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Ethereum is navigating renewed volatility as escalating tensions in the Middle East reshape the macro landscape and weigh on digital assets. Price action has become increasingly reactive to external risk signals, with liquidity thinning during periods of heightened geopolitical uncertainty. While short-term swings dominate headlines, underlying on-chain dynamics suggest a more structural shift may be unfolding beneath the surface.

According to a recent CryptoQuant analysis, Ethereum reserves on Binance have declined to approximately 3.46 million ETH — the lowest level recorded since 2020. This contraction in exchange-held supply is not a marginal fluctuation but a multi-year structural low. Such a development carries meaningful implications for investor positioning and the evolving balance between available supply and latent demand.

Historically, declining exchange reserves indicate that investors are withdrawing assets to cold storage or long-term custody solutions. This behavior is typically associated with holding preference rather than imminent distribution. When fewer coins remain readily accessible on centralized platforms, the pool of immediately tradable supply contracts is reduced. In theory, this reduces the probability of abrupt sell-side shocks driven by excess exchange liquidity.

Ethereum Exchange Reserves Hit Six-Year Lows as Supply Tightens

The longer-term trajectory of Ethereum reserves on Binance reinforces the structural nature of this shift. From prior cycle peaks above 5 million ETH, exchange balances have trended steadily lower, interrupted only by brief countertrend rebounds that failed to establish higher highs. The pattern of successive lower highs signals persistent net outflows rather than episodic movements. At approximately 3.46 million ETH, reserves now sit at their lowest level in nearly six years, underscoring the magnitude of the contraction.

This evolution aligns with broader behavioral changes across the Ethereum ecosystem. The rise of self-custody solutions and the expansion of staking participation have structurally reduced the float available on centralized venues. Coins removed from exchanges are less likely to be deployed for immediate trading, particularly when allocated to long-term custody or yield-generating mechanisms.

The timing is notable. With ETH trading near $2,027, the market occupies a technically sensitive zone. A continued decline in reserves at this level may indicate growing conviction among holders unwilling to sell into volatility. Should incremental demand emerge while exchange supply continues to tighten, the resulting imbalance could generate upward pressure.

Ethereum Struggles Below $2,000 as Bearish Structure Remains Intact

On the 4-hour timeframe, Ethereum remains structurally weak despite attempts to stabilize near the $1,950–$2,000 zone. Price continues to trade below the 50, 100, and 200-period moving averages, all of which are sloping downward — a clear alignment that confirms short-term bearish control.

The early-February selloff established a lower high structure, and subsequent rebounds have failed to reclaim the 200-period moving average (red), currently positioned well above price near the $2,100 region. This level now acts as a decisive dynamic resistance ceiling. Meanwhile, the 100-period moving average (green) has repeatedly capped intraday recoveries, reinforcing the broader downtrend.

Support has developed around $1,900, where buyers previously stepped in following a sharp liquidation wick. However, each bounce has produced progressively weaker follow-through, suggesting demand remains reactive rather than proactive.

Volume expanded during the breakdown phases but has since tapered, indicating temporary equilibrium rather than accumulation. The compression between $1,900 and $2,000 reflects indecision under a bearish structure.

For momentum to shift meaningfully, ETH would need a sustained break above $2,050–$2,100 to challenge the descending moving averages. A loss of $1,900, however, would likely reopen downside toward the $1,800 liquidity pocket.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

As the world moves away from a dollar-dominated financial system, one analyst argues that XRP is not competing for the status of “digital gold,” but quietly positioning itself as a global settlement layer. He noted that this practical utility will build more value for XRP over time, especially as it gains deeper adoption among financial institutions and payment networks. 

XRP Finds Its Lane As Global Settlement Layer

Market analyst Luke Suther is making the case that XRP has been misunderstood all along, and that the real story has nothing to do with competing against Bitcoin (BTC) or gold. He laid out his vision for where XRP fits in an increasingly fragmented global financial system. His argument centers on a simple but often overlooked distinction between storing value and moving it. 

Suther pointed to the ongoing shift toward a multipolar world order, where no single nation dominates global trade and finance the way the United States (US) has for decades. In this world, he noted that gold would make a comeback, recognized once again as a top-tier collateral under Basel III banking regulations. He highlighted that the precious metal will also be prized for its hardness, neutrality, and universal trust.  

However, Suther emphasized that gold has a major limitation that most people miss. He argued that while gold can anchor a reserve system and operate as a store of value, it cannot move at internet speed. Capital in a multipolar world needs to cross borders instantly, without friction, and without running through dollar-dominated infrastructure. For this to happen, the analyst noted that a digital bridge is required. He described this digital bridge as XRP, noting that the cryptocurrency was designed to address the settlement inefficiencies that gold currently faces.

Rather than framing XRP as digital gold or as a competitor to any cryptocurrency or precious metal, Suther characterized it as a “complementary infrastructure.” He called XRP an operational extension of gold’s value, qualifying it as a high-quality liquid asset designed to bridge the reserve layer and facilitate instant real-world settlement. 

From his perspective, gold holds value; however, XRP is the vehicle that moves it. Together, he argues that they form the natural architecture of a multi-polar system no longer anchored to any single currency. 

XRP Emerges As Settlement Layer For National Security

Black Swan Capitalist Versan Aljarrah stated in a recent X post that the consequences of modern warfare stretch far beyond borders and battlefields, reaching deep into the infrastructure of global finance. He argued that when powerful nations begin weaponizing reserve currencies and cutting off access to payment systems, the countries on the receiving end begin building alternatives that route around the systems being used against them. 

According to him, cross-border liquidity that flows without political interference is no longer a matter of financial convenience but a national security priority. Countries that once relied on dollar-dominated systems are now actively seeking alternatives that no single government can shut down. In this context, Aljarrah sees the altcoin as an alternative to address these problems. It’s a system that allows capital to flow across borders without relying on a single nation’s currency or being affected by political interference.

President Donald Trump has publicly addressed the legislative impasse surrounding the CLARITY Act, the long-debated crypto market structure bill that has yet to reach his desk for final approval. 

The delay, according to ongoing discussions in Washington, stems largely from disagreements between the banking industry and crypto representatives, particularly over provisions tied to stablecoin rewards.

Trump Says Banks Threaten Stablecoin Law

In a post shared Tuesday on Truth Social, Trump sharply criticized the banking sector, accusing it of attempting to weaken both the broader crypto framework and a separate stablecoin measure he signed into law last year — the GENIUS Act. 

