bitcoinist.com

Traders watching Bitcoin climb alongside US software stocks last week may have drawn the wrong conclusion. According to NYDIG, a financial services company focused on Bitcoin, the visual parallel is misleading.

Only about 25% of BTC price movement can be traced back to its relationship with equity markets. The remaining 75% is driven by forces that have nothing to do with the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq.

Greg Cipolaro, head of research at NYDIG, made the case in a Friday note. His argument: when Bitcoin and software stocks move in the same direction, it is not because they are structurally linked. Both are reacting to the same macro pressures — the kind that push investors toward or away from risk assets broadly.

“The conclusion that Bitcoin and software equities have structurally converged is overstated,” Cipolaro wrote.

A Shared Macro Trigger, Not A Common Identity

Bitcoin’s 90-day rolling correlation with software stocks has climbed since the cryptocurrency hit a record above $126,000 in early October. But Cipolaro pointed out that its correlations with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have risen at the same time.

Liquidity Sensitive Assets

That pattern suggests the shift is not specific to software stocks — it is a wider phenomenon tied to investor appetite for risk.

Data shows that both the alpha crypto and software equities are being treated as long-duration, liquidity-sensitive assets. When macro conditions favor risk-taking, both go up. When they don’t, both get hit.

That shared sensitivity to monetary conditions is what has been driving the parallel movement, not any deeper connection between the two.

The “Bitcoin is a tech stock” narrative has circulated before. It tends to resurface during periods when correlations tick higher and the assets appear to move in lockstep. Cipolaro’s note pushes back on that framing directly.

Crypto’s Distinct Drivers Keep It In A Category Of Its Own

Despite the elevated correlations, NYDIG argues that Bitcoin has a market structure that sets it apart. Network activity, adoption trends, and policy developments all shape its price in ways that do not apply to software companies.

Those factors, Cipolaro said, support Bitcoin’s role as a portfolio diversifier even when cross-asset correlations are climbing.

One tension the note acknowledges is Bitcoin’s failure to trade like gold. It has long been called “digital gold,” but reports indicate it is not being bought as a hedge against economic instability.

Traders appear to be allocating to it along a risk curve rather than out of any distinct monetary conviction.

Correlations with equities are elevated right now. But based on NYDIG’s analysis, they are far from the full story of what moves Bitcoin’s price — and far from enough to call it a software stock.

Featured image from ION, chart from TradingView

Charles Hoskinson says Cardano’s Pentad initiative is dealing with a roughly $40 million funding gap after ADA fell from around $0.83 at the time of the original proposal to roughly $0.25. In a March 6 video update, the Cardano founder said the plan was initially working with the equivalent of about $58 million in value from 70 million ADA, but that figure has since dropped to about $18 million.

That repricing, he argued, has fundamentally changed the economics of the program. “The reality is that there’s a $40 million shortfall between when we wanted to do it and where we’re at today,” Hoskinson said. “Every single member of the Pentad has to accept that shortfall, meaning out of pocket for commitments and obligations. They have to make it up.”

Hoskinson Defends The Cardano Pentad

Pentad was designed as a coordinated effort between five core Cardano ecosystem entities to secure commercially important integrations for the network more efficiently and at scale. Hoskinson said the original logic was that Cardano and Midnight could negotiate together and get better aggregate terms, but the collapse in ADA’s dollar value means even the Cardano-side integrations now cost more than the treasury-backed funding effectively covers. Midnight, he said, is also paying for its own integrations out of pocket, with liabilities exceeding $10 million.

A central point of the update was a reimbursement dispute tied to Fireblocks. Hoskinson said one party had negotiated separately with Fireblocks outside the Pentad process, reached its own fee arrangement, and then later sought reimbursement. That, he argued, is not comparable to the more expansive and expensive integration the Midnight Foundation had been negotiating and was never part of the original governance-approved structure.

“Everyone in the Pentad is at a loss. We did not make a profit,” he said. “The vast majority of the integrations will require out-of-pocket expenses from the Cardano Foundation, the Midnight Foundation, Input Output, Emergo, and Intersect and long-term liabilities because many of these things required multi-year contracts.” By contrast, he added, external actors who were not signers to those liabilities cannot reasonably expect to be made whole simply because earlier public comments were made under different assumptions.

Hoskinson nevertheless cast Pentad V1 as an operational success. He said Cardano went from signing a deal with Circle to having USDCX live on the network in 84 days, calling it the number one stablecoin on Cardano already. He also pointed to integrations with LayerZero, Pyth, Dune Analytics and custodians, arguing the effort has moved Cardano from being “an island” to being connected to the broader crypto market.

Related Reading: Cardano Founder Sounds Alarm Over New US Crypto Bill

That shift matters because, in Hoskinson’s view, Cardano’s next challenge is no longer core infrastructure. It is utility, user experience and DeFi traction. He said the ecosystem still needs strategic capital deployment to help applications survive and compete, and floated Pentad V2 as a possible treasury-backed “weighted index” of Cardano DApps and DeFi projects rather than a grant program.

