Author: NBTC

Institutional investors are increasingly treating crypto as a portfolio diversification tool rather than a speculative trade, according to a quarterly survey published by CoinShares Research on May 6. The survey, which cut across 26 fund managers overseeing a combined $1.3 trillion in assets under management (AUM). It found that diversification and client demand now account for 63% of the reasons institutions allocate funds to digital assets. Just two years ago, that figure stood at 36%. Two years ago, speculation was the leading reason fund managers held digital assets. Today it sits at 15%. – CoinShares head of research, James Butterfill.…

The Solana Foundation is positioning the network as core infrastructure for an emerging “agentic” internet, where AI systems—not humans—initiate and execute economic activity. “AI is not really a vertical. It’s a platform shift… affecting everything across every industry, including crypto,” said Vibhu Norby, chief product officer of the Solana Foundation, during a panel at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York. At the center of Solana’s strategy is payments. Norby said the network has already “processed 15 million payments onchain from agents,” largely tied to machine-to-machine commerce. “The programmatic aspect of crypto payments is what is making it interesting…

In brief Senators unveiled a Clarity Act compromise on the subject of stablecoin rewards. The language would ban rewards on stablecoin deposits but allow rewards tied to staking or governance. While Coinbase supports the plan, banks remain silent and are expected to oppose loopholes that mimic yield. Crypto industry leaders mostly celebrated over the weekend as lawmakers unveiled a solution to a dispute that has plagued the Clarity Act, a major crypto bill, for months—but questions abound about whether the proposed compromise will be seen as such by the banking industry. On Friday, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks…

While the crypto market closes the first quarter of 2026 in total uncertainty, one of the world’s largest asset managers, Franklin Templeton, worth $1.7 trillion AUM, is sending a strong bullish signal. Tony Pecore, the fund’s director of digital assets, stated that he expects Bitcoin to conquer new all-time highs already this year. Franklin Templeton’s roadmap for Bitcoin in 2026 His core thesis is built on the continuation of the institutional rally. Pecore emphasizes that the adoption of Bitcoin by large capital has not only failed to slow down, despite the asset’s price drop from as high as $126,500 to…

BNY, the world’s largest custodian overseeing $59 trillion of assets, is expanding its digital asset custody business to the United Arab Emirates through local partners. According to a Thursday press release, the global financial services giant is working with Finstreet and ADI Foundation to build regulated digital asset infrastructure anchored in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the financial free zone in Abu Dhabi that has become a hub for crypto firms and blockchain projects entering the Middle East region. The initiative will initially focus on custody services for cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ether (ETH), with plans to later expand into…

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson announced that they have signed one of the biggest deals ever for the Cardano and Midnight ecosystem. Hoskinson argued that the collaboration could attract hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in total locked value (TVL). According to a statement by the Midnight Foundation, a strategic partnership has been established with UK-based Monument Bank. Under this partnership, Monument Bank is poised to become the first UK-regulated bank to tokenize individual customer deposits on a public blockchain. The tokenized deposits will be represented as interest-bearing digital assets, fully backed by British pounds (GBP), and will be…

The SEC delayed the launch of more than two dozen prediction market linked ETFs from Roundhill Investments, GraniteShares, and Bitwise, slowing an attempt to package real world event contracts into funds retail investors can trade like stocks. The products were expected to become automatically effective this week after a 75 day SEC review period, but the agency requested more information on fund mechanics and investor disclosures, Reuters reported. The delay is expected to be temporary, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposed ETFs would track event outcomes tied to elections, recessions, tech industry layoffs, and other real world…

Popular economist and global strategist Peter Schiff has criticized Strategy for its recently launched advertisement campaign promoting the STRC stock. Schiff claims the ad has deliberately misleading promotional content that could expose Strategy to legal liability. Is Peter Schiff protecting Strategy? On Monday, March 30, Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor posted the ad on his official X account. He captioned the post, “You weren’t meant to live an uncomfortable life $STRC.” The ad features a smiling woman, sipping a colorful cocktail while checking her phone. The tone is aspirational and luxurious, evoking effortless wealth and happiness. In the video, she explained…

Investors are getting ready to see if CRCL’s recent Agentic Economy narrative really translated into quantifiable growth, as the company prepares for one of its most significant earnings reports to date. The results of Circle’s upcoming May 11 earnings report could have a significant impact on USD Coin, the larger stablecoin market, and the stock itself. The notion that autonomous AI systems, digital payments, and programmable finance will depend more and more on stablecoins like $USDC has been promoted by Circle over the past three months. The idea is straightforward: if AI agents start doing independent online transactions, they will…

Visa said Wednesday it will join Canton Network as the first major global payments company to serve as a Super Validator, deepening its push into blockchain infrastructure aimed at banks and other regulated financial institutions. The role gives Visa a direct hand in validating activity and helping govern the network, which is designed to let institutions use shared blockchain rails without exposing sensitive transaction data. The move targets one of the main reasons large financial firms have been cautious about public blockchain adoption. While open networks offer transparency and interoperability, that same visibility can clash with privacy, compliance, and operational…