Author: NBTC

Ripple and the University of California, Berkeley have jointly unveiled a new accelerator program to help developers turn early-stage blockchain ideas into deployable products on the XRP Ledger. According to the stablecoin issuer’s press statement published on Friday, Ripple University’s Blockchain Research Initiative is launching a University Digital Asset Xcelerator (UDAX) that promises to provide founders with hands-on technical support, direct mentorship, and access to capital networks. Ripple is adding its academic footprint through UBRI, the multi-year program based at UC Berkeley that has been contributing to blockchain research and talent. UDAX debuts after a six-week pilot cohort at Berkeley…

The IMF released a report warning that stablecoins could pose a big risk to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), potentially undermining local currencies. The December report claimed that stablecoins could facilitate capital outflow and currency substitutions across EMDEs, but experts say the market is too small for a meaningful macroeconomic impact. However, the IMF emphasizes that these fiat-pegged tokens/coins could be used to avoid CFMs (capital flow management measures), whose implementation relies on recognized financial mediators. Stablecoins could be used to undermine the implementation of CFMs by presenting an avenue for capital flows outside of standard financial rails. Additionally,…

After the U.S. Senate takes next week off and returns to hash out the federal budget that expires on January 30, the odds may favor February as the next window for action on the crypto market structure bill in the Senate Banking Committee. But no matter when it returns to the agenda, the crypto industry must still overcome the traditional finance lobbyists if it wants to secure significant changes and get a bill done that digital assets businesses will find acceptable. Despite Coinbase’s high-visibility decision to abandon the bill on Wednesday, virtually everybody, including the U.S. exchange, has said they’re…

A Hong Kong listed company is stepping into the world of Web3. Yingzheng International (Prime Intelligence Solutions Group Limited), formerly known as Lazy Pig Technology. It has announced plans to enter the blockchain and digital asset sector. The company shared the update through an official filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Yingzheng International is mainly known for biometric identification and security software. Now, it wants to expand into Web3.0 and blockchain technology. The company says this move is part of a long term strategy to grow its business and tap into new digital finance opportunities. With a market value…

Former biotech company ETHZilla (ETHZ) is doubling down on its push into real-world asset markets, taking a 15% stake in digital housing lender Zippy to bring manufactured-home loans onchain. The deal marks the company’s second acquisition in a week. According to Wednesday’s announcement, ETHZilla will pay $5 million in cash and $16.1 million in stock for a 15% stake in Zippy, a US-based lender founded in 2021 that originates manufactured-home loans through a digital platform. The companies plan to link Zippy’s loan-origination and AI-powered systems with ETHZilla’s tokenization stack for onchain distribution of manufactured-home chattel loans, including potential forward-flow sales…

Three senior House Democrats on Thursday urged Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins to resume his enforcement duties in the crypto space. In a sharply critical letter, Representatives Maxine Waters, Sean Casten and Brad Sherman said that the agency abruptly dismissed at least a dozen crypto-related enforcement cases since early 2025, including actions against Binance, Coinbase (COIN) and Kraken, all of which had seen initial court victories for the SEC. Waters leads Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, and is poised to take over the committee if Democrats win the House in the 2026 midterm election. The…

A new list based on weekly active user data has been published in the cryptocurrency market. According to current data, Layer-1 blockchains and large ecosystems stand out in terms of user activity, with some networks showing strong monthly increases. The list is based on the number of unique addresses that have interacted with the networks with at least one transaction. Here are the altcoins with the highest number of active users and their user numbers in the last week, according to the latest data: BNB Chain (BNB) – 17.9 million weekly active users (8.6% increase) Solana (SOL) – 14.1 million…

BitMine, the world’s largest Ethereum treasury firm, expects to generate more than $400 million in annual pre-tax income on its $13 billion worth of ETH, mostly by staking those holdings, chairman Thomas Lee said at the firm’s shareholder meeting on Thursday. Lee also told investors that BitMine “probably saved $400 million” on ether purchases over the past several months. He credited the investment advisory firm MOZAYXX and Tom DeMark, a well-known figure in trading circles, for the execution strategy. Despite the cost savings, BitMine’s current position still reflects roughly $2.3 billion in unrealized losses since the firm began buying ETH…

A16z crypto, a venture capital fund of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), said it is expanding into Asia, opening an office Seoul and hiring Sungmo Park to head operations in the region. South Korea is the world’s second-largest crypto market, the Andreessen Horowitz unit said in a blog post. The office will work with founders by building partnerships, strengthening distribution channels, and accelerating community growth across the region, it said, pointing to high levels of crypto ownership in South Korea and Singapore, and growing onchain activity in Japan. While Hong Kong and Singapore have long been the financial capitals of Asia, South…

Three Democrats in the House of Representatives are asking US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins to provide information related to the agency closing investigations or dismissing enforcement actions in “at least one dozen crypto-related cases,” including Tron founder Justin Sun. In a Thursday letter to Atkins, Representatives Maxine Waters, Brad Sherman and Sean Casten questioned the SEC’s “priorities and effectiveness” given its dismissals of the crypto-related cases. The lawmakers wrote that the agency had “openly and boldly dismissed the majority of its crypto enforcement cases,” including those against crypto exchange Binance, Coinbase and Kraken. Source: House Financial…