Quick Take

• Tokenized U.S. Treasuries increased by nearly US$2 billion year-to-date; Crypto.com received conditional approval for a national trust bank charter; Crypto.com received a limited Financial Institutions licence in the EU.
• U.S. spot BTC ETFs had a net inflow of $787 million last week, compared to $316 million net outflow the week prior. Spot ETH ETFs saw a net inflow of $81 million in the same period, compared to $123 million net outflow the week prior.
• On the macro side, the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for January rose 0.5% monthly, exceeding the 0.3% Dow Jones forecast. Global markets remain on edge following joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran this past weekend. The latest CME FedWatch Tool shows a 4% probability of a March rate cut, same as last week.
• Notable updates: Ethereum Foundation unveiled an ambitious "strawmap" through 2029; World Liberty Financial proposed a 180-day staking requirement for WLFI voting rights; NEAR is launching Near.com, a crypto “super-app” and wallet.
• Notable events in the coming week: U.S. ISM Manufacturing & Services PMI, Nonfarm Payrolls, and ADP Employment Change.

Research Dashboard

According to our research dashboard, the price index fell by -0.44%, while volume and volatility indices increased by +31.46%, and +85.49%, respectively, last week. BTC and ETH prices decreased by -2.8% and -0.8%, respectively. This coincided with an early-week rebound in the U.S. stock market and crypto ETF inflows, despite geopolitical conflict in the Middle East over the weekend.

Tokens in the index saw mixed price performance, with DOT (+17.33%) leading the increase ahead of its token issuance halving event scheduled for March 14. Volatility increases were led by ETH (+136.67%) and AVAX (+131.20%). Ethereum Foundation unveiled an ambitious "strawmap" through 2029.

Chart of the Week

Tokenized U.S. Treasuries increased to more than $10.9 billion on March 1, up from $8.9 billion on January 1, representing a nearly $2 billion (+22%) increase. The four largest constituents — BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), Circle’s USYC, Ondo’s U.S. Dollar Yield (USDY), Franklin Onchain U.S. Government Money Fund — increased by 26%, 31%, 89%, and 14%, respectively since January 1, while other products increased by 9%. This growth persisted despite recent broader risk-off sentiment, potentially reflecting rising institutional demand for safer yield options.

Weekly Performance

Top-cap tokens saw mixed performance last week. BTC and ETH decreased by -2.8% and -0.8%, respectively, while DOT and NEAR led the increase. DOT surged ahead of its  token issuance halving event scheduled for March 14. NEAR is launching Near.com, a crypto “super-app” and wallet.

Most key categories saw an increase in market capitalization in the last seven days, led by Gaming and Layer-1.

News Highlights

Crypto.com / Cronos-Related News

• Crypto.com received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to charter Crypto.com National Trust Bank. This positions the company as a federally regulated qualified custodian offering custody, staking, and trade settlement services.
• Crypto.com’s EU MiCA-regulated entity was granted a limited Financial Institutions licence by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), allowing it to continue offering stablecoin services across the EU.
• Diamond Pigs partnered with Crypto.com through the Fast Connect integration, enabling users to sign up for Diamond Pigs and securely connect their Crypto.com wallets directly during onboarding. This allows users to allocate funds to Diamond Pigs’ automated investment strategies powered by advanced trading bots.

Regulation

• The OCC issued a proposal on rulemaking requirements under the GENIUS Act. It includes reserve requirements for U.S. stablecoin issuers, registration, and custody requirements.
• The U.S. State of Indiana approved a bill allowing digital asset and spot crypto ETF investments in public retirement and saving plans. The state’s governor is expected to sign it into law soon.
• Korea’s central bank reportedly renewed its push for bank-led, Korean won-pegged stablecoins, arguing that privately-issued tokens may undermine monetary policy.
• The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) named four firms to test stablecoins in its Regulatory Sandbox for use cases in payments, wholesale settlement, and crypto trading.

Adoption

• Morgan Stanley applied to the OCC for a national trust bank charter to custody digital assets and offer staking and trading to clients. It is also reportedly exploring bitcoin lending and yield products.
• Meta is reportedly planning to integrate third-party stablecoin payments across its platforms in the second half of 2026.
• Bloomberg partnered with Kaiko to make its financial data accessible on-chain, targeting banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions experimenting with tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
• Citi plans to launch institutional bitcoin custody services this year, aiming to “make bitcoin bankable” and integrate it into the same control frameworks as traditional assets.
• Banking giant Barclays is reportedly looking into tokenized deposits and stablecoin payments, requesting information from technology suppliers to explore blockchain utilization.
• Hong Kong plans to set up a digital asset platform to support its tokenized bond infrastructure, which will be linked to regional platforms and reinforce Hong Kong's position in digital asset development.

Investment Vehicles

• The U.S. SEC granted regulatory relief to WisdomTree, allowing 24/7 trading of its WisdomTree Treasury Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX). This allows instant settlement and provides investors with real-time access to the product.
• 21Shares launched the 21Shares Spot SUI ETF (TSUI) on Nasdaq, providing direct exposure to Sui’s native token.
• Nasdaq filed a proposed rule change to list the VanEck JitoSOL ETF. If approved, staking rewards will be reflected directly in the fund’s net asset value (NAV).

Recent Research Reports

Interested to know more? Access exclusive reports by signing up as a Private member, joining our Crypto.com Exchange VIP Programme, or collecting a Loaded Lions NFT. The latest crypto market insights are also available via the dashboard.

We’re all ears.

Your feedback has always helped us provide insightful crypto market trends. Tell us how we can improve this newsletter further by taking a quick survey below (it will only take less than a minute). Thank you!

Take our survey now

Author

Research and Insights Team

Get the latest market, DeFi & NFT updates delivered to your inbox:

Be the first to hear about new insights:

Disclaimer

The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties.

This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement.

The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners.