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The UK's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has argued that banning blockchain-based privacy tools would be counterproductive. In a report based on a public-private roundtable, RUSI stated that the growing role of privacy-related protocols and platforms within the cryptocurrency sector must be balanced with regulatory compliance goals. The institute warned that banning privacy solutions such as privacy pools or zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs) would only make it more difficult to detect illicit activities. RUSI also called for enhanced cooperation between privacy tool developers and law enforcement agencies.

Amid reports of Binance's potential violations of sanctions against Iran, a group of 11 Democratic U.S. senators led by Chris Van Hollen has urged Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to investigate the exchange. According to The Block, the senators sent a letter to the cabinet secretaries expressing concern about whether Binance has adequate safeguards to prevent the inflow of illicit funds. They called for a swift and comprehensive investigation into the company's sanctions compliance to ensure Binance does not violate the law again and threaten U.S. national security.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has announced a new scaling roadmap designed to increase the network's short-term capacity while preparing for a long-term transition to advanced cryptographic technologies and data-intensive blobs. In the short term, the plan aims to use upgrades like Glamsterdam and ePBS to help nodes verify blocks more efficiently and better utilize the 12-second slot, allowing Ethereum to safely accommodate more transactions in each block. For the long term, Buterin proposed increasing the cost of permanent data storage and relying more heavily on zero-knowledge proofs and blobs to boost throughput without making the network operable only by large, well-funded operators. CoinDesk noted that this marks a shift in focus for Buterin, who is now concentrating on scaling Ethereum's base layer, in contrast to the ecosystem's recent emphasis on Layer 2 rollups over the past few years.

British investment bank Barclays is reportedly exploring the introduction of a blockchain-based payment system to prepare for the rise of stablecoins and the potential digitization of deposits. According to Bloomberg, Barclays has contacted technology providers to build infrastructure that would support payments and tokenized deposits. The discussions are in the early stages, and no official launch plans have been announced.

Coinbase has announced it will support the migration of Sei (SEI) to an EVM-only architecture from April 6 to 8. The move follows Sei's previously announced plan to phase out support for Cosmos-based transactions and transition to the new architecture.

PayPal has launched PYUSDx, a new platform to help developers issue their own stablecoins for applications based on PayPal USD (PYUSD), Cointelegraph reported. The platform combines M0's universal stablecoin with the MoonPay platform, aiming to expand access to proprietary stablecoins. It offers features such as app-specific stablecoin issuance, cross-chain capabilities, and branded token options.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Scam Center Strike Force has frozen and seized $580 million in cryptocurrency from criminal organizations in Southeast Asia, Decrypt reported. The strike force has been intensively tracking pig butchering scam groups based in countries including Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. The department plans to return the seized funds to victims as much as possible. Law enforcement authorities also added that these criminal groups are closely linked to transnational organized crime with Chinese roots.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for January rose 0.5% from the previous month. This figure exceeded the market forecast of 0.3%. The PPI is reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) with a time lag.

An address presumed to belong to the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) team, starting with 0x11ea, has deposited 11.4 million WLFI, valued at $1.31 million, to OKX, according to Onchain Lens. Deposits to exchanges are typically interpreted as preparation for a sale.

Bitcoin options traders have recently established positions targeting $90,000, a potential sign that the market is entering a stabilization phase, according to an analysis by on-chain derivatives platform Derive. The Block reported that Derive noted a shift among traders away from aggressive downside hedging in preparation for a rebound. Specifically, open interest in call options expiring on March 27 is concentrated at strike prices of $80,000 and $90,000. At the same time, significant put option positions at the $60,000 and $55,000 strike prices suggest any potential downturn would likely be a limited correction rather than a panic sell-off, the platform projected. The Block added that with over $1 billion in net inflows into spot BTC ETFs over the past three days, a rebound could unfold if macroeconomic clarity is achieved.

Open-source AI reasoning research lab Sentient (SENT) has announced the launch of its AI agent platform, Arena. The platform simulates corporate workflows and records the entire reasoning process, allowing thousands of developers to validate different approaches. It has attracted early-stage backing from prominent investment firms including Founders Fund, Pantera, and Franklin Templeton. Arena's first challenge will focus on document-based reasoning, a key task in corporate environments, with initial participants including AlphaXiv, Fireworks, OpenHands, and OpenRouter. Sentient noted that while 85% of companies want to adopt AI agents, less than 25% have adequate governance, projecting high demand for a platform that can verify performance. Arena is launching globally and will hold its first in-person event in San Francisco on March 14.

Amid growing security concerns in the Middle East, the U.S. government has approved the withdrawal of some personnel and their families from its embassy in Israel, while Chinese authorities have advised their citizens to leave Iran, according to multiple media outlets. This move comes as the Donald Trump administration signals the possibility of military action against Iran amid escalating military tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The UK's Gambling Commission (UKGC) is reportedly considering allowing cryptocurrencies as a payment method for legal gambling services, according to a media outlet. The move is seen as an effort to bring the rapidly growing number of cryptocurrency users into the regulatory fold rather than maintaining the current ban. The intention is to allow crypto payments through authorized exchanges, which would help track the flow of illicit gambling funds. Industry insiders expect that the introduction of crypto payments would enable borderless transactions, thereby boosting the competitiveness of the UK's gambling sector.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $66,000. BTC is trading at $65,985.3 on the Binance USDT market.