“The Genius Act is being threatened and undermined by the Banks, and that is unacceptable — We are not going to allow it,” Trump wrote. He argued that passing comprehensive market structure legislation is urgent, adding, “The U.S. needs to get Market Structure done, ASAP. Americans should earn more money on their money.”

The President also claimed that financial institutions, despite reporting record profits, are working against policies designed to expand opportunities within the digital asset sector. 

Trump warned that failing to finalize the CLARITY Act could weaken America’s position in the global crypto race. “We are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda that will end up going to China, and other Countries if we don’t get The Clarity Act taken care of,” Trump stated.

Calls For Banking-Crypto Cooperation

Trump further urged the banking sector to reach constructive agreements with the crypto industry, arguing that collaboration would serve the best interests of American consumers and businesses alike. 

“This Industry cannot be taken from the People of America when it is so close to becoming truly successful,” he wrote, closing his message with a call for attention to the issue.

Legislatively, progress on the CLARITY Act has been uneven. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its portion of the bill in January of this year. However, broader movement has stalled. 

The Senate Banking Committee had initially scheduled a markup in January, but that session was canceled amid the same disputes between banking representatives and crypto advocates that continue to complicate negotiations. The committee is now reportedly targeting a new markup date in mid-to-late March.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

With the Ethereum price slowly demonstrating bullish traction after reclaiming the $2,000 mark, sentiment is turning positive once again. During this price action, investors are choosing to hold the leading altcoin rather than sell, which is indicated by a significant drop in crypto exchanges’ reserves.

Available Ethereum On Exchanges Hits New Lows

Following the bounce in Ethereum’s price, the supply of ETH sitting on cryptocurrency exchanges has experienced a sharp decline. According to the report, the number of the coin available on crypto exchanges has fallen to new lows, signaling a notable shift in market structure and sentiment.

As per the chart shared by Leon Waidmann, an optimist and the head of research at Lisk, the metric is currently sitting at a multi-year low. As coins continue to migrate from trading platforms into private wallets or long-term storage, the amount of liquid accessible for instant sale is gradually decreasing.

Currently, over 16 million ETH is left on cryptocurrency exchanges, falling from about 23 million ETH in 2023. Even though the price of ETH has declined sharply from a new all-time high, holders kept withdrawing their coins from platforms. This is considered a positive development for Ethereum as fewer ETH reserves on exchanges means less immediate sell pressure on the altcoin.

When reserves drop during a price crash, this is an interesting trend as it implies that holders are not panic-selling. Waidmann highlighted that these holders are deliberately moving ETH off cryptocurrency exchanges to staking contracts, cold storage, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

These investors are making an active choice to hold, and this is historically how supply shocks are started without a price pump. While everyone else is preoccupied with the red candles, there is a silent accumulation. The market may be scared currently, but on-chain data is telling a different story.

ETH Is Attracting A Massive Wave Of Adoption

Ethereum adoption is picking up pace at a significant rate, as evidenced by its mainnet activity. The network’s activity has spiked to unprecedented levels, with its daily transactions climbing to an all-time high despite the bear market. The milestone shows a significant rise in on-chain demand, which is fueled by increased DeFi activity, stablecoin transfers, NFT interactions, and the emergence of AI and real-world asset protocols.

Data shows that the mainnet transactions per day have surged to nearly 3 million. This is a notable number when compared to levels seen in previous cycles, especially during a bull run. Waidmann noted that the current number of daily transactions is more than the ones seen in the 2021 bull run and in the 2023 recovery.

Despite the fact that the price of ETH is down, the network is experiencing its busiest period, signaling sustained engagement beneath the surface. Record-breaking transaction counts frequently indicate increasing utility rather than being pure speculation.

Shielded Labs is urging the Zcash community to move quickly on long-term sustainability changes, arguing that the network has a near-term opening to attract patient capital and should not wait for that window to close. The pitch is not just technical. In Shielded Labs’ telling, protocol-level clarity around future security and emissions could itself become an investment signal for ZEC.

The argument surfaced in a Zcash Community Forum discussion around the proposed Network Sustainability Mechanism, or NSM, where Shielded Labs pushed back on the idea that the work lacks short-term relevance.

“We believe there’s an opportunity right now to attract long-term investors. In conversations we’ve had over the past year, investors respond positively to the fact that we’re thinking about and actively addressing long-term sustainability. Broad consensus from the community and coinholders for implementing the NSM in the next network upgrade would send a clear signal that we have a credible path forward,” the group wrote.

Zcash Could Miss Its Moment Without Fast Action

That framing matters because the current debate is not simply about whether Zcash should strengthen its future security budget, but how. In a separate governance post, Shielded Labs said recent polling showed a split between support for the overall direction of the NSM and resistance to one of its more sensitive design choices, issuance smoothing.

According to the group, “There were two separate questions: one related to the NSM and issuance smoothing, and another focused on burning 60 percent of transaction fees to support network sustainability.” It added that the issuance-smoothing question won “broad support from panels but not from coinholders,” while the fee-burning component drew broad support from both panels and coinholders.

On that basis, Shielded Labs said it sees “clear support” for the elements that remove ZEC from circulation, including ZIP 233 and ZIP 235, and intends to push those parts toward the next network upgrade.

Shielded Labs also acknowledged that resistance from coinholders is not irrational. “For some coinholders, the existing emissions schedule is viewed as a defining part of Zcash’s monetary identity, similar in principle to the 21 million supply cap. That is a rational position,” the post said, adding that the team remains open to alternative designs that preserve the halving schedule while still improving sustainability.

Still, the core message from the newer forum exchange was unmistakably urgent. Shielded Labs argued that upcoming network developments could make the timing more consequential than it appears today.

“Tachyon could increase aggregate fees in the near term by allowing a much higher rate of transactions, which makes the timing especially important. NEAR Intents integrations and additional Maya DEX activity could also increase fee demand. If several of these developments gain traction at the same time, aggregate network usage could rise meaningfully. In that scenario, it would be better to already have the NSM in place rather than trying to introduce it later.”

The broader strategic claim is that Zcash can differentiate itself by confronting a question many proof-of-work networks still treat as a future problem. Shielded Labs explicitly tied the issue to the wider debate over Bitcoin’s long-term security budget, arguing that a mechanism “explicitly defined at the protocol level” could matter for how users and investors evaluate network durability.

Whether that case is enough to win over skeptical coinholders remains unresolved, but the direction of travel is clearer: Shielded Labs wants Zcash to present sustainability not as an abstract research topic, but as part of the asset’s investment thesis now.

At press time, ZEC traded at $216.59.

