Author: NBTC

Near midday Aug. 17, the Nasdaq Composite was down about 56 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed roughly 189 points and the S&P 500 was lower by about 23 points. The leading crypto asset bitcoin (BTC), meanwhile, was up roughly 1% to 1.5% over 24 hours, trading around $64,000 by 1:30 p.m. EDT. The top four U.S. indexes as of 1:30 p.m. EDT on Monday. That disconnect produced a rare trading session. Crypto stocks, which often get hammered alongside other speculative assets when investors turn defensive, instead caught a bid from bitcoin while geopolitical fears hit the broader…

General Updates Neo co-founder Erik Zhang has added a draft CAIP-2 profile for Neo N3 to the Chain Agnostic namespace registry. The profile defines neo:860833102 as the standardized chain identifier for Neo N3 MainNet, supplying a naming-layer prerequisite for integration with CAIP-2-based systems such as the x402 payment protocol. COZ distributed 303 $NEO across two developer contributions in Proof of Working 2.11, recognizing improvements to Python wallet tooling and a contract deployment workspace. Both contributors, CLAUS and Vault Keeper, are returning participants whose work has been recognized across multiple rounds of the program. NeoPod ambassador Lockyer lobbied for the $NEO…

Prediction market companies were not invited to a White House technology event scheduled for August 19, according to an Axios reporter. The event, which is expected to include President Donald Trump and executives from several major cryptocurrency and venture capital firms, will proceed without representation from prediction market platforms. Background and Context Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt, citing a White House source, said prediction market firms were not invited to the event and will not attend. This contradicts earlier reports that suggested the White House was planning to meet with representatives from both the cryptocurrency and prediction market industries. The event…

Sonic, the EVM-compatible layer-one blockchain, saw its decentralized exchange (DEX) volume reach a two-month high following the introduction of Bundle Transactions, a feature designed to process multiple trades in a single operation. According to data from DefiLlama, Sonic’s DEX volume topped $2.46 million on Aug. 27, the highest level since June 28, and represented a more than tenfold increase from the Aug. 15 low of $241,000. What Are Bundle Transactions? Bundle Transactions allow users to combine multiple operations—such as swaps, approvals, and liquidity additions—into one atomic transaction. This reduces the number of steps required, lowers the risk of partial execution,…

Bitcoin has historically delivered modest gains in August, with an average return of 1.12% since 2013. However, the median return for the month is -7.49%, indicating that most Augusts have actually been negative for the cryptocurrency. This mixed performance underscores the volatility that continues to define Bitcoin’s seasonal patterns. Historical August Performance: The Data Since 2013, Bitcoin has closed August higher only four times out of thirteen, while nine Augusts ended in the red. The most notable August gain occurred in 2017, when Bitcoin surged by 65.32%, coinciding with the peak of that year’s bull run. Conversely, the steepest August…

In brief Polymarket is pricing in a 74% chance of no change at the next Fed meeting, and just 25% on a quarter-point hike. Kalshi’s September Fed-decision contract prices a 73.5% hold, with roughly $10 million wagered on the outcome. Myriad’s “Fed Decision in September?” market lists “No Change” at about 75% odds, and resolves after the September 15–16 FOMC meeting. Prediction markets are converging on the same forecast for the Federal Reserve’s September meeting: don’t expect anything to change. Polymarket’s “Fed Decision in September?” market puts the odds of no change at 74%, with a quarter-point hike at 25%…

Ripple’s $XRP is on the run to reach the same level as globally recognized payment systems such as SWIFT and also to compete with them. With the help of Volante Technologies’ payment infrastructures, Ripple’s payment could, in the near future, serve major U.S. banks. Community interest rises According to Whale Insider, $XRP is enabled for FedNow Payments via Volante’s Ripple integration. Volante’s Ripple integration unlocked $XRP for instant FedNow payments. Volante Technologies is a payment infrastructure provider that plays the role of a universal adapter for financial institutions. In simple terms, Volante serves as middleware for major U.S. banks. Thus,…

Speaking alongside Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott at the SALT Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, the Wyoming Republican said the scheduled vote had brought months of negotiations closer to a decisive point after repeated concessions and changes to the bill. “This bill has had a lot of land mines placed in its way during the course of the year,” she said, claiming the legislation had expanded from fewer than 300 pages to more than 600 to accommodate more than 100 requested changes from Democrats. CLARITY, which would create clearer rules for the US crypto industry, including setting out the roles of…

Bybit, one of the largest crypto exchanges by volume, is rolling out 24/7 options trading on shares of SpaceX and Nvidia. The move puts traditional equity derivatives on a platform built for crypto, available any time of day, any day of the week. That’s a direct shot at the constraints of legacy stock markets, where options trading is bound by exchange hours and settlement windows. What Bybit is offering The new product lets traders buy and sell options contracts tied to SpaceX and Nvidia stock around the clock. For SpaceX, that’s particularly notable since the company remains private and its…

Bitcoin’s on-chain structure is beginning to resemble the 2022-2023 bear market bottom, but analysts say one important ingredient is still missing before a meaningful recovery can begin. According to on-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr., Bitcoin is steadily moving out of speculative hands and into long-term holders, reducing the amount of actively traded supply. However, demand has yet to return in a meaningful way, meaning the current setup alone does not guarantee a bullish reversal. Short-Term Holder Supply Hits Multi-Year Low Adler’s latest analysis shows the share of Bitcoin’s realized capitalization held by short-term holders (STH) has fallen to 23.5%, down…