Author: NBTC

The petrodollar arrangement that has underpinned global finance for decades is under more pressure than at any point in recent memory, and the Iran war is accelerating a shift that experts say began years earlier. Gulf nations are openly questioning whether Washington’s security guarantees extend to them or exclusively to Israel. The UAE has left OPEC. And Iran is now reportedly charging tolls to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, demanding payment in cryptocurrency rather than dollars. The Financial Times reported that Iran initially sought $2 million per vessel, with a more recent figure of $1 per barrel of oil,…

A New York man and two corporate entities have filed a massive lawsuit against 39,069 individual digital wallets. The plaintiffs want to be recognized as the legal owners of the wallets and the millions of dollars in cryptocurrency contained within them. The lawsuit, which was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, targets “John Does 1-39,069”. The “finder” and the algorithm According to the first amended complaint, the mystery began in the fall of 2024 when plaintiff Noah Doe “identified a security issue with digital wallets resulting in owners losing their ability to withdraw the contents…

Charles Schwab has taken a major step into the digital asset derivatives market by launching round-the-clock trading for select cryptocurrency futures on its popular thinkorswim platform. This expansion introduces continuous trading capabilities for some of the largest digital assets, bringing mainstream institutional access to the crypto ecosystem. The update confirms that select cryptocurrency futures, specifically Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRO, are now available for clients to trade nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week across all thinkorswim platforms. A timeline of Schwab’s foray into crypto Charles Schwab’s integration of cryptocurrency products has been a steady, phased process. In…

DGrid AI, a decentralized AI architecture firm, has joined ChainGPT, an AI-led Web3 infrastructure entity, and AIVM, a decentralized AI accountability layer. The partnership is poised to strengthen the infrastructure needed for independent AI models in the Web3 sector. As per DGrid AI’s official press release, the joint effort brings complementary functionalities that connect decentralized intelligence with trusted execution on-chain. So, this alignment highlights the requirement for suitable infrastructure that turns intelligence into resilient action. 🤝 Thrilled to collaborate with @Chain_GPT and @AIVM_Network.With AIVM advancing Policy Oracle, TEE, KYA, and the infrastructure for autonomous on-chain agents, and ChainGPT expanding the…

Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham (ARKM) reported on X that 500 Bitcoin ($BTC) associated with Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins, a Dublin native, has been moved after remaining dormant for approximately ten years. The transaction marks the second significant movement of funds from Collins’ known addresses this year, following a similar transfer of 500 $BTC in March. Background of the Case Clifton Collins originally accumulated roughly 6,000 $BTC between 2011 and 2012, primarily from proceeds related to the cultivation and sale of marijuana. He stored the cryptocurrency across 12 separate addresses. Following his arrest in 2017, the funds were widely believed…

Ripple joined the Prime Unicorn Index alongside OpenAI, SpaceX, Databricks and Stripe, as the only blockchain infrastructure company among the top ten. The company participated in a pilot with Mastercard, Ondo Finance and JPMorgan Chase to test a tokenized Treasury redemption flow on the $XRP Ledger. Ripple is currently running a $25 million education program in the United States. Ripple joined the Prime Unicorn Index and was positioned alongside OpenAI, SpaceX, Databricks and Stripe, companies that define the direction of artificial intelligence, space exploration, data systems and payment systems. It is the only blockchain infrastructure company among the top ten…

An unknown $XRP whale, who controls large amounts of the token, is bringing renewed attention to the $XRP distribution table. Notably, this unidentified whale is making the rounds for its large yet quiet $XRP holdings. Currently, it sits in the second position in the $XRP distribution table, just below Bithumb by a small margin. Key Points An unidentified whale is making the rounds for its large yet quiet $XRP holdings. This wallet was activated with 10 $XRP on December 1, 2024, by the address “rLD5k3.” The whale, “rJ9Ey7H,” holds 1.80 billion $XRP, accounting for 1.8% of the asset’s maximum supply…

President Donald Trump’s recent public support for giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exclusive authority over prediction markets is unlikely to alter the trajectory of the ongoing legal battle, according to a new analysis from TD Cowen. The report, cited by The Block, suggests that the jurisdictional fight over prediction markets and sports betting is more likely to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court than by executive preference. Background of the dispute The legal conflict centers on which federal or state agency holds the primary authority to regulate prediction markets, which allow users to bet on the outcomes…

Digital trading platform Moomoo said Thursday it had partnered with prediction market operator Kalshi to bring CFTC-regulated event contracts to eligible users, allowing them to trade on the outcomes of major economic, political and cultural events directly through the brokerage’s platform. The offering gives users access to contracts linked to events such as Federal Reserve interest-rate decisions, inflation data releases, elections and the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the New York-based company said in a press release. Event contracts are exchange-listed derivatives that allow traders to take positions on whether a specific outcome will occur. Prices range from $0.01 to $1…

Aster Chain is a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain designed for on-chain derivatives trading. Its mainnet launched in March 2026, giving the Aster perpetual exchange its own independent infrastructure after years of operating on $BNB Chain. The protocol uses zero-knowledge (ZK) encryption and a Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) model so that traders can open high-leverage positions without broadcasting their order details to other market participants. What Is Aster and Where Did It Come From? Aster was formed in late 2024 through the merger of two separate DeFi projects: Astherus, a yield and liquidity protocol, and APX Finance, a decentralized perpetual…