A long-term Bitcoin bull is imploring investors to stay measured and strategic in the middle of brutal short-term challenges for the market.

In a detailed thread posted on X, market analyst Caleb Franzen made it clear that being bullish over the long run does not mean ignoring the realities of the current price structure. He outlined a framework built around bear market behavior, moving average breakdowns, and predefined invalidation levels.

Recognizing The Breakdown Below Key Moving Averages

Franzen pointed to Bitcoin’s breakdown below the 2-day 200 moving average cloud in November 2025, around $97,000, as the important turning point. According to him, every major Bitcoin bear market has begun with a decisive break below this level.

The chart accompanying his post shows Bitcoin’s multi-year price action alongside long-term moving average clouds. The red and blue bands illustrate how price tends to trade above these moving averages during uptrends and below them during extended downtrends. Each previous bear market phase began with a loss of the 2-day 200 MA structure, followed by prolonged weakness.

Franzen also highlighted the 200-week moving average cloud, another level that has historically acted as a bear market magnet. At the time of the breakdown, that zone sat between approximately $55,000 and $65,000. However, he noted that in 2022, Bitcoin fell about 30% below the 200-week MA cloud before finally bottoming.

Factoring that in, there are obvious scenarios where Bitcoin could drop 20% to 33% below the 200-week MA band, placing downside targets between roughly $37,000 and $44,000. Interestingly, this range aligns closely with the long-term holder realized price, currently near $41,700, another level that has always drawn price during bear phases.

Using Historical Data Without Becoming Trapped By It

Bitcoin has experienced multiple 20% to 30% pullbacks even within strong bull markets. In bear markets, those declines can persist for quarters, not just weeks or months. However, he stressed that preparing for a prolonged downturn does not mean assuming it must happen.

Despite presenting a bearish base case supported by historical metrics, Franzen was careful to make a point that history does not guarantee repetition. His approach is based on weighing probabilities, not certainties.

It would be better to be prepared for a multi-quarter decline and be pleasantly surprised by resilience than to expect a quick recovery and be caught off guard by deeper weakness. That mindset would allow investors to avoid emotional decision-making.

There is also the case of boxing oneself into a single outcome. Waiting exclusively for a $40,000 retest could prove costly if Bitcoin finds support earlier and resumes its uptrend. Interestingly, Franzen also laid out specific conditions that would shift his stance.

If the breakdown below the 2-day 200 MA cloud was the official bearish indication in November 2025, then a breakout back above that same structure would serve as a bullish signal. A reclaim of the 2-day 200 MA cloud and the 55-week moving average cloud at $99,000 is the line in the sand to turn constructive again.

As Monday drew to a close, the Solana price witnessed a bounce, bringing it closer to the $90 mark, which has ignited bullish sentiment among investors. The SOL’s price rebound coincides with a significant uptick in the network’s activity and performance, with SOL emerging as the No. 1 blockchain among all major chains.

Daily Transaction Count Puts Solana On Top

Solana’s price action and network performance appear to be moving in a similar direction, with the price briefly bouncing as network activity explodes. Once again, the network has proven its position as a leader in the blockchain sector, becoming the most go-to chain in the sector on a daily basis.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sensei Holding and Namaste Group, Solana Sensei, shared on X that the SOL network has surged ahead of competition in terms of transaction volume. The report shows that SOL tops the charts in daily on-chain transactions count across all major blockchain networks.

Fueled by its high-speed infrastructure, cheap fees, and growing activity across DeFi, NFTs, and consumer-facing applications, Solana is processing more transactions per day than its closest competitors. SOL’s dominance in this area marks a notable achievement, highlighting the network’s expanding role as a high-throughput hub for on-chain operations.

Solana Sensei highlighted that the SOL network is currently processing nearly 10 times or more transactions than other major chains, reflecting sustained user engagement and increasing ecosystem maturity. Taking a look at the chart, SOL recorded daily transactions of approximately 108.8 million, with BNB Chain coming in second position with over 13.0 million daily transfers. 

Meanwhile, leading networks like Base, TRON, Polygon, and Ethereum recorded 12.5 million, 9.9 million, 8.9 million, and 2.8 million, respectively. As developers continue to release new apps and users migrate to more affordable platforms, SOL’s transaction leadership demonstrates a wider change in where blockchain activity is concentrating in the current market cycle.

SOL DEX Volume Expands Beyond Other Chains

In another X post, Solana Sensei revealed that SOL is rapidly asserting dominance in the decentralized trading arena. According to the expert, SOL’s DEX volume has skyrocketed beyond that of competing blockchain networks. The increase in decentralized exchange activity is indicative of a larger shift in liquidity toward quicker, more affordable networks.

In the entire month of February, the SOL network dominated all major chains to secure the top spot in DEX volume. Such an increase in DEX volume indicates deeper on-chain strength, market infrastructure, and ongoing user participation rather than just transient speculation.

This notable DEX performance from SOL is starting to unfold this new month. Just  2 days into the month of March, the total Solana DEX volume has exceeded $200 billion, further reinforcing the network’s leading role in the evolving on-chain financial landscape.

Bitcoin’s current price structure is prompting a reassessment in how this cycle is being interpreted. The only place to look for clues is the past, and an interesting technical analysis shows that Bitcoin’s current pattern resembles the slower, methodical buildup that defined 2017. 

A long-term chart built around a linear regression channel shows that Bitcoin may still be in a preparatory phase, with one major technical barrier separating today’s consolidation from what could become a powerful rally.

The Linear Regression Line Holding Back The Breakout

Technical analysis of Bitcoin’s price action posted on X by crypto analyst CW looks at the leading cryptocurrency’s price action fitted on a linear regression, with clearly defined support and resistance bands stretching back over a decade. Notably, Bitcoin’s most aggressive bull phases depicted on the chart began only after price broke above the regression trendline convincingly.

In the 2017 cycle, Bitcoin spent a prolonged period consolidating below this line before finally pushing through it. Once that breakout occurred, the price entered into a strong rally phase that lasted one year. The move ultimately carried BTC from below $1,000 to almost $20,000 in a relatively compressed timeframe.

On the other hand, the 2021 cycle showed a different behavior. Bitcoin’s price action moved more faster earlier in the structure, breaking above trend resistance sooner and running into its $69,000 peak without the same extended base formation seen in 2017.

The current cycle, according to the chart, has yet to produce a decisive break above the linear regression fit. Although Bitcoin has already created a new all-time high above $126,000 on its normal price chart, the price is still respecting this long-term trendline as a ceiling, and this is a sign that the major expansion phase is yet to come. Therefore, the outlook is that the real rally will begin only after this barrier is cleared with conviction.

