OpenAI's workforce expansion may intensify industry competition, but it risks financial strain if enterprise adoption lags behind expectations.

The post OpenAI targets 8,000 staff as AI competition heats up appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Worldcoin's OTC sales and upcoming token unlock could significantly impact market dynamics and investor confidence in crypto projects.

The post Worldcoin reportedly sells 117 million WLD through OTC deals appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Grayscale files S-1 for spot HYPE ETF that would hold Hyperliquids native token and seek to list on Nasdaq under ticker GHYP.

The post Grayscale eyes Hyperliquid with new HYPE ETF filing appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Nvidia fell below its 200-day moving average after GTC as oil, inflation, and rate fears pressured tech and the broader market.

The post Nvidia stock falls below 200-day moving average for first time in a year appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Hyperliquids licensed S&P 500 perpetual tops $100M in daily volume, extending 24/7 onchain trading of traditional markets.

The post Hyperliquid’s S&P 500 perpetual tops $100 million in daily volume after licensed launch appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

White House Reaches Tentative Crypto Regulatory Agreement: Report

Key senators and the White House have reached a tentative agreement on cryptocurrency legislation aimed at resolving a dispute between banks and digital asset firms over stablecoin yields, according to Politico reporting.

The move could clear the way for a landmark crypto regulatory bill stalled in the Senate Banking Committee since January.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) said Friday they have an “agreement in principle” on language intended to balance innovation with financial stability. The legislation seeks to prevent stablecoin rewards programs from triggering widespread deposit withdrawals from traditional banks, a concern raised by Wall Street groups.

“The agreement allows us to protect innovation while giving us the opportunity to prevent widespread deposit flight,” Alsobrooks said. Tillis described the deal as a positive step but noted the need to consult with industry stakeholders before finalizing details.

While specifics of the agreement remain unclear, early indications suggest it could bar yield payments on passive stablecoin balances. The tentative deal signals progress toward an April vote on the crypto market-structure bill, potentially unlocking the first major federal regulatory framework for digital assets.

Crypto legislation background 

The fight over a U.S. crypto market‑structure bill stems from a broader effort to build on 2025’s landmark stablecoin legislation, the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for stablecoins — requiring full backing, transparency and reserve disclosures for digital dollars. 

That law was widely seen in the crypto industry as a breakthrough for regulatory clarity while attempting to align digital assets with traditional financial standards.

After the GENIUS Act’s passage, the Senate turned its attention to more expansive digital asset oversight through what’s often referred to as the CLARITY Act or the crypto market‑structure bill. 

This legislation aims to define how U.S. regulators would police and oversee trading platforms, tokens, custody services and other infrastructure — essentially the backbone of a regulated digital asset ecosystem.

However, negotiations bogged down over one central issue: whether regulated exchanges should be allowed to offer yield‑bearing rewards on stablecoin holdings. 

Banks and major financial institutions argue that these rewards resemble unregulated deposit‑like products that could siphon funds away from FDIC‑insured accounts, potentially threatening lending and financial stability. 

Crypto firms — including major issuers like Circle and Coinbase — counter that such incentives are crucial for competitive markets and for user adoption of digital money.

The current tentative deal being negotiated between senators and the White House seeks a middle ground — potentially allowing activity‑based rewards while restricting passive yield — in hopes of unlocking Senate committee action by April. Whether that compromise holds both bank and crypto support will be decisive for the future of U.S. digital asset regulation. 

This post White House Reaches Tentative Crypto Regulatory Agreement: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Phong Le Calls Morgan Stanley’s BTC ETF a “Monster Bitcoin” Bet With $160 Billion Potential

Phong Le, President and CEO of Strategy, the world’s first and largest Bitcoin treasury firm, said Morgan Stanley’s proposed bitcoin ETF could unlock as much as $160 billion in demand under a modest portfolio allocation scenario.

“Morgan Stanley Wealth Management oversees about $8 trillion in AUM and recommends 0–4% bitcoin allocation,” Le wrote on X. “A 2% allocation would represent $160 billion, about three times the size of IBIT. MSBT: Monster Bitcoin.”

In other words, Le is saying that even a modest 2% bitcoin allocation across Morgan Stanley’s $8 trillion wealth platform could drive about $160 billion into bitcoin, far exceeding the size of existing ETFs like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.

The comment landed as Morgan Stanley advanced plans for its own spot BTC ETF, revealing new details in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund would trade under the ticker MSBT, a symbol that Le cast as shorthand for the potential scale of institutional demand.

Morgan Stanley’s amended S-1 outlines a structure familiar to the growing class of spot BTC ETFs. The trust is set to list on NYSE Arca with a 10,000-share creation unit and an initial seed basket of 50,000 shares, expected to raise about $1 million. The bank also disclosed it purchased two shares earlier this month for audit purposes.

Key service providers mirror those used across the ETF ecosystem. BNY Mellon will act as cash custodian, administrator, and transfer agent, while Coinbase is set to serve as prime broker and custodian for the fund’s bitcoin. 

The product would hold BTC directly, aligning with the structure that has defined the current wave of the U.S.-listed spot ETFs.

Capital managers are migrating to bitcoin 

Le’s framing points to a larger question that sits beyond the mechanics of the filing: how much capital wealth managers may allocate if BTC becomes a standard portfolio component. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, with trillions in client assets, has signaled that bitcoin exposure can range from zero to four percent depending on client profile. 

Even a midpoint allocation, as Le noted, would imply flows that exceed the size of existing flagship products such as iShares Bitcoin Trust.

So far, adoption has moved in stages. Since spot BTC ETFs launched in 2024, the category has attracted more than $50 billion in inflows, driven in large part by self-directed investors. Within advisory channels, uptake remains uneven, shaped by internal policies, risk models, and client demand.

Morgan Stanley has already taken steps in that direction, allowing brokerage clients to access spot BTC ETFs and widening availability over time. The MSBT filing suggests a shift from distribution toward ownership of the product itself, a move that could deepen the bank’s role in the market if approval is granted.

The SEC has not provided a timeline for a decision, and approval is not assured. Still, the application marks a notable development: a major U.S. bank seeking to issue its own spot bitcoin ETF in a market it once approached with caution.

This post Phong Le Calls Morgan Stanley’s BTC ETF a “Monster Bitcoin” Bet With $160 Billion Potential first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Holds $70,000 as War-Driven Inflation Fears Meet Defensive Market Positioning

Bitcoin price held near the $70,000 level today as geopolitical risks tied to the conflict involving Iran shifted and macro expectations weighed on broader risk markets, while derivatives data and on-chain metrics pointed to a market in consolidation rather than capitulation.

The bitcoin price hovered around $70,500 in early Friday trading, following a pullback from a recent high near $76,000. 

The move came as energy markets surged and inflation concerns returned to the forefront, limiting upside across risk assets. Despite the pressure, Bitcoin price has shown relative stability compared with commodities and equities during the same period.

Research from VanEck frames the current environment as a post-stress reset. The firm’s mid-March ChainCheck report notes that Bitcoin price’s 30-day average price declined 19%, yet spot prices stabilized as realized volatility fell from 80 to near 50. 

At the same time, futures funding rates dropped from 4.1% to 2.7%, signaling reduced leverage and lower speculative intensity.

Options markets reflect a defensive posture. VanEck data shows the put-to-call open interest ratio averaged 0.77, the highest level since mid-2021, placing current positioning in the 91st percentile of observations since 2019. 

Demand for downside protection remains elevated, with put premiums reaching record levels relative to spot trading volume. Investors continue to allocate capital toward hedging, even as volatility declines.

Future positive returns for Bitcoin price?

This pattern has historical significance. According to VanEck, similar levels of options skew have preceded positive forward returns. Periods with comparable readings have produced average gains of more than 13% over the following 90 days and more than 100% over a one-year horizon. 

The data suggests that extreme caution in derivatives markets has often coincided with late-stage drawdowns rather than the start of new declines.

Onchain activity presents a quieter picture. Transfer volume fell 31% over the past month, while daily fees dropped 27%. Active addresses declined modestly, indicating limited participation at the network level. 

This trend led to the growing role of offchain venues, including exchange-traded products and derivatives platforms, which now account for a larger share of trading activity.

Long-term holders appear to be reducing distribution. Transfer volume declined across all age cohorts, signaling that older coins remain largely inactive. This shift points to reduced selling pressure from experienced market participants, a factor often associated with price stabilization phases.

Miner behavior adds another layer. Revenues declined 11% in the past month, reflecting tighter economics. Yet selling pressure from miners has not surged. Onchain flows to exchanges rose only 1%, while aggregate miner balances declined at a gradual pace. Over the past year, miners have sold most newly issued supply but have not accelerated liquidation of existing reserves.

Institutional flows, however, have softened. 

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows in recent sessions, reversing a prior streak of inflows. The shift aligns with broader risk aversion as investors respond to macro uncertainty and rising energy costs.

Yesterday, Morgan Stanley confirmed that its proposed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund will trade under the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca, according to an updated filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $70,371.

This post Bitcoin Price Holds $70,000 as War-Driven Inflation Fears Meet Defensive Market Positioning first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

North Carolina Lawmakers Propose State Bitcoin Reserve

North Carolina lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to create a state-controlled Bitcoin reserve. 

Senate Bill 327, titled the North Carolina Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act, would allow the Office of the State Treasurer to allocate up to 10% of public funds into BTC as part of the state’s long-term financial strategy.

The bill, sponsored by Senators Johnson and Overcash, passed its first Senate reading and was referred to the Rules and Operations Committee. Its stated goals include establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, promoting BTC as a financial innovation, and positioning North Carolina as a leader in state-level crypto adoption.

Under the proposal, the Treasurer would manage the reserve using cold storage wallets with multi-signature authentication. 

A new department within the Treasurer’s office would take custody of the assets, ensuring state control. The bill also calls for a Bitcoin Economic Advisory Board composed of industry experts to provide guidance and monthly audits to verify reserve balances, security, and performance.

Bitcoin acquisitions would be conducted through regulated U.S.-based exchanges, with bulk purchases timed to take advantage of market conditions. The bill also directs the Treasurer to explore BTC mining operations as a potential method to increase state holdings.

Use of the reserve would be restricted to severe financial crises, approved investment strategies, funding for critical infrastructure and economic development projects, and support for Bitcoin-related research, education, and business incentives.

Any liquidation of BTC would require approval from at least two-thirds of both chambers of the General Assembly. The bill allows the reserve to back bonds as an alternative financing tool for public projects.

The Treasurer would submit quarterly reports to the General Assembly detailing the reserve’s status, value, and performance.

Reports would also be publicly available on the Treasurer’s website, according to the bill’s text. The bill includes provisions to comply with federal and state laws regarding cryptocurrency holdings and taxation and encourages advocacy for federal regulations favorable to Bitcoin.

U.S. states want Bitcoin

Several U.S. states are exploring or have implemented BTC reserves as part of state treasury strategies. 

Texas, New Hampshire, and Arizona have enacted laws allowing portions of state funds to be allocated to Bitcoin, while Maryland, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan, South Dakota, Illinois, Tennessee and Missouri have introduced legislation proposing similar reserves. 

