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Spot Solana ETFs have pulled in roughly $1.45 billion since launching in July even as SOL fell 57% over the same stretch, a combination Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called “about as unlucky timing as you’ll ever see in ETFs.” For crypto markets, the takeaway is not just the headline flow number, but what it may say about the depth and quality of institutional demand.

Spot Solana ETFs Beat Bitcoin ETFs

Balchunas argued that the resilience of those inflows matters as much as their size. “Solana is down 57% since the spot ETFs launched in July … yet they managed to not only accumulate $1.5b in flows but not really give any of it up,” he wrote on X. He added that “50% of the assets are from 13F filers = serious inv base. Both really good signs for future IMO.”

The chart he shared shows cumulative Solana ETF flows climbing from about $410 million on Oct. 23, 2025, to $1.45 billion by March 2, 2026. The steepest acceleration came in late October through November, when cumulative inflows jumped sharply toward the $1 billion mark before continuing to grind higher into early March. Even with some flattening near the end of the period, the broader pattern is one of persistent net intake rather than hot-money churn.

Balchunas’ more provocative point was the relative comparison with Bitcoin. “The other thing about these flows, if we adjust for the size of solana vs bitcoin mkt cap, it’s the equiv of $54b in net new flows, which is about DOUBLE where bitcoin was at the same point,” he wrote. “And bitcoin was up a ton at that time vs down 57%. Anyhow, pretty impressive numbers given size and condition of the underlying mkt.”

That comparison goes to the heart of the thesis. Absolute flows still heavily favor Bitcoin, whose US spot ETF complex sits near $94.6 billion in assets, according to the table Balchunas posted separately. BlackRock’s IBIT alone accounts for roughly $57.1 billion, while Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s GBTC hold about $13.9 billion and $11.5 billion, respectively. On Wednesday, the group took in another $461.77 million, with IBIT contributing $306.58 million.

But Balchunas used that same Bitcoin flow snapshot to make a broader point about the risks of drawing sweeping conclusions from short windows of market action. After noting that Bitcoin had risen 12% since the Iran strike while gold fell, he posed a deliberately overstated question: “So does that mean gold has failed as a safe haven and may be devoid of any purpose and vice-versa for btc?” He then answered it himself in the next post.

“I don’t actually think this btw, just trying to point out the problem with making these types of damning judgements of an asset based on a short term window of price action,” Balchunas wrote. “Gold has my respect as asset as does bitcoin. Bitcoin’s surge may have little to do w geopolitics but rather the Jane St bogeyman going away and vibe change. And ppl selling gold may just be taking profits, some may be looking for next run in btc, wth knows.”

The same logic applies to Solana. A 57% drawdown would usually be the sort of backdrop expected to choke off ETF demand, not sustain it. Instead, the Solana products appear to have attracted sticky capital and, at least in Balchunas’ framing, done so at a pace that compares favorably with Bitcoin once market-cap context is applied.

At press time, Solana traded at $87.26.

Vancouver city staff have recommended that councillors drop Mayor Ken Sim’s Bitcoin motion, which ordered work on accepting payments in BTC and exploring a Bitcoin reserve for part of the city’s funds.

Bitcoin: “Not An Allowable Investment Asset”

In a report released on March 2 reviewing outstanding council directions, the Vancouver staff has deemed Bitcoin as a “not an allowable investment asset for the City”, suggesting that the Mayor Sim’s motion to turn Vancouver into a “Bitcoin friendly city” should be concluded. The report also asks council to de-prioritize some of the 78 motions passed since 2019 part of a broader clean‑up of outstanding directions.

The rationale for this, as stated by the report, is a “reprioritization of staff and resources” and the need for “coordinating and aligning work with related initiative(s)”: the goal is to reduce the city’s spending by optimizing internal capacity.

City staff back these conclusions with the Vancouver Charter, the provincial law that sets out how municipal funds can be invested.

Inside The Vancouver Charter

The B.C. Ministry of Municipal Affairs has clarified that the Community Charter and the Vancouver Charter “don’t recognize cryptocurrency as payment for municipal services or other transactions,” so cities shouldn’t treat BTC like normal money on their balance sheets.

The ministry has also stated that local governments “are not permitted to hold financial reserves in cryptocurrency” because crypto is not on the listed of permitted investment vehicles laid out in the provincial legislation.

Under section 183 of the Community Charter, which the province applies to local governments’ funds, eligible investments are cited as things like Municipal Finance Authority securities, pooled funds, federal or provincial bonds, guaranteed bank products and similar high‑grade instruments. There is simply no legal category that would cover Bitcoin or other volatile digital assets, which doesn’t mean that it’s prohibited: it simply doesn’t exist in the law.