BTC Price Chart. Source: @CW8900 On X

Structure Points To A Breakout Setup To $500,000

Going by this linear regression fit, Bitcoin is still in an accumulation phase. That assertion is due to the prolonged consolidation below the green regression trendline in the chart above. Right now, BTC is approaching the red support trendline, and the next outlook is a bounce from the support.

The red support trendline on the chart has repeatedly acted as a floor during pullbacks across several cycles. Whenever Bitcoin has tested or moved close to this area, it has coincided with periods that later proved to be significant accumulation phases.

If history repeats in a 2017-style fashion, the important rally moment would be a breakout above the green linear regression fit trendline, followed by a push to the purple resistance trendline. According to the projection illustrated on the chart, such a move would place Bitcoin in a trajectory that targets the $500,000 range before meeting that resistance trendline.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has provided an update on plans for account abstraction. Given the progress they have made so far on this feature, he stated that it could go live within a year under the Hegota upgrade. 

Vitalik Buterin Provides Update On Ethereum Account Abstraction

In an X post, Vitalik Buterin noted that they have made progress with the account abstraction proposal, which they have been working on since early 2016. There is now the EIP-8141 proposal, which the Ethereum co-founder said solves every remaining problem that account abstraction is intended to solve. 

Account abstraction enables smart contracts to initiate and validate transactions. This upgrade will enable users to automate payments from their wallets while still retaining control of their funds. Vitalik Buterin drew attention to “Frame Transactions,” which enables native account abstraction. One key component of this Ethereum feature is that users can now pay gas fees in tokens other than ETH via the paymaster contract. 

Vitalik Buterin gave an example of users wanting to pay gas in RAI, an Ethereum-backed asset. He stated that one can use a paymaster contract, which is a special-purpose DEX that provides ETH in real time. The Ethereum co-founder broke down the transaction frames, which include deployment, validation, paymaster validation, and then the user sends RAI to the payment, after which execution occurs. The paymaster then refunds unused RAI and converts it to ETH. 

The founder’s comments come amid the Ethereum Foundation’s release of the ‘Strawmap,’ which outlines the network’s plans through 2029 as developers work on aspects such as finality and transaction speed. The Strawmap also showed that native account abstraction could happen by the second half of this year. 

How This Aligns With The Cypherpunk ETH Vision

Vitalik Buterin said that account abstraction minimizes intermediaries, a core principle of “non-ugly cypherpunk Ethereum,” which maximizes what users can do even if all the world’s infrastructure except Ethereum goes down. This came as the Ethereum co-founder noted that the mechanism for account abstraction is the same as in existing sponsored transaction mechanisms, but with no intermediaries required. 

The Ethereum co-founder also touched on how account abstraction will work for privacy protocols, noting that there are two strategies in focus. The first is creating a paymaster contract that checks for a valid ZK-SNARK and pays gas if it finds one. The second strategy is to add 2D nonces, which would enable an individual account to function as a privacy protocol and to receive transactions in parallel for many users. 

Vitalik Buterin stated that for privacy protocol users, this strategy means that they can completely remove “public broadcasters” that are the source of “massive UX pain” and replace them with a general-purpose public mempool

At the time of writing, the ETH price is trading at around $2,000, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The fallout from the XRP Ledger’s BatchGate scare is turning into a broader argument about who is actually responsible for protocol safety and how much scrutiny major amendments should face before they get anywhere near mainnet. In a statement published Monday, longtime validator operator Daniel Keller said the near-miss around XLS-56 exposed “a systemic failure in review processes” and prompted him to withdraw support for all amendments currently under consideration.

Keller’s post was framed as a clarification of what dUNL validators are supposed to do, after what he described as widespread confusion following the Batch incident. His central point was that validators are governance participants, not unpaid auditors. “The role of dUNL validators is specific and limited: We coordinate the activation (or rejection) of amendments by casting ‘Yay’ or ‘Nay’ votes once an amendment is proposed,” he wrote. “We are supposed to judge pending amendments. That is our primary governance function.”

That distinction matters because XLS-56, also known as Batch, was halted only after a logic flaw in signature validation was uncovered shortly before mainnet activation. The bug could have enabled unauthorized transaction execution and potentially put billions in XRP at risk before the amendment was paused and patched in rippled 3.1.1.

XRP Ledger Governance Concerns, With Ripple in Focus

For Keller, the episode was not an isolated mistake but the latest example of a deeper structural problem. “The dUNL is not a free code-review or protocol-auditing body. Expecting validators to spend dozens of unpaid hours reviewing complex amendment code was never part of the design and never will be,” he wrote. “Instead, parties proposing amendments should be required to deliver comprehensive documentation, test suites, security analyses, and formal proofs upon request. If you want my vote, prove the change is safe and beneficial.”

He argued that the burden now falls on Ripple to fund that process more aggressively. “I will not vote in favour of any future amendments until Ripple makes a credible, concrete commitment to substantially increase investment in XRPL core protocol engineering, security review, and long-term sustainability,” Keller said. “If XRP is truly Ripple’s ‘North Star,’ as repeatedly stated, then the network’s foundational security and decentralisation must receive the attention and resources they deserve.”

Keller’s immediate response was blunt: withdraw all current “Yay” votes, except for pending fixes, and refuse to upgrade to rippled 3.1.1 unless staying on the earlier version risks removal from the network. He also said the fact that an independent researcher and an AI tool were ultimately needed to prevent harm underscored how thin the current safety net has become.

Other prominent XRPL voices agreed that the process needs to change, though not all backed a slowdown. Vet, a well-known XRPL validator, called the Batch incident “a massive opportunity” for the community and the XRPL Foundation to rethink how the protocol evolves. He argued for a slower amendment schedule, more paid reviews, multiple audits for larger changes, “attackathons” on testnet, and a bug bounty program big enough to attract elite researchers.

Keller, however, pushed back on the idea that the answer is simply to move slower. “In the short term, we need some sort of agreement with Cantina. They have proven themself and it’s the best we have right now,” he wrote. “Mid-term, the bug bounties need to be elevated and pay serious money. First, people need to be incentivised to look at the code; second, it must pay off to do a responsible disclosure.”

He went further in a follow-up that captured the mood of the debate: “I do not want to slow down our dev speed; it took us years to get to the current level, and we are still slow. More resources need to be allocated, and the process needs to start yesterday.”

