TRON DAO's AI fund expansion could accelerate the agentic economy's growth, potentially reshaping financial systems and blockchain integration.

The post TRON DAO expands AI fund to $1 billion to back agentic economy infrastructure appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The temporary diplomatic pause highlights the fragility of peace efforts, with ongoing tensions posing risks to global markets and energy stability.

The post Trump drops Iran strike threat after back-channel talks in Riyadh, oil plunges 11.7% appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

SoftBank's potential leverage increase could heighten financial risk, impacting investor confidence and influencing AI and crypto sectors.

The post SoftBank CFO opens the door to breaching its own leverage ceiling appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Polymarket's new fee and referral structure could reshape user engagement and market dynamics, potentially influencing industry standards.

The post Polymarket updates fee structure and offers up to 30% referral rewards appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Understanding executive decision-making dynamics is key for product leaders to drive successful collaborations and innovations.

The post Jessica Fain: Executives face extreme time constraints, influence is the key skill for product leaders, and empathy enhances executive engagement | Lenny’s Podcast appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

MoonPay Launches Open-Source Wallet Standard for AI Agents

MoonPay recently launched an open-source wallet standard to equip artificial intelligence (AI) agents with the ability to manage funds and conduct transactions across multiple blockchains.

By doing so, MoonPay says it is trying to confront the challenges posed by the existing fragmentation in wallet and key management systems that autonomous software often encounters.

The escalating involvement of AI agents in economic activities underscores the urgent need for standardized financial tools that streamline operations and minimize risks. Under traditional systems, each AI agent typically must handle its own keys and maintain a distinct balance, which invariably leads to inefficient processes and heightened security vulnerabilities.

For example, a lack of coordination among key management can expose funds to hacks or loss, particularly if agents operate in environments with differing security protocols. MoonPay’s initiative aims to counter these risks by providing a cohesive framework for wallet access and transaction execution, benefiting both AI developers and their end-users.

This development not only enhances operational efficiency but also paves the way for broader adoption of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the AI sector.

As these agents become more prevalent across trading, e-commerce, and automated financial services, the demand for seamless interactions with blockchain technology will grow accordingly.

Key features of the wallet standard

The newly introduced MoonPay wallet standard is composed of several pivotal features designed to optimize the functioning of AI agents within various blockchain environments:

• Unified Access: AI agents are empowered to function from a centralized pool of funds. This feature eliminates the fragmentation of multiple disconnected accounts, facilitating smoother transaction flows.
• Secure Key Management: The wallet standard prioritizes security by ensuring that private keys are stored within an encrypted local vault. Transactions are signed in a dedicated, isolated process, which keeps keys out of the agent’s runtime environment, thus mitigating the risk of exposure during transactions.
• Policy Controls: Users can implement spending limits and restrictions, offering them control over the transactions that an AI agent can initiate. This feature is particularly valuable in organizational contexts, where oversight and compliance with internal financial policies are critical.
• Modular Design: The standard adopts an open-source, modular approach, encompassing essential components such as storage systems, signing processes, policy controls, and compatibility with a range of blockchains. This flexibility will allow developers to tailor the wallet to meet the specific needs of various AI applications.

These integrated features collectively aim to bolster the security and efficiency of AI-conducted financial transactions, supporting the growing trend of automation in business operations.

Industry Collaboration and Adoption

MoonPay’s endeavor to establish this wallet standard was bolstered by contributions from more than a dozen companies, including notable entities like PayPal, OKX, and Circle.

The participation of various blockchain foundations and infrastructure providers demonstrates the industry’s collective recognition of the need to effectively integrate AI agents into blockchain ecosystems. Such collaboration is pivotal to adopting new technologies that could reshape financial services.

The introduction of MoonPay’s wallet framework for AI agents presents significant implications for the Bitcoin network.

By facilitating seamless interactions, this development could lead to increased transaction volumes and the emergence of innovative use cases. For instance, AI-driven trading algorithms may use the wallet to execute transactions more efficiently, potentially stabilizing market dynamics by improving liquidity.

Furthermore, as the integration takes hold, it could spur greater adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies among businesses looking to leverage AI capabilities.

Companies may find new opportunities for efficiency and cost-effectiveness in utilizing bitcoin for automated financial transactions, driving further integration of AI in daily business practices.

Outlook

Looking ahead, as AI technology continues to accelerate, the integration of standardized financial tools is poised to become increasingly impactful.

MoonPay’s open-source wallet standard stands as a crucial step in promoting autonomous economic activities for AI agents. Its implications extend beyond mere financial transactions, influencing the ongoing intersection of AI and blockchain technologies.

Editorial Disclaimer: We leverage AI as part of our editorial workflow to support research, image generation, and quality assurance processes. However, all content is human-led, rigorously reviewed, and approved by our editorial team, with strict standards for accuracy, originality, and integrity. In Bitcoin, as in media: Don’t trust. Verify.

This post MoonPay Launches Open-Source Wallet Standard for AI Agents first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Swings Wildly as Iran Ceasefire Drama Rocks Crypto Markets

Bitcoin kicked off the week with a surge above $71,000 before retracing, reflecting renewed market sensitivity to geopolitical developments between the U.S. and Iran. 

The leading cryptocurrency had traded below $68,000 over the weekend, leaving investors on edge as markets digested conflicting reports about peace talks in the Middle East.

Monday’s spike came after the U.S. President Donald Trump announced a five-day postponement of planned strikes on Iranian power plants, citing “very good and productive” conversations with Tehran on a “complete and total resolution” of hostilities. Within minutes of the announcement, 

Bitcoin jumped to an intraday high of $71,811, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro, before easing back to around $70,000. The rally briefly wiped out roughly $791 million in leveraged crypto positions, with $425 million in long positions liquidated.

The momentum was short-lived. Iran’s Foreign Ministry, via state media, denied that any talks had occurred in the form Trump described. 

“We are not the party that started this war, and all these requests should be referred to Washington,” the ministry said, underscoring the continued uncertainty surrounding the conflict. 

The market’s reaction reflected the mixed signals, with volatility dominating early-week trading.

Bitcoin’s resilience in war 

Despite the rollercoaster, BTC remains resilient over a broader horizon. 

Since February 28, when U.S.-Israeli airstrikes triggered retaliatory Iranian attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Bitcoin has risen roughly 7%, outperforming the S&P 500 (-4.6%) and gold (-17%). Gold is currently trading near $4,428.

Analysts attribute this outperformance to several rounds of market deleveraging since October 2025, when BTC peaked at $126,080.

The week’s volatility was compounded by broader market factors. 

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields climbed to 4.36% on Monday, reflecting inflation concerns exacerbated by higher oil prices. 

Brent crude, which surged past $107 per barrel after February’s Strait of Hormuz closure, fell back on Monday by 8%, highlighting the interplay between oil markets, inflation expectations, and risk assets such as BTC.

Technically, Bitcoin remains confined within a symmetrical triangle on the daily chart, suggesting consolidation. 

A sustained close above $75,000 this week could pave the way for further gains toward $85,000 and $90,000, while a breakdown below $67,000 would reopen the path to retest recent lows, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro analysis. 

At the time of publication, Bitcoin’s price is trading near $71,000.

This post Bitcoin Swings Wildly as Iran Ceasefire Drama Rocks Crypto Markets first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Capital B Acquires 44 Bitcoin, Boosting Holdings to 2,888 Coins

Capital B, Europe’s first Bitcoin Treasury Company, has completed the acquisition of 44 bitcoin for €2.7 million, bringing its total holdings to 2,888 BTC. 

The purchases were executed as part of the company’s ongoing Bitcoin Treasury Company strategy, which aims to increase the number of bitcoin per fully diluted share over time, according to a company press release seen by Bitcoin Magazine. 

The company also finalized multiple capital raising operations. An “ATM-type” capital increase with TOBAM generated €0.5 million through the issuance of 669,906 new shares at €0.76 per share. 

Additionally, €3 million was raised via share subscription warrants, with €2 million subscribed by TOBAM and €1 million by UTXO Management. 

These operations funded the latest BTC acquisition and supported the company’s broader treasury strategy.

Capital B reported a year-to-date (YTD) BTC Yield of 0.72%, equivalent to a gain of 20.4 BTC and €1.2 million. The company also achieved a quarterly BTC Yield of 0.72%, highlighting the incremental growth of its bitcoin holdings relative to fully diluted shares. The average acquisition cost of its BTC portfolio stands at €92,495 per coin, representing a total investment of €267.1 million.

Swissquote Bank Europe SA, a Luxembourg-registered virtual asset service provider (VASP), executed the bitcoin acquisition and provided secure custody through Taurus technology. The company maintains an additional 60 BTC for operational needs, separate from its treasury holdings.

Capital B is listed on Euronext Growth Paris and specializes in data intelligence, artificial intelligence, decentralized technology consulting and development, and corporate treasury. 

Bitcoin surges

Bitcoin surged to $71,000 on Monday, rebounding from weekend lows near $67,000, following a sudden easing of geopolitical tensions after Donald Trump announced a five-day pause on planned U.S. strikes against Iran. 

The pause came after what Trump described as “very good” and “productive” talks with Tehran, reversing the market’s defensive posture from prior threats to target Iranian energy infrastructure. 

Amid this backdrop, Strategy continued its corporate bitcoin accumulation, albeit at a slower pace. Between March 16 and March 22, the company acquired 1,031 BTC for $76.6 million at an average price of $74,326 per coin, funded through common stock sales. This contrasts with the prior two weeks, when Strategy deployed over $1 billion into bitcoin via equity and preferred share offerings, signaling a more measured approach.

Strategy now holds 762,099 BTC, purchased for approximately $57.7 billion at an average cost of $75,694 per coin. 

Disclaimer: Bitcoin Magazine is owned by Nakamoto Inc. (NASDAQ: NAKA). Nakamoto Inc. also owns UTXO Management.

This post Capital B Acquires 44 Bitcoin, Boosting Holdings to 2,888 Coins first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) Arms Itself With $44.1 Billion ATM Capacity to Fuel Bitcoin Treasury Expansion

Strategy has moved to sharply expand its capacity to raise capital through at‑the‑market equity and preferred offerings, adding new Wall Street agents and reshaping its preferred stock authorization to favor a key floating‑rate series. 

The steps, disclosed in a March 23 Form 8‑K, give the company scope to sell up to an additional $44.1 billion in securities on top of large existing programs.​

In the filing, Strategy said it entered joint agreements with Moelis & Company LLC, A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, and StoneX Financial Inc., adding them as sales agents under its Omnibus Sales Agreement dated November 4, 2025.

