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South Korean authorities are reportedly moving to exclude stablecoins from an incoming framework that will allow listed companies to invest in cryptocurrencies. The decision is reportedly tied to existing foreign exchange laws, but reflects a cautious approach in permitting institutional exposure to the digital asset market.

South Korea’s FSC Leaves Stablecoins Out of Corporate Options 

According to a report by local media, Herald Economy, South Korea’s financial regulators are leaning toward omitting US dollar–pegged stablecoins such as USDC and USDT from the list of digital assets that corporations will be allowed to hold once the guidelines take effect. 

The regulatory pathway being designed by the nation’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is aimed at allowing publicly listed companies to invest in cryptocurrencies. However, regulators believe that including stablecoins in the approved investment list would conflict with the existing legal framework over cross-border payments. 

For context, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a fiat currency, most commonly the US dollar. Tokens such as USDT and USDC typically maintain a 1:1 value with the dollar and are widely used for trading, settlements, and cross-border payments due to non-existent volatility compared with traditional cryptocurrencies.

 

据韩媒《先驱经济》报道，韩国金融监管机构在拟定允许上市企业投资加密货币的指导方针时，倾向于将 USDT、USDC 等美元稳定币排除在许可名单之外。监管部门认为，由于当前韩国《外国换交易法》尚未将稳定币认定为法定的对外支付手段， 若在指导方针中允许法人投资稳定币，将与现行法律体系产生矛盾。…

— 吴说区块链 (@wublockchain12) March 7, 2026

 

However, South Korean regulators argue that these tokens are currently not recognized within the country’s Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, a law enacted in 1998 and implemented in 1999 to regulate currency flows and international payments. The legislation requires cross-border transactions to pass through designated foreign exchange banks and does not recognize stablecoins as legitimate external payment instruments. 

Therefore, allowing companies to invest in stablecoins could potentially enable firms to bypass the country’s foreign exchange control system by conducting overseas payments directly through blockchain networks. Notably, South Korean corporations involved in international trade have expressed hope for stablecoin inclusion to hedge exchange-rate volatility and facilitate near-instant settlements. Nevertheless, the SFC appears inclined to maintain a conservative stance.

Corporate Crypto Access Expands, But With Limits

The proposed guidelines by the FSC will initially permit investments only in the top 20 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, including assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Meanwhile, corporate exposure would potentially be capped within 5% of a company’s own capital, thus helping mitigate financial risks. 

The move is part of a broader shift in South Korea’s digital asset policy. In 2017, authorities imposed strict restrictions on corporate participation in crypto trading amid concerns about speculation and money laundering. Nearly nine years later, regulators are gradually reopening the market to institutional investors under stricter oversight.

Meanwhile, the Asian country continues to refine its broader crypto regulatory framework. Bitcoinist recently reported that the FSC and the ruling party agreed to cap major shareholder stakes in domestic crypto exchanges to 20% in a bid battle governance risk and founder control.

A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out a civil lawsuit accusing Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, of facilitating financing for multiple terrorist attacks globally. This development represents a significant win for the Seychelles-based exchanges, whose commitment to AML/CFT principles has recently come under serious scrutiny.

Binance Not Accomplice To Terror Attack Despite Illicit Transactions, Court Rules

According to a Reuters report on March 7, around 535 plaintiffs, consisting of victims and relatives of certain terrorist attacks between 2017 and 2024, had filed a lawsuit against Binance alleging the crypto exchange enabled foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) to utilize its trading platform in funding their operations.

The complainants sued for compensation and damages, claiming that CZ and Binance allowed these FTOs, including Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, to move hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets, thereby funding 64 terrorist attacks in the world. Meanwhile, they also accused Binance of allowing Iranian citizens to send billions of dollars on the exchange despite an existing US sanction that prohibits services to all residents of the Middle Eastern country.  

However, Judge Jeannette Vargas found the plaintiff’s claims lacking. In the court ruling on March 6, Judge Vargas stated that Binance and Zhao’s relationship with the mentioned FTOs was simply at “arms length” in that these entities merely executed transactions on the exchange. Furthermore, while the crypto exchange might have plausibly been aware of these transactions, the judge emphasized that the allegations failed to show direct cause between the exchange’s conduct and the specific attacks listed. 

Nevertheless, the plaintiffs have been granted 60 days to file an amended complaint, which could be presented with more concrete data centered around transaction timing, wallet owners, and possible relationships with the listed attacks.

Binance Drowning In AML/CFT Compliance Checks

Notably, the recent case dismissal comes amid a period of high scrutiny for the Binance exchange. Most recently, Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Investigative panel of the Senate Homeland Security, has opened a preliminary inquiry into the exchange following reports of $1.7 billion Iran-linked transactions on the exchange. Binance has strongly denied the claims, calling the inquiry false, unsubstantiated, and defamatory.

Meanwhile, Senator Chris Van Hollen, alongside nine other lawmakers, has urged the US Department of Justice and Treasury to launch a broader probe into Binance’s sanctions and AML compliance practices. This flurry of attacks comes two years after the exchange secured an initial plea deal of $4.3 billion from both agencies after failing to implement a required anti-money laundering control system on its platform. 

The price of Bitcoin seemed to have broken into a fresh rally after making a run towards $75,000 during the week. However, the premier cryptocurrency has been on a steady decline since hitting a new one-month high around $74,000. According to a prominent blockchain firm, this decline may not be over yet for the price of BTC. 

Whales Offload 66% Of BTC Purchase After $74K High

In a Friday report, Santiment revealed that the price of Bitcoin could even fall lower from its current level due to rising whale activity. According to the crypto analytics firm, BTC whales — holding between 10 and 10,000 coins — acquired significant amounts of the flagship cryptocurrency between February 23 and March 3.

This heavy accumulation by this investor cohort occurred as the Bitcoin price oscillated between $62,900 and $69,600. However, after the market leader climbed above $70,000 and toward $74,000, these whales started offloading their purchases, selling off about 66% of their freshly-acquired coins.

At the same time, retail investors — entities holding below 0.01 Bitcoin — have been increasing their exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency since falling back below $70,000. Santiment noted that “when retail buys while whales sell, it typically signals that the correction is not yet over.”

According to the blockchain firm, the correlation between the 10-10k investor cohort and the Bitcoin price action is currently extremely high. “The reaction time between their moves and price action is almost instantaneous right now, making this the highest-value signal for short-term direction,” Santiment revealed.

In its report, Santiment also acknowledged the ongoing geopolitical conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Typically, conflict and tensions lead to volatility — as seen at the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the broader financial market often reacting with fear.

