Author: NBTC

The world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume is adding support for a new liquidity infrastructure project, causing its native asset to skyrocket. In a new announcement, Binance says that on May 2nd, it rolled out support for the decentralized omnichain protocol StakeStone (STO). “Binance is excited to announce the 17th project on the HODLer Airdrops page – StakeStone, a decentralized omnichain liquidity infrastructure protocol designed to transform how liquidity is acquired, distributed, and utilized across blockchain ecosystems.” The HODLer Airdrops program, which launched in June 2024, rewards those holding Binance’s native asset BNB with crypto based on previous snapshots…

Three protocols are vying for dominance of the Ethereum Layer 2 market and its $52 billion worth of so-called decentralized finance (DeFi): Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP), and Base. Bullish investors even see an opportunity for layer 2s to displace some of Ethereum’s $220 billion market cap or even the values of alternate blockchains like Solana or Avalanche. Something of a misnomer, a “layer 2” cheapens and speeds up the transactions of a layer 1 blockchain, yet layer 2s are essentially separate blockchains that publish data onto a base blockchain. Arbitrum and Optimism were the two earliest major competitors, and their…

Crypto market maker DWF Labs is partnering with Mask Network in a $5 million token deal to push decentralized social media into the mainstream. Cryptocurrency market maker and investor DWF Labs has invested $5 million in Mask Network, a decentralized social platform bridging web2 and web3, as part of its push to support user-owned internet technologies. In a Wednesday blog announcement, DWF Labs’ managing partner Andrei Grachev explained that the decision to back Mask Network comes as the project “has consistently demonstrated both vision and execution in this space.” Following the announcement, the price of MASK (MASK) rose 14% to…

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Have you ever wondered why stock trades take days to settle? Have you ever looked at the UX nightmare that is fractional ownership and thought, How in the world is this still the norm? And why is it exactly that your shares must live inside custodial black boxes? These design failures boil down to the fact that the US equity market is fundamentally outdated. It’s trapped inside legacy infrastructure, shackled by intermediaries and probably coded in COBOL. Efforts to modernize the system are usually surface-level. We might…

Crypto exchange Bybit is broadening its scope beyond digital assets as it prepares to launch new trading options, including US equities, commodities, and indices. The exchange, known for its crypto leverage products, aims to introduce these offerings before the end of the current quarter. Trump-Era Pro-Crypto Policies Fuel Bybit’s Move Into Equities On May 3, Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirmed the development during a Livestream event. He noted that users will soon be able to trade instruments such as gold, crude oil, and leading US stocks like Apple and MicroStrategy. These additions significantly shift Bybit’s product strategy and reflect the…

The metrics used to measure outcomes can be misleading when evaluating blockchain performance. As more blockchain networks emerge, the public needs clear, efficiency-focused metrics, rather than exaggerated claims, to differentiate between them. In a conversation with BeInCrypto, Taraxa Co-Founder Steven Pu explained that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to compare blockchain performance accurately because many reported metrics rely on overly optimistic assumptions rather than evidence-based results. To combat this wave of misrepresentation, Pu proposes a new metric, which he calls TPS/$. Why Does the Industry Lack Reliable Benchmarks? The need for clear differentiation is growing with the increasing number of Layer-1…

A widely followed crypto analyst and trader is forecasting that Bitcoin (BTC) will start outperforming gold. In a new video update, the host of InvestAnswers tells his 565,000 YouTube subscribers that the top crypto asset by market cap should outpace gold over the coming months, as he says the precious metal looks overextended following its parabolic rally to $3,500. “If you look at the steady correlation between Bitcoin and Nasdaq, it is extremely tight because Bitcoin is considered a risk asset, [while] gold is considered a risk-off asset. But here, if you look at the Bitcoin/gold correlation, it fluctuates very…

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its PCE and GDP reports for Q1 2025 today. Although inflation was less than expected, US GDP shrank before the tariffs took effect, encouraging fears of a recession. Despite this discouraging signal, Bitcoin has held up rather well, even hitting a new all-time high in Argentina. This lends credence to the notion that BTC is a safe haven from economic chaos. Trump’s Tariffs May Cause Recession The global economy is extremely complicated, full of signals that seemingly contradict each other. Since Trump’s tariff plan began taking effect, fears of a US recession…

The IRS lost two key directors working on crypto initiatives, Seth Wilks and Raj Mukherjee, on Friday after they accepted deferred resignation offers directed by the Department of Government Efficiency. Wilks and Mukherjee, who both went to the IRS from the crypto industry, are technically still employees with the IRS for the next few months but they are on paid administrative leave as of Friday afternoon, two people familiar with the situation told CoinDesk. President Donald Trump’s administration, through DOGE, offered deferred resignations to a wide array of federal employees earlier this year. Wilks, who was previously a vice president…

TOX, a well-known Web3 traffic entity focused on improving the value generation and dissemination models, has announced its exclusive collaboration with Kaanch Network, an emerging platform dealing with blockchain infrastructure. The partnership aims to enhance the advancement in the decentralized applications (dApps) to provide more value. The platform took to its official account on social media to reveal this partnership. 🚀 Excited to announce our partnership with @KaanchNetwork!Kaanch Network is redefining blockchain technology with a seamless, secure, and scalable infrastructure that empowers developers and businesses to build, deploy, and scale decentralized applications effortlessly.… pic.twitter.com/sZ8agrAeKh — TOX (@SocialTox) May 2, 2025…