That agreement already named TD Securities (USA), The Benchmark Company, Barclays Capital, BTIG, Canaccord Genuity, Cantor Fitzgerald, Clear Street, Compass Point, H.C. Wainwright, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Maxim Group, Mizuho Securities USA, Morgan Stanley, Santander US Capital Markets, SG Americas Securities, and TCBI Securities doing business as Texas Capital Securities as agents.​

Under the joinders, each of Moelis, Alliance, and StoneX becomes an agent on the same contractual footing as the original banks, with the right and obligation to place Strategy’s securities in at‑the‑market, or “ATM,” transactions. 

Strategy’s new ATM programs and size

Alongside the added agents, Strategy and the syndicate executed three “Additional Program Addenda” that establish new ATM programs for its Class A common stock (ticker MSTR), its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC), and its 8.00% Series A Perpetual Strike Preferred Stock (STRK). 

These addenda operate under Section 8(i) of the Omnibus Sales Agreement and are structured so they do not cancel or limit rights under the underlying framework.​

The company then filed new prospectus supplement annexes under its automatic shelf registration statement, which became effective on January 27, 2025. 

Those annexes authorize at‑the‑market offerings of:​

• Up to $21.0 billion of new Class A common stock (the “New Common ATM Shares”).​
• Up to $21.0 billion of new STRC preferred shares (the “New STRC ATM Shares”).
• Up to $2.1 billion of new STRK preferred shares (the “New STRK ATM Shares”).​

In other words, Strategy has established new ATM programs to sell up to $21 billion of common stock, $21 billion of STRC preferred, and $2.1 billion of STRK preferred shares.

These programs supplement existing authorizations, with the old STRK program replaced by the new $2.1 billion offering.

These new capacities sit alongside existing shelf authorizations. Strategy had previously registered the sale of about $15.85 billion of common stock and $4.2 billion of STRC preferred under prior annexes and the base prospectus, and it intends to keep using those prior prospectuses until those capacities are fully sold. 

In contrast, the company terminated its prior STRK preferred ATM program effective March 22, 2026, and the new $2.1 billion STRK annex replaces that earlier effort.​

Strategic tilt in preferred structure

To support this mix of funding options, Strategy also amended its charter with two targeted preferred stock actions. A Certificate of Increase raised authorized shares of STRC preferred from 70,435,353 to 282,556,565, more than tripling the pool available for issuance. A separate Certificate of Decrease reduced authorized STRK preferred shares from 269,800,000 to 40,270,744.​

Both certificates were adopted by the board’s Pricing and Financing Committee under authority granted in the company’s Second Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Section 151(g) of the Delaware General Corporation Law. 

Strategy also said they secured legal opinions confirming that its new ATM shares — both common and preferred — will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable. 

The 8‑K clarifies that no offers or sales are happening yet, and any actual issuances will depend on market conditions, investor demand, and internal decisions. 

Overall, the expanded ATM programs and reallocated preferred shares give Strategy flexibility to raise capital while prioritizing floating‑rate preferred issuance over the 8.00% STRK series.

This post Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) Arms Itself With $44.1 Billion ATM Capacity to Fuel Bitcoin Treasury Expansion first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

H100 Eyes Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition to Triple its BTC Holdings and Expand Institutional Scale

H100 Group AB (H100), the Stockholm-based publicly listed bitcoin treasury company, announced a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire Norwegian bitcoin-focused firms Moonshot AS and Never Say Die AS. 

The move, if completed, would roughly triple H100’s holdings to around 3,500 BTC, positioning the company among Europe’s largest listed bitcoin treasury firms and enhancing its institutional profile, according to a press release seen by Bitcoin Magazine. 

Currently holding 1,051 BTC, the company would add the target companies’ combined 2,450 BTC through the transaction. 

The acquisition is structured as a bitcoin-for-bitcoin exchange, meaning ownership in the combined entity will be determined solely by the number of BTC contributed.

This preserves the existing shareholders’ exposure per share while significantly expanding the company’s balance sheet. The deal is set up as an all-share transaction with no cash consideration, consistent with H100’s strategy of bitcoin-based mergers and acquisitions.

The move comes on the heels of H100’s January announcement regarding its combination with Switzerland-based Future Holdings AG, also a bitcoin treasury company, highlighting the firm’s ongoing effort to consolidate institutional-scale bitcoin holdings in Europe.

H100’s backing

Both acquisitions have backing from Adam Back, the British cryptographer and co-founder of Blockstream, reinforcing the network of experienced bitcoin investors involved in the transactions.

Chairman Sander Andersen emphasized the industrial rationale for the deal, citing scale, credibility, and access to capital markets as increasingly important for publicly listed bitcoin firms. 

“This transaction would significantly strengthen H100 in all these areas,” Andersen said, noting that the acquisition aligns with H100’s ongoing capital markets and M&A strategy while leaving its listing structure and core operations unchanged.

The target companies bring more than just bitcoin holdings. Moonshot AS and Never Say Die AS are led by seasoned professionals including CEO Eirik Grøttum, a former systematic trader and asset manager, and CIO Peter Warren, a hedge fund veteran with extensive experience across equities, derivatives, and FX markets. 

Together with founder Geir Harald Hansen, the pioneer behind the Bitminter BTC mining pool, the Norwegian teams bring operational expertise and technology capabilities expected to complement H100’s treasury management and capital markets activities.

Following completion, the company will remain the listed parent company. Management and board positions are expected to include representatives from both H100 and the acquired firms, ensuring continuity of existing leadership while integrating new expertise. 

Current executives, including Andersen and CEO Johannes Wiik, will continue in central roles. Definitive agreements are targeted by April 22, 2026, with completion expected shortly after H100’s annual general meeting on May 21, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

The company continues to operate its health technology business alongside its bitcoin treasury strategy, combining digital health tools and AI-powered solutions for providers of health and lifestyle services. 

The firm said its core business model and listing structure will remain unchanged even as it pursues aggressive growth in bitcoin holdings.

This post H100 Eyes Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition to Triple its BTC Holdings and Expand Institutional Scale first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) widened its at-the-market fundraising capacity on March 23, filing new programs for common stock and two preferred securities, bringing the company's total active issuance capacity to over $60 billion.

The 8-K filing, which added fresh ATM lines while terminating one older program, signals a reconfiguration of the capital stack behind the firm's Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Under the new program structure, Strategy can sell up to $21 billion of Class A common MSTR stock, up to $21 billion of STRC preferred stock, and up to $2.1 billion of STRK preferred stock through a broadened syndicate of sales agents.

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Mar 17, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

The company added Moelis, A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, and StoneX to the existing sales group under its omnibus sales agreement, according to the filing.

Meanwhile, Strategy intends to continue using its prior common-stock prospectus, which covered about $15.85 billion, and its prior STRC prospectus, which covered $4.2 billion, until those shares are sold. The prior STRK offering, which had covered about $20.34 billion, was terminated effective March 22.

Cumulatively, that leaves Strategy with about $64.15 billion of active issuance capacity across still-live common-stock and STRC programs, along with the new STRK line.

Notably, the company did not say it had raised that amount, and the 8-K repeatedly frames the securities as stock it “may issue and sell” over time.

Even so, the document is likely to be read as a financing map for the next phase of Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury plan.

The company has repeatedly used public market activity to expand its Bitcoin holdings, and changes to its capital stack are closely watched for what they signal about future buying capacity, dividend obligations, and dilution risk.

Strategy is the largest public holder of Bitcoin, holding 762,099 Bitcoin. Based on the company’s aggregate purchase cost of about $57.7 billion, the average acquisition price stands near $75,700 per Bitcoin.

Data from SaylorTracker showed the position is sitting on an unrealized loss of more than $3 billion.

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Mar 10, 2025 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

STRC takes center stage as Strategy reshapes preferred stock mix

The clearest signal in the filing is the expanding role of STRC, the company's Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch preferred stock.

Strategy filed a certificate to increase the authorized STRC preferred shares from 70,435,353 to 282,556,565, an increase of 212,121,212 shares.

The treatment of STRK, by contrast, moved in the opposite direction. Strategy filed a certificate of decrease to reduce the authorized STRK preferred shares from 269,800,000 to 40,270,744, a reduction of 229,529,256 shares.

The divergence is notable because the two instruments occupy different positions in Strategy's capital structure.

The March 23 filing identifies STRK as the company's 8.00% Series A Perpetual Strike preferred stock, a convertible security with an initial conversion rate of 0.1000 shares of Class A common stock per STRK share, equivalent to an initial conversion price of $1,000 per MSTR share, subject to adjustment.

That embedded call option is unique among the company's preferred share offerings of STRD, STRK, STRE, and STRC.

Interestingly, STRK had previously attracted investor attention because of that conversion feature. In July 2025, STRK briefly rallied above $129 per share, 29% above its $100 liquidation preference, on which the company pays an 8% dividend. It has since declined to $77 as of press time.

By cutting both the authorized share count and the size of the active STRK issuance line, Strategy reduced the scale of that channel relative to its pre-filing level.

STRC, meanwhile, has rapidly become the most liquid preferred stock on the market since its 2025 launch, with an average daily trading volume of approximately $295.9 million, according to data shared by chairman Michael Saylor.

That liquidity now exceeds the combined average daily trading volume of the seven closest competing preferred issues, including preferred shares from Boeing, KKR & Co., and Four Corners Property Trust.

The STRC product offers investors a variable dividend yield of 11.5%, and the instrument has already attracted institutional holders, including BlackRock's iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF, Anchorage, and asset management firm Strive.

Data from STRC.live indicates the program has financed the acquisition of over 50,000 BTC since inception.

Bitcoin analyst Adam Livingston argued the expanded STRC program carries more buying power than its headline figure suggests.

He explained that every $1 of STRC issuance, at current balance-sheet settings, requires roughly $1.94 of MSTR issuance to keep the company's amplification ratio flat.

According to him, if STRC issuance runs at its recent pace of about $2 billion per month, the corresponding common-stock issuance needed to maintain that ratio would push Strategy's combined BTC acquisition rate to nearly $5.9 billion per month.

Under that math, full deployment of the newly announced $21 billion STRC and $21 billion MSTR envelopes could finance the purchase of more than 450,000 BTC within roughly five to seven months, though the MSTR leg would likely act as a bottleneck on the pace of execution.

STRC dividend burden and the long-term capital question

However, the flexibility embedded in the expanded ATM programs carries a growing cost.

If the $21 billion STRC program were fully utilized, it would add roughly $2.4 billion in annual dividend obligations, according to The Block analyst Ivan Wu.

