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Вице-президент американской компании Strive Джо Бернетт (Joe Burnett) предположил, что к первому кварталу 2036 года курс биткоина может достичь $11 млн, а капитализация актива превысит $230 трлн.

Core Scientific is the latest in the line of Bitcoin miners accelerating a pivot toward AI, selling 1,900 BTC and signaling that more is coming.

Core Scientific Expects To Sell All Of Its Bitcoin Holdings In Q1 2026

Core Scientific has filed its annual report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and it reveals key insights about the direction that the company is taking right now.

Originally a Bitcoin mining-focused firm, Core Scientific is among the largest public miners in the world, but recently, the firm has been making a push into the AI compute business.

At the end of 2024, the company had a total computing power or “Hashrate” amounting to 20.1 exahashes per second (EH/s). The 2025 annual report suggests that this metric has dropped to 17.9 EH/s as the AI expansion has occurred.

Not just that, the report also noted that Core Scientific expects to monetize substantially all of its Bitcoin holdings during 2026, with the majority of sales occurring within the first quarter. This selling has already begun, as the firm announced in its Q4 2025 earnings call that it sold over 1,900 BTC for $175 million in January.

Before the sale, the firm held 2,537 BTC, but now, that figure has dropped to just 630 BTC. Considering the SEC filing, Core Scientific plans to eventually part with these remaining tokens as well.

So, where are the funds from the BTC sales going? Not mining, it seems. The company noted in the filing:

Aside from the miners received in 2025 and those expected from Block, we do not anticipate entering into new large-scale bitcoin mining equipment procurement agreements as we continue to shift capital allocation toward HDC infrastructure

While Core Scientific has pulled back on its Hashrate over the course of 2025, the firm remains among the top 10 public BTC miners, according to data from BitcoinMiningStock. With expansions stopping in favor of the AI pivot, though, it only remains to be seen how long the company will maintain relevance as a miner.

A push into the High-Performance Computing (HPC) business is actually something that’s being witnessed across the Bitcoin mining industry at the moment. Bitdeer, Cango, and Bitfarms, placed first, fifth, and tenth on the top 10 list, respectively, are all making a pivot to datacenters.

Bitfarms, in particular, plans to wind down its mining facilities over the course of 2026 and 2027, signaling a complete exit from the space. Ben Gagnon, the firm’s CEO, believes the pivot to be highly lucrative, explaining:

Despite being less than 1% of our total developable portfolio, we believe that the conversion of just our Washington site to GPU-as-a-Service could potentially produce more net operating income than we have ever generated with Bitcoin mining.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $68,200, up more than 6% over the past week.

A new chapter has unfolded in the ongoing LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal, as fresh judicial findings suggest that the relationship between Argentine President Javier Milei and LIBRA co-creator Hayden Mark Davis may have been closer than previously acknowledged.

The controversy traces back to February 14, 2025, when President Milei publicly promoted the LIBRA token. The endorsement triggered a rapid surge in the cryptocurrency’s price, followed by a collapse that wiped out an estimated $251 million in investor funds. 

Now, according to local media reports citing court sources, computer forensics experts from Argentina’s Public Prosecutor’s Office have identified draft versions of a “confidential agreement” allegedly signed by Milei and Davis on January 30, 2025 — two weeks before LIBRA’s launch and subsequent crash. 

LIBRA Deal Amid Milei Denials

The drafts were discovered on at least one electronic device seized from Argentine lobbyist Mauricio Novelli, a central figure in the case and a close associate of the president since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano ordered the seizure of Novelli’s devices as part of the investigation. Experts later reported that the draft agreement appeared in exchanges between Novelli and Davis, suggesting efforts to finalize the document before it was formally executed. 

The existence of such drafts stands in tension with Milei’s public denials. In multiple interviews following the scandal in February 2025, the president rejected claims that he had signed any agreement with Davis and sought to distance himself from the LIBRA operation. 

Further details emerged in a January 9 ruling issued by the Directorate of Technological Support for Criminal Investigations (Datip), a specialized forensic unit within the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

According to the ruling, several copies of the draft “confidential agreement” were located during the forensic review of Novelli’s communications with Davis. The exchanges appeared to relate to preparations for the document’s eventual signing by the president.

