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.

Fireblocks Integrates With Stacks Bitcoin DeFi

Fireblocks has announced an integration with Stacks that will give institutional clients access to Bitcoin-native decentralized finance. Fireblocks is an enterprise digital asset security and custody platform, while Stacks is a Bitcoin layer-2 network for smart contracts. The integration will allow more than 2,400 Fireblocks clients to deploy Bitcoin capital into DeFi applications built on Stacks using existing institutional workflows for custody, settlement, trading, and payments. The focus is on Bitcoin-denominated products that operate directly with Bitcoin as the settlement layer. Through the integration, institutions will be able to earn Bitcoin-based yield and access BTC-backed lending services across the Stacks…

DeFiFeb 9

AI sets Ethereum 2026 record high price

While Ethereum ($ETH) – which is down 26.44% since New Year’s Day and is, at press time on February 4, changing hands at $2,202 – suffered the biggest drop among the major cryptocurrencies, AI predicts it could hit a remarkable all-time high ($ATH) later in 2026. Making the forecasted upside even more staggering, it is noteworthy that the entire cryptocurrency market erased some $400 billion within less than a week between late January and early February, and other prominent digital assets like Bitcoin ($BTC) and XRP are down a more tame 14% year-to-date (YTD). Indeed, it was the losses and…

EthereumFeb 9

Strive tumbles 12% as reverse stock split stumps investors despite Semler acquisition

Strive (ASST) shareholders have approved the acquisition of Semler Scientific (SMLR), but investors were caught off guard by a one-to-20 reverse stock split announced alongside the deal, sending shares of both companies lower. The all-stock transaction includes the transfer of Semler’s 5,048 $BTC to Strive’s balance sheet. After the merger, the combined company will hold nearly 12,798 Bitcoin, placing it ahead of Tesla (TSLA) and Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) in bitcoin reserves and ranking it 11th among corporate holders. That includes Strive's latest purchase of 123 $BTC for $11.3 million at an average price of $91,561. Strive said…

RegulationFeb 9

Binance SAFU Buys 4,225 BTC, Holdings Reach 10,455 BTC

Binance has moved another large amount of Bitcoin into its SAFU reserve fund. On-chain data shows the fund received 4,225 $BTC. It is worth around $299.6 million. This transfer pushed the total SAFU holdings to around 10,455 $BTC. Which is valued near $734 million at recent prices. The move follows Binance’s earlier plan to shift part of its reserves into Bitcoin. The exchange had announced in late January that it would convert about $1 billion from stablecoins into $BTC over 30 days. The goal was to increase transparency and strengthen its protection fund. Another Major Transfer Into the SAFU Wallet…

ExchangesFeb 9

Bitcoin Hashrate Plunges 10%

According to Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd, approximately 10% of the global hashing power has been turned off in recent days. This is likely to be a direct response to the market downturn that has squeezed profit margins for miners. "Hash power follows price reasonably closely," Todd explained on X (formerly Twitter). A major difficulty drop Recent data shows that there has been a significant "miner capitulation" event over the last 90 days. It has culminated in a sharp drop in difficulty to 125.86 T. On Nov. 11, for comparison, difficulty sat at a local high of 155.97 T. The…

MiningFeb 9

Vitalik Buterin Moves $29 Million Worth of Ethereum—Here's Why

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has moved 14,000 $ETH out of his wallets and has sent $500,000 to his Kanro charity, according to on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. Buterin said last week that he would be withdrawing $44.7 million worth of his own funds to support the Ethereum Foundation as it enters a period of "mild austerity." At the time, he moved the funds from one of his Gnosis wallets to another of his wallets. The $44.7 million transaction was executed on Friday, but the total value of his $ETH holdings didn't materially change until this week when he converted 13,217…

EthereumFeb 9

MicroStrategy director purchases shares after two-year selling period

MicroStrategy director Carl Rickertsen purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, according to a Jan. 12 filing with the SEC. Summary MicroStrategy director Carl Rickertsen purchased 5,000 shares, marking his first insider buy since July 2022 after a period of only selling. The move follows MicroStrategy’s avoidance of MSCI index removal and reflects confidence in the company, which provides leveraged Bitcoin exposure. The stock’s performance remains closely tied to Bitcoin’s price, and the company currently holds 687,410 BTC. The filing indicates Rickertsen made the purchase on an open or private market. According to Insider Screener, the transaction marks his first…

RegulationFeb 9

EU sanction threats over Russia ties loom as Kyrgyzstan amends crypto rules

The authorities in Kyrgyzstan have updated the country’s digital-asset legislation to add specific terms for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins and regulate mining by state-controlled entities. The changes come after recent reports unveiled that the European Union is preparing to up the sanctions pressure on the Central Asia nation. The latter has been accused of helping Russia to circumvent Western restrictions, including through domestic crypto platforms, a locally issued ruble-pegged stablecoin, and its banking system. President takes control over issuing cryptocurrencies in Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov has signed a bill amending the law “On Virtual Assets” to better regulate the country’s…

LegalFeb 9

Coinglass Ignites Perp DEX Data War Amid Hyperliquid Volume Debate

An analysis by Coinglass comparing perpetual decentralized exchange (perp DEX) data has sparked fierce debate and, in the process, highlighted rifts within the crypto derivatives sector. The study exposed marked discrepancies in trading volumes, open interest, and liquidations across Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter. Users are left asking what qualifies as genuine trading activity on these platforms. Coinglass Data Sparks Debate Over Authentic Trading on Perpetual DEXs Coinglass is facing backlash after publishing a comparison of perp DEXs, questioning whether reported trading volumes across parts of the sector reflect genuine market activity. A 24-hour snapshot comparing Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter shows…

ExchangesFeb 9

Bitcoin mining difficulty drops by most since 2021 as miners capitulate

Bitcoin’s $BTC$68,894.78 mining difficulty dropped by around 11%, its largest decline since China’s 2021 crackdown on the industry, after a sharp decline in hashrate triggered by plunging prices and widespread winter storm-related outages in the U.S. Mining difficulty, which determines how hard it is to find new Bitcoin blocks, adjusts roughly every two weeks to maintain a 10-minute block interval on the network. The latest change brought the metric down from over 141.6 trillion to about 125.86 trillion, according to Blockchain.com data, signaling a steep drop in the number of active machines securing the network. The decline follows a series…

MiningFeb 9