That leaves the XRP Ledger in a tense but familiar place: a network trying to add functionality without compromising the credibility of its base layer. BatchGate did not become a live exploit. But it did force a sharper question into the open, whether XRPL’s amendment pipeline is still operating with enough review depth for the scale of change now being proposed.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.3566.

Sanae Token, a Solana based token, has crashed roughly 75% from its peak after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s denied her involvement with it.

Another Politician Under The Memecoin Fenzy

On a post made through the X social network on March 2, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi clarified that she has no affiliation with the so‑called “Sanae Token” and warned the public against assuming any official endorsement just because a coin uses her name or image: “I have absolutely no knowledge of this token, nor has my office been informed about what this token entails”, she stated, ending the post with the warning that she wants to make sure that the public is not misled, despite the Sanae Token website issuing a disclaimer explicitly stating that it is “not affiliated with or endorsed by Ms. Takaichi”.

SANAE TOKENという仮想通貨が発行され、一定の取引が行われていると伺いました。…

— 高市早苗 (@takaichi_sanae) March 2, 2026

Japanese outlets report that following Sanae’s statement on X, Sanae Token fell more than 50% within four hours, while Wu Blockchain positions the drop to around $6 million.

According to GMGN, the Solana-based meme token SANAE TOKEN briefly reached a market cap of $27.72 million before dropping to around $6 million. The top three addresses hold about 60% of the token supply, and many leading addresses show token inflow activity. Sanae Takaichi stated…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 3, 2026

Not too long ago, another political leader, Argentina’s president Javier Milei, had his own fallout with another Solana based token, after he was accused of being part of a fraudulent scheme following his endorsement of LIBRA.

Sanae Token In The Solana Memecoin Context

Solana Token was announced on Feb 25 by Japanese entrepreneur Yuji Mizoguchi through NoBorder, a Youtube channel that focuses on political content. The project was launched at the peak of Solana’s memecoin frenzy with the objective to be an incentive for NoBorder’s “Japan is Back” project, aiming to “update democracy” with AI and Web3.

Built like many Solana narrative coins, it tried to tap into hype around Japan’s new prime minister and broader “political trade” memes. The name of the project comes from the slogan Takaichi’s inherited from the former PM, Shinzo Abe. NoBorder’s claim that the name “Sanae” is a symbol of a democratically elected leader rather than any formal government backing.

Takeaway For Traders

For traders, this signifies something way bigger than just another funny memecoin scandal. According to data from Bitcoinist and our sister website, on Solana, memecoins routinely swing 70–90% in a matter of hours, and many celebrity or narrative plays bleeding 94–99% from their peaks once the initial hype fades. In a market wired for 10x runs followed by near‑total retracements, the only real edge is treating these positions as short‑term, high‑risk trades: sizing small relative to your stack, planning exits on the way up, and never assuming that a catchy story or a famous name will be there to catch the fall.

Cover image from ChatGPT, SOLUSDT chart from Tradingview

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson is urging the crypto industry to take a harder look at H.R. 3633, arguing that the market structure bill could lock future US token projects into securities status rather than provide the regulatory clarity its backers promise. His criticism goes beyond process: Hoskinson says the bill, as written, could protect legacy networks while making it far harder for new crypto projects to launch and grow inside the United States.

Cardano Founder Issues A Stark Warning

In a video published March 2, the Cardano founder framed the dispute partly as a direct response to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s view that a flawed bill is still preferable to no bill. Hoskinson rejected that outright. “A bad bill is not better than no bill,” he said. “You start from a principles-based approach. You don’t make everything a security by default, and you upgrade modernized securities laws so that’s not so bad.”

His core objection is that the Clarity Act would treat newly launched digital assets as securities first, then require them to convince the SEC they qualify to “graduate” into commodity status once their networks are sufficiently decentralized. In Hoskinson’s reading, that framework would have captured XRP, Cardano and Ethereum at launch. The difference, he argued, is that older networks may ultimately be grandfathered in, while future projects would face a regulatory maze from day one.

Hoskinson repeatedly returned to the same question: what, in practice, stops the SEC from keeping a token classified as a security indefinitely? “If it starts as a security, what stops them from keeping it as a security forever?” he asked. “And are we really sure that we can trust that to rulemaking that has yet to happen by people who have yet to be appointed by agencies that spent the last four [expletive] years suing everybody and throwing everybody in prison?”

From there, he laid out a series of what he called “attack vectors” that an adversarial SEC could use in rulemaking. One involved procedural delays around filing completeness, where the agency could keep resetting the clock with deficiency notices. Another focused on the bill’s undefined treatment of “common control,” which he said could let regulators interpret open-source coordination itself as evidence of centralized management.

He also argued that proving decentralization could become impossible if issuers were required to identify beneficial owners across pseudonymous wallet systems or rely on compliance categories the SEC has not even created.

The broad point was that the bill may look workable in statute but become punitive in implementation. “A bad bill enshrines into law every single thing Gary Gensler was trying to do to the industry,” Hoskinson said. “A bad bill through rulemaking allows the SEC to arbitrarily and capriciously kill every new project in the United States. A bad bill exposes all DeFi developers to personal liability.”

He also argued the current political fight in Washington is not really about the bill’s structure at all. According to Hoskinson, the real holdup is stablecoin yield, not developer protections, DeFi coverage or the SEC-CFTC split. In his telling, that leaves the industry in a strange place: a bill marketed as market structure reform, but one that “doesn’t cover the core of what’s going on in the industry right now.”

Hoskinson’s preferred alternative is a principles-based rewrite that modernizes securities law itself, builds blockchain-native disclosure rails, explicitly protects developers and DeFi, and limits how much discretion regulators can exercise in later rulemaking. Otherwise, he warned, the practical result may be simple: established networks survive, while the next generation of US crypto projects builds offshore first and only tries to enter the American market years later.

At press time, Cardano traded at $0.2692.

Historically, the Ethereum price has been very bullish for the first quarter of the year, with a few exceptions, and the month of March has been no different from the first two months of the year. Therefore, as the market ushers in another month of March, this report takes a look at the performance of Ethereum this month, and if this historical performance can point out where the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap could be headed.

Ethereum Is Ushering In A Bullish Month, But There’s A ‘But’

According to historical data from the CryptoRank website, the month of March has been one of the most bullish in history. Since its inception in 2015, only the months of January and May have surpassed the month of March in terms of average returns.

Looking at the number of years that the month of March has ended in the green, only the months of January and February can match it. Simply put, March has historically been one of the best months for investors who hold ETH. In that case, the probability of this month ending in green is also high.

