Author: NBTC

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) said on Tuesday it is reviving its Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund, aiming to boost stablecoin liquidity on decentralized finance (DeFi) markets. The initiative will be managed by Coinbase Asset Management and begins with deployments on Aave, Morpho, Kamino and Jupiter, according to a blog post. The exchange first launched the program in 2019 to help protocols seed early trading pools for USDC stablecoin. That effort supported early platforms like Uniswap , Compound and dYdX and helped spearhead USDC in the DeFi ecosystem, which is still the most widely used stablecoin in the sector.In its new iteration, the…

Ethereum breaks $4,000 for the first time since December, driven by whale buying, corporate adoption, and strong institutional interest. Whales have purchased over 1.8 million ETH in the past month; next major target price could be $6,400. Community awaits SEC approval of staked Ethereum ETFs, which could be the next big catalyst. Ethereum just crossed the $4,000 mark for the first time since last December, sparking excitement among investors and traders alike. Fueled by big whale buys, growing corporate adoption, and fresh institutional inflows, ETH is showing signs of a powerful comeback. The second-largest cryptocurrency jumped 3.5% in the last…

In an effort to contain the growing interest in stablecoins, China has ordered local brokerages and other organizations to stop publishing research reports and holding seminars promoting the asset class. In late July and early August, several leading brokerages and think tanks canceled their events and halted stablecoin research on orders from financial regulators, according to sources familiar with the matter. Authorities are also concerned that stablecoins could be used as a new tool for fraudulent activities in mainland China. While cryptocurrency transactions are completely banned in the country, some recent official statements have led to speculation that China’s approach…

Blue Origin will accept cryptocurrency and stablecoin payments for New Shepard suborbital flights through a new integration with Shift4. Shift4 Brings Crypto Payments to Blue Origin’s Space Tourism Starting today, customers can use bitcoin (BTC), ethereum ( ETH), solana ( SOL), tether ( USDT), and USDC to book seats, with Shift4 processing the transactions, according to the company’s press release. Shift4 stated customers may also connect wallets such as the Coinbase Wallet and Metamask for direct payments. The option is available immediately for upcoming commercial spaceflight bookings on New Shepard, according to the announcement. The rollout targets travelers who prefer…

Last week, S&P Global assigned a “B-” issuer credit rating with a stable outlook to Sky Protocol — formerly known as Maker — a decentralized lending platform that issues the USDS stablecoin. The credit rating agency cited centralization concerns, including a “high concentration of depositors,” “centralized governance,” “high regulatory risk from uncertainty about regulatory frameworks for decentralized protocols,” and “weak risk-adjusted capitalization” in its decision. In its rating report published on Aug. 7, S&P Global Ratings said that these risks are “partly offset by the protocol’s good track record of limited credit losses since 2020, and modest earnings.” The report…

Ethereum is rising from the ashes, with the ETH token price reclaiming $4,000 and the chain’s total-value locked cruising to a new all-time high. The chain’s ecosystem TVL just made a brand new high of $306 billion, surpassing its previous high of $253 billion in December 2024, and $195 billion in 202, according to TokenTerminal. Ethereum Ecosystem TVL – TokenTerminal While ETH is still 15% off its all-time high of $4,700, the ecosystem’s stablecoin scene has exploded over the last two years and has carried the chain’s TVL to new highs. In December 2021 Circle and Tether accounted for 39%,…

XRP/KRW led Upbit trading with $450.77M, 13.7% of global XRP volume in 24 hours. Upbit’s total daily volume hit $3.27B, marking a 210% rise from the prior period. New listings and top gainers drove strong activity across major and smaller-cap markets. South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, reported large trading activity over the past 24 hours, with the XRP/KRW market generating $450.77 million in volume. This accounted for 13.7% of total global XRP trading, based on available market data. The surge comes as the platform’s total daily trading volume reached $3.27 billion, representing a 210% increase from the previous period.…

An extraordinary ETH withdrawal recently made headlines, signaling a potentially strategic move within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. A newly created wallet initiated a substantial transaction, pulling 4,000 ETH—worth an astonishing $15.65 million—directly from the Binance exchange. This significant movement of Ethereum funds is not just a transfer; it strongly suggests an intention to engage in Lido staking, according to insights from OnChain Lens on X. This event immediately captured the attention of market observers. Such a large-scale withdrawal from a major centralized exchange like Binance often precedes significant activity in the DeFi space, particularly in the realm of crypto…

Brian Quintenz was nominated by President Donald Trump to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). However, he is facing significant challenges to his confirmation, with his nomination currently stalled due to growing opposition and procedural delays. Brian Quintenz once served on the CFTC as commissioner and is an executive at the crypto arm of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz. Why Brian Quintenz may no longer be fit to run the CFTC Up until very recently, Quintenz was widely seen as the candidate to lead the agency as it prepares to take on a larger role in digital asset regulation.…

Fintech giant Stripe is developing a new blockchain project called “Tempo” in partnership with crypto venture capital firm Paradigm. The information surfaced in a job posting on a Blockchain Association website dated August 3. The posting described Tempo as a “high-performance, payments-focused blockchain.” According to the announcement, the project is still in the stealth phase, has a five-person team, and is designed as Layer 1. The blockchain, which is compatible with Ethereum’s coding language, is not built on top of any other protocol. Matt Huang, co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm, who was involved in Tempo’s development, also serves on…