Author: NBTC

Software company shares are experiencing their roughest beginning to a year in quite some time, dashing hopes that 2026 would mark a turnaround for the battered sector. A newly launched artificial intelligence product from tech startup Anthropic earlier this month has reignited investor worries about industry upheaval that plagued software makers throughout 2025. Tax preparation giant Intuit Inc. saw its stock plunge 16% over the past week, the company’s steepest decline since 2022. Adobe Inc. and customer relationship management provider Salesforce Inc. each dropped over 11% during the same period. New AI tool sparks investor concerns Morgan Stanley’s tracking of…

Emails linked to Jeffrey Epstein released in newly unsealed US Justice Department records made several new revelations. These notes show that Epstein met with New York’s top financial regulator in 2014. This happened when the state was drafting the first major regulatory framework for Bitcoin and other digital assets. The draft later became the BitLicense. The exchanged messages suggest that Epstein met with Ben Lawsky, then superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). However, the rule was finalized in 2015, and it finally set the licensing requirements for crypto businesses operating in New York. Epstein surfaces in…

Cryptocurrency mining has evolved significantly over the years. What once required technical expertise, expensive hardware, and high electricity consumption has now shifted toward a more accessible model. Cloud mining represents this transformation, allowing users to participate in mining activities without the operational burden traditionally associated with it. Understanding Cloud Mining Cloud mining is a system where users rent computing power from a remote data center instead of operating their own mining equipment. The mining infrastructure is owned, managed, and optimized by a professional platform. Users simply choose a contract and receive mining rewards based on the computing power allocated to…

The newly relaunched Ethereum DAO was funded through TornadoCash, once again pointing to Ethereum’s mission of privacy. The DAO will have a $220M reserve dedicated to funding security research. The reserves for the new Ethereum DAO will go through Tornado Cash, meaning all subsequent transactions will be tainted. The main goal is to ensure that private transactions are still accepted as the norm, rather than a sign of hacking. One of the new DAO’s co-founders, Griff Green, announced the deposit of the intended 69,420 $ETH into the Beacon Contract. Green also set up the stake through his griff.eth vanity address.…

A savvy trader reportedly pulled off a high-stakes manoeuvre on the predictions platform Polymarket, pocketing $233,000 and outfoxing automated bots during quiet weekend trading. It has captured widespread attention, with some labeling it outright manipulation that demands disciplinary action. The gambit took place late Saturday night, when trading volumes across the crypto ecosystem tend to be low, and small buy/sell orders often have an outsized impact on market prices. CoinDesk reached out to Polymarket for a comment on the matter. The playbook Here’s how it unfolded, according to details shared by pseudonymous Polymarket trader PredictTrader on X – a post…

US investigators have launched an investigation to identify crypto platforms that have facilitated sanctions evasion by Iranian officials seeking to move money abroad, access hard currency, or procure goods. The US has long-standing financial sanctions on Iran aimed at limiting Tehran’s access to the global financial system. These sanctions target Iranian government entities, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and sectors like oil and finance. They also bar Americans and companies from providing services that could help Iran move money or purchase goods internationally. Iran’s sanctions push the country into decentralized markets Iran has also faced a series of crises…

The cryptocurrency market continues its bearish start to 2026, with the leading cryptocurrencies recording massive losses over the weekend. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and Ripple (XRP) trade in red on Monday after dipping by over 11%, 19%, and 13%, respectively, in the previous week. The leading cryptocurrencies lost 10%, 17%, and 10.5% of their values in January, highlighting persistent downside pressure. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, is extending its correction, as it briefly dipped below $75k on Sunday. Meanwhile, Ether is trading above $2,240 after losing 10% of its value since Sunday, making it the worst performer among…

A budget bill that will end the partial government shutdown in the US has passed the House of Representatives. The comprehensive spending package, which ended the three-day government shutdown, has been sent to President Donald Trump for signature. According to White House sources, Trump is expected to sign the bill soon, officially ending the partial shutdown of federal agencies. Republican leaders and Trump worked hard to persuade members to support the bill despite some opposition within the party. The party leadership did not want a repeat of the crisis similar to the prolonged shutdown last fall, which lasted 43 days…

Monster-battling blockchain game Axie Infinity will airdrop a new game token—bonded $AXS (bAXS)—to eligible wallets based on a February 5 snapshot, developer Sky Mavis announced on Tuesday. The airdrop will consist of 100,000 bAXS tokens—backed 1:1 with its existing $AXS token—and will be distributed to wallets that have staked at least 10 $AXS, or about $16.90 worth of the existing Axie Infinity ecosystem token. Among those who have staked 10 $AXS, their Axie Score and the amount of staked $AXS will impact a player’s airdrop allocation. When launched, bAXS will act exactly like the game’s original token, allowing players to…

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has suggested a new system for onchain governance. His idea uses two layers to improve both accountability and motivation in decentralized networks. First, the base layer focuses on financial incentives. It works like a prediction market. Users earn rewards for correct predictions. This makes the system more transparent and holds people accountable for their decisions. Second, the top layer is non-financial. Participants can vote anonymously without pressure from money. This layer encourages people to act out of intrinsic motivation. In other words, it rewards doing what is best for the community, not just for profit. How…