As the website shows, over the last 10 years, there have been only three years where the month of March has ended in the red for Ethereum. Taking the monthly returns into account, it comes out to an average 23.7% for Ethereum in March.

However, there is a hitch due to the fact that the first three months of the year have often moved in tandem. There have only been a few years of deviation, and given the trend that the year 2026 has begun with, the Ethereum price might be in trouble.

Despite the high average returns, the months of January and February 2026 have both ended in the red. The former saw a 17.7% decline, while the latter has seen a 19.6% crash. If this trend plays out as it has in history, then the likelihood of March ending in the red has just become higher.

While it is too early to tell where the price might end, there has already been a lot of uncertainty. This is because ETH has continued to skirt around the $2,000 level, with no indications that an upward move is imminent. If it follows the months of January and February, then the Ethereum price could be looking at a double-digit crash.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Monday that former federal prosecutor David Miller will serve as the agency’s new Director of Enforcement, a key role for crypto regulation. 

Key CFTC Appointment

According to Reuters, Miller previously worked in the securities and commodities fraud task force at the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, where he was known for pursuing complex, high-profile financial cases. 

The appointment comes as newly installed CFTC Chairman Michael Selig reshapes the agency’s leadership. Selig joined the commission in late December and has since begun rebuilding staff ranks. 

The regulator has been significantly thinned during President Donald Trump’s administration, with numerous career officials departing over the past year amid a broader reduction in the federal workforce. Selig currently stands as the sole political appointee on what is traditionally a bipartisan five-member commission.

In a statement, Miller said he is eager to support the chairman’s agenda: 

Under Chairman Selig’s leadership, I look forward to working closely with the talented Commission staff to advance the chairman’s mission of fostering innovation and protecting the integrity of U.S. markets, including from fraud, abuse, and manipulation.

End Of Regulation By Enforcement In Crypto

Before returning to public service, Miller worked in private practice, where he represented clients in several digital asset cases brought by US authorities. 

His recent work included defending a manager at a nonfungible token (NFT) platform who faced wire fraud and money laundering charges, as well as a former Coinbase product manager accused of insider trading. 

Chairman Selig underscored what he described as a shift in philosophy at the enforcement division. In a social media post announcing the appointment, he said: 

I’m delighted to announce David Miller as Director of Enforcement. The era of regulation by enforcement and witch hunts targeting crypto and other transformative industries is over. David will focus the division on policing fraud, manipulation and abuse — not policymaking.

The leadership change has been widely interpreted within the industry as aligning with President Trump’s stated ambition to position the United States as “the crypto capital of the world.” 

In mid-February, the CFTC unveiled another initiative aimed at strengthening ties with the digital asset sector: a newly formed Innovation Advisory Committee composed of 35 members drawn from major exchanges, blockchain companies, and other industry leaders.

The committee is intended to provide the regulator with current, technical insight as it evaluates potential rules covering derivatives, market structure, token classification and related issues. 

Chairman Selig said the advisory group would help ensure that the commission’s decisions reflect real-world market dynamics. He added that the collaboration is designed to help establish clearer regulatory guidelines, which he referred to as part of a broader “Golden Age of American Financial Markets.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

The long-anticipated CLARITY Act, widely viewed as the cornerstone of a comprehensive US crypto market structure framework, has failed to meet the March 1 deadline set by the White House two weeks ago. 

The administration had urged both the crypto industry and the banking sector to reach common ground to move the legislation forward. That agreement has yet to materialize.

Crypto Bill Hits ‘Yield Wall’ 

Representatives from both industries have held a series of meetings at the White House, frequently describing the discussions as “constructive.” However, despite that tone, negotiations have stalled at a critical point. 

While the Senate Agriculture Committee has approved its portion of the bill, progress in the Senate Banking Committee has slowed considerably. 

The sticking point centers on whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield or rewards to holders — an issue that has delayed any markup date for the Banking Committee’s section of the legislation.

The disagreement has fueled speculation that if lawmakers fail to strike a deal, federal regulators could revert to a tougher stance toward crypto firms. 

Market commentator Paul Barron said the bill has effectively run into what he described as a “yield wall,” referring to the impasse over stablecoin rewards. He noted that the crypto industry is pushing for the right to provide regulated yield on stablecoins, arguing that without that flexibility, the US risks driving innovation offshore.

If no compromise is reached, Barron suggested that the likely outcome would be continued “regulation by enforcement” from agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). 

On the other hand, a middle-ground solution — for example, restricting stablecoin yield to qualified investors — could unlock substantial institutional capital. 

That possibility aligns with projections from JPMorgan, which has forecast meaningful institutional inflows into digital assets in the latter half of 2026 if regulatory clarity improves.

Institutional Surge Under CLARITY Act

JPMorgan analysts, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, have described the potential passage of the CLARITY Act as a decisive turning point for the crypto market. 

According to reporting from market expert MartyParty, the bank views the bill not as a minor regulatory adjustment but as a structural overhaul of the US digital asset framework.

In a recent research note, JPMorgan outlined three interconnected effects that could follow the bill’s approval. First, it would end the current reliance on enforcement actions as the primary method of oversight, replacing uncertainty with defined rules. 

Second, it could shift institutional engagement with crypto from tentative exploration to high-conviction participation. Third, it may accelerate the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), a trend many financial institutions have been cautiously developing.

New negotiations in the Senate are expected to resume in April 2026, with July 2026 seen as an informal deadline before the election cycle begins to dominate the legislative agenda and reduce the likelihood of major policy breakthroughs.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com

Bitcoin moved into the headlines after Strategy completed its 101st buy, taking on 3,015 BTC at an average near $67,700. According to reports, the company spent roughly $204 million on the latest lot and now holds about 720,737 BTC in total.

The new purchase nudges down the company’s overall cost basis, which some reports place around $75,985 per coin.

Stock Sales Fund Buys

Reports say Strategy used its market programs to raise the cash. The company sold both common shares and STRC preferred stock under at-the-market arrangements to fund the buys.

Preferred dividends were increased around the same time, a move that drew attention because it makes preferred shares more attractive to investors who finance later acquisitions.

A Big Treasury, Slightly Lowered Cost

The math matters. With the latest buy priced below the company’s average, the overall cost per Bitcoin falls a bit. That improves the accounting picture on paper. It does not erase the fact that a lot of the funding came from issuing equity rather than from regular operating cash flow.

