Author: NBTC

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. The stablecoin market is approaching the $300 billion mark as we’re seeing more signs of TradFi’s broader shift to blockchain rails. For those keeping track at home, the roughly $290 billion stablecoin market cap is up 18% from 90 days ago and has more than doubled since the start of 2024. We’ve seen traditional payment giants integrating stablecoins into the financial mainstream of late. Mastercard — recognizing stablecoins’ ability to bring faster, lower-cost cross-border B2B payments and simplify peer-to-peer remittances — enabled access to USDG, USDC,…

Trouble may be brewing inside OKX, one of crypto’s biggest exchanges. This time, the criticism does not come from regulators or rivals but from its community. The case reflects a unique mix of challenges for crypto exchanges, ranging from competition to regulatory constraints. Star Xu Breaks Silence as OKX Faces Loyalty Crisis A viral thread on X (Twitter) ignited a debate around OKX exchange’s leadership, user engagement, and customer culture, forcing founder Star Xu to respond publicly in a rare fashion. It began when one user wrote a long, emotional critique comparing OKX to Binance. “OKX’s own products are already…

Gold’s historic rally accelerated on Monday, with spot prices punching through $3,800 per ounce to set fresh all-time record, extending a torrid year in which bullion is up roughly almost 47% year-to-date. That surge is echoing on across crypto rails, with gold-backed tokens climbing to an all-time high market capitalization of $2.88 billion, CoinGecko data shows. Tokenized versions of the metal are backed by physical reserves but settle on blockchain rails, offering round-the-clock trading and near-instant transfers. XAUT$3,832.05 and Paxos’ PAXG$3,843.58, both tokens issued by firms predominantly known for their stablecoins, are dominating the category. XAUT’s capitalization stood near $1.43…

The event contracts provider, Kalshi, plans to integrate its U.S.-regulated prediction market platform into every major cryptocurrency exchange and application within 12 months, according to John Wang, the company’s head of crypto. Wang outlined the expansion strategy during an interview at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, calling the initiative a potential tenfold growth driver for the platform. The 23-year-old executive, who spent eight years as a crypto trader before joining Kalshi in August, said the company wants to build what he called “an ecosystem of new financial primitives and trading front-ends” on top of its existing infrastructure. “The crypto community…

A one-of-one NFT was recently created on the XRP Ledger by an artist known as Dale Forward. Listed on XRP Café, the digital artwork depicts what it feels like to pet a dog. As the artist himself describes it, “It’s like love is coming out into you and the dog.” While the piece is wholesome on its own, what drew more attention was how quickly this 1/1 item was sold — and, ultimately, who bought it. Thanks to the reach of social networks, less than two hours later one of the original architects of XRP Ledger and Ripple CTO, David…

Morgan Stanley, a major force in global finance, is moving to broaden its digital asset portfolio. They’ve announced a partnership with ZeroHash, a key player in crypto infrastructure. According to Crypto News Hunters, this collaboration will bring crypto trading to Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade platform by mid-2026. Clients will be able to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana right away at launch. Furthermore, this is a noteworthy action that obviously addresses the growing investor demand for digital assets. 🚨 JUST IN 🚨$1.7 TRILLION MORGAN STANLEY TO INVEST IN #BITCOIN INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANY ZEROHASH 💥#Bitcoin #CryptoNews #Blockchain #ZeroHash #MorganStanley #CryptoInvestment #FinTech pic.twitter.com/89W1u2Szdg — Crypto…

Blazpay, a renowned Web3 platform offering next-gen payment infrastructure, has partnered with Meco, a cutting-edge Web3 SocialFi entity. The collaboration attempts to combine decentralized finance (DeFi) and creator economies with the provision of unique tools like on-chain rewards, curated meme ecosystems, and cross-chain payments in an AI-powered setting. We’re excited to announce our partnership with @mecodotfun -a Web3 SocialFi platform empowering meme creators & digital communities.Together, Blazpay × Meco are unlocking creator-powered DeFi — on-chain rewards, cross-chain payments, and curated meme markets inside an AI-driven… pic.twitter.com/DEhlAx4JyU — Blazpay (@blazpaylabs) October 6, 2025 The official social media announcement shared by Blazpay…

Since Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was released from prison a little over a year ago after serving time for failure to enforce the Bank Secrecy Act, his estimated net worth has increased by approximately $20 billion. Archives of Forbes’ website show that it estimated his net worth at approximately $61 billion when he exited prison. Now, that same publication lists his estimated wealth at $80.6 billion, an increase of nearly $20 billion. Meanwhile, Bloomberg, which maintains its own net worth list, estimated Zhao’s net worth to be somewhere around $30.8 billion when he exited prison. It now has it at…

Major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Upbit have announced two altcoin listings today, leading to substantial price increases and heightened market activity. Binance’s Alpha platform added the meme coin PALU. Meanwhile, Upbit revealed that it will introduce trading support for Doodles (DOOD). Binance Alpha Listing Pushes PALU’s Market Value Over $80 Million PALU is a community-driven meme mascot token issued on the BNB Chain. The token initially gained traction after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) reposted fan artwork featuring a CZ-themed PALU mascot. Who dis? 😂 https://t.co/IOhBUwOQNX — CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 7, 2025 This triggered a major pump, which…

BitGo MENA FZE has received a Broker-Dealer license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, allowing it to offer regulated digital asset trading and intermediation services to institutional clients in the region. The approval marks another step in the company’s efforts to expand its regulated presence globally. BitGo recently obtained approval under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, granted by Germany’s BaFin. This authorization enables the company to provide digital asset services across the EU to both traditional financial institutions and crypto-focused firms seeking compliant infrastructure. The new VARA license allows BitGo MENA to operate an over-the-counter and electronic…