The Bitcoin Dream: A Bitcoin Friendly City

Mayor Sim’s Bitcoin motion pushed through in December 2024. Sim, who’s an investor in a cryptocurrency exchange, said he believed investing in Bitcoin was “the financially responsible” thing to do amidst inflation and market volatility. He went so far as to pledge a personal 10,000‑dollar Bitcoin donation to seed a municipal reserve, publicly lauding BTC as one of the most important financial innovations of the era.

It would be irresponsible for the City of Vancouver to not look at the merits of adding bitcoin to the city’s strategic assets to preserve the city’s financial stability.

What’s Next?

The staff was supposed to report back to council in the first quarter of 2025, but until the cited report, no other was made public.

The Vancouver city staff recommendation will land at council on March 10. Mayor Sim will be forced to decide whether to burn political capital defending his BTC agenda or watch his Bitcoin dreams be shelved and dismissed by his own administration.

Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview

Sen. Cynthia Lummis said US lawmakers are actively exploring how Bitcoin can be used for everyday payments without automatically triggering capital gains tax, framing the issue as a key obstacle to treating the asset as a true medium of exchange.

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on March 5, the Wyoming Republican said discussions are underway in both the House and Senate around a potential de minimis exemption, with the figure currently being considered landing “right around $300.”

Congress Eyes Tax-Free Bitcoin Payments

Lummis described that threshold as only part of the broader tax problem. The bigger question, she suggested, is not simply where to set a small-transaction exemption, but how Congress should distinguish between a disposal of Bitcoin as an investment asset and the use of Bitcoin as money.

“It’s called the de minimis exemption. And the number that is being looked at by House Ways and Means and Senate Finance is right around $300 as a de minimis exemption,” Lummis said, and added:

“But the challenge is trying to figure out how you can use Bitcoin as a means of exchange without paying a capital gains tax on it. So we’re trying to figure out how to weigh the appropriate way to decide when a sale of, for example, a Bitcoin should be subject to capital gains and when it should be allowed to be used as a simple means of exchange. The same way we use the US dollar.”

That distinction matters. Under the current framework, spending appreciated Bitcoin can create a taxable event, even when the transaction looks economically similar to an ordinary purchase made in dollars. For crypto advocates, that has long been one of the main reasons Bitcoin has struggled to function cleanly as a payments rail in the US, despite its growing acceptance as a store of value and institutional asset.

The exchange on CNBC made clear that Lummis sees the issue less as a niche crypto tax tweak and more as a structural inconsistency in how digital assets are treated. When host Joe Kernen joked that, by similar logic, consumers should be able to claim capital losses as the dollar steadily loses purchasing power, Lummis agreed and leaned into the comparison.

“It’s right because it’s by design the US dollar loses value at 2% or more every year,” she said. “So you’re right. If we did the same thing with the US dollar, all taxpayers would be getting a capital loss annually.” However, Lummis did not outline a final legislative path, and she did not claim consensus has been reached.

At press time, Bitcoin traded at $70,786.

Военные действия США, Израиля и союзников на Ближнем Востоке не вызвали крайнего негатива криптоинвесторов. Наоборот, рынок даже вырос. Для инвесторов самое худшее — не плохие новости, а неопределенность. Чего ждать дальше?

Управление по регулированию виртуальных активов Дубая (VARA) заявило, что криптобиржа KuCoin и связанные с ней структуры работают в эмирате без лицензии. Ведомство потребовало от американской торговой площадки немедленно прекратить операции с виртуальными активами.

Суд Южного округа Нью-Йорка заморозил активы криптовалютного кредитора BlockFills в размере 70,6 биткоинов на время спора с фирмой Dominion Capital.

The Bitcoin price has been trending sideways for a few weeks now, with no clear direction of where the digital asset might be headed next. During this time, there have been some buyers, but mostly, the demand has been overwhelmed by the supply. As the scramble continues to tell where the bottom might be, crypto analyst Crypto Patel has also thrown their hat in the ring, suggesting when might be the ideal time to get into Bitcoin for the most returns.

If Bitcoin Falls Below This Point, Its A Generational Opportunity

The analysis shared on the X (formerly Twitter) platform points to the Bitcoin price not actually hitting a bottom yet. After the recovery above $71,000, expectations were that the bear market was finally coming to an end. However, some, like Crypto Patel, see it going further down.

