Author: NBTC

Lighter, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange (Perp DEX), has announced that its forced withdrawal feature has successfully passed independent verification. The platform confirmed on X that users can now generate zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to withdraw their funds directly from the Ethereum network, even if Lighter’s sequencer becomes unavailable. How the Forced Withdrawal Mechanism Works Lighter’s forced withdrawal feature is designed as a safety mechanism for users in the event of a sequencer failure. A sequencer is a critical component in many layer-2 and rollup-based systems that orders transactions before they are batched and settled on the main Ethereum chain. If…

$XRP gained renewed attention after Evernorth highlighted how the crypto asset facilitated a tokenized Treasury redemption across Ripple, Mastercard, J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys, and Ondo Finance. Key Takeaways: J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys infrastructure interacted with the $XRP Ledger during a coordinated institutional settlement workflow. Ripple received U.S. dollar proceeds in Singapore outside normal banking operating hours. Blockchain coordination reduced reliance on multiple ledgers, reconciliations, and correspondent banking intermediaries. Ripple, Mastercard, and JPMorgan’s Kinexys Linked Through $XRP Settlement Flow $XRP treasury company Evernorth shared on May 18 that the “actual story” behind a recent cross-institutional blockchain transaction was the $XRP Ledger (XRPL) coordinating…

Key takeaways Bitcoin is expected to become a significant collateral instrument in DeFi by 2026. The introduction of Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 did not generate yield due to custodial lock-in. Bitcoin serves as a strong store of value but is less effective for payment systems. Hashi protocol enables native Bitcoin lending without the need for wrappers or triggering tax events. Direct borrowing using Bitcoin can be achieved without creating derivative assets. A trust-minimized approach to decentralized lending avoids tax implications. The Sway network enhances security with multisig accounts requiring majority approval for transactions. Institutional clients face challenges with DeFi due…

In a new tweet, Intersect, a member-based organization in the Cardano ecosystem, shared a recent upgrade status about the Van Rossem hard fork. Intersect noted that momentum toward the intra-era Van Rossem hard fork continues across node, infrastructure, and ecosystem coordination, with the Preview now moved into the first live governance-driven activation stage. A highlight of the report is the Node 11 release, with the preview environment forked early on May 8. Intersect stated that Node v11.0.1 is now fully released and mainnet hard fork-ready. Upgrade alert issued With the Node v11.0.1 now fully released and mainnet hard fork ready,…

Digital assets platform Fireblocks has deepened its push into AI agent infrastructure by launching Agentic Payments Suite, a framework purpose-built to support the x402 protocol, as it also joined the x402 Foundation. Fireblocks said Wednesday that its full-stack solution would cover “the full lifecycle” of AI agent payments, including wallet infrastructure for agents to send funds and an acceptance layer for merchants to receive them. Agentic Payments Suite also includes several compliance and settlement features for regulated financial institutions. A key area of focus for Fireblocks with Agentic Payments Suite is to scale stablecoin adoption through the use of AI…

Bitcoin ($BTC) has this morning bounced back to over $71,000 after it lost $60 billion in total market capitalization over the weekend following US President Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the country’s military refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In the 15 minutes following Trump’s threat on Saturday, $BTC dropped from $70,100 to $68,200, a $37 billion wipeout for the world’s largest digital asset. Over $240 million in leveraged crypto trades were liquidated within the hour. By Sunday evening, total liquidations crossed $1 billion, with long positions accounting for 85% of the damage. $BTC failed…

A growing share of European investors may change banks to access better crypto services, according to a new study from Boerse Stuttgart Digital, signaling a shift in how digital assets are shaping retail finance across the region. The survey, conducted by market research firm Marketagent between August 2025 and January 2026, gathered responses from 6,000 individuals across Germany, Italy, Spain and France. It found that 35% of respondents would consider switching banks if another institution offered stronger crypto investment options. That figure rises to 40% in Spain, the highest among the countries surveyed, followed by Italy at 35%, France at…

Shiba Inu has continued to see sustained demand amid the broader flip in market sentiment that has launched the market into a series of bullish trends. While momentum has continued to build, Shiba Inu is seeing renewed market interest and surging demand from retail and institutional investors, causing its market supply to increasingly tighten. Over 374 billion $SHIB scooped in a week According to recent data shared by the $SHIB team on X, a total of over 374 billion $SHIB tokens were withdrawn from exchanges over the past seven days. Notably, this marks one of the largest exchange outflows Shiba…

Coins.ph, the leading crypto platform in the Philippines, has expanded its QR-code crypto payment network in the country, adding support for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The update continues the trend set by the platform’s earlier integration of Tether ($USDT) and brings further payment variety to around 700,000 merchants. At the core of the update is, of course, QRPH, the country’s standardized QR payment system developed under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which automatically converts crypto into Philippine pesos at the point of sale. “The addition of new tokens to our QRPH crypto payments feature is a great achievement…

Tokenisation is getting a push in Asia, as Singapore-regulated DigiFT and Franklin Templeton have joined forces in a long-term strategic partnership to make the Benji Technology Platform and its related tokenisation products available to accredited and institutional investors. Bridging the Tokenisation Gap Announced today (Wednesday), the tokenised products will be available on DigiFT’s platform, a digital asset exchange for institutional-grade real-world assets, serving as a key distributor across Asia. Read more: “Tokenisation Isn’t About Technology” The Benji Technology Platform is Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-based system for managing and transferring tokenised investments, built to serve both retail investors and large institutions. “DigiFT…