Author: NBTC
Cryptocurrencies are often primarily seen as an investment vehicle. This is not wrong but it would also be inaccurate to say that crypto is only an asset class for trading and holding for the long term. 2025 taught us that cryptocurrencies, via stablecoins, transitioned into a full fledged payment settlements rail. For everyday transactions, crypto is increasingly being used not just to invest, but to spend. The easiest method to off ramp crypto into a local currency and spend today is through crypto cards. These are debit cards that bridge crypto wallets, exchanges and traditional payment networks like Visa and…
UAE-regulated, AI and Blockchain-powered digital bank Zand becomes the first Bank in the Middle East to achieve ISO certification for Information Security Management Systems (ISO 27001) and for Privacy Information Management Systems (ISO 27701). In terms of significance, Zand Bank is now the first bank in the MENA region to meet these internationally recognized standards for Web3 services, which include digital asset custody, smart contract management, and bridging TradFi and DeFi. As per the press release, this achievement reflects Zand’s alignment with, and continuous commitment to, implementing and reinforcing best practices to protect data and scale security. Zand Bank builds…
A French tax agent who used company software to track down crypto specialists, prison guards and French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, before passing details onto criminals, has had her appeal rejected. Ghalia C. was arrested in June last year and charged with criminal conspiracy and aiding a violent attack against a prison officer. The 32-year-old admitted to passing on information she’d obtained to three men who later attacked the prison officer and his wife in their home. The men were reportedly paid €800 ($932) to settle a dispute that arose from the discovery of mobile phones in a prison cell. Ghalia,…
A judge in a Mumbai court has summoned Indian investor and entrepreneur Raj Kundra over alleged links with a cryptocurrency scam. The Enforcement Directorate believes the entrepreneur was involved in the GainBitcoin cryptocurrency scam and claims he received 285 Bitcoins as proceeds for the crime. Mumbai’s Special Court has summoned Indian businessman Raj Kundra for his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency ponzi scheme. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named him, and another accused, Dubai-based businessman Rajesh Ram Satija, for offenses under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Kundra receives 285 Bitcoins, allegedly drawn from defrauded investors According to a local…
Key Takeaways Crypto.com Exchange has become the first exchange to go live on Lynq. The integration facilitates 24/7 collateral movement for institutional clients, enhancing operational efficiency. Crypto.com has integrated with Lynq, allowing clients to post collateral through Lynq’s real-time, interest-bearing settlement network, according to a Wednesday announcement. The integration offers institutional clients of Crypto.com Exchange seamless funding of accounts, enhancing liquidity management and trading efficiency. Early adopters like Aquanow, DV Chain, GSR, Nonco, and Wintermute immediately utilized this service. Lynq CEO Jerald David said in a statement that the launch underscores the importance of exchange connectivity for delivering efficient, institutional-grade…
Tilray stock price continued its recent rally, reaching its highest point since October 20, ahead of the potential cannabis reclassification executive order by President Donald Trump. Summary Tilray Brands stock price rallied as Trump prepared to sign an executive order on cannabis reclassification. That reclassification will move cannabis from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 3. While the stock may keep rising, it faces more headwinds in the near term. Tilray Brands (TLRY), a leading company in the Cannabis industry, reached a high of $15.71. This surge brought its valuation to over $1.7 billion. As of the last check, it…
The US Supreme Court did not issue a ruling today in a critical case testing the legality of the comprehensive tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed globally. The court issued a ruling on only one criminal case that day. The Supreme Court does not announce in advance which cases will be decided. The case is seen as a crucial turning point, testing the limits of Trump’s broad claims to power, which he aims to assert by January 2025 upon his return to office, and the extent to which the Supreme Court is willing to block them. The outcome of the…
Flare Network has launched the first-ever spot access to Ripple (XRP) on its platform by listing FXRP for trading on the Hyperliquid exchange. The market, launched with the FXRP/USDC pair, added a spot dimension to XRP transactions on Hyperliquid, which were previously limited to perpetual futures contracts. Until now, XRP trading on Hyperliquid has not been offered in spot form due to infrastructure limitations. Dhruv Shah, a DeFi analyst at Flare, stated that the primary reason for this is that XRP, like Bitcoin, is not compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Therefore, he argued, on-chain platforms often prefer “wrapped”…
A new Federal Reserve discussion paper finds that the US dollar’s role in global bond markets has risen and fallen in cycles over the past six decades, with no clear long-term trend toward either greater dollar dominance or de-dollarization. Using the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) international debt securities database, the authors identify three distinct “dollarization waves” since the 1960s, showing that shifts in currency use have followed cyclical patterns rather than a steady structural change in global financing. “We find no monotonic dollarization or de-dollarization trend; instead, the dollar’s share exhibits a wavelike pattern,” the paper says. The most…
The passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, also known as the CLARITY market structure bill, hinges on bipartisan support in the United States Senate Banking Committee, according to Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto investment firm Galaxy. Typically, the Senate needs at least 60 votes to advance legislation, and Republicans need seven to 10 Democrats to vote yes on the CLARITY Act, Thorn said on Friday.If Republicans can secure four votes from Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, it is “likely” that all 17 Democratic senators who voted for the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin regulatory…