Anthropic exposed Claude Code source on npm, revealing internal architecture, hidden features, model codenames, and fresh security risks.

The post Anthropic’s Claude Code leak reveals autonomous agent tools and unreleased models appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The rise of quantum computing could revolutionize crypto security, necessitating urgent shifts to post-quantum cryptography to prevent theft.

The post Musk jokes lost Bitcoin could get a second chance thanks to future quantum computers appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ripple partners with Convera to bring stablecoin powered settlement to business payments as firms push faster cross border transfers.

The post Ripple joins Convera to streamline business payments with stablecoin rails appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Buffett's cautious stance on Apple highlights the importance of market conditions in investment decisions, impacting broader market sentiment.

The post Warren Buffett says he would load up on Apple just not in this market appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Tokenizing financial benchmarks on blockchain enhances transparency, efficiency, and accessibility, reshaping institutional finance infrastructure.

The post S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kaiko bring iBoxx US Treasuries index onchain for first time appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Faces Rising Sell Pressure as ETF Demand Absorbs Distribution

Bitcoin sell pressure is rising as the bitcoin price drifts toward a sixth straight monthly loss, yet underlying flows show a split market where short-term holders exit while institutions absorb supply.

Bitcoin price traded below $65,000 late Tuesday after falling from above $74,000 earlier in March. The move has come alongside a rise in exchange inflows, with about 22,000 BTC sent to trading venues during one session, signaling distribution from recent buyers. 

Despite that pressure, price has held above the $60,000 range and remains above long-term support levels.

The key question is where the coins are going.

On-chain data points to a steady transfer of supply from short-term holders to larger entities. Over the past month, roughly 63,000 BTC has been accumulated through spot exchange-traded funds and similar vehicles, offsetting a portion of the selling. That flow suggests demand from institutions has returned after several months of reduced exposure.

ETF data shows inflows have begun to stabilize after a period of sustained outflows. 

U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded about $1.2 billion in net inflows in March, marking a shift in positioning. The renewed demand has not been strong enough to lift price, but it has helped absorb coins sent to market during periods of weakness.

Short-term holders, defined as wallets holding Bitcoin for less than 155 days, tend to react to drawdowns and volatility. Their selling often peaks during consolidation phases, adding supply at local lows. That pattern has emerged again as Bitcoin price struggles to reclaim momentum following a failed push above $76,000 earlier in the month.

At the same time, the supply available from these holders is finite. As coins move into longer-term storage or institutional vehicles, liquid supply tightens. If demand remains steady, that dynamic can create a base for future price stability.

Bitcoin price’s six straight months of losses 

Still, macro conditions continue to shape the broader trend. Bitcoin is on track to match a rare six-month losing streak, last seen in 2018-2019. A monthly close below $67,300 would confirm the sequence, reflecting persistent pressure across risk assets.

Unlike past cycles, Bitcoin price has not yet broken below its 200-week moving average or realized price, levels that have marked prior bear market lows. That has left the market in a middle ground, with neither capitulation nor clear recovery, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data.

Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen, said positioning reflects uncertainty tied to macro drivers.

“Bitcoin still looks range-bound here, not outright weak but not in a clean risk-on regime either. Spot holding around $67,685 alongside exchange outflows suggests there is still underlying accumulation, but options positioning into end-of-week expiry reflects uncertainty more than conviction, with skew and IV being shaped primarily by macro inputs, dollar strength, and rate repricing rather than crypto-native demand,” Nicolai wrote to Bitcoin Magazine. 

Macro signals have taken priority over crypto-specific catalysts. Oil prices above $100, shifting expectations for rate cuts, and geopolitical tensions have driven capital allocation decisions. Bitcoin price has remained correlated with equities and other risk assets, limiting the impact of internal flows.

Bitfinex analysts pointed to a change in institutional behavior as a key development.

“Institutional flows have undergone a clear regime shift. After a strong accumulation phase in early March, ETF flows have turned decisively negative, culminating in some of the largest single-day outflows from IBIT. This reversal signals active de-risking by institutional participants rather than passive rotation, removing a key pillar of support for price,” they shared with Bitcoin Magazine.

They added that broader liquidity conditions continue to dominate.

“Bitcoin has remained correlated with broader risk assets and has participated in ongoing institutional de-risking. This behaviour reflects the dominance of liquidity conditions in the current regime, where rising yields and tighter financial conditions are driving capital allocation decisions.”

For now, the market reflects a balance between distribution and absorption. 

Short-term holders continue to sell into weakness, while institutions step in during dips. The outcome of that standoff will depend less on crypto-specific demand and more on whether macro conditions ease enough to support renewed risk appetite.

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is less than $67,000.

This post Bitcoin Price Faces Rising Sell Pressure as ETF Demand Absorbs Distribution first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitfarms (BITF) Started Selling All of Its Bitcoin, Pivoting Fully to AI Infrastructure

Bitfarms is moving toward a future with no bitcoin on its balance sheet, marking one of the clearest breaks yet between legacy mining firms and the emerging AI infrastructure trade.

The Nasdaq-listed company confirmed it has begun selling its bitcoin holdings and plans to continue doing so over time, with CEO Ben Gagnon stating on the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, “In time, we will have no bitcoin.” 

The approach signals a phased exit rather than a single liquidation, with management indicating it will sell into market strength while extracting remaining cash flow from mining operations.

Bitfarms held 1,827 BTC as of its latest disclosure, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net. The company generated $28.2 million in realized gains from bitcoin sales in 2025, underscoring that the transition is already underway. While it continues to mine in the near term, the stated goal is to wind down that business line and redeploy capital elsewhere.

That destination is artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. Bitfarms is building out a 2.2 gigawatt development pipeline across North America, spanning sites in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Québec. The company expects this infrastructure to support AI-driven workloads, with revenue contributions targeted to begin in 2027.

Bitcoin mining isn’t cutting it anymore for Bitfarms

The shift reflects a broader recalibration across the mining sector. Faced with tighter margins, rising competition, and the long-term impact of bitcoin halving cycles, many miners are exploring alternative uses for their energy assets.

Data centers designed for AI and cloud workloads offer a path to steadier demand and contracted revenue, in contrast to the volatility tied to bitcoin prices.

Bitfarms’ transformation also includes a corporate overhaul. 

Shareholders have approved a redomiciliation from Canada to the United States alongside a rebrand to Keel Infrastructure. The transition is expected to close around April 1, with shares set to trade under the ticker KEEL shortly after. 

The new identity is meant to reflect a business centered on energy and compute infrastructure rather than digital asset production.

Management framed the pivot as the culmination of investments made over the past year. “Everything we built in 2025 — the sites, the team, the balance sheet — was in service of one thesis,” Gagnon said, pointing to rising demand for AI infrastructure. The company has positioned its portfolio in regions with grid access and power availability, which it sees as key constraints in the current data center market.

As of late March, Bitfarms reported total liquidity of about $520 million, including both cash and bitcoin holdings. The gradual sale of its remaining BTC is expected to support ongoing development while simplifying the balance sheet. The company also repaid $100 million in debt tied to a prior financing facility, a move aimed at improving flexibility as it enters a capital-intensive buildout phase.

Financial results highlight the pressures behind the shift. Bitfarms reported $229 million in revenue for 2025, up 72% year over year, but posted a net loss of $284 million. A significant portion of that loss stemmed from changes in the fair value of digital assets and impairment charges, reinforcing the volatility inherent in holding bitcoin on the balance sheet.

Bitfarms has made clear it does not plan to compete directly in cloud services. Instead, it aims to supply powered land and data center capacity, enabling customers to deploy compute resources. 

The model aligns with a growing class of firms that focus on the physical layer of the AI stack, where access to electricity and permitting has become a bottleneck. Bitcoin miners fit well into that stack because of their existing infrastructure.

Bitfarm’s stock was up over 5% at times today. BITF is currently priced at $1.89 a share.

This post Bitfarms (BITF) Started Selling All of Its Bitcoin, Pivoting Fully to AI Infrastructure first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Google’s New Quantum Research Reignites Push to Harden Bitcoin

A new research paper from Google has intensified debate over whether Bitcoin can adapt in time to withstand advances in quantum computing, pushing developers and investors to confront a risk long treated as theoretical.

Google’s quantum division said this week in a new whitepaper that future machines could break widely used encryption far more efficiently than previously estimated, including the elliptic curve cryptography that underpins Bitcoin wallets. 

The research suggests attacks that once appeared decades away may arrive sooner, with some scenarios modeling the ability to crack encryption in minutes under advanced conditions.

The findings do not imply an immediate threat. Today’s quantum computers remain far below the scale required to break modern cryptographic systems. But the paper reduces the estimated resources needed, narrowing the gap between theory and practice and shifting attention toward preparation rather than dismissal.

Google has already set a 2029 target to transition its own systems to post-quantum cryptography, reflecting a broader shift among large technology firms and governments toward defensive planning.

Is Bitcoin under threat? 

For Bitcoin, the implications are specific and structural. The network relies on digital signatures that could, in principle, be reversed by a sufficiently powerful quantum computer. Roughly one-third of the total Bitcoin supply sits in addresses where public keys have been exposed, creating a defined set of targets under certain attack models.

Separate analyses cited in the research estimate that about 6.7 million Bitcoin may be exposed to varying degrees under quantum attack scenarios, including coins held in older address formats where public keys remain permanently visible on-chain.

More immediate concerns focus on transaction windows. When a Bitcoin transaction is broadcast, its public key becomes visible before confirmation. Google’s research suggests a theoretical attacker could exploit that gap, solving for the private key within the same time frame it takes for a block to be mined.

That has shifted the conversation among developers from abstract risk to engineering timelines.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pushed back on what he described as exaggerated concerns, arguing that most cryptographic systems, including Bitcoin, can migrate to quantum-resistant algorithms without destabilizing the network.

He noted, however, that execution remains a constraint. Coordinating upgrades across a decentralized ecosystem could lead to competing proposals, software fragmentation and potential forks, while users holding assets in self-custody would need to actively migrate funds to new wallet structures.

The Bitcoin ecosystem has begun early-stage work on quantum resistance. A recent proposal, known as BIP 360, introduces new transaction formats designed to remove or reduce exposure to vulnerable cryptographic assumptions. The proposal remains in draft form, but test implementations are already running in experimental environments, allowing developers to evaluate quantum-safe signatures in practice.

Even proponents describe the effort as a starting point rather than a solution. Any upgrade would require broad coordination across a decentralized network, a process that can take years to reach consensus and deploy.

That timeline is central to the emerging debate. Estimates suggest a full migration to quantum-resistant cryptography in Bitcoin could take the better part of a decade, depending on adoption and coordination across wallets, exchanges and infrastructure providers.

The risk, developers say, is not only technological but organizational. Bitcoin has no central authority to mandate upgrades, and changes to its core protocol require agreement among a global set of participants with differing incentives.

Banking, traditional finance at risk as well

The issue also extends beyond cryptocurrency. The same class of cryptography secures banking systems, government communications and large parts of the internet. 

In theory, the same cryptographic systems that secure Bitcoin also underpin global banking infrastructure, payment networks and government communications. 

Google and cybersecurity agencies warned that attackers may already be collecting encrypted data today in anticipation of future quantum capabilities, a strategy known as “store now, decrypt later.”

Any viable quantum attack would not be isolated to crypto markets, but would extend across financial institutions and critical systems that rely on public-key encryption. Bitcoin is not uniquely vulnerable, but it is uniquely transparent. Its ledger makes exposure visible, and its open-source development model makes its response observable in real time.

