Author: NBTC

Wyoming state teamed up with blockhain startup Hashfire to test how its upcoming U.S. dollar stablecoin, the Wyoming Stable Token (WYST), could be used for real-time payments for government contractors. The pilot, which took place on Thursday, aimed to demonstrate an automated vendor agreement approval and an instant, on-chain payment using WYST through Hashfire’s Document Authentication Protocol, bypassing the state’s typical 45-day payment window. The protocol, built on a custom Avalanche blockchain using AvaCloud’s infrastructure, allows governments and enterprises to embed approval processes, compliance rules and payment instructions directly into smart contracts. The parties said they plan broader implementation of…

Bitcoin’s price holds steady at $118,000 as it continues to consolidate below key resistance levels. The asset commands a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion with strong 24-hour trading volume of around $24.52 billion and an intraday range of $117,502 to $118,483, indicating subdued volatility near a psychological inflection point. Bitcoin On the 1-hour chart, bitcoin has exhibited choppy consolidation, trading within a tight band between $117,500 and $118,500 after a recent rejection near $121,000. This range-bound structure, characterized by reduced directional conviction, suggests a potential breakout scenario is forming. Technical signals advise caution; the momentum oscillator is issuing a bearish…

Key Insights: Ethereum price all-time high no longer feels distant as ETF inflows hit $296M in one day. Whale accumulation and user activity back Ethereum’s all-time high narrative. DeFi’s 40.43% monthly growth puts Ethereum’s all-time high within reach again. Ethereum price may be trading below its peak, but under the surface, momentum is quietly building. From record ETF inflows to whale buying and a sudden DeFi revival, key data points are flashing strength. While price action remains choppy, down 2% day-on-day, Ethereum’s fundamentals are moving in one direction: up. Here’s why the talk of a long-term breakout isn’t just hype…

Bilal Bin Saqib, chief executive of the Pakistan Crypto Council, met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in San Salvador for crypto cooperation. Pakistan’s interest in digital assets comes as it works under a $7 billion IMF program arranged in 2024 , an arrangement that remains in place through 2027. President Bukele met yesterday at Casa Presidencial with the Minister of Crypto for Pakistan @Bilalbinsaqib pic.twitter.com/J2SdnTeQCJ — The Bitcoin Office (@bitcoinofficesv) July 16, 2025 This new collaboration reflects how digital currencies are entering the realm of international relations. El Salvador itself faced IMF concerns according to Bloomberg. Its loan pact required it to halt new Bitcoin purchases,…

RippleX developers proposed a draft standard designed to structure metadata for multipurpose tokens (MPTs) on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) in a move that could improve discoverability and interoperability of tokens across wallets, indexers and block explorers. The Github proposal known as XLS-0089d outlines a minimally standardized schema for the 1024-byte metadata field attached to each multipurpose token, allowing on-ledger access to basic information such as the token’s name, ticker, issuer, category and icon, while supporting deeper off-ledger details through external uniform resource identifiers (URIs). The goal is to balance flexibility with machine-readability without locking developers into rigid schemas. “The goal…

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has achieved unprecedented all-time profit of $28.22 billion, a 65.82% return on its current $71.11 billion Bitcoin portfolio, further solidifying its position as the most successful corporate Bitcoin investor in history. The company has amassed more than 601,000 Bitcoin, outperformed the majority of institutions and maintained a perfect win streak for almost five years. Large-scale dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is their main tactic, and it’s effective. Regardless of price volatility, the portfolio tracker consistently demonstrates buys during bull and bear cycles, supporting a disciplined investing pattern. A portfolio that is nearly impervious to normal market corrections has been…

Ethereum price started a fresh increase above the $3,720 zone. ETH is now showing bullish signs and might continue to rise toward the $3,850 zone. Ethereum started a fresh increase above the $3,720 level. The price is trading above $3,670 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $3,670 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it remains supported above the $3,650 zone in the near term. Ethereum Price Aims Fresh Increase Above $3,800 Ethereum price started a fresh increase…

The San Francisco Bitcoin Meetup holiday party in December 2017 was packed with crypto hopefuls. Bitcoin had just hit nearly $20,000. Ethereum was holding steady above $700. Under the glow of fluorescent lights and an air of optimism, two young men posed for a photo that would become one of crypto’s most enduring snapshots. Frédéric Fortier wore an Ethereum sweater. Mathieu Baril wore a Bitcoin one. Their image landed in a New York Times feature published weeks later under the headline: Everyone Is Getting Hilariously Rich and You’re Not. Weeks later, the market began to crack and, at that point,…

The departure of Gary Gensler from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has coincided with a powerful rally in XRP, the cryptocurrency at the heart of a long-standing legal battle with the regulator he once led. On January 20, 2025, the day Gensler officially stepped down as SEC Chair, XRP was trading at $2.95. As of July 18, the token has surged to $3.41, marking a 15.42% gain over six months. That means a $1,000 investment in XRP on the day Gensler exited the SEC is now worth $1,154, netting a return of $154 in just under 180 days.…

Professor Andrew Urquhart is Professor of Finance and Financial Technology and Head of the Department of Finance at Birmingham Business School (BBS). This is the seventh installment of the Professor Coin column, in which I bring important insights from published academic literature on cryptocurrencies to the Decrypt readership. In this article, I study the relationship between Bitcoin and gold, and explore whether Bitcoin can replace gold. For centuries, gold has been the ultimate store of value—used by civilizations as currency, collateral, and insurance against economic crises. But in the past decade, a new contender has emerged: Bitcoin. Often referred to…