Author: NBTC

In his first 60 Minutes interview in half a decade, President Donald Trump defended his decision to pardon Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, insisting he had no personal knowledge of the crypto billionaire and was acting on what he described as a politically motivated prosecution by the previous administration. Asked by correspondent Norah O’Donnell why he pardoned Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating anti-money-laundering laws, Trump replied frankly. “Okay, are you ready? I don’t know who he is. I know he got a four-month sentence or something like that. And I heard it was a Biden witch hunt,”…

Payments processor Zelle’s parent company said Friday that Zelle would start using stablecoins to make international transactions for the firm. Early Warning Services, which manages Zelle, said that using stablecoins would “enable Zelle to deliver faster and more reliable cross-border money movement.” “The effort marks an important step in expanding the reach of Zelle globally by leveraging stablecoins,” an announcement by Early Warning Services said in an announcement read.  Early Warning Services CEO Cameron Fowler added: “Zelle transformed how Americans send money at home.” “Now, we’re beginning the work to bring that same level of speed and reliability to…

SharpLink Gaming, one of the largest publicly traded holders of Ethereum, announced Tuesday that it plans to deploy $200 million in ETH from its treasury onto the Linea layer-2 network. The deployment will occur over multiple years using risk-managed strategies, the firm said in a statement, and will take place in collaboration with Linea creator Consensys. (Disclaimer: Consensys is one of 22 investors in an editorially independent Decrypt.) The initiative enables SharpLink to generate enhanced yields on its ETH holdings through multiple sources: Native Ethereum staking rewards, restaking rewards from securing EigenCloud Autonomous Verifiable Services, and incentives from Linea and…

Crypto.com has partnered with Pineapple Financial to provide custody and staking infrastructure for its INJ treasury, adding to its growing roster of institutional custody clients. Summary Crypto.com will provide regulated custody and native staking infrastructure for Pineapple Financial’s million INJ treasury. Pineapple Financial has launched its Injective-based treasury initiative with an initial $8.9 million INJ acquisition, becoming the first publicly traded company to hold the asset. The partnership expands Crypto.com’s growing roster of institutional custody clients, which already includes the TON Foundation, VeChain Foundation, VivoPower, Aditxt, and SOL Strategies. The partnership follows Crypto.com’s recent application for a U.S. National Trust…

Swiss digital asset bank AMINA has received a regulatory license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) to operate cryptocurrency services across Europe under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory regime. Austria’s approval paves the way for AMINA EU’s launch, which will offer crypto trading, custody, portfolio management services and staking to professional investors, including family offices, corporates and financial institutions, AMINA said. AMINA (previously known as SEBA Bank) holds a banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), as well as crypto licenses in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi. The crypto bank is positioned in the private…

KuCoin Pay is forming a strategic alliance with CoinGate, one of Europe’s top cryptocurrency payment gateways. This partnership will expand its user’s ability to convert digital assets into a more purposeful purchase via gift cards for leading brands like PlayStation, Steam, Netflix, Airbnb, and hundreds more. A major gap in the crypto economy has successfully been filled- the users now have access to bringing convenience and ease of access, all without any stresses of redeeming/exchanging funds. Bridging Crypto and Everyday Commerce The partnership addresses one of cryptocurrency’s biggest challenges: reliance on the internet. While digital assets have emerged as investment…

Ethereum is showing renewed bullish energy after rebounding from the $3,435 low. The cryptocurrency now trades near $4,116, where price consolidation signals a pause before potential continuation. Market analysts observe that the current pattern reflects a short-term recovery that could evolve into a broader expansion phase if key resistance levels are cleared. Consequently, Ethereum’s rising open interest and growing exchange activity point toward increased market engagement from both institutional and retail traders. Fibonacci and EMA Levels Define the Next Direction Ethereum’s latest rally has seen it reclaim the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement level at $4,099, turning it into immediate support. The…

The previous president of the United States, Donald Trump, declared that Japan will make an investment of 550 billion in the country. He said this in one of his diplomatic speeches, which underlines the fact that this investment is enhancing trade and industrial relations between the two countries. According to Trump, the agreement was a giant leap into broadening of mutual development and enlarging of industrial cooperation. He pointed out that both countries will benefit through this alliance since they will increase their trade, technology, and employment. 🚨BREAKING: Trump just confirmed $550 BILLION coming from Japan. 🇯🇵🇺🇸And guess which country…

Brazil’s crypto tax reform could charge a 30% levy for undeclared crypto (via Bill 458/21), reshaping institutional crypto compliance and investor flows. As Brazil’s crypto market booms, the 30% regularisation tax for hidden crypto holdings signals a new era of regulated digital-asset taxation and fiscal policy. Brazil is taking a big step toward bringing cryptocurrencies under its tax net, but not without controversy. Lawmakers have proposed a new bill that would let citizens declare previously hidden crypto assets like Bitcoin by paying a hefty 30% regularization tax. The move, while aimed at cleaning up the system, has triggered political and…

This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. How will we find new AI agents to use in the near future? What could a decentralized, more open AI ecosystem look like? And how will AI agents make payments for us? ERC-8004, a new Ethereum technical standard first unveiled this summer, aims to be an answer to all that. The standard is being peer-reviewed, and its smart contracts were launched on the Ethereum testnet this month. MetaMask AI Lead Marco de Rossi, Ethereum Foundation AI lead Davide Crapis, Google engineer Jordan Ellis, and Coinbase Developer Platform…