Santiment concluded:

Crypto moves based on the confidence of large capital holders, not just retail panic, so it will be interesting to watch the markets over the coming weeks. The markets are also affected by the expected duration and resolvability of the conflict.

With the current global uncertainty and recent whale activity, it is difficult to be optimistic about how the  Bitcoin price will move over the coming days.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $68,057, reflecting an almost 4% in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the value of the premier cryptocurrency has increased by nearly 7% in the past seven days.

Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin holdings risk getting stolen as the quantum threat becomes more of a possibility. BTC developer Hunter Beast has notably proposed the Hourglass V2 proposal amid debates on the best way to handle Satoshi’s supply, to mitigate the impact of sell pressure that Bitcoin could face if these coins get stolen. 

BTC Dev Provides Solution On How To Handle Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Holdings

Beast has proposed version 2 of the Hourglass proposal, which aims to reduce the Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) output that can be included in transaction inputs to 1 BTC per block. It is worth noting that Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin stash of around 1.1 million BTC is a P2PK address, which exposes the public key and makes it more vulnerable to quantum attacks. 

A Chainalysis report revealed that approximately $718 billion in Bitcoin is held in addressesvulnerable to quantum attacks, including these P2PK addresses. As such, Bitcoin could face an unprecedented supply shock if these coins get stolen by quantum attackers. 

Beast’s Hourglass proposal aims to minimize selling pressure to the barest minimum while also offering a compromise on whether to freeze or burn Satoshi Nakamoto’s coins to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. The Hourglass v2 proposal also noted that burning or freezing these coins may be viewed as confiscatory, which could set a dangerous precedent for changing Bitcoin’s monetary policy going forward. 

If activated, the Hourglass V2 proposal will ensure that only one P2PK output may be included as a transaction input per block. Furthermore, no P2PK outputs to any address not currently being spent from can be created. Lastly, no P2PK outputs can be created from other output types. 

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that this proposal applies only to P2PK addresses, and other outputs that are vulnerable to quantum threats remain at risk. This is because putting similar restrictions on other output types may limit the transition to quantum-resistant Bitcoin addresses. These other output types are still commonly used, unlike Satoshi Nakamoto’s P2PK address, which makes the latter easy to sunset.

Rationale For The Proposal 

The Hourglass V2 proposal will limit P2PK output to approximately 144 BTC per day. Beast noted that this should effectively mitigate the market impacts of quantum attacks on P2PK coins since these quantum attackers won’t be able to dump all the Bitcoin at once. 

Without such restrictions, over 6,000 P2PK transactions could be executed in each block, releasing over 300,000 BTC per block to the market. At such a rate, all P2PK coins, including Satoshi Nakamoto’s, could be spent in just a few hours. 

However, under the rules of the Hourglass V2, it would take more than 32 years to move all P2PK coins, which drastically reduces quantum-related market risks. A positive is that original keyholders, such as Satoshi Nakamoto, should remain able to move their coins even after the proposal is activated, as long as no quantum actors are currently competing for P2PK transactions.

In a positive development for the crypto industry, the Florida State Senate has passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins at the state level. This move comes amid the struggles to enact a broader crypto market structure bill in the United States.

Florida Creates Stablecoin Framework With New Bill

In a Friday, March 7 post on X, Samuel Armes, founder of the Florida Blockchain Business Association web3 advocacy group, announced that a bill establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins has passed the state legislature. According to the vocal crypto advocate, this bill, named the “Senate Bill 314 (SB314),” will be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis over the coming weeks.

Senate Bill 314, along with Florida House Bill 175, aims to establish a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers in the state. According to Republican Florida State Senator Colleen Burton, this regulatory framework, which aligns with the federal-level GENIUS Act, will include consumer protections and financial stability guidelines.

BITCOIN HISTORY WAS JUST MADE IN FLORIDA

We are now the FIRST STATE to Pass a Stablecoin framework in the nation!

It has now passed the Senate and the House, and will be signed by DeSantis within the next 30 days!

How was this able to happen? Well, because we are literally… pic.twitter.com/KA3odWMPzA

— Samuel Armes (@samuelarmes) March 6, 2026

Specifically, the SB314 bill revises the Florida Control of Money Laundering in Money Services Business Act to include stablecoin, while requiring issuers to comply with existing rules and prohibiting unlicensed issuance in the state. The bill also clarified that specific payment stablecoins are not securities and, hence, are not subject to certain provisions.

The Senate Bill 314’s overview read:

[This bill] specifies that office remains solely responsible for supervising qualified payment stablecoin issuers or is jointly responsible with Office of Comptroller of Currency for such supervision; prohibits trust company from engaging in activity of qualified payment stablecoin issuer unless trust company obtains certificate of approval or is exempted from such certificate.

The GENIUS Act, which was signed into law in July 2025, provides a framework for stablecoin issuance in the US, while providing a foundation for states like Florida to set up their own crypto-based regulatory structure. Banks Need To Make A ‘Good Deal’ With The Crypto Industry: Trump Interestingly, the first state-level stablecoin bill has passed at a time when the conversations around the broader crypto market structure legislation, the CLARITY Act, are at an all-time high. Despite an approved US House draft, the legislation has yet to pass the Senate, partly due to the banking industry’s concerns over yield-bearing stablecoins. On Tuesday, March 3, United States President Donald Trump said that the banking industry is trying to undermine the GENIUS Act and hold the CLARITY Act hostage. In his admonition, Trump stated that the banks need to make a good deal with the crypto industry. According to the President, the Market Structure bill is another step in the direction of making the US the crypto capital of the world.

After months of bearish pressure and fading market enthusiasm, Solana (SOL) appears to be finding its footing again. A new report by Messari, a crypto market intelligence platform, shows the network’s payment volume has surged dramatically by 755%, indicating that users are finally flooding back into the blockchain. Amid this surge, Solana has also seen a significant spike in its exchange-traded fund (ETF) despite its low price, indicating that users and institutional investors are returning to the market. 

Solana 755% TPV Surge Point To User Comeback

In its new report, titled ‘State of Solana Payments,’ Messari reveals that the cryptocurrency is aggressively positioning itself as the backbone of global payment infrastructure. As of February 11, 2026, the report shows that Solana’s Total Payment Volume (TPV) recorded a 755.3% year-over-year growth rate, nearly tripling the median of 268.24% across traditional fintech giants and peer layer-1 blockchains.

The figures place Solana ahead of every competitor measured, including Ethereum at 625.2%, BNB Chain at 648.3%, and legacy processors like PayPal and Fiserv, which posted modest growth rates of 6% and 7.5%, respectively. Notably, the scale of Solana’s TPV growth points to a clear return of users to the ecosystem. Volume at this level does not occur without real on-chain activity, and the data shows that both developers and end users may be actively engaging with SOL’s payment infrastructure again.