The company has set aside approximately $2.25 billion in USD reserves to fund these obligations, providing a buffer amid rising capital costs.

However, traditional credit analysts remain skeptical of the underlying mechanics.

Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer of Arca, argued that while Strategy's balance sheet appears safe when viewing assets against liabilities, it fails the most critical credit metric of interest coverage.

According to him, Strategy generates essentially zero earnings before interest and taxes, indicating it has no interest coverage.

Dorman wrote that if the company never sells Bitcoin, then the debt and preferred shares will eventually default.

On the other hand, if the company continues to sell more shares to fund the interest and dividends, then the common shares will be diluted. If the company sells the Bitcoin to fund its capital structure, the underlying asset will suffer.

He concluded:

“You can’t pay the bills (interest/dividend payments) without cash flow, and that cash flow has to come from somewhere.”

The post Strategy’s expanded $64B Bitcoin buying plan leans on high-yield funding but could push BTC higher appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Over the last week, both Bitcoin and gold failed the safe-haven test. Bitcoin is still trading more like a risk asset than “digital gold,” while gold has also failed to behave like a clean geopolitical hedge as higher yields and inflation fears overrode the usual flight-to-safety bid.

To start the week, Bitcoin rebounded to about $70,508 after falling as low as $67,436 earlier in the day, while gold was still trying to recover from a far steeper break, and the US 10-year Treasury yield remained above its Friday close after briefly pushing to a new high.

That sequence changed the usual reading of a geopolitical shock. Investors did not rush cleanly into classic hedges. They sold first, repriced inflation and rates, and only then bought back some risk after comments about “productive” talks with Iran and a five-day pause in strikes eased immediate panic.

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The last three sessions broke into three distinct phases.

Friday was an inflation and yield repricing. Bitcoin hovered near $70,272 after the prior day’s drop below $69,000, linked to higher-for-longer Fed expectations and energy-driven inflation pressure.

Over the weekend, escalating US-Iran tensions pushed Bitcoin back toward $68,000, wiping out more than $240 million in long positions.

Monday then brought a relief reversal. Bitcoin traded in a wide intraday band from $67,436 to $71,696 before climbing back above $70,000, tied to the market’s reading of Trump's de-escalation statement.

Gold followed the same broad rhythm, though with heavier damage

Barron’s coverage showed New York futures up about 1.7% to $4,682.20 early Friday, yet still headed for a weekly loss of more than 7%, with front-month futures ending the week near $4,570.40.

Today, gold is down toward roughly $4,100 to $4,260 intraday as the market focuses on the inflation and yield shock coming from oil.

Gold is not acting as a clean geopolitical hedge; it's trading like an asset caught between forced selling, higher real-rate expectations, and opportunistic buying.

The macro hinge has stayed in rates. The 10-year Treasury yield was around 4.30% on Friday as oil strength and fading rate-cut hopes pushed yields higher.

Today, the 10-year hit 4.43%, the highest level since mid-2025. After the Iran-talks headline, yields fell to about 4.31% before settling near 4.386%. The inflation premium eased, but it did not disappear.

Flows show where investors looked for liquidity

The price action alone was enough to weaken the old “digital gold” line. US spot Bitcoin ETFs finished the March 16 to March 20 stretch in positive territory, but the direction turned worse as the week went on.

The daily flow table shows net inflows of $199.4 million on March 16 and another $199.4 million on March 17, then net outflows of $163.5 million on March 18, $90.2 million on March 19, and $52.0 million on March 20. That left the week net positive by about $93.1 million, yet the pattern was one of weakening demand, not strong accumulation.

That distinction helps with the Bitcoin framing. ETF buyers did not vanish. Buying slowed, then reversed, as macro pressure returned and Bitcoin lost momentum into the weekend.

Monday’s recovery above $70,000 improved the immediate picture, but it did not erase the sequence that came before it.

Bitcoin is still trading primarily as a high-beta macro asset, with any hedge behavior showing up only in short bursts.

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Gold ETF flows were weaker. The cleanest indexed US data for last week points to a cluster of heavy withdrawals from the largest gold funds.

ETF.com reported IAU outflows of $554.66 million on March 17, while commodity ETFs as a whole lost $735.29 million that day.

On March 18, ETF.com reported GLD outflows of $414 million and IAU outflows of $387 million. On March 19, GLD outflows were $760 million, and IAU outflows were $329 million.

That makes gold the more revealing asset in this stretch. Bitcoin bent, then recovered, and Bitcoin ETF flows for the week still ended slightly positive. Gold took deeper price damage and saw large holders redeeming through the break.

Investors appeared to use gold ETFs as a source of liquidity instead of treating them as a preferred refuge. That is a meaningful shift because gold normally carries the stronger default claim as a haven during geopolitical stress.

The broader context still matters. Global gold ETFs took in $5.3 billion in February and lifted holdings to a record 4,171 tonnes. That tells you the US outflow week did not arrive after a long period of persistent global liquidation.

After a strong prior backdrop, the reversal is even more striking. In other words, the selling pressure was strong enough to overwhelm a market that had just logged nine straight months of global inflows.

The next move still runs through yields, oil, and expectations

Monday’s bounce changed the direction of travel, but it did not change the hierarchy of drivers.

The market still looks more sensitive to oil, inflation expectations, and rate pricing than to the old safe-haven labels attached to either asset.

The University of Michigan’s early-March chart showed short-run inflation expectations rising from about 3.3% to 3.5% and long-run expectations rising from about 3.1% to 3.3%, with one-year gasoline price expectations jumping from about 10 cents to about 43 cents. Those moves help explain why the inflation premium in yields stayed elevated even after Monday’s relief reversal.

The Fed’s March projections still point to only modest easing, with the median end-2026 fed-funds rate at 3.4% against a 2025 midpoint near 3.6%. That leaves little room for a fast return to the kind of falling-real-yield backdrop that usually flatters both gold and Bitcoin.

The market can absorb one encouraging geopolitical headline and still keep a higher bar for non-yielding assets if inflation risk remains embedded in energy and rates.

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Oil sits at the center of that calculation. The latest EIA outlook said Brent should stay above $95 for the next two months before falling below $80 in the third quarter and toward $70 by year-end, assuming disruptions ease.

If that path holds, the pressure on real yields can cool and the current selloff in hedges can look like a short-lived dislocation. If oil stays higher for longer, the Monday rebound in both gold and Bitcoin will look more like a relief trade than the start of a durable turn.

Published outlooks still give both assets room to recover, though the ranges are wide. A 2026 gold outlook showed a gain of 5% to 15% in a shallow-slip case and 15% to 30% in a deeper risk scenario, while a reflation case pointed to a decline of 5% to 20%.

In crypto, an Investing.com report said Citi cut its 12-month Bitcoin target to $112,000 because it expects weaker ETF-driven demand and slower progress on US crypto legislation, while Standard Chartered warned Bitcoin could fall to $50,000 before recovering.

Those ranges fit the current market structure. Downside still runs through yields. Upside still runs through calmer energy markets, steadier inflation readings, and renewed ETF demand.

Narrower projection than the old “digital gold” debate usually allows

Gold and Bitcoin both lost ground when the market marked up the return available in yield-bearing assets and questioned how quickly inflation would fade.

Monday’s rebound showed that both can still snap back when fear eases. It also showed that traders were responding to the prospect of de-escalation, not restoring either asset to automatic safe-haven status.

For the next quarter, the cleanest checkpoints are visible already.

The 10-year Treasury yield needs to stop pushing higher. Oil needs to move toward the lower path sketched by the EIA outlook.

Bitcoin ETF flows need to move from three straight outflow sessions back toward sustained creations. Gold needs to hold a rebound without another round of heavy GLD and IAU withdrawals.

Until those things happen, the market is still saying the same thing it said from Friday through Monday, cash flow and explicit yield rank above narrative when inflation risk is rising.

The post Gold is not acting like a safe haven, so what does “digital gold” even mean for Bitcoin? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Gold has fallen into bear-market territory after giving up its gains for the year, even as US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continued to attract fresh money, pushing the two assets onto sharply different paths.

Spot gold traded near $4,388 an ounce on March 23, according to goldprice.org, down about 22% from its Jan. 29 record of $5,594.82. The decline accelerated after the latest Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28. Since then, gold has dropped about 17%, reversing the advance that had carried it higher in the opening weeks of 2026.

At the same time, institutional money continued to flow into the US spot Bitcoin ETF market. Data from Farside Investors show the funds took in about $2.42 billion of net inflows across the four calendar weeks ended March 20.

The divergence has drawn attention across macro and digital-asset markets because gold and Bitcoin are often discussed in similar terms during periods shaped by inflation concerns, currency dilution, and geopolitical stress.

Over the past month, however, investors treated them very differently. Gold faced liquidation pressure as cash demand rose and rate expectations stayed elevated. Bitcoin, through the ETF structure, continued to draw allocations through brokerage and advisory channels.

The move also stands out because gold had entered 2026 with strong momentum. Its retreat now meets the widely used market definition of a bear market: a decline of 20% or more from a recent peak. Bitcoin, by contrast, has held up well enough to keep ETF buyers engaged through the same stretch of volatility.

Gold gives back early-year gains as rates stay high and investors raise cash

Gold’s decline has unfolded against a macro backdrop that has become less supportive for assets that tend to benefit from lower yields and a softer dollar.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady in March and projected the benchmark rate at 3.4% at the end of 2026, while core personal consumption expenditures inflation remained at 2.7%. That combination reinforced the view that policy may stay restrictive longer than investors expected earlier this year.

For bullion, the effect is direct. Higher rates raise the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset. A firmer dollar adds pressure by making gold more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Those forces intensified as investors also sought cash and liquidity after the Middle East shock forced a repricing of growth, inflation, and energy expectations.

Fund-flow data captured the shift quickly. LSEG Lipper data showed global gold and precious-metals funds posted about $5.19 billion in weekly net outflows through March 18, the largest weekly withdrawal since at least August 2018. In the same week, money market funds took in $32.57 billion.

That rotation suggests investors moved toward liquidity and away from positions that had benefited from earlier inflation and geopolitical hedging demand.

Gold’s decline, therefore, fits into a broader portfolio adjustment in which preserving flexibility became more important as markets reassessed the likely path of monetary policy and commodity prices.

The selloff also arrived after a period in which gold’s long-term support looked firm. Central-bank demand had helped underpin the bullion market through 2025, and the reserve case remained intact as 2026 began.

