Author: NBTC

The People’s Bank of China acquired 30,000 troy ounces of gold in December, according to official figures, extending its 14‑month buying streak. China is among the countries with the largest gold reserves, officially holding more than 74 million troy ounces of the precious metal. China Ramps up Gold Purchases, Continues 14-Month Buying Streak China has continued its gold rush, acquiring more gold in December. According to official data released on Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China acquired 30,000 troy ounces of gold in December, boosting its reserves to 74.15 million ounces (2,306 tons). This is the 14th month in which Chinese gold reserves…

US lawmakers may face a narrowing window to pass long-awaited crypto legislation. Speaking at the World Liberty Forum, Senator Bernie Moreno said a comprehensive market structure bill could pass “hopefully by the end of April.” The Ohio Senator stressed that Congress must act within the next 90 days to maintain momentum. A Compressed Timeline for Crypto Rules The remarks, delivered at an event hosted by World Liberty Financial at Mar-a-Lago on February 18, highlighted both urgency and persistent friction between the banking sector and the digital asset industry. According to live reporting, Bernie Moreno acknowledged the difficulty of negotiations, saying…

MEXC received another wave of user reports, claiming accounts were locked without recourse. The exchange renewed its investigation to give a reason for the locked accounts. MEXC, one of the most widely used global exchanges, is once again receiving social media reports of locked user accounts. Traders have complained that once they achieved a more significant sum in their account, their funds were held, and withdrawals were banned. One user claimed MEXC held $300,000 in a locked account, requiring a 40% haircut to release the funds. “MEXC locked my account holding approx. $300,000. I fully complied with their verification process…

American Bitcoin (ABTC), the bitcoin $BTC$67,953.30 mining company backed by the family of President Donald Trump, said it lost $59 million in the fourth quarter as the plummeting price of the largest cryptocurrency eroded the value of its holdings. The company, which went public in September, less than a month before the largest cryptocurrency hit a record high, is pursuing a dual strategy of mining and purchases, with roughly one-third of its $BTC coming from mining operations. The rest comes from open-market purchases and strategic transactions, funded in large part by selling stock. The company, which is 20% owned by…

Set for mid-March, the Hibiscus V7 celestia upgrade aims to refine interoperability and sovereignty for networks built on the modular data availability layer. Key features of the Hibiscus V7 release CIP-45: Forwarding module for streamlined token routing CIP-46: ZK Interchain Security Module CIP-44: Adjusting validator commission bounds Consensus pruning improvements for node operators Rollout across testnets and mainnet Who should pay attention to Hibiscus V7 Key features of the Hibiscus V7 release The Hibiscus (V7) release for Celestia is scheduled for mid-March and targets a long-standing tradeoff between sovereignty and interoperability. By tightening how networks interact, it makes rollups and…

Network News $ZORA MOVES FROM BASE TO SOLANA: On-chain social platform and decentralized protocol Zora is making a decisive shift beyond its non-fungible tokens (NFT) and creator roots with the launch of “attention markets” on Solana, a product that allows users to trade tokens tied to internet trends, memes and cultural moments. The feature, unveiled Feb. 17, lets anyone create a new market for 1 $SOL. Once live, users can buy and sell positions on whether a topic will gain or lose traction across social media. Instead of wagering on elections or macro data, traders speculate on buzz itself —…

The Ethereum Foundation has released an update outlining its protocol priorities for 2026. The Foundation has grouped Ethereum’s technical roadmap under three main headings: scaling, improving user experience (Improve UX), and hardening the mainnet resilience (L1). According to the shared plan, the Ethereum developer ecosystem will continue its efforts to increase the network’s transaction capacity by pushing the gas limit above 100 million. This step aims to reduce congestion, especially during peak periods, by enabling more transactions to be processed on L1. On the scaling side, further development of the ePBS (encrypted Proposer-Builder Separation) mechanism and new increases in blob…

The odds of a Fed rate cut in January are extremely slim but traders are forecasting at least two cuts in 2026. Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have changed their Fed rate cut forecast for 2026 ahead of a new Fed Chair. The Bitcoin and crypto market will benefit from a risk-on mode amid rising global money supply. The Federal Reserve is expected to continue with its interest rate cut in 2026, amid the high executive pressures. As President Donald Trump prepares to name his pick for the Fed Chair to replace Jerome Powell, Wall Street analysts are now forecasting at…

California has set a firm licensing clock for digital asset firms that want to keep serving residents of the state. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation issued a formal implementation update for the Digital Financial Assets Law, confirming that any individual or company conducting covered crypto activity for or on behalf of California residents must, by July 1, 2026, hold a DFAL license, have submitted a license application, or qualify for an exemption. Applications will open March 9, 2026, through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, with regulators urging firms to review the NMLS checklist and attend industry training…

Austria’s financial regulator said it prohibited the European arm of KuCoin from conducting new business and onboarding customers after the crypto exchange lost key compliance staff just months after gaining a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) permit to operate across the European Union. KuCoin EU no longer has key function holders in anti-money laundering (AML) and prevention of terrorist financing roles, according to a statement from the regulator, the FMA, which granted the license in November. The freeze will last until the firm appoints the necessary compliance reporting staff, it said. “The effective staffing of these key functions is a…