Author: NBTC

Ethereum was not created to make finance efficient or apps convenient. It was designed to set people free. That line from the Trustless Manifesto drew criticism when it was published, and Vitalik Buterin repeated it on Jan. 5. The argument: Ethereum’s mission differs fundamentally from the efficiency game DeFi protocols compete in. The goal is not 4.5% yield versus 5.3%, not reducing latency from 473 milliseconds to 368, not trimming signup from three clicks to one. Ethereum’s game is resilience: avoiding total losses when infrastructure collapses, governments turn hostile, or developers disappear. Resilience means keeping 2,000-millisecond latency at 2,000 milliseconds…

Crypto activity in Brazil expanded sharply in 2025, with total transaction volume climbing 43% year over year as average investment per user crossed the $1,000 mark, according to a new report from crypto platform Mercado Bitcoin. The report, titled “Raio-X do Investidor em Ativos Digitais 2025,” claimed that the Brazilian crypto market is no longer driven purely by speculation but increasingly shaped by structured investing and portfolio planning. The data was based on activity across Mercado Bitcoin’s platform, the largest digital asset exchange in Latin America. Per the report, the average amount invested per person reached roughly 5,700 Brazilian reais,…

Current sentiment around crypto regulation remains cautiously optimistic, with much of the focus centered on the long-awaited crypto market structure bill, commonly referred to as the CLARITY Act. While price movement across the market has stayed limited, industry insiders believe regulation, rather than short-term speculation, will play a key role in shaping crypto’s next phase. This view is why many now see 2026 as a potential turning point after a prolonged period of market weakness. Crypto Market Structure Bill and Regulatory Clarity Anthony Scaramucci stated that the crypto market structure bill needs to pass before the next U.S. midterm elections.…

Babylon is positioning Bitcoin for a larger role in on-chain finance as new capital backs its shift beyond staking. Summary a16z Crypto invested $15M in Babylon through a BABY token purchase. Babylon is expanding from Bitcoin staking into trustless BTC lending. The protocol aims to unlock idle Bitcoin for DeFi without bridges or custodians. The push to turn idle Bitcoin into active onchain capital has received major backing from a prominent venture firm. Babylon, a Bitcoin (BTC) staking platform, secured a $15 million investment from a16z Crypto through a purchase of its native BABY tokens, according to a Dec. 7…

Ethereum scalability was boosted on Wednesday with the second Blob Parameter-Only hard fork, raising the blob limit from 15 to 21, the first of many improvements aimed at scaling the Ethereum ecosystem in 2026. The second BPO hard fork, which took effect on Wednesday at 1:01:11 UTC, further increases Ethereum’s data throughput by allowing more transactions to be batched via rollups. The BPO hard fork also raised the blob target from 10 to 14, which is widely seen as the more important metric to watch, as consistently approaching the 21-blob limit could overload node bandwidth and storage. One blob unit fits…

Federal Reserve member Beth M. Hammack said that monetary policy may already be below the neutral level, providing additional stimulus to the economy. Hammack noted that the November inflation data may have underestimated reality due to data collection problems caused by the government shutdown in October and the first half of November. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.7% year-on-year in November. However, according to Hammack, given the measurement difficulties, the actual inflation increase may be closer to the 2.9%–3.0% range, where market expectations are concentrated. He argued that this indicates…

Beijing, China – March 2025: The China Financial Industry Association has delivered a devastating blow to blockchain innovation by officially declaring real-world asset (RWA) tokenization an illegal financial activity, marking a significant escalation in China’s ongoing regulatory crackdown on digital assets. RWA Tokenization Faces Complete Prohibition in China The association issued its definitive statement through Wu Blockchain reporting channels. Consequently, the organization defined RWA tokenization as involving unlicensed fundraising and trading activities. Moreover, these operations have not received approval from Chinese regulatory authorities. The association specifically warned participants about potential legal consequences. Additionally, supporting domestic or overseas RWA projects could…

Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins had a good start to 2026 and are experiencing a cautious recovery. Bitcoin surged above $94,000, while Ethereum (ETH) climbed above $3,300. As the recovery continues for ETH and altcoins, analysts have noted the formation of a double bottom pattern on the Ethereum daily chart, increasing the likelihood of a technical rebound. Technically, a double bottom formation signals that prices are about to reverse from a downtrend to an uptrend. Market analysts noted that the formation has been developing since the fourth quarter of last year, and demand in a key support zone has successfully defended…

It’s no secret that Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack has staked out a spot as perhaps the most hawkish member of the U.S. Federal Reserve since her appointment in 2024 after a career at Goldman Sachs. Next year, however, she will be in a more prominent position to advance those views. The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sets interest rate policy. Among its twelve voting members are four of the Fed’s eleven district presidents who serve rotating one-year terms. In 2026, the head of the Cleveland Fed — Hammack — will join that voting group. “My base case is…

Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs (GS) said improving regulation and the emergence of crypto use cases beyond trading are underpinning a constructive outlook for the industry, particularly for infrastructure companies that support the ecosystem without being as exposed to market cycles. Regulatory uncertainty remains the main barrier for institutions, and that backdrop is shifting rapidly, the bank said in a report on Monday. “We see the improving regulatory backdrop as a key driver to continued institutional crypto adoption, especially for buyside and sellside financial firms, as well new use cases for crypto developing beyond trading,” analysts led by James Yaro…