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Connecting Excellence Group Plc (AQSE:XCE, OTCQB:XCELF) CEO, Scott Ellam, talked with Proactive about the company’s strong first-half performance, IPO milestone, and innovative Bitcoin treasury strategy.

The company reported a 20% increase in net fee income during the first half of FY26, driven by higher average fees and continued demand for senior-level placements across global consulting, professional services, logistics, environmental services and AI intelligence businesses. Ellam explained that growth came despite senior leadership preparing for the IPO, highlighting the strength of the underlying recruitment team and operating model.

He said the public listing on the Aquis Exchange, alongside the company’s OTCQB trading in the United States, is central to scaling the business. According to Ellam, the PLC structure combined with a Bitcoin treasury strategy enables Connecting Excellence Group Plc to attract high-performing executive recruiters using performance-based share incentives.

Discussing the Bitcoin strategy, Ellam said investors are backing “a growing operating business and cash flowing business, but on the upside, they are using all surplus cash to buy more of the Bitcoin, which is compounding at a significant growth rate.” The company currently holds more than 52 Bitcoin and has launched XCE Bitcoin bonds to access additional capital markets funding.

January marked the strongest recruitment month in the company’s history, with senior placements across AI supply chain intelligence, professional services, environmental compliance and IoT data solutions.

Proactive: Scott, very good to speak with you. The first half of full year 26 saw a 20% increase in net fee income and higher average fees. What's driving this growth and how are you choosing which mandates to focus on?

Scott Ellam: The results posted cover mid-2025 to the end of 2025, which was when we were preparing for the IPO. The senior team was focused on IPO preparations, so the performance reflects a recruitment team concentrating on individual markets and clients, driving revenues forward.

We expect to exceed those results this year. Growth has come from clients across business advisory and global consulting firms, professional services firms, integrated services businesses, environmental services, logistics, and AI intelligence companies looking for senior-level talent.

Our consultants identify candidates suitable for vice president, director and C-level roles, manage the shortlist process, negotiate salaries acceptable to both candidate and client, and complete placements at senior levels across those industries. That is where the revenue comes from.

Proactive: You mentioned the IPO on the Aquis Exchange and trading on the OTCQB in the United States. How has going public changed your approach to growth and investor engagement?

Scott Ellam: Going public is key to scalable growth. Combining PLC status with an active Bitcoin treasury strategy and an experienced capital markets team drives operational revenue growth and cash flow.

Being public allows us to leverage our status and Bitcoin balance sheet to attract high-billing executive recruiters from competitors. We can offer performance-based share options alongside salary and commission to attract ambitious revenue-generating staff and strengthen operating cash flows.

We recently began trading on OTCQB in the US and attended Strategy World in Las Vegas, meeting investment banks and venture capital firms operating in the Bitcoin treasury sector. The structure combines executive recruitment revenue with a Bitcoin capital markets strategy, enabling us to build relationships with both investment and hiring partners. We have also opened a division to meet demand for talent in the Bitcoin and digital asset space.

Proactive: You hold over 52 Bitcoin and have launched a Bitcoin bond. What role does Bitcoin play in your long-term financial strategy, and how have clients and investors reacted?

Scott Ellam: For clients, we are running the same service as always. They have been supportive and see the structure as innovative. Clients in the Bitcoin and digital asset sector align closely with our strategy.

From an investor perspective, they are investing in an executive recruitment firm that has delivered 35% compound annual growth over four years. We plan to accelerate that growth. Investors see exposure to a growing operating and cash-flowing business, while surplus cash is used to acquire more Bitcoin.

We can access capital markets through equity raises in the UK and overseas, as well as XCE Bitcoin bonds. Over the next three to five years, we want a balance sheet positioned with low or beneficial debt and a significant Bitcoin holding to strengthen the company and enable future acquisitions.

Proactive: January marked your strongest month ever for recruitment activity. How do you plan to maintain momentum, and what should shareholders look for?

Scott Ellam: On New Year’s Eve, we signed XCE Bitcoin bonds and issued an invoice for a senior US placement. January exceeded expectations from a revenue perspective following the IPO in December.

Placements included a US sales director for an AI supply chain intelligence company, a UK managing director for a facilities management firm, a US director for a global business advisory company, a US managing director for a professional services consultancy, a vice president in environmental monitoring and compliance, and a European account director in IoT data solutions.

