Market Signal Briefing

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A rapidly escalating military conflict in the Middle East is rattling global markets Tuesday, sending materials and mining stocks lower even as oil surges. US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran have prompted Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to declare the Strait of Hormuz closed, a critical chokepoint for global energy flows, and the conflict has now spread across multiple countries.

The paradox for investors: an energy shock lifting oil prices is simultaneously crushing the metals complex. Brent crude is surging on the news, but a surging US dollar index near three-month highs is hammering dollar-denominated commodities. Metals including gold, silver, and platinum are under significant pressure. Broad equity markets are also under pressure, with major indices declining on the session.

For Linde (NASDAQ:LIN), natural gas is a core production input, and natural gas futures are up roughly 6% today, directly threatening margins. Linde is down 1.65% so far today. For Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO), copper is priced in dollars, and a stronger dollar directly compresses realized prices. SCCO is off $11.42, or 5.22% today. BHP Group (NYSE:BHP), exposed to copper and iron ore with China as its largest customer, is down $4.63, or 5.58% on the session as global growth fears compound dollar headwinds.

As noted in today’s Daily Profit newsletter, tariff anxiety and geopolitical tension are already weighing on markets, and this escalation adds a more acute layer of uncertainty. Federal Reserve officials have noted that geopolitical conflict of this scale heightens near-term inflation and economic uncertainty, a signal that rate cut expectations may need revision.

Global instability is rising fast, but one income strategy may be built for exactly this kind of environment. These overlooked income machines combine bond-like stability with built-in growth most investors underestimate. If you're worried about inflation, AI disruption, and market turmoil, this may be the most dependable place left to hide.

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / March 3, 2026 / Elektros Inc. (OTC:ELEK) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,522,100 B1, titled "Multi-Port Charging Assembly for Electric Vehicles." Issued on January 13, 2026, the patent includes 20 claims and benefits from a 713-day patent term adjustment under 35 U.S.C. §154(b).

A Structural Reframing of EV Charging Infrastructure

The patented multi-port charging architecture introduces a system designed to aggregate multiple independent power inputs and intelligently manage them through a unified charging interface. This approach seeks to address the throughput limitations inherent in conventional single-port charging systems.

Rather than relying solely on incremental improvements in charging station output, Elektros' architecture proposes a parallelized power delivery model that could meaningfully alter charging time economics, infrastructure scalability, grid load management strategies, and fleet electrification deployment models.

The Company believes the system has the potential to materially reduce charging durations while maintaining compatibility with existing EV platforms and connector standards.

Strategic Vision

"Our objective is to fundamentally redefine the EV recharging experience," stated Shlomo Bleier, Chief Executive Officer of Elektros Inc. "We are working toward recharging times that approach the refueling experience of internal combustion vehicles. While today's fastest DC supercharging solutions typically require approximately one hour for a full charge, our long-term target is to enable full battery replenishment in approximately seven minutes."

Institutional Relevance

If successfully engineered, validated, and commercialized, the Company believes this architecture may increase EV adoption velocity by addressing range anxiety and downtime concerns, improve asset utilization rates for charging infrastructure operators, enable high-throughput commercial fleet electrification, and support urban ultra-density charging deployments. The technology is intended to be applicable across passenger vehicles, commercial fleets, and specialty EV platforms.

Patent Details

Title: Multi-Port Charging Assembly for Electric Vehicles
Patent Number: US 12,522,100 B1
Issue Date: January 13, 2026
Assignee: Elektros Inc.
Inventor: Shlomo Bleier

Forward-Looking Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding potential technological capabilities, commercialization timelines, scalability, and future performance objectives. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including engineering validation, regulatory considerations, capital availability, and market adoption dynamics. Actual results may differ materially. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.

Contact

Elektros Inc. - IR and Media Inquiries
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.elektros.energy

SOURCE: Elektros, Inc.

The Solana price is hovering at $84.83, and the market can’t quite decide whether to yawn or brace for impact. Daily volume is pushing past $5 billion. Down 2.18% in the last 24 hours, sure but still up 8.94% on the week. That’s not exactly panic. With 570 million SOL in circulation, the market cap sits at $47.8 billion. In other words, there’s real money parked here, and it’s not flinching.

Solana Price Holds Channel SupportZoom out to the weekly Solana price chart and things get interesting. Price action continues to respect a long-term ascending channel. The lower boundary, around $80–$85, has historically acted like a trampoline whenever price touches it, then springs higher toward the midpoint.

Right now, SOL is pressing against that same zone again.

Key resistance levels sit at $240, then the bigger psychological hurdles at $500 and $1,000. Stretch the imagination further and the channel’s upper region sits near $3,500 this cycle assuming liquidity shows up and adoption keeps pace. That’s a big “if,” but technically, the structure hasn’t broken.

SOL/USD Faces the $90 TestShort term, the SOL/USD pair is trapped in a narrowing range. Repeated rejections at $90 scream overhead supply. At the same time, every dip toward $70 finds buyers waiting.That’s textbook compression.

So, what’s next? A daily close above $90 could open the door to $105–$120 and validate the breakout narrative many traders are eyeing in their Solana price prediction thories. But lose the $80 mid-range support, and $70 gets revisited fast. Markets don’t hesitate when ranges break.

Whales Accumulate While Retail HesitatesThe internal price data suggests bigger players are leaning bullish. The Whale vs. Retail Delta on Binance Perps just printed a strong 1.140 green spike. Translation? Large participants are quietly buying this consolidation zone near $84.62.

Volume tells a similar story. Daily buy volume stands at 7.732M versus 6.237M in sell volume roughly 24% more aggressive buying pressure during a sideways grind. That’s not retail FOMO. That’s calculated accumulation.

Meanwhile, Chaikin Money Flow sits at 0.02, signaling steady capital inflows. RSI at 44.74? Neutral. Not overbought, not exhausted. Plenty of room to expand if momentum flips.

The daily chart’s tight consolidation box says volatility is loading. EMA bands are flattening. Price holds above $80.

The Solana price isn’t surging yet, but it’s consolidating, indicating a forthcoming direction.

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Recently, Ripple made a big stride toward integrating with Wall Street’s internal operations.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced on March 2 that Hidden Road Partners CIV US LLC has been added to the Market Participant. The brokerage division, now known as Ripple Prime, was listed in a prominent directory maintained by one of the largest financial utilities in the United States.

XRP holders see this as a clear sign that Ripple is entering the conventional finance sector. All of this is the outcome of Ripple’s acquisition of Hidden Road, a leading brokerage firm that oversees global trading in a range of asset classes.

Ripple’s Hidden Road officially goes live on the NSCC directory
Source: @BankXRP After announcing its plan to buy the company in April 2025, Ripple officially completed the $1.25 billion acquisition in October.

After the purchase, Ripple rebranded it as Ripple Prime. Ripple became the first digital asset business to own and operate a full-fledged, multi-asset global prime broker, which stands out as one of the largest in the crypto industry.

David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO Emeritus, commented on the development over on X, describing it as “important.” He noted that the DTCC listing still uses the previous Hidden Road name, most likely because some regulatory permissions were still pending and preparations for this step began well before the acquisition was finalized.

Schwartz emphasized the significance of incorporating the XRP Ledger into the routine processes that big organizations rely on.

The NSCC, which falls under the DTCC umbrella, handles centralized clearing, settlement, risk management, and counterparty services for broker-to-broker trades. It processes the vast majority of securities transactions in the United States.

Landing a spot in its directory means a firm gains real standing in the post-trade infrastructure that banks and brokerages rely on, networks that handle trillions of dollars in trading activity annually.

Plans to move Hidden Road’s post-trade processes onto the XRP Ledger were previously disclosed by Ripple. At the time of the deal’s closing, Hidden Road was managing over 300 institutional clients’ yearly transaction volume of about $3 trillion.

The idea of transferring conventional settlement procedures to blockchain technology seems much more feasible now that Ripple Prime is formally connected to NSCC channels.

Ripple drives faster settlement and growing ledger activity

A big draw here is the potential for much quicker settlement times. Conventional securities trades typically settle on a T+2 basis, leaving room for risks if things get delayed. In contrast, the XRP Ledger wraps up transactions in seconds at a low cost.

