Author: NBTC

Polygon Labs paid $4 million to host Starbucks Odyssey, the NFT-powered loyalty program that made headlines as a crypto biz-dev coup. The deal was a hallmark of a “big and flashy” business development strategy that Polygon has since abandoned, people familiar with the matter said. Companies usually pay their tech vendors for services rendered. For Starbucks’ soon-to-be-defunct foray into crypto on the Polygon network, it was the other way around. Polygon Labs paid $4 million to the coffee giant in 2022 as part of their deal to build and host a blockchain-based loyalty program, Starbucks Odyssey, on the Polygon network,…

In a recent interview, Tom Lee, a well-known Bitcoin advocate and co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, shared his views on the future of Bitcoin. Known for his bullish stance on Bitcoin since its early days, Lee’s predictions have generally been accurate. Lee’s defense of BTC dates back a decade, when BTC was in its infancy and used primarily by a small group of individuals. Despite the skepticism surrounding Bitcoin at the time, Lee saw potential in BTC and remained bullish even when it was only worth a few hundred dollars. When asked what he sees in Bitcoin that others do…

Over $731 million was invested in crypto startups in March, as venture capital (VC) money started flowing back to crypto startups driven by positive news and the recent price leaps. Brian D. Evans, CEO and founder of VC fund BDE Ventures, believes that the ‘manias’ of bull runs cause some VCs to “throw money around without doing much due diligence.” Evans explains that this same movement happened in the last bull run, which occurred between 2020 and 2021, and the one before it. However, during bear markets, the VC’s playbook is the polar opposite. “VCs, that is, don’t feel much…

Rep. French Hill recently cited Ripple’s court verdict against the SEC to emphasize the need for the commission’s reform. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been under scrutiny in recent times, especially regarding its regulatory policies in the crypto space. Hill Cites Ripple Ruling In a recent development, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark), chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, slammed the commission during a hearing. The hearing titled “SEC Overreach: Examining the Need for Reform” was held yesterday on Capitol Hill. Notably, the lawmakers at the hearing deliberated on whether…

The Solana Foundation has announced several recommendations that developers should follow to cope with the high usage that the network is currently experiencing. The foundation recommended implementing priority fees, and a series of optimizations to avoid dropping transactions. Also, an improved transaction scheduler is expected to be included in the next update. Solana Foundation Makes Recommendations for Optimized Block Usage The Solana Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the adoption of the Solana ecosystem, has made some recommendations to maintain the “high performance” of the Solana network, which has faced high usage during these last weeks. While Solana has not…

Bitcoin was earlier poised to hit a milestone of $69,000 by the end of 2024. However, trends have reversed pretty quickly, putting BTC in a position where it is speculated to hit ATH by the end of March 2024. For reference, the token is currently listed at $63,550.06, an increase of 2.69% in the last 24 hours. Timothy Peterson, a notable BTC supporter, published a post highlighting that the token has surged by 20% in a week 121 times since 2015. He then added that the ongoing pace makes it the best contestant to touch ATH in the next 30…

The price of Bitcoin has recently rallied to add more than $100 billion to its market capitalization after the Federal Reserve decided to maintain interest rates, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested up to three rate cuts could be seen this year. However, even before the Fed’s announcement triggered a BTC price surge, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, quietly revealed the next step in its crypto strategy – a move analysts at Citi predict could create a “$5 trillion market by 2030,” according to Forbes. The world’s asset manager launched a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) earlier this year…

An ex-takeaway worker living in the UK has been found guilty of laundering funds for a Chinese fraudster and managing over £2 billion ($2.5 billion) in bitcoin that has now been seized by police. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced Jian Wen’s conviction at Southwark Court on Wednesday. It noted that the 42-year-old was guilty of one of three money laundering charges. Wen had reportedly lived a ‘modest lifestyle’ in Leeds before meeting Yadi Zhang, real name Zhimin Qian. Zhang is a Chinese national and a wanted fugitive accused of making $6 billion in bitcoin through scamming nationals in China.…

On March 4, 2024, Bitcoin (BTC) climbed above $65,300, less than $4,000 away from its all-time-high. When writing, BTC fell below this value, currently trading at $65,1050 and having only 6% left until reaching the all-time high (ATH), according to CoinMarketCap. Trading volumes continue to hit new levels, with an 80% increase to $40 billion. The fear and greed index reached 82 points, according to Coinstats. Over the past 24 hours, the indicator has decreased by one unit. “Extreme greed” is indicated on a scale with a value from 76 to 100. Such index indicators may indicate that FOMO sentiment…

A U.S. district court issued a severe reprimand to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for what was described as a “flagrant misuse of authority” during litigation against the cryptocurrency sector. The SEC faced judicial censure after a failed attempt to regulate the cryptocurrency industry more stringently. This misstep involved the SEC being labeled as “malicious behavior” by Judge Robert J. Shelby. He highlighted that the SEC deceitfully influenced the court to impose a temporary injunction against Debt Box, stemming from a legal action initiated in July. Source: X (Formerly Twitter) Judge Shelby’s decision detailed that the SEC’s actions egregiously…