Author: NBTC
Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem may finally be ready to take on the big players, as a new project leverages Bitcoin’s inherent security. Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem has gained a new player, Babylon, that could shape its future. In a recent report, Nansen called the project potentially one of the most undervalued plays on Bitcoin’s DeFi ecosystem. Critically, Babylon enables users to earn staking rewards in Bitcoin terms without relying on wrapped assets or cross-chain bridges. In doing so, the protocol leverages Bitcoin’s inherent security and decentralization, offering a safer and more native alternative for staking. You might also like: Bitcoin DeFi shouldn’t…
3iQ Corp. has tapped Figment as the primary staking provider for its new Solana Staking ETF (TSX: SOLQ), which officially launches on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday at 9:30 AM EST. The announcement represents the first product of its kind in North America to incorporate native Solana (SOL) staking rewards into an exchange-traded format. SOLQ gives investors regulated, exchange-traded access to Solana’s native staking yield, traditionally reserved for crypto-native users who either run validator nodes or delegate tokens to existing validators, without the complexity of self-custody or direct protocol interaction. Figment, a longtime Solana ecosystem player and one of…
As Bhutan battles youth migration and economic strain, its prime minister says Bitcoin mining offers a path forward, and others should follow. Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom on the eastern edge of the Himalayas known for its monasteries, seems to be placing a strong bet on Bitcoin (BTC) as a possible way to ease its economic problems despite the notorious risks linked to the cryptocurrency’s price swings. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Bhutanese prime minister Tshering Tobgay called state-backed Bitcoin mining “a simple strategic choice that many people have made and earned billions of dollars,” adding that “governments should do…
The Graph, a web3 protocol for organizing and accessing blockchain data, has enhanced its indexer compatibility to incorporate the Metis Andromeda Layer 2 network. The integration means that developers who are using Metis for development will be able to interact with Subgraph Studio to query on-chain data in real time. It also helps in expanding various structures for the processes of decentralized applications (dApps) to become easier and more efficient in terms of data demands. The @graphprotocol is now indexing Metis Andromeda 🌿With Subgraph Studio support, querying real-time blockchain data on Metis became much easier.Whether you’re building Dapps, AI agents,…
MEGX, a well-known platform providing AI-led trading bots, has officially collaborated with Rabbit, a rapidly advancing DeFi platform with a community-focused and secure ecosystem. The partnership aims to boost the DeFi sector with the addition of AI-driven trading bots. The platform disclosed this mutual endeavor in its recent X post. MEGX x Rabbit – Hopping Into Smarter DeFi!@therabbit_io delivers a growing suite of decentralized, audited services designed to empower DeFi projects and reward communities. 🐇💡With MEGX joining the journey, we’re unlocking new possibilities for flexible, secure, and… pic.twitter.com/gD7koiGVSc — MEGX – AI-Powered Trading Bots for DeFi (@megxio) April 14, 2025…
This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Pipe Network, a decentralized infrastructure project from Permissionless Labs, is publicly spotlighting its verifiable access to Solana snapshots through its decentralized CDN in a new case study. According to internal performance benchmarks provided to Lightspeed, usage points to 30% faster node initialization and far lower infrastructure costs. Pipe also reports handling approximately 100 TB of snapshot traffic daily, 700 TB weekly, and around 3 PB per month. For context, Solana node operators collectively share an estimated 7–14 PB of snapshot data monthly to help validators and RPC…
Bitdeer Technologies Group plans to take advantage of a 90-day suspension of U.S. tariffs to ship mining rigs from Southeast Asia to the United States. According to Bloomberg, Bitdeer, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company listed on Nasdaq and founded by crypto mogul Jihan Wu, is experiencing a decline in profitability and a slump in demand for Bitcoin mining hardware. As a result, the Singapore-based company is pivoting to self-mining rather than selling its machines to other operators. It will also begin U.S.-based manufacturing as a result of Trump’s tariff policies. “Our plan going forward is to prioritize our own self-mining,”…
Monerium has partnered with blockchain analytics firm Elliptic to boost compliance and real-time monitoring for its EURe stablecoin. Monerium, the issuer of the EURe stablecoin, is teaming up with British blockchain forensic firm Elliptic to strengthen its compliance systems and manage regulatory risks as it expands services across blockchain networks. In a press release shared with crypto.news, Monerium said the move aligns with its efforts to meed more demand following its recent virtual asset service provider license approval. To support that growth, the company will use Elliptic’s Lens, Investigator, and Navigator tools for automated anti-money laundering screening, real-time monitoring, and…
A crypto strategist who nailed Bitcoin’s 2021 market meltdown believes BTC is still on track to spark rallies en route to new all-time highs this year. Pseudonymous analyst Dave the Wave tells his 149,200 followers on the social media platform X that Bitcoin looks poised to repeat its Q4 2023 to Q1 2024 rally when it surged by nearly 180% in just a few months. The analyst shares a chart suggesting that Bitcoin can hit his price target by November of this year. “A BTC repeat would see $200,000 at the end of the year.” Source: Dave the Wave/X The…
This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Solana DeFi has matured rapidly in recent years. But even as core behaviors like high-speed trading, airdrop farming and multi-leg strategies gain traction, many users still face infrastructure built for slower, passive chains. And while recent attention has turned toward liquid restaking, most new LRTs are functionally yield wrappers with limited composability. That leaves users in a situation where they must either sacrifice liquidity for returns or forgo yield entirely to participate in DeFi strategies. Blueprint Finance, the team behind the Ethereum-based Concrete protocol, saw an opportunity.…