In its report, Messari argues that most of SOL’s edge comes from the structural failures of traditional financial infrastructure. The current global system still relies heavily on legacy rails built for the internet. Because of this, payments are often expensive and slow. Transactions can take several days to complete as funds must pass through banks in different countries, placing a heavy burden on cross-border payments. 

Messari notes that Solana addresses these issues by unifying “messaging and settlement into a single atomic operation.” Due to its high throughput and parallel architecture, the blockchain network is said to settle transactions in milliseconds, avoiding intermediaries from correspondent banks and the typical delays seen in legacy systems. Historically, SOL has also reportedly maintained a median block time of 392 milliseconds and a median transaction fee of $0.0004. 

Institutional Investors Quietly Pile Into Solana ETFs

While SOL’s 755% TVL spike indicates that users are finally getting back into the network, institutional investors appear to be making similar moves, as new reports reveal a surge in Solana Spot ETFs. 

According to LookOnChain data, Solana ETFs recorded 447,694 SOL in seven-day inflows, equivalent to approximately $40 million. The ETF surge comes as institutional demand surges despite broader bearish pressures on the SOL price.  

Among the four Solana funds currently available for trading, Bitwise’s (BSOL) has attracted the largest net inflow by a wide margin. Daily flows into BSOL recently reached 205,287 SOL, bringing its seven-day total to 409,402 SOL. Fidelity (FSOL) ranked second in weekly inflows, recording 15,627 SOL over the past seven days, despite its daily inflow reaching just 4 SOL. By comparison, Grayscale’s (GSOL) daily inflow reached 361 SOL, and its seven-day total was 12,530 SOL.

Ethereum is facing renewed scrutiny after Culper Research released a sharply critical report outlining its bearish stance on the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The reporter argues that the key aspects of the ETH ecosystem and long-term narrative may be weaker than widely believed, prompting the firm to disclose that it has taken a short position against the asset.

Culper Research Outlines Key Risks Facing Ethereum’s Ecosystem

Investment research firm Culper Research has released a critical report, revealing it has taken a short position on Ethereum. The CEO of Coinbureau, Nic, has shared on X that the reporter outlined that structural changes following the ETH Fusaka Upgrade have significantly expanded blockspace, causing transaction fees to collapse by nearly 90%.

According to the firm, lower fees translate directly into lower validator income, leading to weaker staking economics. Culper further mentions BitMine and argues that the recent rise in transaction activity and active addresses cited as bullish is driven by spam transactions and address-poisoning attacks rather than real adoption.

The firm also reported that Vitalik Buterin sold around 19,000 ETH as if he knew what was going on. While it is a significant amount, representing roughly 8% of Buterin’s total holdings, it may not necessarily indicate an exit or loss of confidence.

At the same time, Nic highlighted that ETH’s design allows for future protocol changes of rules through coordinated upgrades or forks if any economic issues emerge. This won’t be easy politically or technically, but it’s possible. Nic emphasized that he is not taking sides. However, when a firm publishes a detailed thesis and then puts its money behind it, it is worth understanding the mechanics they’re pointing to.

How Gas-Limit Expansion Linked To Falling Transaction Fees

A crypto commentator and the host of the office space, MartyParty, has also offered insights into the matter. Culper Research has opened short positions in Ethereum, arguing that the network entered what is described as a potential “death spiral.” The firm’s thesis is based on on-chain data spanning from January 2025 to February 2026.

A major focus of the report is wallet growth following the Fusaka Upgrade, and Culper alleges that 95% of new wallet creation during the period is linked to dusting or address-poisoning attacks. The firm further claims that dusting-related activity now accounts for roughly 22.5% of all ETH transactions and more than half of the network’s recent transaction growth.

Furthermore, the firm analyzes the economic effects of gas limit increase on the network, contributing to an estimated 90% decline in transaction fees and 40-50% lower tips per gas. Meanwhile, these dynmics could put pressure on validator economics by reducing overall revenue from network activity.

Beyond internal network changes, competition from Solana has captured growing developer and user activity, and reports about Buterin’s ETH dump have drawn backlash from parts of the ETH community.

The crypto market has grown increasingly cautious as Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have crashed to former lows amid growing concerns about institutional flows and network fundamentals. Bitcoin’s recent decline below $70,000 appears closely tied to shifts in the demand for its exchange-trading fund (ETF). Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price fell below $2,000 amid strong criticism over its token economics and long-term sustainability, with top market researchers shorting it as they forecast a potential collapse.  

Bitcoin Price Crashes As ETF Flows Reverse

The Bitcoin price is currently trading near $67,000, after falling more than 3% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. The latest drop comes after a sudden shift in institutional demand for Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have been a major driver for market momentum since their launch in 2024.

Data from SoSo Value shows that Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded staggering outflows of roughly $228 million on Thursday, March 5, ending a three-day inflow streak that had brought roughly $1.1 billion into the funds earlier in the week. The reversal comes as sentiment flipped bearish despite the brief bounce above $73,000, underscoring broader market fear and uncertainty. 

Notably, ETF outflows carried over to the next day, with Friday alone seeing withdrawals of more than $348.8 million. While March 2 to 4 initially recorded total net assets of more than $94.57 billion, this figure has since declined to $87.07 billion.

Alongside outflows from Spot Bitcoin ETFs, broader market sell-offs have emerged as a key driver behind Bitcoin’s latest slump. On Friday, major holders sold BTC in large volumes. Additionally, reports reveal that top crypto exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase have been selling Bitcoin, further pressuring the leading cryptocurrency. 

As geopolitical tensions escalate and market volatility rises, Bitcoin’s next price direction remains uncertain. Consequently, analysts like Michael van de Poppe maintain a broadly bearish outlook, predicting steeper declines between $60,000 to $48,000 for BTC. 

Ethereum Price Weakens Amid Token Economics Backlash

The Ethereum price has also slipped below the key psychological $2,000 level and is now trading slightly above $1,900. This decline comes as negative sentiment surrounding the cryptocurrency and its network economic structure surges. 

A recent report from short-selling firm Culper Research warns that Ethereum may be entering “a death spiral” following its December 2025 Fusaka upgrade. According to the report, the upgrade expanded block capacity faster than actual demand, leading to blocks filled with low-value transactions and spam. The firm also criticized Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, for selling ETH and dismissed Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee as “clueless” in the face of Ethereum’s new reality. 

