Author: NBTC

The Federal Reserve is seeking feedback on a proposal that would mandate effective customer identification programs for certain payment stablecoin issuers, mirroring requirements already in place for banks and credit unions, according to a Thursday press release. Issued alongside other agencies including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the proposal aims to implement key provisions of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins ($GENIUS) Act. The rule would mandate that permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs) maintain effective customer identification programs, including verification of account holders, to combat money…

Ethereum price has rebounded toward $1,800 after buyers stepped in near a multi-year support trendline while easing geopolitical tensions triggered a sharp recovery across risk assets. According to crypto.news market data, Ethereum ($ETH) price surged more than 10% on June 15, reaching an intraday high above $1,800 before settling near $1,780 at Tuesday’s press time. Before the latest rebound, Ethereum had dropped roughly 26% from early June levels near $2,050 to a local low around $1,507 as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran fueled inflation fears and prompted investors to reduce exposure to risk assets. Ethereum sharp rebound…

STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, ended at $89.15 per share on June 17, more than 11% below its $100 par value. The drop has raised fresh questions about investor appetite for Bitcoin-backed yield instruments. STRC was designed to offer a variable dividend while helping Strategy raise capital for its Bitcoin treasury strategy, but its widening discount now signals pressure on that funding model. Investors who bought near par have already absorbed a mark-to-market loss roughly equal to a full year of STRC’s current 11.5% annual dividend rate. Euro Pacific chief economist and global strategist Peter Schiff criticized the structure…

Stellar’s DeFi total value locked has crossed $200 million for the first time, hitting roughly $204.19 million on April 24, according to DefiLlama. The figure marks a new all-time high for the network and beats the previous peak of about $196.6 million set in January 2026. The breakout comes as many Layer 1 and Layer 2 chains have struggled to hold their TVL through 2026. Stellar has moved the other way, posting steady growth into Q2. The question is what’s behind the move. What’s pushing Stellar’s TVL higher? Real-world assets are doing most of the work. Stellar has spent the…

In brief The Federal Reserve proposed new rules requiring U.S. crypto firms to verify stablecoin users. Former Fed Chair Jerome Powell backed the proposal. Current Chair Kevin Warsh abstained without explanation. Some officials warned about the risks posed by the rules’ exemption for decentralized protocols. The Federal Reserve on Thursday issued a proposed rulemaking dictating how American crypto firms will have to evaluate customers and discourage money laundering now that stablecoins have been formally legalized. The rulemaking, proposed jointly with President Donald Trump’s administration agencies including the Treasury Department and the FDIC, interprets how to implement provisions of the $GENIUS…

The upgrade is shaping up to be one of Ethereum’s most ambitious since the network’s transition to proof-of-stake in 2022. Jayanthi described Glamsterdam as “probably the largest fork we’ve had since the Merge,” adding that it will “change a lot of assumptions about Ethereum and set us up for much more scaling in the future.” Among the headline features are enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS), formally tracked as EIP-7732, and Block-level Access Lists (EIP-7928). ePBS would bring into Ethereum’s core protocol a separation between the entities that build transaction blocks and those that propose them. Today, that process largely relies offchain,…

Michael Egorov Says Demand Is Rising for $BTC Yield Strategies That Preserve Exposure Crypto investors have long faced an uncomfortable choice in decentralized finance: earn yield or keep clean exposure to the assets they already own. That trade-off is especially clear in bitcoin liquidity provision. In traditional automated market maker strategies, a sharp rise in $BTC can leave liquidity providers worse off than investors who simply held the asset. According to Yield Basis, a 2x move in bitcoin can put LPs about 5.7% behind passive ownership, a gap that has made onchain liquidity strategies harder to justify for long-term holders.…

Euro Stablecoin Shift: Ripple-Backed Banks in Europe Move to Redefine Global Finance A subtle but significant shift is underway in Europe’s financial system, one that could extend well beyond the region. Crypto observer SMQKE reports that three banking giants, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, are gearing up to launch a joint euro-denominated stablecoin in the second half of 2026, built on Ripple’s infrastructure. This is more than just another crypto development. It signals a deliberate push by major financial institutions to modernize how money moves in an increasingly digital economy. For years, dollar-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC have anchored…

In brief Ireland’s government launched a new National Risk Assessment and 30-point action plan Thursday, naming the misuse of crypto-assets among the country’s evolving financial-crime threats. The plan promises “enhanced safeguards around crypto-assets and digital finance,” including a new industry standard requiring due diligence to verify that crypto used as a source of funds is legitimate. Tánaiste Simon Harris and Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the measures aim to protect victims and keep Ireland’s defenses apace with criminals’ use of new technology. Ireland has put crypto-assets squarely in the frame of its latest crackdown on financial crime. The government launched…

Known for his years of legal battles, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright – whose claim to being Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto was officially rejected by London’s High Court – is once again attempting to regain media influence. This time, the trigger was criticism of the leading cryptocurrency from billionaire Ray Dalio, who recently stated that central banks around the world are unlikely to ever hold $BTC on their balance sheets. For those who missed it, Dalio’s main concern is the absolute transparency and traceability of the blockchain. In his view, the public ledger makes transactions vulnerable to total surveillance and…