A potential US military strike on Iran’s main oil export terminal helped push Bitcoin to its highest price in over a month Monday, as traders poured money into crypto while pulling back from stocks. Related Reading: WLFI Holders Face New 6-Month Lockup Rule To Gain Voting Power Squeeze At The Top Reports show Bitcoin jumped from roughly $72,400 to $74,320 in under 30 minutes — a move sharp enough to wipe out $113 million in short positions within the hour. Based on data from CoinGlass, around 94,612 traders were liquidated in the last 24 hours, the total liquidations comes in at $385.48 million. Short sellers, who had bet on prices falling, were forced to buy back their positions as the price climbed, which pushed it even higher. By early afternoon, Bitcoin was trading near $73,900, up 2.7% on the day. War Fears, Oil Shocks, And A Crypto Bounce The backdrop was anything but calm. US President Donald Trump has been pushing allies — including Britain and Japan — to help form a coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blocked. Reports indicate Trump is also weighing a military seizure of Kharg Island, the facility that handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports. The threat rattled energy markets and sent oil prices climbing. But while stocks have shed trillions in value since the US-Iran conflict broke open on February 28, crypto moved the other way. The total digital asset market cap has grown by more than $310 billion since then. Bitcoin alone is up over 15% from its post-strike lows. Gold posted only modest gains over the same stretch. Traders point to a shift in where money goes when traditional markets wobble. As oil supply fears mount and inflation concerns build, some investors have been moving capital into assets like Bitcoin that sit outside the traditional financial system. Related Reading: XRP Faces Systematic Rigging, Major Holder Says ETF Inflows Add Fuel The rally isn’t just about war headlines. Continued cash flows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have provided a steadier, quieter lift beneath the more dramatic price swings. Optimism around pending crypto legislation added to that mood heading into Monday’s market open. Still, the week ahead carries a lot of uncertainty. A pullback in geopolitical tension could ease the demand that helped drive the spike. And with leveraged buyers now holding positions near recent highs, a reversal could hit hard and fast — the same way Monday’s rally did on the way up. Featured image from Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times/Redux, chart from TradingView
Alliance DAO co-founder Qiao Wang claims Zcash may be “the last possible 1000x in crypto.” His argument is not framed around a near-term catalyst, but around a long-duration macro and technology thesis in which privacy becomes the final major unresolved market gap in digital assets. Why Zcash Could Be The Last 1000x Posting on X on March 15, Wang wrote, “continue to believe that Zcash is the last possible 1000x in crypto. Gov overreach, money printing, rise in socialism, quantum. All massive multi-decade tailwinds.” He paired that with an investment posture that sounded more like a Bitcoin-style conviction trade than a tactical altcoin call: “as with btc, don’t trade it. Accumulate during periods of apathy and hold it for 10-20yrs.” continue to believe that zcash is the last possible 1000x in crypto. gov overreach, money printing, rise in socialism, quantum. all massive multi-decade tailwinds. as with btc, don’t trade it. accumulate during periods of apathy and hold it for 10-20yrs. — qw (@QwQiao) March 15, 2026 The core of Wang’s reasoning is scale. In a follow-up post, he argued that “there’s still lots of possible 10x’s and maybe 100x’s, but a 1000x requires an extraordinarily large tam.” In other words, the bar for that kind of return is not just technical novelty or strong narrative. It requires a market large enough to absorb a multi-decade re-rating. Related Reading: Arthur Hayes Bets On MSTR, Metaplanet And Zcash As Bitcoin Liquidity Turns That idea was quickly reinforced by others in the thread, most notably Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz, who pointed back to a privacy thesis he published in November under the title, “The Last 1000x in Crypto: A Privacy Thesis.” His summary was blunt: “Bitcoin