Combined with earlier transfers reported by Arkham, Bhutan has moved more than $110 million in bitcoin so far this year.
Mastercard agreed to pay up to $1.8 billion for BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure firm that connects blockchain payments with traditional banking rails. The deal includes $300 million in contingent payments and closes what Mastercard told investors would have taken too long to build internally: the ability to move money seamlessly across fiat and on-chain systems […]
The post Crypto tried to cut out Visa and Mastercard — now they’re buying up blockchain companies appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin’s five-year compound annual growth rate has slipped below gold’s for the second time in its history, according to Fidelity Digital Assets, marking an unusual moment for an asset long defined by its outsized long-term returns. For markets, the signal is not just about relative performance against gold, but about what a slower growth profile may say about Bitcoin’s current market cycle. In a new Chart Chatter segment posted on X, Fidelity Digital Assets research analyst Zack Wainwright said Bitcoin’s five-year CAGR has been trending lower over time as the asset’s price has risen. That dynamic, he argued, has now produced a rare crossover. “What we are seeing now in early 2026 is Bitcoin’s CAGR falling below Gold’s 5-year CAGR for just the second time in Bitcoin’s history,” Wainwright said. “We have now seen three straight months to start the year of CAGR below Gold’s.” What This Means For Bitcoin That is the key statistic in Fidelity’s framing. Bitcoin has spent most of its history comfortably ahead of gold on a five-year compounded basis, which made the January break notable on its own. The fact that it has now persisted for three consecutive months gives the move more weight, especially coming at a time Fidelity explicitly describes as a bear market. Related Reading: This Week Could Be The Most Volatile For Bitcoin In 2026, Top Expert Warns Wainwright tied the last comparable episode to the end of the previous cycle. “Back in 2022, we saw one such month of this occurring in December 2022, when Bitcoin’s price was bottoming out in the bear market around $15,000,” he said. “We are now once again in a bear market and below that CAGR for a longer stretch this time of three months.” In Fidelity’s telling, the drop below gold is rare, but it has also happened before during a moment of acute market weakness. The difference this time is duration. One month in late 2022 could be dismissed as a brief distortion near a cycle low. Three straight months in early 2026 suggests a more sustained compression in Bitcoin’s long-term return profile. At the same time, Fidelity did not frame the crossover as evidence that Bitcoin has lost its defining edge altogether. Wainwright was careful to stress the historical balance. “Overall, Bitcoin has remained above Gold’s CAGR for the majority of its history,” he said. “So this is truly a unique instance and occurrence in Bitcoin, where it is now below the CAGR of Gold.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Buying Picks Up Again, But $79,962 Remains The Key Resistance: On-Chain Data Gold’s side of the comparison is important too. Spot gold closed at $2,156.61 per ounce on March 18, 2024, then climbed to $2,999.96 on March 18, 2025, and stood at $5,012.45 on March 17, 2026. That translates into a gain of about 67.1% over the past year and roughly 132.4% over two years — a surge that helps explain why Bitcoin’s five-year CAGR has now slipped below gold’s. For now, the takeaway is straightforward: Bitcoin still has the stronger long-run record against gold across most of its history, but early 2026 has produced a rare exception. Whether that proves to be another late-bear-market anomaly or an early sign of a more mature, slower-growth Bitcoin is the question Fidelity has now put squarely in front of the market. At press time, BTC traded at $74,015. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Credit ratings agency Moody's has launched a new Token Integration Engine to bring its credit analysis onchain.