As Schwartz has said before, if post-trade flows start moving on-chain, the XRPL could handle settlement, collateral management, and liquidity for big deals.

Activity on the ledger itself is picking up as well. Société Générale recently launched a euro-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. There’s also talk of upcoming features like options trading that could appeal to hedge funds and asset managers.

What happens next? However, things aren’t always easy. Wietse Wind, an XRPL developer, has issued a warning about some quite sophisticated fraud that is circulating, such as phony NFT dumps and impostors posing as support teams.

Everyone is constantly reminded by the team that their seed phrase will never be requested by a legitimate Ripple or XRPL representative. Remain alert.

As of March 3, 2026, XRP trades around $1.35  amid modest short-term gains but remains range-bound following recent market dips.

Whether Ripple Prime’s actual use of the ledger will be the real indicator of this development.

In the short term, XRP’s price will probably continue to respond to the general market mood, but if institutional trades start moving through the network, genuine, long-term demand might surface.

To be clear, though, this NSCC directory listing doesn’t mean the NSCC is suddenly using the XRP Ledger itself. It means Ripple Prime now has the setup to potentially direct activity toward the ledger in the future. The coming months will show if Ripple can convert that positioning into concrete results.

Bitcoin attempting to make a stand as global stock markets melt down on Iran warHaving already plunged in the months leading up to the Middle East conflict, crypto markets so far aren't making new lows this week.Mise à jour 3 mars 2026, 4:06 p.m. Publié 3 mars 2026, 4:04 p.m. Traduit par IA

Yesterday's modest rally in stocks in response to a new Middle East war breaking out over the weekend — for the moment — appears to have been a headfake.

In mid-morning U.S. hours, the Nasdaq is at session lows, down 2.5%. The S&P 500 is lower by 2.3%. European markets are being hit even harder, led by a 5.2% plunge in Italy's IBEX 35 and a 4.1% fall in Germany's DAX.

Having run up to historic highs in the weeks leading up to the war, precious metals are tumbling as well. Gold is lower by 4.3%, silver by 7.5% and platinum by 11.3%. WTI crude oil continues to surge, up another 8% to $77 per barrel.

Having declined relentlessly for about the last five months, crypto markets are, however, showing a tiny bit of relative strength. Trading at $68,000, bitcoin is down 1% over the past 24 hours, but higher by more than 2% from its worst levels of the day.

Also down over the past day, but nicely higher from the session's worst levels are ether (ETH), solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP).

There's no such bounce yet in crypto-related stocks, which remain under heavy selling pressure on Tuesday.

Shares of trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) dropped 7%, while Coinbase (COIN) fell 5%. Strategy (MSTR) and crypto platform Bullish (BLSH) each declined 4%. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) held up better but still slipped about 1%.

"Historically, bitcoin, as the only liquid asset that also trades on weekends, has absorbed shocks during periods of forced risk reduction," said James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares. "This time, the price development was constructive, bitcoin gained despite the increasing instability ... This divergence is significant. The absence of significant liquidations despite rising yields and geopolitical tensions suggests that positioning is adjusted compared to previous episodes."

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Sales from Core Scientific, Bitdeer, Riot Platforms, and Bitfarms account for the majority of the 15,096 BTC reduction from peak holdings, signaling active treasury monetization.With bitcoin nearly 50% below all-time highs and capital shifting to AI buildouts, further BTC selling from balance sheet sales remains a likely scenario across the sector.

TL;DR:

ACI announced it will not renew its contract with Aave DAO and will execute a four-month exit process beginning in March. Over three years, ACI drove 61% of governance actions, revenue strategies equivalent to 48% of the protocol, and $101M in incentives. Its departure follows BGD Labs, which also announced its withdrawal by April 2026, deepening the governance crisis at Aave. The Aave Chan Initiative (ACI), one of the most significant delegated service providers in the governance ecosystem of Aave, has announced its definitive departure from the protocol. Marc Zeller, founder of the project, published the decision on the Aave governance forum, confirming that the team will not renew its contract and will execute a four-month transition process aimed at transferring infrastructure and responsibilities to the DAO or to successor teams.

In his statement, Zeller was direct about the reasons for the break: over three years, he built a culture of accountability within the DAO based on transparent reporting, on-chain verification, and delegate management. When those same standards were applied to the largest budget request in the DAO’s history, the system failed.

According to Zeller, the Temp Check vote on the “Aave Will Win” proposal was decided by addresses linked to Aave Labs voting on their own budget, a condition ACI considers incompatible with the existence of independent service providers.

ACI Exposes a Governance Crisis Aave Cannot Ignore Its operational weight within the protocol was far from minor. Its eight-person team managed 61% of all governance actions, designed revenue strategies representing 48% of the protocol’s income, and deployed $101 million in incentives over three years. It also drove the growth of GHO, Aave’s native stablecoin, from $35 million to $527 million.

Despite its departure, ACI committed to ensuring an orderly transition. The team will submit a direct proposal to cancel its GHO revenue stream and transfer the equivalent of 120 days to the DAO treasury. It will also open-source all its governance tools, dashboards, and incentive programs so that successor teams can operate without interruption.

There is an enormous institutional tension within Aave. BGD Labs, the team responsible for building and maintaining the V3 codebase, also recently announced its withdrawal by April 2026 citing similar issues. The departures mark a breaking point and call into question how the DAO distributes power among its independent contributors and its central actors, and whether the decentralized governance model Aave champions can hold when the accumulation of voting power contradicts that very principle.

Bitcoin’s Second-Largest Corporate Holder Just Changed the Rules: Is MicroStrategy Next? Prefer us on Google

MARA Holdings opens door to selling 53,822 BTC from its treasury.Shift from HODL to active management following $1.7 billion Q4 loss.Could MicroStrategy follow suit and change its Bitcoin strategy?MARA Holdings has formally rewritten its Bitcoin playbook, expanding its treasury policy to permit sales of Bitcoin held directly on its balance sheet.

It raises questions about whether Strategy (MicroStrategy) could be next, seeing as MARA is only second to Michael Saylor’s firm among public companies holding BTC.

MARA Opens Door to Selling 53,822 BTC Stockpile in Treasury Pivot After $1.7 Billion LossThe move, detailed in its annual 10-K filing submitted to the US SEC on March 2, 2026, marks the first time MARA has explicitly authorized liquidation of its accumulated treasury stockpile.

“In the second half of 2025, we changed our digital asset management strategy to permit sales of bitcoin generated from operations, and in 2026, we expanded the strategy to allow for sales of bitcoin held on our balance sheet. Accordingly, we may hold bitcoin for long-term investment purposes and may also buy or sell bitcoin from time to time, subject to market conditions and our capital allocation priorities,” read an excerpt in the filing.

It marks a sharp departure from its prior “full HODL” stance, with the legal framework for liquidating the company’s entire reserve now in effect. Notably, no immediate sales have been announced.

As of this writing, MARA holds 53,822 BTC, worth $3.59 billion at current rates of $66,565 per BTC. This makes it the second-largest publicly listed corporate Bitcoin holder, trailing only Strategy, which holds 720,737 BTC as of this writing.

Top Public Companies Holding BTC. Source: Bitcoin TreasuriesRoughly 72% of MARA’s holdings (38,507 BTC) remain in unrestricted long-term treasury. The remaining 28%, or about 15,315 BTC, has already been “activated” under its digital asset management program.

Of that, 9,377 BTC are loaned out, generating $32.1 million in interest income in 2025, while 5,938 BTC are pledged as collateral for a $350 million credit facility.

Combined with $547 million in cash, MARA controls approximately $5.3 billion in liquid assets.

The more immediate concern, however, is that over 53,000 BTC represents a potential supply overhang in an already fragile market environment. This is particularly concerning if miner stress intensifies.

From Ideological HODL to Active ManagementThe shift caps a gradual change, following MARA’s 2024 10-K, which described a strict policy of retaining all mined and purchased Bitcoin “for the foreseeable future.”

In the second half of 2025, the company began selling newly mined BTC to fund operations, offloading 4,076 BTC for $413.1 million in proceeds.