Alleged Payment Requests Surface

The Datip report further underscored Novelli’s central role in the LIBRA affair. Investigators described him as a key intermediary connecting multiple actors. 

His communications included exchanges with President Milei and Karina Milei, as well as with Davis, Terrones Godoy, Morales, and Julian Peh, the Singaporean CEO of KIP Protocol.

However, the forensic examination was hindered by significant data deletion. Experts informed Prosecutor Taiano that numerous messages, files, and even entire conversations had been permanently erased from devices belonging to Novelli and other defendants. 

Among the missing exchanges were communications between Novelli and Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson. After the LIBRA collapse, Hoskinson publicly accused Novelli and Terrones Godoy of demanding five-figure dollar payments in exchange for arranging a meeting with President Milei during the Tech Forum. 

According to Hoskinson, they suggested that “magical things would happen” if he agreed. He declined. Investigators were unable to recover those deleted conversations in full.

Featured image from BBC, chart from TradingView.com 

On‑chain data shows that in the days after joint US‑Israeli airstrikes on February 28, Iranian exchanges saw a sharp spike in withdrawals, with roughly 10.3 million dollars in crypto fleeing.

Iran’s Crypto Use Amidst Economical Collapse

Crypto has become a financial lifeline for both ordinary households and state‑affiliated networks in Iran, according to an article posted on our sister website NewsBTC. Years of US and EU financial and oil sanctions have strained the economy, cutting Iranian banks off from SWIFT and dollar funding, and now even targeting Iran‑linked crypto platforms through recent US Treasury designations. Add to this cocktail a runaway inflation and a collapsing rial, and it becomes clear why many Iranians increasingly look to Bitcoin and stablecoins as an alternative store of value and cross‑border payment rail.

A Lifeline Of Hope For Ordinary Folk?

Chainalysis has estimated that Iran’s crypto activity reached roughly 7.78 billion dollars in 2025, with usage spiking around protests, bombings and other security crises as people rush to move funds off local platforms and into self‑custody.

In its latest report, Chainalysis visualizes this idea with a series of charts that track hourly outflows from major Iranian exchanges before and after the February 28 airstrikes.

The graphs show relatively modest, choppy activity in the hours leading up to the strikes, followed by a sudden jump where hourly withdrawals approach or exceed roughly 2 million dollars and cumulative outflows climb to about 10.3 million dollars by March 2.

For many ordinary Iranians, Bitcoin and stablecoins now function as a hedge against currency collapse and capital controls, while addresses tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) account for roughly half of on‑chain activity, highlighting crypto’s dual role as both a survival tool and a sanctions‑evasion channel.

However, it is worth noting that while some observers praise Chainalysis for helping exchanges and regulators track hacks, scams, and sanctions evasion, civil‑liberties advocates criticize its tools as opaque and potentially overreaching in terms of financial surveillance.

What This Means For The Future Of Iranians

For ordinary users, digital assets may remain a pressure valve against inflation and capital controls, even as regulators tighten the screws on Iran‑linked platforms and wallets. For policymakers, the question now is whether new rounds of enforcement will meaningfully curb sanctions evasion or imply push more of Iran’s crypto activity into harder‑to‑track channels.

What is for sure is that the the latest spike in Iranian exchange outflows comes to show, once more, how quickly crypto reacts to geopolitical shocks and sanctions risk: the market is, after all, in the hands of the people.

Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSDT chart from Tradingview

Bitcoin is navigating heightened uncertainty as escalating conflicts in the Middle East inject fresh volatility into global markets. Price action has become increasingly reactive to geopolitical headlines, while broader liquidity conditions remain fragile. In this environment, directional conviction has weakened, and risk appetite appears constrained.

Recent analysis from Axel Adler highlights the deterioration in Bitcoin’s risk-adjusted performance profile. The Sharpe Ratio — measured over both 365-day and 180-day rolling windows — has moved decisively into negative territory. As of March 1, 2026, the 365-day Sharpe stands at -63, while the faster 180-day version has plunged to -287. Although the metric is scaled for regime analysis rather than interpreted as a classical Sharpe value, the implication is clear: over the past six to twelve months, volatility has not been compensated by returns.

