Author: NBTC

Mastercard has highlighted the growing role of crypto-linked payment cards in everyday transactions, noting that digital assets can now be used for routine purchases such as pizza, while merchants continue to accept fiat payments. Can you use crypto to pay for pizza?Yes.Crypto cards let you pay just like any other card, while your digital assets power the transaction and are processed in fiat on the Mastercard Network behind the scenes. pic.twitter.com/HiGOU0X9KZ — Mastercard (@Mastercard) March 16, 2026 In a recent statement, the company explained that crypto cards function like traditional payment cards, with transactions powered by digital assets but settled…

A fresh debate is unfolding in the $XRP community about whether global banks could realistically adopt $XRP, given Ripple’s massive token holdings. $XRP commentator Mason Versluis raised the question on X. He noted that if $XRP’s price were to surge significantly, Ripple, holding 38 billion tokens, could become one of the most powerful financial entities in the world. According to Versluis, this scenario may not sit well with traditional banking institutions, meaning large-scale adoption of $XRP might not align with their interests. Key Points $XRP adoption by banks may be limited due to Ripple’s massive 38B token holdings. Banks scrutinize…

SEC Chair Paul Atkins is set to deliver a fireside chat at the Bitcoin 2026 conference in Las Vegas on Monday, marking the first time a sitting U.S. securities regulator has spoken at the annual event. Key Takeaways: SEC Chair Paul Atkins is set to address the attendees of Bitcoin 2026 in Las Vegas on April 27. Atkins has outlined a five-category crypto asset taxonomy under Project Crypto, four of which are classified as non-securities. The SEC’s ACT strategy marks a formal departure from more than a decade of regulation by enforcement in the digital assets space. A First for…

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking public comment on proposed rule changes that would allow licensed digital asset businesses to apply directly for derivatives licenses, removing the requirement to establish separate entities. The proposed revisions would build on earlier changes recognizing digital assets as eligible underlying assets for futures contracts, expanding the scope of Thailand’s derivatives market while introducing additional requirements to manage conflicts of interest and strengthen oversight. Source: The Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand The proposal could lower barriers for crypto companies to enter the derivatives market by allowing them to apply for licenses within existing…

Following the KelpDAO-related rsETH crisis, risk management measures are expanding in the DeFi ecosystem, and Aave has taken another new governance step. A new proposal from TokenLogic, which provides services to the Aave ecosystem, foresees the temporary suspension of the $AAVE token buyback program. The proposal states that $AAVE buybacks will cease as of April 19, 2026, and this decision will be officially put to a community vote. The vote is scheduled to begin on April 28, 2026. The rationale for the proposal highlighted the uncertainty that arose after the security breach on KelpDAO’s LayerZero-based rsETH bridge on April 18th.…

Compound Foundation has proposed a governance plan offering 3000 $ETH to assist Aave in the ongoing rsETH recovery effort under the DeFi United initiative. The proposal includes a potential contribution of up to 3,000 $ETH to help restore stability after the recent disruption linked to rsETH. It states in their proposal that while Compound’s direct exposure to the incident is expected to remain limited, the protocol has chosen to participate in the recovery process. Compound Foundation Proposes 3000 $ETH to Aave’s DeFi United Post the rsETH incident, the Compound Foundation and its service providers began working with other participants in…

Despite the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, Bitcoin ($BTC) and altcoins are having a strong week. Bitcoin has climbed above $75,000 for the first time in weeks, while altcoins are also experiencing double-digit gains. However, the critical week of the FED interest rate decision has arrived. In the Bitcoin ($BTC) and cryptocurrency market, all eyes are on tomorrow’s FED meeting and the FED chairman’s statements. Accordingly, the Fed will announce its second interest rate decision of 2026 tomorrow, followed by an oral statement from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. While it is widely expected that the Fed will keep…

Deloitte Confirms $RLUSD Reserves Trust in any stablecoin comes down to one simple question: is it fully backed? For Ripple’s $RLUSD, a recent independent review by Deloitte delivers a clear verdict that this is the case. The audit found that throughout February 2026, $RLUSD consistently held reserves exceeding its circulating supply, reinforcing the strength of its 1:1 U.S. dollar peg. The numbers back it up. On February 19, $RLUSD reported $1.61 billion in reserves against 1.53 billion tokens in circulation. By February 27, reserves stood at $1.56 billion, still comfortably above the 1.49 billion tokens issued. In short, $RLUSD isn’t…

More than 120 crypto organizations including Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and Andreessen Horowitz sent a joint letter to the Senate Banking Committee on April 23 demanding an immediate CLARITY Act markup, as the bill’s end-of-May deadline tightens and prediction market odds fall below 50%. The CLARITY Act faced the most coordinated industry pressure yet on April 23 when more than 120 organizations posted a joint letter via the Blockchain Association demanding the Senate Banking Committee schedule an immediate markup. As 247 Wall St. noted, Chairman Tim Scott has still not put the markup on the Banking Committee’s calendar, with the Kevin…

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) previously argued that FTX could have recovered value if assets were given time to recover, and now he has received fresh proof of that claim in the form of SpaceX’s multi-billion-dollar deal with Cursor. A 5% stake in the AI startup Cursor cost $200,000 in 2023, but now, following a new $60 billion deal with SpaceX, the same 5% stake is worth $3 billion. How much did FTX sell its Cursor stake for? In April 2022, Alameda Research, the trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind the AI coding tool…