Author: NBTC

AI agents are starting to hold wallets and pay for things, and finance has no standard way to tell one agent from another. Solowin Holdings signed a memorandum in April with SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s venture arm, to incubate an AI payments project called AGENPAY. The Hong Kong firm, listed on Nasdaq under AXG, sells the piece underneath it as Know-Your-Agent, a compliance engine that gives a machine counterparty a verifiable identity. Is an agent gonna be able to open a bank account? “Is an agent gonna be able to open a bank account? Is JP Morgan gonna open an…

A Routine Filing With Alarming Numbers The quarterly report, covering the three months ended June 30, shows the Grayscale Chainlink Trust ETF (GLNK) holding 10,030,901.11 $LINK tokens as its sole asset. At the fund’s principal-market close, that stake was worth $72.2 million, unchanged in token count from the prior quarter but down sharply in dollar terms as Chainlink’s price slid. Image source: SEC.gov 10-Q filings are routine disclosures every U.S.-listed fund must submit each quarter, and GLNK’s paperwork doesn’t break new regulatory ground. But the numbers inside it capture a token that has struggled since institutional investors got direct access…

The Indian government is investigating the rising popularity of offshore crypto to gift card platforms that allow Indians to convert crypto into vouchers for everyday spending. This mechanism allows Indian crypto users to spend Bitcoin ($BTC) and other digital assets on groceries, fuel, food, mobile recharges and even gold. The development has sparked concerns about tax reporting, anti money laundering monitoring (AML), and gaps in tracking crypto funded Why India Is Investigating Offshore Crypto-to-Gift-Card Channels Indian authorities are investigating offshore platforms that offer crypto to local gift cards and vouchers. Digital South Trust, a Vellore-based blockchain research and policy organisation,…

Stablecoin market capitalization increased by approximately $1 billion over the past week, even as trading volumes on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) showed signs of cooling, according to data from on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. The total stablecoin market cap rose by $987.1 million in the seven-day period, while DEX spot volume slipped 4.94% and perpetual futures volume fell 12.74% from the prior week. Capital Inflow Despite Slower Trading The divergence between stablecoin supply growth and DEX activity suggests that capital is being positioned rather than actively deployed. Stablecoins are often viewed as “dry powder” for crypto markets, and an expanding supply typically…

Key takeaways: Bitcoin futures and options show whales still prefer hedging downside risks as socio-economic risks mount. Rising Treasury yields and declines in AI stocks fuel risk aversion, yet $BTC’s strength signals continued decoupling. Bitcoin ($BTC) showed relative strength over the past week, despite failing to break above $65,500. More importantly, the cryptocurrency has decoupled from traditional markets as investors took profits in memory-chip makers amid fears of excessive valuations in the artificial intelligence sector. Still, judging by Bitcoin’s derivative metrics, top traders are not particularly confident about a rally toward $70,000. Bitcoin perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas…

Staking was supposed to strengthen Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but BlackRock’s early results show investors still favor its original fund. When US spot Ethereum ETFs launched in July 2024, the absence of staking was widely identified as one of their biggest structural disadvantages. Investors buying the funds gained exposure to $ETH’s price but forfeited the rewards available to holders who committed their tokens to securing the Ethereum network. At the time, JPMorgan cited the removal of staking from ETF filings as one reason it expected weaker demand than for Bitcoin funds. BitMEX Research similarly argued that institutional investors could find…

Interactive Map Tracks Crypto Holders Across the US An interactive map estimates where 67 million American crypto holders live, providing figures for all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the 435 U.S. House districts in the 119th Congress. The National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a nonprofit crypto education organization, displays the data through a map hub with state and district views, allowing users to explore individual geographic areas. Ripple Chief Legal Officer and NCA President Stuart Alderoty highlighted the maps in an Aug. 24 post on X, stating: “67 million Americans hold crypto. 232,000 American jobs are supported by the industry. The…

A French regulator is examining Robinhood’s front-of-shirt sponsorship of OGC Nice, L’Équipe reported yesterday (Tuesday). The National Gambling Authority (ANJ) review concerns Robinhood’s prediction-market business, which France treats as unauthorized gambling. That distinction matters. French law makes advertising an unauthorized gambling site a criminal offense, but Robinhood’s event contracts are limited to US residents. The inquiry follows a warning from nine European gambling regulators that urged sports bodies to check the legal status of prediction-market operators before signing commercial agreements. French Ban Extends to Advertising The ANJ said in February that prediction-market sites are not authorized in France and are…

A memecoin built around the short interest in Hims & Hers Health has absorbed more than half of the tokenized shares of the company on Robinhood Chain, and with that float locked away the tokenized stock printed four and a half times the price of the actual equity over the weekend. Robinhood’s tokenized equities have a float small enough for a single memecoin launch to corner, and no way for an ordinary holder to expand it. Robinhood spent the summer pitching its Layer 2 as infrastructure for real-world assets; the tokenized stocks on it are now mostly collateral for memecoin…

Bitfinex reports that Bitcoin closed three consecutive weeks in the green and is consolidating support above $61,360, with a key resistance level at $68,000. Flows into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have stabilized, though demand is concentrated almost exclusively in BlackRock’s IBIT fund. U.S. inflation fell in June for the first time in six years, but underlying pressures keep the Fed in an extended pause. Bitfinex published its weekly executive summary on market conditions for bitcoin, identifying a constructive but fragile scenario. According to the report, BTC recorded its third consecutive positive weekly close and continued consolidating a base above the…