Instead of going up completely, the crypto analyst expects that the Bitcoin price will actually fall from any recovery. But instead of stopping at $60,000 like the previous declines, Patel predicts that Bitcoin will eventually break below the support that has been building up at $60,000.

The analysis points to an initial break into the $50,000 territory for a start. However, that is not the end, as breaking below $50,000 remains on the table. This would suggest an adherence to previous bear market cycles, where the Bitcoin price has fallen more than 60%.

Despite this being bearish, especially in the short term, the crypto analyst suggests that this might be a blessing in disguise. According to the post, if the BTC price were to break this low, then it would be the perfect time to buy. Due to this, the analyst calls it a “generational buying opportunity.”

Nevertheless, Crypto Patel continues to preach on the bullishness of Bitcoin, asking investors to “zoom out” instead of panicking. As the analyst explains, investors will only lose out if they allow emotions to actually dictate their actions from here.

As for the timeframe for this analysis, the analyst shares a 3-6 months window for it to play out. “Save this post. Come back in 30-120 days,” the post read.

Доверять искусственному интеллекту контроль над крупными транзакциями или криптокошельками, особенно с большим объемом средств, опасно, заявил сооснователь Эфириума Виталик Бутерин. Так он ответил на пост криптоинвестора, показавшего, как ИИ регистрирует криптокошелек в блокчейне.

Платежный сервис Strike Джека Маллерса (Jack Mallers) получил лицензию BitLicense и лицензию на перевод денежных средств (MTL) от Департамента финансовых услуг штата Нью-Йорк (NYDFS). Это позволит компании предлагать местным клиентам услуги, связанные с криптовалютами.

John Daghita, a former US government contractor accused of stealing more than $46 million in Bitcoin (BTC) from the US Marshals Service (USMS), was arrested late Wednesday on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Joint US-French Operation

The arrest was carried out in a joint operation involving US and French authorities. In a statement posted Thursday on X (previously Twitter), FBI Director Kash Patel said Daghita was taken into custody by the French Gendarmerie’s elite tactical unit in coordination with the FBI. 

Patel emphasized that the FBI will continue to work around the clock with international partners to pursue individuals accused of defrauding American taxpayers, regardless of where they attempt to evade authorities.

According to reports, Daghita previously worked for Command Services & Support (CMDSS), a Virginia-based company led by his father, Dean Daghita. Information from his now-deleted LinkedIn profile indicated he was employed by the firm, which held contracts with the US Marshals Service. 

These contracts reportedly enabled the company to help manage the digital assets seized by federal law enforcement, which now form the country’s strategic Bitcoin and crypto reserve.

Authorities involved in the arrest reportedly discovered a briefcase containing cash and multiple USB drives in Daghita’s possession. Investigators have not publicly detailed the contents of the devices or how they may relate to the alleged theft.

Bitcoin And Crypto Crimes In The Spotlight

The case centers on accusations that Daghita misappropriated more than $46 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets that had been seized and were under the control of the US Marshals Service. 

Yet, Daghita’s arrest comes about a month after another high-profile crypto crime case made headlines. In Arizona, authorities arrested two teenagers from California in connection with an alleged $66 million cryptocurrency plot that escalated into a violent home invasion. 

The suspects, both under 18 and therefore not publicly identified, allegedly posed as delivery drivers to gain entry to a home in Scottsdale on January 31. Investigators say the teens forced their way inside, restrained and assaulted two homeowners, and demanded access to cryptocurrency holdings.

During the incident, one of the victims reportedly denied owning Bitcoin or any digital assets. An adult son inside the home was able to contact the police from another room. Officers responded to the scene, prompting the suspects to flee. They were later apprehended and taken into custody.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $70,919. This followed Wednesday’s failure to climb back above $74,000, resulting in a 3.5% retracement for the cryptocurrency within a 24-hour period.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Злоумышленники стали завлекать жертв криптовалютного мошенничества обещаниями полностью вернуть украденные средства, сообщили канадские правоохранители.

В Южной Корее будут судить криптомошенника, который в 2019 году украл 120 млн вон (около $81 000) в криптовалюте и все эти годы официально считался мертвым. Теперь его криптоактивы раздали жертвам кражи.

The Cardano blockchain has now been integrated into the DFX.swiss platform, bringing its native token ADA to retail store payments.

Cardano Can Now Be Used To Pay At Certain SPAR Stores In Switzerland

As announced by the Cardano Foundation on its website, the Cardano blockchain has seen integration into DFX.swiss, a digital asset financial services platform based in Switzerland.