The 2026 expansion now extends that flexibility to the entire balance-sheet reserve. This policy change follows a turbulent fourth quarter.

MARA reported a $1.7 billion net loss in Q4 2025, largely driven by non-cash fair-value adjustments following Bitcoin’s roughly 30% decline in late 2025. The company also recorded $422.2 million in fair-value decreases and impairment losses tied to its digital assets.

MARA announces a strategic partnership with Starwood Digital Ventures to accelerate delivery of cutting-edge hyperscale, enterprise, and AI capable digital infrastructure.

The joint platform is expected to deliver approximately 1 GW of near-term IT Capacity, with a pathway to… pic.twitter.com/9rE8orvUnG

— MARA (@MARA) February 26, 2026 Notably, MARA recently entered a joint venture with Starwood Capital to develop AI and high-performance computing data centers, repurposing its energy infrastructure.

Monetizing Bitcoin could fund that “energy-to-AI” transition without further diluting shareholders through equity issuance.

Could Strategy Be Next?Unlike MARA, Strategy continues to describe Bitcoin as its “primary treasury reserve asset” and has recently added to its holdings.

The firm’s executives highlight sales only in extreme liquidity scenarios, not as an opportunistic capital allocation tool.

“We will not be selling. Instead, I believe we will be buying Bitcoin every quarter forever,” Michael Saylor stated in a recent interview.

At Bitcoin’s current price, there is short-term pressure on Strategy, primarily due to unrealized losses on its massive Bitcoin treasury.

MARA’s pivot appears miner-specific rather than industry-wide. Still, the symbolism is significant. Corporate Bitcoin treasuries were once seen as permanent supply sinks.

MARA’s 10-K signals a maturing approach, one where Bitcoin is not just conviction capital, but a dynamic balance-sheet instrument.

Notwithstanding, markets will now be watching future 8-K and quarterly filings, as well as on-chain flows, for the first real test of that flexibility.

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TL;DR

FX Access: UpDown launches on Celo to give everyday users a path into the $7.5 trillion FX market through leveraged futures. Trading Approach: The platform offers up to 50x leverage on stablecoin pairs tracking currencies like GBP, JPY, and NGN, letting users trade based on economic insights rather than speculation. Celo Ecosystem: Built on Celo’s low‑cost Layer 2, UpDown strengthens the chain’s growing DeFi landscape alongside recent launches from Morpho and Kiln, expanding financial tools for millions already active on the network.
The foreign exchange market moves more than $7.5 trillion every day, yet most people remain shut out due to brokers, account minimums, and geographic limits. UpDown enters this landscape with a clear mission: give everyday users a path into the world’s largest financial market. By launching exclusively on Celo, the project aims to make leveraged FX futures accessible in a way that feels intuitive, low-cost, and aligned with the open nature of decentralized finance.

A New Gateway Into FX Futures Trading UpDown’s protocol lets users trade leveraged FX futures with up to 50x leverage, tapping into a market that has traditionally been reserved for institutional desks and well‑resourced retail traders. Instead of relying on speculative tokens, traders can apply their economic views to stablecoin pairs from Tether and Mento Labs that track major global currencies. The inclusion of assets tied to the Great British Pound, Japanese Yen, Nigerian Naira, and others gives users a practical way to express macro insights.

The decision to build on Celo reflects a focus on speed, affordability, and accessibility. As the leading Layer 2 by daily active users, Celo offers sub‑cent transaction costs and fee abstraction that helps remove friction from every trade. These features support UpDown’s goal of making FX futures feel approachable rather than intimidating. The platform inherits Celo’s emphasis on mobile‑first usability, which is especially relevant for users in regions where traditional FX access is limited.

Strengthening Celo’s Expanding DeFi Ecosystem UpDown’s arrival adds momentum to Celo’s recent DeFi growth. The launch follows Morpho’s institutional‑grade vault and the integration of Kiln’s Earn Mini App inside Opera’s MiniPay wallet. Together, these developments signal a broader push toward practical, real‑world financial tools within the Celo ecosystem. UpDown fits neatly into that narrative by offering a product that mirrors traditional finance while remaining fully decentralized.

For the millions already transacting on Celo, UpDown introduces a new way to engage with global markets. By lowering barriers and simplifying the trading experience, the platform opens a door that has long been closed to most individuals. Its launch marks a meaningful step toward making FX participation more inclusive, transparent, and aligned with the principles of open finance.

Currently sitting under $1.5, the XRP price is projected to reach $100, representing a more than 6,500% increase. While this bullish forecast may seem ambitious given the cryptocurrency’s low price and slow growth over the years, analysts and market participants still believe a surge to $100 is inevitable. They base their outlooks on the expansion of the tokenization industry, predicting that such growth could become a catalyst for XRP, which recently entered this new and thriving market via its XRP Ledger (XRPL).

Tokenization Growth To Fuel $100 XRP Price In a recent analysis report, market expert X Finance Bull made a compelling case for XRP’s future, predicting its price could ultimately soar above $100. This optimistic outlook is primarily based on the rapid growth anticipated in the tokenization sector, which the report estimates could leap from a current valuation of $20 billion to an astonishing $200 trillion.  

With XRP at the center of this multi-trillion–dollar growth, driven by the XRP Ledger, X Finance Bull believes that the estimated growth of the tokenization market could potentially fuel a price surge to $100. Further supporting his bullish forecast, the analyst shared a video featuring Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan, who echoed similar optimistic projections for the tokenization industry. 

Hougan highlighted his enthusiasm for the sector, drawing comparisons to traditional asset classes to underscore its potential scale. He noted that global stocks are valued at approximately $110 trillion, bonds at $140 trillion, real estate at $250 trillion, and ETFs at $30 trillion, suggesting that tokenization could ultimately tap markets of comparable size. 

Based on the valuation and continued growth of these asset classes, Hougan projected that the overall tokenization market could grow by 10,000 times, with room to grow further in the future. 

XRP’s Correlation With The Tokenization Sector XRP’s connection to the tokenization market is already being built through the XRP Ledger. As of 2026, XRPL hosts approximately $2.3 billion in tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs), a figure that jumped sharply from $991 million at the start of the year. The over $1.3 billion added in just two months underscores the already accelerating pace of institutional adoption. 

The XRPL is specifically designed to make tokenization accessible to financial institutions without the overhead of complex smart contracts. Its in-built features, including a native decentralized exchange (DEX), automated market makers (AMM), near-instant settlement, and low transaction costs, give it structural advantages over larger programmable networks like Ethereum. 

For asset managers and bankers seeking to issue and manage tokenized securities, these capabilities can significantly reduce developmental costs and operational risks. The Ledger is already being used to tokenize government debt, with recent reports revealing an increase in tokenized US Treasury holdings on the blockchain network.   

X Finance Bull’s $100 thesis for XRP assumes that if the global tokenization market skyrockets to $200 trillion and XRPL captures a meaningful share of that settlement activity, the downstream demand for XRP, its native token, could increase substantially. Under such a scenario, sustained capital inflows and transaction volume across the network could drive the cryptocurrency to a much higher valuation.  

Price erases gains from weekend pump | Source: XRPUSDT on Tradingview.com Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

The XRP price is flashing signals that traders can’t afford to ignore. Thirty-day realized volatility has just spiked to levels not seen since March 2025. Historically, when that happens, a massive XRP price move follows. Volatility doesn’t just wake up one morning and stretch like this for no reason. Something is building.

But let’s be real, while volatility expands, price hasn’t been kind. XRP has fallen from $3 to $1.35. That’s not a minor pullback. That’s a structural unwind.

XRP Price Volatility Sends WarningA spike in 30D realized volatility usually means one thing: compression is over. Every previous time this metric reached similar levels, XRP didn’t drift sideways in fact it moved. Hard.

So what does the current XRP price chart suggest? It shows tension. A coiled spring. Traders tracking XRP price prediction narratives know volatility expansions tend to resolve decisively. The direction, though, is where the debate begins.

Open Interest Wiped OutAccording to analyst Amr Taha, Across major derivatives exchanges, XRP open interest has cratered. On October 6, 2025, total OI peaked at $660 million. As of March 3, 2026, that number sits at $203 million. That’s a $457 million wipeout in five months.

