Author: NBTC

NBTC

NBTC is the editorial account for NBTC News, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, exchanges, mining, regulation and digital asset markets. The editorial team focuses on clear sourcing, timely updates and practical context for crypto readers.

XRP CLARITY Act Vote in Focus as XRP Holds $1.34 and Senate Returns April 13

LegalApr 14

$XRP is holding at $1.34 as traders await Senate action on the $XRP CLARITY Act, with Congress returning from Easter recess on April 13 and a Banking Committee markup expected in the second half of the month. $XRP has been in a holding pattern on April 10, trading between $1.34 and $1.35 as institutional investors wait for the US Senate to act on legislation that could permanently define $XRP’s regulatory status. The next window opens April 13. According to FX Leaders, $XRP held between $1.33 and $1.35 on April 10, posting modest gains of 0.8% to 1.0% over the prior…

Federal judge blocks Arizona from bringing criminal charges against Kalshi

LegalApr 14

A federal judge has blocked the state of Arizona from bringing criminal charges against prediction market provider Kalshi, at least temporarily, in response to a motion from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. District Judge Michael Liburdi, in the District of Arizona, ruled Friday that Arizona cannot hold an arraignment of Kalshi as scheduled on Monday, April 13. Arizona announced last month it would file 20 criminal charges against Kalshi for offering what the state claimed were betting products in violation of Arizona law. "Defendants are temporarily restrained and enjoined from enforcing AZ's gambling laws in any criminal or civil enforcement…

Venom Foundation Unveils New Framework for Sustainable and Ethical Web3 Gaming

GameFiApr 14

Venom Foundation has introduced a new set of ethical play-to-earn guidelines aimed at helping game developers build healthier Web3 economies and avoid the kinds of pyramid-like mechanics that have long damaged trust in the GameFi sector. The framework, developed with input from ecosystem partners TimeSoul, NFTWoood, and Meerkat Coin, is designed to push play-to-earn projects toward sustainable tokenomics, stronger player protections, and business models that are built on real value rather than aggressive user acquisition. The move comes at a time when play-to-earn gaming is still struggling with the fallout from earlier projects that promised outsized returns but collapsed when…

Foundry unveils Zcash block explorer as mining pool reaches 30% of hashrate

MiningApr 14

Foundry Digital, the largest Bitcoin mining pool by hashrate, launched a Zcash ($ZEC) mining pool that quickly grew to control about 30% of the network’s hashrate, according to company data and its newly released block explorer. The New York-based firm said multiple institutional miners joined the pool ahead of its public debut, following an initial announcement in March. Alongside the pool, Foundry introduced Zcashinfo.com, a block explorer that tracks network activity. The site shows pool rankings, hashrate distribution, block data and mining difficulty in real time. Zcash, launched in 2016, lets users send transactions on a public blockchain while keeping…

SEC Opens Proceedings on NYSE Proposal to List Grayscale Crypto ETF Options

LegalApr 13

Grayscale crypto ETF options are advancing through regulatory review, as the SEC evaluation of NYSE American’s proposal reflects a structured approach to expanding institutional access to digital asset derivatives. Key Takeaways: SEC review targets NYSE American proposal tied to Grayscale ETF with 76.02% bitcoin exposure. Regulators examine whether proposal meets investor protection and market integrity standards. Public comment period opens, allowing industry participants to weigh in on ETF options framework. SEC Review Delays Crypto ETF Options Expansion Plans Growing institutional interest in crypto derivatives continues shaping market development, as regulators evaluate new pathways for structured digital asset exposure. The U.S.…

CFTC unveils innovation task force members in crypto clarity push

LegalApr 13

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has unveiled the first members of its new innovation task force as the agency continues its push to provide greater clarity for the crypto market. The Innovation Task Force was initially launched by CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on March 24, who appointed Michael Passalacqua as the leader of the group. Passalacqua is currently the senior advisor to Selig at the CFTC. In an announcement Friday, the CFTC said that Passalacqua will be joined by a list of five initial members including Hank Balaban, a former Latham & Watkins crypto lawyer; Sam Canavos, an ex-Patomak…

Aave DAO approves $25M funding grant, token allocation for Aave Labs

DeFiApr 13

Aave Labs, the core development team behind the Aave protocol, has been granted $25 million in stablecoins, alongside a token allocation of 75,000 $AAVE by its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) as part of the “Aave Will Win” framework. The vote passed Saturday with nearly 75% in favor. The stablecoin allocation will be paid in installments over 12 months, while the 75,000 $AAVE tokens will vest linearly over four years, according to the governance dashboard. The Aave Will Win framework aims to accelerate the protocol’s growth, with the DAO funding development and Aave Labs focusing on building and scaling. The stablecoins…

Senators Probe Trump Token Activity as Political and Financial Risks Emerge

LegalApr 13

Lawmakers are intensifying scrutiny of a Trump-linked memecoin event as concerns grow over potential financial conflicts, market volatility, and the influence of token-based access models tied to political activities. Key Takeaways: Senators Warren, Schiff, and Blumenthal probe $TRUMP token event tied to Mar-a-Lago access model. $TRUMP token volatility spiked to $3.08 before a sharp drop, signaling fragile speculative demand. Lawmakers cite $4.3 billion retail losses as $TRUMP and $MELANIA expose market imbalance risks. Senators Investigate Trump-Linked Memecoin Event Structure A political push to scrutinize crypto-linked presidential activities is intensifying regulatory attention across digital asset markets. The Senate Banking, Housing, and…

Scroll Users Paid $50K in Excess Fees After Team Cranked L1 Fees by 1,280x

BlockchainApr 13

Users on Scroll, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network, paid more than $50,000 in excess transaction fees over roughly four days after the team behind the project repeatedly raised the parameters that determine how much users pay for posting data to Ethereum, according to an analysis published by L2BEAT. The overcharges stemmed from six manual increases to two fee multipliers on Scroll's gas price oracle, the smart contract that calculates the Layer 1 data portion of every transaction's cost. Each update raised the previous value by 2x to 10x, compounding to 1,280x the original baseline by April 5, L2BEAT said.…

WLFI mints $25 million in fresh USD1 and burns $3 million, days after repayment claim

DeFiApr 13

World Liberty Financial minted 25 million $USD1 stablecoins on Monday morning and burned 3 million through its TokenGovernor contract, on-chain data shows, as the Trump-linked venture continues managing the fallout from a lending position that trapped depositors on DeFi protocol Dolomite. The activity follows $WLFI's statement last week, posted in response to CoinDesk's reporting on the Dolomite transactions, that it had repaid $25 million of the roughly $75 million it borrowed against its own governance token. The venture deposited billions of $WLFI tokens as collateral and borrowed stablecoins that were partially routed to Coinbase Prime, pushing Dolomite's $USD1 lending pool…