We made international placements across multiple sectors uncorrelated to Bitcoin. We believe this is the first traditional business that will grow directly as a result of a well-executed Bitcoin treasury strategy supporting the balance sheet.

Proactive: Scott, thank you for speaking with us.

New Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel launched his tenure as the company's new chief with an 18-page letter to shareholders that shed light on many details regarding how Abel plans to run the sprawling company, how Berkshire is currently performing, how it is positioned for the future, and other, perhaps more surprising comments about plans for Berkshire's massive $318 billion equities portfolio.

For instance, Abel cited four key positions in Berkshire's portfolio -- Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody's -- that he expects "will compound over decades" and will experience "limited activity," barring any fundamental changes in their long-term prospects. What's equally interesting is that Abel did not include two of Berkshire's current top-five positions in the group. Are these two stocks now on the chopping block?

Image source: Getty Images.

Bank of America -- 8.1% of portfolio One stock not mentioned by Abel as a "core holding" is Bank of America (BAC 1.80%), the second-largest bank by assets in the U.S. and the fourth-largest position in Berkshire's portfolio. While dumping many of its bank stocks during the pandemic, Berkshire loaded up on Bank of America, signaling that it would be its preferred large bank. While Buffett and Berkshire have a long history with the banking sector, they have also clearly soured on the industry.

Berkshire has also cut its stake in Bank of America in half over the past few years. In 2011, following the Great Recession, Berkshire injected $5 billion of capital into Bank of America, in return for preferred stock and warrants that allowed it to acquire 700 million common shares at a price of $7.14 each in 2017, so Bank of America has undoubtedly been a terrific investment for Berkshire.

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However, Berkshire may not consider banks as much of a long-term trade as they once were. The sector has faced numerous issues since the Great Recession and has lagged the broader market on a pure returns basis. If Berkshire is concerned about a recession, which it seems to be based on its hoard of cash and lack of buying activity in recent years, it may also want to pare its bank holdings.

Now, this doesn't mean Berkshire will necessarily eliminate Bank of America, but the fact that it didn't mention the company among its core holdings and has sold a significant amount definitely puts it on the chopping block. The stock trades at roughly 175% Bank of America's tangible book value, or net worth, which is toward the higher end of its 10-year valuation range, although not the highest, so Berkshire may eventually prefer to find banks with cheaper valuations.

Chevron -- 6.5% The large U.S. oil and gas player Chevron (CVX +0.02%) is another stock Abel did not specifically name. This surprised me somewhat, considering that Berkshire has loaded up on U.S. energy assets in recent years and that Abel ran Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Based on its recent purchases, Berkshire seemed to believe that traditional fossil fuels, or power in general, would be quite valuable going forward, especially those produced by U.S.-based companies.

Until concerns about the recent conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, oil prices had fallen below $60 per barrel. Still, Chevron stock had performed relatively well, maintaining a strong balance sheet, despite taking on more debt to acquire Hess. Berkshire did actually sell quite a bit of Chevron back in 2022, but has only increased its position since the second quarter of 2023.

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Chevron is doing many things that one would think the Berkshire team would approve of. The acquisition of Hess provides the company with a premier upstream portfolio that it believes will deliver industry-leading margins. Meanwhile, the company's net debt-to-cash flow ratio remains very solid at 1x. Chevron repurchased $12 billion of stock in 2025. Based on the company's first-quarter guide for this year, it will remain on a similar pace. Chevron's trailing-12-month dividend yield is also very strong, nearly 3.8%.

Chevron is also arguably the best-positioned oil stock to benefit from changes in Venezuela, given its existing infrastructure there. The company has said it plans to triple production in March from December levels. Finally, the stock serves as a hedge against tensions in the Middle East because rising oil prices benefit it, so while I find it odd that Abel didn't include it as a core holding, I'm less likely to believe it is on the chopping block at this time.

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK) Analyst/Investor Day Transcript

ACG Metals Ltd (LSE:ACG, FRA:Y9C, OTC:ACGAF) CEO, Artem Volynets, talked with Proactive about the company’s progress toward commissioning its sulfide processing plant at its copper-gold project in Turkey and the preparations underway ahead of planned production later this year.

