Author: NBTC

Jay Clayton, the former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman infamous among cryptocurrency investors for launching the long-running lawsuit against Ripple, has been nominated to serve as the next Director of National Intelligence. The White House had previously faced intense pushback from Congress for appointing Bill Pulte, a housing official with no intelligence background. The appointment of Pulte had stalled the reauthorization of critical government surveillance authorities. From SEC Chairman to intelligence chief Clayton is a polarizing figure in the financial and crypto sectors. He is best remembered for his tenure as SEC chairman during the Trump administration, during which…

When the world’s second-largest crypto exchange dangles a six-figure prize pool and an exclusive sports trip in front of traders, the asset in question is rarely chosen for its fundamentals. Bybit’s newly announced Trade & Hold $TRUMP campaign follows that playbook precisely. The exchange will reward users for buying and holding the politically themed meme coin, with a total prize allocation of $100,000 and a VIP experience tied to an upcoming football finals event, according to the original report. The campaign structure matters. Trade & Hold mechanics force exposure over a set window, locking tokens in exchange wallets and artificially…

**Deck:** On-chain governance stripped admin control over Aztec’s rollup contract, freezing the code in place and clearing the technical bar for L2Beat’s top decentralization tier. Privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 Aztec said it reached Stage 2 on L2Beat, the highest decentralization rating the rollup tracker assigns. The milestone followed an on-chain governance action that revoked ownership of the rollup contract. Aztec announced the change Monday afternoon on X. Revoking ownership made the contract code immutable, the network said, leaving no admin able to override the protocol and preserving an escape hatch through which users can always exit. Those three properties map directly…

As Bitcoin slowly rebuilt momentum after February’s sharp correction, capital flows gradually started shifting beneath the market’s surface. Monthly Realized Cap growth previously collapsed toward -2.6% as investors realized losses during falling market conditions. That pressure reflected weakening sentiment as weaker holders increasingly exited positions near key support zones. However, conditions slowly stabilized afterward, while monthly Realized Cap growth recently recovered back into positive territory near +0.25%. Source: CryptoQuant Meanwhile, Bitcoin reclaimed the $80,000 region as stronger holders steadily absorbed and redistributed supply from weaker participants. That recovery suggested fresh capital gradually re-entered the market instead of relying purely on…

Those markets function because trading activity sits atop a vast network of credit relationships, clearing brokers and prime brokerage arrangements, Mercer says. “That’s what the world’s economies and capital markets are built on,” he added. When LMAX launched institutional crypto venue LMAX Digital in 2018, Mercer expected similar infrastructure would quickly emerge in digital assets. Eight years later, he believes its absence remains one of the industry’s biggest constraints. Mercer remains an enthusiastic supporter of blockchain technology, citing instantaneous settlement amd transparent onchain records. But while atomic settlement and delivery-versus-payment transactions are valuable, he argues they are not sufficient for…

Data from rwa.xyz shows that stablecoin transfer activity on the $XRP Ledger (XRPL) has reached $5.11 billion over the past 30 days. Notably, this represents a 22.84% increase compared to the previous month. The rise points to stronger on-chain liquidity and also suggests growing use of tokenized cash-like assets across the XRPL ecosystem. Ondo Fund Becomes Second-Largest Tokenized Asset on XRPL The same dataset indicates that the Ondo Short-Term U.S. Government Bond Fund is now the second-largest tokenized fund on XRPL. It is only behind $RLUSD-related flows in size and activity. The fund recorded about $259.6 million in transfers during…

The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned nine individuals and entities accused of supporting Iranian weapons procurement activities. The action targets actors based in China and Hong Kong who allegedly facilitated financial transactions and sourcing operations. Treasury announced the measures under its Economic Fury campaign and linked the network to Iran’s military procurement structure. Treasury expands economic fury enforcement The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions on Wednesday and identified nine targets connected to Iranian procurement operations. Treasury said the network supported weapons sourcing efforts for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces…

Bybit, one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, has launched options trading on Tether Gold (XAUT), a token that provides you ownership of real physical gold. The XAUT options are now live and allow traders to hedge risk, speculate on gold price movements, trade volatility, and build custom strategies through Bybit’s Request for Quote (RFQ) system for over-the-counter (OTC) deals. Bybit partnered with Orbit Markets, a leading options market maker active in both crypto and traditional finance to ensure deep liquidity from the start. Orbit’s team brings significant expertise, including former senior executives from precious metals trading…

Chainlink launched APAC Equities Streams on Monday, putting live pricing for large-cap Asian companies on-chain to power equity perps, prediction markets and structured products in Asian time zones. Chainlink launched APAC Equities Streams on Monday, an oracle feed that brings pricing for large Asia-Pacific companies on-chain. It starts with Japan and Korea, with more regional markets slated to follow. The streams went live Monday afternoon, Chainlink said on its official X account. They cover the region’s largest listed names, including Samsung, SK Hynix, Toyota, Sony and SoftBank. Developers can use the feeds to build on-chain markets around those equities, the…

Bitcoin ($BTC) trades lower on Monday, below $81,000 as of writing, after surging over 4.5% the previous week. Institutional demand supported $BTC’s bullish price action, with spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) recording their sixth consecutive week of inflows. However, risk sentiment fades as renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz overshadow earlier optimism about a possible US-Iran peace deal, limiting the Crypto Kings’ upside. Strong institutional demand supports $BTC’s gains Bitcoin’s price surge last week was supported by strong institutional demand. SoSoValue data showed that Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded weekly inflows of $622.75 million, marking the sixth consecutive week of…