Market reaction has remained muted so far, with prices largely unaffected by the latest research. 

This post Google’s New Quantum Research Reignites Push to Harden Bitcoin first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Labor Department Proposal Could Open 401(k)s to Bitcoin and Alternative Assets

The U.S. Department of Labor has unveiled a sweeping proposed rule that could significantly expand the range of investment options available in 401(k) retirement plans, marking a potential turning point for alternative assets — including crypto — within tax-advantaged retirement accounts.

Released Monday by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the proposal aims to reduce regulatory uncertainty and litigation risk for fiduciaries considering alternative investments. 

The move follows an executive order from Donald Trump directing agencies to “democratize access” to non-traditional assets in retirement portfolios.

At its core, the rule reinforces that fiduciary responsibility under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is grounded in process rather than outcomes. 

Plan managers would retain broad discretion to include a wide array of investment options — provided they follow a prudent, well-documented evaluation process assessing factors such as fees, liquidity, valuation, and performance benchmarks.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the proposal is designed to align retirement investing with modern financial markets. “This greater diversity will drive innovation and result in a major win for American workers, retirees, and their families,” she said.

Bitcoin gets exposure

The guidance could open the door for increased exposure to digital assets like Bitcoin within 401(k) plans — a development long sought by segments of the crypto industry. While plan sponsors have technically always been permitted to consider such assets, regulatory ambiguity and prior guidance had a chilling effect.

In 2022, the Biden administration issued a compliance release cautioning fiduciaries against offering cryptocurrency in retirement plans, citing volatility and investor protection concerns. 

That stance is now being reversed, with Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling emphasizing neutrality. “The department’s days of picking winners and losers are over,” he said.

The proposal does not explicitly endorse crypto or any specific asset class. Instead, it establishes “safe harbor” frameworks designed to protect fiduciaries who undertake thorough due diligence when adding alternative investments to plan menus. 

This process-based approach could make it easier for asset managers to introduce diversified funds that include exposure to private equity, real estate, or digital assets or Bitcoin.

Assets like Bitcoin could enhance long-term returns and provide a hedge against inflation, particularly for younger savers with longer time horizons. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of the Treasury both collaborated on the rulemaking, signaling a broader interagency effort to modernize retirement investing.

This post Labor Department Proposal Could Open 401(k)s to Bitcoin and Alternative Assets first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

U.S. Senators Unveil ‘Mined in America Act’ to Reshore BTC Mining, Codify Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis introduced legislation Monday aimed at reshaping the U.S. digital asset mining sector, tightening supply chains, and embedding bitcoin into federal reserve strategy.

The proposal, titled the “Mined in America Act,” would establish a federal certification program for domestic crypto mining operations while phasing out reliance on foreign-manufactured hardware.

It also seeks to codify Donald Trump’s executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, placing the policy on statutory footing, according to a release on the matter.

“Digital asset mining is a big part of our economy. We should be doing it here in America,” Cassidy said in a statement, framing the bill as a supply chain and manufacturing initiative.

Lummis tied the legislation to a broader push to position the United States as a global hub for digital assets. “The Mined in America Act brings this industry home through forward-thinking initiatives to secure our financial future,” she said.

The bill directs the Department of Commerce to create a voluntary “Mined in America” certification for mining facilities and pools that meet security and sourcing standards. Certified operators would be required to transition away from hardware linked to foreign adversaries over a phased timeline, with the goal of full compliance by the end of the decade.

Lawmakers and industry advocates have pointed to a stark imbalance in the current mining ecosystem. While the United States controls an estimated 38% of global bitcoin hash rate, roughly 97% of specialized mining hardware is produced by Chinese firms, including Bitmain and MicroBT.

Domestic mining security push

Supporters argue that dependence poses both economic and national security risks. The bill references prior incidents, including U.S. inspections of imported mining rigs and the discovery of vulnerabilities in firmware that raised concerns about remote access capabilities.

To address the imbalance, the legislation directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership to support the development of domestic mining hardware.

It stops short of authorizing new spending, instead integrating certified projects into existing federal energy and manufacturing programs.

The measure also positions bitcoin mining as a tool for grid management and energy development. 

By tapping into existing Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, certified operators could access financing for projects that absorb excess renewable energy, stabilize grid demand, or capture methane emissions from landfills and oil fields.

Industry group Satoshi Action Fund endorsed the legislation, calling it a comprehensive framework that links energy policy, manufacturing, and digital asset strategy.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve gets a formal nod

Beyond industrial policy, the bill’s most significant provision may be its formalization of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve within the Treasury Department. While the federal government already holds a large amount of bitcoin from law enforcement seizures, the reserve would establish a framework for long-term retention and accumulation.

The legislation outlines a “budget-neutral” pathway for expanding holdings. Revenue generated from staking rewards and airdrops tied to other seized digital assets would be funneled into bitcoin purchases. In addition, certified domestic miners could sell newly mined bitcoin directly to the government in exchange for a capital gains tax exemption, creating an incentive to supply the reserve at discounted prices.

If enacted, the Mined in America Act would mark one of the most expansive federal efforts to integrate bitcoin mining into U.S. industrial and energy policy. 

It arrives as policymakers weigh how to balance innovation, security, and competition in a sector that has become increasingly global.

This post U.S. Senators Unveil ‘Mined in America Act’ to Reshore BTC Mining, Codify Bitcoin Strategic Reserve first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

A new paper from Google Quantum AI has sharply reduced the estimated hardware required to crack elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin and much of Ethereum, moving a long-running security debate closer to market terms.

At current market prices, the quantum computing risks could affect more than $600 billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.

The paper, co-authored by Google researchers, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, and Stanford cryptographer Dan Boneh, says Shor’s algorithm for the 256-bit elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem can run with either no more than 1,200 logical qubits and 90 million Toffoli gates or no more than 1,450 logical qubits and 70 million Toffoli gates.

Google says those circuits could be executed on a superconducting, cryptographically relevant quantum computer with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits in a few minutes, roughly a 20-fold reduction from prior estimates of the number of physical qubits.

Notably, Google does not say such a machine exists today. Still, Ethereum Foundation's Drake said his confidence in a so-called Q-day by 2032 had risen sharply and that he now sees at least a 10% chance that a quantum computer could recover a secp256k1 private key from an exposed public key by then.

Meanwhile, Google paired the paper with an unusual disclosure model, revealing that it engaged with the US government and used a zero-knowledge proof so outsiders could verify the resource estimates without receiving the underlying attack circuits.

The paper says progress in quantum computing has reached the point where publishing improved attack details in full has become less prudent, even as publishing trustworthy resource estimates remains necessary to motivate defenses.

Related Reading

As quantum ‘Q-Day' jumps to 2029, Ethereum faces a new fight over what to do with coins left in old wallets

The Ethereum Foundation’s post-quantum roadmap argues that the real danger is a years-long struggle over how to move user wallets.

Mar 26, 2026 · Gino Matos

Bitcoin’s problem is partly a race and partly a stockpile

For Bitcoin, the paper’s immediate market hook is timing. It models an “on-spend” attack in which a quantum machine derives a private key after a user reveals a public key by broadcasting a transaction, then tries to syndicate a competing transaction before the original payment is confirmed.

The paper says a fast-clock superconducting machine could reduce the live attack window to about 9 minutes from a primed state, close to Bitcoin’s roughly 10-minute average block time.

Under the paper’s assumptions, that implies a theft success probability of slightly less than 41%.

Meanwhile, that is only one part of the Bitcoin story, as the paper pointed out that about 6.7 million BTC are sitting in vulnerable addresses. This is equivalent to roughly $444 billion, or nearly 32% of BTC's total cap of 21 million coins.

Of this, the paper says old Pay-to-Public-Key scripts still secure more than 1.7 million BTC, worth about $112.6 billion at current market price, and that the total amount of dormant quantum-vulnerable Bitcoin may reach 2.3 million BTC across script types, or about $152.3 billion.

Those coins cannot all be migrated simply by asking current users to move funds, because many are thought to be abandoned, lost, or otherwise inactive.

Apart from that, the authors also argue that Taproot, despite its benefits for privacy and flexibility, reintroduced a quantum weakness because Pay-to-Taproot places the tweaked public key directly in the locking script.

They added that Grover-based attacks on Bitcoin mining remain impractical for decades, keeping the near-term focus on signatures rather than proof of work.

That leaves Bitcoin with two distinct problems. One is the risk of live transactions if a future fast-clock machine can reliably break keys within the settlement window. The other is a large stock of older or exposed coins that could become fixed targets in a post-CRQC world.

The paper explicitly states that every existing Bitcoin transaction type is vulnerable to on-spend attacks from a future fast-clock machine, while older P2PK outputs and modern P2TR outputs introduce at-rest exposure of their own.

Related Reading

This “quantum-safe” Bitcoin idea removes Taproot’s key-path — and raises fees on purpose

If it ever activates, it’s opt-in and slow, because Bitcoin’s real constraint is coordination, not cryptography.

Feb 13, 2026 · Gino Matos

Ethereum’s quantum risk runs through wallets, validators, and tokenized assets

Meanwhile, the quantum risks for Ethereum are presented differently.

The paper says early fast-clock quantum computers are unlikely to launch the same kind of on-spend attack there because Ethereum produces blocks in deterministic 12-second slots, processes most transactions in less than a minute, and already relies heavily on private mempools.

Instead, the main quantum threat lies in at-rest attacks against long-lived accounts and the systems attached to them.

The paper estimates that a fast-clock attacker could crack the 1,000 highest-net-worth Ethereum accounts, holding about 20.5 million ETH, in less than nine days. At Tuesday’s ETH price of about $2,023.46, that comes to roughly $41.5 billion.

Among the top 500 contract accounts by ETH balance, it says at least 70 accounts holding about 2.5 million ETH are exposed through administrative keys, a bucket worth about $5.1 billion at current prices, with a private-key derivation attack on those accounts taking less than 15 hours on a fast-clock machine.

Meanwhile, the larger institutional story sits behind those balances. The paper links that admin vulnerability to about $200 billion in stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets on Ethereum and says those keys can function as control points for issuers, bridges, oracle operators, and emergency guardians.

The paper warned that a successful quantum attack on such accounts could allow arbitrary minting, false price feeds, frozen user funds, or drained liquidity pools, depending on the system. The paper says this is why standard asset-balance models understate the true value-at-risk.

It then widens the lens further. In its Ethereum risk taxonomy, the paper flags about 15 million ETH in Layer 2 and protocol value exposed through code and data-availability vulnerabilities, equal to roughly $30.4 billion at current prices, and about 37 million ETH in consensus stake exposed through BLS-signature-related risk, or about $74.9 billion.

Those figures overlap with other components of Ethereum’s architecture, but together they show why the paper treats Ethereum as a broader infrastructure problem rather than a wallet-security story.

The pressure shifts from theory to migration

Against this backdrop, the industry is left to ask whether blockchains, wallets, exchanges, and tokenized-asset issuers can migrate before the economics of attack shift.

Charles Guillemet, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Ledger, said:

“The good news is that we already have the tools: Post Quantum Cryptography, now we need to migrate.”

However, the Google paper says the process will take years, and the industry cannot wait for perfect clarity on the exact arrival date of cryptographically relevant quantum computers.

According to the firm, it will require both protocol work and changes in wallet behavior, including reducing public-key exposure and ending key reuse wherever possible.

