Author: NBTC

A Green Beret’s alleged $400,000 insider bet on a raid in Venezuela seemed like an isolated breach. A new report suggests it may be the visible edge of something broader. The Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC), a nonprofit research group, analyzed every settled Polymarket contract from January 2021 through mid-March 2026 — more than 435,000 markets and $54.4 billion in cumulative volume — and found that low-probability bets on military and defense outcomes win at rates that are difficult to explain through skill or luck. Across political markets, such “longshot” bets typically succeed about 14% of the time. In military-linked contracts,…

The Algorand Foundation has laid off 25% of its workforce, citing a difficult global macro environment and the broader crypto market downturn. The cuts came just one day after one of the most positive regulatory developments in the project’s history, creating a sharp contrast that the community has not missed. The Layoffs The Foundation confirmed the decision on X, describing it as incredibly tough but necessary to align resources with long-term priorities. The statement stressed that the affected employees had been best-in-class contributors and that the Foundation is committed to supporting them through the transition. The organisation said it believes…

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange OSL has announced its membership in Mastercard’s Crypto Partner Program, signaling a strategic push to integrate stablecoin-based payment solutions into the global payments giant’s ecosystem. The partnership aims to develop real-world payment use cases and pilot projects leveraging stablecoin infrastructure, bridging the gap between digital assets and traditional financial services. Strategic Alignment with Mastercard’s Crypto Vision Mastercard launched its Crypto Partner Program in 2021 to foster collaboration between the payments industry and cryptocurrency firms. The program provides members with access to Mastercard’s network, technology, and expertise to develop compliant and scalable digital asset solutions. OSL, which…

Circle is intensifying its push into institutional payments infrastructure, arguing that stablecoin-based settlement systems can replace the batch-processing model still used across much of global finance. In a new paper published on 13 May, the USDC issuer described traditional payment and settlement rails as increasingly inefficient for modern global commerce. It pointed to delayed liquidity cycles, reconciliation costs, and trapped working capital across banking and treasury systems. The paper positions continuous blockchain-based settlement as an alternative to legacy systems such as ACH transfers, card network reconciliation, and T+1 or T+2 settlement structures commonly used in financial markets. Circle argued that…

After a brief attempt to stabilize earlier in the week, Bitcoin succumbed to a combination of heavy derivatives liquidations and escalating macroeconomic uncertainty. Investors are now questioning whether this is a temporary dip or the beginning of a deeper retracement toward the $60,000 zone. Is Bitcoin Crashing? To answer the immediate concern: Yes, Bitcoin is experiencing a sharp intraday slump. As of this morning, $BTC fell as much as 4%, trading roughly between $68,100 and $68,700. This move has wiped out millions in leveraged long positions and shifted market sentiment into the “Extreme Fear” territory. Bitcoin Price Analysis: Technical Breakdown…

A prominent whale on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid has significantly increased its already massive long position in Ethereum. According to data shared by on-chain analytics account AmberCN, the trader added 9,000 $ETH to their position, bringing the total to 108,000 $ETH. At current market prices, that position is valued at approximately $245 million. Details of the Whale’s Position The whale’s average entry price for this long position is around $2,271 per $ETH. This means the trader has been building this position over time, likely during recent price dips. The addition of 9,000 $ETH represents a notable vote of confidence in…

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but the decision itself was almost beside the point. What rattled crypto markets was a single phrase buried in the policy statement that traders and analysts pulled apart within minutes of its release. Gone was the familiar characterisation of inflation as “somewhat elevated.” In its place, the Fed said inflation “is elevated.” The odds of any rate cut in 2026 fell immediately to a new low of 44%. Bitcoin slipped toward $75,000. Ethereum dropped below $2,250. What It Means for Crypto Avinash Shekhar, Co-Founder and CEO of crypto derivatives platform Pi42, told Coinpedia…

TL;DR: Ripple Labs is developing a native oracle to connect traditional banking data with the blockchain, directly targeting Chainlink’s (LINK) current dominance. The Real-World Asset (RWA) market, valued at $25 billion, is the primary target following the massive adoption of tokenization by firms like BlackRock. The 2025 implementation of the ISO 20022 standard positions $XRP as a strategic bridge for SWIFT institutions to settle payments interoperably. The digital finance ecosystem is witnessing an unprecedented technical race. Ripple is quietly developing an oracle designed to query banking ledger data, seeking to position $XRP as the ultimate resource for global banking against…

MarsCat Global has announced a strategic alliance with Quantra and confirms they are moving forward in a meaningful way toward the development of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs). The joint venture aims to connect real-world computing and energy assets within a privacy-first, peer-to-peer ecosystem. To achieve this, it will combine MarsCat’s serverless communication protocol technology with Real-World Asset (RWA) frameworks developed by Quantra to build base-layer infrastructure for NFT-based networks with greater transparency and scalability in Web3. Standardizing the RWA Infrastructure Quantra has determined to position itself as a utility builder in the RWA layer where RWA fractionalization has been…

Traders face an unfriendly tape in Bitcoin crypto today, with fear high, volatility elevated, and the broader market bleeding while $BTC holds relative dominance. $BTC/$USDT — daily chart with candlesticks, EMA20/EMA50 and volume. Market thesis: controlled bleed, fear peaking Bitcoin against $USDT is trading around $67,700, with the daily trend clearly pointing lower. Price sits below all the key daily moving averages and under the Bollinger mid-band, while market-wide crypto capitalization is down about 2.1% in 24 hours. At the same time, $BTC dominance around 56% shows capital hiding in Bitcoin while the rest of the market bleeds harder. The…