Author: NBTC

Antithesis, a Northern Virginia startup pitching itself as infrastructure for never-down software, raised a $105 million Series A led by Jane Street, a bet that stress-testing distributed systems matters as much for blockchains as it does for high-speed trading. The company’s platform uses deterministic simulation testing, running large-scale, production-like simulations to surface the kinds of edge cases that can blow up in live networks, Antithesis said in a press release Wednesday. When a failure hits, Antithesis said it can replay the bug exactly, helping engineers isolate issues without the usual can’t reproduce limbo, a familiar pain point for crypto protocols…

Blockchain gaming company Wemade is pushing for a Korean won-based stablecoin ecosystem, forming a Global Alliance for KRW Stablecoins (GAKS) with Chainalysis, CertiK and SentBe as founding partners. Wemade announced that the alliance will support StableNet, a dedicated mainnet for Korean won-backed stablecoins, with publicly-released code and a consortium model that aims to meet institutional and regulatory requirements. Under the partnership, Chainalysis will integrate threat-detection and real-time monitoring, while CertiK will handle node validation and security audits. Meanwhile, money transfer company SentBe will contribute licensed remittance infrastructure across 174 countries. This allows the KRW stablecoin initiative to operate within South…

Growing confidence in achievable U.S. crypto rules is rising as the SEC signals readiness to advance digital-asset policy under existing authority, hinting at long-awaited clarity that could accelerate industry participation and strengthen the nation’s competitive footing. US Market Stirs as SEC Targets One-Month Window for Innovation Relief Growing optimism around clearer crypto regulation gained momentum as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins shared on Dec. 2 in an interview with CNBC that the agency is actively engaging with lawmakers and examining steps it can take while Congress considers broader action. “We’re working with Congress, and we’re providing…

The crackdown on Bitcoin mining in Malaysia now starts from the air. According to reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times, drones sweep across rooftops, scanning for strange heat signals inside abandoned houses, vacant shops, and other dead zones. These hot spots almost always point to rigs running nonstop. On the ground, police walk with handheld sensors that pick up unusual electricity use. Citizens allegedly report birds chirping all night, but it’s just fake sounds playing on speakers to cover the roar of mining machines behind locked doors. Miners move quickly. They set up in one place, install heat shields…

Firelight, a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, is bringing staking to XRP users, while offering protocols a form of onchain protection against hacks. Built by Sentora and backed by Flare Network, Firelight lets XRP holders stake their tokens to earn rewards tied to demand for DeFi “cover,” protection that can help protocols absorb losses from exploits, the protocol said in a Wednesday press release The concept is similar to insurance in traditional finance, an area where the $160 billion DeFi sector still lags with billions of dollars lost in exploits and hacks hindering broader adoption. “At this stage in DeFi’s…

Law and Ledger is a news segment focusing on crypto legal news, brought to you by Kelman Law – A law firm focused on digital asset commerce. Applying the Howey Test Following our Introduction, posted last week, today’s article is Part I of our multi-article series: Is Crypto a Security? The opinion editorial below was written by Alex Forehand and Michael Handelsman for Kelman.Law. U.S. securities law does not contain a dedicated statute for digital assets. Instead, the SEC and courts continue to apply the investment contract doctrine from SEC v. W.J. Howey Co.—a 1946 Supreme Court case involving orange…

Malaysian authorities formed a joint task force using high-tech drones and police on the ground to find and shutdown nearly 14,000 illicit Bitcoin mining rigs, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday. Drones hover over buildings, searching for thermal heat signatures, while police on the ground scan areas with sensors that detect illicit electricity use. Neighbors often call in complaining of strange noises, only for police officials to find crypto mining rigs. State-owned utility company Tenaga Nasional (TNB) recently reported that the illegal crypto miners have stolen $1.1 billion from the national grid since 2020. “The risk of allowing such…

Myriad has teamed up with Trust Wallet to launch the world’s first natively integrated in-wallet prediction market experience. Through Trust Wallet’s new Predictions tab, users can trade on Myriad’s prediction markets without having to leave the wallet, giving them a “simple, one-click way to trade event outcomes using the assets they already hold.” Myriad Markets partners with @TrustWallet to become the first ever native Prediction Market product inside a wallet. Trusted by over 200 million people, Trust Wallet will make Myriad Markets’ on-chain predictions accessible in a way the industry has never seen before. pic.twitter.com/y2wYEUmtV2 — MYRIAD (@MyriadMarkets) December 2,…

Key Takeaways Firelight launched an XRP staking protocol on Flare Network, supporting DeFi insurance. Users stake FXRP (wrapped XRP) to receive stXRP, liquid staking tokens tradable in DeFi applications. Firelight launched its XRP staking protocol on the Flare Network today, allowing users to stake wrapped XRP (FXRP) and receive liquid staking tokens (stXRP) for DeFi applications while preparing for insurance-backed rewards. The protocol enables XRP holders to deposit FXRP into vaults through Flare’s trust-minimized bridging system. Users receive stXRP tokens that can be traded or utilized across DeFi applications while maintaining exposure to potential staking rewards. Firelight’s model focuses on…

Continuing a rally that’s come alongside a sharp rise in odds of a Federal Reserve rate cut in early December, bitcoin BTC$92,615.61 rose to the $93,000 in early U.S. trading hours on Friday. At press time, bitcoin had pulled back to $92,500, still up 2% over the past 24 hours and now ahead about 15% since a panicky bottom of $80,000 about one week ago. Bitcoin’s reversal of fortune came alongside a massive 180 degree turn in investor expectations for a Fed rate cut in early December. A series of hawkish Fed speakers had previously whittled the odds of Fed…