Author: NBTC

Law and Ledger is a news segment focusing on crypto legal news, brought to you by Kelman Law – A law firm focused on digital asset commerce. This Week in Crypto Law The opinion editorial below was written by Alex Forehand and Michael Handelsman for Kelman.Law. This week in crypto law reflected a clear shift from experimentation to integration. Courts reinforced federal authority, regulators refined enforcement priorities, and traditional financial institutions moved deeper into digital assets. At the same time, policymakers at both the state and international level continued building more detailed compliance frameworks. Federal Court Blocks Arizona Case Against…

Japan just opened another major door for $SHIB as a potential new listing on Rakuten Wallet will support $SHIB trading vs. JPY. The listing will see $SHIB have over 44 million users utilized in the Rakuten ecosystem. Rakuten Wallet recently announced it will launch Shiba Inu alongside other major assets such as XRP and XLM as both a listed asset and a payment method, meaning users can buy $SHIB directly with Rakuten Points and change their Rakuten Cash into $SHIB to spend it at over five million merchant locations across Japan. Rakuten Pay, an everyday commerce platform in Japan, has…

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty eased this week, declining 2.43% from the prior target and settling at 135.59 trillion. This adjustment comes on the heels of the previous epoch’s 3.87% increase and marks the fifth downward revision recorded this year. Key Takeaways: Bitcoin difficulty fell 2.43% to 135.59T on April 17, 2026, easing mining conditions. Hashrateindex.com shows hashprice up 13.65%, boosting bitcoin miner revenue in the short term. Bitcoin hashrate tops 1 ZH/s; faster blocks suggest a possible difficulty increase by April 30. Bitcoin Network Signals Shift So far, 2026 has seen a total of eight difficulty adjustments, with five registering as…

Mitsui & Co. Digital Commodities (MDC), a subsidiary of Japanese trading giant Mitsui & Co., Ltd., its tokenized gold, silver, and platinum asset, Zipangcoin (ZPG), on OP Mainnet, according to a press release shared with The Defiant. ZPG has been issued under Japan’s regulatory framework since 2022 and currently runs on Miyabi, a proprietary private blockchain developed by longtime crypto exchange bitFlyer. The OP Mainnet deployment marks the first time the asset will be issued in a public blockchain ecosystem. Per the release, Japanese CEX GMO Coin will list ZPG on April 20. MDC’s parent, Mitsui & Co., is a…

Exciting News for WWE Fans: A New Era of Digital Ownership WWE is stepping into the world of blockchain with big plans. They have teamed up with, a new $NFT studio from FOX Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment. Together, they will launch an official for digital WWE collectibles. This multi-year deal is the first time Blockchain Creative Labs works with a brand outside of FOX. Imagine owning a piece of WWE history as a digital token. Fans will soon buy, trade, and store NFTs of iconic moments, superstars, and events like WrestleMania and SummerSlam. This marketplace uses Eluvio’s green blockchain…

Across global markets, Ethereum has emerged as one of the most heavily shorted assets, a positioning that reflects more than simple bearish sentiment. It signals a growing divergence between market expectations and $ETH’s long-term fundamentals, placing the asset at the center of an increasingly complex macro and structural narrative. How Ethereum Short Interest Now Rivals Commodities Like Silver Ethereum is currently one of the most heavily shorted assets in the world, approaching the scale of traditional commodities like Silver. An analyst known as DGMD.6529 on X revealed that over the past 21 months, institutions have reportedly acquired roughly $21 million…

As the countdown continues for the CLARITY Act, a critical bill regulating cryptocurrencies in the US, a notable move has come from the banking sector. According to information shared by journalist Eleanor Terrett, banks, particularly those based in North Carolina, have begun to directly intervene in the debate surrounding stablecoin yields. An email sent by the North Carolina Bankers Association to its member banks revealed serious concerns within the sector regarding the current consensus document. According to the email, shared by an employee of a small Wilmington-based bank, the current stablecoin “yield” regulation falls short of its goal of preventing…

Crypto exchanges have become the primary venues where millions of people and businesses store and transfer digital money. According to industry data, the crypto market is currently seeing roughly $190–$192 billion in 24-hour trading volume. As exchanges expand into multi-asset venues, the security mechanism evolves beyond wallets into identity, permissions, pricing and settlement. Yet, despite growing pressure from regulators, their security is still failing. In 2025, more than $3 billion in crypto assets were stolen, according to industry estimates. Moreover, several single incidents caused losses of over $1 billion each. Were these small or underfunded platforms? No. The largest hacks…

Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) has launched a new stablecoin mint and redeem service in April 2026, allowing institutional clients to convert fiat money into digital dollars and back in real time. The move is aimed at making cross-border payments quicker and more efficient, especially for businesses operating in multiple countries. Singapore Gulf Bank $USDC Mint and Redeem Service on Solana According to the official announcement on the launch date, Singapore Gulf Bank has launched a stablecoin mint and redemption service that allows users to convert US dollars into $USDC at a 1:1 ratio. The service works 24/7, letting users move…

Fresh Coinglass heatmap data suggest Ethereum is again sitting between two sizeable liquidation walls, with leverage stacked just below and above spot. According to the latest read‑out, if $ETH slides below $2,323, cumulative long liquidation intensity on mainstream centralized exchanges would reach around $1.044 billion, while a break above $2,563 would trigger up to $531 million in short liquidations. Coinglass maps new $ETH liquidation corridor Coinglass describes its liquidation heatmaps as tools to “estimate price ranges where large‑scale liquidation events may occur,” aggregating futures and perpetual swap data from venues such as Binance, OKX and Bybit. The platform notes that…