started with three problems: i) legitimacy, ii) programmability and scale, iii) privacy. Bitcoin solved i) by becoming a trillion dollar asset, Solana/Ethereum solved ii), and iii) is the last remaining piece.” Mumtaz’s broader argument is that crypto’s biggest order-of-magnitude gains historically came from solving foundational deficits in the original Bitcoin design. First came legitimacy, then programmability and scale. Privacy, in his view, is the remaining open branch. Related Reading: Zcash Foundation Investigation Closed: SEC Decision Sparks 12% Jump In ZEC Price He wrote that “improvements will continue to happen on this programmability/scale branch and the Bitcoin branch, but I’m not sure we’ll see another 1,000x improvement. That is to say, I think future improvements are marginal, not order of magnitude in scale.” By contrast, he argued, “the privacy branch is the last thing remaining for asymmetric upside.” Why Zcash rather than privacy tech in the abstract? That part of the conversation turned less on code and more on credibility. Awa Sun Yin, co-founder of Anoma and a board member at Shielded Labs, recounted a rumor that circulated “in the trenches” late last year: that someone influential enough to get a meeting with the US president had been moving through political circles arguing that Bitcoin and crypto lacked privacy because “holdings and balances were visible to everyone – and seizable,” and recommending Zcash instead. Awa said the key point was not whether the story was true. “What’s relevant is that when you read or hear this story, you have an easy time believing it,” Awa wrote. “Whereas the story wouldn’t be believable if the person were recommending Monero or any other privacy coin instead of Zcash.” At press time, Zcash traded at $231.59. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The viral Rosie story credited AI with designing a custom cancer vaccine. The scientists who actually made it say the credit belongs elsewhere entirely.
Niantic’s spatial AI, built partly from optional scans submitted through its AR games, is now helping delivery robots navigate cities.
CEO Jensen Huang predicted $1 trillion in chip demand through 2027 and praised OpenClaw and the rapid rise of agentic AI systems.
Ethereum has reclaimed the $2,200 level as the broader cryptocurrency market shows signs of short-term strength following several weeks of volatility and uncertain momentum. The move higher suggests that buyers are attempting to regain control after a prolonged corrective phase, even as macroeconomic conditions continue to weigh on risk assets. Related Reading: $61.9M Ethereum Buy Sparks Speculation – Mystery Whale Turns $1M Profit Overnight However, a recent CryptoQuant report highlights that the broader environment remains fragile. According to the analysis, escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran have contributed to a sharp surge in global oil prices. Rising energy costs are adding new pressure to an already sensitive macroeconomic landscape. Recent US inflation data underscores this challenge. Core CPI came in at 2.5% year-over-year, while the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, registered 3.1% year-over-year, suggesting that inflationary pressures remain persistent. Higher oil prices could complicate the outlook further. If energy costs continue rising, inflation data for the coming months—particularly March and April—may reflect additional upward pressure. As a result, many institutional investors have begun rotating away from risk assets. The shift has coincided with a strengthening US dollar and rising long-term bond yields, both of which typically reduce liquidity available for speculative markets. Within the crypto sector, altcoins appear particularly vulnerable, with Ethereum often acting as the primary barometer of broader altcoin sentiment. Futures Dominance Signals Weakness in Ethereum’s Spot Market A recent CryptoQuant analysis by Darkfost highlights notable structural shifts in Ethereum’s market activity, particularly within the derivatives sector. According to the report, ETH open interest on Binance has declined significantly since January, falling by roughly 400,000 ETH, which represents nearly $4 billion in futures positions leaving the market. Such a reduction typically reflects a cooling of speculative leverage as