Author: NBTC

Key Takeaways Lighter’s new mobile app brings full trading functionality to iOS and Android with a mobile‑only 100,000 $LIT competition kicking off Jan 15. The LIT token showed initial momentum after launch but has since pulled back and is trading near $2.10 at press time. Lighter has launched its mobile trading app on iOS and Android, giving users access to spot, perpetuals, real-world assets, and pre-markets from their phones. We are excited to launch the Lighter Mobile app! Now you can now trade on the go on iOS and Android. Every asset including perps, spot, RWAs, pre-markets, etc. are available. pic.twitter.com/zS8YDKPbY2 —…

Jeff Yan rarely speaks in public, avoids social media, and has never taken venture capital money. But in 2025, few individuals have had a bigger influence on the shape of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the crypto space itself. This feature is a part of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2025 list. Yan is the founder of Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange (DEX) for perpetual futures that processes around $10 billion in trades per day, with DefiLlama showing $308 billion in volume in October. With more than 570,000 users and a custom-built blockchain that matches the speed and reliability of centralized platforms, Hyperliquid has quietly…

The cryptocurrency world witnessed a dramatic turn of events this week as Rushi Manche, a Movement co-founder suspended just months ago over misconduct allegations, announced a massive $100 million investment fund. This surprising development raises crucial questions about accountability, second chances, and the flow of capital in the blockchain space. Who Is The Suspended Movement Co-Founder Behind This New Fund? Rushi Manche was a key figure at Movement Labs, the team behind the MOVE token. However, his tenure there ended abruptly in May. The company suspended him pending an investigation into alleged market maker misconduct. The details of these allegations…

In a definitive move blending digital finance with public policy, the South Korean city of Cheongju has successfully converted seized cryptocurrency into public funds, setting a powerful precedent for local tax enforcement nationwide. The city of Cheongju in South Korea’s North Chungcheong Province has sold cryptocurrency seized from high-value and habitual local tax delinquents, Newsis reported. This action, finalized in late 2024, represents the first completed sale since the city initiated its seizure program in 2021, signaling a maturing approach to governing digital asset ownership. Cheongju’s Cryptocurrency Seizure and Sale Mechanism The city government collected approximately 21 million won, equivalent…

Axie Infinity’s token, AXS, has been witnessing a significant price surge in recent days, and the rally has once again attracted attention to the GameFi sector, as it has outpaced several mid-cap altcoins. Commentators have noted that unlike previous spikes characterized by lower trading volumes, this surge seems to be backed by considerable trading activity and bullish market sentiments. Axie Infinity’s AXS is up over 100% in the past week According to data from Coingecko, Axie Infinity’s token $AXS went on a run today, surging by about 64% to approximately $2.02 and topping charts as the leader in the broader…

Crypto exchange activity diverged sharply in 2025, as spot market growth slowed down while derivatives trading continued to expand at a strong pace. Total spot trading volume reached $18.6 trillion. This represented a 9% year-on-year increase, but it is a significant deceleration from the 154% growth recorded in 2024. Crypto Exchange Activity According to CryptoQuant, perpetual futures activity, in contrast, rose 29% year-on-year to $61.7 trillion, after adding $13.8 trillion in volume compared with the previous year. Spot trading remained highly concentrated among major venues. Binance recorded close to $7 trillion in volume and accounted for 41% of the top-10…

Swedish fintech giant Klarna, best known for its buy-now, pay-later services, is deepening its move into crypto by teaming up with Privy, a wallet infrastructure provider backed by Stripe. The two companies will co-design and test crypto wallet features aimed at helping everyday users store, use and send digital assets, the companies said, in a push to “power a new generation of crypto products for Klarna users.” The project builds on Klarna’s recent rollout of KlarnaUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin launched with Stripe’s Bridge platform. Klarna says it now wants to make crypto more accessible by embedding it directly into its…

Dubai’s financial regulator, the DFSA, has introduced a sweeping update to the city’s crypto regulations. The new rules, which came into force on January 12, ban privacy tokens on exchanges in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). These updates aim to bring Dubai in line with global compliance standards while addressing concerns over anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime. Privacy Token Ban Enforced Across Dubai’s Financial Free Zone The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has implemented a ban on privacy tokens across regulated exchanges within the DIFC. The decision stems from concerns about money laundering risks and compliance challenges posed…

According to reports, global crypto exchange trading volume jumped to over $79 trillion in 2025, driven largely by futures and perpetual contracts. That surge pushed derivatives to claim most of the market’s activity, while spot trading grew at a much slower pace. Spot Volume Climbs While Futures Explode Spot trading finished the year near $18.6 trillion, an increase of roughly 9% versus the prior year. But futures and perpetuals were the real story: they totaled close to $62 trillion, making up about 77% of combined exchange volume. That heavy tilt toward derivatives shifted where liquidity and daily turnover were concentrated.…

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange OSL Group (0863) is issuing a new U.S. dollar stablecoin with issuance handled by federally chartered crypto bank Anchorage Digital, the firms said on Thursday. The USDGO token is aimed for use in cross-border payments, treasury operations and on-chain settlements, the press release said. It will be backed one-to-one by liquid U.S. dollar assets including U.S. Treasuries, and built with embedded compliance features such as know-your-customer (KYC) checks and anti-money laundering (AML) protocols. The token will also support issuance on multiple blockchains, targeting enterprise users looking for a compliant, dollar-denominated digital asset. The news comes as…