Culper Research emphasized that the Fusaka upgrade weakened Ethereum’s tokenomics by reducing transaction fees and lowering validator earnings and staking yields. The firm also highlighted a surge in address-poisoning attacks, in which attackers send tiny transactions to wallets to trick users into sending funds to fraudulent addresses. They estimate that victims lost at least $87 million just three months following Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade.

In light of these bearish developments, Culper Researchers have announced that they are “short Ether.” The firm has also labeled ETH a “broken token,” predicting that holders will be left with little economic value in the future. 

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

He told his colleagues only after the money was gone. Nevin Shetty, the former chief financial officer of a Seattle-based tech startup, was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison after secretly transferring $35 million in company funds into a cryptocurrency platform he ran on the side — then watching nearly all of it disappear in a matter of months.

A Scheme That Ran In Secret

Shetty made the transfers in 2022 without the knowledge of a single executive or board member at his employer, according to the US Justice Department.

He moved the funds into a platform called HighTower Treasury, which he controlled, and used the money to pour into high-yield DeFi lending protocols promising annual returns of 20% or more.

In the first month, he cleared $133,000. Then the Terra ecosystem collapsed, and the broader crypto market followed it down.

By May 13, 2022, the value of those investments had fallen to nearly zero. With $35 million essentially wiped out, Shetty approached two fellow executives and told them what he had done. He was fired the same day.

The case sat in federal court for years. Shetty was indicted on wire fraud charges in May 2023. A nine-day jury trial followed in November 2025, ending with a guilty verdict on four counts.

At sentencing Thursday, a Seattle judge handed down the two-year prison term. Shetty was also ordered to repay the stolen funds in full and serve three years of supervised release after completing his sentence.

How The Market Timing Made It Worse

The timing of the transfers put Shetty at the center of one of crypto’s most chaotic periods. The collapse of TerraUSD and its sister token Luna in May 2022 triggered a broad market selloff that wiped out billions of dollars in value across the industry.

Reports indicate Shetty’s DeFi positions were caught in that wave, with losses accelerating fast enough that the investment value reached near zero before any recovery was possible.

The Justice Department said the disclosure of the transfers came only because of the market downturn — implying that, had conditions held, the scheme might have gone undetected longer.

Where The SBF Appeal Stands

Shetty’s case unfolded in the shadow of a far larger crypto fraud. Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted separately and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024.

Bankman-Fried has appealed that ruling. As of Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had not issued a decision following arguments heard in November, according to reports.

The two cases are unrelated, but both reflect federal prosecutors’ continued push to bring criminal charges over crypto-related financial misconduct.

Shetty’s two-year sentence stands as one of the more recent outcomes in that effort, covering conduct that took place more than three years ago.

Featured image from Aggressive Austin, TX Criminal Defense Attorney, chart from TradingView

In their latest post on CryptoQuant, XWIN Research Japan explores how developing affairs in the United States could affect the trajectory of Bitcoin and other risk assets in the near-term. According to the education institute, concerns of a potential stagflation period have begun to come up, which could potentially boost or mar Bitcoin’s growth.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Could Outshine Gold Through 2029, Macroeconomist Predicts Unemployment Rate Rises To 4% As Inflation Builds Up

For context, stagflation is a rare economic condition that combines two concerning events at the same time: high inflation and high unemployment. In their QuickTake post on CryptoQuant, XWIN Research Japan reveals that the number of people who are employed in the United States declined by 92,000 in February, indicating a 4% rise in unemployment rates. 

This was followed by a rising state of tension in the United States, owing to the geopolitical strife caused by a combined US-Israeli attack on Iran. This conflict has resulted in heightened oil prices, leading energy sources to become even more expensive. According to XWIN Research Japan, this increase in energy costs could also significantly trigger inflation, thereby completing the stagflation equation.

Notably, a shared historical example of stagflation occurred in the United States during the period of oil shocks in the 1970s; there was a surge of inflation into double digits, with unemployment rates following in such a destructive path. According to XWIN Research, the inflation was eventually subdued by the Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who raised interest rates to nearly 20%, with a severe recession as the ensuing consequence.

How Bitcoin Has Fit Into Past Stagflation Periods

XWIN Research Japan further notes that the Bitcoin relationship with US stagflation is a complicated one, rather than a linear, straightforward relationship.

The analysts explain that the early phases of stagflation are marked by headwinds to risk assets. When inflation heightens sharply (as was seen in 2022), both the NASDAQ and the Bitcoin price would decline sharply, indicating that Bitcoin has attained a high-beta asset title.

However, the dynamic could see a quick turnaround in cases where stagflation triggers financial instability, as was the case in the 2023 US banking crisis. In this scenario, capital moved into high-risk assets like Bitcoin, causing a more than 80% bullish rally. Also, Bitcoin’s unique supply structure has to be considered while predictions are being made.

Unlike fiat currencies, the issuance of Bitcoin is in line with a fixed algorithm where periodic halving events reduce the rate of new supply entering circulation. This means that Bitcoin’s inflation rate continues to fall, thereby potentially increasing its appeal in a market where traditional currencies are suffering the effects of inflation. 

If this scenario holds now, the Bitcoin market could witness a significant amount of inflows in the mid term. As of this writing, Bitcoin trades for $68,225, recording a more than 4% loss since the past day.

Elon Musk’s intentions to launch a financial services app have not been a secret, but the question mostly has been how Dogecoin fits into that dream. Musk was the primary reason for Dogecoin’s legendary 33,000% rally back in 2021, calling it his favorite cryptocurrency. Now that the billionaire has secured money transmission licenses in over 40 US states, the dream looks to be coming true. Following this, an X user, who goes by Teslaconomics, has broken down why X Money will be a game-changer.

The Future Everything App

The X post focused on Elon Musk’s X Money and what the billionaire plans to do with it. Essentially, X Money is expected to be the western version of WeChat, a Chinese app that allows users to communicate, as well as transact, all in one place.

According to Musk’s previous comments, he plans to make it possible that X users to do everything finance-related without having to leave the app. This even goes as far as not needing a traditional bank for transactions, being able to get paid in the app, pay bills, etc.

Another major thing that the user highlights is that X Money would allow users to actually have high-yield savings. Additionally, investment options are to be made available, as well as sets being able to access loans, operate money market accounts, with the possibility of treasury access.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the post is the fact that it highlights that the X Money feature is already being tested internally. Furthermore, a limited external beta test is expected to roll out soon, which means this financial app may be closer to reality than people think.

Can Dogecoin Still Make The Cut?

While the X Money feature is getting a lot of attention and Musk cosigned the Teslaconomics post, there has been no mention of Dogecoin anywhere. The anticipation that Dogecoin would become a payment method on X has been high since Musk acquired the crypto platform and added the option for crypto tips. However, an official Dogecoin payment method has yet to be announced.