Volynets explained that the company continues to focus on building a low-cost production profile for key metals, including copper and gold, noting that market volatility often shifts investor attention toward high-quality assets. The company is advancing its sulfide project expansion with commissioning expected in the second quarter and commercial production targeted by mid-year.

Joining the discussion was Vice President of Processing Yaya Hamadou, who outlined the operational preparation taking place ahead of startup.

Hamadou brings more than 25 years of international experience in flotation concentrator operations across multiple commodities, including copper, zinc, gold and silver. His background includes leadership roles with companies such as Glencore, Imperial Metals and Core Mining, where he led commissioning and ramp-ups of several processing plants.

Hamadou said the project remains on schedule and on budget, with the team currently focused on the final phase of operational readiness. This includes operator training, strengthening plant leadership, optimising metallurgical performance and implementing disciplined operating procedures and a metal accounting system.

As Hamadou noted, “the project remains on schedule and on budget with planned commissioning in the second quarter.”

Volynets added that the company expects to reach around 70% of nameplate capacity initially before ramping up to full production. For 2026, the company is guiding toward 20,000 to 22,000 tonnes of copper equivalent production, including roughly 14,000 ounces of gold equivalent in the first half of the year.

He emphasised that the immediate priority is delivering steady-state production and demonstrating the value of the company’s high-grade polymetallic asset in Turkey before considering potential mergers and acquisitions.

Proactive: Artem, it's good to see you again. How are you?

Proactive: Also joining us is the vice president of processing, Yaya Hamadou. Yaya, good to see you as well.

Proactive: Artem, maybe it's a great opportunity to update our viewers and investors on where the company stands. You have a key project in Turkey and some metallurgical work underway. Tell us where things stand and what you hope to achieve over the next couple of months.

Artem Volynets: In this time of geopolitical uncertainty, it's good to go back to basics. We believe low-cost producers of key metals such as copper and gold will benefit when market volatility settles and the focus returns to quality stories that benefit from the commodity price environment.

We have seen increases in gold and copper prices. We are very proud that we continue to progress on our sulfide project expansion, where we plan to achieve production by the middle of the year. Only a few months remain before commissioning starts. I thought it would be good to speak with Yaya, our chief metallurgist, about how he is preparing to start the sulfide plant and commission it.

Proactive: Yaya, tell me about your background.

Yaya Hamadou: I bring more than 25 years of international experience in flotation concentrator operations across copper, zinc, lead, molybdenum, gold and silver processing. I have worked across Canada, the United States, Australia and West Africa.

I held senior processing leadership roles with Glencore, Imperial Metals and Core Mining, where I led commissioning, start-up and ramp-up of several multi-commodity flotation plants and delivered sustainable operational performance.

I also worked on optimising tier-one assets operated by companies such as Teck, Newmont, Hudbay Minerals and Centra, improving throughput, metallurgical recovery and operational stability. That experience provides the foundation for the successful start-up and ramp-up of the ACG sulfide project.

Proactive: You have done a lot of work since joining the company to improve efficiencies and reduce bottlenecks to get the process flowing.

Yaya Hamadou: The main work now is preparing for the sulfide process plant. The project remains on schedule and on budget with commissioning planned for the second quarter. We target commercial production at about 70% of nameplate capacity by mid-year, followed by a structured ramp-up to full operating capacity. In parallel, we are completing the final phase of operational readiness. That includes strengthening plant leadership, operator training, optimising blending and metallurgical performance, and implementing disciplined operating procedures and a robust metal accounting system. This preparation positions the operation for safe commissioning and a controlled ramp-up to steady-state production.

Proactive: Artem, it must be valuable having someone with Yaya’s experience on the technical team.

Artem Volynets: Yes. When Yaya joined us in the spring of last year, within about three months he significantly increased recoveries from our oxide operation, which continues to produce. He has also prepared the team for commissioning of the sulfide project. The key for us is building a team with the experience required to commission the project on time and on budget. Among the projects Yaya has worked on previously, this is probably the smallest and simplest operation, but we still plan to start commissioning in the second quarter and reach full commercial production by mid-year.

Our guidance for 2026 is 20,000 to 22,000 tonnes of copper equivalent, including about 14,000 ounces of gold equivalent produced in the first half of the year. Thanks to Yaya, we are very much on track to reach our goals. Before pursuing any M&A strategy, we want the market to fully appreciate the value of the asset in Turkey, which is a high-grade copper-led polymetallic deposit with a 2.3% copper equivalent grade.

