Quick Take

• Trump signed an Executive Order for a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve; Cronos proposed to reissue 70 billion CRO for a Cronos Strategic Reserve; US state of Texas’s Senate passed bitcoin reserve bill SB-21

• US spot bitcoin ETFs had a net outflow of US$739 billion last week, 72% less than the week before. Spot ether ETFs saw a net outflow of $94 million last week, 72% less than the week before.

• On the macro side, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates by 0.25% to 2.5%, in line with expectations, and cited that monetary policy is becoming “meaningfully less restrictive”. In the US, nonfarm payrolls increased 151,000 in February, lower than the 170,000 estimate by Dow Jones, amid a decline in federal government employment. The latest CME FedWatch Tool showed a 97% probability of a March rate cut in the US (vs 93% last week).

• Notable updates: Ethereum's Pectra upgrade went live on the Sepolia testnet; the Crypto.com App listed RedStone (RED), Reactive Network (REACT), and Loaded Lions (LION)

• Notable events in the coming week: Canada’s BoC Interest Rate Decision, US Consumer and Producer Price Index

Weekly Market Index

Price and volume indices dropped by -6.91% and -0.06% last week, while the volatility index was up by +30.75%.

Volatility was led by ONDO (+222.64%) and CRO (+139.09%). This followed news of Ondo Finance becoming the largest real-world asset platform by total value locked (TVL) at over US$1 billion, and Cronos proposing to reissue 70 billion CRO in a Cronos Strategic Reserve.

Check price

Chart of the Week

The US government currently holds $16.7 billion worth of crypto, including $16.3 billion worth of BTC (198,109 BTC) that accounts for 97.5% of the portfolio, according to Arkham Intelligence.

With the recently signed Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the government will not sell any bitcoin in the reserve, effectively removing $16 billion of potential sell pressure on bitcoin. Additionally, the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce are authorised to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin.

Weekly Performance

BTC and ETH decreased by -11.5% and -16.2%, respectively, in the past seven days. Prices of other selected top market capitalisation tokens were mostly down.

All key categories decreased in market capitalisation in the past seven days. The AI category and meme category led the decrease.

Notable Token Updates

Newly Listed Tokens in Crypto.com App

News Highlights

Crypto.com / Cronos News

• Cronos proposed plans to reissue 70 billion CRO into a Cronos Strategic Reserve escrow wallet, a reversal of the 70 billion CRO burned in 2021. The escrow wallet will be subject to a new five-year lockup on top of the five-year lockup that has already passed since CRO's original issuance on Ethereum, bringing the total vesting period to ten years. The proposal voting period is from 3 to 17 March.

Adoption

• US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will consist of bitcoin owned by the federal government that was obtained through criminal or forfeiture proceedings. David Sacks, the White House crypto czar, mentioned that the US will not sell any bitcoin in the reserve. The Digital Asset Stockpile will consist of crypto other than bitcoin, and the government will not buy additional cryptocurrencies for the stockpile beyond those obtained through forfeiture proceedings and will consider various management strategies, including potential sales.

• The US state of Texas’s Senate passed the bitcoin reserve bill SB-21. The US state of Utah’s HB230 “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments” bill also passed its Senate, but removed a key provision that would have established a state bitcoin reserve. Moreover, New Hampshire’s House Committee passed the bitcoin reserve bill 302 and will be sent to its House for voting.

• El Salvador purchased 13 BTC since 1 March, currently holding a total of 6,105 BTC, despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pressuring the nation’s government to scale back on bitcoin accumulation.

Regulation

• Vietnam’s prime minister requested a proposal submission regarding a legal framework for managing digital assets and crypto in March. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) were given the task to finalise the proposals.

• India’s Income Tax Department will have authority to monitor individuals’ digital activities, including emails, social media, and online transactions, starting 1 April 2026. This aims to help in detecting tax evasion and undisclosed assets.

• Bank of Israel released a preliminary design for the digital shekel (DS), a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC), with details on its functionality, design, and regulatory considerations. There is no confirmed intent on an official launch.

Investment Vehicles

• Bitwise filed an S-1 to list the Bitwise Aptos ETF, marking its latest effort to list crypto ETFs, including its recent filings for a spot Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin ETF. Last week, NYSE Arca also filed the 19b-4 to list the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF, pending approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• Canary Capital filed an S-1 with the US SEC to launch an Axelar ETF. In addition, Delaware’s registration portal showed that “Canary SUI ETF” was registered on 6 March, potentially indicating the preparation of an S-1 filing.

• Grayscale filed to list and trade a spot Hedera ETF with the US SEC. The asset manager has previously filed to list other altcoin ETFs, including Dogecoin, XRP, Cardano, and Solana, which are all under review.

Recent Research Report

• Wall Street On-Chain: Will Bitcoin Be Another Asset?: Based on bitcoin’s recent developments and adoption in institutions, this report explores if BTC could become a new asset beyond crypto.

• The Evolution of the Institutional Crypto Market: From Liquidity to Global Adoption: This article presents the institutional crypto market, focusing on liquidity and global adoption.

• DeFAI: DeFi x AI: DeFi is witnessing a fresh wave of innovation, with one of the most exciting developments being the fusion of DeFi and AI — often referred to as DeFAI. In this report, we look into the DeFAI landscape and delve into Griffain and HeyAnon as case studies, both of which are notable examples in the abstraction protocol category.

Recent University Articles

• How Does Inflation Influence the Cryptocurrency Market?: Discover how inflation impacts the cryptocurrency market, from Bitcoin’s role as ‘digital gold’ to central bank policies.

• APY vs APR — What Do They Mean?: Learn the differences between annual percentage yield (APY) and annual percentage rate (APR) in the crypto market.

• Ethereum vs Cardano: Comparing Two Giants of the Programmable Blockchain: Explore the differences between Ethereum and Cardano, two leading programmable blockchains.

Catalyst Calendar

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