Author: NBTC

Chainlink is shifting the economics of its BUILD program toward commercial fee agreements, a move that could make $LINK’s utility more closely tied to paid oracle and infrastructure services. The update follows the final BUILD rewards claims ending July 7, 2026. Under the new direction, participating projects are expected to move toward commercial agreements with fees paid in $LINK or other liquid tokens. That matters because $LINK investors have long watched one question closely: how does Chainlink’s adoption translate into token utility? This does not mean immediate price impact. It does not mean every Chainlink integration suddenly creates direct $LINK…

South Korea’s government is preparing to formally classify virtual assets, including Bitcoin, acquired through donations or criminal forfeiture as state property, and in principle, auction them off immediately after acquisition, according to a report from Chosun Biz. The move, announced on Aug. 6 as part of a broader overhaul of the state asset management system, signals a more structured approach to handling digital assets that come into state hands. As of April, the central government held approximately 78 billion won ($56.3 million) in virtual assets, a figure that underscores the growing scale of crypto-related seizures and donations in the country.…

$USD1, the dollar-pegged stablecoin launched by World Liberty Financial, has surpassed $50 billion in cumulative trading volume on Binance roughly a year after its debut, according to on-chain analyst Darkfost. The milestone reflects growing adoption of the token, though the analyst cautioned that the figures should be interpreted carefully. Institutional Settlement Skews Issuance Data Darkfost noted that a $2 billion institutional settlement transaction tied to Binance’s investment in the project accounted for a significant share of new issuance, potentially distorting the raw numbers. Despite this, weekly trading volume for $USD1 on Binance has remained steady between $750 million and over…

Synchronized CME and Treasury observations from Aug. 7 put Bitcoin futures carry above government debt, undercutting a comparison that is circulated across crypto markets. Analyst Marc Baumann put annualized Bitcoin futures basis near 3% and the two-year Treasury yield at 3.8%, saying the crypto spread had trailed the government benchmark for 157 consecutive days. The official Treasury curve recorded the two-year par yield at 4.19% on Aug. 7 and 4.25% on Aug. 10. A matched-date calculation using the Aug. 7 CME settlement bulletin and the 4 p.m. ET New York Bitcoin benchmark of $64,880 produced three gross annualized readings above…

Following the US ISM Manufacturing PMI report, today’s ISM Services PMI offers a more comprehensive view of the world’s largest economy. As the services sector remains dominant in US economic activity, investors are closely watching the report. This is because the report can provide hints on inflation, interest rates, and the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision, which could ultimately influence the crypto market. What Does the Latest ISM Services Report Mean for the Crypto Market? On August 4, 2026, the United States released the ISM Services PMI data. The report showed that the services sector has been expanding in July.…

Sui is testing confidential transactions on devnet, moving one of its privacy-focused upgrades from concept into a live developer environment. The feature is designed to keep transaction amounts and balances private while leaving sender and recipient addresses visible for auditability. That balance is important. Sui is not presenting this as full anonymity. It is aiming for selective confidentiality that could be useful for enterprise and financial applications. Devnet testing began on June 8, 2026, according to Sui’s update. The key caveat is that confidential transactions are not live on mainnet yet. This is still a testing-stage feature, and the final…

Fraudsters are impersonating financial regulators and crypto businesses to target customers of crypto service providers that have failed to secure European Union licenses, according to officials cited by the Financial Times. Several of the bloc’s watchdogs have reportedly seen an increase in scams since the July 1 deadline that required firms to obtain authorization under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation. Companies that failed to secure approval must wind down or transfer their EU operations, forcing customers to move their assets. Stéphane Pontoizeau, an official at France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), said the regulator encountered cases in which fraudsters…

Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest trading platform, is reportedly planning to establish its own digital depository to support cryptocurrency trading and asset management. The initiative, first reported by RBC, is still in its early stages, with an official launch targeted between late 2026 and early 2027. The move signals a potential shift in how Russian retail investors might access digital assets through regulated infrastructure. What the Digital Depository Would Offer According to the report, the planned digital depository would function similarly to traditional securities depositories, but for cryptocurrencies. Users would be able to buy, sell, and hold digital assets through their…

Santiment data shows that the total number of Bitcoin wallets registered with a minimum balance of 10,000 $BTC has reached 90, the highest level in 6 months, even as the smallest wallets have continued selling. Bitcoin ($BTC) is trading at around $64,322 at the press time. The divergence might provide a hint about the next market direction. Large investors are buying Bitcoin while smaller traders are withdrawing from it. According to Santiment, this pattern occurs before major price shifts in the market. Thus, the probability of Bitcoin crossing the $70,000 mark is higher than it moving below $60,000. Six new…

Situational Awareness, the hedge fund founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, reportedly invested $400 million in a privately held company days after it nearly collapsed under margin calls. The fund invested $100 million in the same unnamed company in July, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The latest investment was completed on Tuesday. Cointelegraph has approached Situational Awareness for comment. Assets at Situational Awareness fell about 78% in July, as an AI-stock sell-off triggered margin calls from Wall Street lenders. The fund sought fresh capital and considered selling stakes in private companies, according to the Financial…