Strategy has acquired 3,015 BTC for ~$204.1 million at ~$67,700 per bitcoin. As of 3/1/2026, we hodl 720,737 $BTC acquired for ~$54.77 billion at ~$75,985 per bitcoin. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/rqDIhlUDNx

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) March 2, 2026

Some shareholders welcome the strategy. Others worry about dilution and what repeated share sales do to equity value over time.

Market Supply And Sentiment

The purchase is large by any single firm’s standard. Still, the wider Bitcoin market is large too. Moves of this size add to the story about corporate demand and are talked about in trading rooms, but they rarely force dramatic price shifts on their own.

Price reaction depends on broader flows, liquidity, and whether other big holders choose to sell or sit tight.

Strategy’s Action And Investor Signals

Reports note that Strategy’s steady accumulation continues a long pattern. The firm has consistently bought more Bitcoin in recent years and largely stuck to the same playbook: use equity markets to gather crypto.

That sends a clear message that the company plans to keep treating Bitcoin as a core asset. At the same time, the funding approach ties the firm’s finances to both stock market sentiment and Bitcoin price swings.

What This Means For Risk

There are tradeoffs. Owning a huge stash of Bitcoin gives the firm exposure to any long-term rise in price. It also makes the company sensitive to sudden drops; large swings in crypto value can change the balance sheet fast.

Because purchases are often funded through share offerings, the company’s capital structure shifts in step with its bitcoin program. Some risk is shared with new investors who buy those shares.

Strategy Still The Largest Known Corporate Holder

Based on reports, Strategy remains one of the biggest corporate holders of Bitcoin. The latest buy keeps the needle pointing in the same direction: accumulation continues.

Observers will be watching how the company balances fresh buys, dividend moves on preferred stock, and shareholder reactions in the months ahead.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

South Korean financial authorities have pledged to revise their crypto custody practices following public scrutiny over multiple incidents that led to the loss of nearly $30 million in seized digital assets over the past few months.

Authorities Move To Enhance Crypto Custody Practices

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Koo Yun-cheol, affirmed that authorities will review their management practices of seized crypto assets by government and public authorities, and develop measures to prevent the theft and loss of these assets.

“In response to the recent digital asset information leak incident at the National Tax Service (NTS), the government will promptly review the status and management practices of digital assets held and managed by government and public institutions—such as those seized from delinquent taxpayers—in collaboration with relevant agencies, including the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS),” the finance minister wrote in a Sunday X post.

“We will also swiftly develop and implement measures to prevent recurrence, including strengthening digital asset security management,” he continued, noting that the South Korean government only holds crypto assets acquired through legal enforcement actions, such as seizure.

The upcoming review and Koo’s statement follow a wave of criticism over the authorities’ practices and management of crypto assets after the tax agency exposed the recovery seed phrase of a seized wallet, leading to unauthorized access and theft of the tokens inside it.

As reported by Bitcoinist, South Korea’s National Tax Service recently published an official press release to highlight its crackdown on tax nonpayers, but accidentally shared a full wallet seed phrase in the process.

The Thursday press release was reportedly part of a broader NTS enforcement campaign targeted at people who owed taxes, showing seized crypto assets as evidence of the agency’s efforts.

Nonetheless, it included an image of two Ledger cold wallets alongside a handwritten sheet of paper that exposed the wallets’ complete mnemonic recovery phrases.

Soon after, one of the confiscated wallets’ entire balance, 4 million Pre-Retogeum (PRTG) tokens worth around $4.8 million, was transferred to another address, blockchain researchers found, but noted that the cryptocurrency has extremely low liquidity.

According to Professor Cho Jae-woo of Hansung University’s Blockchain Research Institute, the other wallets with seed phrases visible in the same image did not appear to carry significant risk, as the leaked tokens are also difficult to convert into cash.

The expert criticized the incident, but shared his hope that it “serves as a turning point for the establishment of a robust virtual asset management system within Korea’s public sector.”

South Korea’s Custody Mishaps

Last week’s incident is the latest in a series of security breaches that have led to the loss of around $27 million in seized crypto assets under the government’s custody since the start of the year.

In January, the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office faced backlash after discovering that 320 Bitcoin (BTC), worth around $21 million, had gone missing months ago. According to local reports, authorities only discovered the theft during a routine check of seized financial assets held as criminal evidence.

Prosecutors found that the crypto assets, first seized in 2021, were lost to a scam in August while authorities were handling the assets. Notably, a malicious actor drained the wallets after investigators mistakenly accessed a phishing website.

In an unexpected turn of events, the hacker returned the stolen Bitcoin in mid-February, the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office confirmed, vowing to continue to track down the malicious actors involved while conducting related investigations and inspections.

The incident led to a nationwide review, which revealed another security breach at the Seoul Gangnam Police Station last month. The Gangnam station announced it had lost 22 BTC, worth around $1.4 million at the time, that were voluntarily submitted to authorities during an investigation in November 2021.

Local news outlets reported that the leak had not been detected until recently, as the investigation into that case had been suspended. The inspection revealed that the cold wallet storing the Bitcoin was not stolen. However, the assets stored inside had vanished without a trace, deepening concerns about local authorities’ knowledge of cryptocurrencies and proper measures to handle and custody seized digital assets.

A well-known Solana NFT marketplace that once pushed hard into Bitcoin and other chains has quietly started to shrink its footprint.

Reports say the shift will be fast and clear: several services will stop working in March and April as the company focuses where it thinks the money is.

Magic Eden Pulls Back To Solana

The change is not small. Support for EVM and Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes is being wound down on March 9th, with the Bitcoin API shutting on March 27 and the platform’s self-custody wallet set to go fully offline on April 1.

Reports note that the marketplace will keep Solana support and some Pack products, but many cross-chain tools will disappear. Users have been told to move assets or export keys before the cutoff dates to avoid losing access.

Why This Happened

Costs and returns drove the move. According to posts from company leadership, most engineering and infrastructure costs were tied to products that brought in only a fraction of the revenue.

Update on @MagicEden and @DiceyHQ:

It is clear we’re entering a new era where finance and entertainment merge. We are now 2 months into @DiceyHQ’s closed beta and are incredibly bullish on how things have developed (~200 users, >$15M wagered).

To give Dicey the focus it…

— Jack (@0xLeoInRio) February 27, 2026

In plain terms: a lot of work for little money. That math pushed a rethink about where to spend limited resources. One part of the business is being doubled down on: an on-chain casino called Dicey that ran a closed beta earlier this year and drew heavy betting volume.

What The Beta Showed

Dicey’s trial phase attracted around 200 users who placed roughly $15,000,000 in wagers over two months. Reports say that number convinced management the product could make stronger returns than the quieter NFT markets the company had been supporting.