Essentially, vulnerable cryptocurrency communities should move to post-quantum cryptography without delay.

For Bitcoin, that means a race against a settlement window that no longer looks comfortably wide. For Ethereum, it means protecting not just coins but the much larger stack of contracts and tokenized claims now resting on the same vulnerable math.

The post Google slashes quantum cracking estimates by 20X creating $600 billion countdown for Bitcoin and Ethereum appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin enters April with a price carrying the weight of macro conditions, corporate balance sheets, and the credibility of the public wrappers built around it.

CryptoSlate has already laid out the broad structure: public equities created a new channel for balance-sheet demand, the premium on that demand opened the door to further issuance, and the cycle began feeding itself.

Later coverage on slowing purchase volumes and the economics of being underwater on treasury holdings narrowed the focus to which companies could keep financing the trade once price and sentiment turned less forgiving.

New disclosures around the Bitcoin treasury company, Nakamoto, sharpen that focus.

Bitcoin treasury company sells Bitcoin at a loss

Bitcoin is currently trading around $66,200 on March 31, while NAKA changed hands near $0.21, leaving the company with an equity market capitalization close to $8.1 million. Back in May 2025, the stock hit an all-time high of $34.77, then declined to around $8 by the start of September and to $0.93 by the end of October.

The spread between the underlying asset and the wrapper around it now defines the discussion.

The coin still trades as a globally recognized liquidity instrument. The stock trades like a distressed claim on a strategy whose financing assumptions no longer command the same confidence.

That gap grew more consequential after figures from Nakamoto’s March 30 annual filing circulated across crypto markets.

In a post from Wu Blockchain, later amplified by Justin Bechler, the company disclosed that it sold approximately 284 BTC in March for about $20 million, at an average sale price of $70,422 per coin, after net purchasing 5,342 BTC in 2025 at a weighted average price of $118,171.

Thus, a company that promoted Bitcoin treasury accumulation realized a sale at a price deep below the weighted average price from its prior buying campaign.

That change resets the economic lens. Unrealized losses fit inside the treasury-company model. They sit on the balance sheet, pressure equity valuations, and challenge access to capital, yet they still leave the company positioned for recovery if Bitcoin stabilizes and funding windows reopen.

Realized selling changes the sequence. It reduces the treasury, crystallizes the gap between acquisition cost and exit value, and invites a harder assessment of how management intends to fund operations, defend the stock, and preserve any premium the wrapper once carried.

NAKA stands as the clearest stress case because the company has also spent recent months expanding its corporate footprint.

In February, Nakamoto completed its acquisition of BTC Inc. and UTXO Management, issuing roughly 364.8 million shares in an all-stock transaction valued at around $81.6 million based on a February 19 closing price of $0.248.

That deal gave the company a larger role inside Bitcoin media, events, and advisory infrastructure.

It also tied the public wrapper more closely to the institutional Bitcoin narrative at precisely the point when the equity itself had already lost most of the market value investors once assigned to that narrative.

Bechler’s separate March 30 post on X pushed that credibility question further, pointing to insider ownership, the absence of open-market insider buying, the lack of recent treasury growth, and the stock’s collapse from prior levels.

Social posts do not settle filing-level questions like “Is this a managed treasury adjustment, or the first visible sign of funding stress?”, but they do shape how the market processes the capital structure.

In this case, the reaction is straightforward. Bitcoin remains the core asset.

The public vehicle around it has entered a phase where every treasury move, every financing choice, and every disclosure is being tested against survivability rather than ambition.

Macro pressure defines the week ahead, and Bitcoin treasury companies have to finance through it

The timing here raises the stakes because the first week of April puts Bitcoin back inside a dense macro calendar.

The March employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics arrives on Friday, April 3. U.S. equity markets are closed that day for Good Friday.

The combination produces a strange mix, one of the month’s most important macro releases landing into a holiday-shortened market structure with thinner price discovery across related assets.

Treasury wrappers tied to Bitcoin enter that window from a position of already elevated fragility.

Beyond payrolls, the market also has the Federal Reserve’s minutes from the March 17 to 18 FOMC meeting due on April 8.

That release will shape the rates discussion around growth, labor, inflation persistence, and the threshold for any policy adjustment later in the quarter.

For Bitcoin itself, those discussions often feed through the familiar channels, dollar liquidity, real yields, broad risk appetite, and institutional portfolio construction.

For treasury companies, the channel is even tighter because the effect shows up directly in financing costs, dilution sensitivity, and equity market willingness to keep underwriting balance-sheet accumulation.

Energy adds another layer.

Euro-area inflation rose to 2.5% in March from 1.9% in February, with energy costs driving the acceleration as the conflict involving Iran disrupted flows through the Gulf. Brent crude also reached roughly $106 a barrel during the escalation.

Bitcoin rarely trades in isolation during those episodes.

The asset gets pulled into a broader repricing of inflation expectations, growth concerns, and cross-asset liquidity.

Treasury companies tied to Bitcoin then absorb a second layer of pressure because the same macro shift raises the hurdle for equity issuance and compresses the market’s willingness to pay a premium over net asset value.

That is the economic climate for the week ahead, and the issue sits in the overlap between inflation risk and funding discipline.

A treasury company can carry a large Bitcoin reserve through volatility if it holds enough cash, commands enough investor trust, or retains access to external capital on acceptable terms.

Once those buffers weaken, each macro shock forces a narrower set of choices.

The equity can dilute at lower prices.

The balance sheet can tighten spending.

Treasury assets can be sold.

Management can seek a new corporate action to reset optics and compliance.

Under those conditions, Bitcoin itself remains the center of gravity because every treasury wrapper ultimately resolves back to the coin.

The corporate layer still affects market structure, especially when public companies aggregate demand at scale.

The weekly question now runs in the opposite direction.

Instead of asking how much Bitcoin public companies can absorb, the market is starting to ask how much stress those companies can absorb before their treasury becomes a source of supply.

That threshold carries wider consequences because it changes the direction of the flow.

Accumulation supports the institutional Bitcoin narrative.

Realized sales at steep losses introduce a new variable, forced or strategic distribution from the very vehicles built to represent long-duration conviction.

Nakamoto sharpens the next test for Bitcoin as the wrapper trades on durability, liquidity, and trust

Nakamoto’s position does not cover the entire sector, but a company built around a Bitcoin treasury strategy, which later expanded through the acquisition of Bitcoin-native operating businesses, has now been associated with a disclosed BTC sale far below its prior weighted average purchase price, while the equity trades near twenty-one cents.

That combination creates a sharper view of where the treasury model stands after the first wave of enthusiasm.

The premium era rewarded ambition, scale, and proximity to Bitcoin.

The current phase rewards durability, financing discipline, and the ability to preserve treasury optionality during stress.

That is why Bitcoin remains the correct focal point. The coin still provides the reference value for the whole trade.

A balance-sheet strategy only works if the market believes the treasury can be maintained, financed, and eventually leveraged into a stronger capital-markets position.

The moment the wrapper begins shrinking its Bitcoin stack into weakness, investors start valuing the company through a different lens.

Future upside from Bitcoin still exists.

The route to that upside becomes more conditional. Execution, liquidity, and trust move closer to the center of valuation.

Recent CryptoSlate coverage already prepared the groundwork for that transition. Public companies doubled Bitcoin holdings in 2024, and later reporting showed how aggressive corporate accumulation changed the supply picture.

The 2025 phase still carried that momentum. Then the data on slumping purchase volumes suggested a slower marginal buyer.

The latest Nakamoto disclosures bring another layer, weaker wrappers may now be moving from a world of paper losses into a world of realized sales.

That distinction has operational meaning for every investor trying to map where treasury-company demand sits in the current cycle.

None of this requires dramatic language. The capital structure already says enough.

A stock at $0.21 with a market cap around $8.1 million and a public identity tied to Bitcoin treasury expansion enters a much harder conversation once treasury reduction appears in the annual filing.

Social commentary has already drifted toward delisting speculation, reverse-split expectations, and questions around insider alignment.

The market is repricing the quality of the wrapper, and repricing it fast. The next test now sits in plain view.

If Bitcoin steadies, stronger treasury companies with cleaner balance sheets and broader financing access may keep their premium and continue absorbing supply.

If macro pressure persists and funding windows stay narrow, the market could begin separating the cohort into two groups, vehicles that can hold through the cycle, and vehicles that have to manage through it by selling coin, issuing equity from a position of weakness, or restructuring the capital stack.

Nakamoto has pushed that distinction closer to the surface.

Bitcoin remains the focal asset.

The public company ecosystem built around Bitcoin has entered a phase where conviction has to be funded, not simply declared.

The post Bitcoin treasury company sells $20M BTC at a loss as its stock collapses after buying at $118k appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The first Form 1099-DA season is arriving for US crypto investors with a basic problem: many people are getting the new IRS form before they understand what it actually tells them.

A Coinbase and CoinTracker survey of 3,000 US crypto users found that 61% were unaware of the new 2025 reporting rules, even though 74% said they knew crypto activity can be taxable and 56% rated their own knowledge of crypto tax rules as good or excellent.

That gap comes as the IRS begins receiving more standardized data on digital-asset sales handled by brokers. Treasury and the IRS require brokers to report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA for digital-asset sales effected in 2025, with basis reporting on covered securities starting in 2026.

The IRS has also told taxpayers that most 2025 statements will not include basis, meaning the form can show that a sale happened without doing the work needed to determine the actual gain or loss.

For many investors, that turns a new information return into a false sense of completeness. The IRS says Form 1099-DA is used by brokers to report proceeds from, and in some cases basis for, digital-asset dispositions to both the taxpayer and the government.

It also says taxpayers must report all income, gains, and losses from digital-asset transactions, whether or not they receive the form, and must calculate the basis before filing.

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A new form, but not a finished tax answer

The transition-year structure is what makes the first filing season unusually easy to misread. A taxpayer who bought Bitcoin on one exchange, moved it to self-custody, later transferred part of it to another platform, and sold there may receive a Form 1099-DA showing the disposal proceeds.

However, if the asset was transferred in from another broker or wallet, the form may not carry the basis information needed to calculate the real taxable result.

Tax practitioners writing in The Tax Adviser said taxpayers may receive Forms 1099-DA without basis for assets transferred in from another broker or self-custody wallet, for sales on some noncustodial platforms, and for assets bought before 2026 that are not treated as covered securities.

That is why tax specialists are warning taxpayers not to treat the document like a completed brokerage statement. Jonathan Cutler, a Deloitte senior manager, reportedly said the 2025 form is mainly a signal that the taxpayer transacted in crypto, while adding that taxpayers “really need their own records to be tight.”

The IRS has made the same point in plainer terms. Its guidance says taxpayers should use Form 1099-DA together with their other records and that they must calculate basis before filing. It also notes that taxpayers transacting through foreign brokers may not receive a Form 1099-DA from those brokers even when the transactions remain taxable in the United States.

Where investors are getting tripped up

Meanwhile, the Coinbase and CoinTracker survey data suggests the confusion is not limited to basis, as it found that only 49% of respondents correctly said a tax event is triggered when crypto is sold.

Another 41% said tax is triggered when crypto is transferred to a bank, 36% thought tax applies only once profits rise above a threshold, and 22% thought a transfer from another account is itself the trigger.

At the same time, users reported an average of 2.5 platforms or wallets, 83% said they use self-custodial wallets, and 71% said they had transferred assets between wallets or platforms.

The new IRS guidance runs against the cash-out logic still common among retail traders.

