Author: NBTC

WebN Group, the blockchain and Web3 incubator backed by billionaire Alan Howard, is closing its doors after seeding a clutch of digital infrastructure startups over the past several years, according to a person familiar with the matter. Most recently, the venture studio backed tokenization specialist Libre (now called KAIO), crypto staking shop Twinstake, blockchain infrastructure firm TruFin and zero-knowledge proofs startup Geometry. In addition to Howard, WebN also received an undisclosed investment from Japanese bank Nomura’s crypto partnership, Laser Digital, back in 2023. The incubator was described as having “successfully completed its mission” the person said. Some of the staff…

The bankruptcy plan administrator of Terraform Labs, Todd Snyder, has filed a lawsuit against Jane Street Group for alleged front-running trades that allowed the trading powerhouse to profit from non-public information obtained from Terraform insiders, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The complaint, submitted in Manhattan federal court, claims these trades not only enriched Jane Street but also contributed to the rapid collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and LUNA in May 2022. The lawsuit also names Jane Street co-founder Robert Granieri and employees Bryce Pratt and Michael Huang as defendants. Terraform’s implosion in May 2022 wiped out roughly $40…

Axon Enterprise (AXON) shares surged more than 20% following its fourth-quarter results, which highlighted rising demand for the company’s AI-enhanced software tools and growing adoption across its customer base. The Scottsdale-based company posted record results as Software & Services revenue increased 40% to $343 million, highlighting continued momentum in its high-margin SaaS business. Full-year revenue rose 33% to $2.8 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth above 30%, supported by strong bookings of $7.4 billion and future contracted bookings of $14.4 billion. Net income for the fourth quarter totaled $3 million, while non-GAAP net income reached $178 million, and…

The US Federal Reserve is seeking to codify a rule removing “reputation risk” from banking supervision, which some have blamed for a wave of crypto debanking in recent years. The Fed initially began making changes in June last year, announcing that it had directed its supervisors to stop pressuring banks to shut down client accounts over reputation risk, meaning banks can only make decisions on clients based on financial risk management. In a press release on Monday, the Fed said that it is requesting feedback on a proposal to turn this into law. The Fed has set a 60-day deadline…

Tether, the crypto company behind the world’s largest stablecoin $USDT $USDT$1.0002, is investing $200 million in online marketplace Whop to boost stablecoin payments. The deal values the startup at $1.6 billion, Whop CEO Steven Schwartz said in an X post. Whop runs a digital marketplace where creators sell access to software tools, trading groups, online communities and learning courses. The platform said it has 18.4 million users and that participants earn about $3 billion each year. It’s growing fast, with gross transaction volume increasing about 25% month-over-month, it added. As part of the deal, Whop will integrate Tether’s crypto wallet…

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has launched a comprehensive regulatory regime for Nigeria’s digital asset market, headlined by the creation of the Virtual Asset Regulatory Council. A New Strategic Oversight Body Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has unveiled a sweeping new framework to regulate the country’s fast-growing digital asset market, establishing the Virtual Asset Regulatory Council (VARC). Under the framework, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) are joint overseers of non-security virtual assets under the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). According to a local report, the new framework positions VARC as the strategic coordination body, co-chaired…

Pudgy Penguins shipped its flagship game to the general public on Monday, and the most notable thing about it is that you wouldn’t know it had anything to do with crypto unless someone told you. Pudgy World, the browser-based game first announced at Art Basel in late 2023, went live with 12 unique towns across a world called The Berg, narrative quests where players help a penguin named Pengu find someone named Polly, and a set of mini-games. CoinDesk played a 10-minute session and came away with a simple takeaway. It’s smooth, responsive, intuitive, and clearly not built with a…

E-Estate Group Inc., a tokenized real estate company, announced that its tokenized portfolio exceeds $150 million in value. While the firm’s last annual report put its tokenized real estate portfolio at $104.62 million by the end of 2025, this was an ‘early milestone,’ according to a February 16 post on X. “$100M was an early milestone. Today, our tokenized portfolio exceeds $150M and continues to expand. Structured growth. Real assets. Long-term infrastructure,” the post reads. Indeed, the portfolio’s ‘actual value’ stood at $152.32 million as of January 1, 2026, as per the annual report itself. Moreover, the company’s native Estate…

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, reemerged publicly on February 23 with a post on X praising the Trump administration’s new drug-pricing platform, TrumpRx. He claimed drug companies are ripping Americans off and called the platform a “huge step in the right direction.” Bankman-Fried also pushed for insurance companies to get on board so people don’t have to pick between cheaper meds and keeping their coverage. TrumpRx is a government-run website that launched on February 5. It connects patients directly with drug companies offering discounted meds, with no insurance or middlemen required. The site doesn’t sell anything itself, simply…

Key takeaways Celo was initially designed to create a mobile wallet on Ethereum, focusing on accessibility for mainstream users. Users on Celo can pay gas fees with stablecoins directly, enhancing user-friendliness. Celo simplifies transactions by using phone numbers as identifiers, making blockchain technology more accessible. Celo is positioning itself as a consumer-friendly alternative to Ethereum with lower transaction fees. The focus on peer-to-peer payments and partnerships is expected to drive Celo’s growth. Pivoting is a natural part of the startup journey and should not be criticized. Celo has maintained a consistent focus on peer-to-peer payments and developing economies. Payments are…