The recent drop shows how forcefully short-term macro conditions can overwhelm that structural support over a matter of weeks.

Additional fund data point in the same direction. The largest US gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), recorded $7.07 billion in outflows in March, according to market data.

That exceeded the previous monthly record withdrawal of $6.8 billion in April 2013. The pace of redemption reflected the speed of the reversal in investor positioning after gold’s run higher earlier in the year.

By the standard used in financial markets, a 22% decline from a January peak marks a clear transition into bear-market territory.

Gold’s drop, therefore, represents more than a routine pullback after a rally. It signals a broad withdrawal from a trade that had been supported by reserve accumulation, geopolitical hedging, and concern over inflation persistence.

Bitcoin funds extend their strongest inflow streak of 2026

While gold was losing ground, US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted their strongest inflow streak this year.

Farside data show the 12 US spot Bitcoin funds recorded four consecutive weeks of net inflows, with more than $2 billion added during that period. It is the longest run of 2026 and the strongest since August and September 2025, when the funds absorbed more than $3.8 billion.

CoinShares data show a similar trend globally. The firm said Bitcoin exchange-traded products have registered $1.5 billion in inflows so far this month.

Those inflows came during a period that included war risk, shifting expectations for US interest rates, and renewed volatility across commodities. Even in that backdrop, institutions continued to use the ETF wrapper to add or maintain Bitcoin exposure, while gold funds were experiencing large redemptions.

Last week, Bitwise said Bitcoin and other major cryptoassets have outperformed US equities and gold since the beginning of March.

The asset manager said the move could point to the early stages of a rotation, while also cautioning that recent price action may reflect temporary volatility or isolated liquidity events. Bitwise added that gold has historically led Bitcoin by four to seven months.

State Street Global Advisors outlined the volatility gap in its March gold monitor. Over a trailing 10-year period, rolling 30-day volatility for Bitcoin averaged about 52.0, compared with 13.6 for gold.

From January 2016 through February 2026, Bitcoin recorded 30 months with losses greater than 8%, while gold recorded one such month, according to the report.

Those figures show the type of exposure investors were taking through Bitcoin ETFs. Buyers were accepting wider swings and deeper drawdowns in return for access to an asset some investors view as a hedge against fiat dilution and policy risk.

CryptoQuant data also show how far the two assets have diverged. The firm said Bitcoin-to-gold correlation fell to minus 0.88, the lowest reading since November 2022, indicating the two assets were moving in opposite directions with unusual force over the measured period.

Oil and rates may shape the next phase

Gold’s longer-term support has not disappeared, even after the March selloff, and that is part of what makes the current split between gold and Bitcoin more closely watched.

The World Gold Council said total gold demand, including over-the-counter activity, exceeded 5,000 metric tons for the first time in 2025. Gold ETF holdings rose by 801 tons last year, and central banks bought 863 tons. In February 2026 alone, physically backed gold ETFs took in $5.3 billion globally.

Those figures show official-sector buying and long-duration investment demand remained strong heading into this quarter.

The current drawdown, therefore, leaves investors balancing two forces: short-term macro pressure from rates, dollar strength, and liquidity demand, and a structural reserve bid that remained in place through last year and into early 2026.

Oil prices may play a central role in how that balance develops. Several banks raised their 2026 Brent forecasts after the latest Middle East shock. Bank of America lifted its view to $77.50 a barrel, while Standard Chartered raised its forecast to $85.50. Bank of America also outlined an upside path toward $130 in the event of a prolonged supply disruption.

Higher oil prices would feed inflation expectations and could keep the Federal Reserve cautious for longer. That would affect gold and Bitcoin through different channels.

Gold would continue to face pressure from elevated real yields and dollar strength if policy remains restrictive. Bitcoin would remain tied more closely to liquidity conditions, institutional risk appetite, and the willingness of ETF buyers to keep adding exposure through regulated products.

For now, the clearest market signal is the split itself. Gold, long treated as a traditional store-of-value asset during periods of stress, has entered a bear market after falling more than 20% from its January high. Bitcoin, an asset more commonly associated with larger price swings, has continued to gather ETF inflows through the same period.

The post Why investors are pulling back from gold and still buying Bitcoin appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Playnance’s G Coin has moved past the one million holder mark, with the project’s public tracker currently showing 1,155,141 holders.

The milestone follows CryptoSlate’s March 18 coverage, which cited 203,732 holders ahead of the token’s broader market debut, and later launch-week reporting that referenced a 623,272-holder tracker reading. Using those figures, G Coin’s holder base appears about 5.7x larger than the March 18 count and roughly 85% above the later 623,272 reading.

From presale traction to post-launch acceleration

The pace of growth fits the sequence CryptoSlate has tracked over the past week. Ahead of the March 18 Token Generation Event, company materials and CryptoSlate coverage described G Coin as coming to market with more than 200,000 holders and around 13 billion tokens distributed during presale.

On March 16, Playnance also launched GCOIN staking on PlayW3 and said more than 250 million tokens were locked within hours.

MEXC listing and staking added the next signals

Momentum continued after G Coin/USDT went live on MEXC on March 19. CryptoSlate reported that more than 1 billion GCOIN had already been locked in staking shortly after trading opened, while a later launch-week article cited 3.202 billion locked tokens and 623,272 holders from tracker-based reporting.

Those milestones put exchange access, staking participation, and holder distribution on public display at the same time.

Why the one-million-holder mark matters

Holder count is not a perfect proxy for durable adoption, but it is one of the clearest public indicators available in a token’s first stretch of open trading.

In Playnance’s documentation, G Coin is positioned as the utility layer for gameplay interactions and fees, rewards and incentives, partner revenue distribution, and treasury flows across the company’s ecosystem. The same docs describe PlayBlock as a Layer-3 execution layer built for high-frequency applications, with gasless execution, deterministic settlement, transparent on-chain accounting, and sub-second finality.

A utility narrative now faces a market test

Playnance’s white paper frames G Coin as a utility token rather than a claim on profits. It says the token is designed for gameplay, loyalty benefits, missions, and other engagement-based functions; that it does not confer ownership, governance, dividends, or claims on company assets; and that total supply is fixed at 77 billion tokens.

Crossing one million holders gives Playnance a strong launch-week headline. The bigger question now is whether holder growth, staking participation, and broader ecosystem activity continue moving together after the initial listing window. For now, the public tracker and the project’s recent launch timeline suggest G Coin has moved from presale distribution into a broader public-market phase unusually quickly.

Disclaimer: This was a sponsored post brought to you by Playnance.

The post Playnance’s G Coin surpasses 1 million holders as launch-week momentum accelerates appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin’s jump back above $70,000 on Monday morning came with unusual clarity.

The move started when Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” on a “complete and total resolution” of hostilities in the Middle East, and that planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure would be delayed for five days.

Within seconds, global markets repriced. Oil tumbled more than 10%, U.S. stock futures jumped more than 2%, European equities reversed sharp early losses, and Bitcoin sprinted from the upper $67,000s back through $70,000.

Kobeissi estimates the move added about $2 trillion in market value. The rally then reversed slightly after Iran said there had been “no contact” with Washington. By 8:00 a.m. ET, futures were down about 120 points from the peak, erasing roughly $1 trillion.

In Kobeissi’s words, that left the S&P 500 with a total headline-driven swing of about $3 trillion in implied market value in 56 minutes.

Trump’s post was the trigger, but the force came from the macro chain that followed

Before the post, the market had been moving in the opposite direction. Higher crude prices were feeding a stagflation scare. Rising energy costs were threatening to push inflation expectations higher just as growth data had started to soften. Bond yields were climbing again. Bitcoin, gold, and equity futures were all under pressure while rates rose into a more sensitive zone.

In CryptoSlate’s morning analysis of the week ahead, the focus had already shifted from oil alone to the bond market, with the U.S. 10-year yield approaching a level that can tighten financial conditions quickly.

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Then the market received a de-escalation signal.

The reaction after Trump’s post filled in the sequence in real time. Brent crude dropped more than 10% as traders stripped out part of the war premium. Dow futures rose about 2.6%, while the FTSE 100 recovered almost all of an earlier 250-point slide. Gold also reversed sharply, with an intraday slide of more than 7% before losses narrowed.

In rates, the U.S. 10-year yield dropped more than 20 basis points to around 4.30% before settling near 4.36% as of press time. Bitcoin followed the same repricing path at high speed, reclaiming $70,000 as the pressure embedded in oil and yields started to ease.

Oil cracked first. Yields backed off. Gold reversed. Equity futures snapped higher. Bitcoin then expressed the same repricing faster than most major assets.

The significance for Bitcoin sits one layer below the spike itself. Nothing about the crypto market changed in a structural sense during those five minutes. The post did not bring a new ETF catalyst, a policy shift from the Fed, or a sudden change in on-chain conditions.

What changed was the macro environment that had been pressing on every risk-sensitive asset for days. The market moved from pricing a wider energy shock to pricing the possibility of a pause.

CryptoSlate’s recent coverage has already mapped that transition.

• On March 7, we argued that oil had become one of Bitcoin’s clearest macro signals.
• On March 9, Bitcoin slipped below $70,000 as oil moved higher and stagflation fears intensified.
• On March 11, the market showed its first instinct during an oil panic, when traders sold Bitcoin rather than treating it as a haven.
• On March 12, Bitcoin held up better even as Brent briefly reclaimed $100, which suggested the market was beginning to separate immediate panic from broader positioning.
• By Monday morning, the center of gravity had shifted again, from oil shock alone to the risk that higher yields would become the dominant problem.

Monday’s move above $70,000 needs to be read inside that framework.

The timing invites a stronger political-economic reading

The U.S. 10-year had been approaching a zone that can become politically and financially difficult very quickly. Mortgage costs respond to it. Equities respond to it. Fiscal sensitivity rises with it. The White House watches it.

My morning piece already outlined the market’s concern around the 4.5% area, especially with Treasury auctions, flash PMIs, jobless claims, and inflation expectations lined up to shape the week. Trump’s post arrived just as the bond market was threatening to become part of the problem in a larger way.

Trump's post could be more than a diplomatic update. It looks like an intervention into a market sequence that was beginning to grow expensive.

Oil was pushing inflation risk back into the system. Rising yields were tightening financial conditions. Gold and stock futures had already moved into defensive positions. A de-escalation signal at that point gave traders permission to reverse the most painful part of the morning’s repricing.

That interpretation rests on incentives and timing, rather than on any official confirmation of motive. It fits the market sequence cleanly. It also fits the broader sensitivity around borrowing costs. The Guardian’s live coverage captured the pressure that rising yields had already started to place on the UK mortgage market, while we had already identified bond yields as the more dangerous extension of the oil shock for Bitcoin.

