Author: NBTC
It’s rumored that NASDAQ once owned bitcoin seized from dark web marketplace Silk Road and, by extension, customers of disgraced Japanese crypto exchange Mt. Gox. The story begins in December 2014, when Barry Silbert’s Bitcoin Investment Trust spent less than $17 million to acquire 48,000 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road at a US Marshals auction. That trust would later morph into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), but in late 2015, there was a time when NASDAQ itself might have controlled those bitcoins. To understand the NASDAQ connection, we need to look back into Silbert’s career, specifically to 2004 when…
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has responded to recent claims by Ethereum team lead Péter Szilágyi, “karalabe.eth,” regarding the alleged centralization of the Ethereum network. Szilágyi claimed in an X post that PeerDAS was the direction Ethereum was being taken into with the next forks, intending to raise, although not immediately, the blobs up to a staggering 32MB. > The research team fully embraced the idea to centralise everything as long as it can be verifiedHaving just come out of EF research workshops going on for the past week, I can confirm this is false, we had all kinds of discussions…
David Mericle, Goldman Sachs’ Chief US Economist, recently appeared on Bloomberg’s ‘Closing Bell Overtime’ to discuss the economy, potential interest rate cuts and more. Mericle’s comments came after the June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5 percent from a year ago, in line with forecasts. This led to speculation about whether signs of a slowdown in inflation would accelerate the FED’s interest rate cut schedule. When asked about the possibility of a rate cut in September, Mericle said he was sympathetic to the idea but doubted its likelihood. He stated that the FED will…
Starknet collaborates with Informal Systems to join the interchain, enhancing blockchain interoperability. Integrating IBC into Starknet allows for seamless liquidity flow between Starknet and other networks. Informal Systems announced on Twitter that the Ethereum layer-2 network, Starknet, is working with them to join the interchain. The goal of this partnership is to integrate the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol into Starknet, allowing for application composability across various layer-2 (L2) and layer-1 (L1) networks. The integration of IBC will allow for the bidirectional flow of liquidity between Starknet and the wider interchain, promoting increased interoperability and ecosystem cohesiveness. 1/ @Starknet 🤝 @informalinc…
Bitcoin & Beyond is an educational series by the team at The Rollup focused on a new and emerging class of builders in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Through spaces, panels, and interactive presentations, the objective is to provide deep technical insights into innovative scaling projects. In an interview with Chase from Molecule, we dive into the growing appetite for next-generation virtual machines (VMs) aimed at enhancing Bitcoin’s programmability and scalability. Molecule is one company at the forefront of this experiment. Their attempt to implement Solana’s Virtual Machine (SVM) with Bitcoin is a strong signal that builders are also considering alternatives to…
Crypto investor Chris Burniske says that Ethereum (ETH) could have a surprise rally this cycle if one key event takes place. The former head of crypto at ARK Invest tells his 292,200 followers on the social media platform X that traditional finance (TradFi) may suddenly rush into Ethereum for the project’s fundamentals, sparking a massive rally. “Don’t think ETH outperforms SOL this bull [market cycle], but extreme sentiment sets it up to surprise – could still see it outperforming BTC from here (call me a dreamer). It’s less liquid than BTC, and once TradFi groks it’s a ‘growth asset with…
Alexander Babakov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma, highlighted the need to create a BRICS equivalent to the SWIFT messaging system, which routes payments alongside the current banking infrastructure. Babakov emphasized that this new system would help to reduce the dependence on Western institutions and simplify settlements outside the dollar-dominated system. BRICS SWIFT Equivalent Needed for Autonomous Payments, Russian State Duma Deputy Chairman States Alexander Babakov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma, specified the benefits of creating a BRICS-based counterpart to the SWIFT banking messaging system. Babakov highlighted that a native banking interconnection messaging system would allow the…
Cryptocurrency analysis platform CoinGecko shed light on the most popular trends in the crypto market for the second quarter of 2024 in a recent report. The report reveals that memecoins have taken center stage, capturing a significant market share of 14.3%. The report revealed that memecoins, Real World Assets (RWA), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) collectively captured 35.7% of the market share within altcoins. This trend mirrors patterns observed in the first quarter of 2024 and indicates continued interest in these areas. Among the top 15 crypto trends, four were related to memecoins, further highlighting their dominant presence in the market.…
The tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) has the potential to revolutionize traditional finance, and a dedicated blockchain is crucial for its rapid adoption, according to John Patrick Mullin, CEO and co-founder of Mantra. Mantra bills itself as just such a solution, pitched as a “security-first” layer-1 blockchain designed to keep up with real-world regulatory requirements. According to Mullin, tokenizing real-world assets involves more than just recording transactions on a blockchain. “Dedicated blockchains like Mantra Chain are purpose-built to address these requirements, integrating both legal and technical frameworks essential for managing such complex operations effectively,” he told Decrypt. This approach ensures…
Ethereum has recently faced a notable rejection and experienced a 13.3% decline after breaking above the 100-day moving average. The price is currently struggling to break below the 200-day MA, indicating a notable bearish sign if the breakout occurs. By Shayan The Daily Chart A close examination of Ethereum’s daily chart reveals that after breaking out above the critical 100-day moving average at $3,354 and a brief period of consolidation, it experienced a significant rejection, resulting in a 13.3% drop. This decline has led to a break below the crucial 100-day MA support region, suggesting a bull trap. Despite this,…