitrarily changed. Therefore, Saylor states that Bitcoin’s base layer will operate with a more conservative approach in the future, requiring a much higher threshold of proof and consensus for any…

Modern Treasury, a payment operations and money movement platform, has added support for $USDC on Base, a low-cost blockchain developed by Coinbase. The integration allows businesses to send and receive $USDC payments on Base while managing these transactions alongside traditional banking systems. Modern Treasury provides infrastructure for processing payments across ACH, RTP, FedNow, wire transfers, and stablecoin networks. With the new integration, companies can connect onchain payments to their existing financial workflows without relying on multiple separate services. Base is a blockchain network focused on scalable onchain applications. The platform is designed to make blockchain-based products easier and cheaper to…

Bitwise has submitted an amended S-1 registration statement for its proposed spot $NEAR Protocol exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This filing indicates Bitwise is actively progressing through the regulatory review process for a new digital asset investment product. The S-1/A amendment, filed on July 2, 2026, updates the initial registration statement for the Bitwise $NEAR ETF. Such amendments are common as applicants respond to SEC feedback and refine their proposals for new financial products. Bitwise’s Amendment No. 2 to FORM S-1. Source: https://www.sec.gov The move by Bitwise follows a broader trend of asset managers…

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] has ordered Kalshi to honour certain event contracts involving Michigan residents. It argues that states cannot compel federally regulated derivatives exchanges to cancel trades that have already been executed. The decision comes after the regulator exercised its emergency authority to stay an emergency rule. The rule was proposed by Kalshi in response to a Michigan state court order requiring the company to unwind certain previously executed trades. CFTC blocks Kalshi’s emergency rule According to the CFTC, Kalshi submitted an emergency rule on July 14 that would have force-liquidated certain event contracts held by…

Technology group Naver has entered the U.S. crypto infrastructure market through its first investment in the sector, backing New York-based stablecoin payments provider Rain. The move comes as the company prepares for a delayed combination with Dunamu, operator of South Korea’s Upbit exchange. According to the Korea Economic Daily, Naver Ventures joined Rain’s $250 million Series C financing in January. However, the exact investment amount was not disclosed publicly. ICONIQ led the round, which valued Rain at $1.95 billion and lifted its total capital raised above $338 million. Rain Extends Naver’s Stablecoin Payment Reach Basically, Rain builds infrastructure that allows…

HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, has received approval to operate in the United Kingdom’s Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), allowing its digital assets platform, HSBC Orion, to support the issuance, servicing and settlement of digital securities. The bank announced Tuesday that HSBC Orion will operate as a digital securities depository within the DSS, a regulatory environment designed to test new technology for securities markets. HSBC said it is the first company approved by the Bank of England to go live in the sandbox. HSBC’s platform will support digitally native bond issuance, including the UK’s planned digital sovereign bond —…

Trading Higher Bitcoin traded as high as $63,832 early Monday, extending a rebound that has carried the largest cryptocurrency from below $60,000 to above $63,000 in five sessions. The market first crossed $63,000 in U.S. morning hours on July 4, leaving bitcoin up 1.4% over 24 hours and 3.6% on the week at that point. Three catalysts set the recovery in motion, according to market observers. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh signaled that inflation risks have come down, the June jobs report showed the U.S. economy adding just 57,000 nonfarm payrolls, and crowded short positions were forced to unwind as…

The boundaries between a crypto card and a DeFi yield aggregator are dissolving. Plasma One has introduced a stablecoin account that marries fee-free $USDT spending with a cashback token and yield sourced directly from Aave, the largest lending protocol in decentralized finance. According to the product launch details, the offering includes three membership tiers—Lite, Core, and Platinum—each unlocking higher $XPL cashback rates on card transactions. The account is built around USDT0, a wrapped version of the $USDT stablecoin that taps into Aave’s yield-generating markets. Plasma One is clear that it does not operate as a bank and that none of…

A Thai-regulated digital asset manager just made it easier for investors across Asia to buy into Injective without navigating unregulated crypto exchanges. Merkle Capital’s new M-$INJ fund is the first regulated investment vehicle in Asia built exclusively around the $INJ token. The fund, which launched on June 4, is supervised by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission. It targets both retail and institutional investors who want exposure to $INJ through a compliant structure. What Merkle Capital actually built Merkle Capital secured the first Digital Asset Fund Management license from the Thai SEC back in January 2022. Since then, the firm has…