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.

To ETH or not to ETH — is SOL the better diversifier?

RegulationAug 4

Historically, bitcoin has exhibited relatively low correlations with traditional asset classes over full four-year crypto cycles. While those relationships have evolved as cryptocurrencies have become more integrated into financial markets through futures, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and ETPs, bitcoin has generally maintained diversification characteristics distinct from many traditional assets. The question becomes more complicated when investors move beyond bitcoin. Ether and $SOL are generally less liquid and more volatile than bitcoin. Since the start of 2026, ether and $SOL have exhibited volatility approximately 35% and 44% higher than bitcoin, respectively. Diversification within crypto therefore often increases volatility. Whether that improves diversification…

Bitwise Releases Staking Report Detailing NEAR Protocol’s Growth

AltcoinsAug 4

Bitwise has released its latest Staking Report, showcasing important insights about $NEAR Protocol. The report covers $NEAR’s revenue growth, stable staking despite halved inflation, and increasing momentum in $NEAR Intents. This analysis could prove significant for investors looking to understand the evolving landscape of staking in the crypto market. For more details, refer to the original tweet. Breaking It Down The $NEAR Protocol continues to make strides in the competitive crypto landscape, as highlighted in Bitwise’s latest Staking Report. The report emphasizes $NEAR’s stable staking performance, even amidst a backdrop of halved inflation rates and increasing revenue. While trading volumes…

Crypto holders face a July 29 Maine deadline as state manual conflicts on when abandoned funds trigger seizure

LegalAug 4

Maine's new virtual-currency unclaimed-property rules take effect July 29 with a five-year dormancy clock, while the State Treasurer's current reporting manual still shows three years. The mismatch leaves businesses that hold customer crypto without published transition instructions as the statute becomes effective. Public Law Chapter 675, approved April 13, creates section 2067-A of Maine's Revised Unclaimed Property Act. The Legislature identifies July 29 as the general effective date for nonemergency laws passed during its 2026 Second Regular Session. The new section presumes virtual currency abandoned five years after an apparent owner's last indication of interest. If a holder sends first-class…

CME Launches Single-Stock Futures on 50-Plus Top US Stocks as Its Crypto Derivatives Arm Keeps Growing

ExchangesAug 4

A New Way to Trade the Biggest US Stocks The launch covers 77 contracts in total, i.e. 55 standard-sized futures, each representing 100 shares of the underlying stock, and 22 micro-sized contracts covering 10 shares apiece. The lineup spans mega-cap technology names such as Alphabet, Meta and Tesla alongside the recently public SpaceX, plus household names including Micron, Pfizer and Walmart, according to CME Group’s own announcement. All contracts are cash-settled against the underlying stock’s closing price and follow a quarterly expiration structure, similar to CME’s existing equity index futures. Tim McCourt, CME Group’s global head of equities, FX and…

Facing a severe cash crunch, Bitcoin miner Sphere 3D quietly prepares to dilute its shareholders by a staggering 50%

MiningAug 4

Bitcoin miner Sphere 3D has up to $10.3 million of amended at-the-market stock-sale capacity for working capital, while its standing policy also permits mined Bitcoin sales for working capital or growth. At the assumed $2.35 share price in its July 31 prospectus supplement, full use of the facility would add 4,382,978 common shares and expand the company’s basic share count by 50.9%. That sale would lift basic shares outstanding from 8,619,150 to 13,002,128. The amended facility replaced Sphere 3D’s prior ATM prospectus. It is authorization, not a completed issuance: A.G.P. and Maxim are not required to sell a minimum amount,…

Prediction Markets Have Already Decided the FOMC Outcome—Here’s How Crypto Could React

BitcoinAug 4

Crypto markets have already priced in a steady hand at the Federal Reserve. The first FOMC meeting led by new Chair Kevin Warsh is set to begin on June 16, and prediction markets on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi assign a 99% probability that rates will stay put, according to the Santiment update from Monday. That removes a major variable that has kept risk assets on edge for months. The immediate market focus has shifted. No longer is the question whether the central bank touches borrowing costs, but rather what Warsh signals about the months ahead. Investors are now treating…

DeFi Curated Vault Market Grows to $7.18B Despite Lending TVL Decline

DeFiAug 4

The DeFi curated vault market has witnessed a notable expansion over the year. This denotes a key shift in the allocation of capital across diverse lending protocols. As the latest report from Sentora points out, the value of the DeFi-based assets that are organized via curated vaults shows a spike to $7.18B across fifty-five risk curators throughout the year. This is a significant surge in comparison with the earlier year’s $4.75B. The curated vault market has grown to $7.18B across 55 tracked risk curators, up from $4.75B a year earlier. Over the same period, total lending TVL declined 36%. Capital…

How Polymarket Trader Turned a $10.8M Loss Into $8M+ Profit in Two Weeks

RegulationAug 4

A Polymarket trader known as DEEDDIT has pulled off one of the platform’s biggest turnarounds. The trader recovered from a $10.8 million loss and turned it into more than $8 million in all-time profit within two weeks, according to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain. The comeback was completed on July 14 after DEEDDIT placed an $11.3 million wager on Spain to advance against France in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinal. Spain’s 2-0 victory generated roughly $9.9 million in profit in a single day, marking the end of the recovery. Lookonchain called the performance “legendary,” saying the trader erased an eight-figure…

BlackRock, Fidelity, other Wall Street giants back the Clarity Act

LegalAug 4

"Franklin Templeton supports passage of the CLARITY Act," the asset manager wrote in a post on X. "The bill would make clear how crypto is regulated. Investors would know what protections apply. Firms would know which regulators they answer to. It's time to provide the industry the clarity it needs." Fidelity struck a similar tone, saying the legislation would provide the "clear rules of the road" needed to strengthen investor confidence, provide certainty for market participants and reinforce U.S. leadership in digital asset markets. BlackRock also threw its weight behind the proposal. In a statement to Politico, Samara Cohen, the…

Robinhood bought a license. Kalshi had built a business

ExchangesAug 4

For a year Robinhood was Kalshi’s largest distributor. Then it bought a CFTC-licensed exchange off the shelf, put Susquehanna behind the order book, and began routing its own flow to itself. The World Cup was the proving ground, the migration is under way, and the lesson is the one every platform eventually teaches its suppliers: the license was never the moat. There is a sequence that plays out in every platform business, and the companies on the wrong end of it almost never see it coming, because the early years feel like partnership. A distributor takes a supplier’s product to…