Author: NBTC

Galaxy Research warned that a draft crypto market-structure bill circulating in the Senate Banking Committee would significantly expand U.S. financial surveillance powers, arguing in a note that new Treasury authorities targeting decentralized finance frontends and transaction freezes could represent the largest such expansion since 2001. The analysis focuses on certain provisions from the draft that would grant the U.S. Treasury Department new escalation tools, including an expansion of “special measure” authority over digital assets and a statutory framework allowing transaction holds without a court order. The draft “includes substantially enhanced financial surveillance authorities to combat illicit finance than the House’s…

Genius Terminal, a crypto trading platform backed by YZi Labs (formerly known as Binance Labs) and advised by Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, is seeing exponential growth ahead of an expected “airdrop.” The relatively under-the-radar platform just saw its highest single-day trading volume to date this Saturday, hitting $787 million, according to Dune analytics data. A large portion of that volume, about $728 million, came from Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible networks. EVM refers to a virtual, decentralized computer that runs smart contracts for apps. The platform has now surpassed $2 billion in weekly volume, according to the data, compared to…

The space agency has begun exploring blockchain technology as a way to protect aviation systems from cyber threats and data tampering, marking an important step towards more secure aircraft communications in the future. NASA recently ran an experiment at its Ames Research Center involving drones to see if spreading data across multiple platforms could keep aircraft-to-ground communications safe from interference. The project is part of NASA’s Air Traffic Management and Safety initiative and has the potential to change how airspace systems function in the years ahead. How the experiment was conducted The experiment used an Alta-X drone flying under normal…

The Federal Reserve’s final FOMC meeting of 2025 is on the horizon, with markets positioning for a possible rate cut that could steer risk sentiment into early 2026. Summary The FOMC meets on Dec. 9–10, with a policy statement and Jerome Powell’s press conference scheduled for Dec. 10. Markets price in an 87% chance of a 25bp rate cut to 3.50%–3.75%, alongside updated economic projections and confirmation of QT’s recent end. Risk assets, including crypto, could see sharp moves depending on whether the Fed maintains a dovish stance or signals caution heading into 2026. Investors and economists will be closely…

Amid growing concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence, US President Donald Trump continued his harsh criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Speaking to reporters in front of the White House, Trump accused Powell of being “either incompetent or corrupt.” Trump’s remarks came amid growing criticism from both Democrats and Republicans of the unprecedented criminal investigation launched by the US Justice Department against Powell. Responding to a question about whether the investigation undermined public trust in the Fed, Trump accused Powell of exceeding the budget by billions of dollars for renovations to the Fed building in Washington. “He exceeded the…

Crypto traders are once again watching a mystery whale who just placed one of the biggest leveraged bets of 2026. A trader on the Hyperliquid exchange has opened long positions worth more than $900 million across Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. there’s a sign👀 https://t.co/E2XmBGQOIf — ego death (@egodeath100x) January 17, 2026 The position was first spotted by popular crypto account Ash Crypto, who shared screenshots showing the size of the trade. The whale is now sitting on more than $38 million in unrealized profit, showing strong confidence that prices will keep rising. In simple terms, this trader is betting big…

The blockchain payment infrastructure is set to evolve with a strategic alliance as GANA Insight, an innovative PayFi protocol, partners with NexFi Wallet to transform cross-border finance. This partnership signifies a major milestone in making payments globally instant, transparent, and borderless and will address the inefficiencies that have plagued the conventional way to send money internationally for many years. Backing Blockchain Innovation with the Real-World Finance GANA Insight combines both payment methods and DeFi to allow for programs for the transfer of value, with verification through auditable audit trials in real-time and settled transparently. GANA’s infrastructure consists of virtual cards…

U.S. spot XRP$2.0977 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are on course to top a net $1 billion in inflows in coming days, according to Mati Greenspan, the founder of Quantum Economics. Introduced on Nov. 14, the ETFs have experienced a 15-day inflow streak that has seen them accumulate a net $897.35 million, according to SoSo data. Funds from Canary Capital, Grayscale, Bitwise and Franklin Templeton accounted for most of the inflow. “It will absolutely continue this momentum and reach the milestone shortly. The pathway is already cleared,” Greenspan said in an interview with CoinDesk “In many ways, XRP is being swept up…

In an effort to satisfy the growing demand for cryptocurrency derivatives from both retail and institutional market participants, Binance announced that it has increased access to Ethereum options writing to all qualified users and implemented a significant upgrade to its options trading platform. Ethereum options rise in popularity According to Binance’s announcement, the rollout is part of a larger initiative to add more strategic trading tools as the Ethereum derivatives market grows. The company cited the rise in ETH options activity in recent years as well as factors that it claimed are driving demand such as changes in the market…

Blockspace Acquires Bitcoin Layers to Expand Bitcoin L2 Data Intelligence Blockspace Media has acquired Bitcoin Layers, an independent data platform tracking metrics across Bitcoin’s layer-2 and scaling ecosystem, as the company expands beyond journalism into data and intelligence products. The acquisition brings Bitcoin Layers’ research and on-chain analytics directly into Blockspace’s content and product suite, including a forthcoming data dashboard designed to track adoption, total value locked (TVL), and activity across Bitcoin L2s and other scaling platforms, the company wrote to Bitcoin Magazine. Bitcoin Layers will serve as Blockspace’s first proprietary data product, with plans to expand coverage to bitcoin-related…