Centralized exchange Crypto.com has partnered with KG Inicis, South Korea’s largest payment gateway and value added network (VAN) provider, to offer crypto payment options to foreign visitors in Korea. Related Reading: Crypto-Linked Crime Jumps In Basque Country — But What Does It Mean For Traders? A New Korean Alliance Crypto.com announced today that this partnership with KG Inicis aims to “scale the digital asset payments ecosystem by enabling digital asset payments for foreign travelers”. This will be achieved by the creation of Crypto.com Pay, an app that will allow said travelers to spend digital assets on everyday goods and services at Korean merchants and K‑commerce platforms plugged into KG Inicis. https://t.co/vCNztATkNg is partnering with KG Inicis, the largest Payment Gateway and Value Added Network provider in South Korea, to enable digital asset payments for foreign travellers via https://t.co/vCNztATkNg Pay. Read more here: https://t.co/mcQ9Cifnce pic.twitter.com/zAsSMFRkO7 — Crypto.com (@cryptocom) March 17, 2026 Everyone Benefits This is not a minor feat for the Korean CEX. KG Inicis is Korea’s number one integrated payment platform, processing over 400 million transactions a year and commanding roughly 40% of the local payment gateway market, giving Crypto.com immediate access to large‑scale real‑world payment rails. The move reduces friction from foreign exchange (FX) fees and card charges for tourists by letting them pay directly in crypto, while merchants can still settle in either fiat or digital assets. Therefore, this deal is a win-win scenario for all the parts involved. The announcement also states that both companies “will also explore further business collaboration”, clarifying that these will be “subject to compliance with local regulations, including promotional activities, co-marketing opportunities, and the creation of new products and services”. Strategically, the Korean CEX is layering this on top of its broader South Korea push, which already includes regulatory registrations and a plan to roll out retail trading via its app. A Country On The Crypto Move As South Korea tightens oversight with an expanded Travel Rule and bank‑like expectations for exchanges, getting a regulated, domestic payment gateway on board with a deal like this is not a workaround, but rather a strong regulatory signal. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Hits $74K As Geopolitical Tensions Spike, Is BTC Poised For a Fresh Leg Down? South Korea is positioning itself as a structured but pro‑innovation hub, moving toward spot Bitcoin ETFs and formal digital asset frameworks while stepping up enforcement against non‑compliant platforms. Embedding crypto into mainstream payment gateways like KG Inicis suggests regulators are more comfortable with token usage when it sits on top of existing, supervised financial infrastructure. For traders, this kind of real‑world integration tends to support the medium‑term thesis for large‑cap assets and payment‑focused tokens tied to the Crypto.com ecosystem, even if the immediate price impact is muted and dependent on tourist adoption metrics and Korea’s next regulatory steps. At the moment of writing, BTC’s price reaches $74k. Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
Bitcoin remains stuck near key resistance around $75,000, leaving the broader market in limbo.
UK lawmakers call for immediate ban on crypto political donations, citing high risks and proposing binding moratorium.
Crypto payments platform Bitrefill has confirmed a major cyberattack on March 1, 2026, with signs pointing to the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group. The Bitrefill attack exposed internal systems, drained crypto wallets, and accessed around 18,500 user records. Let’s understand how the Bitrefill hack happened and whether user data is safe. How the Bitrefill Hack Happened? …
US spot Bitcoin ETFs draw $1.2 billion over seven days, far short of October 2025’s nine-day $6 billion streak, as XRP ETFs turn green.
With the prices of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu crashing down, the rest of the meme coin market has followed, and coins in this category have suffered greatly for it. However, there continues to be hope of a renewed meme coin season where these cryptocurrencies will surge again. A number of meme coins continue to show promise, but three coins are looking prepped for when the bulls reclaim control. USELESS Coin Still A Good Meme Coin Buy? USELESS is one of the coins that dominated 2025, with an impressive rally that saw it reach over $400 million market cap at its peak. Since then, though, the meme coin has retraced, falling by more than 90% from its all-time high. While this crash has created dissent among its investors, crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa has suggested that this might be a good time to buy. Related Reading: XRP Ledger Transactions Triple In One Year – What’s Going On? In the post, the crypto analyst points out that while most meme coins will not see their all-time high values again, there might still be some upside potential for them. For USELESS Coin, in particular, Altcoin Sherpa says it has always performed well in risk conditions. Thus, the crypto analyst suggests that for those who do not mind being underwater on their holdings for a bit, it could be a good time to enter. In the end, the analyst says the coin could end up doing a 2-4x rally, which would be a reasonable return. BONK Still One Of The Meme Coin Leaders Another meme coin that seems to be catching the attention of analysts is BONK, one of the leading Solana meme coins. Like its counterparts, the BONK price is down around 90% from its all-time high, but continues to see community support. Crypto analyst Celal Kucuker outlines that the BONK price could still rally 1,100% from here. This would put it on the path toward its all-time high levels. The analyst even shares a timeframe, putting it sometime around 2027. In terms of daily performance, though, BONK has struggled to keep up. Whereas counterparts such as Dogecoin and PEPE continue to see daily trading volumes of over $100 million, BONK is seeing volumes below the $50 million level, showing reduced participation from investors. FARTCOIN Could Still Make Waves Just like a number of Solana meme coins that rose to fame over the last two years, FARTCOIN saw rapid and accelerated growth within a short time. Like the others, it has since slowed down, losing most of its all-time high value. But that has not completely washed out bullish sentiment. Related Reading: Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Turns Positive After 10 Weeks – Is US Demand Finally Returning? One crypto analyst points out that FARTCOIN could be due for another flush downward. But after that, the meme coin is expected to rise again, and possibly complete an over 2x rally. According to the crypto analyst, the ideal buy zone for the meme coin would be around $0.14610. Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com
