Author: NBTC

The biggest liquidation event in crypto history took place on Friday, with over $19 billion worth of positions getting rekt in just 24 hours, according to CoinGlass. In the days since, industry experts have undertaken a postmortem on the chaos—and the rise in leverage has been highlighted as a potential risk to the crypto market’s long-term health.  The surge in popularity in Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange that specializes in perpetual futures trading, has made leverage in crypto more accessible than ever before, leading to rival exchanges competing over their leverage offerings. Some experts believe this is creating systemic risk, with…

Kadena, the scalable Layer-1 Proof-of-Work blockchain, today announced a partnership with tokenization specialist Brickken to bring institutional-grade real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure to its Chainweb EVM network. The collaboration combines Kadena’s technical scalability with Brickken’s compliance-driven tokenization tools to accelerate enterprise blockchain adoption. Building compliant tokenization for institutional use Under the collaboration, Kadena and Brickken plan to tokenize an initial $10 million in real-world assets as part of the testnet launch, with a full mainnet rollout expected in 2026. The initiative comes amid forecasts that as much as $16 trillion in assets could be tokenized by the end of the decade.…

For years, XRP has been one of the most traded cryptocurrencies in the world. But it’s remained stuck mostly outside of DeFi. While tokens like Ethereum and Solana built entire ecosystems of decentralized lending, staking, and yield farming, XRP holders weren’t so lucky. That’s because the XRP Ledger (XRPL), though fast and efficient for payments, doesn’t support smart contracts. Flare Network wants to close that gap. Built as an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, Flare brings programmability to non-smart-contract assets like XRP, Bitcoin, and Dogecoin. And at the heart of this new connection is FXRP. It’s a token that mirrors XRP…

The price of Ether has nowhere to go but up, according to an analyst, with 40% of Ether now out of circulation amid record institutional demand. “Ethereum has never experienced a market cycle with all three supply vacuums active at once,” said analyst “Crypto Gucci” on Tuesday. Crypto Gucci noted that digital asset treasuries (DATs) did not exist in the last market cycle. Over the past few months, DATs have amassed a whopping 5.9 million ETH, worth around $24 billion and equivalent to 4.9% of the total supply, according to StrategicEthReserve. These entities will hold the asset for long-term yields.…

Key Takeaways The European Central Bank (ECB) is targeting a mid-2029 timeline for potentially launching the digital euro, their proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC). The digital euro is intended to function as an electronic equivalent to cash for daily transactions throughout the eurozone. The European Central Bank, the central bank responsible for monetary policy in the 20 eurozone countries, is targeting mid-2029 for a potential release of its digital euro, according to Executive Board member Piero Cipollone. The timeline represents a concrete milestone for the proposed central bank digital currency that would serve as an electronic version of euro…

Estonia has recently adopted an unprecedented strategy to counter financial support for Russian military operations in Ukraine. A cryptocurrency investor was forced to donate a sum of 1,638 euros to a Ukrainian organization, after sending 54 euros to a pro-Russian group.The decision, made by the State Prosecutor’s Office, represents an example of how the Baltic country is refining its legal tools to respond to the challenges posed by the current international scenario. The Case: Crypto Donations and the Reaction of Estonian Authorities Transfers Under the Lens The Intervention of the Prosecutor and the Choice of Opportunity An Exemplary Penalty: Donation…

In a passive-aggressive social media exchange, the leaders of Coinbase and Binance seized the opportunity to critique each other’s distinct approaches to token listing standards. The core of the dispute involved Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak, who criticized Binance’s high listing fees, and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, who fired back by questioning Coinbase’s failure to list BNB. Ironically, Coinbase announced the listing of BNB today. Listing Fees and Ecosystem Rivalry Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao (CZ) publicly clashed on social media today, trading indirect jabs over their respective exchanges’ token listing standards. It all started when a Base developer turned to…

Quack AI, an AI-powered Web3 and crypto research and analytics platform, has partnered with the Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The partnership aims to accelerate the advanced AI research endeavors and development to drive innovation and AI governance on-chain. As per Quack AI’s official announcement on X, the collaboration is now included in the Capsone Program of NTU. Thus, the development underscores a critical step in transforming the tech ecosystem. We’re excited to announce our partnership with @NTUsgQuack AI is now an official partner project in NTU’s Capstone Program, where 8 selected students will work with us under our mentorship…

During D.C. Fintech Week in Washington, D.C. this past week, I moderated a conversation about how decentralized finance (DeFi) projects could be compliant with different regulations. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions. The narrative Are developers liable for how their projects are used? Can they prevent criminals from using their projects? In other words, is regulation-compliant decentralized finance an oxymoron? Why it matters Developers’ liability for how their decentralized projects are used has already been the subject of multiple criminal cases in…

The crypto world is watching Bitcoin closely as it nears important cycle highs. The performance of altcoins could depend heavily on how Bitcoin and Ethereum move in the coming months. Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen has restated his prediction that Bitcoin may reach a cycle top in Q4 2025, with prices ranging from $130,000 to $155,000. His comments come as the market debates whether Bitcoin’s next major rally is already behind us or still has room to grow. Bitcoin at a Crossroads Cowen explained that Bitcoin is at a critical point. “We’ve gotten close to $130K already, with a recent peak…