“We don’t have an infrastructure problem,” he said later in the video. “We have DApps and DeFi and we have an experience problem. We were an island. We’re no longer an island. We built those bridges. That’s what you paid for with Pentad.”

The broader message was political as much as financial. Hoskinson framed the reimbursement fight as a test of whether Cardano’s on-chain governance can function under stress without collapsing into public infighting. If the ecosystem can align behind difficult capital-allocation decisions despite lower token prices, he argued, Pentad could become less a funding controversy than an early demonstration of whether Cardano’s governance model can actually execute.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.2548.

Bitcoin, being referred to as digital gold, is nothing new, as proponents have, for the longest time, expected the digital asset to replicate gold’s growth. Currently, the market cap of gold is more than 20 times that of BTC, but that has not changed the expectations that BTC will eventually be the bigger asset. This time around, it is Bitcoin proponent Samson Mow who is once again making the comparison and predicting what could happen between the two assets.

Betting On Bitcoin To Overtake Gold

In an X post, Samson Mow once again reiterated support for BTC, but this time around, the Bitcoin maximalist is pitching it against gold. According to Mow’s statements, BTC is expected to be ‘exponential gold’, a statement that speaks to how high the JAN3 CEO expects the BTC price to go.

Explaining the reason behind giving BTC this title, Mow explains that he expects that the digital asset will eventually surpass gold. As mentioned above, the gold market cap is already more than 20 times higher than the Bitcoin market cap; the cryptocurrency will have a lot of growing to do. However, Mow remains unfazed by this.

Bitcoin is exponential gold. So it will inevitably outperform gold.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) March 8, 2026

Taking into account the current Bitcoin market cap, as well as the total supply of the digital asset, rising enough to surpass gold’s $35.5 million market cap would put the BTC price well above $1.6 million. Given that the Bitcoin price is currently trending around $67,000 at the time of this report, it would translate to a 2,500% increase to do this.

Always Bullish On BTC

Samson Mow’s advocacy for Bitcoin did not just start recently, as his company, JAN3, which was founded back in 2022, is focused on expanding access to BTC. Through his company, Mow has pushed to further BTC’s growth and adoption by making it easier for users to get into the digital asset.

Outside of adoption, the founder is also very bullish on the BTC price. Back in January 2026, Mow unveiled his BTC predictions for the year, sparking a lot of interest. As he explained, he expects the BTC price to reach as high as $1.33 million per coin.

Other predictions include at least one country finally launching Bitcoin Bonds, as well as billionaire Elon Musk making a big play for the cryptocurrency. Also, Strategy’s stock price (formerly MicroStrategy) is expected to reach $5,000, and last but not least, BTC is expected to eventually outperform metals such as gold.

The price of Bitcoin has struggled to muster a sustained upward climb over the last few weeks, with the latest one failing around the $74,000 mark in the past week. However, the premier cryptocurrency seems to have deeper problems than failed price recovery attempts. According to a crypto market expert, the Bitcoin price is at a stage reminiscent of the bearish period of 2022.

Is BTC About To Witness A Repeat Of 2022?

In a March 8 post on the X platform, Chartered Market Technician Tony Severino shared an interesting insight into the current situation of the Bitcoin market. The crypto pundit hypothesized that the world’s largest cryptocurrency might have to endure a bearish period associated with the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem crash in 2022.

The rationale behind this evaluation is the steady decline in the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator on BTC’s two-week price chart. MACD is a prominent momentum indicator used in technical analysis to identify trend direction, momentum changes, and potential entry and exit positions.

Typically, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator has two lines: the MACD line (green) and the signal line (red), and a histogram, which reflects the distance between the two aforementioned lines. The histogram, which is the primary momentum indicator, is currently signaling a strong bearish momentum.

This observation is because the histogram bars are expanding, signaling rising momentum in the current direction (which is bearish because the bars are below the neutral or zero line). According to Severino, the MACD indicator is even expanding to levels not seen since 2022, when the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem collapse sent bearish shockwaves through the entire crypto market.

2W Bitcoin LMACD momentum is around the same point before the Luna collapse in 2022

It’s possible something nasty is coming

How are you managing your risk? And do you even know how? pic.twitter.com/SFzsYJxiZc

— Tony Severino, CMT (@TonySeverinoCMT) March 8, 2026

The crypto market analyst said, “it is possible that something nasty is coming,” suggesting that another crypto winter might be imminent. After Terra’s collapse in May, the premier cryptocurrency would have fallen from above $50,000 to around $30,000 — about a 40% decline — by July 2022.

