Author: NBTC

Assets listed on South Korean exchanges, including cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC) and XRP, tanked on Tuesday night after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law for the first time since 1979. Traditional assets like equities, along with the Korean won (KRW), also cratered as tanks rolled down the streets of Seoul to protect government buildings. As the KRW crashed to its weakest exchange rate against the dollar in 15 years, Seoul-based crypto exchanges Upbit and Bithumb struggled to remain operational. Outages affected users intermittently throughout the evening. Trading volumes in BTC and XRP surged as prices collapsed, sending BTC tumbling…

2025 will be a retail year investment per many surveys done in the last quarter of 2024. Investors are making several commitments to invest in markets that have the potential to grow in 2025. Bret Kenwell of eToro discusses a survey that was conducted on 1,000 retail investors in the United States. 61% of respondents affirmed that the “bull market will persist.” According to the retail investor beat from eToro, U.S. retail investors ranked Amazon first, with 12% selecting the online retailer. In addition, confidence in AI stocks is also high, with 16% anticipating that they will continue their substantial…

Chainlink Labs will establish a new office and regulatory compliance in Abu Dhabi. The project’s expansion comes amid growing demand across MENA’s financial sector. Chainlink Labs is looking to expand further across the Middle East and North Africa region, with a new office and entity set up in Abu Dhabi. The platform, which helps develop the oracle and interoperability project Chainlink (LINK), will pursue the expansion effort under regulatory oversight of the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM). According to a press release on Dec. 10, Chainlink Labs will target strategic partnerships to bring this mission to fruition. MENA presence key…

While in Switzerland in the Canton of Ticino preparations are underway for a new, more advantageous tax reform, in Italy taxes on crypto continue to hinder the rise of this sector. With the new Lugano law, the entire Swiss district reduces corporate profit taxes, easing the fiscal burden. In the tricolor boot, the new budget law goes in the opposite direction, anticipating an increase in the tax on capital gains for crypto operations. The usual Italian joke. Canton Ticino ready to embrace a new form of taxes on crypto for 2025 Taxes on crypto in Canton Ticino favor innovation In…

Shardeum has released Atomium 1.16.2, a new update that will become mandatory after December 27, 2024. In order to keep their participation in the network, Validators need to update their nodes to the latest version. Shardeum made this announcement public via its official social media account on X platform. 📢 Atomium 1.16.2 is live🚨 This rotational update will be made mandatory post 27th Dec 2024. To keep your node in the network, update your validator to the latest version as soon as possible.🟢 Existing validators: https://t.co/bLTFFV9jvY🟢 Install a new validator:… pic.twitter.com/rpQ0jcV65Q — Shardeum (@shardeum) December 24, 2024 Shardeum Atomium 1.16.2…

Cobra, the anonymous owner of the Bitcoin.org domain, has issued a warning about a potential user-activated soft fork (UASF) for Bitcoin scheduled for 2025. The initiative, reportedly developed by anonymous developers outside the Bitcoin Core team, aims to bring the controversial CheckTemplateVerify (CTV) functionality to the BTC network. Based on the BIP 119 proposal, CTV is designed to allow users to set specific spending conditions on their wallets. Proponents argue that CTV could significantly increase cold wallet security by enabling predefined transaction rules, making it a potentially powerful tool for institutional and high-net-worth Bitcoin holders. Volatility Risks: Some believe that…

The Pitchbook report shows artificial intelligence and machine learning continued to dominate early-stage venture capital investment in the third quarter of 2024. Investors Maintain Confidence in AI/ML According to Pitchbook’s Emerging Tech Indicator report, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) continued to dominate early-stage venture capital (VC) investment in the third quarter of 2024. While AI/ML companies raised approximately $2 billion across 42 deals, surpassing biotech funding by more than four times ($472.5 million), the total was significantly lower than the $8 billion raised in Q2 across 53 deals. This decline was largely attributed to two outlier deals: xAI’s…

The state of Wyoming is hiring blockchain developers to support the creation of a state-backed stablecoin. The Wyoming Stable Token Commission has issued a public request for qualifications to attract talent for its stablecoin initiative, known as “Project WYST.” Stablecoins are digital currencies that trade 1:1 to the dollar, allowing users to stake U.S. dollars on blockchain and decentralized finance markets. With more than $200 billion in circulation, stablecoins are the subject of the majority of cryptocurrency transactions, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Applicants have until December 12 to submit their proposals for positions that include token development, support,…

Montenegro’s Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal by crypto mogul Do Kwon, paving the way for a decision on his extradition to either the U.S. or South Korea. Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs, has lost his appeal in Montenegro’s Constitutional Court, which he had filed to reconsider its decision on his extradition, the Korea JoongAng Daily has learned. The ruling means that Kwon’s case will now be decided by Montenegro’s justice minister, who will determine whether Kwon will be sent to the United States or South Korea for trial. Kwon is wanted in both countries. In the U.S., he…

In a historic turn for the whole Web3 space, Vottun has announced its integration with Arbitrum, the most popular Layer 2 solution. This strategic partnership aims to provide improved scalability, fast processing, and integration of blockchain technologies in applications that will form the foundation of the future of decentralized systems. We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with @arbitrum one of the most innovative and scalable blockchains in the Web3 ecosystem! 🚀This collaboration marks a significant step forward as we integrate with Arbitrum to deliver:✅ Seamless scalability for our blockchain… pic.twitter.com/eJVpBk5Yyg — VOTTUN🌐🔗 (@Vottun) December 24, 2024 Revolutionizing the Web3 Ecosystem…