Author: NBTC

Polkadot blockchain activity has surged to record levels, with active addresses hitting all-time highs for two consecutive months. Data from DotLake indicates the network boasted around 650,000 active addresses on-chain as of the end of April. The growth continues the uptrend that saw the number of active blockchain addresses surpass its previous high of 605,000 in March. Polkadot said this milestone represents a significant uptick in activity, marking a new all-time high for monthly active accounts since the launch of parachains in 2022. The rising active addresses can be primarily attributed to Moonbeam. During the reporting period, the parachain accounted…

The European Union (EU) securities watchdog, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), is seeking input from stakeholders on the potential inclusion of crypto assets in investment products. The move has the potential to open up a vast market for cryptocurrencies, surpassing the scope of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ESMA’s call for input is intended to expand the assets eligible for Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS), a market valued at €12 trillion. Approval of Crypto Assets for UCITS Could Expand Market Access The approval of crypto assets for the EU’s UCITS would offer broader access to…

Solv Protocol, a well-known liquidity infrastructure platform, has started a new partnership. The company disclosed its collaboration with zkLink Nova (a multi-rollup aggregated L3 zkEVM network) to focus on liquidity fragmentation on diverse L2 rollups. On its official X account, the platform provided the details of the latest endeavor. Exciting News! zkLink Nova has now joined the SolvBTC ecosystem!@zkLinkNova is Ethereum’s first aggregated Layer 3 Rollup Network, powered by @zkLink_Official’s Nexus tech and ZK Stack. It’s designed for general-purpose DApps, addressing liquidity fragmentation across numerous… pic.twitter.com/FiX5d39oAK — Solv Protocol (@SolvProtocol) May 10, 2024 Solv Protocol and zkLink Nova Partner to…

The Bitcoin network has successfully completed its highly anticipated “halving,” a major software update that occurs every four years. However, this incident dealt a potential blow to companies that make profits by keeping the BTC network running smoothly and securely. The halving event reduces the amount of Bitcoin distributed from the network to companies, called miners, known as mining rewards, in exchange for verifying transactions. This change went into effect around 03:00 UTC on Saturday, according to data from analytics websites mempool.space and Blockchain.com. After the halving, the Bitcoin price remained relatively stable at $64,000. Kok Kee Chong, CEO of…

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s cryptocurrency sector argue that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s previous decision to exclude cryptocurrency entities from the banking ecosystem has fueled the growth of peer-to-peer crypto trading. Nigerian authorities are reportedly seeking to ban peer-to-peer crypto trading. One stakeholder has urged participants in the Nigerian crypto space to ‘identify the bad actors and inform the government. CBN’s Role in Steering Users Toward P2P Platforms According to stakeholders in Nigeria’s blockchain and cryptocurrency sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) previous decision to exclude cryptocurrency entities from the banking system contributed to the growth of peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency…

In an effort to democratize access to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), MANTRA has announced a strategic partnership with Zoth. This collaboration is set to revolutionize the landscape of asset tokenization, targeting the expansion of access to institutional-grade fixed-income products and RWAs within the MANTRA ecosystem. This move is poised to accelerate the growth of the multi-trillion dollar RWA sector, which stands at the forefront of blending traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized finance (DeFi) innovations. MANTRA’s blockchain, a security-first Layer 1 solution, is engineered to facilitate seamless participation in the RWA tokenization space for developers and institutions alike. The platform features…

In the ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a legal expert known as “MetaLawMan” on X has brought to light significant weaknesses in the SEC’s arguments, particularly concerning the alleged pecuniary harm suffered by XRP investors. Last July, the court ruled that XRP was not a security in and of itself, but that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP were unregistered securities. The SEC has submitted its final reply brief in the remedies phase, and now the judge’s decision is awaited. The crux of the SEC’s case hinges on the claim that Ripple’s…

Blockchain For Impact (BFI), a healthcare fund set up during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, has tied up with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to strengthen public health practices. The alliance, operating within the India District Full Stack Fund (IDFS) vertical of BFI, aims to advance public health services and collaborative problem-solving. Under the partnership, $2.1 million will be reprogrammed to align with two projects, Blockchain for Impact said in a LinkedIn post. The first project, reportedly an allocation of $900,000, is expected to reinforce the State Health Resource Center in the North Eastern state…

The Bitcoin network has completed its fourth ‘halving’, a major event that halved the incentives given to miners. Finance giants JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank made evaluations on the subject; He stated that while he expects to see some decline in Bitcoin after the halving, he “does not expect prices to increase significantly.” “While the upcoming Bitcoin halving will deliver a supply shock like its predecessors, we believe its impact on the BTC price could be magnified by the concurrent demand shock generated by the emergence of spot BTC ETFs,” Benchmark’s Mark Palmer said. According to Maxim’s Matthew Galinko, miners with…

According to Bloomberg, as digital asset funding gains momentum once more, venture capitalists are casting their gaze toward companies founded by professors, affectionately dubbed “professor coins” within the industry. Among the recent success stories are Sahara, CheckSig, and NEBRA, all of which have secured fresh capital in the past two months. However, two startups have particularly captured the spotlight: EigenLayer and Babylon. Founded by former University of Washington associate professor Sreeram Kannan and Stanford University Professor David Tse, respectively, these projects have garnered significant attention and investment. EigenLayer, which raised an impressive $100 million from Andreessen Horowitz in February, and…