Crypto payments platform Bitrefill revealed it was targeted in a cyberattack on March 1, 2026, possibly linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Around 18,500 order records were accessed, including customer email and crypto addresses. The breach began with a compromised employee device and stolen login credentials. Attackers gained access to parts of the company’s database …
Bitcoin started the week strong, rising nearly 7%, but has now pulled back to around $74,000 after failing to hold above $76,000. The rally has slowed as traders wait for today’s Federal Reserve decision. Meanwhile, popular trader DefiWimar has made a bold call, warning that Bitcoin could drop to $69,000. Here’s why? Bitcoin Faces $69K …
Ethereum (ETH) price is back in focus after climbing over 15% this week, quietly outperforming a still-uncertain crypto market. But this move may be more than just a recovery bounce. Beneath the surface, key signals are starting to align, whales are accumulating, derivatives activity is picking up, and price is tightening into a structured setup. …
The company plans to use the funds to expand across Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.
Bitrefill will cover the losses from operational capital.
Ethereum price and the other cryptos are consolidating at their respective resistance ranges, probably awaiting Powell’s speech. With the FOMC key decision on interest rates underway, the markets are consolidating within a tight range. The Federal Reserve is expected to keep the rates unchanged, but all eyes will be on the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s …
The SEC's latest guidance on cryptocurrencies will lead to increased institutional capital flowing into crypto ETFs, one analyst said.
Pi Network has rolled out its full Mainnet upgrade to Protocol 20, unlocking support for programmable smart contracts that can power decentralized apps, NFTs, escrow systems, and subscription services. Launched in 2019 by Stanford founders Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan, the network now has 17.7 million verified users. After exchange listings, including Kraken, Pi trades …
On-chain data shows the Bitcoin short-term holders have responded to the latest price rally by participating in profit realization. Bitcoin Short-Term Holders Have Shown A Realized Profit Spike In a new post on X, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode has talked about the latest trend in the Realized Profit for the Bitcoin short-term holders. The Realized Profit here refers to an indicator that measures, as its name suggests, the total amount of profit being harvested by BTC investors through their transactions. The metric works by going through the transfer history of each coin being moved on the network to see what price it was transacted at prior to this. If the previous selling price was less than the latest spot price for any token, then that particular coin’s current transaction is leading to the realization of some net gain. Related Reading: Cardano Chop Nearing End? Here’s The Key Resistance To Watch The exact degree of profit involved in the move is naturally equal to the difference between the two prices. The Realized Profit adds up this difference for all profitable moves on the blockchain. In the context of the current topic, the Realized Profit of only a segment of the market is of interest: the short-term holders (STHs). This group includes the BTC investors who purchased their coins within the past 155 days. The STHs are generally considered to represent the fickle-minded side of the market, with its members tending to show some reaction whenever market volatility emerges. During the last few days, Bitcoin has seen a recovery surge beyond the $74,000 level and it would appear that the STHs have reacted to it as well. As displayed in the above graph, the 12-hour moving average (MA) of the Bitcoin STH Realized Profit spiked to a value of $18.4 million per hour alongside the price rally. Since the profit-taking spree has arrived, the cryptocurrency’s surge has stalled. “Consistent with the pattern observed over February, where short-term holders continue to exhaust each rally at the +$70k level, absorbing momentum before any breakout can develop,” explained Glassnode. It now remains to be seen whether Bitcoin can overcome the profit realization pressure from the STHs this time around or if the rally’s fate will be similar to other recent attempts at recovery. Related Reading: Dogecoin Surges 6% As Whales Scoop Up 470 Million DOGE In some other news, the crypto Fear & Greed Index has just returned to the fear territory, breaking a long streak of extreme fear in the market. The uplift in sentiment suggests that the price rally has renewed some degree of optimism among traders, although with the index still at a value of 28, the market mood remains quite bearish. BTC Price Bitcoin broke above $75,000 during the price surge, but it has since returned to $74,300. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Cardano has taken a major leap as LayerZero officially integrated the network, connecting it to over 160 blockchains. For years, Cardano operated largely in its own ecosystem, but this move opened the doors to major networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Aptos. The development marks the largest interoperability rollout in Cardano’s history, shifting its position from …
Online shopping was the leading real-world use case for crypto among Australians, followed by paying for services such as freelancing and video game purchases.
