Author: NBTC

This morning, credit card giant Visa issued a press release about allowing US card issuers to settle directly with Visa using Circle USD (USDC). Nowhere in this glowing release, amplified by Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, did Visa mention the tax nightmare that will accompany that roll-out. Specifically, any US bank or fintech company that receives USDC instead of dollars will need to maintain and file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) timestamped records of every transaction so that it can itemise its cost basis for all sales. The first two banks that have agreed to accept USDC settlements are Cross…

On-chain lending revived in January, showing signs of recovery from crypto insiders. Aave remains the leading lending hub, expanding available liquidity. On-chain lending is picking up in the new year, signaling robust activity from crypto natives. Lending has drawn in whales, becoming a source of liquidity for the on-chain economies of Ethereum, Solana and a few smaller chains. DeFi lending expanded in the past month, with the strongest growth since the October crash. | Source: Token Terminal Total ecosystem lending grew in the past three weeks, after months of sliding following the liquidation event on October 11, 2025. DeFi lending…

The balance is rapidly shifting in the race to appoint the Federal Reserve chairman, a position President Donald Trump will secure. According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Federal Reserve Board member Christopher Waller has joined the ranks of those preparing to interview Trump. Previously considered a “surprise candidate,” Waller has now become a favorite among Wall Street’s voters and a strong contender against Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett. Trump is expected to meet with one or two more candidates this week and next week for the Fed chairmanship. Sources close to the process say the…

Key Takeaways World Liberty Financial launched World Liberty Markets to enhance utility for its USD1 stablecoin. At present, the lending markets support assets on the Ethereum network, with more assets and network support planned over time. World Liberty Financial, the DeFi venture backed by the two Trump sons, has rolled out World Liberty Markets, a new lending and borrowing platform that lets users earn yield and access liquidity directly onchain. According to the company, the product is designed to give users greater financial flexibility by removing intermediaries commonly found in traditional financial systems. Powered by Dolomite, the platform currently supports…

Key Takeaways Elon Musk’s net worth reached a record $676 billion for the first time. SpaceX is now valued at $800 billion following the recent tender offer. Elon Musk just made history by becoming the first person with a net worth above $600 billion. His fortune is now estimated at approximately $684 billion, according to Forbes. It comes after SpaceX reached an $800 billion valuation in an insider share sale, making it the world’s most valuable private company. Musk’s wealth is expected to move higher if SpaceX goes public. The aerospace firm is pursuing an IPO that could raise more…

Ethereum price has confirmed a bearish failed auction near $3,300, signaling acceptance below resistance and increasing the risk of a deeper corrective move toward lower support. Summary $3,300 rejection confirms a failed auction and bull trap. Acceptance below resistance increases downside risk. $2,680 emerges as the next key support to watch. Ethereum (ETH) price is showing renewed technical weakness after failing to reclaim the $3,300 resistance zone on a closing basis. What initially appeared to be a bullish breakout has now been invalidated, with price quickly rotating back below resistance. This type of price behavior is commonly referred to as…

HashKey stepped into the Hong Kong stock exchange with a quick 3% lift, but the excitement faded fast as the stock slid 2.1% by press time. The exchange raised $206 million in the IPO after pricing shares at HK$6.68, close to the top of the HK$5.95–HK$6.95 range.It also pulled in about HK$1.6 billion, a big number in a market where crypto assets have been struggling. Mainland China’s full crypto ban has not stopped Hong Kong from leaning into digital assets, but investors clearly wanted more from this debut. The list of early backers was heavy. It included Fidelity, UBS, CDH…

Securitize will introduce a new onchain trading experience for public stocks in early 2026, blending traditional market access with blockchain-based settlement and trading. Summary Securitize will launch natively tokenized public stocks in Q1 2026, giving investors legal ownership onchain. Shares provide full shareholder rights, including dividends and voting, and are recorded directly on the issuer’s cap table. Trading will operate 24×7 with regulatory compliance, using Securitize Markets in the U.S. and Europe. Securitize is preparing to offer the first fully compliant, onchain trading of natively tokenized public stocks in early 2026. According to a Dec. 16 announcement, the product will…

Crypto fund manager Justin Bons said Ethereum’s push toward a ZK-EVM design is a major mistake that could permanently damage the network. In a detailed post, he argued that ZK proofs are extremely expensive to generate and impose hardware requirements that scale poorly as demand rises. According to Bons, generating ZK-EVM proofs already requires arrays of high-end GPUs. At current Ethereum speeds, builders would need dozens of top-tier cards just to keep up. Hardware costs alone can exceed $80,000, with higher throughput pushing that number past $200,000. Ethereum is in big trouble: The crowning jewel of ETH’s roadmap is a…

Grayscale said crypto markets are entering an institutional era in 2026, supported by macroeconomic pressures and regulatory clarity that it believes are sustaining a long-running bull market across digital assets. In its report, “2026 Digital Asset Outlook: Dawn of the Institutional Era,” the asset manager argued that the familiar four-year crypto cycle tied to bitcoin halving may be breaking down, replaced by steadier capital inflows and deeper integration with traditional financial markets. Two drivers behind Grayscale’s outlook Grayscale said its optimistic outlook rests on two structural drivers shaping demand for digital assets. First, it expects continued macro demand for alternative…