Author: NBTC

Onramp has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round led by Early Riders, valuing the bitcoin financial services firm at $135 million as it pushes to scale a custody model designed to meet institutional standards. The Austin-based company told Bitcoin Magazine it now holds more than $1 billion in assets under custody and has recorded zero security incidents since its founding in 2023. The new capital will support expansion of Onramp Finance, its recently launched platform that combines bitcoin custody, brokerage, and cash management, while funding new partnerships across banks, registered investment advisors, and fintech firms. At the center…

Tom Zschach, the former chief innovation officer at the SWIFT payment network, took to social media on Thursday to pour cold water on the utility of the $XRP token within the new institutional framework. As reported by U.Today, Ripple, alongside J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, and Ondo Finance, has executed the near-real-time redemption of a tokenized U.S. Treasury fund on the $XRP Ledger (XRPL). However, the community questioned whether it is actually beneficial for $XRP. A major caveat Ripple has lauded the pilot as a “meaningful step toward 24/7 global financial markets”, but Zschach was quick to point to a potential caveat…

A majority of European crypto users are still using unlicensed exchanges weeks before the EU’s MiCA transition period comes to an end, according to an analysis published by OKX Europe. According to an analysis by OKX Europe shared with crypto.news, 7.6 million of the 18.5 million crypto exchange app downloads recorded across Europe between May 2025 and May 2026 went to platforms that do not hold a valid Markets in Crypto-Assets license. OKX Europe said those downloads accounted for 41% of all exchange app installs tracked during the period. The study, which cited Sensor Tower download data and licensing records…

Nasdaq has moved closer to offering cash-settled bitcoin index options, a move set to democratize crypto risk management and eliminate legacy operational barriers. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission granted Nasdaq PHLX conditional approval to list European-style options under the ticker QBTC. These will be cash-settled, European-style options tracking the CME CF Bitcoin Real Time Index (BRTT). Cash-settled means the options are settled in U.S. dollars. At expiration, the exchange credits or debits the cash difference between the strike price and the final index value and no actual bitcoin is delivered or received. For the average market participant,…

Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the largest publicly-traded Ethereum treasury firm, bought 26,497 ether ($ETH) last week, sharply reducing the pace of accumulation after making its largest purchase of 2026 just a week earlier. The latest acquisition, worth roughly $53 million at current $ETH prices, lifted Bitmine’s holdings to nearly 5.42 million tokens, or approximately 4.49% of ether’s circulating supply, according to a Monday company update. The purchase was down more than 75% from the prior week’s 120,000 $ETH haul. The slowdown comes after Thomas “Tom” Lee, chairman of Bitmine, said in May at Consensus 2026 that the company planned to moderate…

The chief executive of global remittance giant MoneyGram has stated that stablecoins are progressively being used in a manner that mirrors the function of the U.S. dollar within certain payment and transaction ecosystems. Anthony Soohoo, who leads the Dallas-based money transfer firm, shared his observations in an interview with The Block, highlighting a notable behavioral shift among users and the potential implications for the broader financial industry. Stablecoins as a Payment Rail Soohoo noted that within specific payment environments, stablecoins are no longer viewed solely as speculative digital assets but are increasingly treated as a reliable medium of exchange. This…

The exploit of Polkadot’s bridge protocol Hyperbridge last month is a symbol of deeper dysfunction within one of crypto’s most ambitious ecosystems, a former insider says. Jaskirat Singh, co-founder and former CEO of Polkassembly, which served as the primary governance interface for Polkadot and Kusama for over five years before quietly shutting down last month, told The Defiant the exploit reflects a pattern of costly missteps at Polkadot. The issues, Singh said, span from lack of direction from ecosystem leadership, to DAO overspending, and even failure to pay ecosystem participants for their contributions, including Polkassembly itself. A spokesman for Parity,…

Wintermute, the London-based algorithmic trading firm handling more than $3.5 trillion in annual volume, has begun providing two−sided liquidity on prediction markets, the company said on Friday. The company is quoting continuous bid and offer prices across active event contracts on “leading venues,” which together process more than $20 billion in monthly volume as of early 2026, according to a statement. Jake Ostrovskis, head of OTC trading at Wintermute, said prediction markets carry demand characteristics typically associated with larger asset classes, while liquidity conditions remain at an earlier stage of development. “For these markets to become a reliable real-time source…

A cryptocurrency wallet that remained inactive for over a year has suddenly transferred a significant amount of Bitcoin to the trading platform FalconX. According to blockchain tracking firm Lookonchain, two linked addresses deposited a total of 1,650 Bitcoin ($BTC), valued at approximately $127 million, roughly six hours ago. On-Chain Activity Raises Market Questions In the world of cryptocurrency, movements of dormant assets to centralized exchanges are closely monitored. Such activity is often interpreted by analysts as a precursor to selling, as exchanges serve as the primary venue for converting digital assets into fiat currency or other tokens. The size of…

With the price near 1,983 dollars, the Ethereum price today remains below key averages: defending 1,980, risk of extension towards 1,968 and relief only above 2,005. $ETH/$USDT — daily chart with candles, EMA20/EMA50 and volumes. Context and thesis The main trend (D1) is negative: price below all relevant EMAs and close to the lower Bollinger band. Momentum is weak, but the proximity to the band lows increases the probability of fast and fragile technical rebounds. Intraday (H1 and 15m) the structure shows constant pressure with micro-compression around 1,982–1,985. It is a typical pre-break with risk of spikes in both directions.…