Author: NBTC

Fed expected to cut rates 25bps today, marking 2025’s first policy easing step. Markets price six rate cuts by 2026, with SEP offering clarity on Fed’s outlook. Powell’s press conference could shift sentiment, balancing inflation risks against growth support promises. The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to make its first rate cut of 2025 today. The expected 25-basis-point cut is not a surprise, but what matters more is how many cuts will follow. The Fed now faces a tough job easing pressure on the weak job market while keeping inflation in check and handling political pressure from Washington. First Step…

Zhang Guojun, Hong Kong’s Deputy Secretary for Justice, highlighted the city’s new stablecoin licensing law during a speech at the China-ASEAN Commercial Law Forum. The law was featured in a presentation on September 18 as part of Hong Kong’s efforts to support financial innovation while ensuring regulatory oversight in the digital asset sector. Stablecoin Ordinance and Cryptocurrency Oversight Guojun noted that Hong Kong passed the Stablecoin Ordinance in August. The legislation establishes a licensing system for stablecoin issuers, requiring compliance with financial safeguards and risk management measures. He emphasized that the regulation is designed to balance financial innovation with investor…

The Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut of 2025, lowering the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. The move pushed the U.S. dollar to its weakest level in more than three years while risk assets, from equities to commodities to crypto, surged on the shift. For decentralized finance (DeFi), the policy shift may act as a catalyst for fresh inflows. Here are three DeFi projects analysts say could benefit the most. Related: Bitcoin Traders Eye $116K Breakout After Fed Test To $155K Fibonacci Target Ondo Finance: Tokenization Magnet Ondo Finance has established itself as a leading platform for…

Ethereum could be headed for its strongest cycle yet, according to analysts at CryptoQuant. At the time of writing, Ethereum has been changing hands for $4,603 after having gained nearly 4% in the past day and over 7% compared to this time last week, according to crypto price aggregator CoinGecko. CryptoQuant Head of Research Julio Moreno credits institutional demand—from treasury companies and spot ETFs—and a steep uptick in staking as primary drivers boosting the price of ETH. “This synchronized accumulation indicates that Ethereum is increasingly viewed as a long-term strategic asset by large capital allocators, similar to Bitcoin’s trajectory post-ETF…

All eyes around the world, including Bitcoin and global markets, are once again focused on the FED’s interest rate decision. Although a series of recently released macroeconomic data have kept inflation concerns alive in the US, it is considered certain that the Fed will cut its policy rate. At this point, a 25 basis point cut by the Fed tonight is priced in at 95.8%, while a 50 basis point cut is priced in at 4.2%. However, the possibility of the FED making a surprise decision of 50 basis points is not excluded. When Will the September Fed Interest Rate…

Italy’s central bank deputy governor Chiara Scotti has called on the European Union to adopt clear and unified regulations for cross-border stablecoins. Speaking at a central banking conference in Rome, she warned that unclear rules could create legal and financial-stability risks. Scotti stressed that stablecoins issued outside the EU but redeemable inside the bloc require specific guidance to protect users and markets. EU Faces Cross-Border Stablecoin Dilemma Chiara Scotti, deputy governor of the Bank of Italy, urged the EU to clarify how stablecoins issued in several countries should be regulated. She spoke on Thursday at a central banking conference in…

Ondo Finance has launched USDY, a yield-bearing stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries and bank deposits, on the Stellar network, marking the first product of its kind available to Stellar users. Summary Backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and bank demand deposits, USDY accrues daily yield while maintaining liquidity, allowing individuals, small businesses, and institutions to earn on their holdings. The stablecoin can also be used as collateral in Stellar’s DeFi ecosystem and for more efficient cross-border payments. Ondo Finance has launched its flagship stablecoin, United States Dollar Yield (USDY), on the Stellar (XLM) network. With USDY stablecoin now live on Stellar,…

Ethereum has caught the attention of one of the market’s most widely followed traders, known as Byzantine General, and the prediction is too hard to ignore: a “monster candle” may be just around the corner. That is how a pseudonymous analyst with a strong record in the derivatives space captioned a chart of ETH/USDT futures on Binance, quickly sparking discussion across the crypto community and beyond. The comment comes at a time when Ethereum continues to be a major driving force in the decentralized finance sector. With high open interest, funding neutral and price coiling near local highs, ETH might…

As the European Union rolls out its landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, the law’s key promise of a unified market is already under pressure. In the latest episode of Byte-Sized Insight, Cointelegraph explored whether MiCA can live up to its promise. Promises vs reality The regulation was designed to simplify operations for crypto firms by introducing a single licensing system across all 27 member states. Once licensed in one country, companies would be able to “passport” their services across the bloc without navigating a patchwork of local rules. But less than a year into implementation, national regulators in countries…

Fragmetric, a Solana-based liquid restaking protocol, has taken a major step toward multi-chain adoption. The project announced that its liquid staking token, wfragSOL, is now a Cross-Chain Token (CCT). Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) powers it. With this move, users can securely transfer wfragSOL across Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Solana. This opens the door for broader use in decentralized finance. Bringing Solana Restaking to Multiple Chains Fragmetric started as Solana’s first native liquid restaking protocol. Over time, it evolved into the FRAG-22 asset management standard. It is designed to improve efficiency, transparency and composability in DeFi. The new integration with Chainlink…