Author: NBTC

Machi Big Brother, one of Hyperliquid’s most-liquidated traders, was liquidated again on an Ethereum long and has now lost more than $80 million on the onchain derivatives exchange since September, according to onchain analytics firm Arkham. Arkham said the trader, whose real name is Jeffrey Huang, was liquidated for $341,000 on an $ETH position, taking his cumulative losses on Hyperliquid to $80.43 million since September 2025. To raise margin, Huang has been selling his Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs; blockchain tracker Lookonchain reported he sold 34 of the NFTs over the past month for 326 $ETH, about $514,000, realizing a…

The crypto industry is going through a major cleanup in 2026, with more than 70 crypto projects shutting down during the first half of the year, according to data from RootData. The list includes projects that permanently closed, filed for bankruptcy, or simply went inactive after their websites stopped working for extended periods. Major Crypto Projects That Closed The shutdowns span nearly every sector of the industry. High-profile names include Loopring, Goldfinch, NFTfi, Nifty Gateway, Foundation, ZeroLend, Ionic, Rage Trade, Botanix, Over Protocol, Zero Network, Leap Wallet, Dmail, Step Finance, MilkyWay, Fantasy Top, and Parsec. Web3 gaming, $NFT, DeFi, Layer-2,…

Illinois just became the first state to tax crypto by the transaction. The new 0.2% levy hits nearly every trade, transfer, or custody service an exchange runs for an Illinois resident, and it takes effect January 1, 2027. Governor JB Pritzker signed the Digital Asset Tax Act in mid-June, tucked inside a $55.9 billion budget. Washington is in the middle of building a single national rulebook for crypto. The $GENIUS Act for stablecoins is already law, and the CLARITY Act for market structure is slowly approaching a Senate floor vote. Both promise the same thing: one set of rules for…

Why Did Bitcoin Fall While Traditional Markets Improved? According to the Bitfinex Alpha report published July 1, bitcoin began the third quarter by revisiting its cycle low near $58,000 despite financial conditions that would normally favor risk assets. Treasury yields eased, U.S. equities finished the quarter at record highs and gold weakened, yet bitcoin continued to retreat, reinforcing a divergence that has become one of the defining characteristics of the current market environment. This marks the fourth occurrence during the current cycle in which bitcoin has declined alongside falling Treasury yields. Analysts argue the pattern suggests that selling pressure is…

Its launch comes as Ethereum’s support ecosystem undergoes a broader evolution, following the debut of EthLabs and amid ongoing efforts by the Ethereum Foundation to respond to community criticism over transparency, communication and its role within the ecosystem by encouraging more independent organizations to take the lead on adoption and ecosystem growth. Vivek Raman, CEO of Etherealize, said on X that Ethereum Institutional is another example of Ethereum’s decentralized model in action. “Ethereum is not built by or run by a single organization,” Raman wrote. “Ethereum is a network of independent nodes that collectively make the infrastructure inevitable. Ethereum Institutional…

Instead of a shareholder vote on July 2, Adam Back will now have to wait until at least July 10 before his Bitcoin Standard Treasury (BSTR) can decide to advance its merger with Cantor Equity Partners. The third postponement in just a couple of weeks is the latest fork in the road for Back, whose Bitcoin treasury company remains locked in private placement talks for financing of up to $1.5 billion. Why did Bitcoin Standard Treasury push back its shareholder vote again? The Bitcoin Standard Treasury shareholder vote for the Cantor Equity merger continues to still be held up by…

Starting July 1, all licensed crypto exchanges and virtual asset service providers will be required to collect and exchange information regarding senders and recipients for every crypto transfer, regardless of the transaction’s value. Stricter Controls on Crypto Transfers New regulations enforced by the Australian financial regulator, AUSTRAC, mandate that all regulated crypto platforms exchange data for every incoming and outgoing transaction. These requirements cover the full names of the sender and recipient, country of residence, the type of wallet used, and information about the involved crypto company where applicable. Unlike some other regulatory regimes, the Australian rules apply regardless of…

Chainalysis used its experience in the U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Roman Sterlingov, the co-founder of crypto mixing service Bitcoin Fog, who was convicted on money laundering charges in 2024, to shape its ontology. During the trial, the judge overseeing the case held what’s known as a Daubert hearing to determine whether Chainalysis’ Reactor tool was rigorous enough to be used as a prosecutorial tool. Ultimately, Judge Randolph Moss ruled that “substantial evidence supports the government’s submission that the software is highly reliable.” The company is leaning on the fact that its software has already been tested in a…

A Candid Admission on $ETH’s Purpose The concession surfaced on journalist Laura Shin’s Unchained podcast, where Ansgar Dietrichs, a former Ethereum Foundation researcher now with the newly launched research lab Ethlabs, discussed the project’s struggle to articulate what $ETH is actually for. Shin commented: “What surprised me talking to Dietrichs [is that] he openly admits $ETH still has no clear value story after five years of being unable to break $5,000.” Ethlabs, which launched on June 22, was founded by five former Ethereum Foundation researchers and backed by treasury firms Bitmine and Sharplink alongside Consensys founder Joe Lubin. Its arrival…

Circle’s stock, CRCL, dumped 17.5% to $62.63 on the 30th of June, marking the largest daily loss since March. It’s worth noting that in March, the stock fell 20% following a draft proposal to ban stablecoin yield on idle balance. This raised concerns about likely limited $USDC adoption and the potential impact on the second-largest stablecoin issuer’s revenue outlook if the proposal were enacted. The dip on the 30th of June, however, was driven by a new rival in the stablecoin space. Source: Circle stock price performance, TradingView Will Open USD challenge Circle, Tether’s dominance? A consortium of 140 firms,…