Once yields started to ease after Trump’s post, the path higher in BTC reopened immediately.

Bitcoin’s own market structure helps explain why the move traveled so fast.

A session shaped by higher oil and rising yields usually creates a defensive posture across crypto. Spot demand softens. Leveraged players hedge. Short exposure can build when macro pressure aligns across rates and energy.

Once the macro impulse flips, crypto often becomes the fastest outlet for the reversal. That appears to be what happened on Monday.

The move through $70,000 reads as a relief repricing amplified by positioning, speed, and the market’s existing sensitivity to macro inputs.

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Mar 23, 2026 · Oluwapelumi Adejumo

Macro repricing added an important confirming signal

Gold's sharp reversal suggests that traders were taking out part of the immediate war premium rather than rotating into a classic safe-haven structure. Bitcoin moved with that same repricing wave, which places it firmly inside the macro risk complex for this session.

That fits the recent pattern we have shown in our own reporting, where Bitcoin has traded more like a high-beta expression of financial conditions than a defensive shelter during energy-driven stress.

There are still limits to how far Monday’s relief can be extended.

Iranian media quickly pushed back on Trump’s account of the talks. Business Insider noted that oil rebounded from its lows as traders began to question how durable the de-escalation signal really was.

That leaves the market with a pause, rather than with resolution. The difference is important because Bitcoin’s hold above $70,000 now depends less on the post itself and more on whether the broader macro relief can survive a week, which remains difficult to read.

The normal inflation anchor is absent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis release calendar shows that the February PCE will not arrive until April 9, leaving traders leaning more heavily on secondary indicators and Treasury supply.

Our morning analysis highlighted the immediate sequence: flash PMIs on Tuesday, the 2-year auction on Tuesday, the 5-year on Wednesday, jobless claims and the 7-year auction on Thursday, and the final University of Michigan sentiment reading on Friday.

With oil having shaken inflation expectations and bond yields already testing market tolerance, those events now carry more weight for Bitcoin than any crypto-native development on the calendar.

That leaves Bitcoin with a clearer near-term map

If oil stays contained and the U.S. 10-year remains below the earlier stress zone, Monday’s move can become a platform. A reclaimed $70,000 then starts to look like a level the market can build above while it reassesses the inflation path and broader financial conditions.

If oil regains momentum and yields resume their climb, the relief trade loses force quickly. Bitcoin would then move back into the same macro regime that had been dragging on it before Trump posted, one defined by tighter financial conditions, more expensive risk, and a market that still sees stagflation as a live possibility.

The answer to the morning’s initial question is now fairly tight.

Bitcoin jumped almost 5% in five minutes because Trump’s post broke a one-way macro sequence that had been building across oil, rates, metals, and equities.

The post gave traders a reason to cut some of the war premium. Oil fell, yields followed, stocks reversed, gold dropped, and Bitcoin expressed the repricing fastest.

The deeper layer is the one traders will keep watching. Trump’s post arrived at a point where rising oil and rising yields were beginning to feed into a more dangerous mix for financial conditions.

The market response suggests participants understood the signal immediately.

For Bitcoin, the move above $70,000 restored momentum. Whether that level holds now depends on the next phase of the same macro chain, crude, yields, and whether the market believes the relief has enough substance to keep financial conditions from tightening again.

The post Market swings by $3 trillion as Bitcoin price explodes upward in 5 minutes appeared first on CryptoSlate.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a strategic five-day pause on planned military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, citing "productive" conversations with Tehran. However, the optimism was short-lived as Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed the reports as "fake news" designed to manipulate oil prices and financial indices.

Did the Market React to Rumors?

Yes, despite the immediate denial from Tehran, the crypto market moved preemptively. Investors, desperate for a de-escalation signal in the Middle East, poured capital into risk-on assets. This resulted in a massive "short squeeze" that caught many bearish traders off-guard, especially as the narrative shifted from imminent war to potential diplomacy within hours.

The "Peace Premium" and Market Manipulation

In financial terms, a "peace premium" occurs when asset prices rise (and commodities like oil fall) based on the expectation of stability. Some accusations on X (formerly Twitter) suggest that these rumors were a coordinated effort to stabilize the S&P 500 and crash Crude Oil (WTI), which had been trading at extreme highs. They claimed the news was a tactical move to "escape the quagmire" the U.S. and Israel currently face.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The "Green Arrow" Breakout

The most significant move occurred in the digital asset space. The provided technical data shows a clear vertical move in the Bitcoin price that many are calling the "Trump Pump."

• The Technical Surge: $Bitcoin broke out of its $67,000 consolidation zone with high volume. On the 1-hour chart, a massive "green arrow" indicates a move that peaked near $71,800.
• Support/Resistance Flip: By reclaiming the $70,000 psychological barrier, Bitcoin flipped a major resistance level into a temporary support zone.
• Liquidation Data: According to Coinglass, over $800 million in short positions were liquidated globally as the "peace talk" headlines hit the Bloomberg terminals.

Altcoin Uplift: A Market-Wide Recovery

The Bitcoin surge acted as a primary catalyst for the broader crypto ecosystem. When $BTC moves with such high conviction, it creates a "rising tide" effect that uplifts altcoins:

• Ethereum (ETH): Followed Bitcoin's lead, surging toward $3,650 as traders bet on reduced geopolitical risk for global DeFi networks.
• High-Beta Assets: Solana (SOL) and Layer-1 protocols saw gains of 7% to 10%, outperforming Bitcoin in percentage terms as "risk-on" sentiment returned.
• Capital Rotation: We observed a clear rotation out of "war hedges" like Gold and into high-growth tech and crypto assets.

Geopolitical Uncertainty: A Double-Edged Sword

While the crypto market enjoyed a green day, the "fake news" allegations from Iran introduce a high level of risk for the coming days. If the five-day pause expires without a verified diplomatic breakthrough, the market could face a "gap down" as the war premium returns to oil and volatility returns to crypto.

Why is XLM Up?

The primary driver behind the XLM price increase is the news that US President Donald Trump has officially extended the 48-hour deadline previously given to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Instead of immediate military action, the administration has granted an additional five-day window for negotiations, citing "productive conversations" with regional leaders. Investors have interpreted this as a cooling of the "war premium," rotating capital back into high-utility assets like Stellar.

What is Stellar Crypto?

Stellar is a decentralized, open-source network designed to facilitate fast, low-cost cross-border payments. Its native token, $XLM (Lumens), acts as a bridge currency to swap different fiat and digital assets. In times of geopolitical uncertainty involving trade routes (like the Strait of Hormuz), payment networks that offer "borderless" efficiency often see increased speculative interest and utility-driven demand.

XLM Price Analysis After the War News: Chart Breakdown

The XLM/USD chart highlights a sharp vertical move following the news. After languishing near the $0.155 support level during the height of the crisis, XLM has successfully breached its immediate resistance.

Key Technical Observations:

• Bullish Impulse: The 7% surge pushed the price toward the $0.168 mark, effectively reclaiming the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).
• Volume Profile: Trading volume spiked significantly during the announcement, confirming that institutional and retail buyers are stepping in on the "peace talk" narrative.

Target Levels: If the diplomatic momentum continues, the next major hurdle for the XLM price sits at $0.182. Conversely, if talks break down, a retest of the $0.145 zone is highly probable.

Geopolitics and the "Risk-On" Shift

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. The threat of its closure last weekend sent energy prices skyrocketing and forced a crypto market sell-off. Trump’s decision to extend the deadline to March 28, 2026, has allowed markets to breathe.

According to reports from The Guardian, the shift toward "escorted tankers" and political risk insurance has mitigated the immediate fear of a global energy shock. For XLM, which thrives in a stable global trade environment, this reprieve is a major fundamental tailwind.

What Should Investors Do?

While the 7% jump is encouraging, the situation remains fluid. The "five-day extension" is a temporary bridge, not a permanent resolution. Traders should monitor:

• Official White House Statements: Any pivot back to "maximum pressure" could erase these gains instantly.
• Oil Price Correlation: A continued drop in crude oil prices typically correlates with a stronger "risk-on" sentiment for altcoins.
• Security of Assets: During periods of high volatility, ensuring your tokens are off-exchange is critical. You can view our hardware wallet comparison to find the best security options.

Markets Explode on Trump’s Iran Statement

Global markets surged in a matter of minutes after President Trump announced a 5-day pause on military strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure, claiming “productive talks” had taken place.

The reaction was immediate and aggressive:

• Over $900 billion added to the US stock market at the open
• Nasdaq futures +4%
• S&P 500 futures +3.9%
• Bitcoin (BTC) +5% within hours
• Oil prices dropped sharply, signaling easing geopolitical risk

In total, some estimates suggest over $2.5 trillion was added across global markets in less than 20 minutes.

A Perfect “Risk-On” Reaction

The move followed a classic macro playbook:

• Stocks rallied on reduced war risk
• Oil crashed as supply fears eased
• Bitcoin surged, benefiting from liquidity and momentum

Even traditional safe havens reacted violently, with gold and silver experiencing one of their most volatile sessions in years, initially dropping before sharply rebounding.

This was a textbook shift into risk-on sentiment.

But There’s One Problem…

Shortly after the rally, Iran officially denied any direct or indirect talks with the United States.

Statements from Iran’s Foreign Ministry and state-linked media contradicted Trump’s claims, rejecting the idea that negotiations had taken place.

This creates a critical disconnect:

👉 Markets are rallying on a de-escalation narrative that may not exist.

Markets Are Pricing Hope — Not Reality

Right now, the market appears to be pricing in:

• A temporary ceasefire
• Potential diplomatic progress
• Reduced geopolitical risk

But if those assumptions are incorrect, the implications are serious.

This isn’t the first time markets have reacted to headlines over confirmed developments, but the scale of this move is unusual.

👉 A single statement triggered nearly $1 trillion in equity inflows.

Why Bitcoin Is Benefiting

Bitcoin’s reaction is particularly interesting.

Unlike gold, which showed mixed signals, Bitcoin moved decisively higher—suggesting:

• Strong liquidity-driven momentum
• Growing perception as a macro asset
• Increased participation from risk-on traders

BTC is no longer just reacting to crypto-native news—it is now deeply integrated into global macro flows.

What Happens Next?

Everything now depends on one key factor:

👉 Is there actually a deal?