ZKSync (ZK) will officially shut down ZKSync Lite on May 4, The Block reported. ZKSync Lite is regarded as the first zero-knowledge rollup on the Ethereum network. ZKSync added that it will halt block production and freeze the network on that date. While the approximately $33.9 million in assets bridged to the network can still be claimed after the shutdown, users are advised to withdraw their funds before May 4. Development on ZKSync Lite was effectively halted in March 2023 with the launch of ZKSync Era, which supports smart contracts.

Opinion (OPN), a prediction platform on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem, has announced that users must register their wallet addresses to receive the OPN airdrop by 11:59 p.m. UTC on Feb. 28. According to the announcement, users can designate up to five self-custody BNB Chain addresses for the airdrop, but deposit addresses from centralized exchanges (CEX) are not permitted. Once submitted, the address registration cannot be modified. For users who do not register a wallet by the deadline, the airdrop will be automatically sent to the address already connected to the platform.

Solana accumulation firm Forward Industries (FWDI) is facing an unrealized loss of approximately $1 billion, BeInCrypto reported. The company holds around 6,915,568 SOL, acquired at an average price of $230, which currently represents a 62% loss. Despite the paper loss, Forward Industries stated that its long-term goal is to become the "Berkshire Hathaway of the Solana ecosystem." The firm added that it is confident Solana is the best-positioned blockchain to lead the future internet market.

The U.S. state of Minnesota has begun considering a bill to completely ban the operation of cryptocurrency kiosks, The Block reported. The move comes amid a recent surge in scams targeting the elderly. In Minnesota, 70 cases of kiosk-related fraud have been reported, with total damages amounting to $540,000. According to a police investigation, scammers approached senior citizens living on fixed incomes and induced them to send Bitcoin through the kiosks. Some victims reportedly sent their entire life savings, leading to the loss of their homes. The regulation of crypto ATMs has become a growing trend recently to prevent money laundering and other criminal activities.

The central question in Asia's stablecoin market is whether national currencies can maintain their place in the future of digital payments, making the region a strategic battleground, according to a 'State of the Asian Stablecoin Market in 2026' report from Tiger Research, an Asian Web3 research and consulting firm. The report notes that the stablecoin market has grown at an average annual rate of approximately 750% since 2018, with the total market capitalization nearing $300 billion as of February 2026. However, about 99% of this market is dominated by U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. In response, various Asian nations are issuing stablecoins based on their own currencies to bolster their monetary competitiveness and economic security. Key developments by country include: - Singapore has legalized stablecoins. - Hong Kong brought them under a regulatory framework in August 2025. - Japan was the first to begin legislating the scope of permissible issuers. - South Korea lacks a dedicated law, but activity outside the regulatory sphere has already started. - China has banned all private stablecoins, opting instead for a strategy centered on its central bank-issued digital yuan (e-CNY).

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $67,000. BTC is trading at $66,954.91 on the Binance USDT market.

Bitcoin financial firm Matrixport has transferred 750 BTC, worth approximately $51 million, to Binance, according to Onchain Lens.

The market capitalization gap between Bitcoin and Samsung Electronics has narrowed to around $350 billion. According to data from CompaniesMarketCap, Bitcoin's current market cap is approximately $1.358 trillion, ranking it 13th overall, while Samsung Electronics is in 15th place with a market cap of about $1.005 trillion. Bitcoin's market cap reached $2.1 trillion in June last year, placing it fifth among global assets, but has since declined following a correction this year. In contrast, Samsung Electronics' stock has risen sharply since the end of last year, driven by factors such as rising memory semiconductor prices, after its market cap stood at around $270 billion at the end of 2024.

Coinone announced that it is removing Trust Wallet Token (TWT) from its delisting watchlist.

Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings (MARA), formerly Marathon Digital, reported a net loss of $1.71 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025, a sharp downturn driven by the slump in Bitcoin's price, Cointelegraph reported. The primary cause was a $1.5 billion impairment charge on its asset holdings. A decrease in mining output and lower revenue also contributed to the results. This contrasts with the fourth quarter of 2024, when the company recorded a net profit of $528 million. For the full year 2025, MARA's net loss totaled $1.31 billion, shifting from a $541 million net profit the previous year.

A potential military conflict between the U.S. and Iran could send a shockwave through the entire Bitcoin network, as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is using BTC mining as a key tool to evade sanctions. This is according to financial analyst and geopolitical writer Shanaka Anslem Perera in a post on X. Perera explained that Iran, leveraging electricity subsidies, can mine one BTC for just $1,320, securing a 50-fold margin at current market prices. He noted that there are 700,000 mining rigs in the country consuming 2,000 MW of power, which is a primary cause of rolling blackouts for civilians. "Although 95% of these rigs are illegal, the IRGC is behind them, operating without paying electricity fees," Perera stated. He added that Iran accounts for 2-5% of the global BTC hashrate, meaning one in every 25 blocks mined serves as a funding source for the IRGC. He warned that a U.S. military operation targeting Iran's power grid could wipe out 30-50% of the country's electricity generation, halting most mining activities. "This would cause the global hashrate to plummet, delay block generation times, and cause transaction fees to surge, shocking the cryptocurrency ecosystem," Perera concluded.