Nevertheless, there are still areas where Musk has shown support for Dogecoin payments. One of these is acceptance of Dogecoin as a payment method for Tesla merchandize. However, there has been no official integration on the X app.

Binance has formally responded to US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) following a congressional letter in which the lawmaker cited media reports alleging the company enabled large-scale violations of US and international sanctions involving Iran. 

In an open letter published Friday, Binance rejected the claims and accused the senator of relying on what it described as false and defamatory reporting.

Binance Denies Enabling Iranian Money Laundering

Senator Blumenthal’s inquiry referenced articles published in February 2026 by The New York Times, Fortune, and The Wall Street Journal. 

Those reports, according to the senator, suggested Binance had disregarded warnings designed to prevent Iranian money laundering schemes and had allowed approximately $1.7 billion in transfers connected to Iran. 

In its response, Binance said it takes its legal and regulatory responsibilities seriously and shares the senator’s stated interest in maintaining a safe trading platform. However, the company disputed the accuracy of the reports cited in the letter, calling them demonstrably false and defamatory in several significant respects. 

Binance emphasized that it maintains strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and compliance procedures and expressly prohibits users residing in or located in Iran from accessing its platform.

The exchange also responded to claims, repeated in the senator’s letter and attributed to The Wall Street Journal, that Binance compliance had identified 2,000 accounts associated with Iranian entities despite its stated ban on Iranian users. 

Binance flatly denied making any such determination. The company said it enforces mandatory identity verification for all customers and does not knowingly onboard users with incomplete or inaccurate documentation. 

It suggested the claim may stem from its ongoing efforts to strengthen controls related to the use of virtual private networks (VPNs). The firm reiterated that any attempt to circumvent eligibility requirements through VPN usage violates its terms of service.

Employee Departures Not Linked To Iran Probe 

In addition to compliance concerns, the senator’s letter referenced media reports about the treatment of certain employees involved in the Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust investigations. 

Binance said those reports contained significant inaccuracies and rejected suggestions that employees were dismissed for escalating compliance concerns. 

While declining to disclose specific personnel details due to privacy considerations, the company acknowledged that some compliance staff and contractors have recently departed, most through voluntary resignations. 

Binance reiterated that its compliance framework is continuously evolving and strengthening. The company said that when credible risk information arises, it investigates thoroughly, removes accounts when necessary, and reports to appropriate authorities. 

With respect to the matters raised in Blumenthal’s letter, Binance argued that its compliance systems functioned as intended. The exchange pledged to continue cooperating with law enforcement and advancing what it described as its broader mission of building core infrastructure for the global crypto ecosystem.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin Difficulty has seen little change in the latest adjustment as a result of the recent sideways trend in the Hashrate.

Bitcoin Difficulty Has Only Seen A Change Of 0.45% In The New Adjustment

The Bitcoin “Difficulty” refers to a metric built into the blockchain that controls how hard the miners would find it to mine a block on the network right now. This indicator’s value automatically changes about every two weeks based on network conditions.

Satoshi wrote in one simple rule for the chain to follow: bring block production rate to a consistent value of 10 minutes per block. Whenever miners produce blocks in an interval faster than this, the network raises its Difficulty just enough to slow them back down to it. Similarly, BTC eases things up instead if miners are slower than expected.

The latest Difficulty adjustment has just occurred on the Bitcoin network. This event, however, didn’t lead to any notable changes in the metric, with its value going up by just 0.45%.

Below is a chart from CoinWarz that shows how the recent Difficulty adjustments have looked for the cryptocurrency.

From the graph, it’s visible that the Bitcoin Difficulty saw a huge decline two adjustments ago. The reason behind this aggressive drawdown in the indicator lied in special circumstances in the United States: the snow storm of late January.

Miners become faster or slower at their task when they change their computing power, collectively known as the network Hashrate. This metric saw a huge drop following the onset of the snow storm; miners were forced to curtail their power in order to ease pressure on the nation’s electricity grid, which was facing disruptions due to the extreme weather event. The resulting network slowdown is what forced the Difficulty decrease.

Since this event was extraordinary and lasted only shortly, it didn’t take long for the Hashrate to bounce back. Here is a chart from Blockchain.com that shows the trajectory that the 7-day average value of the indicator has followed recently:

The quick recovery in the Bitcoin Hashrate led into a Difficulty increase that corrected the earlier sharp drawdown. Since the rebound in the indicator, however, its value has taken to sideways movement, suggesting miners are neither expanding nor decommissioning.

This flat trajectory in the Hashrate is why the Difficulty also mostly remained unchanged during the latest adjustment.

BTC Price

Bitcoin broke above the $70,000 level earlier this week, but the asset has now seen a drop back below it as its price is now trading around $68,300.

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has been ordered to halt its operations in Dubai after regulators determined the platform was operating without the required authorization. 

The action was announced Thursday by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which stated that KuCoin does not hold a license to provide virtual asset services in or from the emirate.

Dubai Bars KuCoin From Offering Services To Residents

In its public alert, VARA said that any virtual asset-related activities conducted or promoted by the exchange in Dubai are in violation of the authority’s regulations. 

The regulator emphasized that under Dubai Law No. (4) of 2022 and UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 111/2022, all virtual asset service providers must obtain proper licensing to legally operate in the jurisdiction.

According to Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, KuCoin does not meet those legal requirements and is not authorized to offer any virtual asset services to residents of Dubai.

The regulator also warned that engaging with companies that fail to comply with VARA regulations, associated rulebooks, and broader UAE legislation could expose users to significant financial harm, as well as potential legal consequences tied to regulatory or even criminal violations. 

VARA further clarified that any promotion, marketing, or solicitation connected to KuCoin has not been approved by the authority. As a result, the exchange is not permitted to advertise, promote, or offer virtual asset products or services within Dubai or to its residents.

Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies 

The warning from Dubai comes amid broader regulatory scrutiny facing KuCoin in other regions. In Europe, Austria’s financial regulator recently restricted the exchange’s European arm from conducting new business and onboarding additional customers. 

That decision was reportedly based on concerns that the platform lacked sufficient compliance staff to meet regulatory standards, raising questions about its operational readiness and supervisory structure in the region.

European authorities have been tightening oversight of digital asset platforms as the European Union rolls out its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which is designed to standardize crypto regulation across member states. 

Despite the recent setback involving restrictions on new business, KuCoin has also secured regulatory progress in Europe. Earlier this year, Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) granted the exchange a MiCA permit, authorizing it to operate across the European Union under the bloc’s unified digital asset regime.