Binance leads the drop. Meanwhile, Bitfinex and Bitmex OI levels have shrunk to $4.3 million and $3 million respectively tiny compared to prior figures.

And here’s a historical nugget: the last time Binance XRP OI fell to similar levels was April 2025, when it hovered around $270 million. Back then, XRP formed a major bottom near $1.80 before rallying. Different price zone now, sure. But the pattern rhymes.

XRP/USD Leverage FlushFalling open interest combined with a falling XRP price usually signals one thing that positions are getting closed. Either traders are voluntarily cutting exposure, or liquidations are forcing their hands.

When excessive futures positioning gets cleared, markets reset. Historically, those reset phases have aligned with local bottoms. 

So what’s next? With XRP/USD volatility surging and leverage largely washed out, the setup is cleaner than it’s been in months. The XRP price now sits at a crossroads where history suggests big moves follow extreme volatility spikes.

Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.

Investment Disclaimer:All opinions and insights shared represent the author's own views on current market conditions. Please do your own research before making investment decisions. Neither the writer nor the publication assumes responsibility for your financial choices.

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TL;DR:

Tracker estimates 408.7986M XRP of outbound February flows, mapping roughly half of the 1B unlock, including about 100M routed to payment corridors. About 309M XRP went to major exchanges for ETPs, trusts and other investments: 300M via Binance, 5M to Bitgo, 4M to Coinbase. Ripple relocks roughly two-thirds; February and March each returned 700M, while RLUSD mints of 69,000,000 and 19,655,000 were reportedly tied to Gemini for XRPL card settlement. An on-chain tracking account says it has traced where roughly half of Ripple’s February XRP escrow activity flowed, offering a look at how monthly unlocks translate into liquidity. The report says Ripple unlocked 1 billion XRP last month and then deployed a measurable portion externally, with the largest share routed toward exchange-traded products and related investments. In total, the tracker estimated about 408.7986 million XRP of outbound flows in February, emphasizing this was “not all inclusive.” It also pointed to about 100 million XRP sent to payment corridors. Half of February’s escrow becomes trackable distribution.

February 2026 Ripple Holdings/Escrow to External Tracking

▫️ [ETPs, Trust, Other Investments]
🔽300M XRP thru Binance
🔼5M Bitgo Init
🔼4M CB

🔼99.7985M XRP sent to ODL
corridor

🔽408.7986M Total Outbound (Not all Inclusive) 🚨🚨🚨 https://t.co/75C51V3XQc

— XRP_Liquidity (ETF 1Y 39.8B = Max 54.4B) (@XRPwallets) March 3, 2026

Mapping the flows and the operating rationale The same tracker said Ripple shifted about 309 million XRP to major exchanges for “ETPs, Trust, Other Investments,” arguing those flows ultimately supported XRP exchange-traded funds, XRP trusts, and similar vehicles. It highlighted exchange routing as the institutional conduit for XRP products, with 300 million XRP sent through Binance, 5 million to Bitgo, and 4 million to Coinbase. For market participants, the mapping frames February’s release as less about immediate spot selling and more about distributing inventory into venues that can service structured exposure and investment pipelines. The figures were presented as approximate external tracking.

Beyond exchange flows, the tracker said Ripple transferred around 100 million XRP into various Ripple Pay corridors, formerly known as ODL, to support liquidity in those payment channels. That distribution sits alongside a predictable unlock-and-relock rhythm that anchors expectations, because Ripple typically unlocks 1 billion XRP in the first days of a month and then relocks roughly two-thirds. The report notes that since early 2018 the company has generally put back about 700 million to 800 million XRP. It added that February saw 700 million relocked and March matched that same amount back into escrow.

The same account also tied Ripple’s liquidity story to its stablecoin rails. It cited @RL_Tracker data showing Ripple minted two RLUSD batches on Monday, 69,000,000 and 19,655,000, calling the 69 million the largest RLUSD mint so far. It then tracked the second batch to a wallet it said belongs to Gemini, positioning RLUSD distribution as part of a card-settlement partnership announced in November 2025 using Mastercard and WebBank. Gemini, the report said, intends to implement RLUSD settlements on XRPL for fiat card payments, starting with the Gemini XRP Credit Card. Aiming for faster compliant settlement.

Geopolitical escalations in the Middle East have hit fever pitch over the past week with the U.S. and Israel initiating coordinated strikes on Iran. As we enter the fourth day of the conflict, the world’s eyes are now focused on the potential escalation of a broader Middle East standoff and its economic implications. Retaliatory attacks from Iran have deepened the fears of an extended war and has brought tremendous uncertainty about the future of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz – a key region in the gulf through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil shipments flow. As these developments unfold, the confluence of geopolitical risk, energy market disruptions and rising inflation expectations has pushed commodities like oil and gold higher while rattling risk assets. 

Markets are now in full risk-reprice mode. That said, the reaction to the news has, so far, been far from uniform. Gold saw a renewed bid as markets opened on Monday, rising to a high of $5,419 before retracing to around $5250 at the time of writing, showing both safe-haven demand and short term profit taking. Crypto, on the other hand, has been a lot more volatile. As news filtered in on Saturday, BTC dropped sharply to the lows of $63K, only to rebound yesterday with the total crypto market cap adding roughly $140 billion. That strength, however, has already begun to wane, once again showing that Bitcoin continues to trade with risk sentiment rather than following its “digital gold” thesis. 

That surface level divergence between gold and Bitcoin is only one part of the story however. While global portfolio managers may not be treating Bitcoin as digital gold just yet, inside Iran itself a very different dynamic is unfolding, one that reveals what Bitcoin’s wartime role may actually be. 

Gold Hits $5,400 Again While Bitcoin Keeps Sliding: Here’s Why  It’s important to note upfront that gold is now experiencing a modest pullback, but the broader trend remains unmistakably upward. After printing highs of over $5,400 per ounce yesterday, the metal is now around 2% down on the day. Some consolidation is hardly surprising given gold now sits within touching distance of setting a new all time high. The underlying driver is clear, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz with tanker traffic dropping nearly 70% and more than 150 vessels anchored outside, has amplified fears of supply disruption. Brent crude has skyrocketed to the $83 mark, rising over 17% since Friday, making this the sharpest spike since the 2022 Russia-Ukraine invasion. 

Bitcoin, however, is telling a different story. Rather than absorbing safe-haven flows, it has been retracing back to the $66K level after posting a rebound to the $70K level just yesterday. BTC is now around -47% down from its all time highs of $126K set in October last year and down -23% year to date. In contrast, gold has delivered over +19% since the start of the year, widening the performance gap between the two that stretches all the way back to last year. 

Source: Newhedge This divergence is also clearly visible in their rolling correlation, which currently sits at around -0.62 showing that the two assets are moving in opposite directions amidst rising macro uncertainties. Early signs suggest that Bitcoin continues to behave more like a high beta risk asset tied to liquidity conditions than a defensive, though this assessment is based on very early developments around the macro conditions.

 Bitcoin at $66K Confirms it’s a Risk Asset, Not a Hedge

Bitcoin’s price action over the last four days emphasizes the argument that, at least for now, it is trading more like a risk asset rather than a geopolitical hedge. When the initial strike broke on February 28th, BTC quickly sold off to the low $63K range. After attempting a rally yesterday, BTC failed to hold the momentum and is currently once again between $67-$66K, hinting that buyers remain cautious in the face of the uncertainties around the conflict. 

The macro linkage will likely become more clear if the conflict escalates even further. In the likelihood of this happening, a sustained move in Brent crude above $90 would likely harden inflation expectations, potentially delaying or even removing any Fed rate cuts from the table. If this were to play out, liquidity tightens, real yields stay elevated and high beta assets including Bitcoin and crypto usually face renewed pressure. 

Now from a technical standpoint, $65K stands as a critical support level, an area that BTC has managed to hold throughout February. A decisive break below this could open the path to the psychological level and the latest local low region of $60K. Another key level to the downside would be the 200 week simple moving average at $58.5K, a crucial technical indicator that has historically been a zone where strong bids tend to come in and often seen as a structural support area for BTC. 