The agency treats digital assets as property for federal income-tax purposes and its Form 1099-DA guidance says taxpayers can receive the form when they dispose of digital assets for dollars, exchange them for another digital asset, use them to pay for goods or services in any amount, or use digital assets to pay broker transaction costs.

The IRS FAQ on virtual currency also says a taxpayer generally recognizes gain or loss when virtual currency is sold for real currency.

That leaves a market full of investors who broadly know crypto can be taxable but still misunderstand when taxable events arise and what records the IRS expects them to keep.

The Coinbase’s survey found that 76% of respondents knew cost-basis adjustments may be required, but only 35% said they had actually made those adjustments in the past.

Shehan Chandrasekera, Head of Tax Strategy at CoinTracker, said:

“While crypto brokerages will provide 1099-DA forms this tax year, users are responsible for correctly computing their cost basis, holding period and actual gains or losses. This cost basis issue is uniquely hard to solve.”

Visibility rises before compliance catches up

The reporting push reflects a wider belief that the old system captured only part of the market. A 2026 paper in Review of Accounting Studies using IRS data found the agency appeared to observe only 32% to 56% of US cryptocurrency owners.

A separate NBER paper using Norwegian data found that 88% of crypto holders failed to declare holdings or gains, and that even among investors using domestic exchanges that shared identifiable data with tax authorities, 80% still failed to declare.

Meanwhile, the current stricter scrutiny could changes crypto investors' behavior before it fully closes the tax gap. An NBER study on crypto tax-loss harvesting found that increased tax scrutiny pushed investors toward more legal tax planning and affected preferences for US-based exchanges.

That lines up with what practitioners are seeing in the first 1099-DA season, where missing or incomplete basis has forced accountants into what Accounting Today described as forensic reconciliation against client-maintained records rather than simple form-matching.

For U.S. investors filing this year, the immediate lesson is narrower and more practical. Form 1099-DA gives the IRS a cleaner view of many 2025 crypto sales. However, it does not, by itself, settle the tax bill.

Taxpayers still have to prove what they paid, where the asset moved, how long they held it and whether the disposal produced a gain, a loss or something much smaller than the proceeds figure shown on the form.

Until those records are reconciled, the government may see the sale more clearly than the investor can explain the profit.

The post The new IRS crypto tax form can flag your sale before you prove what you actually owe appeared first on CryptoSlate.

FTX will begin its fourth creditor distribution on March 31, with about $2.2 billion set to reach eligible customers through BitGo, Kraken, and Payoneer within 1 to 3 business days.

On paper, this might look like just another routine bankruptcy milestone. But in practice, this could be a fresh liquidity test arriving as Bitcoin trades through one of the harshest macro periods in the past year.

The timing of the distribution is what has the potential to turn it into a major hurdle for the entire market.

CryptoSlate warned earlier this month that the new wave of distribution could create short-term selling pressure in what was already a fragile Bitcoin market. At the time, the concern was that the FTX cash would hit the market just as Bitcoin tried to recover above $70,000. Since then, that setup has only gotten weaker.

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Mar 19, 2026 · Gino Matos

Bitcoin's price drop is what gave this distribution power. About a month ago, we were worried about a large payout hitting the market while it was trying to break higher.

Now, we're worried about whether Bitcoin can absorb another liquidity test while everything from oil and rates to the dollar moves against risk assets. Brent is on track for a 56% rise this month, the largest ever recorded, while the dollar is also heading towards its biggest monthly spike since last July.

FTX said creditors would begin receiving distributions on March 31, with Dotcom customer claims getting an incremental 18% distribution, bringing cumulative recovery to 96%. US customer entitlement claims will be receiving 5% to reach 100%, while general unsecured and digital asset loan claims will each receive 15% to reach 100%. Convenience claims remain at a cumulative 120% distribution.

Creditors are focused on these numbers, as each percentage point of recovery they get their hands on drastically reduces the damage they suffered from the collapse of FTX almost two and a half years ago.

The rest of the market, however, is focused on a more immediate problem: what will happen when $2.2 billion lands in exchange accounts on a pretty tough week for Bitcoin?

A routine FTX payout meets a risk-off market

Brent crude is on track for a record monthly rise, while markets have moved from pricing Fed easing before the war to effectively expecting rates to stay on hold this year. Overall financial conditions tightened in March at the fastest one-month pace since last April’s tariff shock, driven by higher energy prices, wider credit spreads, rising borrowing costs, and falling stock prices.

In a calmer market, this amount of FTX creditor cash would certainly be notable, but it most likely wouldn't be a decisive factor in Bitcoin's short-term stability.

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In a market like this, though, the FTX payout certainly can become a real-time test of whether demand is strong enough to absorb a huge wave of liquidity without losing key support. We can see the defensiveness of the market both in crypto prices and the dollar index, which climbed to its highest level in almost a year.

The Bitcoin market is no different. CryptoSlate's earlier thesis of a spot-led recovery pushing back into the low-$70,000s has given way to a more defensive pattern. Bitcoin is holding at around $66,600 rather than breaking down outright, but we can clearly see it's not trading like a market with strong risk appetite behind it.

While it's not good news for Bitcoin, it's in line with the broader cross-asset picture, with oil surging, the dollar strengthening, and Asian equities posting some of their steepest monthly losses in years.

That leaves us with three near-term possibilities.

The first is the simplest: some creditors de-risk, some hold cash, and Bitcoin comes under renewed pressure as funds settle over the next several business days.

The second is more constructive: the payout is absorbed more easily than feared because the event was heavily reported on and widely expected, allowing Bitcoin to hold the mid-$60,000s even as macro conditions remain difficult.

The third is the outcome bulls need most: crypto separates from the broader risk complex and treats the distribution as fresh capital that may eventually rotate back into digital assets.

The FTX creditor payout itself was scheduled and widely known, but the global macro and geopolitical backdrop wasn't. With oil elevated, the Fed in wait-and-see mode, financial conditions tightening, and Bitcoin pinned well below the recovery zone that CryptoSlate highlighted earlier this month, the question now is whether the market can absorb that cash flow without turning this distribution into the next source of weakness.

The post Bitcoin has to survive a new major liquidity test today as $2.2B hits the market on top of geopolitical pressure appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, posted a striking piece of market commentary on X before the latest futures swing. Adding fuel to the online propaganda proxy war being fought on social media, the comments lean into accusations of insider trading on Polymarket war bets.

“Pre-market so-called ‘news’ or ‘Truth’ is often just a setup for profit-taking,” he wrote. “If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long.”

The market then traded almost exactly as described.

The Kobeissi Letter tracked the move in time order, with S&P 500 futures opening sharply lower on Sunday evening, recovering by late evening, then extending higher after President Trump said on Truth Social that “great progress” had been made on Iran peace talks.

MarketWatch confirmed the validity of the account that had so publicly offered contrarian trading advice to U.S. investors shortly before the Sunday futures open, and Barron’s described Monday’s rebound as another early-morning market jolt driven by Trump’s social-media messaging on Iran.

Trump’s posts around Iran have repeatedly altered short-term pricing across equities, oil, and crypto.

A week earlier, markets surged after Trump said a resolution with Iran was near.

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Bloomberg reported that billions of dollars in oil and stock-index futures changed hands shortly before one of Trump’s Iran posts sent crude lower and equities higher, while The Wall Street Journal described a burst of futures activity ahead of another Trump message that drew scrutiny across trading desks.

The economic climate for the week ahead sits inside that backdrop.

The market faces a geopolitical risk premium in oil, a rising probability of slower growth, and a political communications channel that now functions as an immediate pricing input.

Monday’s cross-asset move makes the interaction plain.

S&P 500 futures added to gains after Trump said the U.S. was in “serious discussions” with a “new, and more reasonable regime” in Iran.

The same message cycle has also included a threat to “completely obliterate” Iran’s energy and water infrastructure if a settlement failed to materialize.

That combination, conciliatory language on one side and escalation risk on the other, shaped the session. The Wall Street Journal reported WTI above $100 a barrel and Brent above $108, while Brent then surged above $116 as the conflict intensified.

Investors are now dealing with diplomacy and disruption at the same time, and the energy channel remains the main route into inflation, rates, and growth.

Bitcoin enters this equation with one structural advantage over every major U.S. risk asset.

It trades through all of it, through weekends, through Asia hours, through the periods when Wall Street’s core cash market is closed.

Bitcoin tracked the same macro shock as equities, then formed its own pattern while Wall Street was offline

Bitcoin’s value in this sequence comes from timing.

It trades continuously, so it acts as a live macro market when U.S. equities are closed.

That gives it two roles at once.

It responds to the same geopolitical inputs that move the S&P 500, and it also offers a real-time view of how those inputs are being absorbed outside the U.S. cash session.

The pattern in the charts around this latest Iran-Trump sequence clearly carries that distinction.

Bitcoin sold off hard into the weekend and into the period around the U.S. close, then moved into a long stabilization band while U.S. equities sat offline.

Bitcoin price fell to the March 27 close, then spent much of the closeout period in a broad range around the mid- to upper $66,000s, before firming into the U.S. open on Monday.

The S&P’s intraday sequence was sharper and more discrete.

Bitcoin’s sequence was earlier, more continuous, and more gradual.

That broad structure lines up with broader market reporting from earlier in the month.

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Bitcoin was the first liquid asset to price the Iran war when the initial attack cycle began on a Saturday, dropping 8.5% while traditional markets were closed.

In the days that followed, Bitcoin slid as far as $67,300 before turning higher after Trump said the U.S. had begun talks with Iran. Bitcoin then climbed back above $71,000 when war concerns eased.

Bitcoin also slid below $68,500 last week as another round of mixed messaging from Iran whipsawed markets. There's a simple interpretation.

Bitcoin has been trading as a macro-sensitive asset throughout this conflict, with oil, rates, and political signals shaping direction.

The latest charts add a more refined point.

Bitcoin mirrored the S&P at the regime level, with both assets weakening under geopolitical stress and firming when Trump’s rhetoric shifted toward talks. Within that regime, the path diverged.

During the hours when the S&P cash market was closed, Bitcoin spent more time absorbing losses and building a base than extending a strong relief move.

The visible lift came closer to the U.S. open.

That timing suggests Bitcoin functioned as a pre-open sentiment gauge for the Monday rebound in equities, with the strongest upside leg appearing from around 00:01 UTC on Monday into the U.S. session.

The U.S. Dollar Index has also climbed steadily into Monday, which gives the move extra texture.

A firmer dollar usually tightens the backdrop for BTC and other risk assets.

Bitcoin’s ability to stabilize and then rise alongside a rising DXY points to a move driven by repricing around Iran and Trump’s messaging, supported by positioning and relief, with less help from the currency side of the macro equation.

Oil, payrolls, retail sales, and Bitcoin’s 24/7 signal define the week ahead

The macro calendar now arrives with crude oil at the center.

The Wall Street Journal said WTI had climbed roughly 50% since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran in late February.

Axios wrote that the OECD now sees U.S. inflation reaching 4.2% in 2026, up 1.2 percentage points from expectations in December, because the war and the energy shock have altered the inflation path.

That turns this week’s economic releases into a concentrated stress test.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the March Employment Situation arrives Friday, April 3, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• The Census Bureau says the delayed February advance retail sales release lands on April 1.
• The Institute for Supply Management says the March Manufacturing PMI will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, April 1.
• The Bureau of Economic Analysis lists the next U.S. international trade release for Thursday, April 2.