traders close positions or reduce exposure following periods of volatility. However, the report notes that the derivatives market continues to dominate Ethereum’s trading activity despite the drop in open interest. One of the most striking signals appears in the spot-to-futures volume ratio on Binance, which has now fallen to its lowest level since 2023, near the end of the previous bear market cycle. Currently, futures trading volume on the platform exceeds spot trading volume by more than six times. This imbalance suggests that Ethereum’s spot market remains relatively weak, with fewer participants actively purchasing the asset outright. Instead, trading activity appears concentrated in leveraged derivatives markets. Darkfost also points to a potential factor influencing market caution. Continued sales from major ecosystem entities—such as the Ethereum Foundation or even wallets associated with Vitalik Buterin—may be contributing to investor hesitation and limiting stronger spot demand in the current environment. Related Reading: Ethereum Whale Loads Up $152M In ETH In Three Days — How Much More Will He Buy? Ethereum Approaches Key Resistance After Short-Term Breakout The 4-hour chart shows Ethereum gaining momentum after a period of prolonged consolidation that dominated price action throughout February and early March. During that phase, ETH repeatedly tested the $1,900–$2,050 range, forming a broad accumulation structure as volatility gradually declined. In recent sessions, however, buyers have regained control of the short-term trend. Ethereum has now broken above the cluster of moving averages that previously acted as dynamic resistance, including the short-term and mid-term trend indicators visible on the chart. This shift suggests improving bullish momentum and a potential transition from consolidation to recovery. Related Reading: XRP Reserves On Binance Drop To Lowest Level Since April 2025 – A $3.7B Drain Price is currently trading around the $2,260 area, which represents the next immediate resistance zone. This level previously acted as a supply region during earlier rebounds, meaning sellers may attempt to defend it again. Volume has also increased during the latest upward move, indicating stronger market participation compared to earlier attempts to push higher. Rising volume during breakouts often signals stronger conviction among buyers. From a structural perspective, the market now faces a critical test. If Ethereum manages to hold above the $2,100–$2,150 support zone, the bullish momentum could extend toward the $2,300–$2,400 region. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin opened the week by rallying straight into a key resistance level. If it holds, BTC and altcoins could embark on the next leg of the crypto bull market.
The alleged theft of 2,323 bitcoin has triggered a High Court dispute testing how English property law applies to digital assets.
OpenSea delays its SEA token launch as CEO Devin Finzer cites challenging crypto market conditions and promises a new timeline later.
The post OpenSea delays SEA token launch as CEO cites challenging crypto market conditions appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Last October, the platform revealed details regarding the SEA token generation event, saying at the time it was eyeing.
The platform will end its rewards waves, offer optional fee refunds for certain traders and introduce 0% token trading fees for 60 days starting March 31 as it promotes its revamped marketplace.
New SEC filing names Anchorage Digital Bank as the crypto custodian and adds SUI to the list of eligible tokens in the proposed fund that aims for direct digital asset exposure.
Bitcoin’s recovery above $74,000 highlights a rapidly improving market, but several data points suggest that pro traders remain cautious and skeptical.
Cboe files with SEC to launch near 24x5 trading for U.S. equities, reflecting growing global demand for overnight stock market access.
The post Cboe targets December 2026 rollout for near 24×5 U.S. equities trading appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Unlike previous years, only a handful of official events at the 2026 version of the iconic Austin festival featured crypto.
SEC prepares proposal to make quarterly earnings reports optional, allowing U.S. companies to report results twice a year.