With the integration, ADA is now a part of Open Crypto Pay, a payments standard developed by DFX.swiss. “Through the integration of Cardano, customers can now pay with the cryptocurrency ADA in 137 SPAR stores across Switzerland,” explained the announcement. Open Crypto Pay also allows users to use their ADA from their native wallets directly at checkout.

SPAR is a Netherlands-based multinational franchise that provides licensing to independently owned and operated food retail stores. In Switzerland, there are over 350 stores using the branding, but currently, only 137 support payments with DFX.swiss.

According to the Cardano Foundation, Open Crypto Pay can help reduce transactions fees by around two-thirds compared to traditional card and payment providers. “This delivers not only technological innovation, but also clear economic value for retailers,” noted the not-for-profit organization dedicated to the cryptocurrency.

DFX.swiss also provides a direct bridge into the traditional banking infrastructure, enabling users to buy or exchange ADA directly into fiat currencies. Cyrill Thommen, DFX.swiss CEO, said:

With Open Crypto Pay, we demonstrate that Cardano is not only technologically advanced, but also delivers real value in daily payments – for both consumers and merchants.

ADA is now also integrated with the urble app, a savings platform created by Swiss FinTech Brick Towers. DFX.swiss announced a partnership with urble back in January. Ralph Hofacker, Co-CEO of Brick Towers, noted:

The combination of regulated infrastructure and user-centric applications makes it possible to implement saving and payments based on Cardano in a simple way.

ADA Has Declined While Other Digital Assets Have Rallied

Bitcoin and Ethereum have witnessed bullish price action during the past week, but Cardano has shown a different trajectory as the coin has gone down by more than 6% inside the window, reaching the $0.27 level.

Below is a chart that shows how the asset’s trajectory has looked over the past month.

ADA’s lackluster price action has come as large investors have participated in distribution. Over the past week, whales on the network have shed 230 million tokens (worth more than $63 million right now) from their holdings, as highlighted by analyst Ali Martinez in an X post.

Основатель криптопроекта Tron Джастин Сан (Justin Sun) выплатит $10 млн для урегулирования иска, поданного Комиссией по ценным бумагам и биржам США (SEC). Регулятор обвинял предпринимателя в рыночных манипуляциях с криптоактивами TRX и BitTorrent Token (BTT), а также в нарушении законодательства о ценных бумагах.

Администрация канадского города Ванкувер рекомендовала городскому совету отклонить предложение о создании условий для использования биткоина в качестве резервного актива.

Coinbase is facing a new legal challenge, this time from its own shareholders. A derivative lawsuit has been filed against members of the company’s board, including CEO Brian Armstrong, accusing them of breaching fiduciary duties and violating federal securities laws between 2021 and 2023.

Coinbase Directors Accused Of Misleading Investors

The complaint, detailed in a social media post by pro-crypto attorney Bill Hughes, alleges that during that time frame, Coinbase’s directors and senior executives caused the company to issue public statements and disclosures that were materially false or misleading. 

Plaintiffs argue that while the company consistently emphasized safety and trust in its public messaging, it did not adequately disclose that crypto assets held in custody for retail customers could be considered part of a bankruptcy estate in the event of insolvency. 

According to the filing, those alleged misstatements exposed the company to substantial regulatory scrutiny and litigation risk, ultimately harming Coinbase itself.

The complaint further contends that Coinbase commingled retail customer assets, unlike its institutional custody structure, while still using customer-facing language suggesting users retained title and control over their holdings. 

Plaintiffs describe this as a disconnect between marketing assurances and the legal realities of bankruptcy risk. The derivative action also targets the company’s representations about securities compliance. 

According to the complaint, Coinbase repeatedly stated that it did not list securities on its platform and that its internal review process was designed to prevent securities from being traded. 

However, plaintiffs argue that both internal assessments and external indicators suggested that certain listed digital assets posed meaningful securities risk. 

The lawsuit further alleges that federal regulators later asserted that Coinbase listed assets with high risk scores. These issues culminated in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement complaint filed on June 6, 2023.

Alleged AML Failures And $100M NYDFS Settlement

Anti-money laundering controls form another major pillar of the case. The complaint highlights Coinbase’s January 4, 2023, settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which required a $100 million resolution following an investigation into the company’s compliance practices. 

The lawsuit claims that the company’s know-your-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence systems were immature and insufficient, and that Coinbase performed only minimal validation of due diligence information. 

