Author: NBTC

Leverage across the crypto economy is evolving, not evaporating. Total crypto-collateralized lending fell 4.9% quarter-over-quarter to $39.07 billion, the first decline since late 2023, Galaxy Research’s Q1 2025 report shows. But while the headline figure contracted, underlying dynamics suggest leverage is shifting form, not fading. Lending in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending took a hit early in the quarter, sliding as much as 21%, before rebounding sharply in April and May. The turnaround was driven largely by Aave’s integration of Pendle tokens, whose yield-bearing structure and high loan-to-value ratios (up to 90%) sparked a wave of fresh borrowing. By late May,…

After acquiring some of the NFT world’s biggest names, Yuga Labs is now offloading CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, and other brands as the market faces ongoing challenges. Yuga Labs has recently started slimming down, handing over IP rights to several NFT collections — including CryptoPunks and Moonbirds — in what may signal a shift for the once-dominant NFT giant. The CryptoPunks IP now belongs to the Infinite Node Foundation, a non-profit focused on digital art preservation. Meanwhile, Moonbirds — another blue-chip collection — has landed in the hands of a relatively unknown gaming company called Orange Cap Games. While Natalie Stone, general…

Ethereum options markets are pricing in a lower chance to surpass even conservative targets before the year ends, while volatility has stayed put despite increasing trader demand.  Those factors convey a broader uncertainty about Ethereum’s trajectory, even as the crypto market matures and attracts sophisticated capital. That’s according to data shared by digital asset and market intelligence platform Amberdata, whose director of derivatives, Greg Magadini, told Decrypt that investor appetite for options has returned. “Looking at the options market, we’re finally seeing a return towards appetite for options, but volatility remains inexpensive,” he said, noting how current bets on Ethereum…

Mantra teamed up with agri-tech leader Dimitra in a bid to bring scalable blockchain solutions to global agricultural and sustainability projects — marking yet another move in the project’s push to regain investor trust after the recent fallout. According to an announcement shared with crypto.news, Dimitra, a global leader in agri-tech and sustainability solutions leveraging blockchain and AI, has partnered with Mantra (OM), a regulated layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for RWA tokenization. The collaboration connects agricultural projects with investors that are after transparent, asset-backed investment opportunities, utilizing MANTRA’s regulation-ready blockchain. Phase one will focus on cacao production in the Amazon region…

The Bank of Korea is considering linking its deposit tokens to a public blockchain, a move that would position its state-backed digital currency alongside private-sector stablecoins operating on open networks. The tokens will be “a type of stablecoin issued within the digital currency system built and operated by the Bank of Korea,” the bank’s Deputy Governor Lee Jong-ryeol said in a statement Decrypt has confirmed with local sources. “We are considering a direction in which it will coexist within the entire digital currency system in conjunction with stablecoins issued by the private sector,” the Deputy Governor said at the 8th…

GPT WARS, an immersive first-person shooter survival game, announced a strategic collaboration with CribbleChat, an AI agent revolutionizing Web3. The alliance aims to add innovative intelligence to the Web3 gaming experience. GPT WARS is a first-person shooter survival game built on top of the TON blockchain. The game challenges players to fight with multiple robotic enemies to survive and restore balance. The Web3 game encourages ownership of game tokens through the blockchain-driven economy. Players can earn and trade digital assets using GPTW tokens, promoting a lively player-focused marketplace. On the other hand, CribbleChat is an AI agent platform developed on…

Binance has announced support for the upcoming Stratis (STRAX) network upgrade and hard fork, scheduled to occur on June 11, 2025, at block height 2,587,200, at approximately 14:00. Binance to Support Stratis (STRAX) Network Upgrade and Hard Fork on June 11 To facilitate the upgrade process, token deposits and withdrawals on the Stratis network will be temporarily suspended from 1:00 PM on the same day. This measure aims to ensure a smooth transition and optimal user experience during the upgrade process. Binance emphasized that trading of STRAX tokens will not be affected during the upgrade window. Users will be able…

Bitcoin mining stocks experienced widespread declines Wednesday, with most major publicly traded firms in the sector in the red. Bitcoin Mining Stocks See Red Across the Board Galaxy Digital Holdings, leading by market capitalization at $6.64 billion saw its shares drop 11.33% this afternoon and 14.11% over the last five sessions, even as it’s up 10.13% year to date. The bitcoin miner MARA Holdings followed with a $5.32 billion valuation but so far it has fallen 8% Wednesday and is down nearly 10% year to date. The top five publicly-listed bitcoin mining firms by market cap according to bitcoinminingstock.io at…

Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial. As the AI arms race continues to heat up from the Big Tech companies on down, and AI is fused into just about every industry there is, the inevitable panic is also beginning to set in: when AI “replaces” us—whether we be doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, financial analysts or writers—just how in the hell are we going to be able to make any money? You might also like: AI could destroy crypto within five years | Opinion…

This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Why did nobody build Bitcoin before Satoshi? Cryptographers had toyed with the idea of decentralized digital currencies since the late ‘90s. It took two whole decades more for someone to figure out how to actually do it at scale. Perhaps some technical limitation at the node level held it back, like low memory or disk bandwidth. Or maybe it was that the slow pace of dial-up wasn’t exactly conducive to internet-based distributed computing before the dot-com boom. Gwern, the pseudonymous internet brainiac, wondered as much in…