Author: NBTC

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. The Solana Foundation is tightening its leash on the validators receiving its stake. The Solana Foundation now says that for every new validator added to the Solana Foundation Delegation Program, it will remove three long-standing ones with under 1,000 SOL in external stake. The goal: have fewer validators relying on foundation stake and more earning authentic backing from the community. Blockworks Research data lead Dan Smith estimated that at current staking levels, around 150 Solana validators would lose their foundation stake under the new rule. The Solana…

California Assembly Bill 1052, or the “Digital Assets Bill” (formerly the Money Transmission Act), passed a Committee vote with bipartisan support on April 21. It was introduced by Assembly Member and Democrat Avelino Valencia in February and amended at the end of March. It aims to protect cryptocurrency users and investors by supporting their right to self-custody their digital assets. A BILL IN CALIFORNIA TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO SELF-CUSTODY AND ENGAGE IN PEER-TO-PEER TRANSACTIONS PASSES OUT OF COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY WITH BI-PARTISAN SUPPORT! Thank you to Chair @AsmValencia for your leadership and for the opportunity to sponsor and testify in…

Digital bank Revolut’s profits surpassed 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion) in 2024, thanks in part to a big jump in revenue from cryptocurrency trading. The London-based fintech group’s wealth revenue increased 298% from 127,139 pounds to just over 500 million pounds in the full year 2024. Revolut’s wealth business includes cryptocurrency, commodities, trading, and savings products. Revolut also surpassed 50 million customers for the first time in 2024, with many of them possibly keen to dip their toe into cryptocurrency trading as the market boomed. Bitcoin (BTC) increased in price by over 120% during the calendar year, which was bookended…

Crypto analyst Daniel has revealed that the Bitcoin price has confirmed its imminent breakout to $106,000. He explained how the technicals and fundamentals support this bullish prediction and currently align for this BTC rally to the $106,000 target. Analyst Predicts Bitcoin Price Breakout To $106,000 In a TradingView post, Daniel stated that the Bitcoin price now appears poised to reach the next significant resistance zone around $106,000, which also aligns with a big resistance level. The analyst noted that the market is now following through with a solid bullish impulse, pushing past intermediate resistance and confirming the continuation of the…

Jay Clayton, Trump’s next pick for the SDNY’s US Attorney, originally filed the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple. Clayton promised to end crypto crackdowns at the SDNY but personally started one of the most notorious incidents. Trump is also planning to use a procedural loophole to avoid a messy confirmation process, which Senator Chuck Schumer swore to block. This incident raises questions about the quality of crypto’s new political allies. Jay Clayton and the Ripple Lawsuit President Trump has sworn to promulgate friendlier crypto regulations, and part of that has been directing prosecutors to end enforcement actions. He originally tapped Jay…

South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit announced today that Synthetix (SNX) has been designated as an “investment alert asset” by the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), citing the failure of its sUSD stablecoin to maintain its peg to the US dollar and increasing volatility in the SNX token. Upbit Marks SNX as Investment Warning Asset Amid sUSD Drop and Volatility As a result of this classification, Upbit will suspend SNX deposits starting at 15:00 UT on April 24. The decision follows ongoing instability surrounding sUSD, a stablecoin that is an integral part of the Synthetix protocol and has struggled to…

Coinbase (COIN) has established the industry’s most scaled crypto trading platform with a domestic market share of around 66%, broker Benchmark said in a report Wednesday, while also initiating coverage of the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage of Coinbase with a buy rating and a $252 price target. The shares were over 4% higher at around $198 in early trading. The crypto exchange offers a “comprehensive suite of products and services aimed at facilitating the adoption and use of digital assets by both retail and institutional investors,” analyst Mark Palmer wrote. The broker noted that the stock has almost halved since…

As became known thanks to CoinPost, popular cryptocurrency XRP is now available for trading on Mercoin, the crypto platform operated by Mercari, Japan’s largest resale marketplace. The listing gives over 20 million monthly active users, according to Emi Yoshikawa, direct access to XRP using existing balances, points or bank transfers — starting from as little as 1 JPY. Mercoin began offering Bitcoin in March 2023 and added Ethereum in May 2024. In just under two years, the platform reached more than three million users, with roughly 90% being first-time cryptocurrency traders. The addition of XRP makes it the third supported…

Bitcoin (BTC) is up nearly 12% over the past seven days, gaining momentum as it reclaims key technical levels and approaches major resistance zones. The recent price surge has been supported by a slight recovery in the number of Bitcoin whale addresses, hinting at renewed accumulation from large holders. Technical indicators like the Ichimoku Cloud and EMA lines point to a strong uptrend, with bullish formations suggesting continued buyer control. As BTC flirts with the $100,000 mark again, whale activity and chart signals will determine whether this rally has more room to run. Subtle Accumulation: What the Rise in BTC…

Grayscale announced that the Decentralized AI Fund is now open to accredited investors. The fund has a management fee of 2.5% and manages approximately $1.05 million in assets. According to Grayscale’s official website, its current holdings include NEAR (24.54%), TAO (27.18%), RENDER (22.75%), FIL (17.26%), GRT (8.27%), and LPT. Grayscale said that Render and Livepeer will contribute to the infrastructure, offering decentralized GPU computing and AI-enhanced video streaming, respectively. Near Protocol and Filecoin will provide the fund with decentralized storage solutions, while Bittensor will focus on creating a marketplace for training and developing AI models, supporting decentralized AI services and…