Author: NBTC

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) Bitcoin BTC$88,032.18 rose above $88,000 even after the Bank of Japan increased interest rates to the highest in nearly 30 years, a move that would have been expected to strengthen the yen and make the carry trade less attractive. Instead, the currency weakened on concerns the higher rates would endanger the spending plans of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond touched 2% for the first time since 2006. Other cryptocurrencies also advanced. Ether ETH$2,958.35 added 3.4% in the last 24…

According to recent data shared by crypto researcher Leonidas Hadjiloizou, major cryptocurrency trading platforms have logged a net outflow of nearly 22 million XRP in the first week of the year. The analysis, which tracks wallets holding at least 1 million XRP, reveals the total balance across tracked exchanges has dropped by 0.14% since December 31. Still, the narrative of a “supply shock” might be far-fetched. XRP frequently sees $2–$4 billion in daily trading volume. At a price of roughly $2.20, that represents roughly 1–2 billion XRP changing hands every single day. A movement of 22 million XRP represents an…

The activities of developers on Ethereum, which are measured by the number of smart contract wallets, increased exponentially in the last quarter of 2025, reaching new records just as the Ethereum ecosystem proved itself the best layer for stablecoins, hosting up to 54% of the global stablecoin supply on ETH. Token Terminal’s data has revealed Ethereum had about 8.7 million smart contracts deployed in the last quarter of 2025, making it the highest quarter witnessed ever, surpassing its previous record from 2021 when it reported 6 million deployments. ETH developers set a new record in 2025 According to Leon Waidmann,…

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has issued a stark warning about the global financial system, arguing that it is a Ponzi scheme headed toward collapse. He shared this view during a recent livestream. In it, he addressed several crypto-related initiatives and offered a broader assessment of the global financial landscape. Global Financial System Functions Like a Ponzi Scheme During the discussion, Hoskinson asserted that the modern financial system operates much like a Ponzi scheme. Rather than relying on genuine economic repayment, he explained, the system survives by continuously shifting liabilities from one sector to another. This creates the illusion of stability…

The crypto derivatives market changed significantly in 2025 after the Oct. 10-11 market crash, which caused record losses and exposed problems with how crypto trading platforms manage risk, according to a report from BitMEX. BitMEX said about $20 billion in leveraged trades were forced to close during the crash, making it the largest liquidation event in crypto history. Unlike past crashes, the losses fell more heavily on “sophisticated” market makers than on retail traders. “The defining event of 2025 was not a macro-driven selloff, but rather a microstructure failure among most crypto exchanges,” the report reads. “The October crash will…

Stablecoin transfer volume on Ethereum surpassed $8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025, marking a new all-time high, reported Token Terminal on Monday. The $8 trillion milestone is almost double the transfer volume figure for the second quarter, which was just over $4 trillion, according to the chart. Stablecoin issuance on Ethereum increased by around 43% in 2025 from $127 billion to $181 billion by year’s end, according to BlockWorks. “This isn’t speculation. This is global payments happening on-chain,” commented “BMNR Bullz” on X. This is before SWIFT-style integrations, full RWA tokenization, and institutional rails going live. “The rails…

Key Takeaways Rick Rieder of BlackRock will be interviewed for the US Federal Reserve Chair role at Mar-a-Lago. Other candidates are Kevin Hassett, Kevin Warsh, and Christopher Waller. Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for global fixed income, is set to be interviewed for the role of Federal Reserve chair at Mar-a-Lago in the final week of the year, CNBC reported Friday. Rieder has spent more than a decade at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. Like CEO Larry Fink, he has shifted from early skepticism about crypto to a more pragmatic stance, increasingly framing digital assets as part of…

Binance has launched around-the-clock futures trading for gold and silver. The new USDT-settled perpetual contracts lets traders access gold and silver markets at any time. With this move, Binance is bridging traditional finance and crypto trading. The contracts allows up to 50x leverage, offering high-risk, high-reward opportunities for traders. Both retail and institutional investors can now participate more freely in precious metals trading. Trade Anytime, Without Limits Before this, gold and silver markets followed the standard trading hours. Many investors had to wait for market openings to trade. Binance’s 24/7 futures contracts let traders react instantly to news or market…

Ethereum is drawing renewed market attention as price action, derivatives data, and protocol upgrades align in early 2026. The asset continues to trade with a constructive short-term structure, while traders assess leverage behavior and spot flow trends. At the same time, fresh technical milestones outlined by co-founder Vitalik Buterin add a longer-term narrative that extends beyond price charts. Together, these factors frame Ethereum as a market balancing momentum, caution, and structural evolution. Price Structure Signals Short-Term Strength Ethereum’s 4-hour chart shows a clear upward bias, supported by higher highs and higher lows. Price remains above rising short-term moving averages, confirming…

Nearly $150m in leveraged crypto long positions were liquidated in one hour as Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP fell, with total daily liquidations topping $464m. Summary Around $145m in leveraged crypto longs were liquidated in two hourly waves, with Hyperliquid handling the largest single $3.63m order.​ Total 24h crypto liquidations hit about $464m across 137k+ traders, led by $66.5m in Bitcoin and $33.8m in Ethereum positions.​ BTC fell 1.7%, ETH 2.8% and XRP 6.8% as the broader crypto market lost 2.19% in value alongside big ETF redemptions the previous day.​ Nearly $150 million in leveraged cryptocurrency long positions were liquidated within…