Other states, including Oklahoma, Utah, and Pennsylvania, have considered bills that remain in committee, while proposals in Wyoming, Montana, and Florida have stalled or been rejected. These efforts reflect a growing trend to use BTC as a potential store-of-value hedge and diversify state financial assets.

This post North Carolina Lawmakers Propose State Bitcoin Reserve first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Adam Back Confirmed As A Bitcoin 2026 Speaker

Adam Back has been officially confirmed as a speaker at Bitcoin 2026, returning to the conference as one of the few people in the world whose contributions to Bitcoin predate Bitcoin itself. As Co-Founder and CEO of Blockstream and CEO of Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), Back comes to Las Vegas operating at the intersection of Bitcoin infrastructure and capital markets like never before.

In 1997, Back invented Hashcash — a proof-of-work system originally built to combat email spam that became the direct technical foundation for Bitcoin’s mining process. Satoshi Nakamoto cited Back by name in the Bitcoin white paper, writing that the network would need “a proof-of-work system similar to Adam Back’s Hashcash.” Before the genesis block was ever mined, Satoshi emailed Back directly.

Blockstream, which Back co-founded in 2014, develops Bitcoin infrastructure across three areas: consumer self-custody tools including the open-source Jade hardware wallet, enterprise settlement and asset issuance on the Liquid Network, and institutional products through Blockstream Asset Management — with with Liquid Network closing 2025 with close to $5 billion in TVL. At Bitcoin 2025, Back framed the company’s direction: “We’re laser-focused on Bitcoin. At Blockstream, we are here to provide the infrastructure to enable that.”

On the capital markets side, Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company has entered into a definitive agreement to go public through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO), structured with 30,021 BTC on its balance sheet and up to $1.5 billion in PIPE financing — the largest ever announced alongside a Bitcoin treasury SPAC merger. As of March 2026, BSTR is awaiting completion of the de-SPAC process, with shareholder approval targeted as early as April, after which the combined company is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “BSTR.”

From inventing the proof-of-work system that makes Bitcoin possible, to building the infrastructure layer on top of it, to now bringing over 30,000 BTC to public markets — Back’s is unlike anyone else on the Bitcoin 2026 stage. His appearance at The Venetian this April will be one of the most technically credible perspectives at the conference on where Bitcoin’s protocol, infrastructure, and capital markets are all heading at once.

Bitcoin 2026 Returns to Las Vegas Bigger Than Ever

Bitcoin 2026 will take place April 27–29 at The Venetian, Las Vegas, and is expected to be the biggest Bitcoin event of the year.

Focused on the future of money, Bitcoin 2026 will bring together Bitcoin builders, investors, miners, policymakers, technologists, and newcomers from around the world. The event will feature a wide range of pass types, including general admission passes designed specifically for those new to Bitcoin, alongside premium passes for professionals, enterprises, and institutions.

With multiple stages, immersive experiences, technical workshops, and headline keynotes, Bitcoin 2026 is designed to serve both first-time attendees and long-time Bitcoiners shaping the next era of global adoption.

Past Bitcoin Conferences in the U.S.

Bitcoin’s flagship conference has scaled dramatically over the past five years:

• 2021 – Miami: 11,000 attendees
• 2022 – Miami: 26,000 attendees
• 2023 – Miami: 15,000 attendees
• 2024 – Nashville: 22,000 attendees
• 2025 – Las Vegas: 35,000 attendees

Get Your Bitcoin 2026 Pass

Bitcoin Magazine readers can save 10% on Bitcoin 2026 tickets using code ‘ARTICLE10‘ at checkout.

Stay at The official hotel of Bitcoin 2026, The Venetian, and get a guaranteed low rate plus 15% off your pass. Hotel Prices increase soon, be in the middle of where the fun is all happening, and where the networking never ends.

And don’t forget:

Volunteer at Bitcoin 2026 and get Pro Pass access plus exclusive perks.

All students ages 13+ can apply for a Student Pass and get free general admission access to Bitcoin 2026.

Location: The Venetian, Las Vegas
Dates: April 27–29, 2026

For more information and exclusive offers, visit the Bitcoin Conference on X here.

Why Attend Bitcoin 2026?

Bitcoin 2026 is the definitive gathering for anyone serious about the future of money. With 500+ speakers, multiple world-class stages, and programming spanning Bitcoin fundamentals, open-source development, enterprise adoption, mining, energy, AI, policy, and culture, the conference brings every corner of the Bitcoin ecosystem together under one roof.

From headline keynotes on the Nakamoto Stage to deep technical sessions for builders, institutional strategy discussions for enterprises, and beginner-friendly Bitcoin 101 education, Bitcoin 2026 is designed for everyone—from first-time attendees to the leaders shaping Bitcoin’s global adoption.

Whether you’re looking to learn, build, invest, network, or influence, Bitcoin 2026 is where Bitcoin’s next chapter is written.

Bitcoin 2026 Pass Types: Something for Everyone

Bitcoin 2026 offers a range of pass options designed to meet the needs of newcomers, professionals, enterprises, and high-net-worth Bitcoiners alike.

Bitcoin 2026 General Admission Pass

Ideal for newcomers and those looking to experience the heart of the conference.

• Limited access on Days 2 & 3
• Entry to Main Stage
• Access to Genesis Stage
• Full access to the Expo Hall

Bitcoin 2026 Pro Pass

Designed for professionals, operators, and serious Bitcoin participants.

Includes all General Admission features, plus:

• Full 3-day access, including Pro Day
• Entry to the Pro Pass Reception
• Access to Enterprise Hall, Enterprise Stage, and Networking Lounge
• Conference App networking features
• Access to the Bitcoin For Corporations Symposium
• Entry to Compute Village and Energy Stage
• Complimentary lunch, coffee, tea, and snacks
• Dedicated registration and check-in
• Reserved seating at Main Stage
• Huge savings when you bundle your hotel and Pro Pass

Bitcoin 2026 Whale Pass

The all-inclusive, premium Bitcoin 2026 experience.

Includes all Pro Pass features, plus:

• Reserved seating at Main Stage
• All-inclusive gourmet food and beverages
• Entry to Whale Night and Whale Reception
• Access to all official after-parties
• Networking app access to connect with other Whales
• Premium access to The Deep — an exclusive networking lounge with intimate speaker sessions
• Complimentary stay at The Venetian when you bundle your whale pass and hotel (use promo code ‘WHALEHOTEL’ here)

This is the most immersive way to experience Bitcoin 2026.

Bitcoin 2026 After Hours Pass

Your ticket to the night.

Most deals are done with a drink in your hand. Get exclusive access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties across Las Vegas — each with a 2-hour open bar — where the real conversations happen and the best connections are made.

• Access to 3 official Bitcoin 2026 after-parties
• 2-hour open bar at each event
• Evening events across Las Vegas, April 27–29
• Network with Bitcoiners, builders, and industry leaders after hours

More headline speaker announcements are coming soon.

Don’t miss Bitcoin 2026.

This post Adam Back Confirmed As A Bitcoin 2026 Speaker first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jenna Montgomery.

The SEC and CFTC just gave crypto its clearest and most straightforward regulatory guidance in years. Most crypto assets will no longer be treated as presumptive securities, and the agencies drew a sharper line between open crypto markets and tokenized versions of traditional financial products.

Under normal conditions, that kind of clarity should have been a major bullish catalyst, but it wasn't.

The market’s lack of response showed that traders no longer see regulatory goodwill on its own as enough to rerate the sector.

What crypto wants now is something the agencies can’t deliver by themselves: durable legal certainty from Congress.

For years, the central problem for crypto in the US was basic regulatory uncertainty. Projects could launch, exchanges could list tokens, and capital could keep moving, but the SEC still had room to argue that much of the sector belonged inside securities law.

That overhang was what shaped everything from valuations, product design, and listing decisions, to custody models and where companies were willing to build.

This latest guidance changes that picture in a meaningful way, as it gives the industry a clearer framework than it has had in years.

However, it also exposed a new reality: clarity from regulators is no longer enough to convince the market that the US crypto rulebook is settled.

A real policy win that still fell short

The new guidance is a real change.

The SEC said it's creating a token taxonomy that separates digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, payment stablecoins, and digital securities. Chairman Paul Atkins said the agency now recognizes that most crypto assets are not themselves securities. However, he also clarified that a non-security token can still fall under securities law if it is offered and sold as part of an investment contract.

The release also addressed staking, airdrops, mining, and wrapped versions of non-security crypto assets, giving the industry a broader map than it has had under federal law in years.

That's the kind of clarity crypto has been lobbying for since the first SEC cases made its legal perimeter tighter. If founders now know the baseline classification of an asset, they can structure their launches with more confidence. If exchanges know which regulator has primary jurisdiction, they eliminate almost all listing risk. If investors know a token won't be exposed to a sudden reclassification fight, the discount attached to US regulatory uncertainty should shrink.

So on paper, this had every reason to look bullish.

But Bitcoin didn't jump on the announcement. Prices remained tied to the same forces that have been driving broader risk markets for the past month.

Even Citi cut its 12-month targets for BTC and ETH because progress on US market structure legislation has stalled. Broader markets have also been wrestling with the energy crisis and inflation fears brought on by the conflict in Iran.

That helps explain why the response to this was so muted. It seems that traders have already moved on to a harder question than whether this SEC is friendlier than the last one. They now want to know whether the rules will survive politics, litigation, and the next administration.

Congress is now the real bottleneck

That gets to the heart of what changed this week.

The industry used to be stuck at the first bottleneck: agency hostility and interpretive ambiguity. Now it's stuck at the second: durability.

Guidance and interpretation help, but rulemaking would help much more. Still, none of those is the same thing as statute. Congress is the institution that can lock jurisdictional lines into law and define when a token is a commodity or security. It can also give spot market oversight to the CFTC with enough force and certainty to last longer than a single administration.

That's why the market barely moved on a regulatory change that would have felt huge just a couple of years ago. Crypto is no longer satisfied with knowing that some policymakers in Washington understand the sector. It wants concrete proof that the framework in which they're operating will be solid.

A positive view and a favorable interpretation can be narrowed, challenged, and replaced endlessly. Even the SEC framed its action as “complementary” to congressional efforts, rather than a substitute for them.

There's also another important twist to this.

The same regulatory clarity that gives crypto more breathing room may also accelerate tokenization in tradfi faster than it helps permissionless markets. The SEC has been explicit that tokenized stocks and bonds are still securities, as laid out in its January statement on tokenized securities. Then this week, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s plan to let certain stocks and ETFs trade and settle in tokenized form.

That's a strong signal about where Washington seems most comfortable: blockchain inserted into a familiar, supervised market infrastructure. That tells us that the next phase of adoption most likely won't belong just to crypto native companies. If tokenized equities, ETFs, Treasuries, and other regulated instruments move faster because incumbents can put them on a blockchain, Wall Street could capture a large share of the upside that many crypto companies assumed would reach them first.

So the market’s shrug wasn't apathy. Traders heard the message, accepted that it was a step forward, and then priced the remaining gap.

That gap is Congress. Until there's meaningful movement on legislation and visible evidence that exchanges, issuers, and custodians can build around a durable framework, this kind of regulatory goodwill will keep trading at a discount.

The SEC can draw cleaner lines, and the CFTC can claim more ground, but the next full rerating will probably wait for something larger: a law that survives the next election, lawsuit, and political turn in Washington.

