Author: NBTC

NBTC

NBTC is the editorial account for NBTC News, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, exchanges, mining, regulation and digital asset markets. The editorial team focuses on clear sourcing, timely updates and practical context for crypto readers.

Italy’s biggest bank just slashed its Bitcoin ETF call position by 99% to triple down on staked Ethereum

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest banking group, cut the underlying-share amount of its reported iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF call position by 99.3% in the second quarter, while a 500,000-share-equivalent held put row appeared and its staked Ethereum ETF balance roughly tripled. The changes mark a reset in the Italian bank’s disclosed quarter-end crypto ETF positions. They do not, by themselves, show that Intesa adopted a net bearish Bitcoin strategy. The bank’s July 31 Form 13F captures positions held on June 30. Its May 15 filing provides the March 31 comparison point, making the figures quarter-end snapshots rather than a record of…

RegulationAug 16

Is This a Turning Point?

Shiba Inu layer 2 Shibarium saw an uptick in daily transaction count heading into the weekend, sparking optimism following a period of stagnation on the network. Shibarium daily transactions rose from 939 on July 16 to 2,960 on July 17, a 216% increase. This wouldn't be the first time this week Shibarium has seen such an uptick in transactions. Shibarium saw a 322% surge when transactions rose from 759 on July 14 to 3,210 on July 15 before retreating. A similar trend was seen when transactions rose 361% on July 10, according to Shibariumscan. The recent rise suggests an increase…

AltcoinsAug 16

Louisiana just armed crypto ATM users with a legal cheat code to demand full refunds from unlicensed operators

Starting Aug. 1, Louisiana users may cancel a virtual-currency-kiosk transaction made on or after that date and demand a full refund at any time if the machine's owner or operator was unlicensed when the transaction occurred. Act 482 puts the cost of an eligible refund on the operator. Eligibility depends on the operator's license status when the transaction occurred, so the provision does not cover every kiosk payment. The act separately preserves Louisiana's general rule requiring an operator to hold a transaction for 72 hours or allow the user to cancel within 72 hours for a full refund. The measure…

LegalAug 16

15 Altcoins See Explosive Trading Volume in South Korea

South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have seen a significant increase in trading volume for some altcoins. Combining data from the past 24 hours, the total trading volume for the most popular altcoins reached approximately $347.7 million. MetaDAO (META) topped the trading volume ranking. META’s 24-hour trading volume on Upbit alone was recorded at $65.84 million, accounting for 12.39% of the exchange’s total spot volume. Euler (EUL) ranked second with a total volume of $47.65 million across two exchanges. Of the EUL transactions, $44.28 million occurred on Upbit, and approximately $3.38 million on Bithumb. $XRP, which traditionally attracts…

ExchangesAug 16

BlackRock launches two Canada ETFs, with one allocating 3% to Bitcoin

BlackRock Canada launched two exchange-traded funds Monday, including a portfolio that combines globally diversified equities with a 3% allocation to Bitcoin. The two funds, which began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, are the iShares Equity + Bitcoin ETF Portfolio (IBQT) and the iShares Core MSCI All-International Equity Index ETF (XINT). IBQT allocates 97% of its portfolio to Canadian, US, international and emerging-market equities and 3% to Bitcoin (BTC) exposure through BlackRock’s Canadian iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), which trades on Cboe Canada. Rather than investing in individual stocks, IBQT primarily holds other iShares ETFs to provide its equity and Bitcoin…

BitcoinAug 16

BlackRock debuts tokenized access to $311 billion of money market funds in Europe

BlackRock (BLK), the world's largest asset manager, is building on its recent expansion of tokenized cash offerings in the U.S. by tapping into a combined $311 billion of assets under management in European money market funds in a sign of the growing appeal of holding real-world assets on blockchain technology. BlockRock unveiled 12 new tokenized share classes based on six funds across 15 European markets. The funds, which comply with the European Union's UCITS regulations, include sterling, euro and dollar share classes, the asset manager said Tuesday. The move comes one day after the firm added two tokenized cash offerings…

RegulationAug 16

A List of the 15 Most-Searched Altcoins in Recent Hours Has Been Published

CoinGecko, a cryptocurrency data and tracking platform, has announced the most searched altcoins by users in the last three hours. Pudgy Penguins ($PENGU) topped the list, followed by Lorenzo Protocol ($BANK) and Alien Worlds (TLM) in the top three. According to CoinGecko data, the most notable increase on the list came from Lorenzo Protocol. The price of $BANK increased by 101% in the last 24 hours, while Alien Worlds gained 51.6% and Credible Finance 18.5%. Looking at the performance over the last seven days, Akedo’s increase of 846.3%, Lorenzo Protocol’s increase of 252.3%, and Cash Cat’s increase of 68.6% are…

AltcoinsAug 16

Trump’s legal loophole around the Supreme Court is keeping inflation alive – and trapping Bitcoin in the Fed’s crosshairs

The Supreme Court gave Donald Trump a pretty direct answer in February: the emergency law he had used to tax imports from nearly everywhere didn't give him the authority to impose tariffs. However, Washington didn't see that as a locked door and treated it more like a disappointing result from a key-cutting machine. The administration returned to the federal statute book, found several older trade powers that the Court had left untouched, and spent the next five months rebuilding the tariff system on a completely different foundation. By July 24, goods from 60 trading partners were again passing through an…

LegalAug 16

SHIB and Other Tokens Go Live as Part of Prominent Exchange's X-Perps in Europe

Shiba Inu ($SHIB) has joined a fresh batch of listings on OKX's European X-Perps platform. It gives eligible traders access to leveraged exposure to the popular meme cryptocurrency alongside several other crypto assets and well-known U.S. equities. The latest additions include crypto tokens AEON, Zilliqa (ZIL), GRVT, PROS and ESP, as well as tokenized exposure tied to traditional finance names such as Robinhood (HOOD), Palantir (PLTR), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Coinbase (COIN). The exchange announced that all of the newly listed contracts are now available through its Simple Mode interface. What are X-Perps? X-Perps, short for Expiry Perpetuals, are leveraged derivatives…

ExchangesAug 16

Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

Bitcoin starts the week with new August highs as traders weigh the impact of crunch US inflation data. Key points: US CPI and PPI data comes amid fluctuating bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes in 2026. The Japanese yen remains at the forefront as it creeps back toward the key 160 level against the US dollar. Bitcoin ($BTC) traders see the area around $65,800 as crucial for bulls after $BTC/USD hits new month-to-date highs. Larger Bitcoin wallets contrast with retail holders after a conspicuous two-month accumulation spree. Baskets of onchain indicators still see the bear market continuing in the second…

BitcoinAug 16