Each of those reports now carries a second layer. Investors will judge growth through the lens of oil. That raises the pressure on every risk asset, including bitcoin.

Bitcoin has already outperformed many major assets at points during the stress.

The immediate week-ahead setup is narrower and more practical.

Bitcoin is serving as a high-beta macro instrument during geopolitical repricing, and it is also serving as a 24/7 discovery venue for sentiment shifts that hit outside U.S. cash hours.

That combination makes Bitcoin unusually useful right now.

If Trump posts over a weekend, bitcoin trades first.

If oil surges in Asia hours, bitcoin absorbs that input before New York.

If a diplomatic turn emerges in the early morning, bitcoin can begin revaluing risk before the S&P cash market gets a vote.

The unresolved question for the week sits exactly here.

Trump’s Iran posts have shown enough market impact to count as a working transmission channel, and traders have been watching these moments closely, including bursts of trading activity that arrived shortly before some of the posts.

Markets still need confirmation from events on the ground, from oil, and from the incoming U.S. data.

Bitcoin offers one of the clearest real-time views of how investors are processing that uncertainty.

The recent pattern suggests a sequence with three phases, initial risk repricing, stabilization through the closure, then a firmer advance into the U.S. reopen.

If that sequence repeats during the next round of Iran-related messaging, bitcoin’s weekend and overnight behavior will offer one of the earliest clues about whether traders see another temporary relief move forming, or whether the energy shock is taking control of the week.

The post Iran Speaker predicts pre-market “reverse indicator” then Bitcoin climbed before the S&P500 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

A recent research development from Google has sparked serious concerns across the crypto industry. The paper suggests that breaking modern cryptographic systems may require far fewer quantum resources than previously estimated.

This has reignited a long-standing debate: could quantum computing eventually break Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?

What the New Quantum Research Claims

What’s been going around the market lately is pretty eye-catching:

• Some are saying cryptographic systems might be breakable with around 500,000 qubits—much lower than older estimates
• In theory, an attack could take minutes instead of hours
• High-value wallets, especially older ones, might be at risk sooner than people thought

It’s still being debated, so nothing is confirmed. But it does point to one thing: quantum computing seems to be moving faster than most expected.

How Real Is the Threat to Bitcoin and Ethereum?

To understand the risk, it’s important to look at how major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are secured.

Both rely on public-key cryptography, which could theoretically be broken by a sufficiently powerful quantum computer using algorithms like Shor’s algorithm.

However, there are important caveats:

• Today’s quantum computers are still far from the required scale
• Real-world attacks would require stable, error-corrected systems (not yet available)
• Many wallets use additional layers of security beyond basic encryption

👉 Bottom line: the threat is not immediate—but no longer theoretical either.

Bitcoin Developers Are Already Responding

In response to growing concerns, developers within the Bitcoin community are actively working on solutions.

A new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) is reportedly in development, aimed at making the network resistant to quantum attacks.

Key developments include:

• Early-stage testnets for quantum-resistant upgrades
• Exploration of post-quantum cryptography
• Discussions on how to safely migrate existing wallets

This shows that the ecosystem is not ignoring the threat—but preparing for it.

What Happens If Quantum Attacks Become Real?

If quantum computing reaches the required level, the impact could be massive:

Potential Risks

• Old Bitcoin wallets (especially exposed public keys) could be compromised
• Large ETH wallets could become targets
• Market panic could trigger sharp sell-offs

But Also Opportunities

• New quantum-resistant blockchains could emerge
• Existing networks could upgrade and become even stronger
• Security innovation would accelerate across the industry

Timeline: Do We Really Have 3 Years?

Some estimates suggest the crypto industry has around 3–5 years to prepare before quantum computers become a real threat.

However, timelines in deep tech are notoriously unpredictable. Breakthroughs can happen suddenly—or take much longer than expected.

👉 This uncertainty is exactly why developers are acting early.

Should Investors Be Worried?

From a research and risk perspective:

Reasons Not to Panic

• Quantum computers are not yet powerful enough
• Crypto communities are actively developing solutions
• Upgrades can be implemented over time

Reasons to Pay Attention

• The pace of innovation is accelerating
• Security assumptions are being challenged
• Long-term holders could face new risks

Cardano ($ADA) has had a rough ride this year. Over the past 12 months, it’s dropped more than 60%, with 2026 alone already seeing a 26% decline. Many investors are asking themselves: is Cardano finished, or is it just undervalued?

The truth isn’t so clear-cut.

Sure, the price looks weak, but it’s not just Cardano—macro pressures are weighing on the entire crypto market. Rising geopolitical tensions, especially the ongoing conflict in Iran, are shaking risk assets across the board.

Still, crypto has shown it can hold up under stress. Often, during times like these, markets go into a “wait-and-see” mode rather than collapse outright, giving projects like Cardano room to recover.

Cardano Price Analysis: What the Chart Is Telling Us

Looking at the below daily chart, the trend is clearly bearish—but with signs of stabilization.

Key Observations

• ADA has been in a long-term downtrend since mid-2025
• Price is currently consolidating around $0.24–$0.25 support
• Lower highs confirm continued selling pressure
• RSI is neutral (~40–45), suggesting no strong momentum yet

Important Levels to Watch

Support zones:

• $0.24 → critical short-term support
• $0.21 → next major downside target if breakdown occurs 

Resistance zones:

• $0.30 → first breakout level
• $0.40 → strong resistance zone
• $0.55 → macro trend reversal level

Right now, $Cardano is trading in a compression phase, often a precursor to a big move.

Iran War Impact on Crypto: Why ADA Is Struggling

The current geopolitical situation is playing a major role.

• Oil price spikes and inflation fears are reducing risk appetite
• Altcoins like ADA are typically hit harder than Bitcoin
• Market volatility is preventing clear bullish momentum 

Bullish Scenario: Cardano Recovery Targets in 2026

If market conditions improve—or if the war de-escalates—Cardano could recover faster than many expect.

Short-Term Recovery Targets

• $0.30 → first breakout confirmation
• $0.42–$0.58 → relief rally zone after macro stabilization 

Mid-Term Targets (2026)

• $0.50–$0.67 → realistic range based on analyst forecasts 
• ~$0.41+ → conservative baseline if downtrend ends 

Long-Term Potential

Some models suggest:

• $2+ possible by 2030 with strong adoption 
• Even $3+ in a strong bull cycle with regulation clarity 

👉 Bottom line: Cardano is not dead—but it needs a macro tailwind + market cycle shift.

Bearish Scenario: What If the Downtrend Continues?

If the Iran war escalates or macro conditions worsen, ADA could still drop further.

Downside Risks

• Breakdown below $0.24 → confirms bearish continuation
• $0.21 → next key support (~20% downside) 
• Sub-$0.20 → possible in extreme risk-off environment

Weak demand and declining trading activity are already visible in the market.

Is Cardano Still a Good Investment?

From an analytical standpoint:

Strengths

• Strong academic and research-driven blockchain
• Active development and roadmap (Voltaire phase, governance) 
• Long-term ecosystem growth potential

Weaknesses

• Weak price momentum
• Strong competition (Solana, Ethereum L2s)
• High dependence on overall crypto market cycles

The crypto market is going through a major phase of institutional accumulation right now. A good example: by the end of March 2026, Bitmine Immersion Technologies has staked a huge 3.31 million ETH.

That’s worth roughly $6.7 billion—and it’s not a small bet. Moves like this go beyond simple treasury management. It’s a strong signal that big players still see Ethereum as undervalued, especially when you look at how much the network is actually used and the fact that it can generate yield on top.

Bitmine’s "Digital Asset Treasury" Strategy

Bitmine has transitioned from a traditional mining firm into a sophisticated "Digital Asset Treasury" powerhouse. The firm’s long-term strategy, often discussed in institutional circles as the "Alchemy of 5%," aims to eventually control 5% of the total Ethereum supply.

By staking 3.31 million ETH, Bitmine has become one of the largest individual entities securing the network. This strategy treats $ETH not just as a speculative asset, but as a productive capital asset. By moving these tokens into staking protocols, Bitmine is effectively creating a "corporate bond" equivalent for the blockchain era, generating consistent yield while betting on the long-term appreciation of the underlying asset.

What is Staking and why is it Important

Staking helps keep Ethereum secure without using a lot of energy. By locking up your tokens, you're acting as a digital "guard" for the network. It’s a win-win: the blockchain gets the validation it needs to stay decentralized, and you earn rewards like new ETH and fee tips for your participation.

The Impact of 3.31 Million ETH Locked

• Network Security: Bitmine now controls a significant portion of the validator set via its MAVAN (Made in America VAlidator Network) platform, contributing to the decentralization and security of the Ethereum network.
• Massive Yield Generation: At current staking rates, this multi-billion dollar position generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. This "organic" income is independent of market volatility, providing the firm with a robust balance sheet.
• The Supply Squeeze: By removing over 3 million tokens from the tradable supply, Bitmine is contributing to an illiquidity event. When large amounts of ETH are locked in staking, the "circulating" supply on exchanges drops, which can lead to explosive price moves if demand increases.

Why Institutional Data Suggests ETH is "Insanely Undervalued"

Despite the multi-billion dollar valuation of Bitmine’s holdings, many analysts argue that the current $Ethereum price is still far below its fair market value. The argument for ETH being undervalued hinges on several fundamental pillars:

Market leaders point to historical "V-shaped" recoveries, noting that Ethereum has frequently outperformed $Bitcoin in the late stages of a bull cycle. With the bridge between Wall Street and on-chain yield now fully established, the current price levels are increasingly viewed as a high-conviction entry point for long-term holders.

Ethereum Future and the Path to New Highs

If Bitmine and other institutional players continue to lock up massive quantities of ETH, the upward pressure could become unsustainable for bears. The "Triple Halving" effect—the combination of reduced issuance, fee burning, and massive staking—is creating a supply-demand imbalance that hasn't been fully priced in yet.

Global markets are starting to split in a noticeable way. The “Magnificent 7”—Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla—have lost around $5 trillion in market value from their peaks. The Nasdaq is under pressure as AI hype cools and geopolitical tensions rise, pushing investors to look for safer ground.

What’s surprising is that crypto has held up relatively well so far. While big tech valuations are getting squeezed, Bitcoin and Ethereum have stayed fairly stable. Still, the strong link between tech stocks and crypto hasn’t gone away—so it’s probably a matter of when, not if, crypto reacts.

The $5 Trillion Tech Wipeout: A "Magnificent" Retreat

The sell-off in Big Tech has been nothing short of historic. Since hitting a combined valuation peak of roughly $20 trillion in late 2025, the leading seven stocks have entered a significant correction phase.

According to recent reports from Bloomberg, this $5 trillion wipeout is fueled by a "market rotation" away from overextended AI valuations and into cyclical sectors like energy and infrastructure. The outbreak of conflict in the Middle East has further pressured these giants, as rising oil prices threaten to keep interest rates "higher for longer."

Why Crypto Prices Are Stable Today

Despite the sell-off on Wall Street, Bitcoin is holding up relatively well. As of March 30, 2026, it’s trading in the $66,400–$67,500 range. Ethereum (ETH) is hovering around $2,050, showing a slight bounce from its recent lows.

This stability is largely due to:

1. Institutional HODLing: Spot ETFs have changed the market structure. Major allocators are treating Bitcoin as a long-term asset rather than a speculative trade.
2. Supply Constraints: Post-halving dynamics are fully in play, with exchange balances at multi-year lows.
3. Regulatory Clarity: Recent SEC and CFTC guidance classifying major assets as "digital commodities" has provided a floor for institutional confidence.

