Executive brief
The digital asset market is currently navigating a period of heightened volatility, dictated by geopolitical instability and shifting macroeconomic signals. Recent price action has been closely correlated with the Strait of Hormuz conflict, where threats of military disruption pushed Brent crude toward $120. During this acute phase, traders treated Bitcoin as a liquidity-sensitive risk asset rather than a safe haven, with prices dipping toward $68,000 before a recovery above $70,000. The release of February CPI data, which matched forecasts at 2.4%, has provided some temporary stability, though it reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will forgo rate cuts in the immediate future.
Institutional momentum remains a primary driver for the sector despite these macro headwinds. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has accelerated its accumulation, adding 17,994 BTC to its treasury for $1.28b, bringing its total holdings to 738,731 BTC. Traditional banking integration is also deepening, with Wells Fargo filing a trademark for “WFUSD” covering crypto payments and tokenisation. Additionally, Mastercard has launched a global partner programme with over 85 firms to connect on-chain payments with traditional banking infrastructure. These developments offer significant long-term opportunities, even as regulatory risks persist. The FDIC has clarified that stablecoins will not receive deposit insurance, and Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal following fresh reports of a US DOJ probe into Iran-linked transactions. Short-term performance remains tied to energy-driven inflation, while institutional adoption through vehicles like Solana ETFs, which have surpassed $1b in inflows, continues to mature.
1) Top 20 news headlines
- Strategy paradoxically funds 66,231 Bitcoin purchase; company now holds 738,731 BTC after adding 66,231 coins in the last 68 days.
- Binance sues Wall Street Journal for defamation; action follows report of a DOJ probe into alleged evasion of Iran sanctions.
- Revolut gains full UK banking licence; fintech giant moves closer to becoming a global digital bank after regulatory restrictions were lifted.
- US February CPI matches forecasts; headline inflation at 2.4% reinforces expectations for no interest rate cuts in March or April.
- Wells Fargo files WFUSD trademark; bank seeks protection for software covering crypto trading, payments, and tokenisation.
- FDIC chief rules out deposit insurance for stablecoins; pass-through insurance will not be allowed for third-party firms under GENIUS rules.
- ECB unveils Appia tokenised finance plan; roadmap aims to bolster European financial autonomy through a euro-based tokenised system.
- 95% of all Bitcoin is now mined; circulating supply surpassed 20,000,000 coins on 9 March, leaving fewer than 1,000,000 BTC to be produced.
- Solana Spot ETFs hit $1b milestone; regulated products amassed nearly $1,000,000,000 in inflows since launching in late October 2025.
- Goldman Sachs emerges as top XRP ETF holder; bank disclosed $153.8m of exposure, equal to approximately 83.6m XRP.
- Aave glitch triggers $27m in liquidations; external oracle error forced liquidations, but the platform will cover user losses.
- Democrats push Death Bets Act; bill aims to ban prediction market contracts tied to war, assassination, or terrorism.
- Prosecutors push to retry Tornado Cash founder; US government seeks October 2026 retrial for Roman Storm on money laundering counts.
- Mastercard launches crypto partner programme; over 85 companies, including Ripple and Binance, to collaborate on blockchain payments.
- India arrests suspect in $790m GainBitcoin scam; investigation involves approximately 8,000 investors and losses of 6,606 crore rupees.
- Ghana opens crypto trading sandbox; 11 firms admitted to 12-month pilot under the country’s new Virtual Asset Service Providers Act.
- Strive invests $50m in Strategy preferred stock; asset manager adds to BTC-linked treasury instruments through STRC preferred series.
- Ledger researchers expose Android flaw; MediaTek vulnerability enables attackers to extract wallet seed phrases in seconds.
- Bloomberg strategist doubles down on $10,000 Bitcoin call; bear prediction met with fierce rebuttal as BTC trades near $70,000.
- Cardano 2030 Vision ratified; governance vision approved with 67.8% support, representing 3.77b ADA.
2) BTC and ETH ETF flows
| Metric | BTC | ETH |
|---|---|---|
| Net inflow | $250,924,792 | $12,585,948 |
| Value traded | $3,604,844,161 | $812,288,196 |
| Net assets | $90,019,308,698 | $11,572,052,623 |
| Cumulative net inflow | $55,786,598,042 | $11,589,783,605 |
3) X trending news
- Hedge fund short positions rise; bearish bets on US stocks reach 11% of total exposure, the highest level since 2022.
- FBI warns of Iran drone threat; alert sent to California police regarding potential retaliatory attacks on the US West Coast.
- IEA approves record oil release; agency to release 400m barrels of crude reserves to lower global energy prices.
- X Money launch imminent; Elon Musk announces early public access for the payment system is set for next month.
- Fed balance sheet expands; total assets rose by $42b in February to reach $6.63 trillion.
- Oil-Equity correlation turns negative; the 10-day correlation between S&P 500 and oil fell to -0.6 as energy prices drive stock moves.
- Trump on Hormuz reopening; President states that efforts to reopen the critical oil shipping route are working well.