Author: NBTC

Enterprise blockchain firm Ripple has made its mark on the Las Vegas skyline, kicking off a major week for the digital asset ecosystem with a towering new advertisement. On Monday morning, Ripple’s official X account posted a striking photo of a massive digital billboard decorating the side of a prominent Las Vegas Strip resort. The colossal ad features the phrase “RAISE THE STANDARD” positioned directly above the $XRP ticker. Good morning, Las Vegas! 🌄Great week ahead for crypto and $XRP. Glad we could add to the skyline. pic.twitter.com/CSFwxwjjbD — Ripple (@Ripple) April 27, 2026 The high-profile advertising campaign arrives just…

Adam Iza, a 25-year-old California cryptocurrency businessman known as “The Godfather,” pleaded guilty on Monday, June 1, to orchestrating an attempted kidnapping of a Connecticut couple. Apparently, the son of the couple had stolen 4,100 Bitcoin worth roughly $245 million, leading to the kidnapping. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, federal prosecutors are asking for at least 14 years in prison when Iza is sentenced on August 12. From nightclub beef to violent abduction The story starts with a fight at a Miami nightclub in mid-2024 between Veer Chetal and James Schwab, an alleged co-conspirator…

Justin Sun’s made-up micronation Liberland has fired its secretary of technology after he allegedly blocked President Vít Jedlička from voting and centralised control of the country’s blockchain. That’s according to a “congress resolution” published by Liberland today. As part of the resolution, Dorian Stern Vukotić was removed from the country’s blockchain-based congress and accused of “gross misconduct, abuse of power, and breach of trust.” Specifically, it claims that in November 2024, Vukotić removed multisig protections from the Sudo account, which grants administrative powers, and in turn “unlawfully centralized control of the Liberland Blockchain.” In October 2025, he allegedly tried to…

Bitcoin futures open interest across all exchanges reached $61.9 billion on Thursday, as traders positioned on both sides of a market sitting at $81,500 per coin at 3 p.m. ET. Options data from Deribit, OKX, and Binance point to $80,000 as the level where the most contracts expire worthless, a figure worth watching heading into several near-term expirations. Key Takeaways: Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) hit $61.9B across all exchanges on May 14, with Binance holding 19.05% market share. CME’s put-heavy options book signals institutional hedging, as calls lead 57% to 43% on Deribit and OKX volume. Deribit’s June 26…

A highly successful anonymous trader on the Hyperliquid derivatives exchange, known for maintaining a win rate exceeding 90%, is currently facing an unrealized loss of over $140,000 on a large short position against Ethereum ($ETH). The position, valued at $29.36 million, was opened after a sharp price surge in $ETH. Details of the Trade According to on-chain analytics firm EmberCN, the whale opened a short position of 17,000 $ETH at an entry price of $1,717.8. The trade was initiated following a notable increase in $ETH’s price, likely anticipating a pullback. However, the market has moved against the position, resulting in…

Solana-linked equities drew fresh attention after Solana Company (NASDAQ: HSDT) unveiled an $8 million capital raise aimed at expanding its token treasury. The move comes as $SOL prices soften, yet institutional interest continues to build. Investors now weigh short-term weakness against long-term accumulation strategies, especially as more public firms align balance sheets with digital assets. Strategic Capital Raise Targets $SOL Accumulation Solana Company priced over 3 million Class A shares at $2.60 each in a registered direct offering. The deal attracted Mirae Asset and HashKey Capital, signaling continued institutional appetite for crypto exposure. According to the press release, the firm…

Nine Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have called on the Federal Trade Commission to launch a probe into how prediction markets are advertising to customers compared to how they present themselves to regulators. In a statement on Wednesday, US Representatives Kevin Mullin and Gabe Vasquez said the FTC should investigate whether online prediction market platforms are misleading customers by advertising as gambling platforms while telling regulators they are financial tools offering investment products. Prediction markets allow users to trade contracts on the outcome of future events. They have also been facing scrutiny over insider trading, with Congress…

Wirex has joined Visa’s Agentic Ready programme to help test how artificial intelligence agents can initiate and complete payments using stablecoins. According to an announcement from Wirex, the company will participate as an issuer in Visa’s new initiative, which is focused on developing payment systems that allow software agents to carry out financial transactions on behalf of users while maintaining security and consumer controls. 1/ AI agents are starting to take on real financial tasks, and payments need a trusted framework to support them.Wirex has joined the @Visa Agentic Ready programme to explore secure, scalable agent-initiated payments with clear consent…

Google blocked or removed 8.3 billion ads in 2025 and suspended 24.9 million advertiser accounts, with 602 million of those ads tied directly to scams. Those numbers show that the volume of fraudulent material attempting to reach users has grown large enough to require an AI system operating at an industrial scale to contain it. Gemini now analyzes hundreds of billions of signals in real time, such as account age, behavioral cues, and campaign patterns, catching over 99% of policy-violating ads before they run. The fraction that cleared that filter still reached users across one of the world’s largest ad…

Ethereum price started a fresh increase and remained stable above $1,680. $ETH is now correcting gains and might continue higher if it clears $1,750. Ethereum started a decent upward move above the $1,620 resistance. The price is trading above $1,680 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a bullish trend line forming with support at $1,665 on the hourly chart of $ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could continue to move up if it stays above the $1,650 zone. Ethereum Price Aims for More Upside Ethereum price managed to stay above the $1,600 support and started a fresh…