In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), market expert Shanaka Anslem weighed in on the legal challenges faced by the cryptocurrency exchange, stating:

If you hold assets on any exchange that lacks explicit licensing in your jurisdiction, the VARA action is your early warning system. The next cease-and-desist might freeze withdrawals before you can act. The era of “move fast and ignore regulators” is over. The only exchanges that survive the next two years are the ones that already have the paperwork.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

Kazakhstan’s central bank will soon begin investing up to $350 million from its gold and foreign exchange reserves into cryptocurrency assets and related companies, as part of its broader digital assets strategy.

Central Bank Prepares For $350M Investment Into Crypto-Related Assets

On Friday, Reuters reported that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) has formed a portfolio of up to $350 million ​from its gold and foreign exchange reserves ‌for investment in digital assets.

As of February 1, Kazakhstan’s central bank held $69.40 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves, while the assets of the national fund amounted to $65.23 billion, the news media outlet noted.

At a briefing on interest ​rates, the central bank governor, Timur Suleimanov, affirmed that the financial authority is developing a list of instruments to invest in, which will include crypto-related companies.

“These include shares of high-tech ​companies related to cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets, index funds and other instruments that exhibit similar ​dynamics to crypto assets,” Suleimanov explained.

Meanwhile, Central ​Bank Deputy Chair Aliya Moldabekova shared that the investments will begin between April and May. She added that there are no plans to make any large investments directly in digital assets, but in companies that deal with them.

“We are not talking about any large investment in cryptocurrencies. We are currently selecting companies that deal with digital ​assets. For ​example, those ⁠involved in cryptocurrency infrastructure. We are currently in the process ​of selecting such companies,” Moldabekova ​said.

The central bank’s initiative follows Kazakhstan’s plan to establish a national digital asset reserve fund valued between $500 million and $1 billion, primarily comprised of assets seized and repatriated from abroad.

Suleimenov announced the plans last year, emphasizing that the fund would prioritize investments in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and shares of companies operating within the sector. He stressed that the investment strategy would be cautious, avoiding direct exposure to digital assets.

Kazakhstan Eyes Regulated Landscape

Kazakhstan’s introduction of regulations for digital financial assets could pave the way for a new financial market sector, including tokenized assets and digital assets-fiat payment channels, the central bank governor has stated.

According to local reports, Suleimenov proposed on Friday a licensing system for crypto exchanges rather than strict bans, requiring compliance with anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorist financing (CTF), tax, and payment regulations to boost the fintech sector and the country’s economy.

We all know that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are quite actively used in our country, but outside the legal framework. But why fight this with the help of the Criminal Code? It is better to force crypto exchanges to obtain licenses, regulate them, require compliance with AML/CTF regulations, banking legislation, payment legislation, and tax legislation — and let them engage in this activity and do so within the legal framework.

Suleimenov informed that two banks have already begun issuing crypto-fiat cards that enable purchases using stablecoin accounts. During the payment process, the funds are automatically converted into the country’s national currency, the tenge. Additionally, the head of the National Bank mentioned that two more banks are in the process of launching similar products.

“That is, there are quite a few such projects. And I hope that we will gradually begin to transfer them from the ‘sandbox’ mode to the generally established mode as regulations appear. And we will see this as consumers every day,” he added.

The government has reportedly also been exploring the establishment of licensed crypto banks and a national exchange to foster a regulated environment for digital asset trading in Kazakhstan.

Despite strong backing from President Donald Trump and ongoing discussions at the White House, the CLARITY Act — the Senate’s long-debated crypto market structure bill — remains stalled as political divisions persist and the midterm elections draw closer.

The legislation has been slowed by continued resistance from Senate Democrats and the banking industry, both of which have raised objections to key provisions, particularly those related to stablecoin rewards. 

Banking Committee Markup Hinges On Tillis

According to a Thursday update from journalist Eleanor Terrett of Crypto In America, one Republican senator may now hold decisive influence over the CLARITY Act’s next steps in the Senate Banking Committee. 

Terrett reported that Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina appears to be central to resolving the ongoing dispute over stablecoin yield and reward programs.

Tillis had previously emerged as a potential holdout in January when the Senate Banking Committee was preparing to mark up the bill. Amendments introduced by Tillis sought to narrow the scope of rewards that crypto firms could offer on stablecoins. 

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase later cited those proposed changes as one of several reasons it withdrew its support for the legislation at the time, underscoring how sensitive the yield issue has become for the industry.

While the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its portion of the CLARITY Act framework in January, the Banking Committee has yet to complete its markup — a necessary step before the bill can advance further. 

Late-March CLARITY Act Markup

Terrett notes that a dramatic breakthrough between banks and crypto firms may be unlikely. Instead of a comprehensive resolution that fully satisfies both sides, the strategy now appears to focus on drafting language that represents the minimum each party can accept. 

Even if Democrats ultimately oppose the bill during the next markup session, the CLARITY Act could theoretically pass out of committee along party lines. In that scenario, however, Tillis’ support would be pivotal if no Democrats cross the aisle. His position could determine whether the legislation advances or remains stuck.

At the same time, stakeholders involved in negotiations say the focus on stablecoin rewards has “taken a lot of oxygen out of the room,” leaving other contentious areas — particularly those related to decentralized finance — sidelined.

One DeFi executive engaged in the talks suggested that Senate Democrats are now scrambling to revisit those outstanding matters. Ethics provisions are also expected to remain a point of sensitivity for some Democratic members, adding another layer of complexity to an already delicate negotiation surrounding the CLARITY Act.

As the calendar advances, timing is becoming increasingly critical. One crypto trade executive said contingency options are being considered in case the Banking Committee’s markup slips further into the year. 

Still, there is cautious optimism that meaningful progress on stablecoin yield and related provisions could be achieved within the next three weeks. If that happens, lawmakers may be able to reschedule the markup for late March.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Bitcoin is attempting to hold the $70,000 level as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensify, injecting fresh uncertainty into global financial markets. The asset began the week trading above $74,000 but experienced a sharp repricing as investors reacted to escalating developments around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy supply. As the conflict appeared likely to persist, markets quickly adjusted expectations, triggering volatility across risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

According to a recent CryptoQuant report, energy-related geopolitical shocks can act as a transmission channel for broader macroeconomic disruptions. Escalations that threaten global oil supply often reinforce inflationary pressures and increase capital costs across the financial system. These dynamics force investors to reassess monetary policy expectations, particularly regarding the trajectory of interest rates and liquidity conditions.

On Thursday, March 5, the Hormuz-related escalation triggered a sudden repricing across markets. Bitcoin, which had been trading comfortably above the $74,000 level earlier in the week, dropped sharply as the market digested the implications of a potentially prolonged conflict and its impact on the global macro environment.