The post Crypto finally got SEC clarity. Why didn’t the market care? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Wall Street has spent months debating when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Now, traders are considering if the next move could be a hike.

Two days past the Fed's Mar. 18 decision to hold its target range at 3.50%-3.75%, markets moved in the opposite direction. Bloomberg-based pricing climbed above 60% odds of a hike by October, with roughly 15 basis points of tightening priced by then. CME FedWatch put year-end hike odds closer to 40%.

The odds of a rate cut next month have fallen from 17% in February to 0% for April, while odds of a hike have risen to 6%.

Despite the spread that reflects genuine disagreement about timing and conviction, both measures point in the same direction. Hike bets, dormant for months, are back.

The accelerant is oil. Brent crude surged above $109, and US crude touched $98 on Mar. 20 as Middle East escalation stoked fears of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles nearly 20% of global oil supply.

The EIA's March baseline still assumes Brent eases below $80 by the third quarter and ends the year near $70 if disruptions ease. The market is currently betting that assumption is too optimistic, and that bet is flowing directly into rate expectations.

The 10-year Treasury climbed to roughly 4.37%, the 30-year reached its highest since September, and the S&P 500 headed toward a fourth straight weekly loss.

Global equity funds shed $20.3 billion in the week through Mar. 18, including $24.78 billion from US equity funds alone, while money market funds absorbed $32.57 billion globally.

Cash, yielding close to 4%, is pulling capital out of risk assets in real time.

The contradiction Bitcoin can't escape

Bitcoin hovered just below the $70,000 on Mar. 20, down alongside QQQ (-1.75%) and GLD (-1.93%).

The same session that repriced Fed policy as hawkish also pushed gold lower, despite a geopolitical backdrop that should support every hard-asset hedge.

Gold fell 1.8% as yields and the dollar rose. If the canonical inflation and war hedge couldn't hold ground, the reason is straightforward: tighter financial conditions are driving gold and Bitcoin lower in tandem, overwhelming whatever safe haven bid the geopolitical backdrop might otherwise support.

Bitcoin inflation-hedge pitch faces the same contradiction, as it works when inflation points move toward debasement fears and easier money ahead. It runs into trouble when inflation points to oil up, yields up, dollar firmer, and the Fed is unable to ease.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the close of the March meeting that the central bank is watching whether higher fuel and input costs leak into core PCE inflation.

If core inflation drifts above 3.2%, Bank of America's threshold for a credible hike case, alongside unemployment holding near 4.5% and oil in the $80-$100 range, the Fed faces a setup in which inflation is sticky enough to keep policy tight.

However, growth is not yet weak enough to force emergency cuts. For Bitcoin, that moderate-inflation-without-recession corridor may be the most hostile macro environment of all.

An IMF working paper found that a single crypto factor explains 80% of the variation in crypto prices, and that Fed tightening reduces that factor through a risk-taking channel.

Besides, as more professional capital entered crypto, Bitcoin's correlation with equities rose. The BIS described crypto's recent drawdown, with Bitcoin falling roughly 50% from its 2025 highs amid a broader rotation away from growth assets, as tech stocks sold off.

Spot US Bitcoin ETF flows already show the turn: from $199.4 million in inflows on Mar. 17 to $253.7 million in outflows on Mar. 18 and 19 combined, per Farside Investors' data.

Bitcoin trades on which part of the inflation scenario dominates: whether rising prices give the Fed room to ease or force it to tighten.

Right now, the tightening side holds, as conditions are squeezing, the discount rate on speculative assets is climbing, and cash is more competitive.

Two paths forward

The bull case rests on the EIA baseline holding. If oil retraces faster than feared, labor softens into the Apr. 3 jobs report, and the February PCE data on Apr. 9 show no second-round effects bleeding into core, hike odds could deflate as quickly as they inflated.

One-year inflation swaps hit 3% this week, but the five-year forward swap fell to 2.35%, its lowest in nearly a year. The movement suggests that markets still see a path where this is a temporary energy disruption rather than a regime reset.

If that path materializes, Bitcoin regains a liquidity tailwind. Citi's 12-month framework sets a base-case target of $112,000 and a bull-case target of $165,000 under a scenario in which the Fed resumes easing.

The bear case requires only that the EIA is wrong. If oil stays in the $80-$100 range into summer, core PCE prints above 3.2%, and the April 28-29 FOMC meeting produces a statement that quietly validates the market's hawkish repricing rather than pushing back against it, hike bets will harden into a durable positioning move.

Money market assets are already near a record $8 trillion, and flows that moved into cash this week won't automatically rotate back. Under that scenario, Citi's recessionary bear case for Bitcoin puts the price at $58,000, and BTC trades as a duration-heavy risk asset for as long as the rate ceiling holds.

The global frame

Brokerages now see the ECB and the Bank of England potentially hiking as soon as April, with traders pricing 72 and 78 basis points of tightening through 2026, respectively.

The Hormuz chokepoint also handles about 20% of global LNG trade. A sustained disruption would push energy costs across Europe and Asia simultaneously, compressing the space for any major central bank to ease.

Bitcoin's correlation with global risk appetite, already deepened by institutional participation, means the tightening impulse comes from multiple directions at once within the same macro regime that carried crypto higher.

Longer-run inflation expectations have not broken out, and that containment is the only thing separating the current repricing from a full-blown stagflation trade.

Nevertheless, contained long-run expectations do not neutralize the near-term policy arithmetic.

The Fed's own dot plot leaves room for renewed hawkishness: participants' 2026 appropriate-rate range ran from 2.6% to 3.6%, and the dispersion at the top end is wide enough to absorb one or two upside inflation surprises before the median projection moves.

Bitcoin now faces a key test to determine whether it trades as an inflation hedge or as a concentrated bet on global liquidity.

The post Fed rate cut chance hits zero, threatening stagflation where Bitcoin thrives as a hedge against long term inflation appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The average Bitcoin retail investor who recently discovered crypto might never have considered a stablecoin that pays yield on an idle balance. That fight, buried inside Senate negotiations over the CLARITY Act, is about to matter to them anyway.

Politico reported this week that senators and White House advisers have reached an agreement in principle on stablecoin-yield language, which was the main reason why the bill had stalled.

The reported agreement moves CLARITY from frozen to potentially alive again, which connects directly to Bitcoin's institutional demand story.

Why this particular fight was the blockage

The CLARITY Act would do something no agency interpretation can: write permanent federal rules governing how crypto exchanges, brokers, dealers, and custodians operate, and hand the CFTC formal spot-market authority.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins has repeatedly said on Mar. 17 that no Commission action can future-proof the crypto rulebook the way legislation can. The message embedded in both moments was that the agency guidance is a bridge, and the statute is the destination.

The stablecoin-yield clause became the bridge's weak point.

Banks warned that crypto firms offering rewards on stablecoin balances could pull deposits away from the traditional banking system. Standard Chartered estimated stablecoins could drain roughly $500 billion from US bank deposits by the end of 2028.

That framing gave Senate opponents a credible systemic-risk argument, and the bill stalled through February and into March despite bipartisan interest in the broader market structure framework.

Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott said as recently as Mar. 17 that negotiations were advancing, specifically crediting Senators Angela Alsobrooks, Thom Tillis, and White House adviser Patrick Witt on yield.

Tillis said lawmakers were “very close” to a deal on Mar. 18. The reported agreement in principle is the strongest signal yet that the central bottleneck may be loosening.

Nevertheless, the bill needs at least seven Senate Democrats, faces unresolved disputes over elected officials profiting from crypto ventures and tougher anti-money-laundering demands, must reconcile the Senate Banking and Senate Agriculture drafts, and must compete for floor time in a calendar that shrinks steadily toward midterms.

Better odds and clear odds are different things.

What Wall Street has already priced

The clearest evidence that CLARITY is a real Bitcoin variable came from Citi in March, when it cut its 12-month Bitcoin target to $112,000 from $143,000.

Citi said explicitly that stalled US legislation had narrowed the window for the regulatory catalysts it expected to drive ETF demand and broader institutional adoption. Its bull case is $165,000, and its recessionary bear case is $58,000.

The spread between those numbers is partly due to legislation.

JPMorgan's framing was directional rather than target-specific. In February, JPMorgan said crypto markets could get a meaningful lift in the second half of 2026 if market structure legislation is passed by midyear, because it would end regulation-by-enforcement, promote tokenization, and bring greater institutional participation within reach.

That is a bank telling clients to watch the Senate calendar as a second-half catalyst.

VanEck translated policy optimism into observable flow behavior in its January Bitcoin ChainCheck.

The firm said Bitcoin's buoyancy that month reflected, in part, CLARITY Act optimism, and that optimism coincided with a swing from $1.3 billion of ETP outflows in the prior 30-day period to $440 million of inflows.

Between Jan. 12 and 14 alone, Bitcoin ETP inflows totaled $1.66 billion. Policy sentiment moved money through registered products in measurable volume, with prices rising as a byproduct.

The Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey of 351 institutional investors in March puts numbers on why.

Among firms planning to increase holdings this year, 65% cited improved regulatory clarity as a key driver. Separately, 66% said regulatory uncertainty was their primary concern, and 78% said market structure was the area most in need of clear guardrails.

For that cohort, regulation is a sizing decision. The share of firms allocating more than 5% of AUM to digital assets looks set to climb from 18% to 29% by year-end.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the same point for a mainstream audience when he told CNBC in February that CLARITY would give “great comfort to the market.”

Grayscale's 2026 outlook went further, calling a breakdown in bipartisan legislative progress a downside risk because regulatory clarity could bring public blockchains more deeply into mainstream financial infrastructure.

What investors should expect

The bull case does not require passage this week. It requires the market to start assigning higher odds to eventual passage, because Wall Street prices probability before it prices law.

If the stablecoin-yield compromise holds and Senate Banking moves again, the most immediate effect is a stronger bid for ETF demand expectations, driven by greater institutional comfort, greater platform willingness, and greater custodial confidence.

JPMorgan's second-half catalyst framing becomes relevant. Citi's cut looks too conservative. The Coinbase/EY survey data on planned 2026 allocation increases becomes a flow story rather than just a survey result.

The bear case requires only that the compromise frays. Ethics disputes, AML demands, or calendar congestion could stall momentum again, even if the yield clause holds.

In that scenario, crypto's legal footing rests on the SEC and CFTC's interpretive progress without the statutory lock-in that Atkins says only Congress can provide.

Citi's logic reasserts itself: the window for a regulatory catalyst narrows, and Bitcoin trades back on macro, rates, and positioning rather than on Washington.

The average crypto investor should not expect a Senate compromise to move Bitcoin vertically the next morning, since the mechanism is slower and more structural: less regulatory friction over time raises institutional comfort, which supports ETF inflows, market depth, and liquidity.

BlackRock says Bitcoin's 2026 trajectory runs on liquidity conditions and institutional and wealth-advisory adoption, with any single headline a secondary input.

Recent ETF flow data make the same point. US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $199.4 million on Mar. 17, then reversed to outflows of $163.5 million on Mar. 18 and $90.2 million on Mar. 19.

If CLARITY's odds keep improving, the effect for the average investor is a wider, deeper, more institutionally committed market for the asset already sitting in the account.