The complaint also describes operational shortcomings in transaction monitoring. By the end of 2021, Coinbase allegedly faced a backlog of more than 100,000 transaction alerts. Efforts to address the backlog were said to suffer from inadequate training, weak oversight, and poor quality control. 

Plaintiffs further assert that suspicious activity reports were often filed months after potentially problematic conduct was first identified, leaving the platform vulnerable to criminal misuse. 

The filing claims these compliance failures exposed Coinbase to risks tied to fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and activity related to child sexual abuse material.

Plaintiffs Demand Compensation

In their prayer for relief, the plaintiffs request that the court award damages to Coinbase in an amount to be determined at trial. The damages sought include compensation for losses allegedly tied to regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, financial penalties, settlements, legal expenses, and reputational harm. 

Beyond monetary damages, the complaint seeks restitution and disgorgement from individual defendants, including compensation, bonuses, proceeds from stock sales, and other benefits allegedly obtained as a result of the challenged conduct. 

The plaintiffs also request contribution and indemnification from certain defendants for amounts Coinbase has paid or may pay in future settlements or judgments. In addition, the suit calls for corporate governance reforms aimed at strengthening oversight.

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

Эксперт и соуправляющий редактор издания CoinDesk Омкар Годбоул (Omkar Godbole) заявил, что новое ралли биткоина может начаться при одном условии — если цена закрепится выше отметки $74 000.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have submitted rule proposals to the White House to oversee the crypto industry and prediction markets, advancing their efforts to provide clarity and regulate emerging markets.

SEC Advances Crypto Taxonomy Plans

This week, Wall Street’s main financial regulators, the SEC and the CFTC, stepped up their efforts to provide formal rules and fully establish a welcoming approach by presenting their rule plans for crypto assets and prediction markets to the White House for review, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Independent agencies such as the SEC and the CFTC weren’t previously mandated to submit new rules to the White House for review, the news media outlet noted. However, in 2025, the Trump administration announced that all executive branch agencies, including US financial regulators, were expected to comply with this requirement.

The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) website shows that the agency received a crypto regulatory measure from the SEC on Tuesday regarding the “Application of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of Crypto Assets and Certain Transactions Involving Crypto Assets.”

Bloomberg reported that the commission-level guidance could be related to the taxonomy of crypto assets. An agency spokesperson pointed to previous comments from the SEC’s Chairman Paul Atkins.

Last month, Atkins proposed developing formal guidelines for token classification, in line with the crypto market structure bill, emphasizing that regulatory clarity for digital assets is long overdue.

The agency was set to examine a token taxonomy to define digital assets more accurately and clarify the rules that apply. This could establish categories for crypto assets, determining SEC or CFTC oversight and influencing how firms register, disclose information, and operate.

The SEC’s Chair has advocated for Congress to enact legislation for “future-proof” measures, but has also acknowledged that the agency has substantial authority to proceed with regulations if the market structure bill fails to advance.

CFTC-SEC Push To Foster Regulated Innovation

Notably, the CFTC has also been collaborating with the SEC to bring “coordination, coherence, and a unified approach to the federal oversight of crypto asset markets” through their joint “Project Crypto” initiative.

The sister agencies recently outlined their plan to clarify jurisdictional boundaries, eliminate redundant compliance requirements, and reduce regulatory fragmentation through their collaboration.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig explained that the agencies aim to ensure that “innovation takes root on American soil, under American law, and in service of American investors, customers, and businesses.”

As part of these efforts, the CFTC submitted an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on prediction markets on Monday, according to the OIRA website. The measure, currently under White House review, could set clear standards for the emerging market, which has exploded in popularity over the past year, but has also faced strong scrutiny in several US states.

On Tuesday, the CFTC chief pledged to establish “very clear standards as to what can be self-certified in our markets and what cannot and how to evaluate the different products that are offered in the space.”

Speaking at the Milken Institute’s Future of Finance conference, Selig noted that, as seen with the crypto industry, the more regulators try to block these markets, the more they move offshore.

“So my view on this stuff is that we’ve got to set the right rules and regulations for it here in the United States, or otherwise, we’re just going to have black markets offshore,” the regulator affirmed.

Аналитики платформы TheEnergyMag заявили, что крупные компании по добыче биткоина в последние месяцы активно продают накопленные монеты. По их оценке, эта тенденция может усилиться в ближайшее время.

Инвестиционный директор управляющей криптоактивами компании Bitwise Мэтт Хоуган (Matt Hougan) заявил, что победителями следующего сезона альткоинов станут криптоактивы, имеющие реальное применение.