Author: NBTC

Cypherpunk Technologies (Nasdaq: CYPH) announced a $5 million investment in Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL). Cypherpunk Technologies is a privacy-focused digital asset investment company. The deal marks the firm’s first technology investment outside direct holdings of $ZEC. ZODL, a Zcash development and wallet infrastructure startup, was founded by former Electric Coin Company CEO Josh Swihart. Electric Coin Company is the original developer behind the Zcash protocol. Swihart and several former team members joined the new organization to continue building tools for the privacy-focused cryptocurrency network. The group previously created the Zashi wallet, a simple mobile wallet designed for Zcash users.…

Zcash ($ZEC) is a wager that the rise of AI surveillance will make financial privacy more valuable, and the crypto market is underpricing that possibility, according to asset manager Grayscale. “Zcash is nearly 10 years old but may be entering a new chapter. Use of its shielding technology is increasing, and new capital is entering the ecosystem to support wallet development and Zcash mining,” analyst Michael Zhao wrote in a Friday report. $ZEC is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses zero-knowledge proofs to hide transaction details, allowing users to shield the sender, receiver and amount, while still verifying transfers on a…

South Korean prosecutors are pushing for a 20-year prison sentence against Delio CEO Jung Sang-ho. Jung is accused of embezzling about 250 billion won or $181.5 million in customer funds before the platform abruptly froze withdrawals in June 2023, leaving thousands of investors unable to access their money. Delio’s legal team denies wrongdoing Delio marketed itself as a high-yield crypto platform, offering returns of up to 10.7% on deposits of bitcoin, ether and other tokens. It appeared to be a stable way to earn passive income for many people. But the company was far more fragile, according to prosecutors. A…

Visa (V) is expanding its stablecoin push by adding support for five more blockchains as it leans into a multichain approach to global payments. The payments giant said Wednesday its stablecoin settlement pilot now spans nine networks and has reached a $7 billion annualized run rate, up 50% from the prior quarter. The program lets issuers and acquirers settle transactions using stablecoins instead of traditional banking rails. The newly supported blockchains are Coinbase’s Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Circle’s Arc and Stripe-backed Tempo, joining existing integrations with Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche and Stellar. Visa’s move comes as stablecoins — cryptocurrencies with prices…

Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms sold 3,778 Bitcoin in the first quarter, adding to a recent wave of sales by crypto firms amid tough market conditions. The Bitcoin (BTC) was sold at an average price of $76,626, netting Riot $289.5 million, according to the miner’s operational update released on Thursday. Bitcoin was trading at $66,867 as of Friday. The miner produced 1,473 Bitcoin for the quarter and had 15,680 coins on its books at the end of Q1. Blockchain intelligence platform Arkham also flagged a 500 Bitcoin outflow from a wallet it attributed to Riot Platforms on Thursday. It adds to…

Ethereum finalized block 25,000,000 on May 1, 2026, marking nearly 11 years of operation since the network’s genesis block on July 30, 2015. Key Takeaways: Ethereum finalized block 25 million on May 1, 2026, nearly 11 years after its July 2015 genesis with no prolonged global network shutdown. The milestone reflects Ethereum’s decade-long operation through major upgrades, including the 2022 Merge to proof-of- stake, despite some historical hiccups. Bitcoin is tracking toward block 1,000,000, with roughly 52,509 blocks remaining at an estimated arrival in mid-2027. Validators Push Ethereum Past 25 Million Blocks While Bitcoin Closes In on Block 1,000,000 The…

Forbes has released its updated list of billionaires for 2026. While there have been significant changes to the list, Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains at the top. According to the American business magazine Forbes, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has been named the world’s richest person for the second year in a row. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become the world’s richest person with a net worth of $839 billion, marking the first time his personal fortune has surpassed $800 billion. In the Forbes list, Google co-founders Larry Page ($257 billion) and Sergey Brin ($237 billion) ranked second and…

The idea has been building quietly inside the $XRP community for years. Ripple and its native digital asset $XRP, the argument goes, are not just another crypto project. They are positioning to replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency settlement mechanism, allowing governments and financial institutions to settle transactions with full sovereignty while still coexisting with the dollar in other countries. It is a big claim. So an expert put it directly to Martin Armstrong, an economic forecaster, and asked him what he thought. His answer was not what $XRP supporters were hoping for. “There Will Be No…

KAST has appointed former SEC senior advisor Stephanie Allen as head of corporate and policy communications. The stablecoin payments firm said the hire will support its growth in North America and Latin America. KAST announced Allen’s appointment on Thursday. She will lead the company’s corporate and policy communications strategy. The company said Allen will work on its public profile with policymakers, media, and industry groups. Her role comes as stablecoin firms face closer attention from regulators. Allen brings SEC communications experience Allen previously served as a senior advisor at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She advised agency leadership on…

Hyperliquid has published the fee structure for its outcome tokens, the assets that underpin prediction market-style trading on the platform, in a sign that a mainnet launch is getting closer. Prediction markets have become one of crypto’s fastest-growing areas, with trading volume surging more than 300% in 2025 to $63.5 billion, and Hyperliquid is building the infrastructure to compete with incumbents such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The key detail in the structure is that opening a position costs nothing. Fees only apply when closing or settling a trade. The document outlines six scenarios covering minting, trading, burning and settlement. Traders…