Author: NBTC

Michael Selig has been the CFTC chairman for less than six months. In that time, he has approved the first regulated Bitcoin perpetual futures contract, moved to vacate a Biden-era settlement with Gemini, pulled back on crypto enforcement actions, and challenged multiple states trying to crack down on prediction markets. He has done all of this as the sole sitting member of what is legally supposed to be a five-person bipartisan commission. The remaining seats are empty, giving Selig unilateral authority over everything from Kalshi and Polymarket to oil futures to the entire $2 trillion crypto market. The Praise and…

Bitcoin enters one of the most important macroeconomic weeks of 2026 as inflation reports, Federal Reserve leadership uncertainty, and U.S.-China tensions converge within days. Markets are watching CPI, PPI, retail sales, and Fed liquidity data for signals on interest rates and dollar strength. A softer inflation trend could support Bitcoin’s recovery above $80,000, while stronger economic data and rising yields may pressure risk assets across global markets. Bitcoin begins the week facing one of its largest macroeconomic challenges of 2026 as investors prepare for a packed schedule of economic reports and geopolitical developments. Inflation data, Federal Reserve uncertainty, consumer demand…

A significant transformation is currently underway across the established cryptocurrency market. The top crypto exchanges are morphing into multi-asset financial platforms, breaking down the traditional barriers that once kept crypto and Wall Street completely apart. Crypto exchange OKX rolled out 13 new “X-Perp” markets for European traders on Tuesday, giving retail users direct access to “Magnificent 7” tech stock futures, alongside major commodity indices like gold, silver, and crude oil. The platform also added perpetual markets for major index funds like the SPY and QQQ, enabling users to trade exposure to the largest U.S. equities outside standard market hours. Exchanges…

$NEAR is making a specific wager: that the future of crypto is autonomous AI agents transacting at machine speed, and that they will need a blockchain built to handle them. A June upgrade is the centerpiece. Here is the thesis, the technology, and the one number that complicates it. $NEAR Protocol has spent 2026 rebuilding its pitch to the market around a single, specific bet: that the future of crypto belongs to autonomous AI agents, software that transacts on its own at machine speed, and that those agents will need a blockchain engineered to handle them. The wager is sharp…

The US Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to rescind rules around order protections and price quotes could remove a major legal barrier for tokenized US stocks. The SEC on Thursday proposed to scrap two rules in its national market system regulations. Rule 611 that bans “trade-throughs,” where a stock order on one exchange can’t be for a worse price than on another, and Rule 610(e) banning exchanges from displaying a bid at the same or higher price than what is available elsewhere. Galaxy head of research Alex Thorn said the proposal is “one of the biggest unlocks yet for tokenized…

When a major exchange lists a token that barely hides its meme origins, the market listens. Upbit, South Korea’s dominant cryptocurrency trading platform, has announced it will list SPX6900 ($SPX) against the Korean won, Bitcoin, and Tether, with deposits already open and trading set to start at 14:00 KST on June 16. The token is issued on Ethereum, making it another entrant in the meme coin sector that continues to attract speculative capital. The announcement appeared in a notice highlighted by WuBlockchain. SPX6900’s ticker and name are an obvious nod to the S&P 500 index, the “69” suffix being a…

Strategy’s potential $BTC sale has sharpened debate over its bitcoin treasury model after a roughly $12.5 billion quarterly net loss. The company holds 818,869 bitcoin, worth about $67 billion, as investors assess dividends, liquidity, and preferred obligations. Key Takeaways: Strategy could sell $BTC to fund dividends while seeking to preserve confidence in its treasury approach. Preferred securities make liquidity, dividend coverage, and market access more important for investors. Future signals include $BTC sales, USD Reserve changes, preferred coverage, and new issuance. Strategy’s Potential $BTC Sale Changes the Treasury Debate Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) reported first-quarter 2026 results that drew fresh attention…

In a recent discussion, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson addressed criticism regarding AI-generated content recently posted on its official social media account. Hoskinson highlighted an immense exploration ongoing with AI agents even as development of Midnight City continues. Midnight City is an interactive AI simulation and testing platform for the Midnight Network, which models a living society where autonomous agents work, trade, and generate economic activity, enabling users to view transactions through public, auditor, and regulatory lenses. According to the Cardano founder, the Midnight City Team has been experimenting with AI-generated influencers, one of which was posted on the Input Output…

Federated Hermes has launched a new money market fund designed for stablecoin reserve management, introducing a product that can be used by payment stablecoin issuers operating under the $GENIUS Act framework. According to a July 10 announcement, the newly introduced Federated Hermes Money Market Management Digital Treasury Fund, trading under the ticker OFFXX, has been structured to meet the reserve asset requirements that payment stablecoin issuers must maintain under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, or $GENIUS Act. The launch comes as the stablecoin industry moves deeper into the implementation phase of the $GENIUS Act, which…

The company is simultaneously broadening its derivatives business. New products include perpetual futures tied to thematic baskets such as artificial intelligence, defense and Chinese equities, as well as pre-IPO perpetual futures that provide exposure to private companies including SpaceX (SPCX), which went public earlier this month. Coinbase said contracts tied to OpenAI and Anthropic, which are anticipated to go public later this year, are expected to follow. The exchange is also betting heavily on prediction markets, an area that has grown rapidly across crypto and traditional finance. New offerings include short-term crypto prediction contracts and bundled wagers that allow traders…