The post SEC considers ending mandatory quarterly earnings reports for US companies: WSJ appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
About two-thirds of the company’s tokens are currently staked, generating an estimated $180 million in annualized revenue.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) has experienced a sudden increase in futures net flows, skyrocketing more than 1,549% in one day. The spike comes amid broader market volatility and negative sentiment, which has pushed SHIB’s price to record lows. Despite the ongoing downtrend, the recent increase in net flows signals growing activity among derivative traders. Additionally, this pattern may indicate potential support for a strong bullish trend if the latest inflows translate into sustained buying activity. Shiba Inu Sees Massive Surge In Net Flows The Shiba Inu ecosystem has seen a dramatic shift in its futures market, with net flows surging by an astonishing 1,549.47%, according to CoinGlass data. The sharp increase reflects a notable but brief change in trader behavior, with more capital flowing into SHIB futures contracts than exiting them over 24 hours. Related Reading: Shiba Inu Whales Are On The Move Again, But In What Direction? Notably, on-chain data shows inflows of $14.52 million and outflows of $13.80 million, resulting in a net inflow of about $446,810. While such a massive jump is partly due to very low net flows the day before, it still signals growing interest and adjustments in positions among derivative traders. Interestingly, the increase in futures net flows comes after a downward pressure in the SHIB price. Since 2025, the popular meme coin has traded sideways, ending the year in the red and continuing its downtrend in 2026. Although it experienced a brief recovery in January, when many meme coins spiked, Shiba Inu eventually gave up those gains. Nevertheless, the influx into futures contracts suggests the traders may be anticipating a reversal or preparing for heightened volatility. Sometimes, positive inflows in derivatives can foreshadow increased buying pressure, especially if they reflect new long positions driven by risk appetite. As of March 16, 2026, Shiba Inu is trading above $ 0.000006, indicating a strong recovery, with more than a 17% gain over the past day. The meme coin is trending upwards, with its market capitalization spiking by approximately 8% and total trading volume over the last 24 hours rising by more than 96%. Related Reading: Don’t Hold Your Breath: AI Prediction Says Shiba Inu Won’t Hit All-Time High This Year With the market finally recovering after months of consolidation, this could be the perfect opportunity for bulls to capitalize on any lingering positioning from the latest netflow spike and push SHIB above key levels. Analyst Predicts SHIB Price Could Delete A Zero In a technical analysis on X, crypto expert SHIB Knight commented on Shiba Inu’s latest rebound and continued increase. The analyst stated that “the market is healing,” highlighting the meme coin’s ongoing recovery from recent sell-offs and price swings as well as its potential for further upward momentum. He explained that Shiba Inu’s rebound began once Bitcoin’s price rose above $70,000. For his price forecast, he predicts that Shiba Inu could shed a zero in the coming day. The analysts noted that he is currently watching for a ceasefire or some form of resolution between the US and Iran as a potential factor that could influence overall market direction. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin’s power law enters a 2026 stress test as Giovanni’s new chart shifts the debate from price targets to regime signals Bitcoin Power Law chart creator Giovanni Santostasi has added a new layer to one of crypto’s most durable valuation models. The chart shifts attention to Bitcoin's movements away from the trend line, with a […]
The post New Bitcoin power law chart turns $124k into the ETF-era battleground appeared first on CryptoSlate.
A new report reveals that OpenAI's own team warned the company against its adult mode plans—but the AI giant is still moving forward.
The amended SEC filing details the assets, custody arrangements and potential staking plans for the actively managed crypto fund.
Fresh ETF inflows, digital asset treasury buying and a shift away from bitcoin to altcoins are helping lift the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Peirce said the SEC isn't a “merit regulator,” emphasizing the agency doesn't decide whether financial products are good or bad investments.
The SEC has ended its case against Nader Al-Naji, who was accused of $257 million in unregistered securities sales via the BitClout token.
Data shows the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index has marked an improvement after the latest price surge, but its value is still inside the extreme fear zone. Bitcoin Has Witnessed A Price Jump Over The Past Day Bitcoin ended last week on a mixed note, first observing a sharp surge near $74,000 on Friday, but then dropping back into the low $70,000 levels inside the same day. The weekend saw the asset consolidate, but it seems the new week has brought with it fresh bullish momentum as BTC has jumped once more. Related Reading: Bitcoin Foundation For A Mid-Term Breakout Remains Thin, Cost Basis Data Shows As the below chart shows, Bitcoin went further than the Friday jump this time, briefly hitting $74,400. The cryptocurrency has pulled back a bit since the high, but with a current value of $73,200, it remains more than 7% in the green on the weekly timeframe. BTC hasn’t been alone in the bullish push as the altcoins have also observed rallies. Ethereum, the second largest digital asset, has seen even better returns than Bitcoin, being up 13% on the week. Recent trader sentiment has been poor because of the extended bearish price action, but the new recovery has led to some improvement. BTC Fear & Greed Index Now At Edge Of Extreme Fear Territory The “Fear & Greed Index” refers to an indicator created by Alternative that tells us about the average sentiment present among investors in the Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency markets. The index determines the trader mentality using the data of five factors: market cap dominance, trading volume, volatility, social media sentiment, and Google Trends. To represent the sentiment, it uses a numerical scale running from 0 to 100. All values above 53 on this scale correspond to a sentiment of greed, while those under 47 to one of fear. The values in between imply a net neutral market mentality. Besides these three core zones, there are also two extreme territories on the index called the extreme fear (25 and under) and extreme greed (above 75). All the recent bearish price action pushed the market down into one of these extreme zones, as the chart below shows: From the graph, it’s visible that since dropping down deep into the extreme fear zone in February, the Fear & Greed Index has steadily been improving this month. The latest Bitcoin recovery surge, in particular, has induced a notable jump in the indicator. Related Reading: Bitcoin Recovery Requires STH Profitability Above 50%: Glassnode However, the trader sentiment still hasn’t improved enough to escape the extreme fear zone. Nonetheless, at a current value of 23, the index is now very close to transitioning into the normal fear region. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin chases $75,000 as the return of aggressive spot BTC ETF inflows, billion-dollar buys from Strategy and an improvement in investors’ risk appetite propel the crypto market.