On the upside, the bulls would need a strong daily close above the $70K mark to regain structural momentum and shift the short-term narrative back in their favour. 

Inside Iran’s 700% Crypto Withdrawal Surge on Nobitex

Inside Iran, the dynamics playing out on the ground tell a far more visceral story about what bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies actually mean to people under extreme duress. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, which handles roughly 87% of the country’s crypto trading volumes with over 11 million users saw a spike of more than 700% in withdrawals minutes after the first U.S.-Israel airstrikes. Within a single hour after the news came in, withdrawals were close to $3 million as users moved their assets into external platforms and wallets away from local banking systems. This seems to suggest that crypto rails were used as a medium of capital flight to bypass traditional financial barriers. 

Source: Elliptic The rapid rise in withdrawals here brings in a more fundamental question into the mix. What is BTC designed to hedge, market volatility or systemic failure? For ordinary Iranians, this event shows that Bitcoin wasn’t seen as a portfolio hedge by any means but rather a means to find an accessible exit and preserve purchasing power as their local currency collapses. 

While the digital gold and macro hedge thesis cannot be fully put to the sidelines as the conflict is still developing and in its early days, this withdrawal spike offers a poignant reminder of crypto’s utility and capability during conflicts: a permissionless financial escape valve for individuals in crisis zones where banking infrastructure has failed. 

Oil, the Fed, and Bitcoin: What to Watch This Week  This week is likely going to be driven by the bigger macro picture and how the price of oil reacts to the geopolitical developments around the Strait of Hormuz. Currently Brent crude is trading between the $81-$83 per barrel range. However, if we see prolonged closures in the Strait of Hormuz, this will likely push prices even higher this week. If this were to happen, this transforms from an energy story to an inflation story. 

Higher oil pushes up transport and production costs, which feeds into consumer prices. If inflation stays elevated, the Federal Reserve is far less likely to cut rates anytime soon. That keeps liquidity tight and typically weighs on high-beta assets like bitcoin. In that chain reaction, crypto doesn’t act like a hedge, it reacts like a risk asset.

For Bitcoin, so far, its divergence with gold is still in effect and there are no signs of a correlation in the two asset classes as a geopolitical hedge. That said, BlackRock has come out with interesting data that highlights BTC’s geopolitical behaviour with a comparison to how gold and the S&P 500 performed 10 and 60 days after these events took place. The result showed that after surviving the initial volatility, BTC often came out as the strongest performer. For instance, the January 2020, US-Iran escalation shows this sort of scenario playing out. 

Source: BlackRock While this situation has no clear end point yet, it’s important to be mindful that these are still early days and more data will be needed before drawing any firm conclusions. For now, the divergence with gold remains intact.

A federal judge in New York dismissed fraud claims against Uniswap for the second time this month, and the decision carries implications far beyond the cryptocurrency industry.

At stake: whether platforms that provide neutral infrastructure can be held liable when bad actors exploit those tools to commit fraud.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla's ruling applies a principle that translates cleanly across technology sectors: you don't sue the New York Stock Exchange for selling you fraudulent stock.

The same logic, she argues, applies to decentralized exchange protocols.

However, as scams proliferate across digital platforms, courts are being forced to decide who should serve as the de facto insurer for internet-scale fraud. The FBI reported over $6.5 billion in losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud in 2024 alone.

Bar chart comparing cryptocurrency fraud losses shows $6.5 billion in 2024 FBI-reported investment fraud versus $17 billion in 2025 Chainalysis-estimated scams and fraud.The theory plaintiffs keep testingThe case began when investors who lost money on tokens traded through Uniswap's interface attempted to shift liability from the scammers who issued worthless assets to the developers who built the trading rails.

Their legal strategy: frame the provision of market infrastructure as “aiding and abetting” fraud.

Failla rejected this approach in August 2023, writing that plaintiffs “are looking for a scapegoat” because “the defendants they truly seek are unidentifiable.”

The Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of federal securities claims in February 2025, stating it “defies logic” to hold smart contract developers liable for “a third-party user's misuse of the platform.”

Undeterred, plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint in May 2025, pivoting to state-law theories.

Timeline chart shows Uniswap fraud case progression from August 2023 dismissal through February 2025 appellate affirmation to March 2026 state-law dismissal with prejudice.They alleged that “in excess of 98%” of tokens traded through the interface were scams and claimed Uniswap collected over $100 million in fees from fraudulent activity.

This month, Failla also dismissed those claims, reportedly with prejudice. This means that the appeal clock now starts on what could become a controlling precedent.

Drawing the liability boundaryThe legal principle at issue predates cryptocurrency by decades.

Courts evaluating secondary liability for fraud have consistently required two elements: specific knowledge of the wrongdoing and substantial assistance that materially aided the fraud.

Providing general-purpose infrastructure that scammers also happen to use doesn't meet that standard.

The Supreme Court applied similar reasoning in Twitter v. Taamneh, rejecting attempts to hold social media platforms liable for terrorism merely because terrorists used their services.

The question in both contexts: does operating neutral infrastructure that enables both legitimate and illegitimate activity constitute meaningful assistance to wrongdoing, or does it simply make you the most convenient defendant with money?

Failla's opinion confronts this directly. She notes that if anonymity in financial markets is “troublesome enough to merit regulation,” that decision belongs to Congress, not tort litigation.

The judiciary draws lines based on existing law; legislatures write new rules when policy demands change.

Why the stakes extend beyond DeFiThe “make the toolmaker pay” theory surfaces across technology litigation with striking regularity.

App stores face lawsuits over scam applications that slip through review processes. AI companies face liability demands when someone uses a language model to generate phishing emails. Payment processors defend against claims that they enabled fraud by processing transactions.

In each case, plaintiffs confronting uncollectable judgments against actual wrongdoers seek to recharacterize platform operators as perpetrators. The economic logic is straightforward: scammers vanish or have no assets; platforms have balance sheets.

However, treating infrastructure providers as insurers creates its own distortions.

Chainalysis estimates that crypto scams and fraud reached $17 billion in 2025. If courts assigned that liability to access layers rather than to perpetrators, platforms would face a binary choice: price insurance premiums into fees or gate access so aggressively that only pre-vetted activity occurs.

The fee uplift math is unforgiving. Monthly scam losses divided by legitimate volume, plus legal overhead and margin, compound quickly.

In fraud-intensive environments, even low single-digit liability exposure translates to material cost increases or hard curation, exactly the friction decentralized systems were built to eliminate.

The curation problem platforms face nextEven if neutral tools maintain liability protection, curated surfaces present different questions.

Featured token lists, promoted trading pairs, default routing algorithms, and “recommended” swap interfaces all involve editorial judgment.

Plaintiffs will argue that curation implies both knowledge and assistance, the two elements courts require for secondary liability.

This creates pressure for interfaces to either strip curation entirely or add compliance infrastructure. Token allowlists and denylists, pre-trade risk warnings, geographic gating, and enhanced due diligence all carry costs.

Some platforms may determine that operating as genuinely neutral rails, with no recommendations, no featured content, and no algorithmic optimization, provides the cleanest liability posture.

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That defensive retreat has consequences. Users benefit from curation when it surfaces quality over noise. Markets function better with reputation signals and quality filters.

Yet, if providing those features converts a platform from neutral infrastructure to an active participant, rational actors will eliminate them.

Feature / behaviorNeutral infrastructure or curated?Knowledge signalAssistance signalWhy plaintiffs target itLikely defense framingUncurated swap interface / generic routingNeutralLowLowDeep-pocket “rails” defendant; argues access = facilitationGeneral-purpose tool used for lawful + unlawful activity; no specific knowledge; no material assistancePublic warnings / terms-of-service disclosuresNeutralLowLowTries to argue warnings were inadequate or misleadingDisclosures defeat deception/omission theories; information not unique/nonpublic; users assumed riskFeatured token listsCuratedMed–HighMed“You highlighted it” → implied endorsement; curation as participationUI sorting ≠ guarantees; no specific knowledge of fraud; standard informational displayPromoted pairs / paid placementsCuratedHighHighClosest to “substantial assistance” + motive; looks like sponsorshipClear labeling + separation of ads vs listings; no involvement in issuer misreps; compliance controls mitigate“Recommended” swapsCuratedMed–HighMed–HighRecommendation suggests suitability/endorsement; reliance + causation angleRecommendations are algorithmic UX defaults, not advice; disclaimers; no knowledge of specific schemeDefault routing algorithm optimizationsGray zone (lean curated)MedMedPlaintiffs claim routing “steered” them to scam liquidityRouting optimizes execution (price/liq), not token quality; content-neutral; no issuer coordinationAllow/deny lists (token gating)Compliance-heavy (both)MedLow–MedIf you can block, plaintiffs argue you had control/notice dutiesRisk controls reduce harm; lists are prudential safety measures; absence of listing ≠ endorsement; still no specific fraud knowledgeManual token review / “verified” badges (if applicable)CuratedHighHigh“Verification” implies diligence + relianceVerification scope is narrow (e.g., contract match), not investment quality; explicit criteria + disclaimersCustomer support escalation / internal reports handlingNeutral (process)Med–High (post-notice)Low–MedPlaintiffs argue notice = knowledge; failure to act = assistanceTiming matters: notice often after losses; no conscious avoidance; reasonable response policiesFee design tied to specific pairs/tokens (if applicable)Gray zoneMedMedArgues profit motive from fraud + incentive to keep listingsFees are transaction-based and content-neutral; no special relationship with issuers; not tied to misrepresentationsWhat courts are and aren't decidingFailla's rulings don't establish that platforms can indefinitely ignore fraud.

They establish that generalized awareness of bad actors using a system, rather than specific knowledge of particular scams as they occur.

They distinguish between operating lawful infrastructure that scammers also access and materially assisting specific fraudulent schemes.

The distinction matters because it preserves the ability to build general-purpose tools without underwriting every possible misuse. Hammers get used in construction and break-ins, and courts don't assign liability to hardware stores.

The question is whether digital infrastructure deserves the same treatment or whether internet-scale fraud creates policy problems that require internet-scale solutions.

Plaintiffs' lawyers will almost certainly appeal. If the Second Circuit affirms, the precedent hardens. Interface developers, wallet providers, and middleware infrastructure gain a clearer safe harbor.

Investment flows toward permissionless systems with reduced tail risk.

If the Circuit reverses or if legislators decide victims need solvent defendants regardless of what tort law says, the compliance burden shifts. Platforms adopt know-your-transaction regimes. Costs rise. Innovation migrates to jurisdictions with more predictable rules.

Who decides what happens nextThe immediate procedural reality is that federal civil appeals must generally be filed within 30 days of the entry of judgment.

That creates a near-term catalyst for whether this becomes binding law or returns for another round of litigation.

The larger policy question extends beyond any single case. Failla explicitly flagged this in her original opinion: if lawmakers want different rules about anonymity and platform liability in financial markets, that's a legislative decision.

Courts apply existing standards, while Congress writes new ones.

The current standard, knowledge plus substantial assistance, sets a high bar for plaintiffs seeking to relabel infrastructure as a perpetrator. It protects toolmakers who build neutral systems that enable both legitimate commerce and fraud. It forces victims to pursue actual wrongdoers rather than convenient corporate defendants.

Whether that standard remains adequate as scams industrialize and professionalize is the question Failla declined to answer.

Federal judges interpret the law as written. If the law should change because fraud has scaled beyond what existing liability frameworks anticipated, that's a call for elected officials who write statutes, not appointed judges who apply them.

The decision matters because it determines who bears internet-scale fraud losses in an era when those losses are measured in billions annually.

Scammers vanish. Victims demand recovery. Platforms provide the most visible target. Courts now repeatedly say that visibility doesn't equal liability, but the economic pressure to find someone who pays doesn't disappear just because judges draw clear lines.

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BNB price is trading within a rising wedge formation, a structure that often precedes bearish breakdowns. With price nearing major resistance near $657, a move toward $580 becomes increasingly likely if support fails.

Summary

Rising wedge pattern signals potential bearish breakdown $657 resistance aligns with 0.618 Fibonacci confluence Breakdown targets $583–$580 high timeframe support BNB’s (BNB) recent price action reflects a corrective phase rather than a confirmed bullish expansion. While the asset has been gradually pushing higher, the structure of the advance suggests weakening momentum.

The development of a rising wedge pattern, combined with heavy overhead resistance, places the market at a critical inflection point where downside risk is building.

BNB price key technical points Bearish Pattern: Rising wedge formation nearing apex. Major Resistance: $657 aligns with 0.618 Fibonacci and wedge resistance. Downside Target: Breakdown projects toward $583–$580 support. BNBUSDT (4H) Chart, Source: TradingView BNB is currently compressing within a rising wedge, a pattern characterized by higher highs and higher lows that converge over time. Although price appears to be trending upward, rising wedges are typically considered bearish formations, particularly when they develop after corrective rallies rather than strong impulsive moves.

At present, price is trading near the Value Area High, approaching a major resistance cluster near $657. This level aligns with the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement and overlaps with the upper boundary of the rising wedge. The convergence of these resistance factors creates a technically significant supply zone where sellers may reassert control.

The market is now positioned near the apex of the wedge formation, meaning volatility compression is reaching its limit. In such setups, price often breaks decisively in one direction once liquidity builds sufficiently. Given the bearish characteristics of the structure, the probability slightly favors a downside resolution.

For the pattern to activate, BNB would need to break below the lower boundary of the wedge. This confirmation would require a decisive close beneath the Value Area Low, signaling acceptance at lower prices.

A breakdown accompanied by expanding volume would validate the bearish thesis and increase confidence in a corrective move, even as Binance introduces seven AI-powered agent tools aimed at automating trading, data analysis, and risk management workflows.

Should this scenario unfold, the next high timeframe support sits near $583–$580, which represents the broader range support and prior structural demand. This level becomes the primary downside target in the event of a wedge breakdown.

From a market structure perspective, BNB remains within a corrective environment. Despite recent upward movement, the asset has not yet reclaimed significant high timeframe resistance on a sustained basis. Until the $657 zone is decisively broken and converted into support, upside continuation remains uncertain.

Volume dynamics also warrant attention. Breakouts from wedge patterns typically require increased participation to confirm direction. A surge in selling volume during a breakdown would reinforce the bearish case, while strong bullish volume pushing above $657 would invalidate it.

The technical setup currently leans bearish, with downside risk emerging should lower support fail, even as Senator Richard Blumenthal has opened a Senate inquiry into Binance over reports it processed $1.7 billion in transactions tied to sanctioned entities, adding regulatory uncertainty to the broader landscape.

What to expect in the coming price action BNB remains vulnerable while trading within the rising wedge and below $657 resistance. A confirmed breakdown below the Value Area Low would activate the pattern and project a move toward $580 support.

Conversely, a strong breakout above resistance with volume expansion would negate the bearish setup and shift momentum back to the upside.

TL;DR:

Ripple expands its payments platform to integrate fiat and digital assets into a licensed, end-to-end system. The company processed over $100 billion in total volume and its stablecoin RLUSD surpassed $1 billion in market capitalization. Citigroup projects global stablecoin supply could reach $3.7 trillion by 2030, a market where Ripple already operates at scale. Ripple announced the expansion of Payments, its comprehensive global payments platform, to unify fiat and digital assets within a single licensed, end-to-end system aimed at fintechs, businesses and financial institutions.

Ripple’s core proposal addresses a structural problem in the sector: most payment providers offer isolated pieces of the process, whether an API, custody or access to a single corridor. The more intermediaries involved in a transaction, the greater the friction, cost and operational issues. Payments unifies collection, custody, conversion and payment functions into a single continuous flow, backed by more than 75 licenses in key markets including New York, the European Union and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Two strategic acquisitions have been key to the proposal: Palisade provides the custody infrastructure, wallets and treasury automation, while Rail offers global virtual accounts and collection capabilities. Both extend the payment lifecycle within the platform, reducing reliance on multiple external providers.

The Market Ripple Already Occupies In operational terms, the platform already supports payments in more than 60 markets, operates across 51 real-time payment rails and counts on more than 20 banking partners that ensure network resilience. RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin, surpassed $1 billion in market capitalization less than a year after its launch. The total volume processed by Payments exceeds $100 billion, and Rail adds another $10 billion annually.