Hyperliquid’s permissionless HIP‑3 derivatives market has set a fresh record with open interest topping $1.43 billion, highlighting strong trader demand for decentralized perpetual futures. Notably, the WTI crude oil contract logged about $1.39 billion in 24‑hour volume, placing it behind only Bitcoin in activity and ahead of Ethereum. Recent trends show most of Hyperliquid’s top 30 active …
A cross-party committee has warned that cryptocurrency donations leave UK politics open to foreign interference.
The Senate Banking Committee has been looking to advance its crypto market structure bill since postponing a markup in January.
Bitcoin (BTC) is currently hovering above the recently breached $74,000 resistance, positioning to reclaim price levels not seen since the fourth quarter of last year. However, this week’s activity is set to be turbulent, with market expert Virtual Bacon predicting it could be the “most volatile week in Bitcoin all year.” Bear Market Prevails In a report shared on social media platform X, Virtual Bacon noted that, although the current Bitcoin price uptrend is optimistic, significant challenges remain. The critical 200-day simple moving average (SMA) sits at $93,000, while the 50-week SMA is around $98,000. The last lower high resistance is pegged at $94,000, creating a confluence of resistance in the $93,000 to $98,000 range. Related Reading: Bitcoin Returns To Full Bull Mode: Key Indicators Signal Bottom And Major Relief Rally Simply said, there is a 15% downside risk to support levels in the low $60,000 zone, against a 30% upside potential to resistance. Virtual Bacon emphasized that the chances of a rejection back into the previous range outweigh the possibility of a full breakout into a bull market. “This isn’t me being bearish,” he stated, emphasizing that the analysis is grounded in numerical realities. “We remain in a bear market until BTC decisively breaks above the $94,000 to $98,000 resistance.” Market Volatility Expected This Week Virtual Bacon’s concern regarding the expected volatility this week is attributed to several volatility catalysts. The first is the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting taking place from March 18-19. There is a 99.1% likelihood of no interest rate cuts. However, the expert believes that any comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell—particularly concerning hawkish stances influenced by oil-driven inflation—could trigger a hard market sell-off. Furthermore, the expiration of quarterly Bitcoin options on the same day enhances the potential for dramatic market movements. Current options data indicates heavy open interest clustered around the $74,000 to $75,000 range, suggesting that prices may stay constrained near this level until Friday’s expiry. Virtual Bacon noted that, if the Bitcoin price moves above $75,000, it could surge toward $80,000. However, if it drops below $70,000, it may amplify the downward trend. The ongoing geopolitical tensions surrounding oil prices could further complicate market conditions. The expert contended that if oil prices approach $120, combined with FOMC and quadruple witching events, the market could experience significant instability. Two Scenarios For Bitcoin In the expert’s view, there are two main scenarios to consider by the end of the week. The first, a potential breakout, would see Bitcoin hold above the $75,000 mark through Friday’s expected volatility. He said that this could facilitate a move toward $80,000 and set the stage for renewed bullish sentiment as the market looks for recovery toward the critical resistance levels of $94,000 to $98,000 in the second quarter of the year. Related Reading: Circle (CRLC) Boosted By USDC Demand: New Analyst Projections Suggest Rally To $136 The second scenario involves a rejection at the $75,000 resistance level, leading to a post-expiry drop back into the $63,000 to $70,000 range. Virtual Bacon concludes that if such a decline occurs, the S&P 500 could break below its 200-day SMA, and oil prices could escalate, pushing Bitcoin back into prolonged bear market conditions, with scenarios suggesting prices could fall as low as $58,000 or even $43,000. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
XRP is trading around $1.50, just above a key options cluster at $1.40 on Deribit.
Spikes in large deposits to exchanges have been associated with increased selling pressure, according to analysts at CryptoQuant.
