Author: NBTC

Most decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are no longer truly decentralized, according to Andre Cronje, founder of DeFi platform Flying Tulip and creator of Fantom Network. “I don’t think DeFi exists anymore outside of those very small niches,” Cronje told Cointelegraph during Thursday’s Chain Reaction X Spaces show. He argued that “true DeFi” needs to be decentralized, immutable and without an intermediary, adding: “That statement isn’t really true for pretty much any other protocols running today.” It’s an idea that Cronje has been raising for months. Earlier this year, he said much of DeFi is “no longer DeFi” in the strict…

In July, spot Ethereum ETFs pulled in more than twice the capital that Bitcoin ETFs attracted. The gap is not an anomaly. It is the first evidence that institutional money is repricing Ethereum as infrastructure rather than an alternative to Bitcoin. For most of the past two years, the conversation about crypto ETFs has been a conversation about Bitcoin. The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 attracted more than $30 billion in net inflows within the first year. The products became the fastest growing ETF category in history. BlackRock’s IBIT alone gathered more assets in its first six…

Bernstein analysts have maintained an outperform rating on Bitcoin miner Cipher Digital, keeping a price target of $32 per share even after the company’s stock fell 15.7% following the disclosure of a wider second-quarter loss. The research firm noted that the three contracted AI data center projects are progressing as planned, which underpins their confidence in the company’s strategic direction. Context: Cipher Digital’s Stock Drop and Q2 Performance Cipher Digital, a U.S.-based Bitcoin mining company, has been expanding into AI data center infrastructure to diversify revenue streams beyond cryptocurrency mining. The wider Q2 loss, reported in early August, reflects increased…

$ENS DAO has activated a new eight-member Security Council with limited power to cancel malicious governance proposals before they execute. The council will operate for two years under a five-of-eight multisig structure, meaning at least five members must agree before blocking a transaction. The move creates a final security check during $ENS governance’s two-day timelock. Successful proposals do not execute immediately after voting closes. Instead, they enter the waiting period, giving the community time to inspect the queued transactions and allowing the council to intervene when a proposal meets defined emergency conditions. The council’s term runs until July 16, 2028.…

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) added 12 companies to its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) register in its fourth update since the July 1 transitional deadline. Published on July 31, the update brings the total number of authorized crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) listed under MiCA to 321. The latest additions include three German cooperative banks: Volksbank Raiffeisenbank Oberbayern Südost, VR Bank Schleswig-Holstein Mitte and VR-Bank Landau-Mengkofen. The list also includes two companies in Spain — Basque Pay and Fintech Payments — and four in France — Finary, Woorton, Blockchain Process Security and Shares Financial Assets. Twelve CASPs added in…

Mastercard and Borderless.xyz are piloting the use of Mastercard Crypto Credential, the card network’s verification system for digital asset transactions, in cross-border stablecoin payments, the companies said Wednesday. The pilot targets a bottleneck in stablecoin payment networks: every new counterparty relationship triggers a fresh round of compliance verification, so verification work grows with each provider added. Crypto Credential is meant to supply standardized assurance signals that other participants can plug into their own approval and risk processes instead of re-running checks. “One of the biggest friction points for stablecoin payment operators isn’t the payments. It’s that compliance doesn’t scale the…

The leading crypto asset by market cap, bitcoin ($BTC), reached climbed over the $126,000 mark in early October before entering a prolonged decline. By August, it was trading mostly between $63,000 and $65,400, leaving buyers near the peak with heavy losses but producing a bear market that remains unusually shallow by bitcoin’s historical standards. Previous major downturns have routinely erased more than 75% to 80% of bitcoin’s value from the all-time high (ATH). To many veterans, this bear market still feels like a nothingburger. War and Oil Fail to Crack Bitcoin Few assets have had an easy macroeconomic backdrop in…

Ether.fi, one of the leading crypto neobanks, announced its Summer release, the next generation of its fintech product. The expansion will bring tools for savings, earning, trading, borrowing, and seamless spending, aiming to replace traditional banking services. The Summer release will use the capabilities of decentralized systems, going beyond the possibilities of traditional finance and not just replicating its services. The latest Ether.fi release will tap the latest trends in on-chain trading, to include tokenized stocks, metals, and the most active crypto assets. The user-facing app will integrate Aave, allowing users to lend their assets and borrow against their portfolio…

Ethereum price fell 2.4% from $1,918 to an intraday low of $1,872 as traders sold the initial U.S. inflation reaction, leaving $ETH below $1,900 and testing a key daily support zone. Ethereum price action today According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum ($ETH) price traded near $1,879 at the time of writing after falling from an intraday high around $1,918 to $1,872. The decline erased the token’s initial response to the latest U.S. Consumer Price Index report and returned $ETH below the psychological $1,900 level. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that headline inflation rose 0.1% month over month and…

Nearly seven in ten Russians surveyed could not identify a practical reason to use cryptocurrency, even as the country prepares to open a regulated market for digital assets. A Rambler&Co survey published by TASS on Aug. 4 found that 69% of respondents saw no personal use case for crypto following legalization. Only 8% mentioned paying for foreign purchases, while 6% selected long-term investment and savings diversification. Another 4% cited business transfers and transactions. The findings arrived as President Vladimir Putin signed Russia’s new federal law “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights” on Aug. 4. The law creates regulated channels for…