The post CLARITY Act gets deadlock breakthrough that also opens the door to more Bitcoin demand appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The following is a guest post and analysis from Vincent Maliepaard, Marketing Director at Sentora.

Stablecoins have become a meaningful settlement layer, lending markets continue to expand, and tokenized real-world assets keep growing. Visa said global stablecoin transaction volume rose from more than $3.5 trillion in 2023 to more than $5.5 trillion in 2024. That is not the profile of a niche experiment. It is the profile of infrastructure finding real demand.

The problem is that DeFi still measures itself with a bootstrap metric.

TVL is a misaligned scoreboard

For most of the last cycle, Total Value Locked became the default scoreboard. TVL was useful early because it was simple. It showed that users were willing to move capital onchain. It helped the market track adoption during a phase when the main question was whether people would trust decentralized infrastructure at all. But once the goal shifts from growth to durability, TVL starts to hide as much as it reveals. It measures how much capital entered a protocol, not how well that capital is protected once it gets there.

That distinction matters because exposure is not the same thing as strength.

A protocol can have hundreds of millions in deposits and still be structurally fragile. If those deposits sit on top of weak dependencies, poor oracle design, concentrated governance, or limited safeguards, high TVL does not make the system robust. It simply means more capital is exposed. In that sense, TVL is closer to a gross measure of activity than a true measure of value. It tells you where capital is sitting. It does not tell you whether that capital is secure.

The market has already seen what that looks like in practice.

When a major protocol is exploited, TVL can collapse almost immediately because the number was never measuring defended capital in the first place. Ronin’s TVL fell from roughly $1.2 billion before its 2022 bridge exploit to about $15 million today, according to DeFiLlama data.

These are not edge cases. They show that deposits alone do not create trust and value. A large balance can disappear very quickly when the market realizes the protection underneath it was thin or nonexistent.

This becomes more important as DeFi moves closer to mainstream financial distribution.

Supporting DeFi’s Next Growth Phase

The next wave of adoption will not come from turning every user into an expert in onchain risk. It will come from banks, fintechs, exchanges, and consumer apps packaging DeFi behind simpler products. The user experience can become easier. One deposit. One balance. One yield number. But that simplicity does not eliminate backend risk. It only hides it. If the underlying capital is still exposed to smart contract failures, oracle issues, and composability risks without clear protection, then a cleaner interface does not make the product institution-ready. It just makes the risk less visible.

That is why DeFi needs a second metric: Total Value Covered.

TVC measures the amount of capital that is explicitly protected by a defined risk-transfer mechanism. If TVL tells you how much money is present, TVC tells you how much money the system is prepared to defend. That is a much better proxy for institutional readiness because serious allocators do not ask only how much capital is in a market. They ask how much capital can be deployed with known downside. They want to understand capacity for protected capital, not just appetite for risk.

A TVC framework changes incentives in the right direction.

Under a TVL-first model, protocols compete to maximize deposits. The easiest way to do that is often to raise yields, increase incentives, or simplify distribution. Under a TVC-aware model, protocols have to increase the amount of capital they can safely support. Better governance, cleaner dependencies, stronger controls, better monitoring, and more resilient architecture start to matter economically because they increase coverage capacity and reduce the cost of protection. The competition shifts from attracting the most capital to defending the most capital.

That shift would make DeFi healthier.

It would give users, partners, and allocators a clearer view of which protocols are actually built to last. It would also create a more useful benchmark for the next generation of onchain products, especially the ones designed for institutions and mainstream users. In a more mature market, the question should not just be how much capital a protocol can accumulate. It should be how much capital it can protect through stress.

That is the real path from crypto-native growth to institutional scale.

The post DeFi needs a metric for protected capital appeared first on CryptoSlate.

How the BlinkEx trading platform is built – matching speed, risk controls, and reliability. A сomprehensive review

What “trading infrastructure” actually means here

If you strip away marketing, an exchange's infrastructure is basically three things: how orders get matched, how the system behaves under stress, and what safety rails exist when something looks off. BlinkEx is a next-generation venue launching in Early Access in late January / early February 2026, with a deliberately tight scope that prioritizes execution quality and operational readiness before feature sprawl.

Rather than launching with every possible tool at once, BlinkEx starts with a clean buy/sell and spot-trading experience, then expands in structured phases once stability, security, and market integrity benchmarks are met.

W what's live in early access (and why that matters)

Early access is invite-based to allow controlled scaling, real-world stress testing, and rapid iteration. In practice, that should translate into fewer “surprises” when volatility spikes, because the system is not being asked to serve unlimited traffic on day one.

At launch, the platform focuses on the core workflow: spot trading on a curated set of initial assets and pairs, low-latency order matching and responsive execution, account-level safety controls (including protective defaults for withdrawals and session activity), and operational monitoring and support systems from day one.

Matching and execution

The execution path, step by step

A clean trading experience is usually the result of boring engineering done well. On BlinkEx, the early-access feature set is built around low-latency matching and responsive execution – but the more important promise is predictability under load, not just raw speed.

From a trader's perspective, the order path is simple: an order is submitted, basic validations run (balances, parameters, account state), the matching engine pairs it with resting liquidity, and the fill is confirmed with balances and history updated.

Why “low-latency” alone isn't the point

Latency matters, but the real goal is to reduce the ugly trio: unexpected slippage beyond what market conditions justify, inconsistent fills (same setup, different outcome), and downtime at the worst possible moment.

BlinkEx states the matching engine and backend are designed for consistent performance during high-volume periods, predictable execution behavior, and minimal downtime during market stress. That combination is more valuable than a vague “fast” claim, because it's what lets traders execute a plan instead of fighting the platform.

Safety-by-default, in practical terms

BlinkEx frames its design philosophy as conservative defaults with optional progression into more advanced configurations. In that context, BlinkEx is safe crypto trading is best read as a product goal: reduce preventable losses caused by compromised sessions, rushed withdrawals, and other operational mistakes that have nothing to do with market direction.

BlinkGuard: the risk layer beside execution

Matching engines move orders. Risk systems watch everything around them. BlinkGuard is described as an internal, real-time risk monitoring layer built to detect and respond to suspicious behavior as it happens. Its capabilities include behavioral anomaly detection, adaptive withdrawal safeguards, signals triggered by unusual access patterns, and automated throttling during potential compromise events.

Part 3 – reliability under load

Controlled scaling (invite-only isn't a gimmick)

Invite-based early access is one of the most direct ways to protect reliability while an exchange hardens its stack. When growth is controlled, performance bottlenecks are easier to spot, incidents are easier to isolate, and fixes can ship before the next wave of users hits.

Infrastructure and reliability building blocks

BlinkEx's Year 1 roadmap highlights a horizontally scalable matching engine, active-active infrastructure redundancy, real-time monitoring and incident alerting, scheduled maintenance windows with public status updates, and disaster recovery playbooks.

Reliability as a user outcome

For BlinkEx investments, reliability isn't an abstract uptime percentage. It's the ability to place orders, receive confirmations, and move funds without “platform risk” becoming the hidden variable in every trade.

Transparency that supports trust

The roadmap also points toward recurring transparency mechanics, including proof-of-reserves reporting, transparency reports, and external security audits.

Compliance and operations

Why compliance is part of infrastructure

Compliance and operations shape user flows, limits, and incident handling. BlinkEx crypto exchange positions compliance as a foundation layer rather than a late-stage patch.

Jurisdiction-aware rollout

The roadmap calls out jurisdiction-aware feature rollout, which typically means the product expands only where legal and operational rails exist to support it – and that some onboarding steps can vary by region.

KYC/AML and screening

BlinkEx lists KYC/AML onboarding flows (jurisdiction-dependent) and sanctions and risk screening as core operational components. Practically, this often connects verification status to limits, adds screening before higher-risk actions, and reduces the chance that disputes become systemic.

Internal controls and escalation

Internal audit and access controls are part of the ops stack, which is a meaningful signal for how privileged actions are managed. Support systems with escalation tiers are also listed, and that matters because the hardest problems – security events, compliance holds, edge-case errors – require a structured path beyond first-line support.

So, BlinkEx is legal cryptocurrency trading fits here as a positioning statement grounded in jurisdiction-dependent onboarding, screening, and internal controls designed to support responsible operation where the platform is offered.

Listings and market integrity

Pacing is a feature, not a delay

BlinkEx explicitly prioritizes market integrity over feature sprawl and says listings are intentionally paced. That matters because fast listings are often where exchanges inherit thin liquidity, unstable markets, and reputational risk.

How assets are evaluated

The listing framework evaluates market quality and liquidity, technical and operational maturity, and transparency plus long-term viability. For traders, those filters usually correlate with fewer pairs that look tradable on paper but collapse the moment size hits the book.

Integrity tooling after listing

In Year 1, the roadmap references liquidity quality monitoring, anti-manipulation surveillance, and delisting procedures with transparency. The practical value is simple: market health is monitored after launch, and users have clearer expectations when an asset no longer meets standards.

Conclusion

What it adds up to

Across execution, reliability, risk controls, compliance operations, and listing discipline, BlinkEx reads like an exchange trying to make “boring” a competitive advantage, thereby supporting positive user feedback and a strong rating. The main focus is on: stable fills, controlled scaling, and guardrails that reduce preventable operational risk while the product matures.

From the perspective of trade execution, reliability, risk management, compliance, and listing policy, BlinkEx appears to be an exchange that makes predictability and stability its competitive advantage, thereby supporting positive user feedback and a strong rating.

How to evaluate it as a user

The best infrastructure test is consistency. Start small, repeat simple actions, and watch for stable behavior: fills that return quickly and predictably, clear security signals when account activity changes, straightforward status updates during maintenance, and disciplined listing cadence that favors market quality over hype.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. CryptoSlate does not endorse any of the projects mentioned in this article. Investors are encouraged to perform necessary due diligence.

The post BlinkEx investment platform infrastructure – matching, risk controls, reliability appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Why Bitcoin Is Ignoring the Iran War

Global markets are once again facing rising geopolitical tension. News surrounding Iran, the United States, and the Strait of Hormuz has triggered uncertainty across traditional financial markets.

Yet despite these developments, the cryptocurrency market is showing unexpected stability.

Bitcoin continues to hold key levels near the $70,000 range, avoiding the sharp panic selling typically seen during geopolitical crises.

This unusual behavior is raising a key question:
👉 Why is Bitcoin ignoring the Iran war?

War Headlines No Longer Move Crypto

When the first signs of escalation appeared, Bitcoin reacted as expected.

• Prices moved higher as investors looked for alternative assets
• Volatility increased across crypto markets
• Risk sentiment shifted rapidly

However, as the situation evolved, the market response began to fade.

Despite ongoing headlines:

• Military developments
• Oil supply concerns
• Regional instability

Bitcoin is no longer reacting strongly.

👉 This suggests that the market may have already priced in the conflict.

The Real Drivers Now: Macro Over Geopolitics

While geopolitical tensions dominate headlines, crypto markets are increasingly driven by macroeconomic factors.

Key drivers include:

• Central bank policy
• Interest rate expectations
• Inflation data
• Institutional flows

The focus has shifted away from short-term news toward long-term liquidity conditions.

👉 In other words:
The war may be loud — but macro is louder.

Oil Is Moving — But Bitcoin Isn’t

One of the clearest signals of this disconnect is oil.