This shift began in January and accelerated through February’s price pressure. Notably, the fast Sharpe reading is approaching levels seen near the 2022 cycle low, while the slower measure remains less extreme but firmly negative. Complementing this signal, the MVRV Z-Score sits at 0.49 — below its historical mean but not at capitulation extremes.

Bitcoin MVRV Signals Neutral Valuation, Not Capitulation

The report further contextualizes Bitcoin’s positioning through the MVRV Z-Score with Standard Deviation bands. As of early March 2026, the Z-Score stands at 0.49 — below both its 365-day moving average (1.89) and historical mean (1.73), yet comfortably above the negative territory historically associated with capitulation. Structurally, this places Bitcoin in a neutral valuation regime.

The MVRV Z-Score measures the deviation between market capitalization and realized capitalization, effectively comparing spot price to the aggregate cost basis of holders. Historically, readings above +1 standard deviation (around 3.55) have signaled overheating, while negative readings — when price trades below average holder cost — have marked major accumulation zones in 2019, 2020, and 2023. The current 0.49 reading indicates neither excess profit-taking pressure nor deep undervaluation.

This distinction is critical. The absence of overheating reduces the probability of an abrupt collapse driven by profit overhang. However, neutrality does not equate to opportunity. Historically strong buy signals emerged when MVRV moved decisively negative, not merely when it cooled toward 0.5.

Combined with the negative Sharpe Ratio regime, the message converges: risk-adjusted returns are unattractive, and valuation is neutral but not historically cheap. This is a transitional phase requiring a clear catalyst to define direction.

BTC Consolidates Below Key Moving Averages as Structure Remains Fragile

On the 3-day timeframe, Bitcoin remains structurally pressured following the breakdown from the $90,000–$95,000 distribution range. The chart shows a decisive rejection near the 200-period moving average (red), which had previously acted as dynamic support throughout much of the 2024–2025 uptrend. Once lost, price accelerated lower, confirming a transition from trend continuation to corrective structure.

Currently trading near $67,000, BTC is consolidating below the 100-period (green) and 50-period (blue) moving averages. Both shorter-term averages are curling downward, reflecting deteriorating momentum. The recent rebound from the $60,000–$62,000 region appears corrective rather than impulsive, lacking strong volume expansion relative to the breakdown phase. This suggests short-covering and tactical positioning rather than broad structural accumulation.

Importantly, the $60,000 zone now represents key horizontal support. It coincides with a prior consolidation area and marks the lower boundary of the current range. A sustained loss of this level would likely expose the $52,000–$55,000 region as the next high-liquidity demand zone.

For bulls to regain structural control, price would need to reclaim and hold above the 100-period average and reestablish higher highs on expanding volume. Until then, the dominant regime remains corrective, with volatility compressing inside a fragile recovery attempt.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

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.

Разработчик решений для децентрализованной кредитной криптоплатформы Aave, Aave Chan Initiative, объявил, что выйдет из бизнеса экосистемы к июлю. Это уже второй громкий уход за последние дни, связанный с разногласиями в системе управления Aave: в конце февраля о прекращении сотрудничества с криптоплатформой сообщила компания-разработчик BGD Labs.

«Специальная военная операция» США, Израиля и союзников против Ирана начинает влиять на рынки капитала и мировую экономику. Гадать, сколько времени продлятся боевые действия и чем закончатся, — дело военных и политических аналитиков, а мы попробуем объяснить, чего ждать криптоинвесторам.

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.

Руководитель Федерального казначейства России Роман Артюхин сообщил президенту Владимиру Путину, что ведомство впервые получило на свой счет цифровую валюту центробанка — 1500 рублей поступило в качестве оплаты административного штрафа.

Китайские криптотрейдеры жалуются в соцсетях, что банки КНР стали замораживать их счета за денежные переводы, если в поле с примечанием упомянуты USDT, Dogecoin и другие криптовалюты.

Основатель Cardano Чарльз Хоскинсон (Charles Hoskinson) раскритиковал американский законопроект «О прозрачности рынка цифровых активов» (CLARITY Act), заявив, что документ определяет почти все цифровые активы как ценные бумаги.

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.