If talks are confirmed:

• Markets could continue higher
• Bitcoin may push toward new local highs
• Risk assets remain supported

If tensions escalate again:

• A sharp reversal is likely
• Oil could spike
• Stocks and crypto may retrace quickly

The Bottom Line

Markets just added $900 billion in value based on a narrative that is already being challenged.

That raises a critical question:

👉 Is this rally built on real progress—or on hope?

For now, markets are choosing optimism.

But if that optimism proves wrong, volatility could return just as fast as it disappeared.

As of March 23, 2026, Solana ($SOL) is positioned at a critical technical juncture. Following a period of intense market-wide volatility triggered by geopolitical shifts in the Middle East and a hawkish "hold" from the Federal Reserve (FOMC), the asset is currently trading between $80 and $90. While the broader market remains cautious, Solana’s internal ecosystem is showing signs of decoupling, driven by massive institutional adoption and the imminent deployment of the Alpenglow consensus upgrade.

Is Solana a Good Buy Now?

Traders looking for a short-term direction should focus on the $92.34 resistance zone. A daily close above this level could catalyze a rally toward $98.65 by the end of March. Conversely, if SOL fails to defend the $86.66 support, a deeper correction toward the $80.00 psychological floor is highly probable.

What Should Driving Solana’s Value in 2026?

In the current 2026 landscape, Solana’s value is increasingly tied to its Network Finality and Institutional Liquidity. Unlike 2024, where retail "meme" activity dominated, the primary drivers now are:

• Spot Solana ETFs: Regulated vehicles providing direct exposure to institutional capital.
• Alpenglow Upgrade: A transition from Tower BFT to a new consensus mechanism aiming for 150ms finality.
• Digital Commodity Status: Confirmed regulatory taxonomy that has stabilized long-term investor sentiment.

Solna Price Analysis: Technical Chart Patterns

Analyzing the current SOL price action, we see a consolidation pattern forming after the mid-March dip.

• Moving Averages: SOL is currently hovering near its 20-day EMA ($88.93). Staying above this level is vital for maintaining a bullish "bias." The 50-day SMA at $87.23 serves as a secondary safety net.
• RSI (Relative Strength Index): At 51.63, the RSI is neutral. This suggests the market is "resetting," providing enough room for a significant move without being immediately overbought.
• MACD Signal: We observe a slight bearish divergence on the daily histogram. This indicates that while the price is stable, buying momentum is currently thinning, requiring a fresh catalyst to break overhead resistance.

Solana Price: Key Support & Resistance

Solana Upgrade: The Alpenglow and Firedancer Effect

The stagnant price action masks a massive technical shift. The Alpenglow upgrade is currently rolling out, which promises to reduce transaction finality from 12 seconds to under 150 milliseconds. This makes Solana faster than many centralized servers, a factor that major financial outlets cite as a reason for the record $1.45 billion in cumulative ETF inflows. Institutional players like Goldman Sachs and Electric Capital now hold significant SOL exposure via these ETFs, creating a "floor" of demand that was absent in previous cycles.

Will Solana Price go up? March 2026 Outlook

For the final week of March, the following three factors will dictate SOL's path:

• ETF Inflow Consistency: If net inflows exceed $20M daily, expect a test of $95.
• Geopolitical De-escalation: A reduction in energy-related inflation fears will allow capital to rotate back into "high-beta" assets like Solana.
• Bitcoin Stability: Solana's correlation with $Bitcoin remains high (0.84); a $BTC push past $72k would likely drag SOL above $100.

The XRP price is showing notable resilience despite ongoing volatility across the crypto market. While many altcoins struggle to maintain support levels, XRP is holding steady, suggesting that underlying demand remains strong.

As macro uncertainty continues to impact markets, traders are now asking: Is XRP preparing for its next breakout?

XRP price stabilizes near key levels

Currently, the XRP price is trading around the $1.38–$1.42 range, holding above an important short-term support zone.

This level has acted as a strong base in recent sessions, preventing further downside despite broader market pressure driven by macro news and geopolitical tensions.

Holding this zone is critical. If XRP maintains this support, it could build momentum for the next move higher.

Why XRP price is showing strength

Unlike many altcoins, XRP benefits from a unique narrative:

• Ongoing institutional interest
• Strong positioning in cross-border payments
• Continued relevance in regulatory discussions

This combination helps XRP remain relatively stable even when market sentiment shifts.

Additionally, XRP often reacts later than Bitcoin, meaning delayed but stronger moves can follow periods of consolidation.

Key levels to watch next

For the XRP price, traders should closely monitor:

• Support: $1.35 – $1.38
• Resistance: $1.45 – $1.50

👉 A break above $1.50 could trigger a stronger bullish move
👉 A drop below $1.35 may lead to a deeper correction

Right now, XRP is sitting at a decision point.

Conclusion — XRP price at a turning point

The XRP price is currently consolidating at a key level, showing resilience while the broader market remains uncertain.

This type of price action often precedes a larger move.

Whether XRP breaks upward or revisits lower levels will largely depend on overall market sentiment — but one thing is clear:

👉 XRP is not weak — it is waiting.

The payments infrastructure firm has unveiled an open-source framework enabling AI agents to manage crypto funds across multiple chains.

The derivatives give users synthetic exposure to major U.S. equities while using Bitcoin and other crypto holdings as collateral, with plans to expand into tokenized assets later this year.

Hostplus’s crypto ambition is attempting to meet rising investor demand, even as volatility keeps rivals on the sidelines.

The restructuring comes as analysts say older DeFi models built on token incentives and emissions are increasingly under pressure.

Protesters marched between the San Francisco offices of major AI developers, calling for a pause in the development of more powerful AI systems.

Binance delists XRP/BNB, AVAX and ATOM margin pairs this week. Borrowing is suspended as of March 24, with final removal scheduled for March 27.

Shiba Inu has formally broken a key resistance level that many investors believed would remain paramount, even under pressure.

Cardano (ADA) is currently navigating a period of intense market duality, with average investor losses hitting 43% even as the network’s underlying ecosystem reaches new adoption milestones.

Ripple CTO David Schwartz has sparked a heated debate over Bitcoin’s long-term viability, claiming that its Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism is actually a "centralizing force" that the network is constantly struggling to overcome.

Market is certainly in a spot where comfortable price growth is possible, as multiple support violations is not the best news.

Key Highlights

• OMN delivers institutional investors direct access to Bitcoin mining revenue streams.
• Omnes manages all mining infrastructure, eliminating technical and regulatory complexities for investors.
• A Luxembourg-registered secured debt instrument facilitates compliant on-chain asset transfers.
• Apex Digital 3.0 platform oversees complete lifecycle management with regulatory adherence.
• OMN connects large-scale mining operations with decentralized finance through tradable digital instruments.

Omnes has collaborated with Apex Group to introduce the Omnes Mining Note (OMN) on Base, Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solution. This instrument delivers professional-grade investment opportunities in Bitcoin mining by transforming computational power into a structured digital security. The collaboration merges conventional financial frameworks with distributed ledger technology to expand market reach and asset liquidity.

Direct Bitcoin Mining Access Through OMN

OMN offers qualified non-US institutional clients economic participation in freshly mined Bitcoin production, quantified by hashrate allocation. The instrument eliminates operational burdens including equipment procurement, facility management, electricity costs, and compliance navigation. Investors gain streamlined mining exposure without managing physical operations.

The digitized OMN functions as a secured debt instrument registered in Luxembourg, featuring blockchain-powered transfer capabilities. Authorized professional entities can execute on-chain OMN transfers within a permissioned network, guaranteeing protected and streamlined settlements. The structure harmonizes conventional financial instruments with digital asset agility.

By uniting enterprise-level mining facilities with structured investment vehicles, OMN converts Bitcoin generation into portfolio-ready securities. This methodology differentiates OMN from passive yield products that merely circulate existing cryptocurrency holdings. OMN enables institutional portfolios to capitalize on primary Bitcoin production.

Comprehensive Tokenization via Apex Digital 3.0

Apex Group delivers full-spectrum tokenization, administrative oversight, and transfer agent functions for OMN. Their Apex Digital 3.0 infrastructure manages the complete instrument lifecycle through distributed ledger technology. This arrangement provides OMN with operational streamlining and multi-jurisdictional compliance capabilities.

Deployment on Base enables transparent OMN issuance and secondary trading within a supervised digital ecosystem. The Layer 2 architecture delivers enhanced transaction velocity, security protocols, and capacity expansion for institutional participants. OMN combines traditional financial supervision with blockchain-enabled asset portability.

OMN presents potential utility as collateral within regulated lending frameworks without forced liquidation mechanisms. This functionality extends beyond conventional structured instruments, expanding liquidity alternatives. OMN achieves enhanced market penetration and versatility across digital and traditional financial platforms.

Connecting Industrial Operations with Digital Finance

OMN exemplifies the integration of tangible industrial operations into distributed finance ecosystems. By tokenizing Bitcoin mining productivity, OMN delivers concrete economic exposure for both blockchain-native and conventional investment vehicles. The instrument establishes a framework for regulated debt securities supported by operational assets.

The Base network facilitates OMN’s protected on-chain movement, validating that physical industrial assets can integrate with decentralized financial architectures. OMN illustrates how structured investment products maintain transparency while utilizing blockchain technology infrastructure. The instrument functions as a connection point between capital-intensive industries and digital financial networks.

Omnes and Apex are expanding OMN availability to qualified investors across global markets. The fusion of traditional structuring methodologies, secure blockchain implementation, and on-chain transferability establishes OMN’s distinctive market positioning. As adoption grows, OMN aims to define benchmarks for institutional-caliber Bitcoin mining investment instruments.

The post Omnes and Apex Introduce OMN: Institutional Bitcoin Mining Access via Tokenization on Base appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Anthropic introduced a capability allowing Claude to operate Mac computers from a distance to execute user tasks
• Users delegate assignments via mobile; Claude launches applications, navigates online, and populates spreadsheets
• This capability integrates with Dispatch, enabling users to delegate assignments to Claude through mobile devices
• Anthropic cautions the technology remains experimental and recommends avoiding applications containing confidential information
• This development follows OpenClaw’s viral success as an agentic AI platform, sparking competition across the technology sector

Anthropic has unveiled a groundbreaking capability enabling its Claude artificial intelligence to assume control of users’ computers for task completion. This enhancement was revealed on Monday and is currently accessible to Claude Pro and Claude Max members.

The functionality is exclusively compatible with MacOS. Users transmit instructions from their mobile devices, and Claude executes the assignment on their desktop machine — launching applications, operating a web browser, completing spreadsheets, or organizing files.

