Author: NBTC
Understanding money is hard—especially when we don’t ask how it works. Wait, So What Is the U.S. Dollar Backed By? Alex leaned forward at the coffee shop table. “You criticize bitcoin, but do you know how the U.S. dollar works?” John hesitated. “Gold… right? Or something physical?” “That stopped in 1971,” Alex replied. “The dollar isn’t backed by anything tangible now. It’s just… paper.” John shrugged. “But it works. Everyone uses it,” he said. “But why and how does it work?” Alex pressed. “What gives it value?” John stared into their latte and remarked: Honestly? I have no idea. Most…
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has dismissed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions requiring the country to halt Bitcoin accumulation. Despite IMF terms prohibiting further Bitcoin purchases, Bukele continues to acquire more for El Salvador’s reserves. The country remains engaged in Bitcoin-related projects while navigating financial agreements with international institutions. IMF’s Directive to Stop Bitcoin Accumulation The IMF issued a new Staff Country Report on El Salvador, instructing the government to stop Bitcoin accumulation through both purchasing and mining. The IMF agreement, which provides El Salvador with $1.4 billion, mandates that the country liquidate the Bitcoin trust fund, Fidebitcoin, and…
Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, is under intense scrutiny this week after promoting the controversial Solana-based meme coin LIBRA via social media on Friday. Mere hours later, Milei removed his posts from his official X account, claiming he had little to no knowledge about the token—stating instead that he thought it was a company looking to finance private ventures. While the token has crashed and a lawsuit has been filed, those looking to shirk the blame and point the finger elsewhere are scrambling to deflect responsibility. As the dust settles, four individuals have surfaced as key figures that are allegedly behind…
As global markets grapple with tighter monetary policies, entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy predicts a structural shift in corporate finance strategies, with bitcoin poised to become a staple of institutional treasuries. Bitcoin—A ‘More Common Corporate Treasury Holding’ In a statement on X on Feb. 18, 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy—the former 2024 presidential candidate and former DOGE lead—declared that the end of monetary easing tactics will force companies, governments, and investors to recalibrate risk assessments. “Now that the era of easy money is over, companies [and] other institutions (even state actors) will have to rethink their hurdle rates for internal capital investment,” he said.…
Economist Mark Carney is set to automatically become Canada’s next prime minister after winning the Liberal Party leadership race, even though he hasn’t participated in a general election. Justin Trudeau’s Successor Is a Former Central Banker and CBDC Proponent Mark Carney, a former central banker, crypto sceptic, and central bank digital currency (CBDC) advocate, clinched 86% of votes in Canada’s controversial Liberal Party leadership election on Sunday, putting him in line to become Canada’s 24th Prime Minister. To be clear, Carney will become an unelected prime minister since no general election has taken place yet, only a Liberal Party leadership…
Bitcoin might rebound from recent lows due to growing liquidity as stablecoin issuers deploy $1.25 billion in USDT and USDC into the market. With fading optimism about Donald Trump’s executive order on a national Bitcoin reserve and macroeconomic headwinds, the premier asset has lost bullish traction recently. BTC has consolidated below $100,000 for 14 consecutive days, dropping to $93,000 yesterday before a swift rebound. Meanwhile, the lackluster price action correlates with a lack of whale activity on the Bitcoin network. Recent analysis shows that large holders of the premier asset have remained unusually quiet, neither buying nor selling. A Rebound…
Defiance’s leveraged Strategy (MSTR) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a surge in activity on Monday as the bitcoin (BTC)-holding firm’s shares fell to their 200-day average. A record 24.33 million shares in the Defiance daily target 2x long MSTR ETF, trading under the ticker MSTX, changed hands as the ETF price slipped 32% to $17.90, the lowest since September, according to data source TradingView. The ETF seeks to deliver 200% of the daily percentage change in the share price of Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy. Meanwhile, trading volume in the Defiance daily target 2x short MSTR ETF (SMST) tallied 51.21 million,…
One thing to note about Argentine President Javier Milei’s disastrous memecoin launch is that nothing about it was that unprecedented. Every viral memecoin tends to pump before quickly losing value. So-called snipers have long been known to buy up new tokens before the broader public gets involved. Celebrities and “key opinion leaders” often engage with crypto on pay-to-play terms. Hell, two other presidents launched memecoins this past month. When Melania Trump’s token pumped and dumped, the world moved on. Crypto doesn’t seem so willing to forgive and forget this time around. Maybe that’s because of how brazen the whole thing…
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has warned investors about potential profitability risks from Bitcoin price volatility and changing tax rules. The company, holding 478,740 BTC valued at over $46 billion, made these concerns clear in its latest 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filing specified potential liquidity concerns, new fair-value accounting rules, and the possibility of significant tax bills under the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT). Bitcoin Price Swings Threaten Profitability Strategy reported a net loss for 2024, primarily due to a $1.79 billion digital asset impairment. The company indicated that returning to profitability could…
Weekly on-chain trading volume has decreased since mid-January, gradually falling from $173 billion to roughly $90 billion last week, according to DefiLlama data. Solana’s weekly volumes suffered the largest decrease in the period. Between Jan. 11 and 17, the trading volume registered in decentralized exchanges (DEX) reached a weekly all-time high of $173 billion. Solana was the key driver for this movement, registering over $97.5 billion in on-chain trading activity. The following week, on-chain trading volumes remained steady, as DEXes processed nearly $171 billion. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) played a key role in this volume, with its weekly activity growing…