However, it is important to note that the market might have already priced in what is currently being seen in the MACD indicator, which is often considered a lagging indicator. Moreover, Bitcoin has already lost nearly 30% of its value so far in 2026.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

At the time of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $67,520, reflecting no significant movement in the past 24 hours.

A popular crypto analyst on the social media platform X has shared a buy-and-hold strategy for Bitcoin, which could potentially yield over 250% gain in the near future.

BTC Price To Bottom Out Around $49,000?

In a recent post on the X platform, market pundit Ali Martinez put forward an exciting trade plan for Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. This strategy revolves around the CVDD (Cumulative Value Days Destroyed) Channel.

CVDD is an on-chain technical indicator based on the volume of aged capital being sent into the market. This on-chain metric is typically used in highlighting zones of long-term support or resistance based on the movement of long-held coins.

The Cumulative Value Days Destroyed line, which is typically the lowest line in the channel, signals a phase of severe undervaluation. The channel extensions (the resistance bands, which are usually the targets during bull markets) are then created by applying Fibonacci multiples to the base CVDD line.

The CVDD Channel by @Alphractal lays out a simple game plan for Bitcoin $BTC:

• Buy near $49,330. • Take profits between $178,478 and $273,158. pic.twitter.com/4k9nKyli0S

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) March 7, 2026

From a historical perspective, the Bitcoin price has never dropped below the CVDD line (the base line of the channel), marking it as a relevant indicator for identifying cycle bottoms. Hence, the line is often considered a primary accumulation zone, where investors often bet on a price reversal.

As shown in the highlighted chart, this CVDD line (blue) is currently around $49,330, representing the potential Bitcoin bottom in this bearish phase. According to Martinez, this price point also represents the perfect spot to take a position in the flagship cryptocurrency.

Next, the market analyst says to take profit from this trade at the resistance levels around $178,478 or $273,158. These $178,478 and $273,158 resistance levels are the CVDD 3.618x and Alpha CVDD lines, respectively, of the channel, and they represent potential cycle tops for the Bitcoin price.

If the price of BTC indeed soars from $49,330 to at least the $178,478 top, that would represent an over 260% rally in one cycle. Meanwhile, it would take a further 53% upside movement from $178,478 toward the next resistance level.

Bitcoin Price Overview 

As of this writing, the price of BTC stands at around $67,350, reflecting a more than 1% decline in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the premier cryptocurrency is barely up by 1% kn the weekly timeframe.

Bitcoin’s holder metric is quietly telling two very different stories right now, and both give different interpretations of what to expect for the leading cryptocurrency’s price outlook.

On one side, a wave of short-term holders is rushing to lock in profits at the first sign of a price bounce, flooding exchanges with Bitcoin. On the other hand, long-term holders, the market’s most battle-hardened participants, are sitting on their coins in near-total silence, unbothered by the noise.

Short-Term Holders Cashing Out Into Strength

Bitcoin barely twitched above $70,000 for only a few days before the exits started filling up. Data highlighted by crypto analyst Darkfrost on CryptoQuant shows that short-term holder selling pressure is beginning to stand out. 

Notably, more than 27,000 BTC in profit was reportedly sent to exchanges by short-term holders within a space of 24 hours, a figure that places current activity among the highest profit-realization readings seen in recent months. As shown in the chart below, the last time more BTC in profit was sent to crypto exchanges was in early January 2026.

That matters because short-term holders tend to be the market’s most reactive participants. They usually respond quickly to price swings. The chart tracking short-term holder profit and loss to exchanges shows a spike in profit-taking as Bitcoin attempted to regain footing above $70,000. 

Interestingly, the cohort currently in profit are addresses who bought Bitcoin between one week and one month ago, with a realized price around $68,000. That places them in a position where even the recovery is an opportunity to de-risk. Everyone else in the short-term cohort is either at breakeven or underwater.

Bitcoin Short-Term Holder P&L To Exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant

Long-Term Holders Sending A Different Message

Long-term holders (LTHs), the cohort defined by holding Bitcoin for more than 155 days, are exhibiting a level of inactivity that matches conditions associated with bear market lows. According to the Coin Value Days Destroyed (CVDD) metric, which measures not just when long-held coins are moved but how much economic weight those movements carry, the current reading sits around 0.34.

To put that in context, market tops have historically formed when CVDD exceeded 2.0, which shows that LTHs are selling heavily. At 0.34, the market is nowhere near that territory. Therefore, long-term holders are, by and large, choosing to sit still and not contribute to selling pressure. 

As shown in the metric chart below, the last time long-term holders had high selling activity was in early January 2026. This matters because LTHs aren’t just a passive footnote in the Bitcoin narrative.

They are always the crypto industry’s most strategically minded participants. Right now, they appear to be waiting either for higher prices to sell into or for the price action to deteriorate enough to accumulate more.

BTC: Value Days Destroyed. Source: @Darkfost_Coc On X

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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