Among the most illustrative use cases, Corpay uses Ripple’s custody and liquidity solutions to settle positions in Asia-Pacific with RLUSD, eliminating pre-funding requirements. MassPay uses the platform to offer payments in more than 100 countries and has plans to expand into stablecoin-funded payments. Alfred, for its part, relies on Ripple to operate stablecoin-to-fiat flows in the United States, Mexico, Colombia and China.

Citigroup projected that the global stablecoin supply could reach $3.7 trillion by 2030, comparing the current moment to the emergence of ChatGPT in the technology sector.

Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.

The popular research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor, giving you access to daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.

VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.86% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

You want to make sure you're buying stocks with the highest likelihood of success, and to do that, you'll need to pick stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you like a stock that only has a #3 (Hold) rank, it should also have Scores of A or B to guarantee as much upside potential as possible.

As mentioned above, the Scores are designed to work with the Zacks Rank, so any change to a company's earnings outlook should be a deciding factor when picking which stocks to buy.

Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Celestica (CLS - Free Report) Headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Celestica is one of the largest electronics manufacturing services companies in the world, primarily serving original equipment manufacturers, cloud-based and other service providers and enterprises from several industries. The company offers a comprehensive range of manufacturing and supply-chain solutions related to design and development, new product introduction, engineering services, component sourcing, electronics manufacturing and assembly, testing, systems integration, logistics, product licensing, after-market repair, return and information technology (IT) asset management and disposition services. Celestica's extensive depth and breadth of offerings support a wide variety of customer requirements, from low-volume, high-complexity custom products to high-volume commodity products.

CLS is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. CLS has a Growth Style Score of B, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 46% for the current fiscal year.

Three analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.62 to $8.83 per share. CLS also boasts an average earnings surprise of +9.1%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, CLS should be on investors' short list.

Key Takeaways Western Union expanded services to Vallarta stores across California and Arizona starting Feb. 28.The move adds money transfers, bill pay and prepaid services, enhancing convenience during grocery visits.Western Union aims to deepen its footprint in CA and AZ via Vallarta's 65-store network. The Western Union Company (WU - Free Report) recently joined forces with Vallarta Supermarkets to make its money transfer services available at every Vallarta location throughout California and Arizona. Customers can visit any Vallarta Supermarkets location beginning Feb. 28 to take advantage of WU services.

In addition to WU’s services, customers can avail retail money orders, bill payment options and prepaid services—providing added convenience and flexible financial solutions all in one place.

The recent move reflects an underlying motive to help customers visiting any of the abovementioned Vallarta locations with enhanced and speedy financial transactions while completing their regular grocery shopping.

Partnership with Vallarta is indicative of Western Union’s sincere efforts to establish a solid footprint across California and Arizona, courtesy of Vallarta’s extensive presence. Vallarta operates 65 stores across California and Arizona as of 2026 and employs more than 9,000 team members.

This latest initiative reflects Western Union’s ongoing efforts to support its global digital expansion strategy, which aims to attract a broader customer base through a wide range of service offerings. By making the Western Union platform available at Vallarta’s targeted locations, customers will benefit from faster and more convenient money transfers, which is expected to drive higher usage of its services. As a result, the move is likely to contribute to continued growth in Western Union’s digital money transfer revenues. Branded Digital business, a part of the company’s Consumer Money Transfer segment, reported 7% year-over-year increase in revenues in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Through strategic partnerships with financial service providers and meaningful investments in technology, Western Union has built a strong and scalable digital platform. The platform’s capabilities have positioned the company as a preferred partner for seamless global money transfers, while also helping advance digital financial services in underserved markets.

Other Companies Engaged in Cross-Border BusinessApart from Western Union, other companies with a strong cross-border business include Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) , PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL - Free Report) and Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) . 

MA’s cross-border platform, Mastercard Move, empowers banks, non-bank financial institutions and their customers—including direct disbursers—with secure, near-instant money transfer solutions, both within countries and across borders. The suite of solutions covers more than 200 countries and supports 150+ currencies. Cross-border volumes improved 14% on a local currency basis in the fourth quarter of 2025.

PayPal’s global scale, supported by licenses in key regions and its subsidiaries in Luxembourg, the UK and Singapore, allows it to facilitate seamless cross-border payments. Its cross-border transactions typically generate higher revenues and margins than domestic transactions. In the fourth quarter, cross-border total payment volume improved 6% year over year.

Visa’s cross-border platforms are specialized solutions designed to facilitate fast, secure and efficient movement of money across international borders. At the center of this is Visa Direct, a platform that enables near real-time payments to cards, bank accounts and wallets globally. Another platform is Visa B2B Connect, which focuses on business-to-business cross-border payments. Cross-border volumes of V advanced 12% year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

Rightmove PLC's data defences are stronger than many investors appreciate, according to RBC Capital Markets, as it dived deeper into the property portal's artificial intelligence strategy.

A day after arguing the FTSE 100 company is more likely to benefit from AI than be disrupted by it, the bank hosted a breakfast with Rightmove’s chief data officer, chief executive and chief financial officer focused on its AI strategy.

RBC said it left believing the group’s “data moat was bigger and better than we had previously thought" and that AI is "strengthening not weakening" its proposition.

About 90% of Rightmove’s data is proprietary and not 'scrapeable', the analysts said. While basic listing details can be harvested from the web, they described that as “just the tip of Rightmove’s data iceberg”.

Property search may be the “front door”, but the real value lies in the behavioural signals behind it. Each search reveals buyer and seller intent. Rightmove structures that data to generate insights and new revenue opportunities.

RBC said conversational search is already increasing “dwell times”, meaning users spend longer on the site. That, in turn, creates more data and deeper insight.

The broker maintained its 'outperform' rating and a 765p price target, arguing AI should enhance the value of what it calls an unrivalled UK property dataset rather than undermine it.

March 03, 2026 10:51 ET  | Source: Comstock Inc.

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., March 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”) and Comstock Metals LLC (“Comstock Metals”), a leader in the responsible recycling of end-of-life solar panels with the only certified, North American, zero-landfill solution, announced today that significant portions of the industry-scale facility precision equipment, manufactured on proprietary specifications, has arrived at our Silver Springs, Nevada location for installation, testing and ultimate integration of the 100,000 ton per year solar panel recycling production line. Commissioning will continue through March 2026, and into early April with operations planned during the second quarter of this year.

The manufacture of precision-machined equipment for Comstock Metals’ proprietary solar panel recycling begins with a highly engineered design process focused on durability, accuracy, speed, and maximizing throughput. Each system is modeled using advanced CAD platforms to ensure exact tolerances for shredding, conditioning, and ultimately, critical materials separation and recovery. The shredding systems are currently being assembled.

“Our team is now fully deployed and engaged in every aspect of our facility upgrades, storage build out and the all of the work associated with commissioning our first industry-scale recycling process and we have now received the major front-end components of our proprietary shredding systems,” said Dr. Fortunato Villamagna, President of Comstock Metals. “Installation involves a plurality of activities, from complex tasks like the interconnection of the various unit operations, completing the communication interfaces between the various systems, to things as simple as precision leveling, anchoring to reinforced and epoxied flooring, operational and electrical integration with facility power infrastructure, and calibration of automated control systems. Our design allows us to commission and evaluate each unit operation independently as they are installed, effectively streamlining the process and accelerating the full start-up and eventual ongoing, continuous operations.”

Final receipt and integration of all major components will continue through March and into April when the Company will confirm operational efficiencies, safety compliance, and optimized workflows within the dedicated recycling platform. The Company remains on schedule for continuous operations during the second quarter.

The Company has also completed and submitted its first major operating permit application with the State of Nevada for our second, integrated, industry-scale facility located in Clark County, in southern Nevada and has also begun the engagement with the city, county, and surrounding industrial neighbors and community.