The casino plans to add a sportsbook and other betting features, and the firm argues betting could be a steadier source of fees than low-volume NFT listings.

Market Effects And Reaction

The broader NFT market has been weak for months, and this shutdown is one of several signs that platforms are trimming offerings. Some collectors and builders will be annoyed, since tools and markets they used are being removed.

Others will see the move as pragmatic — a firm choosing fewer products it understands well over many it does not. Coverage from industry outlets picked up the story quickly once leadership posted details on social channels.

A Word From The CEO

Jack Lu wrote that the company was refocusing on its original Solana work and on products with clearer paths to revenue.

He described the closed beta’s results as “encouraging” and said the company will stop its NFT buyback program to free up resources for the betting product.

Featured image from www.outsideonline.com, chart from TradingView

Bitcoin is currently consolidating between $62,000 and $69,000, compressing within a narrowing range as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East inject fresh uncertainty into global risk markets. Rather than trending decisively, price action reflects hesitation. Buyers have defended the lower bound near $62K, yet repeated failures below $69K indicate that upside conviction remains limited in the current environment.

According to XWIN Research Japan, February 2026 marked a notable break in historical seasonality. Bitcoin closed the month down 14.94%, despite February traditionally ranking among its stronger periods, often delivering double-digit average gains. This year, the pattern failed. The decline was not driven by a single headline event but by structural fragilities: thin liquidity conditions, leverage imbalances across derivatives markets, and persistently weak spot demand.

At the beginning of February, Bitcoin was trading near $84,000. However, on-chain indicators already signaled underlying stress. SOPR remained below 1, confirming that coins were being spent at a loss. Realized Cap flattened, pointing to a slowdown in fresh capital entering the network. Meanwhile, the Coinbase Premium lacked consistent strength, suggesting that US spot demand had not materially returned.

Leverage Unwinds and Weak Spot Demand Undermine February’s Rebound

The mid-February drawdown was not simply a directional selloff; it was a leverage event. As the price weakened, liquidation cascades accelerated the decline, forcing long positions out of the market. Open Interest contracted sharply, confirming that the move was driven by derivatives unwinds rather than steady spot distribution. In a thin liquidity regime, these leverage resets tend to exaggerate volatility. When order books are shallow, relatively modest flows can push prices disproportionately, amplifying downside extensions.

Although Fear & Greed dropped into Extreme Fear, sentiment exhaustion alone proved insufficient to engineer a durable reversal. Capitulation without follow-through demand often produces reflex bounces, not structural bottoms.

The more structural constraint was the absence of consistent spot participation. ETF flows recorded intermittent daily inflows, but they lacked sustained weekly momentum. At the same time, stablecoin supply growth remained muted, indicating limited sidelined capital ready to deploy. Consequently, rebounds were largely short-covering rallies, driven by position unwinds rather than fresh accumulation.

Macro context reinforced this fragility. Equity weakness and dollar strength framed Bitcoin as a high-beta liquidity proxy, not a defensive asset. In February, structural supply-demand imbalances overpowered historical seasonality. A durable shift now depends on persistent spot inflows and disciplined Open Interest rebuilding.

Bitcoin Tests Weekly Support as $69K Turns Into Overhead Resistance

On the weekly timeframe, price is attempting to stabilize near the $66,000 region after a sharp rejection from the $90,000–$100,000 supply zone. The structure shows a clear shift from expansion to distribution: following the late-2025 peak, Bitcoin printed a sequence of lower highs and ultimately lost the 50-week moving average (blue), which had previously acted as dynamic support throughout the uptrend.

The breakdown accelerated once price slipped below the 100-week moving average (green), triggering a fast move toward the mid-$60K area. Notably, the 200-week moving average (red), currently rising near the high-$50K region, remains intact. This level historically defines macro bull-market structure. As long as the price holds above it, the broader cycle cannot be considered structurally broken.

Volume expanded meaningfully during the selloff, particularly on large red weekly candles, suggesting forced unwinds rather than gradual distribution. However, the most recent candles show compression and reduced downside momentum, indicating short-term equilibrium between buyers and sellers.

Technically, $69K now acts as immediate resistance, aligning with prior support turned overhead supply. A weekly close reclaiming that zone would open room toward the 50-week average. Failure to hold $62K, however, would increase the probability of a deeper test of the 200-week baseline.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

Major EU banks, including ING, UniCredit, CaixaBank and BBVA, are no longer content to merely talk about a digital euro: they have grown bolder and are now racing to hunt down crypto partners to launch a bank‑grade euro stablecoin in 2026, as they gear up for the European Central Bank (ECB) digital euro pilot in 2027.

Bank Stablecoin vs. Digital Euro

The ECB’s digital euro project has clearly widened the horizons of some heavyweight lenders, to the point that many of them are now betting on a different route. Through a joint venture called Qivalis, set up in Amsterdam by several major European banks, they plan to issue a MiCA‑compliant, euro‑pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, positioning themselves ahead of the ECB’s digital euro pilot. Rather than relying solely on the more conservative central‑bank option of the ECB‑issued CBDC, Qivalis offers a bank‑backed alternative: a fully reserved e‑money token supported by major commercial lenders, designed first and foremost for on‑chain payments, crypto trading and the settlement of tokenized assets.

A Regulated And Domestic Alternative For The EU

As outlined by Qivalis CEO Jan Sell in a recent interview with Spanish outlet CincoDías, the venture is already in advanced talks with several crypto exchanges, market makers and payment providers to distribute the token from day one. According to Sell, the consortium has expanded to 12 banks and is positioning its euro stablecoin as a regulated, MiCA‑compliant alternative to dollar‑denominated stablecoins, backed 1:1 with cash and short‑term European government debt, offering 24/7 convertibility for institutional and retail users alike.

A Broader Perspective With Crypto

Qivalis is not an isolated experiment: its existence is a paradigmatic example of how Europe’s traditional lenders are shifting their approach to digital assets. In recent years, not wanting to be left behind or lose against decentralized crypto alternatives, and under pressure from client demand and tighter regulation, large banks and savings institutions have rolled out crypto custody, trading pilots and tokenization projects, as seen by German lenders exploring crypto services or French and Italian banks backing the ECB’s digital euro plan while lobbying on costs and design.

Europe’s incumbents seem to have realized that instead of fighting on‑chain finance from the sidelines and fading into the background of new paradigms, they are better off trying to rebuild the system on their own terms

Cover image from ChatGPT, XRPUSD chart from Tradingview