Anthropic demonstrated a scenario where a user behind schedule for a conference call requested Claude to convert a presentation deck into PDF format and append it to a calendar appointment. Claude accomplished the assignment without additional guidance.

The technology integrates with applications such as Google Calendar and Slack via native connectors. When a connector isn’t present, Claude can utilize keyboard and mouse controls manually to accomplish the assignment.

Claude consistently requests authorization before entering a new application. Users maintain the ability to halt any assignment at any point.

Integration With Dispatch Platform

The computer control capability is designed to function alongside Dispatch, a platform Anthropic introduced last week within Claude Cowork. Dispatch enables users to maintain ongoing communication with Claude across any device and delegate continuous assignments.

Combined, these capabilities can manage responsibilities such as distributing morning summaries, executing code evaluations, or monitoring emails automatically.

Anthropic acknowledges that sophisticated assignments may not succeed initially. The organization is positioning this as an experimental release to collect user input and determine priority areas for enhancement.

Privacy Concerns and User Advisories

Anthropic has implemented protective measures to minimize vulnerability, including automated detection for prompt injection threats. However, the organization continues to advise users against deploying the capability with applications managing confidential information — certain applications are deactivated by default.

Cybersecurity professionals have raised wider concerns regarding agentic artificial intelligence. These technologies can execute substantial actions rapidly and with minimal notification. Additional vulnerability exists for malicious actors to compromise the agent for accessing private documents or infrastructure.

Anthropic stated it will continuously enhance its protective measures as emerging vulnerabilities surface.

This enhancement positions Anthropic in stronger rivalry with OpenClaw, an open-source platform that achieved viral popularity earlier this year. OpenClaw enables users to transmit assignments via WhatsApp or Telegram and execute them locally on devices. Nvidia recently introduced NemoClaw, a commercial adaptation of the platform.

OpenAI similarly entered this domain last month, recruiting Peter Steinberger, the founder of OpenClaw, to develop personal AI assistants.

Currently, Claude’s computer control capability remains in experimental preview on MacOS for Pro and Max subscribers.

The post Claude AI Can Now Remotely Control Your Mac Computer From Your Mobile Device appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Pretax earnings reached $2.3 billion for 2025, representing a 57% annual increase
• Total revenue climbed 46% to $6 billion, fueled by subscription services, payment card transactions, and foreign exchange operations
• Customer base expanded to 68.3 million retail users (30% growth) and 767,000 business accounts
• Full U.K. banking authorization was granted in March 2026
• Application for a U.S. Bank Charter was submitted in March, enabling nationwide operations if approved

Revolut has delivered its most impressive financial performance yet. The London-based digital banking platform announced pretax earnings of £1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) for the twelve months ending December 31, 2025. This represents a substantial 57% jump compared to the £1.09 billion earned in 2024.

The fintech’s annual revenue reached $6 billion, marking a 46% increase over the previous year. This growth was distributed across multiple revenue channels, with subscription fees, card transaction volumes, and currency exchange services leading the charge.

The business banking division contributed significantly to overall performance. This segment generated 16% of total revenue, while the number of business clients increased by 33% to reach 767,000 throughout the year.

The retail customer base expanded by 30% to 68.3 million users. Customer deposit balances surged 66% to $67.5 billion. The company has established an ambitious objective of acquiring 100 million customers by the middle of 2027.

Co-founder and CEO Nik Storonsky stated the organization has created a “diversified, resilient business that is profitable at scale.” He characterized these financial outcomes as laying the groundwork for the company’s upcoming growth trajectory.

Chief Financial Officer Victor Stinga revealed that Revolut currently operates 11 distinct product categories, each producing over £100 million in yearly revenue. He emphasized the platform’s “structural resilience to navigate any environment.”

Revolut launched in 2015 and has expanded its presence across 40 international markets. The company achieved a $75 billion valuation through a secondary share transaction in 2025. This valuation positions it alongside traditional U.K. banking institutions such as Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group.

Complete U.K. Banking Authorization Secured

In early March 2026, Revolut obtained its complete U.K. banking license from the Prudential Regulation Authority. The approval process had been protracted, requiring substantial engagement with regulatory authorities.

This authorization enables Revolut to introduce additional financial products throughout the U.K., including personal lending products and various credit services. The lending market in Britain remains largely controlled by conventional banking institutions.

Revolut also initiated comprehensive banking services in Mexico during January 2026. Chief Financial Officer Stinga identified expansion beyond European borders as the company’s “next frontier of focus.”

United States Market Entry Application Submitted

Revolut submitted an application for a U.S. Bank Charter in March 2026. Should regulators approve the charter, the company would gain authorization to conduct banking operations across all 50 states under unified regulatory oversight.

The charter would additionally authorize Revolut to provide personal lending products and credit card offerings to American consumers. While the company maintains operations in the United States currently, it lacks comprehensive banking licensure.

This U.S. application represents another strategic move in the company’s worldwide expansion strategy. Stinga confirmed that the American market will become a priority focus area following the complete rollout of U.K. banking services.

Revolut has not disclosed an expected timeframe for receiving a determination on its U.S. charter petition.

The post Revolut Achieves $2.3B Profit Milestone While Pursuing U.S. Banking Charter appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Highlights

• Shares of Jefferies (JEF) rallied approximately 10% during Tuesday’s premarket session following reports that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from Japan is considering a complete acquisition
• The Japanese banking giant initially acquired a ~5% ownership stake in Jefferies back in 2021, later increasing its position to nearly 20% by September 2025
• The investment bank’s shares have declined 36% year-to-date and approximately 40% over the last six months, reducing its valuation to around $8 billion
• First-quarter financial results are scheduled for release on March 25, with analyst estimates projecting earnings per share of $0.89 compared to $0.57 in the prior year period
• Analyst consensus reflects a Moderate Buy rating from five analysts, with a mean price target set at $55.60

Shares of Jefferies (JEF) experienced a significant premarket surge of approximately 10% on Tuesday morning following a Financial Times report indicating that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, a major Japanese banking institution, is evaluating a potential complete acquisition of the American investment banking firm.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc., JEF

According to sources with knowledge of the situation cited in the report, SMFG has conducted internal preparations to pursue the deal should favorable conditions emerge. The prolonged weakness in Jefferies’ stock price has reportedly catalyzed this strategic consideration.

Year-to-date, JEF has experienced a 36% decline in value. Looking at the past half-year period, the stock has fallen roughly 40%, resulting in a current market capitalization of approximately $8 billion.

The business relationship between SMFG and Jefferies dates back to 2021, when the Tokyo-based financial institution initially acquired an ownership stake of just under 5%. This investment was subsequently enlarged last September, with SMFG committing to increase its holdings to approximately 20%.

Japan’s Banking Giant Eyes Global Expansion

For Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, completing a full buyout would represent a significant milestone in its ambition to expand its international investment banking operations. The institution has been actively pursuing growth opportunities in equity capital markets and international M&A advisory services.

This potential move aligns with a broader trend among Japanese banking conglomerates, which have increasingly sought acquisition targets abroad to compensate for limited growth prospects in their home market.

However, completing such a transaction would present substantial challenges. Both regulatory approval processes and the integration of distinct corporate cultures between the two organizations would require careful navigation.

Requests for official statements from Jefferies and SMFG early Tuesday morning went unanswered.

First Quarter Results on Deck

The publication of this acquisition report arrives just ahead of Jefferies’ quarterly earnings announcement, which is set for March 25.

Market participants will be paying close attention to the earnings conference call for any management commentary regarding the SMFG speculation, along with performance updates on the company’s primary business operations.

Current analyst coverage of JEF includes five professionals who collectively assign a Moderate Buy consensus rating. This rating comprises three Buy recommendations and two Hold ratings issued within the last three-month period.

The consensus price target among covering analysts stands at $55.60, implying potential upside of approximately 40% from the stock’s current trading level.

Tuesday’s premarket rally occurred ahead of the standard market opening in New York, following an extended period of significant downward pressure on the stock price leading up to this session.

The post Jefferies (JEF) Stock Soars on Potential Full Buyout from Japan’s SMFG appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Elon Musk announced Terafab, a collaborative semiconductor manufacturing initiative involving Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, to be constructed at the Giga Texas facility in Austin.
• The facility will focus on producing 2-nanometer chips for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology, Optimus humanoid robots, and SpaceX satellite systems.
• Preliminary cost projections range from $20–$25 billion, which are not factored into Tesla’s current capital expenditure forecasts for 2026.
• Morgan Stanley analysts estimate the complete investment could balloon to $35–$45 billion, with initial chip production unlikely before mid-2028.
• Tesla shares gained 3.5% on Monday, finishing at $380.85.

On Saturday evening at a decommissioned power facility in Austin, Texas, Elon Musk introduced Terafab to the world. This ambitious semiconductor manufacturing project represents a collaborative effort among Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, designed to consolidate the entire chip production process under a single integrated operation.

Musk’s rationale was direct and unambiguous: existing semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC and Samsung cannot match the production velocity required by Tesla and SpaceX. “We either build the Terafab or we don’t have the chips,” he declared.

The proposed location is the North Campus section of Giga Texas, where construction would create a structure even more massive than the current Giga Texas building — already recognized as one of the planet’s largest constructions.

Terafab will concentrate on manufacturing two distinct chip categories. The first is an edge-inference processor designed for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving capabilities, Optimus humanoid robots, and autonomous Robotaxi networks. The second is a radiation-hardened version engineered for space applications, powering SpaceX satellites and orbital computing infrastructure.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

Tesla shares ended Monday’s trading session at $380.85, marking a 3.5% increase. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 advanced 1.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.4%, as market sentiment improved following President Trump’s announcement regarding diplomatic discussions with Iran about reducing Middle East tensions.

Optimus Robot Production Fuels Chip Demand

The projected demand figures for Optimus are remarkable. Morgan Stanley’s Andrew Percoco highlighted that Giga Texas is expected to achieve annual production capacity of 10 million humanoid robots. This manufacturing volume would necessitate 20 million semiconductor chips — approximately six times Tesla’s entire current chip consumption across all automotive operations.

Should Tesla achieve its long-range objective of manufacturing 100 million Optimus robots each year, chip requirements would surge to over 200 million units — exceeding 50 times the company’s present combined demand for vehicles and autonomous taxi services.

Musk’s declared goal is generating more than one terawatt of artificial intelligence computing capacity annually. He anticipates that 80% of Terafab’s production will eventually support space-based operations, where SpaceX intends to perform AI computations that cloud hyperscalers currently execute on Earth.

