Author: NBTC

Stratos Jets, a Florida-based private jet franchise, has partnered with payments provider BitPay to enable cryptocurrency payments. On Dec. 3, Stratos Jet announced its collaboration with BitPay, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency payments platform, to allow users to pay for private charters using digital assets. The move aligns with increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies and follows significant gains in the market amid growing regulatory clarity. Even in the U.S., where outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s anti-crypto stance had slowed adoption, a shift appears imminent as Gensler prepares to step down in January. Read more: MoonPay, BitPay partner to simplify crypto transactions Stratos noted…

Crypto X (formerly Twitter) lit up last night following BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink’s prediction that bitcoin “will become as big as the US housing market.” The only problem is, he never actually said that. The confusion stemmed from a DLNews report that claimed Fink made the comment during a BlackRock earnings call last Friday. However, the outlet has since published a correction on the story and clarified that, “Fink was referring to BlackRock mortgage products he didn’t name.” Despite the misreport, Fink’s sentiment during the call was still bullish on bitcoin. He said that regardless of which presidential candidate is…

Ethereum developer Justin Drake said his comprehensive proposal to overhaul the second-largest blockchain’s consensus layer isn’t about catching up with a rival, it’s about sticking around for the long haul. Drake unveiled the proposal, known as the Beam Chain, at Ethereum’s biennial Devcon gathering in Bangkok last month, at a time when the network’s native token ETH is lagging behind its counterparts at other major layer-1 blockchains. The Ethereum network enjoyed wide adoption over the last few years, making it more expensive and slower to use. In response, a cohort of layer-1s, known as “Ethereum killers,” emerged in 2020 to…

Tomarket, a leading player in the Telegram gaming ecosystem, crossed a major milestone as its user base rose to over 40 million. This milestone occurred just days ahead of the network’s Token Generation Event or airdrop, which will allow users to convert their coins into fiat currencies. The TGE will take place on Oct. 31 and will be available only to users with a tomato emoji and those who have reached the bronze level. Tomarket has seen strong growth, fueled by the popularity of Telegram games and tap-to-earn games. It surpassed 1 million users five days after its launch in…

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. If you need any more reassurance that working with crypto is tipped to get easier, look no further than Coinbase listings. In fact, the rate of Coinbase listings has rapidly accelerated. Over the past two years, until the election in November, the exchange had made 88 listing announcements specific to the US — an average of 3.8 listings per month. Since Trump’s win around this time last month, Coinbase has made16 such announcements — either for its flagship US exchange or specifically for the state of New…

Aave (AAVE) has solidified its position in the top 40 of crypto assets. The Ethereum (ETH) expansion led to a recovery in lending. Aave is once again attracting whales at levels not seen since 2022. Aave activity is increasing with this year’s bull market. As with other assets and protocols, Aave benefitted from the inflow of stablecoins and the rise of ETH market prices. The latest upward leg for the crypto market also helped Aave recover its value locked to levels not seen since the 2021 bull rally. Aave now locks in more than $20B in liquidity, turning into the…

Since IOTA increased the token supply last year to 4.6 billion—up from an initial 2.79 billion—there have been concerns that this has suppressed its price. However, one ecosystem member says the increase was in line with the broader inflation, other major tokens experienced similar figures, and it’s the ecosystem growth that ultimately matters. In September last year, IOTA made a massive announcement, revealing that it would increase the supply of IOTA tokens from 2.79 billion to 4.6 billion. Since then, some analysts have claimed that the new tokens have been the key factor suppressing the price of the token. However,…

Coinbase’s policy boss, Faryar Shirzad, thinks America’s crypto regulation is about to hit full throttle under Donald Trump’s return to the Oval. Speaking at a U.K. event hosted by Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto, Shirzad reportedly called the president the most pro-crypto leader in history. “We have the most pro-crypto Congress ever,” he said, referring to Republicans sweeping the House and Senate. With Trump and his allies running the show, Shirzad predicts the long-stalled crypto bills will finally gain traction. For the 50 million Americans holding crypto, this could be the moment their interests are taken seriously in Washington.…

Free-to-play web3 video game Chainers announced a closed playtest for its multiplayer shooter, offering rewards in NFTs and CFB tokens. Chainers.io, which claims to have over 25 million NFTs distributed and a community of more than 350,000 players, aims to tap into web3 gaming momentum by offering a blockchain-based gaming experience that combines familiar mechanics with tokenized rewards. The free-to-play Minecraft-style MMORPG web3 video game, with its own sidechain powered by Polygon, has announced a closed playtest for its upcoming multiplayer shooter mode, dubbed “Chainers Arena Playtest.” The playtest, which will run from Dec. 5-6, will offer a select group…

Coinbase is facing criticism on social media after it was discovered that the US-based exchange is restricting the accounts of users who access the platform via a VPN. Yesterday, EthHub co-founder Eric Conner complained that Coinbase locked his account after he tried to send $25,000 in USDC. When Conner said it was apparent that his use of a VPN was behind the restriction, many users began to complain about the same VPN-related issues with Coinbase. Today, Coinbase product designer Scott Shapiro said, “PSA: Don’t use a VPN to access Coinbase.” He added, “Attackers always use VPNs, so our risk models…