Crypto Prediction: Is the "Lagging" Crash Coming?

While crypto looks like a "hero" today, historical data serves as a stern warning. The 30-day correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 has recently hovered near 0.80, its highest level in years.

Historically, when a massive deleveraging event occurs in tech, crypto follows with a delay. As institutional investors face losses in their equity portfolios, they often liquidate "liquid" assets like Bitcoin to cover margin calls or rebalance risk. If the Magnificent 7 continue their slide toward a formal bear market (a 20% drop), we could see a "liquidity flush" in crypto that sends BTC toward the $58,000 support zone.

Crypto Price Today (March 30, 2026)

• Bitcoin ($BTC): $67,250 (+1.8% in 24h)
• Ethereum ($ETH): $2,058 (+3.6% in 24h)
• Solana ($SOL): $135 (+1.9% in 24h)
• $XRP: $1.35 (+1.2% in 24h)

Analysis: Will Cryptos Crash?

The current stability in crypto is a testament to its maturing market structure, but it would be premature to declare a total "decoupling" from tech. Traders should keep a close eye on $65,800 for Bitcoin; a break below this level would likely signal that the $5 trillion tech wipeout is finally spilling over into the digital asset space.

The question "Is XRP dead?" has resurfaced with a vengeance in early 2026. After a massive bull run that saw the asset peak at $3.65 in July 2025, the token has entered a grueling downtrend. As of March 30, 2026, XRP is trading at $1.34, representing a 37% decline from its price of $2.10 exactly one year ago.

Despite the conclusion of the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit in August 2025 and the subsequent launch of several spot XRP ETFs, the price action remains decoupled from the "bullish" fundamental narrative. This article analyzes the structural, macro, and technical reasons behind this stagnation and what it would take for XRP to reclaim its former glory.

Why is XRP Down?

Investors are understandably frustrated. While Bitcoin and Solana saw significant institutional rotations in late 2025, XRP has surrendered 63% of its value since its cycle high. The primary drivers for the current slump include:

1. Macro Economic Pressure: The Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance in March 2026, projecting only one rate cut for the year, has sucked liquidity out of high-risk altcoins.
2. Geopolitical Instability: Recent conflicts in the Middle East have triggered a "risk-off" environment, favoring gold and oil over digital assets.
3. ETF "Sell the News": Much like the Bitcoin ETF launch in 2024, the debut of XRP ETFs in late 2025 led to a massive liquidity exit by early whales.

The "Dead Coin" vs. Utility Reality

In the crypto space, a "dead coin" typically refers to an asset with zero development, no liquidity, and no community. By this definition, XRP is far from dead. The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is currently processing over 1.5 million transactions daily. Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, has reached a market cap of $1.4 billion, serving as a bridge for institutional cross-border payments. According to Investing.com, institutional interest remains high, with 25% of surveyed asset managers planning to add XRP to their portfolios by the end of 2026.

XRP Price Prediction: The Technical Breakdown

Technically, XRP is trapped in a classic bear flag pattern on the weekly charts. The price is currently testing a critical structural floor.

Key Price Levels to Watch:

The Role of the CLARITY Act

While technicals look bleak, the "recovery" catalyst likely lies in Washington. The CLARITY Act, currently moving through the U.S. Congress, aims to codify the commodity status of digital assets like XRP. If passed by late April 2026, it could trigger the institutional "buy-in" that the market has been waiting for since the SEC case ended.

Will XRP Price Recover?

For XRP to recover to its $3.50+ levels, three things must happen:

• Bitcoin Stability: XRP maintains an 80% correlation with $BTC. A Bitcoin recovery toward $75,000 is a prerequisite.
• ETF Inflow Reversal: The current net outflows from XRP ETFs must flip to positive as "TradFi" investors seek diversification.
• RLUSD Adoption: Increased use of the Ripple USD stablecoin for settlement on the XRPL will drive organic demand for $XRP as a gas token.

The BlackRock-backed firm has a clear path toward pressuring financial incumbents, according Benchmark’s Mark Palmer.

Shares in publicly traded Bitcoin treasury Nakamoto (NAKA) hit a new low after the firm announced it sold around $20 million of BTC.

A federal court order has permanently prohibited the exchange from serving U.S. customers unless it registers.

The platform handles routing and failover for 3,000 projects across more than 300 chains through a single API.

Google warned that quantum advances could break crypto security sooner than expected, with analysts recommending ‘appropriate urgency.’

Solana's downtrend against Ethereum deepens, but indicators suggest that a reversal might not be far away.

Ripple enters another major partnership with Convera as it continues to push for crypto cross-border payments among enterprises across the globe.

Franklin Templeton Director Tony Pecore forecasts a "very positive year" for Bitcoin in 2026, with a new all-time high possible if only regulators or policy do not trigger headwinds.

Binance founder raises question about Satoshi Nakamoto's one million BTC coins, weighing in on the impact of quantum computing on crypto.

Ripple's RLUSD supply plummets by $128 million during a major Q1 closing. Is the stablecoin shrinking by design or demand?

TLDR

• Franklin Templeton confirmed XRP as the third-largest holding in its Crypto Index ETF through a recent SEC filing.
• XRP held a 5.91% portfolio weight at the end of 2025 and now stands near 5.85%.
• The Franklin Crypto Index ETF currently manages about $10 million in total assets.
• The fund holds approximately 447,679 XRP tokens valued at around $591,026 at a price of $1.32.
• Bitcoin leads the ETF allocation with more than 76%, while Ethereum accounts for about 12%.

Franklin Templeton has confirmed XRP as the third-largest asset in its Crypto Index ETF, according to a recent SEC filing. The firm disclosed the allocation details in its Form 10-K report filed this week. The filing shows that XRP holds a 5.91% portfolio weight, which now stands near 5.85%.

Franklin Templeton Expands Crypto Index Allocation to XRP

Franklin Templeton launched the Franklin Crypto Index ETF (EZPZ) on February 20, 2025. The product became the second crypto index ETF introduced in the United States. At launch, the fund provided exposure only to Bitcoin and Ethereum.

However, the company expanded the portfolio in December 2025 to include six additional cryptocurrencies. XRP entered the index during this expansion phase. The latest filing confirms that XRP ranks behind Bitcoin and Ethereum in total allocation.

Bitcoin dominates the ETF with more than 76% of total assets. Ethereum follows with roughly 12% of the portfolio. XRP holds 5.91% as of year-end 2025, although recent data places it near 5.85%.

The fund manages approximately $10 million in total assets. Within that structure, Franklin Templeton holds about 447,679 XRP tokens. Based on a unit price of $1.32, those holdings equal roughly $591,026.

The ETF reports a net asset value of $16.84 at press time. Other digital assets in the portfolio include Solana, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar. Each of those assets carries a smaller weight compared to XRP.

XRP Gains Broader ETF Exposure Across U.S. Market

XRP continues to secure placements across major U.S. crypto investment products. It also appears in the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF. In that fund, XRP carries an allocation of about 5.88%.

Franklin Templeton also operates a standalone spot XRP ETF. The firm introduced that product last year to provide direct exposure to the token. The fund has since attracted $321.54 million in net inflows.

The standalone XRP ETF currently holds $210.78 million in total assets. This figure positions it as the third-largest XRP-focused ETF in the market. Canary Capital and Bitwise Asset Management manage larger XRP-linked funds.

Franklin Templeton disclosed these details in its Form 10-K filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The report outlines the structure, allocations, and asset values of the Franklin Crypto Index ETF. The document confirms XRP’s position as the third-largest holding within the diversified crypto index fund.

The post Franklin Templeton Lists XRP as Third ETF Holding appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Plume has launched a tokenized payroll pilot allowing eligible contributors to receive salary in WTGXX fund shares.

• The pilot embeds a regulated, yield-bearing asset directly into payroll, removing the need for separate investment steps.

• Payroll distribution solves the adoption barrier that standalone tokenized investment platforms have long struggled to overcome.

• If successful, the model could position tokenized funds as everyday financial infrastructure rather than niche investment products.

Plume has introduced a tokenized payroll pilot alongside Toku and WisdomTree. Eligible Plume contributors can now receive part of their salary in shares of WisdomTree’s regulated money market fund, WTGXX.

This move places a yield-bearing asset directly at the point of payment. The pilot marks a shift in how tokenized real-world assets reach everyday users through familiar financial systems.

Tokenized Payroll Bridges the Gap Between Compensation and Investment

Traditional payroll has remained largely unchanged for decades. Employers move cash to employees reliably and on time, and that is where the system stops. What happens after—saving, investing, building wealth—falls entirely on the employee.

That gap is where financial inertia takes hold. The money arrives as idle cash, and most people never move it into productive assets. The moment passes, and the float sits untouched.

Plume’s pilot addresses this directly. The company shared on X: “Eligible Plume contributors can now choose to receive a portion of their salary in shares of a regulated money market fund.” Instead of cash arriving and waiting to be invested, the compensation arrives already working.

Plume also noted that “tokenization becomes true infrastructure when it integrates into familiar financial workflows.”

The pilot puts that principle into direct practice through payroll, delivering yield at the point of payment rather than leaving it for later.

Distribution, Not Product Development, Is the Real Challenge Now

Tokenized treasuries, money market funds, and credit products already exist. They are regulated, live, and accessible. However, reaching users at scale remains the harder problem to solve.

Most tokenized products still require users to find a platform, create an account, fund it, and make a deliberate investment decision.

That process creates unnecessary friction. As Plume stated, “adoption rarely survives unnecessary friction,” and payroll removes that barrier entirely without changing employee behavior.

Stablecoin payroll proved that compensation can move onchain and that both employers and employees can manage it operationally. However, receiving a stablecoin is still receiving digital cash.

Plume addressed this gap directly, asking, “what if payroll didn’t just move money, but delivered a regulated financial product at the moment of payment?”

This pilot is built to answer that question. As Plume put it, “the infrastructure has existed for decades — until now, it simply hasn’t been used that way.”

Tokenized products that embed into existing infrastructure like payroll can reach people that standalone investment platforms never will.

If a fund can arrive through a regular paycheck without changing how employees work or get paid, it moves closer to becoming everyday financial infrastructure rather than a niche investment product.

The post Plume Tokenizes Payroll With Toku and WisdomTree to Deliver Yield at the Point of Payment appeared first on Blockonomi.

• Dubai’s VARA caps crypto derivatives leverage at 5x to prevent excessive trader exposure.
• Retail traders may access derivatives only after meeting qualification and risk disclosure standards.
• Firms must implement strong governance, transparent reporting, and real-time risk monitoring.
• The framework encourages controlled market growth, balancing adoption with financial safety.

Dubai has introduced a structured regulatory framework for crypto derivatives trading, setting firm rules on leverage, risk controls, and governance. The move allows retail participation under defined conditions while tightening oversight across high-risk trading activities.

Dubai Sets Clear Rules for Crypto Derivatives Trading

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has rolled out new rules for crypto derivatives trading. The framework sets limits on leverage, introduces strict governance standards, and enforces stronger risk controls. These measures aim to create a safer trading environment.

Retail investors can still access derivatives products, though under tighter supervision. The rules require firms to assess whether users understand complex financial instruments. As a result, access is no longer open without checks.

A recent tweet from Coin Bureau noted that firms must clearly disclose the risks associated with leveraged trading. This includes outlining potential losses and ensuring traders meet qualification standards. These steps aim to reduce sudden market disruptions caused by overexposure.