“Our disciplined approach with technology and systems readiness required a multi-year operation of the commercial demonstration facility, enabling this final, first of its kind design and ordering of the industrial-scale systems,” said Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO of Comstock. “The ‘unit operation model’ deployed in the commercial demonstration facility is what enabled the Company to independently commission each part of the full scale plant independently, streamlining start-up. The project for readying, receiving, and commissioning this facility in Silver Springs is in full swing with frequent updates forthcoming on commissioning.”

About Comstock Inc.

Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) innovates and commercializes technologies, systems and supply chains that enable, support and sustain clean energy systems by efficiently, effectively, and expediently extracting and converting under-utilized natural resources into reusable metals, like silver, aluminum, gold, and other critical minerals, primarily from end-of-life photovoltaics. To learn more, please visit www.comstock.inc.

Comstock Social Media Policy

Comstock Inc. has used, and intends to continue using, its investor relations link and main website at www.comstock.inc in addition to its X.com, LinkedIn and YouTube accounts, as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Contacts

For investor inquiries:
Judd B. Merrill, Chief Financial Officer
Tel (775) 413-6222
[email protected]

For media inquiries:
Zach Spencer, Director of External Relations
Tel (775) 847-7573
[email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements 

This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “potential” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of doing so. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: future market conditions; future explorations or acquisitions; divestitures, spin-offs or similar distribution transactions, future changes in our research, development and exploration activities; future financial, natural, and social gains; future prices and sales of, and demand for, our products and services; land entitlements and uses; permits; production capacity and operations; operating and overhead costs; future capital expenditures and their impact on us; operational and management changes (including changes in the Board of Directors); changes in business strategies, planning and tactics; future employment and contributions of personnel, including consultants; future land and asset sales; investments, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs or similar distribution transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, operational, tax, financial and restructuring initiatives, including the nature, timing and accounting for restructuring charges, derivative assets and liabilities and the impact thereof; contingencies; litigation, administrative or arbitration proceedings; environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; offerings, limitations on sales or offering of equity or debt securities, including asset sales and associated costs; business opportunities, growth rates, future working capital, needs, revenues, variable costs, throughput rates, operating expenses, debt levels, cash flows, margins, taxes and earnings. These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical and current trends, current conditions, possible future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, representations or warranties and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control and could cause actual results, developments, and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties include the risk factors set forth in our filings with the SEC and the following: adverse effects of climate changes or natural disasters; adverse effects of global or regional pandemic disease spread or other crises; global economic and capital market uncertainties; the speculative nature of gold or mineral exploration, and lithium, nickel and cobalt recycling, including risks of diminishing quantities or grades of qualified resources; operational or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, metal recycling, processing or mining activities; costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with precious and other metal based activities, including environmentally friendly and economically enhancing clean mining and processing technologies, precious metal exploration, resource development, economic feasibility assessment and cash generating mineral production; costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with metal recycling, processing or mining activities; contests over our title to properties; potential dilution to our stockholders from our stock issuances, recapitalization and balance sheet restructuring activities; potential inability to comply with applicable government regulations or law; adoption of or changes in legislation or regulations adversely affecting our businesses; permitting constraints or delays; challenges to, or potential inability to, achieve the benefits of business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, us, including those involving battery technology and efficacy, quantum computing and generative artificial intelligence supported advanced materials development, development of cellulosic technology in bio-fuels and related material production; commercialization of cellulosic technology in bio-fuels and generative artificial intelligence development services; ability to successfully identify, finance, complete and integrate acquisitions, spin-offs or similar distribution transactions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, asset sales, and investments that we may be party to in the future; changes in the United States or other monetary or fiscal policies or regulations; interruptions in our production capabilities due to capital constraints; equipment failures; fluctuation of prices for gold or certain other commodities (such as silver, zinc, lithium, nickel, cobalt, cyanide, water, diesel, gasoline and alternative fuels and electricity); changes in generally accepted accounting principles; adverse effects of war, mass shooting, terrorism and geopolitical events; potential inability to implement our business strategies; potential inability to grow revenues; potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; interruptions in delivery of critical supplies, equipment and raw materials due to credit or other limitations imposed by vendors; assertion of claims, lawsuits and proceedings against us; potential inability to satisfy debt and lease obligations; potential inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting; potential inability or failure to timely file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission; potential inability to list our securities on any securities exchange or market or maintain the listing of our securities; and work stoppages or other labor difficulties. Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, or the market price of our securities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Except as may be required by securities or other law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitutes an offer to sell, the solicitation of an offer to buy or a recommendation with respect to any securities of the Company, the fund, or any other issuer.

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Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreWhile good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreIf you like to use all three kinds of investing, then the VGM Score is for you. It's a combination of all Style Scores, and is an important indicator to use with the Zacks Rank. The VGM Score rates each stock on their shared weighted styles, narrowing down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

Investors can count on the Zacks Rank's success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.86% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500's performance. But the model rates a large number of stocks, and there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

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The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

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Stock to Watch: Analog Devices (ADI - Free Report) Analog Devices, Inc. is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts. The company is an original equipment manufacturer of semiconductor devices, specifically, analog, mixed signal and digital signal processing (DSP) integrated circuits.

ADI is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Computer and Technology stock. ADI has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 11.2% over the past four weeks.

11 analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $1.46 to $11.22 per share. ADI boasts an average earnings surprise of +6.1%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, ADI should be on investors' short list.

For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.

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Zacks Premium also includes the Zacks Style Scores.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? Developed alongside the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a group of complementary indicators that help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFor value investors, it's all about finding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value before the broader market catches on. The Value Style Score utilizes ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to help pick out the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreWhile good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.

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Stock to Watch: TriMas (TRS - Free Report) Based at Bloomfield Hills, MI, TriMas is a diversified global designer, manufacturer and distributor of engineered and applied products that serve a variety of industrial, commercial and consumer end markets worldwide.

TRS is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Industrial Products stock. TRS has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 8.6% over the past four weeks.

One analyst revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.01 to $2.49 per share. TRS also boasts an average earnings surprise of +8.4%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, TRS should be on investors' short list.

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Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is given an alphabetic rating of A, B, C, D or F based on their value, growth, and momentum qualities. With this system, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on, meaning the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreWhile good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock-rating model that harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to help investors build a successful portfolio.

#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.86% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

But it can feel overwhelming to pick the right stocks for you and your investing goals with over 800 top-rated stocks to choose from.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.

A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: ArcelorMittal (MT - Free Report) Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company. With a presence in more than 60 countries, it operates a balanced portfolio of cost competitive steel plants across both the developed and developing world. It is the leader in all the main sectors – automotive, household appliances, packaging and construction.

MT is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Momentum investors should take note of this Basic Materials stock. MT has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 14.1% over the past four weeks.

For fiscal 2026, three analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.17 to $5.00 per share. MT boasts an average earnings surprise of +26.6%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, MT should be on investors' short list.

Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.

The research service features daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, all of which will help you become a smarter, more confident investor.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreWhile good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreWhat if you like to use all three types of investing? The VGM Score is a combination of all Style Scores, making it one of the most comprehensive indicators to use with the Zacks Rank. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, which helps narrow down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

Investors can count on the Zacks Rank's success, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.86% average annual return since 1988, more than double the S&P 500's performance. But the model rates a large number of stocks, and there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

But it can feel overwhelming to pick the right stocks for you and your investing goals with over 800 top-rated stocks to choose from.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

As mentioned above, the Scores are designed to work with the Zacks Rank, so any change to a company's earnings outlook should be a deciding factor when picking which stocks to buy.

Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC - Free Report) Chicago, IL-based GE HealthCare Technologies, a leading global medtech company, operates across four primary segments — Imaging, Ultrasound (AVS), Patient Care Solutions (PCS), and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics (PDx). Headquartered in Chicago, the company has a diversified portfolio of advanced medical imaging systems, ultrasound devices, monitoring equipment, and a growing radiopharmaceuticals pipeline. With a mission to deliver precision care, GEHC continues to pivot from a traditional equipment vendor toward an integrated solutions provider, combining hardware, software, digital analytics, and pharmaceuticals.

GEHC is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Medical stock. GEHC has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 0.1% over the past four weeks.

Six analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.06 to $4.99 per share. GEHC also boasts an average earnings surprise of +7.5%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, GEHC should be on investors' short list.