Despite the volatility, Bitcoin’s internal market structure appears to be showing a degree of resilience. While macro risks are being priced across global markets and influencing Federal Reserve expectations, on-chain flows suggest that underlying demand remains active, indicating that market participants are approaching the current environment with increasingly selective capital allocation strategies.

Energy Shock Triggers ETF Outflows While On-Chain Data Shows Resilience

The report further explains that the geopolitical escalation surrounding global energy supply has triggered immediate reactions across both traditional and crypto markets. Several macro indicators illustrate the scale of the shock. Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of approximately $139.2 million on March 5, reflecting a rapid shift toward risk aversion among institutional investors. At the same time, energy markets reacted strongly: Brent crude climbed to $85.41 while WTI reached $81.01, signaling that traders are pricing in potential logistical disruptions.

The ripple effects extend beyond energy markets. US gasoline prices rose by roughly $0.27 per gallon during the week, demonstrating how quickly supply shocks pass through to consumers. Meanwhile, fertilizer prices have also begun to climb, creating a dual cost shock that threatens to pressure global food supply chains.

Despite this macro-driven liquidity drain, Bitcoin’s on-chain structure shows signs of resilience. The report highlights the Bitcoin Exchange Netflow (Total) metric as a key indicator of market liquidity. When adjusted using a 7-day moving average to filter daily noise, exchange flows remain clearly negative even amid global risk-off sentiment.

Recent daily data shows a net balance of approximately -501 BTC leaving exchanges, while weekly cumulative withdrawals reached around -6,469 BTC. This suggests that long-term holders are not seeking immediate liquidity. Instead, coins continue moving into cold storage, reducing available supply and limiting near-term selling pressure as the market navigates the broader macro shock.

Bitcoin Tests Long-Term Support After Market Repricing

The weekly chart shows Bitcoin trading near $69,700 as the market attempts to stabilize following a sharp correction from the late-2025 highs. After reaching levels above $110,000 during the peak of the rally, BTC entered a corrective phase marked by lower highs and increasing volatility. The recent decline pushed price toward the $65,000 region before buyers stepped in, producing the current rebound attempt around the $70,000 level.

Technically, Bitcoin is now positioned between several key moving averages that define the broader trend. The price is currently trading below the 50-week moving average, which sits near the $90,000 region and is now acting as dynamic resistance. Meanwhile, the 100-week moving average is positioned around the mid-$80,000 zone, reinforcing the overhead pressure that emerged after the breakdown earlier this year.

On the downside, the 200-week moving average continues to trend upward near the $58,000–$60,000 range, forming a major long-term support level for the current cycle. Historically, this moving average has served as a structural floor during major market corrections.

From a macro perspective, Bitcoin remains within a broader multi-year uptrend despite the recent drawdown. The current consolidation around $70,000 suggests the market is attempting to establish a new support base before determining whether the next move will be a deeper correction or a renewed attempt to reclaim higher levels.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Just over 10,000 Bitcoin — out of nearly 20 million in circulation — sits in wallets actually exposed to a quantum attack.

That number comes from CoinShares, a crypto asset management firm, which found in February that only 10,230 coins are both vulnerable to quantum computing and tied to wallet addresses with publicly visible cryptographic keys.

At current prices, that amounts to close to $730 million — a sum the firm described as resembling a routine trade, not a market crisis.

A Steel Frame Takes Shape In Chicago

The finding lands at an awkward moment. This week, PsiQuantum co-founder Peter Shadbolt posted a photo to X showing the Chicago construction site where his company is building what it calls the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer.

In six days, workers had erected 500 tons of steel. The structure will house a machine capable of running 1 million qubits — a unit of quantum computing power.

Scientists say that capacity is, in theory, sufficient to crack the type of encryption protecting Bitcoin wallets.

Time to build really big quantum computers. Five hundred tons of steel up in six days. Cryoplant delivery date breathing down our neck. Grateful to the many hundreds of people locked in to this mission pic.twitter.com/eqSwsESusK

— Pete Shadbolt (@PeteShadbolt) March 5, 2026

The company raised $1 billion for the project, announced in September, with chipmaker Nvidia as a key partner.

PsiQuantum says the facility is designed to support fault-tolerant quantum computing and serve as infrastructure for next-generation AI systems.

For context, the largest quantum computer currently operating at the California Institute of Technology runs on 6,100 qubits. A jump to 1 million represents a scale that has no precedent in the field.

What Would Actually Be At Risk

Bitcoin’s encryption relies on 256-bit cryptographic keys. A preprint paper published last month put the number of qubits needed to break 2048-bit keys at around 100,000 — suggesting that a 1 million-qubit machine could, mathematically, do the job.

But experts have long noted that raw qubit count is only part of the equation. Error rates and system stability matter just as much.

Not all Bitcoin wallets face equal exposure. Coins held in addresses that have never made a transaction — known as unspent transaction outputs, or UTXOs — are considered most at risk, particularly those whose public keys have been exposed on the blockchain. Many of those wallets date back to Bitcoin’s earliest days.

Developers Are Already Working On A Fix

Bitcoin developers have been debating how to respond. One option on the table is a hard fork — a fundamental change to the network’s code — to introduce post-quantum cryptography.

A co-author of BIP-360, a proposal aimed at making Bitcoin quantum-resistant, said that the upgrade could take as long as seven years to fully implement.

PsiQuantum, for its part, has said it has no intention of using its technology to attack Bitcoin. Co-founder Terry Rudolph made that point publicly at a Bitcoin quantum summit last July.

Experts in the field say a genuine quantum threat to Bitcoin is still at least a decade away.

For now, construction continues in Chicago — 500 tons of steel and counting.

Featured image from Unsplash+/Alex Shuper, chart from TradingView

Cryptocurrency exchanges are increasingly evolving beyond digital asset trading platforms, gradually becoming global venues for traditional financial derivatives. A recent CryptoQuant report highlights how this shift is accelerating as market participants from traditional finance begin to utilize crypto-native infrastructure to trade assets outside the typical cryptocurrency universe.

One of the clearest signals of this transformation is the rapid rise of perpetual futures tied to traditional assets. These instruments allow traders to gain exposure to commodities, equities, and other macro assets through crypto exchanges while benefiting from continuous, 24/7 market access. Unlike conventional financial markets that operate within fixed trading hours, crypto platforms provide uninterrupted liquidity, making them particularly attractive during periods of strong price momentum.

