Author: NBTC

Hashrate Pulls Back From Record Highs Bitcoin’s network hashrate, the combined computing power securing the blockchain, has retreated meaningfully from its record levels this year. CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn estimated the pullback at 17% below its all-time high, while other trackers have shown hashrate easing from a late-2025 peak above one zettahash per second to a range closer to 850 to 920 exahashes per second through the summer. Hashrate estimates vary between data providers depending on the averaging window used, since the metric is inferred from block timing rather than measured directly, but the broader trend across trackers points in the…

Bitwise’s 10 Crypto Index ETF ended the first half of 2026 with nearly half the net assets it started with, while its 10-asset basket became more concentrated in Bitcoin. Net assets at BITW fell 48.27%, from $1.03 billion on Dec. 31 to $532.8 million on June 30, according to the fund’s quarterly filing. That contraction was not the return experienced by an investor: the fund reported a negative 36.16% Principal Market NAV total return per share for the six months, while its outstanding share count declined 18.97%. The net-asset change combined two forces. Market performance reduced the value of each…

Tokenized equities firm Dinari is bringing its blockchain-based U.S. stock offering to eligible domestic investors, marking an expansion of the custodial tokenization model into the U.S. market. The company said Tuesday that investors can buy and sell 724 tokenized U.S. stocks, including every company in the S&P 500, using Circle’s $USDC stablecoin through self-custody wallets. The stock tokens are available across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base and Avalanche, with support for Solana and Sei coming “soon,” the firm said. The offering runs through Dinari’s regulated broker-dealer and transfer agent infrastructure and launches with partners including Circle (CRCL), Stripe-owned Privy, Para and Monaco.…

Shiba Inu’s burn rate surged over the past 24 hours after community members permanently removed more than 13 million $SHIB tokens from circulation. According to Shibburn data, a total of 13.2 million Shiba Inu were burned in the past day, permanently reducing the token’s circulating supply. The burns were completed across 13 separate transactions, with the largest single burn accounting for the majority of the destroyed tokens. The biggest transaction occurred yesterday when an unidentified user transferred 9.7 million $SHIB from the CEX.IO exchange to the official dead wallet. Meanwhile, the second-largest burn took place just hours before press time,…

Brian Armstrong Presses Senate Ahead of CLARITY Vote Crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong intensified his campaign on Aug. 3, urging senators to approve federal crypto market structure legislation this week. The Coinbase executive described the CLARITY Act as the result of extensive bipartisan negotiations and argued that it would support American jobs, tax revenue, and innovation. Armstrong wrote: “The CLARITY act represents a ton of bi-partisan work to finally establish clear rules for crypto in America, which 70% of Americans say we should already have.” He presented the vote as a choice between bringing digital assets under…

FalconX, the digital asset prime brokerage that acquired crypto ETF issuer 21shares last November, has laid off roughly 10% of its global workforce as it prepares for a prolonged downturn in the cryptocurrency market, Bloomberg reported Monday. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said FalconX is also reshaping its strategy in Singapore by focusing on crypto derivatives trading and plans to withdraw its license application with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The company intends to maintain its presence in Asia while expanding its European business. FalconX employed about 350 people across the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and…

The $BTC cohort holding over 10,000 $BTC in their wallets is the most active buyer in the summer of 2026. Almost all other wallet cohorts remain idle after the initial rush to accumulate in January. The biggest $BTC wallets, holding over 10,000 $BTC, may belong to organizations, ETFs, or the occasional whale. This cohort is closely watched for a sign of an end to the $BTC bear market. The cohort of the largest whales also showed accelerated accumulation in the past few weeks, just as $BTC recovered close to $65,000. For the past two months, the addresses holding over 10,000…

Polymarket, the blockchain-based prediction market platform, is reportedly seeking to raise $1 billion in a new funding round that would value the company at approximately $20 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. The report, which cites sources familiar with the matter, indicates that the company is in discussions with investors, though the terms are not yet finalized. Context and Background Polymarket has emerged as one of the most prominent platforms in the prediction market space, allowing users to trade on the outcomes of real-world events, including elections, economic indicators, and global conflicts. The platform gained significant attention during the 2024…

The number of daily payments on the $XRP Ledger (XRPL) has now crashed 80% from the May 2026 highs of over 1.69 million. This comes amid the ongoing market-wide downtrend that has dealt a blow to investor sentiment. Notably, since hitting the $3.6 peak in July 2025, $XRP has collapsed more than 70%, currently trading for $1.08. As a result, bearish sentiments recently hit extreme levels. $XRP Payment Volume Slumps 80% Data from $XRP Scan, a leading XRPL explorer, confirms that these bearish sentiments have now begun impacting on-chain activity. Specifically, the number of payments from one account to another…

Industry Pressure Builds as Senate Faces Four-Day Deadline The Senate has four scheduled session days to advance the CLARITY Act before beginning its August recess, prompting a renewed push from cryptocurrency advocates and industry organizations. Stand With Crypto, a cryptocurrency advocacy organization representing more than three million supporters, urged senators to approve the legislation before the recess. The group argued that support spans Wall Street, the cryptocurrency industry, and other organizations. The organization also plans to score every senator’s vote on the CLARITY Act, adding political pressure as lawmakers work through the final legislative days before the August recess. White…