Author: NBTC

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Lightspeed has exclusively learned that Maple — one of Solana’s largest onchain asset managers — is bringing its yield-bearing syrupUSDC stablecoin into perpetual futures markets operated by Drift, Solana’s flagship perps DEX. Drift, known for its deep onchain liquidity and capital-efficient margins, will accept syrupUSDC as margin collateral, allowing traders to earn a 7-8% APY on their margin while trading. This will be the first time the exchange has allowed a collateral asset to serve dual purposes, earning yield while backing positions — sweetened by $100,000 in…

Key Takeaways SharpLink Gaming secured $200 million to expand its Ether holdings. The company’s ETH treasury is expected to exceed $2 billion after the funding deployment. SharpLink Gaming secured $200 million in funding from four global institutional investors through a registered direct offering, the company announced today. “SharpLink is proud to be joined by globally-recognized institutional investors, augmenting our strong existing investor base and further validating our mission to be the world’s leading ETH treasury,” said Joseph Chalom, SharpLink’s Co-Chief Executive Officer, in a statement. A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners is serving as the lead placement agent, with Société Générale as a…

Coinbase is teaming up with Squads to bolster the adoption of the USDC stablecoin on the Solana blockchain. Summary Coinbase and Squads have joined forces to boost USDC adoption on Solana. The initiative builds on Squads’ securing of over $1 million in USDC across its product suite. Coinbase announced the relaunch of its Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund aimed at bolstering DeFi liquidity with stablecoins. Squads, a decentralized finance layer on Solana (SOL), announced the strategic partnership with Coinbase on Aug. 13, noting the collaboration aims at expanding the adoption of USDC (USDC) on the Solana blockchain. The partnership with Squads comes…

Uniswap’s multi-year fee switch saga may finally be coming to a close, and UNI is rallying as holders are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. UNI is up 25% over the last week, and 6% today, fueled by a recent proposal to establish a nonprofit legal structure for Uniswap Governance that is registered in the state of Wyoming. UNI Chart – CoinGecko The new structure is known as a Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association, or DUNA, and Uniswap’s will be referred to as DUNI. Analysts and traders are operating under the assumption that DUNI paves the way for Uniswap…

Ethereum price has moved into a strong bull run, a trend that may continue as its top metrics jump to a record high. Summary Ethereum price is on the cusp of a strong bullish breakout. The stablecoin supply in the network has jumped to a record high. Spot ETH ETF inflows are still continuing this week. Ethereum (ETH) jumped over 3% to reach a high of $3,840, its highest level since July 31. The price has climbed 15% from this month’s low and is now up 175% from its April bottom. Top Ethereum metrics have surged to an all-time high…

VitaminAi, a popular AI agent marketplace, has begun a new partnership with Forcefi, a prominent matchmaking company. The collaboration focuses on linking emerging blockchain projects with veteran contributors (or Curators). In line with the official announcement shared by VitaminAi on X, the move endeavors to fill the critical gaps existing in overall project development. In this respect, it provides legal advisory, business expansion, fundraising, and marketing to fortify Web3 innovation. 📢 Announcing our partnership with @Forcefi_io – a powerful matchmaking platform connecting early-stage projects with qualified contributors, known as Curators.By addressing challenges like limited traction, poor networks, and lack of…

Quickswap, a DEX built on Ethereum and supported by Polygon’s L2 network, today disclosed a strategic launch of Kyber Network on the Base Chain, establishing a new decentralized offering to millions of DeFi customers. Base Network, one of the rapidly advancing DeFi networks, hosts millions of proactive traders and a growing decentralized audience. Based on this launch, Quickswap now enables seamless multi-chain swaps across DeFi networks, simplifying DeFi transaction experiences by eradicating the use of bridges and external utilities. QuickSwap has integrated @KyberNetwork on Base Chain 🟦KyberSwap will aggregate V4 and V2 swaps to provide tradooors with superior token prices…

The cryptocurrency world is buzzing with significant news concerning Bitgo wallets. These prominent digital asset custodians have recently made headlines by accumulating a substantial amount of Ethereum (ETH), sparking considerable interest across the crypto community. This remarkable ETH accumulation highlights a growing trend within the digital asset space, pointing towards increased institutional participation. What’s Behind the Bitgo Wallets’ Massive ETH Accumulation? Recent data from Arkham Intelligence, shared on X, reveals that three specific Bitgo wallet contracts have collectively gathered a staggering amount of ETH. Over just three days, these wallets accumulated approximately $314.22 million worth of ETH. This significant sum…

Brazil’s Central Bank is abandoning the blockchain component of Drex, its ambitious central bank digital currency project. The surprise decision was announced at the Blockchain Rio conference in Rio de Janeiro last week, marking a significant course correct for the Hyperledger Besu-based project that was once heralded as the vehicle for tokenizing the country’s financial system. In comments to Valor, Drex coordinator Fabio Araujo confirmed that the project’s blockchain component would be discontinued due to scaling and privacy challenges. The project will instead narrow its focus to streamlining collateral management and reconciling liens for credit guarantees in an attempt to…

Bitcoin has reached a new all-time high, and its next move will either be a surge into new price discovery or a halt to make way for the oncoming altcoin season, says Bitcoin pioneer Samson Mow. Bitcoin (BTC) prices reached $124,500 on Coinbase in early trading on Thursday, according to TradingView. The move has added 3.5% to the asset on the day and pushed total crypto market capitalization to a record high of $4.26 trillion. Bitcoin OG Samson Mow said there are two possible paths for Bitcoin now: “We Godzilla or Omega up, suck all the oxygen out of the…