Wall Street Analysts Offer Measured Optimism

Barclays analyst Dan Levy characterized the magnitude of Musk’s objectives as dramatically exceeding market expectations. “With a target of 1 terawatt of compute capacity, it would be 50 times current global AI compute,” Levy noted in his analysis.

Morgan Stanley’s Percoco endorsed Terafab as a strategically sound decision while emphasizing the substantial financial commitment required. His projections place total capital requirements between $35–$45 billion. Importantly, the preliminary $20–$25 billion estimate Musk discussed is not reflected in Tesla’s existing 2026 capital expenditure roadmap.

Terafab will focus on 2-nanometer manufacturing technology — representing the cutting edge of semiconductor fabrication, which TSMC has only recently begun producing at commercial scale. Morgan Stanley’s timeline suggests initial chip production would not commence before mid-2028, even under an accelerated construction scenario.

Musk did not provide specific construction timelines or production benchmarks. He indicated the initiative would commence with prototyping phases and infrastructure validation.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

Entering Monday’s market session, Tesla stock had declined 18% year-to-date while posting a 48% gain over the trailing twelve months. The shares currently trade at approximately 190 times projected 2026 earnings.

SpaceX completed its merger with xAI earlier this year and could potentially pursue an initial public offering as early as this spring season.

The post Tesla (TSLA) Unveils $20B Terafab Chip Manufacturing Venture to Challenge TSMC appeared first on Blockonomi.

Cardano’s native token has been among the poorest performers in the past year, with on-chain data suggesting that ADA active wallets are down over 40% on their investments within this timeframe.

However, this could actually be bullish for the underlying asset, especially when it’s combined with another signal recently published by popular analyst Ali Martinez.

Double- or Triple-Digit Surge for ADA Next?

The key level in question that ADA is currently testing is the support at $0.25. In fact, the asset has slipped to it on a couple of occasions in the past month alone, but has managed to defend it so far. The only exception was the February 6 flash crash when it dumped to $0.22, but that was a one-off wick, and it quickly rebounded above that line.

Martinez’s data shows that the last two times Cardano’s token successfully bounced on a higher timeframe from this support have led to impressive gains. More precisely, it rocketed by 85% in the first part of 2023 and a whopping 200% from October 2023 to March 2024.

The last two times Cardano $ADA traded around $0.25, it bounced 85% and 200%.

What do you think happens now? pic.twitter.com/7VFKqUH05c

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) March 24, 2026

Before this, the TD Sequential printed a buy signal on ADA’s weekly chart after the asset plunged from its mid-January peak of $0.44 to the current $0.26. Aside from this 40% drop in two months, the token remains more than 90% away from its September 2021 all-time high of over $3.00.

ADA Wallets in Red

Citing data from Santiment, CryptoPotato reported earlier today that Cardano investors have remained deep in the red on their investments, as the active wallets were down 43% over the past year.

However, this rather painful negative MVRV value is typically regarded as a bullish indicator, showing that the underlying asset might have already bottomed, and it could serve as a “buy zone” opportunity.

“In a zero-sum game, when average returns are severely negative, this is an indication of a looming turnaround with coins always averaging 0% on MVRV’s across any timeframe. So when other traders are in severe pain, key stakeholders and professional traders are intrigued by this due to the lowered risk of buying or adding on to their positions,” Santiment’s analysts explained.

The post 85% or 200% Surge Next for Cardano? ADA Tests Key Level Linked to Historic Breakouts appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin went through another volatile trading session yesterday after the latest developments on the US-Iran war front, going from under $68,000 to a multi-day peak of almost $72,000 before it lost some traction.

Several larger-cap alts have charted impressive gains on a 24-hour scale, with ETH going to $2,150 and SOL rising above $90.

BTC’s Latest Volatile Session

After last week’s rejection at $76,000, bitcoin managed to remain at around $74,000 for a day or so before it tumbled below $71,000 in the hours heading to the second FOMC meeting of the year. Its rebound was short-lived as Powell’s hawkish words sent it south once again toward $70,000.

It remained between $69,000 and $71,000 on Saturday, but Trump’s warning to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t safely reopen the Strait of Hormuz pushed it toward $68,000. Once the futures markets opened on Sunday evening and Monday morning, bitcoin dipped again to under $67,500.

It traded around $68,000 yesterday before Trump announced that the US and Iran had reached some sort of a de-escalation deal and paused all military action against the latter’s power plants. However, immediate reports from Iran denied these claims, saying there were no negotiations between the two parties.

Bitcoin first rocketed to $71,800, where it was rejected and driven down to under $70,000, but ultimately reclaimed that level and now sits around $71,000.

Its market cap is up to $1.420 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts has increased to 56.7%.

Alts With Big Gains

Ethereum has outperformed bitcoin over the past 24 hours, gaining 6% to over $2,150. XRP has flipped BNB once again, going past $1.40 after a 4% increase. SOL, DOGE, ADA, and LINK have charted even more impressive gains.

TAO has emerged as the top performer daily, skyrocketing past $300 after a 17% surge. APT, FET, ZRO, and RENDER complete the double-digit price increase club. In contrast, SIREN has plunged by over 70% from its all-time high marked 36% hours ago and now fights to stay above $1.00.

The total crypto market cap has added almost $100 billion in a day, and now stands above $2.5 trillion on CG.

The post Altcoins Post Double-Digit Gains as Bitcoin (BTC) Reclaims $70K: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Balancer Labs, the entity behind the DeFi protocol Balancer, is moving to wind down its current structure after months of financial strain. Its leadership has proposed a scaled-down model to keep the Balancer protocol operational.

CEO Marcus Hardt said two governance proposals have been submitted to overhaul the protocol’s structure, following months of crisis management after the November exploit.

Economic Model Breakdown

In a recent post on X, he explained that while Balancer’s core technology, including its v3 upgrade and boosted pools, remains functional, the economic design around the protocol had become unsustainable.

According to Hardt, Balancer was allocating excessive incentives to attract liquidity relative to the revenue generated, which led to dilution of BAL token holders. The proposed changes aim to address this by eliminating BAL emissions, redirecting all protocol fees to the treasury, lowering swap fees retained by the protocol to benefit liquidity providers, and transitioning to a significantly leaner team.

The proposals also include measures to address the impact on veBAL holders, including a buyback and compensation initiative, as the restructuring would remove existing economic rights tied to token locking. The exec added that the goal is to provide participants with an exit or transition path rather than enforce participation under revised terms. While highlighting that the transition would require stricter execution going forward, Hardt also said,

“That does not mean everything is solved or that we should start making promises we have not earned the right to make. We need to execute well on the core first. We need to be more disciplined, more focused, and much clearer about what creates real value and what does not.”

Exploit and TVL Crash

The restructuring comes after a long period of decline for Balancer. Once a major DeFi platform during the 2020-2021 cycle, the protocol’s total value locked peaked above $3 billion in November 2021 before falling to $800 million by October 2025, according to data compiled by DeFiLlama.

The November hack further accelerated outflows as it wiped out an additional $500 million in TVL within two weeks. Balancer’s TVL has since dropped below $160 million.

The post Post-Hack Pressure Pushes Balancer Labs to Wind Down Operations, Restructure Protocol appeared first on CryptoPotato.

PI is cooling down after its most recent rally. Can bulls retake control?

PI Network (PI) Price Predictions: Analysis

Key support levels: $0.15, $0.18

Key resistance levels: $0.20, $0.28

PI Correction Appears Completed

After the price spiked to 30 cents, PI entered a deep correction, falling below 20 cents. At the time of this post, the price is hovering around 19 cents, with 18 cents acting as a key support.

If PI can reclaim a price above 20 cents, bulls will have the upper hand and may attempt a new rally towards 30 cents. So far, the price is making higher highs and higher lows, which is a bullish signal.

Volume Falls

Since its most recent rally, PI’s volume has been falling. For this reason, bulls may need more time before attempting another go at making new highs. Still, simply holding the price in its current zone puts buyers at an advantage.

This advantage holds as long as the support at $0.15 is not lost. That level is key and must be defended at all costs. Luckily, sellers did not manage to push the price so low during this most recent correction. This shows bulls still maintain the upper hand.

Daily MACD Remains Bearish

The ongoing correction is likely to continue until the daily MACD turns bullish. Right now, the moving averages are falling, and the histogram remains on the negative side. While this is bearish, the MACD also suggests this correction could soon end.

Because the histogram is making higher lows, that shows sellers have lost interest, and the momentum could shift bullish again later this month. This will be an important opportunity for PI to break the resistance at 20 cents and push higher again.

The post Pi Network (PI) Price Predictions for This Week appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The AI-focused token operating on the BNB Chain continues with its immense volatility, but this time in the opposite direction.

After charting massive double- and even triple-digit gains for days and weeks, the token has plummeted by over 70% since its March 22 all-time high amid ongoing scrutiny from the community.

SIREN Dumps Hard

CryptoPotato repeatedly reported SIREN’s massive price gains over the past several days. Recall that the token traded at $0.40 by March 10 before it went on an incredible run that culminated in the late hours of March 22 with an all-time high of $3.65.

This sort of rally is highly unexpected and surprising at the moment, given the overall market conditions. The rest of the crypto market struggles to post 2-3-5% weekly gains, while one altcoin, which had a questionable first year of its existence, stole the show and dwarfed all others.

However, this exponential rise reached its (somewhat expected) end in the past 24 hours. The asset has crashed by over 70% since the aforementioned ATH, and now struggles to remain above $1.00. This intense collapse has pushed it from being among the top 40 alts by market cap to outside of the top 80.

It also came just as many users on X speculated that SIREN could be “the biggest scam of 2026.” The general consensus on X is that this pump was an apparent market manipulation by one entity.

The Warnings

Bubblemaps warned yesterday that a single cluster owns almost 50% of SIREN’s supply. At the asset’s peak price, this was worth roughly $1.5 billion, and the analysts added that “this only ends one way” hours before the actual crash took place.

They added that SIREN launched in February 2025 as the “first on-chain AI agent analyst on BNB.” However, it was “largely abandoned” shortly after launch. They also explained when this one cluster of over 200 wallets purchased the tokens (June and February 2025) and dispersed them to 47 addresses.

Although the cluster’s identity remains officially unknown, it has been linked by ZachXBT and others to DWF Labs.

I started graphing the 48.5% SIREN cluster today on BSC and noticed the addresses link to several obscure DWF affiliated tokens onchain (LADYS, RACA, TOMO, etc)

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) March 23, 2026

The post SIREN Tanks 70% in a Single Day as ZachXBT and Bubblemaps Sound the Alarm appeared first on CryptoPotato.