Author: NBTC

NBTC

NBTC is the editorial account for NBTC News, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, exchanges, mining, regulation and digital asset markets. The editorial team focuses on clear sourcing, timely updates and practical context for crypto readers.

DeFi

Lombard Finance Adopts Chainlink Proof of Reserve to Verify LBTC and BTC.b Collateral

By NBTC07/02/2026

Chainlink has revealed that Lombard Finance, a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol that offers Bitcoin-based proof of reserve with a total value locked of over 1.1 billion, has incorporated Chainlink Proof of Reserve on Ethereum. The integration allows on-chain real-time verification of the reserves supporting Lombard LBTC and $BTC.b collateral, contributing to transparency in its BTCFi ecosystem. $1.1B+ TVL BTCFi protocol @Lombard_Finance has integrated Chainlink Proof of Reserve on Ethereum to deliver real-time verification of LBTC and $BTC.b collateral. Just use Chainlink. pic.twitter.com/8aNNnAege6 — Chainlink (@chainlink) February 5, 2026 The upgrade would enable users, developers and DeFi protocols to easily assert…

NFT

Justin Bieber Paid $1.3 Million for a Bored Ape NFT. It's Now Worth $12K

By NBTC07/02/2026

Pop music icon Justin Bieber became one of the most famous members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club when he spent 500 $ETH—or around $1.3 million—in January 2022 for Ethereum-based $NFT, Bored Ape #3001. Bieber’s ape, among the most common in the collection in terms of its visual attributes, is now valued at around $12,000 just four years later as the shine from NFTs and the Yacht Club has largely faded. The value of any artwork can be influenced by a variety of factors, including personal taste, provenance, and even previous ownership; Bieber's history with the $NFT could potentially help…

Regulation

US and Taiwan agree to 15% tariff cap and $500B chip investment deal

By NBTC07/02/2026

Key Takeaways The US and Taiwan have reportedly finalized a trade deal reducing tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20% to 15%, aligning with Japan and South Korea. Taiwanese semiconductor firms will invest $250 billion directly into US operations and offer $250 billion in credit guarantees for supply chain expansion. The United States and Taiwan have reportedly reached a landmark trade agreement aimed at deepening economic ties and accelerating US-based semiconductor manufacturing. According to a Bloomberg report, the White House was set to announce the deal on Thursday, which would lower tariffs on Taiwanese imports from 20% to 15% and unlock…

Exchanges

Paypal Study Highlights Growth of Cryptocurrency Payments in the US

By NBTC07/02/2026

A new study by Paypal and the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) shows that cryptocurrency payments have grown to be more than a footnote in the U.S. According to this study, 4 in every 10 merchants accept crypto, with these alternatives becoming everyday solutions for digital natives. Paypal Study: Crypto Payments Going Mainstream in the U.S. A new study shows cryptocurrency, which has been unable to make a dent in the payments industry, is now more than a footnote in the sector. According to a joint research conducted by payments giant PayPal and the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), cryptocurrency payments have…

Mining

Venezuela's Oil Industry Resurgence May Precede a Flared-Gas Bitcoin Mining Boom

By NBTC07/02/2026

Several local mining experts agree that there is sufficient gas in the country to establish a mobile fleet of bitcoin miners directly adjacent to oil extraction operations. Estimates set the gas lost to flaring operations in the country at 13,000 cubic meters, which could be used to power bitcoin mining farms. Venezuela Might Become a Bitcoin Gas Mining Powerhouse With the recent opening of Venezuela’s oil industry, speculation has surged about the use of flared gas to power bitcoin mining facilities in the country. While the country has 6,000 cubic kilometers of gas, the ninth nation with the most proven…

DeFi

Pieverse and TermMax Partner to Launch AI-Driven Fixed-Rate Yields for Agentic DeFi

By NBTC07/02/2026

The DeFi industry is experiencing fast growth, and Pieverse has partnered with TermMax in order to address this growth. Pieverse’s AI agents will work together with TermMax’s vault system to provide stable and predictable automated transactions. The partnership’s primary objective is to develop a solid foundation for reliable on-chain finance as DeFi and neobanking continue their development. Bridging the Gap Between AI and Stable Yields At the center of this collaboration is TermMax’s fixed-rate yield protocol as it integrates into the Pieverse Agentic Neobank console. Historically, DeFi yields have been extremely unstable and difficult to predict, so autonomous agents dependent…

Regulation

DTCC aiming to make all 1.4 million securities in its custody digitally eligible

By NBTC07/02/2026

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the central plumbing behind U.S. capital markets, says it is preparing to support digital representations of all 1.4 million securities currently held within its custody system, deepening its commitment to tokenization and redefining how far the technology could reach in U.S. capital markets. While DTCC’s tokenization platform — built following its 2023 acquisition of Securrency — has already been publicly disclosed, a new comment from DTCC President of Clearing and Securities Services Brian Steele on Thursday suggests the effort is much broader in scope than previously understood. “Our goal is to eventually enable…

Exchanges

Moscow Exchange plans futures launch for Solana, Ripple and Tron

By NBTC07/02/2026

The Moscow Exchange intends to introduce new cryptocurrency indices and futures based on them, expanding its range of products linked to digital assets. Russia’s largest stock market has been among the pioneers in the country’s growing market for crypto investments since the offering of such instruments was authorized in 2025. Moscow Exchange to pitch more crypto futures to Russian investors Moscow Exchange (MOEX) plans to launch three new crypto indices in 2026, which will track the performance of Solana (SOL), Ripple’s XRP, and Tron (TRX). The platform will offer futures contracts based on these benchmarks, one of its top executives…

Mining

BitRiver Bankruptcy Case Exposes Russia’s Bitcoin mining sector

By NBTC07/02/2026

The biggest Bitcoin mining facility in Russia, BitRiver, has found itself in an expanding legal and financial crisis that is currently throwing new light on underlying structural risks in the industrial crypto-mining sector of the country. The huge amounts of debt, purported tax violations, and the results of being in a market where no regulations have been firmly established have been revealed through bankruptcy monitoring against the company that controls BitRiver, Fox Group LLC, and criminal charges against its founder, Igor Runets. Repeated requests by Infrastructure of Siberia, which is a subsidiary of the energy and metals group En+, petitioned…

DeFi

$70B Surge Signals Stunning DeFi Derivatives Revival

By NBTC07/02/2026

On February 5, 2025, the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape witnessed a monumental shift as daily trading volume on decentralized perpetual futures exchanges, commonly known as Perp DEXs, skyrocketed to a staggering $70 billion. This figure, reported by Wu Blockchain and verified through DefiLlama data, represents the second-highest daily volume on record. Consequently, this surge marks a definitive recovery from the market downturn observed on October 10, 2025, signaling a powerful resurgence in investor activity within the crypto derivatives space. The volume milestone underscores a broader trend of capital migration towards non-custodial, on-chain trading platforms. Analyzing the $70B Perp DEX Daily…