Author: NBTC

There were no markup hearings this past week on market structure legislation. Lawmakers are still holding their firm positions close to the vest. The question is changing from “will we get a market structure law this year” to “will Congress have enough time to push this bill across the finish line?” You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. The narrative The Senate Banking Committee revealed this week that it would not be holding a markup hearing on its draft market structure legislation, confirming…

Mastercard is expanding its Crypto Credential system to self-custody wallets through a partnership with Polygon and Mercuyo. The firm has broadened its presence in the crypto space via collaborations with Ripple, Chainlink, Revolut, and other blockchain platforms. Mastercard, an American multinational financial services corporation, has secured a strategic collaboration with the Polygon (POL) blockchain. Leveraging this partnership, Mastercard will enable crypto payments for its customers and merchants. Mastercard Leveraging Polygon for Crypto Payments As disclosed in an X post, Mastercard chose the Polygon blockchain to launch username-based transfers for self-custody wallets. This integration is supported by Mercuryo, a global payment…

AAVE lost over 10% of its price, sliding down to $160. Despite being the leading lending protocol, AAVE weakened at the end of 2025. AAVE tokens lost over 10% in the past day, going through a flash crash during early Monday trading. The token returned to $160, trading near the lower range for the past three months. Aave dropped by around 10% on Monday, after a proposal on community ownership was lifted to snapshot status, without full support from the community and the agreement of the proposal author. | Source: CoinGecko. The recent Aave crash followed the launch of a…

Ethereum sent mixed signals after U.S. spot ETFs posted a $96.6 million net outflow led by BlackRock selling. At the same time, open interest rose and Binance data showed heavy bids waiting between $2,700 and $2,800. Ethereum ETFs Record $96.6M Daily Outflow as BlackRock Leads Selling U.S. spot Ethereum exchange traded funds recorded a net outflow of $96.6 million in the latest trading session, according to daily flow data shared by market analysts. The figures show broad weakness across the ETF complex, with redemptions outweighing new allocations for the day. Ethereum ETF Daily Outflows Table. Source: Ted Pillows on X…

In a recent social media post, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has stated that crypto helps to inject economic freedom and capitalism into every country in the world. “If we want greater prosperity, especially for the poorest people in society, we need more capitalism, and less socialism,” the Coinbase head said. Is it that simple? Armstrong has quoted popular economics blogger Noah Smith, who has compared the development of Venezuela and Poland. Venezuela implemented policies of nationalization and state control under Hugo Chávez, which stifled its oil industry and other vital sectors of the economy. As a result, the country has…

The crypto industry has rallied in support of pro-crypto US Senator Cynthia Lummis after she announced she will not seek reelection in 2026. Lummis, who is a vocal advocate for digital assets, played a significant role in US crypto policy discussions over the past few years and earned widespread respect across the crypto industry. Venture capital firm a16z head of government affairs, Collin McCune, said in an X post on Friday that “crypto would not be where it is today without her fight in the Congress.” Lummis was a “great ally on crypto,” says David Sacks Echoing a similar sentiment,…

On December 18, 2025, ArtGis Finance partnered with Aether Network, an innovative modular blockchain platform. This collaboration merges the experience of ArtGis Finance in the field of Artificial Intelligence assisted digital asset settlements with the scalable capacity of Aether Network. This collaboration seeks to provide better execution, better incentives, and a higher variety of services of the Web3. AI-Powered Finance Meets Modular Infrastructure ArtGis Finance has made a strong position for itself in the blockchain finance industry since 2019. The platform works digital asset financial settlement ecosystem connecting the traditional finance with Web3 technologies. Built on a layered architecture that…

Gold surged to record, bringing cheer to digital tokens backed by the metal traditionally seen as a haven investment. XAUT$4,412.65, the largest gold-backed token by market value, rose to an all-time high of $4,425 while PAXG (PAXG) and kineses gold (KAU) also rose, lifting the total market value of gold-backed tokens to $4.38 billion. “The message is clear. Investors are still hedging macro uncertainty rather than leaning aggressively into risk. That divergence continues to cap enthusiasm for crypto, even as liquidity conditions improve,” BRN’s head of research Timothy Misir, said in an email. Bitcoin, referred to by some followers as…

With an intraday jump, the Ethereum price shows sustainability above the neckline support of long-coming head and shoulders pattern. On-chain data shows Ethereum records a steady growth in its active addresses, making an average of 163K new addresses per day. Bank of Japan lifted its policy rate to 0.75%, the highest level seen since 1995, as part of monetary normalization. ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum ecosystem jumps 5.3% during Friday’s U.S. market session to reach $2,977. The buying pressure followed market optimism that normalized Japanese rates for global risk appetite without immediate liquidity squeezes. Along with broader market…

The cryptocurrency market lit up on Sunday, with social media erupting in cheers as users hoped for new bull runs in bitcoin BTC$106,416.64 and tokens like XRP and DOGE fueled by stimulus checks, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a tariff dividend for low-income Americans on Truth Social. But the reality, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified, is more complicated. Bessent explained that the President’s tariff dividend might be delivered through the tax cuts from his major economic policy bill earlier this year. “The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways. It could be…