Quick Take

• Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) reached its lowest since November 2024; Crypto.com launched Crypto.com IRAs; Nedbank partnered with Crypto.com to drive blockchain-based financial innovation across Africa.
• U.S. spot BTC ETFs had a net inflow of US$569 million last week, down from $787 million the week prior. Spot ETH ETFs saw a net inflow of $24 million in the same period, down from $81 million the week prior.
• On the macro side, the U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI (52.4%) marked the second consecutive month of expansion, while the ISM Services PMI (56.1%) hit its highest reading since mid-2022. However, the labor market cooled as U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls unexpectedly fell by 92,000 in February, missing estimates for a 50,000 gain and pushing unemployment to 4.4%. The latest CME FedWatch Tool shows a 4% probability of a March rate cut, unchanged from last week. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East briefly pushed oil prices near $120 a barrel.
• Notable updates: Tether released its first reserve report for the USAT stablecoin, reviewed by Deloitte; Sui launched its native stablecoin, USDsui; Aave’s “Aave Will Win” framework passed its preliminary vote.
• Notable events in the coming week: U.S. Consumer Price Index and Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index.

Research Dashboard

According to our research dashboard, the price index fell by -0.48% while volume and volatility indices increased by +4.22%, and +25.44%, respectively, last week. BTC increased by +0.5% while ETH remained unchanged. 

Token prices in the index mostly decreased except for BTC (+0.5%) and TON (+9.32%). Volatility increases were led by TON (+60.61%) and BTC (+39.85%). BTC rose above $73,000 mid-week before retreating to the $67,000-level. The rally followed positive U.S. ISM Manufacturing and Services PMI data and crypto ETF inflows, while the subsequent drop coincided with unexpected Nonfarm Payrolls data and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Chart of the Week

Bitcoin futures aggregated open interest (OI) reached a low of $43 billion on March 2, its lowest since November 2024. During BTC’s midweek climb past $73,000, OI increased close to $50 billion before falling back to $45 billion on March 7. The declined OI signals caution  among institutional traders, though resilient ETF net inflows signal continued underlying demand. 

Weekly Performance

Top-cap tokens mostly decreased last week. BTC increased by +0.5% while ETH remained unchanged. TON and NEAR led the increase, while ADA and POL led the decrease. POL’s Lisovo upgrade went live on the mainnet on March 4, activating a $1 million gas subsidy for agent-to-agent payments. The general decrease coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Most key categories saw a decrease in market capitalization in the last seven days, led by Gaming and Meme.

News Highlights

Crypto.com / Cronos News

• Crypto.com launched Crypto.com IRAs, the first-ever crypto native mixed asset retirement account. This new offering allows users to hold stocks and crypto seamlessly through the Crypto.com App, and features various rewards and incentives.
• Nedbank partnered with Crypto.com to drive blockchain-based financial innovation across Africa, offering real-time, low-cost, and secure settlement options in both the South African rand (ZAR) and USDC.
• Crypto.com announced a $1 million donation to After-School All-Stars in collaboration with the LA Kings and the Kings Care Foundation. The initiative aims to leverage the power of sport and community platforms to expand access to educational programming nationwide.

Regulation

• U.S. President Donald Trump formally sent Kevin Warsh’s nomination to head the Federal Reserve to the Senate. Warsh is known for his favorable views on bitcoin, calling it "an important asset" that can help inform policymakers.
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a proposal to the White House on the interpretation of applying the federal securities law on cryptocurrencies. It includes a token taxonomy to determine tokens which may be considered securities.
• U.S. State of Florida became the first state to pass a stablecoin framework. The legislation establishes a regime for qualified stablecoin issuers and launches a pilot for stablecoin payments for government services. 
• Pakistan passed the Virtual Assets Act 2026, which establishes the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) to regulate digital asset service providers. 
• South Korea has reportedly agreed to cap the maximum shareholding limit in domestic crypto exchanges at 20%, with exceptions for new businesses. Exchanges will reportedly have three years to adjust their ownership structure.
• South Korea’s upcoming launch of the Corporate Virtual Currency Trading Guidelines could potentially allow companies to hold crypto, but may exclude stablecoins.

Adoption

• Western Union partnered with Crossmint to support the launch of its USDPT stablecoin and the new Digital Asset Network on Solana. The collaboration will link stablecoin payments with Western Union’s infrastructure.
• Bank of Canada and a few industry players piloted tokenized bond issuance and settlement on distributed ledger technology (DLT) to reduce settlement times and eliminate trade delays.
• Qivalis, a group of 12 EU banks, is in active discussions with major crypto exchanges and liquidity providers to ensure liquidity for its euro stablecoin rollout in the second half of the year.
• The Bank of Japan (BoJ) launched a blockchain sandbox to test settlements using central bank money, with use cases including interbank settlement and securities settlement.
• Sony Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with stablecoin issuer JPYC to explore the integration of yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC into the bank’s ecosystem, allowing real-time purchases from customer bank accounts.

Investment Vehicles & Governance

• 21Shares launched the first U.S. spot Polkadot (DOT) ETF, expanding the range of regulated digital products available to investors.
• Scotiabank partnered with 3iQ to launch the Dynamic Active Multi-Crypto ETF, providing exposure to bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP.
• Nasdaq filed to list binary options on the Nasdaq 100 Micro Index. The contracts will be priced between $0.1 and $1 to reflect the market’s view of the probability of the outcome.

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