Geopolitical tensions have pushed energy markets into volatility, with oil reacting strongly to developments in the Middle East.

But Bitcoin has not followed the same pattern.

This divergence is important:

• Oil reflects immediate geopolitical risk
• Bitcoin reflects broader financial expectations

👉 This suggests Bitcoin is no longer trading as a pure crisis hedge — but as a macro-driven asset.

Market in Transition: Accumulation Phase?

Current price action points toward a market in transition rather than panic.

We are seeing:

• Sideways consolidation
• Reduced volatility compared to initial headlines
• Continued institutional interest

This type of environment is often associated with accumulation phases, where:

• Retail investors hesitate
• Smart money quietly builds positions
• The next trend forms in the background

What Happens Next? Breakout or Fakeout

With Bitcoin holding steady despite geopolitical pressure, the market may be preparing for its next major move.

Two scenarios are emerging:

Bullish scenario:

• Liquidity improves
• Interest rate expectations ease
• Bitcoin breaks higher

Bearish scenario:

• Macro conditions tighten
• Liquidity remains restricted
• Another correction occurs

👉 In both cases, volatility is likely to increase before a clear direction emerges.

Conclusion: A New Market Behavior

Bitcoin’s reaction to the Iran conflict signals a shift in how the market operates.

In previous cycles, geopolitical crises triggered immediate and strong reactions. Today, the response is more measured.

This suggests:

• The market is maturing
• Macro factors are gaining dominance
• Bitcoin is evolving beyond simple narratives

The Iran war may still impact global markets — but for crypto, the bigger story is what happens in the global liquidity cycle.

US President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to announce that the United States is "getting very close" to meeting its military objectives in the Middle East, sparking immediate speculation across global financial and cryptocurrency markets.

Market Reaction: War "Winding Down" or Just Beginning?

In a detailed post on March 20, 2026, President Donald Trump outlined five core objectives that he claims are nearing completion regarding the "Terrorist Regime of Iran." These goals include the total degradation of Iranian missile capabilities, the destruction of their defense industrial base, and ensuring the country never achieves nuclear status.

This announcement comes after weeks of intense kinetic activity, including the reported strike on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility and the Kharg Island oil hub. While Trump’s rhetoric suggests a de-escalation or "winding down," he simultaneously rejected calls for a formal ceasefire, stating, "You don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side."

The 5 Military Objectives Outlined by Trump:

• Missile Degradation: Eliminating launchers and related infrastructure.
• Industrial Base: Destroying Iran's ability to manufacture weaponry.
• Naval & Air Superiority: Neutralizing the Iranian Navy and Air Force.
• Nuclear Prevention: Maintaining a permanent "rapid response" to prevent enrichment.
• Regional Protection: Securing allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

How Trump’s Rhetoric Impacts Bitcoin and Crypto Prices

Historically, geopolitical instability in the Middle East acts as a double-edged sword for digital assets. During the initial "Operation Epic Fury" in February 2026, Bitcoin ($BTC) saw a significant "flight to safety" premium, briefly outperforming the S&P 500 as investors feared a collapse in traditional banking systems and a spike in oil-driven inflation.

1. The "Risk-On" Rebound

If the market perceives Trump’s "winding down" as a genuine path toward regional stability, we could see a massive rotation back into "risk-on" assets. Crypto, being the most liquid risk asset, often leads these rallies. Investors who were sidelined due to the "war discount" may begin re-entering positions in $Ethereum and major altcoins.

2. The Inflation Hedge Argument

Conversely, the "winding down" involves the US military stepping back from policing the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that other nations must now foot the bill for security. This shift could lead to sustained volatility in energy prices. As Brent crude fluctuates near $100 per barrel, Bitcoin's narrative as "digital gold" or a hedge against fiat debasement remains strong.

"The timing of the announcement—just 13 minutes after the closure of Friday futures markets—suggests a calculated move to influence market sentiment over the weekend," noted analysts.

Will Crypto Pries Go UP?

As the situation evolves, traders should keep a close eye on the following:

• DXY Strength: A winding down of military efforts often weakens the US Dollar Index (DXY). Since Bitcoin is inversely correlated with the DXY, a weaker dollar could propel $BTC prices toward previous all-time highs.
• Regulatory Clarity: In the background, the GENIUS Act of 2025 and the upcoming CLARITY Act continue to provide a floor for institutional adoption. News of military success may allow the administration to shift focus back to domestic economic policies, including crypto-friendly legislation.
• Exchange Liquidity: During periods of high-impact news, ensure you are using platforms with deep order books to avoid slippage. You can check our Exchange Comparison to find the most reliable trading venues.

Bitcoin Price Crash: Crypto Market Faces a Sudden Reversal

The cryptocurrency market has entered a period of intense volatility today, March 18, 2026, with Bitcoin ($BTC) tumbling from its recent highs near $76,000 to the $72,000 range. This sudden "sea of red" has caught many retail traders off guard, especially following the bullish momentum seen earlier this week.

While the digital asset space often moves independently, today’s crash is a direct result of a "perfect storm" involving geopolitical escalations, disappointing US inflation data, and a necessary technical cooling period.

1. Middle East Escalation: Energy Infrastructure Under Attack

The primary driver of the "risk-off" sentiment across global markets is the dramatic escalation in the Middle East. Following Israeli strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field—the world’s largest natural gas reserve—Tehran has officially declared its intent to retaliate against Gulf energy sites.

Key Geopolitical Developments:

• Target List: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have identified key infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar as potential targets.
• Energy Disruption: Iraq has already reported a total halt of gas supplies from Iran, leading to a loss of approximately 3,100 megawatts of power.
• Oil Prices Surge: Brent crude has spiked toward $110 a barrel, fueling fears of global stagflation.

In times of war and energy insecurity, investors typically flee "risk assets" like cryptocurrencies in favor of "safe havens" like gold or the US Dollar. This flight to safety is putting massive downward pressure on the $Bitcoin price.

2. US Core PPI Hits 3.9%: Inflation Remains "Sticky"

Macroeconomic data released today has further dampened hopes for a dovish pivot from the Federal Reserve. The US Core Producer Price Index (PPI), which excludes volatile food and energy costs, came in at 3.9% year-over-year.

This figure significantly overshot market expectations of 3.7%. For crypto investors, this is a bearish signal because:

• Higher for Longer: Hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation suggests the Fed will keep interest rates elevated to cool the economy.
• Yield Pressure: Treasury yields have climbed following the report, making non-yielding assets like Bitcoin less attractive to institutional players.
• Liquidity Crunch: High interest rates reduce the "cheap money" that typically flows into speculative markets.

3. Technical Adjustment: The $76,000 Rejection

From a purely technical perspective, many analysts argue that a correction was overdue. Bitcoin recently hit a peak of $76,000, a level that acted as a psychological and technical glass ceiling.

The "Overheated" Market

Leading up to today’s drop, several on-chain indicators suggested the market was "overextended." Funding rates in the derivatives market had reached unsustainable levels, meaning long-positioned traders were paying high premiums to keep their bets open.

When the news of the Iranian retaliation broke, it triggered a "long squeeze," forcing leveraged traders to liquidate their positions. This mechanical selling accelerated the drop, pushing BTC toward its immediate support levels.

What’s Next for Bitcoin and Altcoins?

The market is currently looking for a floor. While the $72,000 level is providing some initial support, the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting will be the next major catalyst. If the Fed adopts a hawkish tone due to the PPI data and rising energy costs, we could see further testing of the $68,000–$70,000 zone.

The cryptocurrency market is currently navigating a dual-force storm: a historic regulatory breakthrough in Washington and a terrifying escalation of geopolitical tension in the Middle East. While US Senators have finally reached a tentative agreement with the White House to resolve the long-standing stablecoin dispute with banks, the news is being overshadowed by reports that the United States is preparing for a potential ground invasion of Iran.

US Crypto Market Structure: The Stablecoin Compromise

In a move that could define the US crypto market structure, Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) announced an "agreement in principle" on Friday. The deal seeks to bridge the gap between digital asset firms and traditional banks regarding stablecoin yields.

Banks have argued that allowing crypto exchanges to pay rewards on stablecoin holdings would trigger "deposit flight" from traditional savings accounts. The new compromise reportedly limits yield payments on passive balances while protecting the ability of firms to innovate within the payment sector. This agreement clears the path for the landmark Market Structure Bill to move to a committee vote as early as April.

USA-Iran War: USA Ground Force Preparations

The regulatory optimism was quickly met with a "risk-off" wallop. According to CBS News, Pentagon officials have drafted detailed plans for the deployment of ground forces into Iran. While the White House maintains that no final decision has been made, the "Operation Epic Fury" preparations suggest a significant shift from localized strikes to a broader theater of war.

Investors are reacting to the prospect of a prolonged conflict. Historically, $Bitcoin has often been touted as "digital gold," but in the immediate wake of sudden military escalations, it frequently behaves like a high-beta risk asset, selling off alongside tech stocks as traders scramble for liquid cash and traditional havens like the US Dollar.

Why is the Crypto Market Crashing?

The current market downturn is driven by three primary factors:

1. War Fatigue and Escalation: Initial surgical strikes in February were priced in, but the threat of "boots on the ground" suggests a multi-month or multi-year conflict that could disrupt global energy supplies.
2. Liquidity Crises: Large institutional players often sell liquid assets like BTC and ETH to cover margins in other bleeding sectors.
3. Inflationary Fears: A ground war in the Middle East risks pushing oil prices toward $120 per barrel, likely forcing the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates "higher for longer" to combat resurging inflation.

Future Outlook: Recovery or Recession?

Despite the immediate carnage, the long-term outlook for crypto remains anchored by the "CLARITY" of new regulations. If the Senate passes the stablecoin deal, it provides a legal "green light" for institutional capital to enter the space with reduced litigation risk.

Traders should monitor the support levels for BTC at $60,000. If this level holds despite the war rhetoric, it could signal a massive "accumulation" phase once the initial panic subsides.

• Expert Insight: "The market is currently pricing in the worst-case scenario for the Middle East. However, the legislative progress in D.C. is the most significant structural tailwind we've seen in years. We are seeing a transfer of wealth from panic-sellers to long-term regulatory-focused accumulators."

Bitcoin has gone through multiple crashes, corrections, and market cycles since its creation in 2009. From drops of over 80% to new all-time highs, volatility has always been part of the journey.

Yet one question still appears frequently: Can Bitcoin ever go to $0?

While short-term crashes are always possible, a complete collapse to zero is extremely unlikely. Here are three strong reasons why Bitcoin will not crash to $0.

1. Massive Global Adoption and Institutional Support

Bitcoin is no longer a niche experiment used by a handful of tech enthusiasts. Today, it is a globally recognized asset class.

• Major financial institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Morgan Stanley are actively involved in $BTC
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs have opened the door for billions in institutional capital
• Governments and corporations now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets

This level of adoption creates a strong demand floor.

For $Bitcoin to go to $0, every institution, company, and investor worldwide would have to abandon it simultaneously—a scenario that is highly unrealistic.

2. Decentralized Network with Proven Security

Bitcoin operates on a decentralized network secured by thousands of nodes and miners across the world.

