Author: NBTC

Google is preparing to take a significant step in response to increasing regulatory pressure on the cryptocurrency market in South Korea. Starting January 28th, the company will remove applications from foreign cryptocurrency exchanges not registered with local financial authorities from the Google Play Store in South Korea. Under Google’s updated “Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Software Wallets Policy,” all developers targeting the South Korean market are now required to submit official documentation to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) demonstrating their registration as a virtual asset service provider (VASP). Applications that do not meet this condition will be completely removed from the store…

Druk Holdings, the investment company of the Royal Government of Bhutan, is actively trading ETH. Wallets potentially linked to the holding are building a large ETH leveraged position. Wallets identified as possibly belonging to Druk Holdings have started building a leveraged position on ETH. Analysts noted Bhutan-related addresses withdrew 42K ETH from Binance, along with $54M USDT. The wallets then bought more ETH and deposited it on Aave, borrowing more USDT. The loan was used to acquire more ETH. The address is tagged as a whale wallet, possibly linked to Druk Holdings. Arkham tracked the entity twice, with one wallet…

Global asset manager WisdomTree has launched a new digital asset fund that brings a traditional options strategy onchain, a development that underscores the growing convergence between legacy asset management and blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Digital Fund, trading under the token ticker EPXC and the fund ticker WTPIX, is designed to track the price and yield performance of the Volos US Large Cap Target 2.5% PutWrite Index. The benchmark models a systematic “put-writing” strategy, in which the index sells cash-secured put options to generate income. Rather than writing options directly on the S&P 500, the strategy uses…

One of the hottest topics on the agenda in the US lately continues to be the Crypto Asset Market Structure (CLARITY) Act. While the Senate Agriculture Committee postponed its vote on the CLARITY Act, originally scheduled for January 15, to the last week of January, the Senate Banking Committee will vote as planned on Thursday. With only two days remaining before the vote, the US Senate Banking Committee has released the full text of the CLARITY Act. Crypto in America host Eleanor Terrett announced in a post that the Senate Banking Committee has released the full text of the CLARIT…

In a significant institutional cryptocurrency movement, 21Shares executed another substantial AAVE token transfer this week, moving $1.11 million worth of assets to market maker Flow Traders. This transaction continues a revealing three-week pattern that has seen the crypto ETP issuer transfer $5.74 million in AAVE tokens to exchanges and trading firms. The consistent selling activity provides crucial insights into institutional behavior within decentralized finance markets during early 2025. 21Shares AAVE Transfer Details and Market Context The blockchain data reveals precise transaction details. According to The Data Nerd’s report, the address presumed to belong to 21Shares transferred exactly 6,520 AAVE tokens.…

Regulations for cryptocurrency mining are tightening in Russia. A new bill submitted to the Russian State Duma foresees high fines for illegal cryptocurrency mining activities and harsher penalties for repeated violations. According to the bill, individuals mining without legal registration or permission will be fined between 100,000 and 150,000 rubles (approximately $1,230–$1,850). The fine for public officials will be between 300,000 and 800,000 rubles (approximately $3,700–$9,850). Legal entities (companies) will face fines ranging from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 rubles (approximately $12,350–$24,700). These fines will be significantly higher for repeated violations. The previously published draft details indicate that exceeding energy consumption limits…

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets: Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas. Ethereum is posting record onchain activity, but ETH’s muted price action suggests the surge may not reflect real user demand. The network processed nearly 2.9 million transactions in a single day last week, an all-time high, even as average fees stayed near recent lows and validator exit queues dropped to zero. In past cycles, that combination would…

The Bitcoin mining stocks market has slipped slightly by 1.8% compared to last week. The majority of the stocks were in the red as the trading volume dipped by 25.66%. At the start of the week, BTC mining stocks had a trading volume of $413.5k, and by Friday, this number dropped to $307.35k. The market cap was standing at $69.12 billion on November 28th, but it dropped to $67.89 billion on December 5. Bitcoin mining stocks record 25 losers There are 34 BTC mining stocks listed on trading markets. Out of those, six stocks closed the week in the green…

Ripple has been keeping quiet about XRP for years, and it is not just a PR move — it is a legal strategy, says XRP-friendly lawyer Bill Morgan. According to Morgan, Ripple was afraid of mentioning the coin in public because it would give the SEC ammo in a looming enforcement case. The company knew the risk as early as 2013, he says, and by 2018, with the SEC circling, the messaging on XRP went cold. How much do you think that has to do with the fact that Ripple could not promote XRP or the XRPL for fear of…

Goldman Sachs is taking a closer look at crypto-related technologies to see how they could fit into its core business. Speaking during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO David Solomon said the review is focused on regulated prediction markets, stablecoins, and tokenization, which he views as increasingly important to the future of financial markets. Key Data Points Goldman Sachs increased internal research on tokenization and stablecoins, CEO David Solomon said during a Q4 earnings call. The firm is reviewing CFTC-regulated prediction markets for possible use in trading and advisory operations. Solomon met with two major prediction market companies in early…