Leverage has been capped at 5x, limiting excessive borrowing in volatile markets. This cap is designed to reduce the chances of rapid liquidations during price swings. At the same time, firms must maintain internal systems that monitor risk in real time.

Regulators also have the authority to intervene during periods of market stress. This allows VARA to act quickly if trading conditions become unstable. Such powers are expected to strengthen trust in Dubai’s crypto trading environment.

Market Structure Evolves as Adoption Grows

Dubai continues to position itself as a structured hub for digital asset trading. The introduction of formal derivatives rules marks a shift toward more defined market practices. This aligns with broader efforts to bring stability to crypto markets.

The Coin Bureau tweet also referenced rising adoption levels despite ongoing macroeconomic pressure on Bitcoin. While price movements remain uncertain, participation across markets continues to expand. This creates demand for clearer trading frameworks.

The new regulations reflect a growing focus on balancing access with protection. Retail traders are still part of the market, though within controlled boundaries. This ensures that participation does not come at the cost of financial safety.

Firms operating in Dubai must now follow stricter compliance measures. These include transparent reporting, strong governance structures, and continuous risk monitoring. As a result, the market structure becomes more organized.

The framework also supports institutional involvement by offering clearer guidelines. With defined rules, larger players can operate with more certainty. This could contribute to steady market growth over time.

At the same time, the introduction of these rules comes amid discussions around emerging risks, including quantum-related concerns. While still developing, such risks add another layer to the evolving crypto landscape.

Dubai’s approach shows a focus on controlled expansion rather than unrestricted growth. By setting boundaries, regulators aim to maintain stability while allowing innovation. This creates a trading environment that is both active and supervised.

The post Dubai Rolls Out Structured Crypto Derivatives Rules to Cap Leverage and Strengthen Oversight appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Saronic raised $1.75B in Series D funding, pushing its valuation to $9.25B amid strong investor demand
• The company plans to scale production to over 20 autonomous vessels annually by 2027
• New capital will expand shipyards in Texas and Louisiana, including the Port Alpha project
• Saronic is advancing AI-powered maritime systems for defense and commercial operations

Saronic Technologies has secured $1.75 billion in Series D funding, reaching a $9.25 billion valuation. The round, led by Kleiner Perkins, supports expansion of autonomous vessel production for defense and commercial maritime operations.

Funding round and investor participation

Saronic confirmed the funding through an official release on March 31, 2026. The round drew participation from several major investment firms and existing backers. These include Advent, Bessemer Venture Partners, DFJ Growth, BAM Elevate, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Additional support came from 8VC, Caffeinated Capital, Elad Gil, and Franklin Templeton. The funding marks a sharp increase from its previous $600 million Series C round. That earlier round valued the company at $4 billion in 2025.

Coin Bureau posts on X also amplified the announcement shortly after the release. One widely shared update described the raise as a major step toward scaling unmanned warship production. The post noted the company’s focus on supplying autonomous vessels to the U.S. military.

Company leadership stated that the capital will accelerate manufacturing capacity and vessel development. The goal is to deliver more than 20 unmanned ships annually by 2027. This target aligns with growing demand from defense partners and allied governments.

Expansion of shipbuilding and autonomous systems

Saronic plans to use the funds to expand its shipbuilding infrastructure in Texas and Louisiana. A key project includes the development of its next-generation shipyard, Port Alpha. This facility is expected to support large-scale production of autonomous vessels.

The company is also scaling its current shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana. It has already committed $300 million toward expanding the site. The expansion is expected to create around 1,500 jobs in the region.

Saronic continues to build a range of vessels, from smaller Corsair models to larger Marauder ships. The Marauder, a 180-foot autonomous vessel, was recently completed within six months. This reflects the company’s focus on faster production timelines.

In parallel, the firm is advancing AI-driven maritime systems for both surface and subsurface operations. These systems aim to improve endurance, range, and payload capacity for autonomous fleets. Demand for such capabilities has increased among defense and commercial clients.

The company has also expanded its operational footprint beyond the United States. New hubs have opened in San Diego and Washington, D.C., alongside international expansion into the UK and Australia. Its workforce has grown to over 1,300 employees.

Saronic stated that its approach combines software-driven design with modern manufacturing systems. This model is intended to scale production efficiently while maintaining performance standards. The new funding will support continued development across these areas.

The post Saronic Raises $1.75B at $9.25B Valuation to Scale Autonomous Warship Production appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Ripple and Convera formed a partnership to enhance cross-border payments using stablecoin infrastructure.
• The companies will use a stablecoin sandwich model that starts and ends transactions in fiat currency.
• Ripple will provide blockchain liquidity and settlement services for Convera’s commercial payment network.
• Convera will manage customer-facing payment flows and foreign exchange operations.
• Ripple Payments now reaches more than 90% of daily foreign exchange markets worldwide.

Ripple and Convera have formed a partnership to expand crypto-enabled payment services for businesses worldwide. The companies will integrate blockchain infrastructure with traditional foreign exchange networks to support cross-border transfers. Both firms said the collaboration will enhance global payments through regulated stablecoin settlement and fiat rails.

Ripple Expands Enterprise Network with Stablecoin Settlement Model

Ripple confirmed it will provide blockchain liquidity and settlement infrastructure for Convera’s commercial payment flows. Convera will manage client-facing services, including foreign exchange execution and treasury operations. The companies said they will apply a “stablecoin sandwich” structure to process transactions.

Under this model, payments begin in fiat currency and convert into a regulated stablecoin during settlement. The funds then convert back into fiat currency before reaching the recipient. Ripple said this approach allows enterprises to access blockchain speed without directly handling digital assets.

Convera CEO Patrick Gauthier said the company monitored digital currency adoption before entering the partnership. He stated, “Ripple is a clear leader in the crypto space and a natural fit for Convera.” He added that Convera focused on customer demand as digital currencies matured.

Gauthier previously led Amazon Pay before joining Convera. Convera operates in more than 200 countries and territories and supports over 140 currencies. The company serves more than 26,000 customers across its commercial payments network.

Ripple acts as the primary advocate for the XRP Ledger and issues the RLUSD stablecoin. The company said Ripple Payments now reaches over 90% of daily foreign exchange markets. Ripple also reported processing more than $95 billion in total payment volume to date.

Convera Integrates Ripple Infrastructure for Crypto-enabled Treasury Services

Convera said the partnership will introduce crypto-enabled payment and treasury services for enterprise clients. The company stated that the service will target corridors where traditional settlement remains slow or costly. Ripple will supply on and off-ramping services as part of the integration.

Aaron Slettehaugh, Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Product, described the enterprise focus. He said, “Enterprises are increasingly looking for faster, more flexible ways to move money globally.” He added that companies want efficiency without managing digital asset complexity.

Ripple has expanded its institutional reach through partnerships and acquisitions. In January, the company reported expanded infrastructure coverage across global FX markets. In March, Ripple confirmed that Banco Genial and AMINA Bank use its system for near-real-time cross-border transactions.

Last week, Ripple joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s BLOOM initiative. The program will test programmable cross-border trade settlements using the XRP Ledger and RLUSD. Ripple confirmed participation as part of its continued enterprise engagement strategy.

Convera was formerly known as Western Union Business Solutions. The company was acquired in 2021 for $910 million. The firms announced the partnership on Tuesday and confirmed immediate rollout planning.

The post Ripple Partners Convera to Boost Cross-Border Payments appeared first on Blockonomi.

Cardano’s native cryptocurrency has plunged by 13% over the past month, coinciding with the bear market reigning across the entire crypto sector.

However, the recent whale behavior suggests that a rebound could be on the way.

Something We Don’t Know?

ADA currently trades at around $0.24 (per CoinGecko), while its market capitalization has fallen below $9 billion. Thus, the asset (once part of the elite top 10 club) is now the 15th-largest cryptocurrency.

Nonetheless, the large investors appear to view the price levels as a great buying opportunity. The popular analyst Ali Martinez revealed that they have accumulated 220 million tokens over the last week alone. This stash amounts to roughly $53 million (at current rates), while whales now hold almost 13.84 billion units, or 37% of the asset’s circulating supply.

The buying spree from these market participants may encourage smaller players to hop on the bandwagon and distribute fresh capital. After all, whales are known as experienced investors who may have inside information about upcoming news or developments that could impact the price of the cryptocurrency.

Earlier this month, Martinez touched upon ADA again, setting $0.245 as a “key support level.” Prior to that, the asset’s valuation hovered around $0.25, and the analyst reminded that on previous occasions this had led to explosions of 85% and 200%. X user ALTS GEMS Alets is also optimistic. They believe the bottom is in, envisioning a potential pump above $0.60 in the following months.

ADA’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) supports the bullish outlook. The ratio of the technical analysis tool has dropped below 30 on a weekly scale, suggesting the asset is oversold and ready for a possible revival. On the other hand, readings above 70 are considered bearish territory.

The list of factors hinting at a short-term price recovery also includes ADA’s recent exchange netflow. Over the past several days, outflows have exceeded inflows, signaling that investors have been abandoning centralized platforms and shifting toward self-custody. This, in turn, reduces the immediate selling pressure.

ADA Going to Zero?

Despite the aforementioned optimism among analysts and the bullish elements, some market observers remain skeptical and even hostile toward the cryptocurrency.

The X user with moniker gnarleyquinn, for instance, argued that Cardano’s chain is “going to zero” in the next few years, noting the evident decline in ADA’s dominance. Recall that the figure stood at around 4.5% in 2021, whereas currently it is a mere 0.3%.

The post 220,000,000 ADA in 1 Week: Do Cardano Whales Know Something We Don’t? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, March 31st, 2026]

Encrypt brings FHE to Solana to enable fast, fully confidential, and composable applications on Solana

Encrypt is coming to Solana with a clear vision: Encrypted Capital Markets.

Solana is the number one ecosystem for blockchain developers and the most used blockchain in the world. It is where the fastest teams ship, where breakout consumer products launch, and where Internet Capital Markets are being built in real time.

Encrypt introduces a new cryptographic capability to the Solana ecosystem: Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). This enables developers and institutions to build applications that can perform computations directly on encrypted data. In practical terms, this allows data to remain private while application logic is executed onchain.

With Encrypt, developers and institutions are building high-performance financial applications on Solana, can add native cryptographic privacy to those applications natively. These may include use cases such as trading venues, lending markets, auctions, prediction markets, and other application categories that previously faced difficulties on public blockchains due to privacy limitations.

Encrypted Capital Markets

Blockchains are recognized for their composability, though they have historically faced limitations in supporting data privacy.

Most existing approaches to onchain privacy force tradeoffs. Some rely on trusted operators or specialized hardware, others can hide information for a single user, but do not allow applications shared by multiple users to be confidential, and some sacrifice composability between applications. Additionally, many privacy systems are simply too slow or too limited for real financial applications.

Encrypt changes that model by bringing FHE to Solana.

FHE is a breakthrough cryptographic primitive that allows computation to happen on encrypted data without decrypting it first. Instead of exposing balances, positions, orders, or application state to the public, developers can build programs where sensitive information remains encrypted throughout execution.

This opens the door to a new design space for Solana builders: financial applications that are fast, composable and confidential by default.

Confidential trading, hidden liquidity, private collateral, sealed-bid auctions, private prediction markets, encrypted strategy vaults, FHE-TLS application with confidential and verifiable read/write API calls, and other privacy-preserving applications can now be built in a way that feels native to Solana’s execution environment.

