Author: NBTC

General Updates Neo N3 T5 TestNet was upgraded to Neo-CLI v3.10.0 on June 12, and is planned for MainNet on June 26. It introduces groundwork for the upcoming Gorgon hard fork alongside new developer tools, wallet enhancements, and an official Docker image for simplified node deployment. Neo X TestNet was upgraded to v0.6.0 “Rarefaction,” which introduced support for Ethereum’s Osaka fork, a rebased Geth v1.16.9 foundation, and the new BEACON/2 P2P protocol for improved network synchronization. The release is fully compatible with Neo X v0.5.3 and continues the chain’s pattern of tracking upstream Ethereum execution-layer changes. Neo X is built…

How the markets repriced the Maine Senate race Traders on Kalshi drove the odds of Platner dropping out before July 14 to an all-time high of 82% on Monday, up from single digits earlier in the day, according to the platform’s own data desk. Contracts covering a later horizon price his exit even higher – around 97% by July 17 and July 31 – reflecting near-certainty that his candidacy does not survive the month, even as the immediate deadline outcome remains less than certain. Under Maine law, July 13 is the deadline for Platner to withdraw and be replaced on…

The stablecoin market has a new heavyweight challenger, and it is not arriving as a single issuer trying to outmuscle Tether or Circle alone. Open Standard has introduced Open USD, a dollar-backed stablecoin effort backed by more than 140 businesses across payments, fintech, crypto, and broader financial infrastructure. That makes the story bigger than another ticker. It turns stablecoin competition into a distribution fight. TL;DR Open Standard says Open USD is designed for the internet economy, with more than 140 businesses signed up around the project. The model is built around low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible stablecoin usage, with economics intended…

Bitcoin was described as a “Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” in Satoshi’s whitepaper, one that “would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” Despite this clear core proposition, over the years many competing narratives have come to the fore. Perhaps the strongest being ‘digital gold’: don’t spend $BTC, save it and watch your investment grow. Admittedly, this proposition reflects an understanding of Bitcoin’s status as sound money: as a commodity whose supply is strictly limited, whose network cannot be censored or shut down, and whose power is decentralized. However, interacting…

Aave Labs, the organization behind the largest decentralized lending platform Aave AAVE$90.43, is rolling out vaults to help fintech companies offer yield on stablecoins without requiring users to interact directly with crypto rails. The new Stable Vaults let wallets, exchanges and payment providers embed stablecoin earning through a single connection. Behind the scenes, the vaults allocate deposits across approved decentralized finance (DeFi) lending strategies while the customer continues using a familiar app interface. “Stable Vaults make predictable stablecoin earning simple to plug into any fintech application,” Aave founder Stani Kulechov said in a statement. The move comes as stablecoins has…

Vitalik Buterin says almost every major piece of Ethereum will be replaced over the next three to four years: the cryptography, the execution engine, the storage model, the verification itself. The plan lands with ether down 60 percent from its peak and the Foundation fresh off cutting a fifth of its staff. This is the most ambitious bet in crypto, made from the weakest position Ethereum has occupied in years. On July 4, while American markets slept, Vitalik Buterin published a post that would have dominated a bull-market news cycle for a month. Ethereum, he wrote, is preparing its third…

AI stocks now make up about 40% of the U.S. stock market, according to Bravos Research, a level similar to concentrations seen before the 2000 Dot-Com crash and the 1929 market downturn. The firm said the U.S. technology index has nearly doubled over the past 12 months. Over the last 26 years, similar gains occurred only during the Dot-Com boom in 2000 and the technology rally of 2021. AI Stock Valuations Mirror Previous Technology Boom Cycles Bravos said the current concentration in AI-related stocks resembles previous periods when investors heavily favored emerging technologies. Internet companies led markets in 2000, while…

Ripple’s native stablecoin, $RLUSD, has officially become the tenth largest stablecoin in the world as sentiment across the broader crypto market turns bullish. This is coming amid a sudden flip in market sentiment as leading crypto assets and stablecoins show notable growth after several months of extreme weakness. $RLUSD hits new milestone According to data from SosoValue, $RLUSD has reached over $1.64 billion in market capitalization for the first time in just about a year after it launched. Following a significant surge of over 72% in its trading volume over the last 24 hours, $RLUSD has achieved a new milestone…

A federal judge in New York has ruled against prediction market platform Kalshi, denying its request to block the state from enforcing its gambling laws on the company’s sports betting offerings. The decision marks a significant moment in the ongoing legal battle over how prediction markets should be regulated in the United States. Court Ruling Details Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that New York’s application of its gambling laws to sports betting does not conflict with the federal Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). As a result, Kalshi’s request for a…

The South Korean exchange market has long been a fortress dominated by Upbit, but a new shareholder pact is set to test the structure. OKX Ventures, the investment arm of OKX, has acquired a 20% stake in Coinone, making it a joint third-largest shareholder, according to a local media report. The move hands Coinone access to OKX’s matching engine, custody technology, and wallet systems, all of which will be integrated into the platform to strengthen its trading infrastructure, compliance posture, and appeal to institutional clients. Coinone has struggled to gain material market share against Upbit, which commands more than 80%…