Author: NBTC

NBTC

NBTC is the editorial account for NBTC News, covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, exchanges, mining, regulation and digital asset markets. The editorial team focuses on clear sourcing, timely updates and practical context for crypto readers.

Exchanges

Bullish to Offer Bitcoin Options Trading With Top-Tier Consortium of Trading Partners

By NBTC04/10/2025

Bullish (BLSH), the NYSE-listed digital assets platform focused on institutional investors and parent company of CoinDesk, will tentatively launch crypto options trading from Oct. 8. These bitcoin BTC$118,682.83 options will be margined and settled in the regulated, dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, which boasts a market cap of $73.85 billion at press time, the second-largest in the stablecoin industry. Additionally, they will be European-style options with expiries ranging from three weeks to three months. The contract multiplier will be 1, meaning one contract represents one full BTC. The exchange plans to list options tied to ether, as well as other single assets…

Mining

Difficulty Climbs 5.97% in Third-Biggest Jump of 2025

By NBTC04/10/2025

By the numbers, Bitcoin’s network difficulty climbed 5.97% at block height 917,280, landing it the title of this year’s third-biggest jump. Bitcoin Mining Odds Tighten Finding a block just got a whole lot tougher—network difficulty jumped 5.97%, landing at 150.84 trillion. Think of Bitcoin’s network difficulty like the odds of winning a colossal dice-toss lottery that resets every 10 minutes. Back in January 2009, when difficulty sat at 1, the target was practically wide open—miners needed only a handful of tosses to strike digital gold. The top five mining difficulty increases for 2025. Fast-forward to today: with difficulty at 150.84…

Legal

Alchemy Pay bolsters EU presence with ZBX’s MiCA credentials

By NBTC04/10/2025

Alchemy Pay is navigating Europe’s new MiCA regime by locking down an exclusive partnership with the licensed ZBX Group. The move provides the regulatory clarity needed to deploy its fiat gateway crypto users across the continent, sidestepping a major industry hurdle. Summary Alchemy Pay secured EU market access through an exclusive partnership with MiCA-licensed ZBX Group. The deal establishes a “dual-engine” framework for compliant fiat-crypto ramps across Europe. The move builds on Alchemy Pay’s recent Hong Kong expansion via licensed HTF Securities. According to a press release dated Oct. 2, Alchemy Pay has taken a strategic stake in Malta-based ZBX…

Exchanges

KuCoin Releases Its 35th Proof-of-Reserves Report

By NBTC04/10/2025

KuCoin announced on its official X channel that it has published its 35th Proof-of-Reserves report, continuing its regular practice of transparency on financial performance. As of September 30, 2025, the exchange services reserve a ratio of above 100% of the large cryptocurrencies. According to the published report, Bitcoin is standing at 117%, Ethereum at 107%, USDT at 107%, and USDC at 119%. It is almost three years of the regular reporting of the month by KuCoin since the first report was published in June 2023. Proof-of-Reserves and Its Importance Proof-of-Reserves has become an essential tool that cryptocurrency exchanges use to…

Legal

Shutdown blues slow crypto work

By NBTC04/10/2025

As the US government shutdown enters its second day, the crypto industry is left wondering how the closure will impact pending regulatory matters. Currently in limbo: the crypto market structure bill, the status of GENIUS Act policies, and the timeline for approving certain spot crypto ETFs. Spot crypto ETFs Perhaps the most direct impact the government shutdown is expected to have on the crypto industry is that new spot crypto ETFs will be delayed. The Securities and Exchange Commission said that during the shutdown, staff will not review or approve registration statements or issue notices of effectiveness. An “extremely limited…

Legal

Who is Travis Hill, Trump’s Pro-Crypto Pick for Permanent FDIC Chairman?

By NBTC04/10/2025

US President Donald Trump nominated acting Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) Chairman Travis Hill to lead the banking regulator permanently. Under his acting leadership, Hill has demonstrated an overall crypto-friendly stance. He has a track record of opposing policies he viewed as attempts to debank the industry. Hill Tap Suggests Promise of Lighter Regulation Trump has tapped Hill to permanently lead the FDIC, an independent agency responsible for maintaining the stability of the US financial system and insuring bank deposits. If confirmed by the US Senate, Hill is widely expected to maintain lighter enforcement on banking activities. This scenario will…

Exchanges

BBVA Teams With SGX FX to Launch Retail Crypto Trading in Europe

By NBTC04/10/2025

Spanish bank BBVA has partnered with Singapore’s SGX FX to allow retail customers to trade digital assets directly through its platforms. The integration, marking a first for the European market, the companies said on Thursday, will initially support bitcoin and ether, offering 24/7 trading with the same framework BBVA uses for foreign exchange. SGX has been a digital assets and blockchain tech enthusiast for several years, while BBVA has also been at the forefront among banks when it comes to crypto. SGX FX provides banks with aggregation, pricing, distribution and risk-management tools while maintaining operations across key global data centers…

Legal

White House Weighing Candidates for Multiple CFTC Spots: Former Chairman Giancarlo

By NBTC04/10/2025

Though the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Acting Chairman Caroline Pham has been blazing forward on crypto-friendly policy, even as she has one foot out the door, the White House is working quickly to find a permanent successor after abandoning President Donald Trump's first choice. Trump nominee Brian Quintenz, a former commissioner, was dropped recently, and the administration has since been "hard at work" on announcing a new choice, said former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo, who added that he was at the White House on Wednesday. "The White House felt that they had things in hand; it didn't work out,"…

Exchanges

WalletConnect Joins dtcpay to Accelerate Stablecoin Payments in Asia

By NBTC04/10/2025

WalletConnect, an open-source platform to securely link wallets and dApps, has partnered with dtcpay, a prominent stablecoin payment platform in Asia. The collaboration is aimed at expanding stablecoin payment within the Asian region with the release of WalletConnect Pay. As WalletConnect revealed in its official social media announcement, the partnership endeavors to bridge blockchain-led finance with conventional payment ecosystems. As a result, the development is set to broaden stablecoin payment adoption and accelerate on-chain financial networks across the globe. 1/ Introducing WalletConnect Pay 🌐 In partnership with @dtc_pay, one of Asia’s leading POS providers, seamless stablecoin payments are coming to…

Legal

US Senator Ted Cruz pushes back on bill aimed to stop American doxing

By NBTC04/10/2025

US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has blocked a privacy bill that seeks to protect all Americans from having their personal information exposed by data brokers — arguing that law enforcement needs access to some data and that the bill requires refinement. The Bitcoiner was the only US senator to object to Democrat Senator Ron Wyden’s bill — Senate Bill 2850 — on Wednesday, arguing a lack of data could disrupt efforts to ensure that convicted sex offenders are kept away from children. SB 2850 seeks to stop brokers from exposing personal data Wyden said SB 2850 would seek to…