• No central authority can shut it down
• The network has maintained near 100% uptime since launch
• It is protected by one of the most powerful computing networks globally (hash rate)

To bring Bitcoin to $0, the entire network would need to fail or be compromised globally.

Given its distributed nature and continuous upgrades, this is extremely unlikely. In fact, the network has only grown stronger over time.

3. Scarcity and Built-In Economic Model

Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million coins, making it one of the scarcest assets in the world.

• New supply is reduced every 4 years through the halving mechanism
• Demand continues to grow as adoption expands
• Lost coins further reduce circulating supply

This scarcity creates a long-term value proposition, similar to digital gold.

Even during major crashes, Bitcoin has never reached zero because there is always buyers stepping in at lower levels.

Conclusion

Bitcoin can be volatile. It can drop 50%, even 80% during bear markets. But a complete collapse to $0 would require:

1. Total global abandonment
2. Network failure
3. Zero demand worldwide

All three happening at the same time is highly improbable.

Instead, Bitcoin continues to follow cycles of boom and correction, with each cycle bringing higher adoption, stronger infrastructure, and deeper liquidity.

Publicly traded firms are now stacking Ethereum, pulling in billions of dollars of ETH. These are the largest holders.

How did Michael Saylor's firm amass a record stash of Bitcoin? Here's a look back at how Strategy made such massive gains.

Bitcoin's volatility has subsided over the last month, but traders are still paying a premium for downside protection, VanEck said.

Prosecutors say automated plays of AI-generated songs fraudulently diverted royalties from human artists—to the tune of $8 million.

Kalshi's sports, politics, and entertainment prediction markets will be banned in Nevada for at least the next 14 days.

The unexpected price move saw short positions exit briefly, with $0 recorded in short liquidations.

Crypto users are getting security alerts as fresh risks now target devices.

The XRP network is seeing remarkable growth in usage as participation from retail and institutional users begins to hit levels seen in the previous year, with the XRP burn rate crossing 2,400.

Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusted to 133.79T, a drop of 7.76%.

Shibarium's Layer-3 solution is currently under testing, with its mainnet launch uncertain.

Strategy just filed an SEC disclosure confirming it purchased 22,337 BTC at $70,194 per coin between March 9 and 15 according to Bitcoin Magazine.

That is $1.57 billion deployed in one week while the market panicked about Iran, oil at $98, and the Fed holding rates. Total holdings sit at 761,068 BTC worth over $57 billion. When the largest corporate Bitcoin buyer adds over a billion in a week of fear, that is conviction. But Strategy could not enter a presale. Retail investors can.

The best crypto to buy now is not the asset that needs to double from $70,500. It is the early stage entry where presale to listing math creates returns large caps cannot produce.

Strategy’s latest SEC filing confirms it purchased 22,337 BTC funded through STRC preferred share sales, bringing total holdings to 761,068 BTC at a cost basis of $57.61 billion according to Bitcoin Magazine.

Goldman Sachs projected two more rate cuts in 2026 that would bring rates to 3.0% to 3.25%, improving conditions for risk assets including crypto according to Intellectia.

Institutional capital flows in while retail sits frozen. The best crypto to buy now is the entry that captures the gap between fear pricing and the listing that closes the presale window permanently.

Best Crypto to Watch in 2026: Pepeto, Solana, and Cardano Compared

Pepeto: The Best Crypto to Buy Now Before the Listing Changes Everything

Strategy could not enter a presale. Most retail investors do not realize they can, and that is the gap Pepeto closes. While institutions added Bitcoin at $70,000, the exchange being constructed behind Pepeto is what convinced over $8 million in capital to enter during this correction.

What makes Pepeto different is the innovation investors see taking shape. A fee free trading platform designed to keep your capital intact on every trade. A chain to chain bridge built to move tokens across networks without losing a single unit. Investors recognize what this infrastructure means once the exchange listing with Binance brings it to the full market.

Now in its final presale stages at $0.000000186, past the $8 million mark in funding, the infrastructure behind Pepeto has driven predictions that outperform every large cap forecast for 2026. The founder who took Pepe to $11 billion on 420 trillion tokens and zero products is now constructing the exchange Pepe never had. SolidProof verified every contract before the presale opened, and a Binance insider is steering the platform toward listing. Staking at 195% APY gives early holders growing positions from entry.

Pepeto is the best crypto to buy now because the gap between this presale price and a confirmed listing is where returns are created. The stages fill faster every round, and wallets that do not commit before the listing will spend this cycle wishing they had.

Solana (SOL)

Solana is trading at $89.86, down roughly 65% from its November 2025 all time high near $260 according to CoinMarketCap.

SOL has one of the strongest on chain narratives in 2026 with record breaking metrics from 2025. SOL ETFs continue leading altcoin inflows. A bullish reversal could push SOL toward $200, roughly 2x from current levels.

For investors looking for the best crypto to buy now, 2x is decent but nowhere near what a presale to listing entry delivers.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is trading at $0.265, having dropped from $0.297 in late February according to CoinMarketCap.

ADA has hardly attempted a recovery while other tokens at least tested breakout levels. The lack of any significant catalyst has pushed investors to look for alternatives with real movement. Some traders are comparing it to the xrp price prediction narrative where even recent dips have not stopped breakout talk.

ADA would need to triple just to revisit $0.80, and for investors searching for the best crypto to buy now, Pepeto’s presale math makes that comparison feel irrelevant.

Conclusion

That combination of meme virality and exchange infrastructure on the Ethereum blockchain is why analysts call Pepeto the best crypto to buy now. The wallets entering every stage are linked to addresses that held major ETH positions through multiple cycles. They built wealth by recognizing infrastructure early and they only commit when they see something the broader market has not caught up to. The Pepeto official website is where those entries are being made right now, the ones set to make the returns every crypto holder dreams about.

Secure the best crypto to buy now before the listing closes this window

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

How does Strategy’s $1.57 billion Bitcoin purchase affect the best crypto to buy decision?

Strategy bought 22,337 BTC during peak fear, confirming institutional conviction. But retail investors have access to presale entries like Pepeto where the math from entry to listing creates returns BTC at $70,500 cannot deliver.

What is the best crypto to buy now for maximum returns in 2026?

Pepeto at presale pricing targets 150x to the level Pepe reached with zero products. SOL at $89.86 targets 2x. ADA at $0.265 has stalled. The presale to listing math makes the decision clear.

Why is Pepeto called the best crypto to buy now?

Same Pepe cofounder, 420 trillion supply, SolidProof audit, over $8 million raised, and a confirmed Binance listing ahead. Visit the Pepeto official website before the presale closes.

The post Best Crypto to Buy Now: Strategy Just Spent $1.57 Billion on Bitcoin During Fear While Early Investors Quietly Enter Pepeto for 150x Potential appeared first on Blockonomi.

The bitcoin price news this week shows what happens when a sovereign nation becomes a forced seller. Bhutan’s state investment arm transferred 973 BTC worth $72.3 million in a single day, dropping its holdings from 13,295 BTC at peak to just 4,400 BTC according to The Crypto Basic.

What was once worth $1.5 billion is now $330 million. Bhutan did not have the choice to wait. Sovereign holders face fiscal demands that make them structural sellers at the worst possible times. The BTC price news looks rough on the surface.

Below it, the wallets that always profit during fear are entering a presale that the broader market has not priced in yet.

Bhutan’s state investment arm Druk Holding transferred 973 BTC worth $72.3 million in a single day on March 17, continuing a drawdown that has cut the kingdom’s holdings from 13,295 BTC at peak to roughly 4,400 BTC according to The Crypto Basic.

The selling appears driven by fiscal need, not strategy, with funds directed toward infrastructure projects including Gelephu Mindfulness City. Bhutan has now sold over $110 million in BTC this year alone according to FinanceFeeds.

Sovereign sellers are structurally different from retail or institutions because they sell regardless of price. The bitcoin price news is bearish short term, but capital that moves during fear captures the biggest returns when the cycle turns.

Bitcoin Price News 2026 and the Presale Where the Real Returns Live

Pepeto: The Entry That Could Change Lives

The BTC price news just showed retail investors what happens when the entire market raises cash at once. Most traders will use this moment to panic. The traders entering Pepeto will use it to secure positions while everyone else watches from the sidelines.

Most traders who missed early stages of major rallies did not have the right entry at the right time. Pepeto exists to close that gap. The exchange under construction includes a risk detection engine designed to surface dangerous contracts before your money goes near them, and a blockchain bridge connecting networks so your capital moves without a single token lost to fees. Investors see this innovation taking shape and recognize the gains potential once the listing opens it to millions of traders.

While the BTC price news shows a pullback, the capital entering Pepeto tells a different story. The builder behind the original Pepe coin, which reached $11 billion on an identical 420 trillion token count with zero products, is now constructing an exchange the original never had. SolidProof confirmed every contract before the presale opened. An experienced Binance figure drives the listing timeline forward.

Cleared $8 million in presale capital during this correction proves conviction enters during fear. Staking at 195% APY gives early holders growing positions from day one. A presale entry at $0.000000186 carries the kind of return potential the bitcoin price news will never generate. The Binance listing on the horizon is the catalyst, and the wallets committing now are building positions everyone else will reference when this cycle’s biggest winners are counted.

Bitcoin Price News: Targets, Levels, and the Macro Picture

Bitcoin is trading at $70,381, down 44% from its October 2025 all time high of $126,173 according to CoinMarketCap.

Analyst consensus for 2026 clusters between $120,000 and $175,000. CoinShares expects $120,000 to $170,000. Bit Mining projects $225,000 in the bull case. Corporate treasuries now hold over 1.09 million BTC worth roughly $110 billion according to FXEmpire. Reclaiming $72,749 eases the bearish pressure.

Losing $67,000 opens deeper losses. Even in the best case at $150,000, BTC delivers roughly 2x from here. Those returns are decent for a portfolio anchor but will never match the multiples the presale to listing window creates.

Bitcoin Price News Is Bearish, but the Presale That Whales Entered During Fear Is Where the Returns Are Built

The whales buying Pepeto are sending the strongest signal in this presale because they see what the listing delivers. The exchange infrastructure fixes the one thing every meme coin lacked: a reason for demand to keep growing after launch instead of fading.

But the main wealth driver is viral energy. Shiba Inu delivered over 25,000% to early buyers on virality alone with zero products. Pepeto carries stronger virality into a market with higher volume, and the Binance listing drawing closer is the catalyst that pushes the price to its peak.

The presale entry right now is the same window that created every crypto millionaire story people still reference today. The Pepeto official website is where that window remains open, but not for long.

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

What does the $13.5 billion Deribit derivatives expiry mean for the bitcoin price news?

The March 27 expiry could trigger volatility as traders close or roll positions. The bitcoin price news is bearish short term, but conviction capital is entering Pepeto’s presale during the fear.

What is the bitcoin price prediction for 2026?

Analysts target $120,000 to $225,000 for BTC. Even at $150,000 that is 2x from $70,381. Pepeto at presale pricing targets 150x to the level Pepe reached with zero products.

Why are investors choosing Pepeto over Bitcoin right now?

BTC offers 2x to $150,000. Pepeto targets 150x from presale to listing with the same Pepe cofounder and a listing on Binance confirmed. Visit the Pepeto official website before the presale closes.

