Author: NBTC

Shortly after 8 pm ET, the network underwent its fourth mining subsidy halving, with per-block rewards falling from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The 840,000th block was a notable affair unto itself. It boasted 37.626 BTC in fees — a cool $2.4 million for ViaBTC, the Chinese mining pool that scored the winning block. According to the block explorer Mempool.space, someone paid roughly nearly $430,000 in fees in an apparent effort to get their transaction in the 840,000th block — a rather expensive way to become part of history, we’d reckon. Read more: Bitcoin’s block reward slashed by 50% following…

Liquity’s upgraded protocol aims to take on the increasing competition for DeFi yields, with plans to go live in the third quarter. The new stablecoin, BOLD, will coexist with Liquity’s LUSD, adding liquid staking ETH derivatives as collateral assets to provide liquidity or leverage for investors. Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Liquity (LQTY)’s planned upgrade will include an overcollateralized stablecoin that makes use of liquid-staking tokens of ether (ETH) as backing assets and allows user-set interest rates for loans, a first in DeFi, according to the protocol. “Current protocols either rely on slow and potentially misaligned human governance to adjust…

The presence of crypto among institutional investors is on the rise, especially after the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US. Companies such as JPMorgan, UBS, and Wells Fargo declared Bitcoin ETF holdings in their recent 13F filings. This rise in institutional interest can also be seen in the professional area. Executives with backgrounds in traditional finance (TradFi) are rotating to crypto as the market matures. Former Credit Suisse and JPMorgan Jonathan Chang, is one of these executives, now in the role of COO at layer-1 blockchain Nibiru. He shared insights with Crypto Briefing on valuable TradFi…

A new meme token move has come from VanEck, one of the leading investment managers. At this point, VanEck announced that it was launching a meme token index and included the largest meme tokens in this index. These meme tokens included Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Floki Inu (FLOKI), PEPE, Dogwifhat (WIF) and BONK. While VanEck Digital Assets Research Head Matthew Siegel announced this news on his X account, he warned his customers that these cryptocurrencies are for entertainment purposes. “MarketVector has launched the Meme Coin Index (MEMECOIN). This index is a modified market cap-weighted index that tracks the performance…

Creditcoin, a leading blockchain platform that facilitates the connection of global borrowers, lenders, and investors, has announced a strategic partnership with Plume Network, a modular Layer 2 blockchain focused on the integration of real-world assets (RWAs) with digital finance. This collaboration aims to enhance the tokenization of RWAs and streamline compliance operations by working closely with regulators, thereby bridging the gap between traditional finance and Web3 ecosystems. Plume Network’s dedication to bringing traditional and digital asset markets together complements Creditcoin’s mission to enhance financial inclusion by providing secure, on-chain credit records. These records demonstrate the creditworthiness of users, many of…

The highly anticipated Bitcoin halving has arrived, and the Bitcoin faithful cheered the event, with many declaring a new era in Bitcoin—particularly as the new Runes protocol came online as well. Anticipation around the halving has steadily grown since the start of the new year. In January, after the SEC approved the first set of Bitcoin ETFs, fuel was added to the fire, and investors began speculating what the fourth halving would mean for the price of the number one cryptocurrency. Heading into the halving, sentiment around Bitcoin was high, with a 47% positive rating, according to analytics site LunarCrush.…

There is visible growth among some of the most prominent sectors of the crypto ecosystem, however, decentralized finance (DeFi) seems to be lagging. Observing this anomaly, Patrick Hansen, Circle’s Senior Policy Director for Europe, advocated that the sector needs a complete overhaul. DeFi hiccup in spotlight According to the observation from Hansen, the DeFi Total Value Locked (TVL) has remained at the same level it was at over three years ago. According to Hansen, this metric is even less than half of what it is if the Liquid Staking capital lockup is excluded. DeFi needs a new wave of innovation…

Vanguard and BlackRock have increased their stakes in MicroStrategy holdings (MSTR) on May 10. Vanguard holds 1.6 million shares of MSTR worth $2.6 billion as of the end of the first quarter, up from 1.2 million shares worth $727.6 million at the end of December 2023. BlackRock now holds 1.2 million shares worth $2.1 billion, up from 1.0 million shares worth $646.4 million at the end of the last quarter. Numerous other companies have also invested in MSTR, which provides exposure to Bitcoin through its own Bitcoin investments. Data from Fintel indicates that at least 750 firms have invested in…

A man claiming to have no hands started a live Twitch stream encouraging crypto users to invest in his Solana meme coin last weekend—because without hands, so he claimed, he was incapable of rug pulling the project and bailing with the proceeds. “I don’t have hands, I cannot rug you guys, chill,” the dev’s Twitch channel, NoHandsNoRug, proclaimed heavy-handedly. Can you guess what happened just three minutes into the stream? According to several attendees of the livestream, which occurred on Sunday, the coin, HANDS, began accumulating liquidity. That is, until the coin’s apparent creator, standing in a bedroom with a…

On Tuesday, bitcoin mining company Bitfarms, listed on the Nasdaq and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), announced it has secured an additional 100 megawatts (MW) of power from Paraguay’s state-owned utility firm, ANDE. The 100 MW is anticipated to double the capacity of the hydro-powered Yguazu site and should be fully operational by 2025. Bitfarms to Double Yguazu Bitcoin Mining Site Capacity Bitfarms (TSX: BITF) has acquired an extra 100 MW of capacity for its hydro-powered Yguazu facility in Paraguay. According to the company, this hydropower will generate low-cost electricity at $0.039 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) without being subject to inflationary increases.…