Author: NBTC

Stablecoins were supposed to route around card networks entirely, cutting out the middleman fees that Visa and Mastercard have collected for decades. Instead, the data from July suggests something opposite is happening. Milestone That Actually Matters Stablecoin card top-up volume hit $1.084 billion in July, a 15.9% monthly gain, marking the first time this figure has crossed the billion-dollar mark. That number measures something specific, like how stablecoins are loaded onto crypto-linked cards, which users then spend the same way they’d spend any other card, through the existing Visa or Mastercard rails sitting underneath. Source: X The activity is concentrated…

Bitcoin [$BTC] has traded lower since the bears seized control in October, when its price briefly pushed past $126,000. The asset has fallen 25.98% this year, and the downtrend keeps extending. The slide has stripped $665 billion from its market capitalization and dragged its valuation down to $1.29 trillion. Bitcoin has shown fresh strength over the past day, crossing the $65,000 mark in the early hours of Wednesday, but analysts warn the expected bull run could still be delayed. Bitcoin’s bull run isn’t here yet Joao Wedson, market analyst and founder of Alphractal, said in a recent X post the…

Ethereum has launched the Plataberget public testnet as developers begin testing the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade. The network will serve as a public testing ground for major changes to Ethereum’s block building, gas rules, and data access system, with the Glamsterdam fork set for August 20, 2026. Platberget Opens Glamsterdam Testing to the Public The Ethereum Foundation announced Plataberget, calling it an early testing ground for Glamsterdam, a name combining the planned Gloas and Amsterdam upgrades. This gives developers, validators and other Ethereum users more time to test the changes before they move to longer running networks such as Sepolia and…

SpaceX stock fell to a record closing low of $113.50 on July 27, extending a very sharp reversal that began shortly after the company saw its debut on June 12. The shares have now lost almost half of their value from the post-IP high above $225 and trade well below the offering price of $135. It’s worth noting that SpaceX was the most-traded tokenized stock before and after its initial public offering on platforms such as Hyperliquid, Binance, and more. Investors Reassess SpaceX’s Valuation After the SpaceX IPO, the firm reached a market capitalization above $2.6 trillion, albeit briefly. By…

Doppler Finance and SBI Digital Finance have formed a strategic partnership to expand institutional $XRP finance in Japan. The companies announced the agreement on July 13, saying they will work on digital asset infrastructure for professional market participants. The partnership combines Doppler’s tokenized capital market systems with SBI Digital Finance’s institutional network and crypto lending experience. The announcement did not disclose financial terms, launch dates, named clients or a specific product ready for release. Partnership targets institutional $XRP infrastructure Doppler and SBI Digital Finance plan to support infrastructure for $XRP and other digital assets in Japan. Their stated work areas…

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser has expressed support for the U.S. CLARITY Act, stating that the legislation would generally benefit the financial system if passed, while acknowledging that certain provisions—particularly those related to stablecoin rewards—still require refinement. Fraser made the remarks during an interview with Fox Business, as reported by the network. What Is the CLARITY Act? The CLARITY Act, formally known as the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, is a proposed U.S. federal law aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The bill seeks to define how stablecoins are issued, backed, and redeemed, with the goal of protecting…

“We have collected full evidence of the content on X, all of which is fabricated rumors,” Lee said. “During daytime US time, we will file a police report and send a lawyer’s letter to X, demanding technical and data forensics.” Regarding unpaid staff, the founder of the Cayman Islands-based crypto exchange said, employee assets “are not prioritized over client assets, everyone is a client, and there are no privileges.” An X user known as BeardStaff said their assets had been inaccessible since the July 26 announcement, and that a dedicated VIP manager removed them from Telegram the day withdrawals stalled.…

The Bitcoin [$BTC] short-term holder spent output profit ratio [STH SOPR] is at 1. In other words, coins held for under 155 days were, on average, at their cost basis. The taker buy/sell ratio showed a slight skew towards aggressive sellers, too. Source: CryptoQuant The stablecoin supply ratio measures Bitcoin’s market cap to the aggregate market cap of all stablecoins. This reading was at 11.58, showing stablecoin supply was relatively low and that buying power was still limited. With these factors in mind, we can examine the sideways price action of the past two months. Bitcoin has oscillated between $60k…

Ethereum developers are weighing a new defense against predatory trading bots that exploit pending transactions before they reach the blockchain. The problem stems from Ethereum’s public mempool, a transparent waiting room where transactions can be inspected before execution. That visibility lets automated traders spot profitable orders and place their own transactions around them, extracting value from users before a trade settles. The practice has become most closely associated with sandwich attacks. A bot spots a pending swap, buys the same asset first to move the price against the user, then sells immediately after the victim’s trade executes at the worse…

Crypto-friendly policies and startup incentives are helping reshape the U.S. innovation landscape, according to the latest Draper Innovation Index (DII). The index ranks states based on their ability to attract entrepreneurs, investment, and emerging technologies. The top performers and laggards The March 2026 update shows that states embracing digital assets and emerging technologies are gaining ground. Meanwhile, some traditional technology hubs are losing momentum. Texas climbed to fourth place in the DII US ranking, overtaking Wyoming, thanks in part to growth in overall venture capital investment, cryptocurrency and blockchain-related funding, and new business creation. Oklahoma also posted one of the…