Author: NBTC

An unexpected change of leader in the distribution of Ripple’s USD stablecoin supply has been recorded as the native $XRP Ledger (XRPL) network has overtaken the Ethereum blockchain for the first time, with a total market capitalization already close to the $1.6 billion mark. According to the latest on-chain data by Ripple USD Tracker, the stablecoin balance on $XRP Ledger has reached $801,796,535, while the figure on Ethereum has corrected to $795,598,530. According to prominent community voices, the “quiet flippening” was driven not so much by aggressive XRPL expansion as by large-scale client redemptions on the Ethereum side. While controlled…

Agustín Carstens, former general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and a member of the Global Finance & Technology Network’s international advisory board, praised stablecoins for their ability to promote financial inclusion and innovation. “I have come to appreciate what stablecoins can do to promote financial innovation, inclusion and to reduce costs,” said Carstens during a welcome address at Point Zero Forum on Tuesday. “We should try to establish conditions where we can live with fiat money and stablecoins.” The remarks reflected a softer stance on stablecoins than Carstens took during his time at the BIS, when he…

Binary Options Introduced Through Retail Brokerage Channels Cboe Global Markets (CBOE) announced on June 23, 2026, the launch of Cboe Predicts, a new suite of binary options linked to the Mini-S&P 500 Index (XSP). The first contracts, listed under symbols XSPBW and XSPBX, are now available through Interactive Brokers, marking the initial phase of distribution through retail brokerage platforms, with additional firms expected to integrate access over time. Charles Schwab is among the brokerages preparing to offer the contracts, reflecting a broader rollout strategy centered on intermediated trading systems rather than direct exchange access. The product is built around XSP,…

On June 24, $700 million worth of long positions were liquidated across the crypto market. A Bitcoin [$BTC] sell-off led to fearful market conditions and hunted down speculative long positions trying to buy the dip. The leading crypto was trading below $60k once more, and more losses appeared likely. Bitcoin demand has been drying up for months Source: Ali Charts on X In a post on X, analyst Ali Martinez showed that $BTC’s apparent demand has been negative for 208 days. The metric measures if spot demand is strong enough to absorb the supply from new miner production and old…

Jupiter, the leading Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, has announced it will support trading for the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), marking a notable expansion of tokenized asset offerings within the DeFi ecosystem. The move allows users on Jupiter to gain exposure to a curated basket of global memory semiconductor companies directly through their crypto wallets. What Is the DRAM ETF? The Roundhill Memory ETF is a thematic exchange-traded fund that invests in companies central to the memory and storage semiconductor industry. Its top holdings include South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, U.S.-based Micron Technology, and SanDisk, a leader in…

Ethereum Holders Reach 293 Million Despite 30% Drop in Market Value Ethereum began 2026 with a mixed but revealing quarter. Usage hit new highs, while market value and fee revenue moved lower. According to the Q1 report published by Token Terminal, monthly active users on Ethereum’s layer-1 averaged 13.2 million, up 53.5% from the prior quarter and 85.9% from a year earlier. Transactions reached 200.4 million, up 38% quarter over quarter, while throughput rose to 25.78 transactions per second. The striking part is what happened to fees. Layer-1 transaction fees fell to $39.9 million, down 47.9% from the previous quarter…

STRC trading well below its $100 target level simply makes Strategy’s bitcoin acquisition and funding engine less efficient, because the company can no longer issue the preferred shares on attractive terms, as Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer previously noted. That is very different from suggesting the model is failing. The bigger issue is one of confidence rather than solvency. STRC was marketed as a low volatility income product designed to trade near $100, and its sharp decline has undermined investor trust. The real damage is to credibility, Two Prime CEO Alexander Blume argues, not the company’s ability to keep paying dividends.…

RBCH, the biggest external investor in Solana treasury firm Solmate Infrastructure, has filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court accusing the company’s board and officers of fiduciary breaches, self dealing, and making misleading statements to shareholders. The complaint targets Solmate’s current directors and officers. RBCH is affiliated with Viktor Fischer, the founder and CEO of RockawayX, who holds ~22.74% of Brera Holdings, Solmate’s parent company, after leading a $300 million PIPE investment in September 2025 with an additional $50 million commitment. What the complaint alleges The lawsuit claims that board members sold their own shares while other investors…

Regulatory Readiness Meets Market Demand HSBC Bank Middle East Limited has launched a tokenized deposit service in the United Arab Emirates, introducing around-the-clock blockchain-based cash management for corporate clients and adding the dirham to a growing multicurrency digital network. The new service allows eligible corporate and institutional clients to move funds instantly across borders and between internal treasury entities, integrating blockchain rails with traditional bank deposits. The network already supports euros, British pounds, U.S. dollars, Hong Kong dollars and Singapore dollars. Mohamed Al Marzooqi, chief executive officer of HSBC UAE, said the rollout reflects both regulatory readiness and market demand.…

Bitcoin sits near $60,000, down more than half from its October peak, with traders in extreme fear and institutions pulling money out for six straight weeks. The single question that decides where it goes next is whether the famous four-year cycle still governs Bitcoin, or whether institutions have broken it for good. Bitcoin is trading near $60,000, and depending on which framework you believe, that number is either the early stage of a painful but normal correction that ends with a familiar recovery, or the beginning of something the old playbook cannot explain. The price is down roughly 52% from…