Author: NBTC

Coinbase has disclosed that it is staking 41.63 million Solana ($SOL) tokens, which accounts for 9.72% of all $SOL staked across the Solana network as of the second quarter of 2025. The revelation comes from the exchange’s latest Solana validator operations report, offering a rare glimpse into the scale of institutional participation in the network’s proof-of-stake ecosystem. Coinbase’s Validator Footprint According to the report, Coinbase operates 23 validator nodes distributed across seven countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Singapore. This geographic spread is notable, as it reflects an effort to decentralize validator operations…

Bitcoin trades near $63,600, below the lowest Bitcoin price researchers tested against a modeled wind-powered mining operation in a new Energy Economics study. At that price level, their model shows no payback within six years under any curtailment scenario they ran. The study, by researchers at the Technological University of the Shannon, models a 20 MW Bitcoin mine connected to a hypothetical 100 MW Irish wind farm, using hourly market data from 2024. Even with 25% of the wind farm’s output curtailed, the modeled project fails to recover its investment inside the six-year equipment horizon once Bitcoin’s price falls to…

Privacy has emerged as a key barrier to bringing more financial activity onchain. Public blockchains expose transaction histories, balances and counterparties by default, a level of transparency that is difficult to reconcile with how businesses and financial institutions operate. Trading firms don’t want to reveal positions, companies can’t publish payroll and treasury activity and individuals may not want their financial lives visible on a block explorer. Privacy infrastructure aims to bring the confidentiality of traditional finance onchain while preserving crypto’s programmability and verifiability. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a steady value, typically by tracking the U.S. dollar. They have…

Following a 1.13% decline over the previous day, Bitcoin [$BTC] was changing hands at $64,215.20 at press time. Nevertheless, the annual decline of the top cryptocurrency is shocking, as it has decreased by 46.98% over the last 12 months. On the other hand, Spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen $52.098 billion in inflows since their launch in January 2024. Yet despite these influxes, the supply of Bitcoin’s long-term holders (LTHs) is still decreasing. For those unaware, LTH Balance shows the total amount of Bitcoin that these investors currently own, whereas LTH Supply Inflow shows how much Bitcoin is entering the long-term…

Block (NYSE: XYZ) shares gained more than 4% in late trading after the payments company posted second-quarter numbers above Wall Street forecasts. Adjusted earnings reached $1.02 per share for the three months through June 30. Analysts following London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSEG) were expecting 87 cents per share. The quarterly income came to $6.62 billion, exceeding the estimates of around $6.49 billion from analysts. The company, led by Jack Dorsey, also raised its full-year target. Block now sees 2026 gross profit at $12.51 billion, which would mean 21% growth from a year earlier. Its old target was $12.33 billion,…

Japan, the U.S., and South Korea Are Driving $XRP’s Global Surge According to RippleXity, a decentralized news platform built on the $XRP Ledger, three countries are emerging as the driving forces behind $XRP’s global expansion. Each plays a distinct role, but together they are accelerating adoption through institutional investment, deep trading liquidity, and an increasingly supportive regulatory landscape. Japan has become $XRP’s largest capital market, with an estimated $21.7 billion invested over the past year, roughly four times more than Bitcoin during the same period. Years of collaboration between Ripple and SBI Holdings, combined with Japan’s well-defined digital asset regulations,…

Switzerland Built a Faster Path Without Cutting Corners These watchdogs are called self-regulatory organizations, or SROs. Instead of throwing every financial business into the same regulatory bucket, Switzerland matches oversight to actual risk. Smaller crypto exchanges, brokers, and custodial wallet providers enter an SRO that tests anti-money laundering (AML) controls on FINMA’s behalf. That approach has consistently attracted serious digital-asset companies while filtering out firms that weren’t prepared for real compliance. The framework drives nearly every crypto business entering Switzerland today. Regulators judge companies by what they actually do, whether exchanging tokens, safeguarding customer wallets or issuing payment tokens. Once…

Shiba Inu token continues to strengthen its position in the UAE’s real economy. Following the introduction of cryptocurrency payments for airline tickets, the popular meme token has now officially entered duty-free shopping zones. Major airport retailer Dubai Duty Free has integrated the Crypto.com Pay payment gateway, enabling customers to use $SHIB and 29 other cryptocurrencies at physical stores in DXB and DWC airports, as well as on its official website. Dubai Duty Free introduces regulated crypto-to-fiat payments settled in AED, Source: Dubai Duty Free via X For the Shiba Inu ecosystem, this marks another important milestone of expansion in the…

Installing Bitcoin mining operations alongside wind farms could significantly increase revenue by capturing electricity that would otherwise be wasted during periods of grid congestion, according to researchers in Ireland. A study published in the August issue of the peer-reviewed journal Energy Economics examined the economic potential of pairing a 100 MW wind farm with a 20 MW Bitcoin mining facility. The researchers, based at Technological University of the Shannon, found that the mining operation could utilize up to 83% of otherwise curtailed power, boosting combined revenue by approximately 32% compared to wind generation alone. Why This Matters for Renewable Energy…

Barça Mobile, FC Barcelona’s official mobile telecom service operated by New Era Visionary Group, is developing an in-app digital wallet using infrastructure from Wirex, Crossmint and the Stellar Development Foundation. New Era announced the partnerships on Aug. 5. Its announcement described the wallet as an integrated feature of the existing Barça Mobile app rather than a standalone product, intended to bring connectivity, payments, loyalty benefits and travel services into one interface. Wirex will provide payment and card infrastructure for future wallet-linked payment features. Crossmint will supply wallet infrastructure and user-onboarding technology, while Stellar will serve as the wallet’s blockchain network…