Author: NBTC

Layer 2 solutions have changed the pace of crypto transactions, cutting both time and costs across major networks. Without them, blockchain adoption would still be crawling under the weight of slow confirmations and high fees. This list looks at seven Layer 2 coins that are shaping 2024’s ecosystem. Top 5 Layer 2 Crypto Coins: What Layer 2 Really Does Layer 2, often called an off-chain scaling network, builds on top of an existing Layer 1 blockchain like Ethereum. Its purpose is to fix two big problems: speed and scalability. By moving transactions off the main chain and later settling them…

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller floated the idea of the central bank creating a “skinny master account” for crypto firms which would grant them access to the Fed’s payment rails while keeping them away from a full Fed master account. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. The narrative Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested this week that crypto companies could use a limited version of the Fed’s master account system, which would let these firms access U.S. payment rails while limiting their…

The shutdown of the US government entered its 38th day on Friday, with the Senate set to vote on a funding bill that could temporarily restore operations. According to the US Senate’s calendar of business on Friday, the chamber will consider a House of Representatives continuing resolution to fund the government. It’s unclear whether the bill will cross the 60-vote threshold needed to pass in the Senate after numerous failed attempts in the previous weeks. Amid the shutdown, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have reportedly continued discussions on the digital asset market structure bill. The legislation, passed as the CLARITY Act…

LeverUp, a new LP-free decentralized perpetuals exchange, has launched on Monad, offering zero-fee trading, uncapped market depth, and leverage up to 1001x. Summary Traders pay no net fees as all protocol fees are redistributed back to participants. Uncapped market depth lets users open positions of any size by trading directly with the protocol, independent of LPs or TVL. Native stablecoin LVUSD provides a stable, efficient settlement layer, while all positions and trades are fully verifiable on-chain. A new decentralized perps exchange is live on Monad LeverUp, a new decentralized perps exchange, has officially launched on the high-performance layer-1 blockchain Monad.…

Another milestone has been recorded in the Pi Network ecosystem with the launch of a new, digital banking app, Gargoura Digital Bank, on the Pi Testnet. The release of the app led to a great buzz on the Internet, with users posting screenshots with complex functionality and a generous design. The interface has a mix of traditional banking features and decentralized features. It reflects the effort of Pi Network to connect blockchain and the real world finance. The project is still preliminary, but it indicates the maturity that is developing in the developer ecosystem of Pi. Interfaces Simulate Real Banking…

A new report from Architect Partners has revealed that crypto-related mergers and acquisitions (M&A) topped $10 billion in value during the third quarter of this year. This is the largest total ever recorded for the sector. That figure doubles the previous record of $5 billion set earlier this year and represents a thirtyfold jump compared with the same period in 2024. Why Crypto M&A Deals Are Thriving To put the number in perspective, this single quarter nearly equals the total M&A deal value from Q1 2022 through mid-2025, which amounted to about $11 billion. Crypto M&A Deals From Q1 2021…

The GENIUS Act became law on July 18 after Congress settled that stablecoins should be regulated. What happens next is a two-year rulemaking war that determines whether $250 billion in existing stablecoins flows into bank-wrapped structures or fragments into offshore silos, and whether Bitcoin and Ethereum capture the fallout or get buried under it. Justin Slaughter, Paradigm’s VP of regulatory affairs, stated on Nov. 6: “Little known fact—after the legislation is enacted, the real battle begins.” His firm just filed comments on the Treasury’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking. The central fight is whether affiliates of stablecoin issuers pay yield…

According to ZachXBT, the former CEO of beleaguered crypto exchange FTX hid a $40 million transfer he allegedly used to “bribe Chinese authorities” from his public revelations. Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers appeared in a federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday to appeal the ex-FTX head’s 2023 conviction on seven criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy tied to the collapse of his crypto empire. Attorney Alexandra Shapiro, representing the 33-year-old former crypto executive, argued before a three-judge panel at the 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals that Bankman-Fried’s trial was “fundamentally unfair.” Shapiro claimed that presiding judge Lewis Kaplan, “repeatedly…

Aave’s Horizon platform now supports Securitize and VanEck’s tokenized treasury fund, VBILL, using Chainlink’s NAVLink. Oracle risk remains a concern, even with NAVLink enhancing pricing reliability; oracles continue to be potential points of faulty data or manipulation. Securitize, a tokenization platform that has issued more than $4 billion in on-chain tokenized securities, has integrated Chainlink’s NAVLink data standard and its aggregator of net asset value (NAV) oracles into the Aave Horizon market. According to the official press release, the integration enables Securitize-issued tokenized funds to connect to the Aave Protocol v3.3-based Aave Horizon platform. Through this integration, institutions can now…

As the government shutdown in the US approaches its third week, the search for a solution has accelerated in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Republican senators in a closed-door meeting that a vote on a new government reopening proposal is expected. Republican leaders are aiming to build momentum to break the deadlock, according to people familiar with the matter. Thune responded cautiously to reporters’ question: “Are Democrats and Republicans close to a deal?” “I’m not sure we’re any closer to a deal until we understand where the Democrats are going.” US President Donald Trump also acknowledged the…