The Ertzaintza (Basque Country police) says crypto is now present in a growing share of tech‑enabled crimes in Euskadi. More Than 500 Crypto Crimes In A Small Region In a report from last Monday, northern Spain’s Ertzaintza stated that they logged 541 crypto‑linked complaints in 2025, all of them undergoing investigation right now. The cases include 13 investigations into alleged fraud offenses and multiple other money laundering, embezzlement, fraud, scams and asset concealment related offenses, with crypto mainly as a rail to move or hide funds rather than the only target. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Hits $74K As Geopolitical Tensions Spike, Is BTC Poised For a Fresh Leg Down? A Growing Trend The Basque Country situation is not an outlier, but rather a micro‑case of a broader European pattern of growing cases of cryptocurrency-related crimes. The European’s Union Police Agency (Europol) has called crypto‑enabled fraud and laundering a “significant burden” for law enforcement, with Spain regularly cited in large pan‑European operations. Spain has recently carried various operations dismantling multi‑million‑euro pyramid schemes and cross‑border laundering networks that used bitcoin and other coins to wash funds for thousands of victims. The 2026 Crypto Crime Report by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs estimated that illicit wallets received 158 billion dollars in 2025, up 145% year‑on‑year, yet that was only ~1.2% of total crypto transaction volume and a smaller share than in 2023, as reported by our sister website Bitcoinist. A Country Of Extreme Crypto Surveillance Spain is widely known in the crypto community as one of the countries with the thighter and most asphixiating regulations for crypto. Since 2021, CEXs like Binance and Coinbase are forced to share customer information with the Spanish Government under the Law on Measures to Prevent and Combat Tax Fraud. On top of the already strict reporting rules for foreign-held assets and harsh penalties for mistakes, lawmakers are now backing a proposal that would move crypto gains into the general income tax base, exposing high earners to rates of up to 47% on their digital asset profits. Related Reading: Bitcoin And US Election Cycles: An Age-Long Romance That Says $400,000 Is Possible What This Means For Traders Markets tend to price in regulatory and enforcement risk: short‑term headline spikes rarely change bitcoin’s long‑term trend by themselves, but harsher tax and AML moves in key jurisdictions like Spain can hit liquidity and local volumes. For traders, increased enforcement in places like the Basque Country means more KYC friction but also cleaner counterparties and a stronger institutional case over time. With scams clustering around promises of outsized yield, serious market participants should treat police warnings as a sentiment signal, not an existential threat to the asset class. BTC’s price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
A senior executive at one of Asia’s leading financial firms just made one of the clearest institutional cases for XRP heard in recent months, and the numbers he cited are difficult to argue with. Sagar Shah, Chief Business Officer of EverNorth Asia, sat down for an interview covering the XRP Ledger ecosystem and its potential …
The Sei Development Foundation joined in the round to support expansion of an SEC-regulated alternative trading system and settlement platform for blockchain-based securities.