“Solana already has the performance, developer energy, and market structure to become the home of the next generation of onchain finance,” said Dolev Mutzari, Co-Founder of Encrypt. “Encrypt adds a missing primitive: the ability to build applications that keep sensitive data encrypted while still running on a public blockchain. That is what Encrypted Capital Markets means.”

A New Primitive for Solana Developers

At the core of Encrypt is a developer platform that allows teams to write encrypted Solana programs.

Instead of treating privacy as a bolt-on feature, Encrypt makes confidentiality part of the application itself. Developers and institutions can build programs that operate on encrypted inputs and encrypted state, while preserving the composability and programmability that make Solana powerful.

For users, that means public blockchains no longer need to mean fully public financial behavior.

For developers, it means entirely new product categories become practical on Solana: markets with hidden intent, lending systems with confidential positions, marketplaces with sealed bidding, and applications where privacy is part of the user experience rather than a compromise.

For institutions, it removes one of the biggest barriers to adoption, allowing the institution to enjoy the benefits of a public, permissionless and composable blockchain, without having to share or reveal sensitive data.

Just as importantly, Encrypt is designed for real applications, not just demos. Its architecture is built to make confidential execution practical for the kinds of high-throughput, low-latency composable environments that modern onchain markets require.

Why It Matters

Today, much of crypto finance still assumes that every action, position, and strategy must be visible by default.

That transparency has benefits, but it also creates clear limitations. Traders expose intent before execution. Liquidity providers reveal positions. Institutions face barriers to participating in public markets where every move is immediately visible. And many applications that require confidential shared state simply cannot exist in a fully transparent environment.

Encrypt gives Solana builders a way to overcome those limits without sacrificing the openness and composability of public blockchains.

That is the foundation for Encrypted Capital Markets: a world where sensitive financial logic can move onchain without forcing users, institutions, and applications to reveal everything in public.

“Solana has already proven that markets can move onchain,” said David Lachmish, Co-Founder of Encrypt. “The next frontier is cryptographic guarantees for private state on a public blockchain, and Encrypt brings FHE to Solana to make confidentiality a native building block for composable applications.”

With Encrypt, Solana can support a future where markets are still onchain, programmable, and globally accessible, but where confidentiality becomes part of the infrastructure. Encrypt will be live on Solana devnet in early Q2, and will launch on mainnet later this year.

About Encrypt

Encrypt is building the infrastructure for Encrypted Capital Markets on Solana. By bringing Fully Homomorphic Encryption to the Solana Virtual Machine, Encrypt enables developers to build applications that compute on encrypted data directly onchain, unlocking a new generation of confidential DeFi, markets, and financial applications.

Encrypt is built by the team behind Ika, and uses Ika as infrastructure on Solana as part of its broader vision for next-generation onchain financial systems. Users can learn more here.

The post Encrypt Is Coming to Solana to Power Encrypted Capital Markets appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Google’s quantum computing team has published a white paper detailing how a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could crack the private keys of Ethereum’s 1,000 wealthiest wallets in under 9 days, directly risking more than 20 million ETH.

In addition, the paper introduced a timeline that researchers say no longer allows room for complacency.

What Google’s Research Found

To understand the risk, it helps to know how crypto wallets stay secure today. Every wallet has a private key, a secret password of sorts, and a public address that others can see. The security system currently used by Ethereum makes it essentially impossible to work backwards from the public address to the private key. Quantum computers, once powerful enough, would break that barrier entirely.

According to the Google paper, Ethereum is vulnerable at five separate levels. The most direct threat is to individual wallets: the top 1,000 alone hold around 20.5 million ETH. But smart contracts, the self-executing programs that power most of Ethereum’s financial activity, are also at risk. Their administrator keys control roughly $200 billion in stablecoins and other real-world assets.

Beyond that, validators who keep Ethereum’s network running hold 37 million ETH in staked funds, and the systems that support Ethereum’s layer-2 networks each carry exposure worth around 15 million ETH.

The danger is not just theoretical, with Google estimating that a fast quantum computer could crack a single wallet’s private key in about nine minutes. Putting that in the context of Bitcoin would show just how grave the situation might be, especially if you recall that a new Bitcoin block is confirmed about every ten minutes. It means that a quantum attacker could potentially steal funds from a transaction that is waiting to be processed before it even clears. Crypto research group Project Eleven described this as a “mempool attack,” something the crypto community had previously assumed was far off.

The Warning May Come Too Late

Google’s paper puts the qubit requirements for this attack at either 1,200 logical qubits and 90 million computational operations or 1,450 logical qubits and 70 million operations, depending on the architecture. According to Project Eleven, this is a 10x improvement over previously published estimates.

Interestingly, on the same day Google released its findings, researchers from Oratomi, Caltech, and UC Berkeley published separate work showing that Shor’s algorithm could run at cryptographically relevant scales with as few as 10,000 reconfigurable atomic cubits, with ECC-256 potentially falling in five days on a 22,000-qubit machine.

Nonetheless, opinion is divided on how close the threat actually is. Some analysts have argued that the danger is at least a decade away and that it will first hit the broader internet infrastructure, giving markets time to respond. But others are already setting things in motion, with Google, for example, setting a 2029 deadline to upgrade its own systems, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently published a quantum resistance roadmap for the network, laying out how its security systems could be replaced with ones that quantum computers cannot break.

The post Google: Quantum Computing Could Crack Top 1,000 ETH Wallets in Days appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, March 31st, 2026]

dWallets make it possible to bring assets from every network to Solana, to hold, trade, and use financially without bridges

Ika is coming to Solana with a clear vision: Bridgeless Capital Markets.

Solana is the number one ecosystem for blockchain developers and the most used blockchain in the world. It is where the fastest teams ship, where breakout consumer products launch, and where Internet Capital Markets are being built in real time.

Ika is bringing to Solana a new primitive: dWallets, decentralized programmable multi-chain wallet accounts that let Solana users control assets on any blockchain without trusted intermediaries

With Ika, Solana is not just the best place to issue new assets or trade Solana-native assets. It becomes the place where assets from every network can be held, traded, and utilized financially on Solana without bridges.

Bridgeless Capital Markets

Solana is emerging as the home of Internet Capital Markets, but today non-native assets typically reach Solana through bridges, introducing fragmentation, synthetic wrappers, and trusted intermediaries. Ika replaces that model with dWallets, enabling Solana applications to control assets across networks directly with zero-trust cryptography.

This makes Solana the chain where all digital assets live on natively.

Bitcoin, RWAs, stablecoins, and other assets issued elsewhere can be held by Solana users and brought into Solana trading venues, lending markets, treasury systems, and consumer products without fragmenting liquidity across wrappers and synthetic versions. Capital from every ecosystem can flow into one execution environment: Solana.

“Solana already has the speed, the builder energy, and the market structure to become the place where global onchain capital converges” said David Lachmish, Co-Founder of Ika. “Ika gives Solana builders a powerful primitive: a way for assets from every network to be controlled and used on Solana without bridges.”

The dWallet: A New Primitive on Solana

At the core of Ika is the dWallet primitive: a programmable, transferable multi-chain account on Solana that can control an address on any network and sign transactions to it. Instead of relying on a single private key or centralized custodian, a dWallet’s signing authority is governed jointly by the user and the decentralized Ika network through 2PC-MPC, enabling access to assets on any chain without trusted third parties.

This opens a massive new design space for Solana builders, who can build decentralized versions of Fireblocks, Privy, or Binance, with policies and logic living on Solana and enforced across any network, including Bitcoin.

With Ika, a Solana DEX can trade native assets from any chain, a Solana lending protocol can support native assets from any chain, and a Solana multisig can hold native assets from any chain. Solana programs can become the financial interface for assets everywhere.

dWallets also make Solana a powerful control layer for AI agents. Instead of giving an agent a raw private key, a Solana program can define and enforce policies for how the agent uses assets across chains. Because signing is coordinated through Ika’s 2PC-MPC design, the agent never controls a private key on its own, and every action remains constrained by decentralized policy.

Ika’s Bridgeless Capital Markets vision positions Solana as the chain where every asset is available for trading, collateralization, treasury management, payments, automation, and financialization.

“Ika gives Solana builders the power to go after some of the biggest categories in crypto,” said Omer Sadika, Co-Founder of Ika. “Not just wallets or apps, but entire financial platforms built around assets from every chain, from Bitcoin through stables to RWAs, all orchestrated from Solana. That is what Bridgeless Capital Markets unlocks.”

Instead of fragmenting capital and relying on trusted intermediaries, Ika positions Solana as the definitive home for all digital assets. Ika will be live on Solana devnet in early Q2, and will launch on mainnet later this year.

About Ika

Ika is the network behind Bridgeless Capital Markets. Powering dWallets, Ika enables assets from every network to be held, traded, and utilized financially on Solana without bridges. By turning wallet control and signing authority into decentralized, programmable infrastructure, Ika gives Solana developers a new primitive for building the next generation of trading, custody, treasury, payments, and multi-chain financial applications. Users can learn more here.

The post Ika Is Coming to Solana to Power Bridgeless Capital Markets appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Ripple’s native cross-border token is among the poorest performing larger-cap altcoins today, which comes in a rather intriguing time.

On-chain data shared by popular analyst Ali Martinez shows that the largest market entities within the XRP ecosystem have been on a substantial buying spree, which raises the question of why the asset is down now.

All Going XRP’s Way

Ripple whales were mostly absent in the first couple of months of the new year, but returned with a 200 million token accumulation completed in the span of 14 days in mid-March. Another 40 million token scoop followed a week later, as reported. Martinez noted yesterday that they had continued acquiring more XRP, adding 190 million additional coins once again in a 7-day timeframe.

190 million $XRP have been accumulated by whales over the past week. pic.twitter.com/8B8lffm3qV

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) March 30, 2026

But it’s not just whales’ behavior that should increase the XRP Army’s confidence levels. The company behind the token has made the headlines in the past month or so, scoring big partnerships, applying for key licenses, and announcing expansion plans to several jurisdictions, including Australia, Brazil, and Singapore.

During a recent interview after a conference held in Miami, Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, also praised the firm’s progress over the past year, especially since it acquired Hidden Road and GTreasury. He noted that the former, now known as Ripple Prime, has tripled its revenue rates since the acquisition last year, while Ripple Treasury, as it’s now called, is “way ahead of our forecast for both the end of last year, but also in Q1, we are going to have a record quarter.”

XRP Still Drops, Though

Despite all the positive developments taking place within the broader Ripple ecosystem, the native token continues to struggle. It’s down by 64% since its all-time high in July last year, and by nearly 30% YTD. The past week brought another 7% decline, while the last 24 hours have solidified XRP’s weakness against BNB.

Perhaps one of the reasons behind the asset’s inability to stage a notable recovery is the fact that ETF investors have largely stopped accumulating, as most of the past few weeks have seen negligible numbers. Yesterday was a red day, with over $2.3 million leaving the funds.

CRYPTOWZRD weighed in on XRP’s price performance and warned that a closure below $1.32 would mean “bearish territory.” The token is indeed under that level now, so the next several hours could be crucial for its short-term movements.

XRP Daily Technical Outlook:$XRP closed indecisively. However, XRPBTC needs to respond to Bitcoin Dominance, which will help generate higher volatility. Below $1.3200 is a bearish territory. Above, on the other hand, we will see more random movement pic.twitter.com/1IfddiIItD

— CRYPTOWZRD (@cryptoWZRD_) March 31, 2026

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