Author: NBTC

Coinbase has announced a significant change to the infrastructure of its Base Ethereum Layer-2 network. The company announced that Base will be moving away from the current OP Stack architecture it is built upon and transitioning to a “unified Base stack” structure that is entirely operated by Base. OP Price Drops After Coinbase Announces Abandoning OP Stack Architecture Following this development, Optimism (OP) experienced a sharp drop in price. With this transition, node operators will need to follow versions published through Base’s own GitHub repository, base/base, instead of Optimism releases. Coinbase stated that more detailed information will be provided closer…

Ethereum price is hovering just below the $2,000 mark, a level that now feels more like a ceiling than support. Summary $ETH has continued to decline in recent sessions, now down 40% monthly. A key on-chain metric shows that Ethereum price may be bottoming. Technical structure remains bearish unless bulls reclaim the $2,150–$2,200 zone. Ethereum was trading around $1,981, rising nearly 1% in the past 24 hours. Over the last week, the coin has moved in a tight band between $1,907 and $2,098, reflecting a pause after a period of heavy selling. The market’s recent slide has been sharp. In…

Happy Thursday, advisors! Happy New Year!. As we enter 2026, the question for wealth management has fundamentally shifted. It is no longer “will digital assets matter?” but rather “can your firm afford to be the one that says no?” Andreessen Horowitz declared 2025 as the year crypto went mainstream, and for good reason. Traditional finance (TradFi) isn’t just watching from afar anymore; it’s undergoing a massive structural upgrade. We are now seeing blockchain move from a ‘niche experiment’ to the base layer for financial systems because of its undeniable efficiency and transparency. In today’s newsletter, Andy Baehr from CoinDesk Indices…

Joachim Nagel, president of Germany’s central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, supported the introduction of a euro-pegged central bank digital currency (CBDC) and euro-denominated stablecoins for payments. In remarks prepared for a speech at the New Year’s Reception of the American Chamber of Commerce in Frankfurt on Monday, Nagel said EU officials were “working hard” toward the introduction of a retail CBDC. Euro-denominated stablecoins, according to the central bank president, could also contribute to “making Europe more independent in terms of payment systems and solutions.” “Notably, a wholesale CBDC would allow financial institutions to make programmable payments in central bank money,”…

Alchemy Pay, a leading payment infrastructure entity, has announced support for Ultima ($ULTIMA), a blockchain-based multi-product network. The integration marks a key move toward wider accessibility for consumers across the globe. As Alchemy Pay mentioned in its official X post, the development offers seamless fiat off-ramp and on-ramp support. Hence, consumers can efficiently sell and buy $ULTIMA via familiar methods of payment across 173 jurisdictions. . $ULTIMA is now supported on #AlchemyPay. 🤝Users can buy and sell Ultima’s ecosystem token with fiat using cards, bank transfers, and mobile wallets across 173 countries, making access to @UltimaEcosystem simpler and more global.👉…

The founder of Cardano has sketched an expansive web3 vision where the cardano blockchain underpins everything from dating platforms to video streaming and social media. Charles Hoskinson’s long-term blockchain vision From first-generation chains to Cardano’s ecosystem Web3 beyond coin trading From Netflix to Tinder and social media Identity, verification, and trust What needs to happen next Charles Hoskinson’s long-term blockchain vision The web3 revolution began quietly when the Bitcoin blockchain went live, long before most people understood its impact. From that moment, development moved steadily, then accelerated, bringing us to today’s fast-growing crypto landscape. However, the sector remains relatively young,…

The cryptocurrency market has been consolidating over the past few days, with Bitcoin stuck below the $70k level. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is also trading below $2k despite adding less than 1% to its value in the last 24 hours. Ether’s performance comes as whales continue to accumulate more $ETH tokens thanks to the current market conditions. Whales continue to load up on $ETH Ether is trading above $1,970 per coin after adding less than 1% to its value. The performance comes as whales continue to purchase more Ether tokens. Whales or wallets holding 10K-100K $ETH paused…

Key Takeaways Google is testing a new all time closing high after briefly reaching a record intraday price near $330. The rally has lifted Google past Apple in market value as AI progress and investor demand support shares. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, saw its shares open about 1% higher on Thursday, briefly reaching a new intraday record near $330 before paring gains as technology stocks weakened more broadly. The stock had previously touched an all-time high in late November, when shares briefly reached $328. Google’s highest closing price remains $323, set during that same session. Traders are watching…

The Epstein files show he discussed meeting Gary Gensler to talk about digital currencies, offering fresh insight into the financier’s efforts to engage with early crypto leaders and policy figures. Emails from May 2018 show Epstein telling former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers that “Gary Gensler [is] coming earlier… wants to talk digital currencies.” Summers replied that he knew Gensler from government service and described him as “pretty smart.” The exchange suggests Epstein expected Gensler to participate in discussions involving cryptocurrency. Epstein Talking about Gensler With Steve Bannon, the Former White House Chief Strategist. Source: DOJ Epstein Files Reveal More Crypto…

Bybit EU has taken a step to broaden regulated stablecoin access across Europe with the launch of a new suite of $USDC- and $EURC-focused campaigns designed to promote responsible digital-asset use. Announced today from the company’s Vienna hub, the initiative deepens the practical availability of two fully reserved stablecoins across Bybit EU’s regulated platform, and pairs savings-focused products with trading and payments use cases inside a MiCA-compliant framework. The first phase, which launched on February 2, centers on predictable, fixed-term Earn products meant to shift the conversation away from short-term speculation and toward structured saving and financial literacy. Instead of…