Author: NBTC

Korea University’s Blockchain Research Institute has partnered with Injective, joining its global ecosystem as a validator to strengthen ties between academia and the blockchain industry. Validator Participation and Network Security Korea University’s Blockchain Research Institute has partnered with layer 1 blockchain, Injective, formally joining the global Injective ecosystem in a move that strengthens ties between academic research and blockchain infrastructure. The institute, part of Korea University’s College of Informatics, has been a leader in blockchain and digital asset research. Since 2020, it has pursued joint projects and educational programs exploring blockchain applications in finance and public services. The new collaboration…

DeFi platform and HIP-3 provider Felix Protocol is collaborating with Ondo Finance to bring spot equities to the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The activation will leverage Ondo Global Markets to launch more than 100 U.S. equity markets on Felix, with plans to expand to “1,000+ equities over the coming months.” The launch will debut on Felix’s native trading interface on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s Layer 1 blockchain, and the team has not disclosed a timeline for launching the assets on Hypercore. “We won’t be interacting with Hyperliquid spot to start to avoid the need to bootstrap liquidity on each individual market, which has been…

Key Takeaways Vivo Federation and Lean Ventures will jointly acquire $300 million in Ripple Labs shares for South Korean investors. This investment structure offers VivoPower exposure to Ripple Labs and XRP upside without using its own capital. VivoPower International PLC, which is transforming into an XRP-focused digital asset enterprise, announced Friday that its Vivo Federation unit has partnered with Lean Ventures in a definitive joint venture to purchase $300 million worth of Ripple Labs shares. Under the agreement, Lean Ventures will arrange for the establishment of a dedicated investment vehicle to acquire the shares. Lean Ventures is a licensed South…

Binance announced that it continues to conduct periodic reviews of spot trading pairs in order to protect users and maintain quality in the trading market. The cryptocurrency exchange has decided to remove certain spot trading pairs from its platform after recent evaluations revealed they did not meet criteria such as insufficient liquidity and low trading volume. According to an official announcement by Binance, trading on certain spot trading pairs will be completely suspended as of January 16, 2026, at 06:00. The pairs to be removed include Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB), and numerous altcoins traded with FDUSD. The trading pairs…

Swift and Chainlink have developed together to become one of the most noteworthy partnerships between traditional finance and blockchain technology. For almost a decade, both organizations have been addressing one common goal, allowing financial institutions to get into blockchain networks without dropping the infrastructure, message standards and operational controls that are already in use. NEW: As part of Swift’s work with Chainlink & UBS Asset Management, Swift completes landmark interoperability milestone with BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo, & Société Générale 🧵 https://t.co/4cNB1EcJGS pic.twitter.com/18J3wtPp6K — Chainlink (@chainlink) January 15, 2026 Swift is a platform with trillions of daily transactions based on its…

Mantle announced today that it has integrated Infinex, a cross-chain DeFi aggregation platform, in a move the project says will broaden access to Mantle-based assets and decentralized applications. The deployment, which places Infinex’s passkey-first wallet, unified portfolio management and integrated trading tools on Mantle, is intended to give users a simpler on-ramp to discover liquidity, manage portfolios and carry out DeFi strategies across multiple chains. For users, the most visible change will be a more streamlined interface that aggregates functions normally scattered across different apps. Infinex pools liquidity from a variety of protocols and folds swaps, bridging and yield-farming opportunities…

Five digital asset firms have received conditional approvals Friday to become federally chartered banks by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) in a major step to bring U.S. dollar stablecoin issuers under federal regulatory oversight. Blockchain firm Ripple and Circle’s (CRCL) First National Digital Currency Bank are on the list, which also includes BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos, each having previously operated under state charters. The OCC is the only federal agency that charters banks and trusts, and this surge in approvals potentially marks a major turning point in crypto banking. Since the arrival of President Donald…

Salvo Games, one of the most popular GameFi platforms, has announced a partnership with GANA Insight, a next-generation PayFi protocol on BNB Chain. This cooperation seeks to transform the way players use their value on the chain throughout the global economy by bringing the process of bridging the gap between digital assets game and actual payments through new AI-native infrastructure. Seamless Blending of Gaming and Financial Infrastructure GANA Insight works as a PayFi protocol combining concepts of payment and decentralized finance to make programmable, verifiable and efficient value transfers with real time auditing and transparent settlement processes. The technological architecture…

XRP has overtaken Bitcoin to become the most traded digital asset on BTC Markets, Australia’s largest local crypto exchange. This was revealed in the platform’s newly released 2025 Investor Study Report. The development marks a notable shift in how Australian investors are engaging with the crypto market. Key Facts XRP surpassed Bitcoin to become the most traded asset on Australia’s largest crypto exchange, BTC Markets. Strong community support and Ripple ODL ties helped drive XRP’s trading dominance in 2025. Bitcoin remains the most widely held asset, even as traders focus more on utility-driven tokens. Rising trade sizes and broader participation…

President Trump is reportedly set to announce an emergency power auction that would push tech companies to bankroll new power plants. This initiative aims to ease rising electricity costs. The plan could impact both the cryptocurrency sector and the broader economy in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms. What Is Trump’s Emergency Power Auction? According to Bloomberg, Trump, together with governors from several Northeastern US states, is pushing PJM, the country’s largest electricity grid operator, to hold a power auction. The push from the administration and state leaders is expected to take the form of a non-binding “statement of principles.”…