Author: NBTC

In brief Stripe finalized an agreement to acquire OpenRouter for more than $7 billion. OpenRouter routes traffic from around 8 million developers to more than 400 AI models and takes about 5% on the inference spend passing through it. Stripe already processed OpenRouter’s payments, so the deal folds AI metering and AI billing into a single pipeline it owns end to end. Stripe has finalized an agreement to buy OpenRouter for more than $7 billion, according to Bloomberg, three months after the AI routing startup raised $113 million at a reported $1.3 billion valuation. The Wall Street Journal reported talks…

Long-time SHIB community member and Shiba Eternity advisor, Mazrael, has responded to fresh speculation of a Shiba Inu project restart, dismissing such claims as false. An X user, RuggRat, claimed that “Shiba Inu isn’t just changing direction, it may be starting over,” sharing details of a proposal discussed during a community space, which he stated could mark a complete departure from the previous Shiba Inu roadmap. The goal of the proposal, according to the X user, was to remove the rebuilt ecosystem from anything still controlled by the former leadership. This could mean moving away from the existing infrastructure, migrating…

U.S. Senator Tim Scott revealed at the SALT Conference that significant disagreements remain among lawmakers over the CLARITY Act, specifically concerning President Donald Trump’s crypto-related business interests and the contentious issue of stablecoin rewards. Scott indicated that resolving the stablecoin rewards question will require another round of intense coordination, signaling that the path to final legislation remains uncertain. Ongoing Disputes Over Conflict of Interest and Stablecoin Yields The CLARITY Act, formally known as the Crypto Leaders Act Requiring Inclusive Transparency and Yield, has been a focal point for establishing a federal framework for digital assets. However, Senator Scott’s comments highlight…

Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, announced on Aug. 28 that it had formed a strategic partnership with Visa to explore stablecoin payments, international remittances and AI-driven financial services. Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn presented the partnership roadmap at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco on Aug. 26 local time. Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited, the payment company’s Asia-Pacific entity, signed the agreement with Dunamu before the event. The partnership is confirmed, but the proposed services remain exploratory. The companies have not selected a launch date, blockchain, stablecoin, custody provider, settlement…

Luke Dashjr, a Bitcoin developer and leading figure in the Bitcoin Knots project, has indicated Sunday, August 30th, as the target date for a significant Proof of Work (PoW) change that could affect Bitcoin’s mining algorithm. Dashjr stated that miners using SHA-2 should halt mining on Saturday, as this would be used to prepare for the mainnet rehearsal of Bitcoin Knots version 29.4.1rc4. According to Dashjr’s post, Bitcoin Knots version 29.4.1rc4 will be configured to fix the last SHA-2 block before the transition. Then, after the online version of the New York Post’s Sunday morning print edition is published, the…

Bitcoin is pressing into a decisive resistance cluster near $65,000, where a 78.6% Fibonacci retracement and a descending trendline could determine the next short-term move. Improving spot and perpetual-futures demand supports a potential advance toward $67,000 to $68,000, but another rejection could expose support between $62,000 and $63,000. Bitcoin Tests a Critical 78.6% Retracement Below Descending Resistance Bitcoin is testing a key short-term resistance area after recovering from its latest local low. The chart places $BTC near the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement at $65,073.57, but the analyst notes that price has not produced a confirmed breakout signal. Bitcoin 30-Minute Chart Testing…

Prediction market traders are increasingly betting that a Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) merger could happen in the first half of 2027. Data from Kalshi shows traders have assigned a 51% probability that Tesla and SpaceX will announce a definitive merger or combination before May 1, 2027. The probability stands at 46% before April 1, 2027, and 42% before March 1, 2027. Looking further ahead, the market assigns a 73% chance that the two Elon Musk-led companies will combine before 2028. The prediction market has attracted more than $705,000 in trading volume, highlighting sustained investor interest in the…

Kyber Network says neither it nor its KyberSwap platform operates out of Singapore or falls under licensing by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as the city-state’s digital-token rules push unlicensed local firms serving overseas users to relicense or shut down. KyberSwap’s own Terms of Use, dated April 2025, already named a British Virgin Islands company and a Cayman Islands foundation as the platform’s operators, more than a month before Singapore’s licensing deadline was even announced. Kyber ran nearly the same jurisdiction shift once before, leaving Malta for the British Virgin Islands in 2020 to get ahead of new European anti-money-laundering…

An effort by Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius, to convince a federal court to vacate his 12-year sentence for fraud and market manipulation faces pushback from US prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY). In a Friday filing, SDNY Attorney James McDonald and Assistant US Attorney Allison Nichols said that the court should deny Mashinsky’s petition to vacate his conviction and sentence, saying that many of his legal arguments were “without merit” and pushing back against claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The former Celsius CEO informed the court in May that…

KuCoin has expanded sanctions screening to indirect crypto transfers across 17 crypto platforms, including Justin Sun-linked $HTX. Under an Aug. 27 compliance notice, KuCoin said Shelbit, Aban Tether, A7 Nigeria, A7 Africa, PilotFinance, Rapira, Aifory Pro, ABCeX, WhiteBird, NoOnecrypto, Tradex, Monease, BitPapa, Exnode, Exnode Pay, EXMO and “$HTX (Huobi Global SA)” are covered by the restrictions. The policy means users can face held or rejected transactions even when they do not transact directly to one of the listed platforms. KuCoin said it may screen the source of funds, originating and destination addresses, and intermediary service providers for connections to the…