Author: NBTC
Breez, in partnership with 1A1z, has released a new report investigating the use of Bitcoin as a payments system and transactional currency. Bitcoin has always been painted as digital gold, that is one of the longest running narratives at this point in terms of what Bitcoin actually is. It does capture the use as a long-term investment or speculative asset, and has been a very helpful aid in getting people over the first hump of basic understanding, but it is by no means a comprehensive explanation of what Bitcoin is. The report dives into multiple factors of Bitcoin’s use as…
A potential collaboration between Cardano (ADA) and Chainlink (LINK) is in the works. Both blockchain projects are exploring how they can enhance the development of decentralized finance (DeFi) based on the UTXO model. Charles Hoskinson, the creator of Cardano, discussed these developments in a recent interview on David Gokhshtein’s podcast. According to Hoskinson, the Cardano and Chainlink teams are in talks to build a DeFi oracle solution beyond a single blockchain. The project aims to connect a wider range of UTXO-based networks such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. The goal of this partnership is to create an oracle system that…
This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. As I chatted with execs about the future of crypto ETFs at the Exchange conference in Las Vegas, it came out that Trump Media and Technology Group was linking up with Crypto.com to launch the same such funds.Crypto.com initially wrote on its X account that there would be three ETFs in particular: one ETF holding bitcoin, one investing in both BTC and ETH, and another ETF holding BTC, ETH, solana, cronos (CRO), and XRP. It appears the post was later modified to just mention “a first…
New York, NY — Ondo Finance, the second-largest tokenized Treasuries issuer, said it plans to start its own layer-1 blockchain designed for tokenized real-world assets in a bid to connect traditional capital markets with decentralized finance, the company announced on Thursday at its inaugural Ondo Summit. Ondo Chain was crafted to meet institutional compliance standards while maintaining the transparency and accessibility of public blockchains like Ethereum, the company said. The network will rely on permissioned validators to verify transactions and ensure accurate financial data, such as asset prices and token backing. It will also support staking of tokenized real-world assets…
Archax, a U.K.-regulated crypto exchange and custodian focusing on tokenized assets, has acquired a U.S. broker-dealer in an effort to enter the booming institutional market in the country after recent positive changes on the regulatory environment. Globacap Private Markets Inc, a broker-dealer and alternative trading system (ATS) regulated by FINRA and the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), is being bought by Archax and being renamed to Archax Markets US. The new entity will serve as the company’s foothold on American soil and serve the institutions and professional investors in the country, two Archax executives told CoinDesk. Asset tokenization is a…
The Bitcoin mining industry is becoming increasingly competitive as the network’s hashrate reaches an all-time high (ATH). At the end of March 2025, Bitcoin’s hashrate hit 850 million TH/s. However, alongside this impressive growth, the industry is struggling with rising production costs and new tariff barriers, particularly in the US. These factors are putting significant pressure on mining companies and could reshape the sector’s future. Hashrate Surges, Mining Costs Soar Bitcoin’s hashrate measures the total computing power used by miners to secure the network and validate transactions. It is expressed in terahashes per second (TH/s), representing the number of hash…
MN Consultancy founder Michaël van de Poppe sees Bitcoin and the broader crypto market running significantly higher this cycle. Amid stalling prices and recent market uncertainty, speculation continues to grow that Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have peaked or are near their cycle peak. According to one prominent analyst, however, there may not be a better time to be in the market. “The Perfect Storm” MN Consultancy founder Michaël van de Poppe sees Bitcoin and the broader crypto market running significantly higher this cycle. In an X post on Wednesday, February 5, the analyst asserted that current market conditions…
The first quarter of 2025 tells a clear story about DeFi’s evolution. While yields across major lending platforms have compressed significantly, innovation at the market’s edges demonstrates DeFi’s continued maturation and growth. The Great Yield Compression DeFi yields have declined sharply across all major lending platforms: The vaults.fyi USD benchmark has fallen below 3.1%, below the U.S. 1-month T-bill yield of ~4.3% for the first time since late 2023. This benchmark, a weighted average across four leading markets, approached 14% in late 2024. Spark has implemented four consecutive rate decreases in 2025 alone. Starting the year at 12.5%, rates were…
This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Trading platform eToro filed for an IPO yesterday, amid expectations that more crypto-related businesses will list on exchanges in the coming months. The company’s filing with the SEC comes after eToro in September paid $1.5 million to the regulator to settle charges that it was operating as an unregistered broker (in connection with its crypto trading platform). What a difference a few months makes. It also comes as crypto exchange Kraken is reportedly looking to raise $1 billion in debt before a possible IPO, unnamed sources…
This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Solana’s validators are about to see a major income bump, but the protocol lacks a way for them to share the wealth with their stakers. In May, Solana validators passed a proposal to send 100% of priority fees — which are extra funds users can pay for a better chance of landing their transactions — to validators. The proposal’s implementation now seems imminent, but some are calling for Solana to pump the brakes until validators are able to share the extra fees with stakers. Validators, who run…