The trend has become especially visible during recent rallies in commodities such as gold and silver. As prices moved sharply, traders increasingly turned to crypto exchanges offering TradFi perpetual contracts to maintain exposure around the clock. This structure enables market participants to respond immediately to global developments rather than waiting for traditional markets to reopen.

According to CryptoQuant, the growth of these instruments reflects a broader structural shift in financial markets. The boundary between traditional finance and crypto-native trading infrastructure is gradually fading, with digital asset exchanges emerging as hybrid platforms capable of supporting both crypto assets and traditional financial products within a unified trading environment.

TradFi Perpetual Futures See Rapid Growth On Crypto Exchanges

The report also highlights the rapid expansion of trading activity in Binance’s TradFi perpetual futures market. Since launch, cumulative trading volume across these contracts has surpassed $130 billion, with more than 90 million trades recorded. Notably, total volume exceeded $100 billion by February 24, just two months after the product’s introduction, underscoring strong demand from traders seeking continuous exposure to traditional assets through crypto-native platforms.

Binance’s TradFi perpetual futures allow users to trade a wide range of instruments, including precious metals and major equities. Available contracts include gold, silver, palladium, and platinum, alongside stocks such as AMZN, COIN, CIRCL, HOOD, INTC, MSTR, PLTR, and TSLA. These products replicate the economic exposure of traditional derivatives while benefiting from the global accessibility and near-continuous trading environment of crypto exchanges.

Precious metals dominate activity within this segment. Daily trading volume is heavily concentrated in gold and silver contracts, which reached approximately $3.77 billion and $3.75 billion, respectively, on March 3. Trading tends to accelerate during strong price trends in metals markets. For example, record daily volumes of roughly $4 billion in gold and $7 billion in silver were observed on January 30, 2025.

High participation levels further illustrate this momentum. TradFi perpetual futures recently recorded around 4.4 million daily trades, with gold accounting for roughly 2.0 million and silver for 1.9 million transactions.

Total Crypto Market Cap Tests Key Support After Correction

The weekly chart of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization shows the market stabilizing near $2.37 trillion after experiencing a sharp correction from the late-2025 highs. Following a strong rally that pushed the total market cap close to the $4 trillion region, the broader crypto market entered a consolidation phase marked by declining momentum and increased volatility.

From a structural perspective, the recent decline has pushed the market below the 50-week moving average, a level that previously acted as dynamic support during much of the 2024–2025 expansion. The market is now attempting to stabilize around the $2.3 trillion zone, which is emerging as an important short-term support level.

Below the current price, the 100-week moving average sits near the $2.1 trillion region, while the 200-week moving average continues to trend upward around $2 trillion. These long-term averages form a significant support cluster that historically plays a key role during mid-cycle corrections.

Despite the recent pullback, the broader structure still reflects a macro uptrend that began in early 2023. The current phase appears consistent with a corrective retracement following an extended rally rather than a full structural breakdown.

If total market capitalization manages to hold above the $2.3 trillion area, the market could attempt to rebuild momentum and challenge resistance near the $2.8–$3 trillion range in the coming months.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Vitalik Buterin is urging the Ethereum ecosystem to get bolder about what it builds on top of the chain—while drawing a hard line around the base layer’s core guarantees—arguing that a first-principles reset on applications, wallets, and even culture could be necessary for Ethereum’s next phase.

In a post on X, the Ethereum co-founder said “it’s healthy for us in the Ethereum world to have a more bold and open mindset,” especially on the application layer and “how we see ourselves in the world.” That openness, he argued, should not drift into ambiguity about what Ethereum’s L1 is supposed to protect.

“We should not compromise on core properties: censorship resistance, open source, privacy, security (CROPS),” Buterin wrote. “We should not have ‘open mindedness’ of the type that leaves people with no confidence of what security properties the L1 will still have one year from now.” He added that Ethereum should not backslide into questioning fundamentals like whether “light clients” should “trustlessly verify correctness of the chain.”

Where the rethink should happen, in his framing, is the interface between Ethereum and users: the application stack, its assumptions, and the social conventions that shape what builders consider “serious” work.

Ethereum AI Wallets, But With Guardrails

Buterin tied part of the shift to AI, floating a scenario where “wallets as browser extensions and mobile extensions are dead within a year?” On Farcaster, he made the point more directly: “Pretty obvious that the next iteration of wallets will heavily involve AI.”

Still, he stressed that higher-value usage can’t simply outsource trust to a model. “I would not trust an LLM with multi-million transactions or funds,” he wrote, describing what he sees as the “optimal workflow” for large transfers: “AI proposes a plan, local light client simulates it, you see the action and the simulated outcome and manually confirm it.”

The pay-off, he suggested, is that moving away from today’s dapp-heavy interaction model could reduce risk. If done “conservatively with lots of emphasis on security,” Buterin argued, removing dapp UIs “from the picture completely” could eliminate “a large number of attack vectors (for both theft and privacy).”

‘Rip Off The Suit And Tie’

Buterin pointed to privacy as a recent example of Ethereum changing its priorities at the application layer. He described last year’s “shift to thinking about privacy as a first-class consideration,” which, he argued, implies “a radically different Ethereum application stack” because “the entire stack so far has not been built around privacy.” This year, he said, that has expanded into “growing work on the networking side of privacy, both inside the EF and outside.”

He also sketched more provocative app-layer thought experiments, including whether “the rest of defi is basically just universal futures markets on top of a good decentralized oracle and letting users self-organize on top of that,” and even whether “the ideal decentralized oracle is just a SNARK over M-of-N small LLMs over zk-TLSes of some major news sites?” In his view, AI pushes “applications” away from discrete products with discrete UIs and toward a continuous space—making “build fewer apps and rely on users to self-organize around them” a pattern that could expand.

On scaling, he said Ethereum is also “rethinking from zero the role of L2s, and what kind of L2s are actually most synergistic and additive to Ethereum,” framing it as another area where past assumptions may no longer hold.

Buterin framed culture as a non-technical constraint that can quietly narrow what gets built. Referencing “the whole milady thing,” he argued the subtext is to “rip off the suit and tie,” describing a deliberately irreverent break from “respectable” postures: “Take the preconception that you are ‘respectable’, write it down on a piece of paper, crumble it up and burn it. The psychological baptism of doing this leads to the intellectual baptism of unlocking greater creativity and expanding overton windows.”

He closed his X post with a challenge to builders: stop iterating one step at a time from today’s usage patterns and instead imagine Ethereum’s application layer as if starting from a blank page. “If YOU had to write the section of the 2014 Ethereum whitepaper that talked about applications… what would you write?” he asked, urging people to “mark all path-dependence concerns down to zero” and see what new designs emerge.

At press time, ETH traded at $2,050.