Author: NBTC

The Flare blockchain has introduced lending and borrowing for $XRP-linked assets through an integration with Morpho, a crypto lending protocol that runs across multiple Ethereum compatible chains. The update lets users lend and borrow with FXRP, a version of $XRP designed for use on Flare, the team behind the blockchain said on Monday. Flare pitched the move as a step toward giving $XRP holders more ways to earn yield and use their tokens beyond holding or trading. For years, $XRP has had fewer decentralized finance (DeFi) options than tokens built on smart contract networks. Flare has been trying to change…

French Carrefour franchise based Express has started giving 20 % off to shoppers paying their grocery bill with Bitcoin, per posts circulated on X formerly known as Twitter and local reporting. The action attracted worldwide attention due to the fact that Carrefour is among the largest grocery groups of the world with over 14,000 stores in over 40 countries. Source: X Local news and posts near the store explain that it is possible to use Bitcoin to checkout using the Lightning Network, a payment system that is built to support faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions. Cases of similar systems also…

In 2025, crypto tokens listed on major exchanges largely struggled to maintain positive price performance, with weakness observed regardless of the listing venue. This performance has fueled debate over whether the traditional buy-and-hold strategy still works in today’s crypto environment. Binance, Coinbase, or DEXs: 2025 Listings Struggled Across the Board According to data from CryptoRank, between January 1 and December 31, 2025, Binance listed 100 tokens, with 93 of them trading in the red. The median return on investment (ROI) for Binance-listed tokens stood at 0.22x. This indicated that the typical newly listed altcoin lost a significant portion of its…

Mastercard (MA) is considering making a strategic investment in blockchain infrastructure firm Zerohash after acquisition talks collapsed when the crypto company opted to remain independent, according to a person familiar with the matter. Fortune reported in October that the payment processor was in late stage talks to buy Zerohash, and could pay as much as $2 billion for the firm, which provides custody, settlement and fiat on-/off-ramps so that fintech companies and brokerages can offer digital assets without building the plumbing themselves. Those talks have ended, according to three people who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is…

Bybit, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, is plotting a move into the crypto neobank sector with a new product that lets customers hold and move fiat currencies like U.S. dollars and euros. The “MyBank” service will go live in February, subject to regulatory approval, and will allow users to send and receive 18 fiat currencies using International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs), Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing the firm’s CEO Ben Zhou. Crypto neobanks has helped digital asset firms separate themselves from traditional financial platforms (TradFi) with services such as payments. Various crypto neobanks are currently competing for dominance,…

Solayer unveiled a $35 million ecosystem fund to back blockchain applications built on its infiniSVM network, targeting projects that require real-time execution and can generate sustainable revenue. The capital comes from Solayer Labs and the Solayer Foundation. The fund will support early and growth-stage teams building on infiniSVM, a layer-1 blockchain compatible with Solana’s tooling but designed for faster execution and near-instant settlement. Solayer said the network has demonstrated throughput above 330,000 transactions per second and finality of roughly 400 milliseconds. “We’re solving for real-time behavior, immediate, guaranteed settlement and low latency,” said Joshua Sum, Solayer’s chief product officer, in…

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance, has launched a safety awareness campaign in Kenya, where local communities were taught road safety with digital security education. Binance’s Africa regional team met with local motorcycle taxi operators during Data Privacy Week on Wednesday to distribute helmets and reflective gear. Riders also received guidance on road discipline while learning about encryption, multi-factor authentication, withdrawal controls, and continuous monitoring systems. Binance compares road traffic to digital asset market frenzy According to the trading platform’s Africa Regional Operations officers, digital protection is relatable to taxi driving because busy roads are as dangerous…

Gold’s blistering 70% rally in a year — its strongest performance in nearly half a century — sent demand for exposure to the metal soaring. As institutional and retail investors alike sought havens during periods of rising geopolitical tensions and new tariff threats, one corner of the market stood out: tokenized gold. Gold-backed tokens like XAUT$4,755.29 and Paxos Gold (PAXG) posted explosive growth last year, surpassing the trading volume of most traditional gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to a report by crypto exchange CEX.io. Tokenized gold trading reached $178 billion in 2025, with $126 billion of that in the last…

Bybit sent out several transactions of XAUT tokens, underscoring rising demand for tokenized gold. A whale accumulated a growing XAUT portfolio valued at over $7M. Bybit became part of the increasing demand for Tether’s tokenized gold, XAUT. The exchange’s hot wallet started sending out XAUT transactions in the past day, leading to a whale address accumulating tokenized gold. The recent shift in narratives led crypto investors to switch to metals. Since XAUT is the most easily available token, it has found renewed demand and trading volumes. The whale’s portfolio rose to $6.95M after the recent records of gold on traditional…

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio issued a stark warning for the global economy amid US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs and seemingly unpredictable economic policies for the country. Speaking to CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Dalio said the monetary order was “breaking down,” warning of a change in behavior of how central banks handled fiat. According to the hedge fund manager, both fiat holders and “those who need it” were concerned about each other, creating a “big issue” down the line. “Fiat currencies and debt as a storehold…