The post Bitcoin Price News: Bhutan Sells $72 Million in BTC Under Fiscal Pressure, but the Smart Money Entering Pepeto Sees What the Market Does Not appeared first on Blockonomi.

The bnb price prediction for 2026 just received a fresh tailwind. Grayscale filed with the SEC to launch an ETF tied to Hyperliquid’s token HYPE, expanding the crypto ETF universe beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum according to crypto.news.

BNB Chain holds $3.2 billion in distributed real world asset value, positioning it second only to Ethereum according to CoinGecko.

As institutional capital keeps flowing into the Binance ecosystem, the bnb price outlook looks increasingly bullish. But traders who understand return math know that BNB at $641 has a very different ceiling than a presale approaching the same Binance listing. This article covers the BNB price targets and the presale pulling smart money away from large caps.

Grayscale’s proposed HYPE ETF would give investors exposure to Hyperliquid’s token without holding it directly according to crypto.news.

The filing adds to a growing list of firms building investment products tied to newer digital assets. BNB Chain registered major ecosystem growth with $3.2 billion in RWA value and the Ondo integration bringing tokenized stocks onto the network according to CoinGecko.

BNB Chain also launched the ERC 8183 AI agent standard, creating new utility. The bnb price prediction benefits from this institutional buildout, but for traders hunting the biggest returns, the presale window is where the real math lives.

BNB Price Prediction 2026 and the Presale Where the Real Returns Are Being Built

Pepeto: The Exchange Presale Where Innovation Draws Capital Before the Listing

Pepeto is constructing the kind of exchange that gives traders a real edge once it launches. With institutional frameworks expanding and ETF products multiplying, the wallets entering this presale see what this exchange becomes after the listing opens it to millions.

A zero cost trading system designed to keep every dollar of trading capital intact. A smart contract auditor built to flag dangerous tokens before your money goes near them. Investors recognize this innovation and the gains potential it carries.

The presale cleared over $8 million in committed capital, and the entry price at $0.000000186 signals that early investors see the potential in infrastructure driven plays. The person behind the original Pepe coin, which reached $11 billion on the full 420 trillion supply that mirrors Pepeto with zero products, is now constructing a complete exchange on Ethereum. Pepeto is fully verified by SolidProof, and a key Binance executive on the development team is guiding the platform toward a confirmed listing. Staking at 195% APY gives early holders an expanding position from the day they enter.

Every serious bnb price prediction factors in institutional capital flowing into the Binance ecosystem. When that ecosystem lists Pepeto, the presale price disappears permanently and wallets that entered at this level carry returns the BNB price takes years to deliver from $641.

BNB Price Prediction: Targets, Levels, and What the Data Shows

BNB is trading at $641, down roughly 53% from its all time high of $1,370 in late 2025 according to CoinMarketCap.

Changelly forecasts a 2026 range of $739 to $1,003, with an average around $871 according to Changelly. Binance user consensus targets $803 for this year. If the CLARITY Act passes and institutional adoption from Asian markets including Hong Kong’s $82 billion insurance sector flows into crypto, analysts see BNB reaching $1,200 to $1,500.

Even the bullish case at $1,000 is roughly 55% from current levels. For a token that powers the world’s largest exchange, the growth is real but the return math does not compare to a presale entry where the Binance listing event alone compresses years of large cap appreciation into a single moment.

BNB Price Prediction Shows Growth, but the Presale Approaching the Same Binance Listing Offers 150x

A strong portfolio should include an early stage entry because those are the ones that deliver the biggest multiples any large cap cannot match. Pepeto is making that choice easier, and the comparison with the original Pepe coin makes the future clearer than any BNB price prediction. This opportunity sits at presale pricing right now with a senior Binance executive on the team, past the $8 million mark in capital raised, and a confirmed listing drawing closer every day.

The investors who entered Pepe early and held made millions, and every one of them wishes they had committed more. Pepeto is that second chance with better infrastructure, the same cofounder, and a presale filling faster every week. The Pepeto official website is where investors who understand how rare this is are securing positions right now.

Enter the presale before the Binance listing closes this window permanently

Click To Visit Pepeto Website To Enter The Presale

FAQs

How does the Grayscale HYPE ETF filing affect the bnb price prediction?

Grayscale expanding crypto ETFs beyond BTC and ETH shows growing institutional appetite for the Binance ecosystem. This supports the bnb price outlook, but Pepeto’s presale to listing math offers multiples BNB cannot deliver from $641.

What is the bnb price prediction for 2026?

Analysts forecast $739 to $1,003 for BNB, with a bull case at $1,500 if Asian institutional adoption ramps up. Pepeto at presale pricing targets 150x to the level Pepe reached with zero products.

Is Pepeto a better investment than BNB right now?

BNB targets 55% gain to $1,000. Pepeto targets 150x from presale to listing with the same Pepe cofounder and the Binance listing on the horizon. Visit the Pepeto official website before the presale entry disappears.

The post BNB Price Prediction Eyes $1,000 as Grayscale Expands Crypto ETFs, but Pepeto’s Presale Is the Entry That Binance Whales Are Choosing First appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Bitcoin shows its longest decoupling from equities since 2020 amid ongoing macro uncertainty.
• A major liquidation event erased months of open interest in a single trading session.
• While equities held firm, Bitcoin continued to decline due to market-specific pressures.
• Correlation shifts reveal changing dynamics between crypto and traditional financial markets.

Bitcoin has entered its longest period of divergence from the S&P 500 since 2020, following a sharp market disruption.

While equities maintained strength during this period, Bitcoin continued its decline, reflecting a shift in correlation patterns between crypto and traditional markets.

The separation became more visible after October, when both markets began moving in different directions. Bitcoin lost momentum, while equities remained near their highs.

This divergence has now persisted for several months, marking a rare phase in recent market cycles.

Liquidation Event Reshapes Market Structure

Market data shows that Bitcoin’s recent decline began after a large liquidation event on October 10. Nearly 70,000 BTC in open interest was wiped out within a single session. This reset brought derivatives exposure back to levels last seen in April 2025.

The sudden unwind erased more than six months of accumulated positions. As a result, market structure weakened, leading to sustained selling pressure. Bitcoin failed to recover alongside equities, marking a clear break from earlier synchronized movements.

A tweet from Darkfost noted that Bitcoin entered a bear phase during this period. At the same time, the S&P 500 continued to perform, creating a visible gap between the two markets. This separation has now extended longer than any similar period seen since 2020.

In addition, the removal of leveraged positions reduced short-term upward momentum. Traders became more cautious, while liquidity conditions tightened. As a result, Bitcoin struggled to regain strength even during brief market rebounds.

Correlation Breakdown Signals Market Shift

Historically, Bitcoin and equities have shown periods of strong alignment, especially during liquidity-driven cycles. However, the current phase reflects a breakdown in that relationship. Correlation levels have dropped toward neutral or negative territory in recent months.

Bitcoin’s continued decline has been linked to broader geopolitical tensions affecting global markets. Even so, equities remained resilient for most of this period. This contrast reinforced the ongoing divergence between the two asset classes.

The divergence suggests that crypto markets reacted earlier to tightening conditions. While equities showed delayed weakness, Bitcoin had already adjusted through price corrections. This pattern aligns with previous cycles where crypto moved ahead of traditional assets.

At the same time, Bitcoin’s higher volatility has made it more sensitive to sudden shocks. The recent liquidation event amplified this effect, accelerating downside movement. Meanwhile, equities absorbed similar pressures more gradually and with less volatility.

As the correlation weakens, market participants continue to monitor whether alignment will return or divergence will persist. Current conditions suggest that both assets are responding differently to evolving macroeconomic pressures.

The post Bitcoin Decouples From S&P 500 After Liquidation Shock as Market Divergence Widens appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks reached a White House-backed agreement in principle on stablecoin yield language.

• The deal proposes barring yield payments on passive balances to address bank concerns over deposit flight.

• White House adviser Patrick Witt called the agreement a major milestone toward passing the CLARITY Act.

• The agreement still requires vetting from banking and crypto industry groups before any final deal is confirmed.

Stablecoin regulation in the United States may be edging closer to a major breakthrough. Key senators and White House officials have reached a tentative agreement on crypto legislative language.

The deal addresses a long-standing clash between banks and digital asset firms over yield payments. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) spearheaded the agreement. Their deal could unlock a path forward for landmark crypto legislation stalled since January.

Senators Bridge Partisan Divide Over Stablecoin Yield

The central dispute in this legislation has been about yield payments to stablecoin holders. Banks and Wall Street groups raised concerns about widespread deposit flight from traditional accounts.

They argued that stablecoin yield rewards could pull customers away from conventional banking products. The clash had been keeping the crypto bill stalled in the Senate Banking Committee since January.

Both Tillis and Alsobrooks acknowledged those banking concerns throughout the negotiation process. Alsobrooks confirmed the two senators have reached a deal, stating, “Sen. Tillis and I do have an agreement in principle.”

She added that the deal seeks to “protect innovation” while also giving lawmakers the opportunity to “prevent widespread deposit flight.” Her comments came during a Friday interview following talks with White House officials.

The new language is expected to target yield payments made on a passive balance. Alsobrooks confirmed the proposal will seek to bar yield payments “on a passive balance,” though full details remain undisclosed.

The specifics are still being worked through as lawmakers prepare to share the language with industry stakeholders.

Tillis echoed a cautiously optimistic tone when speaking about the progress made. “In working with the White House, I think we have an agreement,” he said in a separate interview.

He noted that the next step is to vet the language with industry, describing them as “a party to an ultimate deal.” He added that he feels “like we’re in a good place” with where negotiations currently stand.

White House Endorses Deal as Industry Review Awaits

The White House played an active role in brokering the tentative stablecoin agreement. Patrick Witt, a top White House crypto policy adviser, publicly addressed the development on X.

He credited both Tillis and Alsobrooks “for bridging the partisan divide to tackle a difficult issue.” His public comments came shortly after the story of the agreement was first published.

Witt also acknowledged in his post that more work remains before the bill is finalized. He wrote that there is “more work to be done to close out this and other outstanding issues.”

Despite that, he described the development as “a major milestone toward passing the CLARITY Act.” That bill has been held up in part due to the ongoing bank-crypto yield dispute.

Still, the agreement does not guarantee automatic support from the banking and crypto industries. Both sectors will need to review the final language before giving any formal endorsement.

Industry groups on both sides have strong interests in the outcome of this legislation. Any final version of the bill will need broad backing from both sectors to pass.

The coming weeks will be critical in determining whether the CLARITY Act can advance. Senators and White House officials will continue working to address any remaining sticking points. A finalized agreement could clear the way for a vote in the Senate Banking Committee.

The post US Senators and White House Reach Tentative Deal to End Bank-Crypto Stablecoin Yield Clash appeared first on Blockonomi.

Coinbase has taken down a recently flagged “legacy recovery” tool after on-chain investigators warned that it could be used to trick users into giving up their seed phrases.

The episode reignited concerns about how design choices for platforms may clash with longstanding security practices.

Security Concerns Over Coinbase Recovery Page

It all started on March 18, when Cos, founder of SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, asked why a Coinbase-hosted page was asking users to type in their 12-word recovery phrases in plain text. Cos shared screenshots showing a Coinbase Commercial withdrawal interface that required people to paste their mnemonic phrase while also suggesting they get it from Google Drive backups.