Dogecoin corrected some gains and traded below $0.1010 against the US Dollar. DOGE is now holding the $0.0980 support and might aim for a fresh increase. DOGE price started a fresh downside correction below $0.1020. The price is trading above the $0.0980 level and the 100-hourly simple moving average. There is a bullish trend line forming with support at $0.0968 on the hourly chart of the DOGE/USD pair (data source from Kraken). The price could aim for a fresh increase if it remains stable above $0.0950. Dogecoin Price Trims Gains Dogecoin price started a downside correction after it failed to stay above $0.1025, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. DOGE declined below the $0.1020 and $0.1010 levels. There was a move below the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $0.0944 swing low to the $0.1044 high. The price even spiked below $0.10 before the bulls appeared. The price is now forming a base above $0.0980 and preparing for the next move. There is a bullish trend line forming with support at $0.0968 on the hourly chart of the DOGE/USD pair. Dogecoin price is now trading above the $0.10 level and the 100-hourly simple moving average. Immediate resistance on the upside is near the $0.1015 level. The first major resistance for the bulls could be near the $0.1040 level. The next major resistance is near the $0.1080 level. A close above the $0.1080 resistance might send the price toward $0.1120. Any more gains might send the price toward $0.1150. The next major stop for the bulls might be $0.120. More Losses In DOGE? If DOGE’s price fails to climb above the $0.1015 level, it could continue to move down. Initial support on the downside is near the $0.0980 level. The next major support is near the $0.09680 level or the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $0.0944 swing low to the $0.1044 high. The main support sits at $0.0950. If there is a downside break below the $0.0950 support, the price could decline further. In the stated case, the price might slide toward the $0.0880 level. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for DOGE/USD is now losing momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for DOGE/USD is now above the 50 level. Major Support Levels – $0.0980 and $0.0968. Major Resistance Levels – $0.1015 and $0.1040.
CoinCarp data shows over 91% of TRUMP supply is concentrated in the top 10 wallets, and 97% is held by the top 100 wallets.
Mastercard is set to acquire stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK in a deal worth up to around $1.8 billion, pushing deeper into crypto rails and 24/7 payments. Related Reading: Crypto-Linked Crime Jumps In Basque Country — But What Does It Mean For Traders? A Multi-Billion Crypto Purchase TradFi continues to demonstrate that they don’t want out of the crypto rails, and stablecoins appear to be the safest pathway they have found to adapt to the times. Bloomberg reported this Tuesday afternoon that the purchase of the London‑based fintech startup also includes $300 million in contingent payments. This deal follows four months of a failed $2 billion between BVNK and Coinbase Global Inc. This acquisition is Mastercard’s most recent push into tokenized bank deposits and stablecoins. In an April 2025 press release on its stablecoin strategy, Mastercard said it is “advancing the future of payments, finance and technology with new, global end‑to‑end stablecoin acceptance and payments capabilities,” positioning stablecoins as part of its core network rather than a side experiment. On March 11, Mastercard launched a global initiative that brought together “more than 85 industry leaders” in digital assets and payments, such as Binance, Crypto.com, Kraken, Paypal and Solana, to connect on‑chain innovation with existing payment rails. The Reign Of Stablecoins Stablecoins have become the dominant crypto use case for value transfer, with growing share of on‑chain volume versus speculative trading. A report from Plasma states that stablecoin transaction volume exceeded $33 trillion by late 2025, describing a shift from speculative trading towards utility and payment use cases, calling stablecoins “core financial infrastructure of DeFi”. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Hits $74K As Geopolitical Tensions Spike, Is BTC Poised For a Fresh Leg Down? That explains why big payment networks and banks are racing to lock in stablecoin settlement rails to defend fees and relevance in cross‑border and B2B payments. As Bloomberg puts it, not only Mastercard but also Visa Inc. are “positioning themselves to remain the payment players of choice as emerging technologies become more prominent”. On a press release issued this past January 12, BNVK announced its partnership with Visa to bring stablecoin payments to the Visa Direct platform, as covered by our sister website Bitcoinist. Traders do well to remember that stablecoin‑centric tokens and payment/infrastructure names can gain narrative momentum as “crypto payments” flips from story to execution. The risk, however, is that since the integration, regulation, and execution timelines are slow, the trade in the near term is narrative‑driven rather than fundamentals‑driven. At the moment of writing, BTC’s price reaches the highs $73k. Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSDT chart from Tradingview