Author: NBTC

Big news shaking up the crypto world! The ICON Foundation, a long-standing player in the blockchain space, has just dropped a major announcement that signals a dramatic shift for the project. Get ready to say goodbye to ICON as you know it, and hello to Soda Xchange! This isn’t just a simple name change. It’s a comprehensive rebranding coupled with a fundamental infrastructure migration. The project is set to transition its core hub chain from the existing ICON blockchain to a brand-new network called Sonic blockchain. This move is poised to redefine the project’s capabilities and strategic direction. Why the…

Kazakhstan is pushing forward with plans to modernize its energy system through digital mining and expand crypto trading beyond the Astana International Financial Centre economic zone. In an op-ed published in Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Kanysh Tuleushin, First Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, outlined the government’s strategy to use digital mining to upgrade the country’s energy infrastructure and improve efficiency. Under a proposed “70/30” model, foreign investors would fund upgrades to thermal power stations, with 70% of the new energy output directed to the national grid and 30% allocated for mining operations. Tuleushin noted that this model mirrors…

Bitcoin has moved closer to the $106,000 mark, prompting fresh attention from analysts at institutional research firm 10x Research, who predict further upside. According to market data, Bitcoin is trading at $104,272, showing a marginal 1.29% decline in the past 24 hours. This drop comes after Bitcoin soared to $105,706, closing in on the $106,000 milestone. Despite the drop, it remains up 10.47% over the last seven days. While price fluctuations remain steady, research platform 10x Research reports that the recent rally may only be the beginning of a broader trend. Breakout Above $84,500 Marked the Turn in Sentiment 10x…

Recent data shared by cryptocurrency analysis platform Nansen has revealed user mobility on public blockchains. According to the 7-day active address count, Solana continues to lead by a wide margin with over 24 million addresses, followed by Tron, Base, BNB Chain and Aptos. Here are the blockchains and numbers with the most active addresses in the last 7 days: Solana – 24,215,077 Tron – 5,851,957 Base – 5,420,215 BNB Chain – 5,243,621 Aptos – 4,889,094 Ethereum – 1,874,615 Polygon – 1,837,339 Sei v2 – 1,088,095 Arbitrum – 1,032,622 Ronin – 532,290 Optimism – 493,944 Sonic – 360,666 Unichain – 327,753…

Bitfarms, one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies, has suspended all operations at its mining facility in Argentina. The shutdown follows a notice from its electricity supplier, Generación Mediterránea S.A. (GMSA), which informed the company that it would halt power indefinitely, effective May 12. The affected Río Cuarto site contributes approximately 13% of Bitfarms’ total mining capacity. As disclosed in its Q1 2025 MD&A report, GMSA is undergoing a financial restructuring process and has appointed advisors to manage its debt negotiations. Initially, the supplier had assured Bitfarms it could continue operations at the site. However, the sudden change…

XRP, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is attracting growing interest from institutional and retail investors in 2025. Ripple’s recently published Q1 2025 XRP Markets Report offers deeper insight into the altcoin’s performance. The report reveals a striking contrast: spot trading volumes surged, while on-chain activity on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) declined significantly. Spot Volume and Investment Flows into XRP Rise Sharply According to the report, XRP’s spot trading volume remained steady in Q1 2025, with the average daily volume reaching $3.2 billion across major exchanges. Notably, trading volume spiked at the end of January and early February. It peaked…

Nebraska’s state legislature just unanimously passed a bill that slightly restricts Bitcoin mining. It doesn’t impose any serious limits, but introduces new requirements, handicaps, and added costs to mining firms. The bill isn’t a big setback, but the unanimous vote is still noteworthy. Marathon is the only mining firm with significant operations in the state, and its reaction to these events could prove insightful. Nebraska to Restrict Bitcoin Mining Crypto regulation is sweeping all across America, as President Trump has made it a hot-button issue at both the state and federal levels. Generally, the Republican Party is more pro-crypto, but…

In a recent episode of the Empire podcast, Jeff Dorman, CIO of Arca, broke down on how to evaluate the true value of crypto assets. According to Dorman, there are three kinds of value: financial, utility, and social. Financial value comes from real revenues or cash flows. Utility value comes from how useful a token is, and Social value comes from community support. The best crypto projects should have all three, but having one or two can still be valuable. Jeff explained that even if something only has financial or utility value, it still holds some worth. But if it…

After the Royal Government of Bhutan quietly rearranged portions of its bitcoin holdings—holding 7,486 BTC on May 2—some 4,576 BTC has since returned to its reserves, bringing the kingdom’s total stash to 12,062 BTC ten days later. Meanwhile, North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been actively trimming its holdings, falling below Bhutan in the hierarchy of nation-state bitcoin reserves. Bitcoin Nation-State Rankings Shift as North Korea Slips Roughly 57 days ago, North Korea ranked as the third-largest sovereign bitcoin holder. On March 16, Kim Jong Un’s Lazarus Group—an infamous hacking unit tied to the regime—held 13,562 BTC. Since then, the hacking…

Crypto artist Emily Yang, known online as pplpleasr, hasn’t given up on her plans to make blockchain-powered filmmaking happen. Her streaming and crowdfunding startup Shibuya — which raised $6.9 million back in 2022 and counts a16z and Variant Fund among its investors — launched this week. Shibuya is hosting five pilots as part of its “Season One” and will ultimately let viewers decide if they want to further fund those projects with fiat currency donations that go entirely to the filmmakers (and supporters get refunds if the target amounts aren’t reached). While Shibuya’s site doesn’t mention crypto, it’s in the…