Shortly after, well-known on-chain investigator ZachXBT posted that the page could be used by attackers as a social engineering tool, given that it was hosted on an official Coinbase domain.

“So basically Coinbase has an official page live threat actors can use to target Coinbase users via seed phrase social engineering if they wanted?” he asked.

Another member of the SlowMist team, 23pds, pointed out technical flaws on the page, saying that it didn’t have a proper sitemap and could be easily cloned. They added that attackers could copy the interface and use domains that look like it to trick people into giving them sensitive information.

There were also concerns beyond the risk of cloning, with one X user, going by Kieran, arguing that the bigger problem was behavioral. They claimed that the tool went against one of the most widely taught safety rules in crypto, which is to never share or enter a recovery phrase into a website. The existence of such requirements on official pages, according to them, could make phishing attempts more convincing.

Alex, a team member at Coinbase, responded by stating that they had removed the tool and were actively developing a new solution.

“Appreciate you all raising this and holding us to the highest standards,” they added.

At the time of writing, a check on the page showed that it had indeed been taken down, with a simple message informing users that the service was unavailable and that they should try again later.

Social Engineering Risks

The concerns raised by ZachXBT and the SlowMist team aren’t for nothing. Recent data shows that there is a shift in how bad actors are carrying out crypto-related attacks nowadays.

According to on-chain security company Nominis, in February, total losses related to cryptocurrency scams and exploits fell by nearly 87%. But more importantly, Nominis revealed that attackers are now more likely to target users instead of exploiting code.

The firm noted that recent incidents had relied more heavily on phishing and misleading prompts instead of technical vulnerabilities. And with such schemes becoming more common, it’s vital to deny attackers the sort of advantage ZachXBT believes occurrences like the Coinbase recovery tool could have possibly given them.

The post Investigators Flag Coinbase Page Asking For Seed Phrases, Tool Removed appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Two of the largest and most popular altcoins might be prone to big upward moves ahead, at least according to Ali Martinez, who outlined the TD Sequential as the indicator suggesting these breakouts.

Namely, those are DOGE, which continues to struggle well below $0.10, and ADA, which has fallen even further below $0.30.

DOGE to Pump Soon?

The analyst with roughly 165,000 followers on X indicated that the TD Sequential had flashed a buy signal on Dogecoin’s chart. The metric is typically used to determine whether the underlying asset has reached an exhaustion point in either direction. After several mostly red weekly closures, the analyst said Dogecoin “could be setting up for a relief rally.”

Another bullish factor on the DOGE landscape comes from the sudden uptick in transaction volume. Data from Santiment shows a 420% surge in that metric over the past week, going from under $100 milion to over $510 million. Moreover, the graph below demonstrates that this number was significantly lower just several days prior, when it barely cleared $50 million.

Dogecoin $DOGE transaction volume jumped 420% over the past week, rising from $98.37 million to $510.98 million. pic.twitter.com/NTayGCunyT

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) March 20, 2026

These bullish signals come in an interesting time for the OG meme coin, which skyrocketed to almost $0.105 during the market-wide rally in the middle of the week, only to be rejected and pushed south by roughly 10% to under $0.095 as of press time.

ADA to Join the Rally?

Martinez also had some promising news for the Cardano community, which has struggled quite a bit lately. The asset remains over 91% down from its 2021 all-time high, currently fighting to stay above $0.25. It was rejected at nearly $0.30 earlier this week, but the analysts outlined a “blueprint” that can result in a much-anticipated rebound for ADA.

First, it would need to hold above the key $0.23 support on tomorrow’s weekly close. Then, it could head toward $0.32 or even $0.37. However, a failure below that support would invalidate the setup.

Cardano $ADA has printed a buy signal!

The TD Sequential indicator has flashed a “black 9” on the weekly chart, suggesting the recent downtrend has exhausted. This setup typically anticipates 1–4 weeks of upward expansion.

The Blueprint:

• Validation: ADA must hold the $0.23… pic.twitter.com/FrhVV8N7Um

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) March 20, 2026

The post Analyst: TD Sequential Flashes Buy Signals for These 2 Popular Altcoins appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin is still in recovery mode, but the pace has cooled as the price runs into a heavier resistance cluster in the low-to-mid $70,000s. The market has already bounced meaningfully from the February washout near $60,000, yet the latest price action shows that buyers are now being forced to prove they can do more than just rebound. So, this no longer seems like a simple relief rally zone, but an area where the structure needs follow-through.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily chart, BTC remains inside the broader descending trendline and beneath both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, located around the $80k and $92k levels, respectively. So, the larger trend has not fully turned in favor of the buyers yet. At the same time, the price has clearly improved from the lows and is now trading back above the local compression zone, which keeps the short-term recovery intact.

The main barrier remains the $75k to $80k area, which is acting as the first serious supply zone overhead. A clean reclaim of that region would strengthen the case for a broader trend repair and shift attention toward the next higher resistance cluster at $100k. Until that happens, though, Bitcoin is still technically rallying inside a wider corrective structure, with the $60k area remaining the key support floor on any deeper pullback.

BTC/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart tells the more immediate story. Bitcoin recently pushed into the upper part of its rising structure, tapped the overhead resistance area, but failed to keep momentum and dropped immediately. This impulsive decline and structural shift in market structure have left a bearish fair value gap that can act as an immediate resistance zone to initiate the next move lower.

Still, the pullback has not broken the broader recovery structure. The price is currently stabilizing around the $70k area, and as long as BTC holds above the recent local base near $66k, this can still be treated as a healthy cooldown rather than a trend failure. In the short term, however, the market likely needs either a decisive break above the bearish FVG and the $75k zone, or a deeper reset toward lower support before the next meaningful move develops.

On-Chain Analysis

On-chain data continues to lean constructive. Exchange reserves have been falling sharply over the past couple of weeks, and that steep decline during a period of recent consolidation usually points to accumulation rather than panic distribution. In other words, while the price has been moving sideways and struggling to cleanly break any support or resistance level, coins have still been leaving exchanges at an aggressive pace.

That is often a positive background signal because it suggests market participants are withdrawing BTC instead of positioning for immediate selling. The first few weeks of that reserve decline are especially important here, since they line up with the recent consolidating phase and imply steady spot absorption under the surface. So even though price is still dealing with technical resistance on the chart, the reserve trend suggests accumulation has been taking place in the background, which could support the market if buyers eventually manage to force a breakout.

The post Bitcoin Price Prediction: Will BTC Remain Above $70K This Weekend? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ethereum’s rebound has cooled off following yet another failed attempt to push through the overhead resistance level. The market is still holding above its February base, which keeps the broader recovery idea alive, but the latest rejection shows that bulls are not in full control yet. For now, ETH looks caught between a still-improving short-term structure and a higher-timeframe trend that remains fragile.

Ethereum Price Analysis: The Daily Chart

On the daily chart, ETH is still trading below the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, located around the $2.6k and $3.2k levels, respectively. Therefore, the broader structure remains bearish despite the recovery from the lows. The market has improved noticeably since the bounce from the $1.8k area, but it is still moving beneath major trend resistance and below the key supply zones that would need to break for a more decisive reversal.

The closest upside barrier sits around $2.3k to $2.4k, which has once again rejected the price. The next, larger resistance zone is near the $2.8k mark, and is the decisive area where ETH would need to break before the market can be considered bullish again. At the moment, the recent upside looks more like a rebound within a damaged structure than a clean trend change. On the downside, the $1.8k support zone remains the key floor holding the whole recovery together.

ETH/USDT 4-Hour Chart

The 4-hour chart shows the recent rejection more clearly. ETH had been climbing inside a rising channel and managed to briefly push above its higher boundary and into the $2.4k resistance area. Yet, the breakout failed, and the price slipped back below the upper boundary, making it a classical fake breakout. This failed move, combined with the RSI dropping off from an overbought state and below 50, suggests short-term momentum has weakened significantly.

This does not automatically mean the uptrend is over, but it does raise the odds of a deeper consolidation phase. If ETH loses traction here, the first area to watch is the $2k region, where the lower boundary of the channel is located. The next critical demand zone is the same $1.8k area also marked on the daily timeframe, and it’s necessary for the market to hold this zone to avoid a more steep decline.

On the other hand, if buyers reclaim $2.4k and hold above it, the market could quickly make another run toward the upper daily resistance levels, but this scenario seems distant at the moment.

Sentiment Analysis

Ethereum’s market sentiment has improved slightly, compared to the panic seen earlier in the year, but it is still not fully convincing. The Coinbase Premium Index has recovered from deeply negative readings and recently moved back into mildly positive territory, which suggests US spot demand has returned to some extent. That is a constructive shift, especially after the heavy weakness seen during the selloff. It indicates that the US institutions might be returning to the market after being consistent sellers since the beginning of the year.

Still, the premium remains relatively modest and does not yet reflect aggressive accumulation either. In other words, while the sentiment is surely showing a better market state, it’s not strong enough to fully validate a sustained breakout on its own. As a result, the mood around ETH can be described as cautiously constructive rather than outright bullish.

The post Ethereum Price Prediction: Will ETH Lose $2K Support After Rejection at $2.4K? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple has released findings from its 2026 Digital Asset Survey, showing that cryptocurrencies are now considered essential infrastructure across global finance. The report finds that 72% of institutions believe offering digital asset solutions is necessary to remain competitive.

The findings are based on responses from more than 1,000 finance executives across banks, asset managers, fintech firms, and corporations. They highlight a shift from earlier skepticism toward active integration into core financial operations.

Stablecoins Gain Ground in Treasury Operations

Stablecoins stand out as a key area of interest among respondents due to their practical use in managing cash flow. About 74% of executives see them as tools that can unlock trapped working capital and improve treasury operations beyond basic payments.

In practice, fintech firms currently lead stablecoin adoption, using them for payments and collections in day-to-day operations. Many traditional institutions are exploring partnerships to access this functionality and integrate it into existing financial systems.

Beyond stablecoins, tokenization efforts reveal a strong focus on custody as a critical requirement for institutions entering the space. Around 89% of respondents assessing service providers prioritize secure storage and custody capabilities when selecting partners.

These trends vary across sectors, with banks focusing on lifecycle management and pre-issuance advisory services. Asset managers, on the other hand, place greater importance on distribution channels and access to a broader client base.

Institutions Prioritize Security and Integrated Platforms

Institutions apply strict criteria when choosing partners, placing emphasis on security certifications and regulatory clarity. Technical support and industry experience are also key factors, with many respondents favoring platforms that offer integrated services.

The preference for security and support extends to platform design. More than half of respondents favor solutions that combine custody, compliance, and operational tools in a single platform. Such integrated approaches simplify infrastructure as institutions scale their digital asset strategies.

Reflecting this shift in priorities, Ripple stated that institutions are no longer debating whether to adopt digital assets but are instead deciding how to implement them. The report suggests the market is entering a more mature phase defined by execution rather than experimentation.

Taken together, these findings point to increasing alignment between digital assets and traditional finance systems. As regulation develops and infrastructure improves, institutions are positioning themselves to expand their use of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and custody services.

The post Stablecoins Are Taking Over TradFi: Inside Ripple’s Massive 2026 Industry Survey appeared first on CryptoPotato.