Author: NBTC

Representatives of the Kenyan industry warn that proposed licensing rules could exclude startups, concentrate the market among well‑funded firms, and push users toward offshore platforms. Strict Licensing and Oversight Requirements Kenya’s cryptocurrency industry is reportedly raising concerns over draft regulations that would require firms to hold significant amounts of paid-up capital before obtaining operating licenses. Industry representatives say the proposed thresholds could push smaller startups out of the market and concentrate activity among a handful of well-funded players. The draft Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Regulations 2026, prepared by the National Treasury, outlines licensing requirements for exchanges, wallet providers, and…

Global payments infrastructure provider Nium has launched a platform that allows businesses to issue stablecoin-funded cards through Visa and Mastercard, in the latest development enabling digital dollar balances to be spent at merchants using existing card networks. Nium said the system converts stablecoin balances into fiat at the point of sale and handles settlement, compliance and card network integration through a single integration. The tech company said it expects to be able to shorten the time required to launch stablecoin card programs from months to days by consolidating conversion, settlement and compliance into a single integration layer. Consultancy Bain &…

Digital asset infrastructure provider BitGo has launched a financing platform that lets institutional clients borrow and lend against a range of digital assets, including liquid tokens, staked positions and locked holdings, within a single account. The company said the system consolidates borrowing, lending and collateral management into one workflow, replacing processes that have typically required multiple counterparties and manual asset transfers. By introducing portfolio-based lending, BitGo hopes to give clients access to credit against a mix of assets held in custody rather than posting collateral on a per-loan basis. It also supports loans backed by staked and locked tokens, which…

Bitmine, a crypto asset management company, continues its Ethereum accumulation at a rapid pace. Under the strategy led by the company’s Chairman, Tom Lee, a significant amount of Ethereum was purchased in the past week. According to the data released, Bitmine added an additional 71,179 $ETH to its portfolio in just the last seven days. With this latest purchase, the company’s total Ethereum holdings reached 4.73 million $ETH. This amount represents approximately 3.92% of the current circulating supply. The company’s total crypto assets and cash reserves are reportedly around $10.7 billion. Staking activities constitute a significant part of Bitmine’s strategy.…

Asterix, an AI-led trading entity, has obtained a notable investment from Wintermute, a renowned crypto liquidity provider. Specifically, Wintermute has invested up to $30M in Astriax. As Astriax mentioned in its official X announcement, the move aims to bolster AI-powered trading on-chain. Hence, the funding denotes a key landmark for Astirax to deliver cutting-edge trading solutions on-chain with adaptive AI. We are thrilled to announce a $30M strategic investment from Wintermute ❄️This partnership accelerates our mission to revolutionize onchain trading through adaptive AI, autonomous execution, and transparent market insights.The agent revolution is here: https://t.co/rmcLLhf9NZ pic.twitter.com/A1zVgi3g6b — Astriax (@astriax_io) March 29,…

Ethereum has held the #2 spot in crypto for nearly a decade. Prediction markets are now pricing a 61% chance that changes before 2027. That number sat at 17% at the start of the year. It is now at 61%, according to Polymarket, which is a massive swing that reflects just how quickly sentiment around $ETH has shifted in 2026. At the start of 2026, most people weren’t even entertaining the question. Now the market is pricing it as the more likely outcome. Why the shift, and what is likely to take its place? The Gap Is Smaller Than It…

The US SEC is now allowing broker-dealers to use a wider range of stocks—specifically, baskets of large American companies from the Russell 1000 and S&P 500 Indices—as collateral when borrowing securities from large institutional investors. Previously, firms could only use safer, traditional assets like cash, US government bonds, or bank guarantees as collateral. Under this new rule, they can now also use diversified portfolios of major stocks. This change gives broker-dealers more flexibility in how they raise funds and manage trades. New Collateral Category Targets Securities Lending Markets Previously, Rule 15c3-3 under the Exchange Act confined acceptable collateral to a…

The Senate Banking Committee is reportedly planning to hold its hearing on the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair as soon as the week of April 13, according to a report from Punchbowl News citing two sources familiar with the matter. In a report on Sunday, Punchbowl’s sources said the hearing date is “fluid” and that the final deadline depends on Warsh submitting all of his paperwork to the banking committee. Current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term is set to end on May 15, but he has previously said he will remain chair until his successor is officially…

Internet Computer Protocol ($ICP) and ckBTC are now accepted as payment methods at more than 137 SPAR supermarkets across Switzerland, serving a customer base of 1.4 million people. The integration, carried out by Swiss crypto payment specialist DFX through the OpenCryptoPay platform, went live this month. 137+ Swiss supermarkets. 1.4M customers. $ICP accepted at checkout.@DFX_Swiss just integrated $ICP and ckBTC into OpenCryptoPay across SPAR Switzerland.Pay for your groceries with $ICP – no banks, no card networks.Prefer to use Bitcoin? Pay with ckBTC for the smoothest Bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/RC30Ae3BGH — DFINITY Foundation (@dfinity) March 26, 2026 How Does Crypto Payment Work At…

Ethereum is closing March around $2000, still under pressure after a rough quarter. Data from CryptoRank shows $ETH ended Q1 2026 down 32.8%, despite a small 1.3% bounce in March. The drop came from a mix of market forces hitting at once: The AI Proxy Trap (February Meltdown) First, Ethereum started behaving like a tech stock. Its correlation with the Nasdaq jumped to 0.82 during February, meaning when tech corrected, $ETH fell even harder. Investors treated it as a high-risk “AI proxy” rather than a core crypto asset. The $3,000 → $1,473 Liquidation Cascade Second, a massive liquidation event made…