Proactive: It sounds like the next six months will be very busy with plenty of news flow. Gentlemen, great to see you both.

Kaspi.kz has declined 32% to $73, but the core business remains robust, with revenue compounding at 30%+ and gross margins above 70%. KSPI's Hepsiburada acquisition adds complexity and Turkish macro risk, yet the market's discount appears excessive given the long-term optionality. At current prices, KSPI offers a projected 9% 2026 dividend yield, with downside anchored by its dominant Kazakh fintech franchise.

Coinsilium Group Limited (AQSE:COIN, OTCQB:CINGF, FRA:5CT) CEO, Eddy Travia, and CFO, Ben Proffitt, talked with Proactive about the company’s latest strategic update, expansion into prediction markets, the upcoming Yellow Network token listing, and its current financial position.

Proffitt explained that Coinsilium is “not a pure play Bitcoin treasury company,” reinforcing that the company’s core business remains its accelerator and venture development model. While the Bitcoin treasury function provides financial strength, the focus is on actively creating shareholder value rather than waiting for Bitcoin price appreciation. As he stated, the goal is not to “just sit around and wait for the price of Bitcoin to increase,” but to leverage the company’s expertise, venture portfolio and strategic assets to generate growth.

Travia outlined the company’s expansion into prediction markets, describing the sector as a fast-growing and natural extension of its digital asset focus. He highlighted the role of blockchain technology in providing transparency and tokenisation within platforms such as Polymarket, and confirmed Coinsilium is in negotiations to acquire a significant stake in a venture within the space.

The interview also covered the upcoming Yellow Network token listing event scheduled for March 8. Travia described Yellow as a decentralised clearing network focused on reducing counterparty risk and improving liquidity across trading venues through off-chain order matching and on-chain smart clearing.

Proffitt added that, following last year’s £17 million equity raise and Bitcoin accumulation, the company has “well over a year of runway” with no near or medium-term funding requirements.

Proactive: Eddy, Ben, very good to speak with you. Could you give us a summary of the strategic update you released yesterday and what the key message is for shareholders?

Ben Proffitt: The key message is that the company is not a pure play Bitcoin treasury company. The core business has always been that of an accelerator and venture developer, and that remains the case today. The company is seeking to refocus on that core business activity, supported by the financial firepower that the treasury function provides.

In terms of shareholder value creation, the company is not going to just sit around and wait for the price of Bitcoin to increase in order to deliver value. The company wants to leverage its expertise in the sector through the venture business, its portfolio of strategic assets and the treasury function to create new shareholder value alongside any appreciation in the price of Bitcoin.

The company continues to believe in the long-term value prospects of Bitcoin, which is why the treasury function is entirely focused on Bitcoin. However, shareholder value creation is driven through the core business, not just Bitcoin price appreciation.

Proactive: Eddy, can you explain more about your expanded focus on the digital assets sector and what this means for the business?

Eddy Travia: In the update, the company began discussing prediction markets, a sector that has seen tremendous growth recently. There is significant use of blockchain technology in prediction markets, particularly on successful platforms such as Polymarket, which use blockchain technology throughout their structure.

Blockchain enables transparency and tokenisation of markets, allowing traders to operate faster and access opportunities within these markets. The company views this as a natural expansion because it remains close to the crypto space while going beyond previous activities.

The company also announced it is in negotiations regarding a specific venture in which it would like to acquire a significant stake.

Proactive: Ben, what is the current financial position of the company and its funding needs over the near to medium term?

Ben Proffitt: While specific unpublished numbers cannot be disclosed, shareholders are aware that during the last year the company raised around £17 million in equity finance and deployed approximately £15 million into Bitcoin for the treasury.

Taking this into account, alongside previously reported cash positions and corporate burn rate, the company has well over a year of runway to fund operations. There are no near or medium-term funding requirements, and the company has a variety of options available. It is not reliant on any single source of funding.

Proactive: Eddy, something shareholders are keenly awaiting — can you give us some updates on the upcoming Yellow Network launch and how the Yellow ecosystem will work?

Eddy Travia: The Yellow token listing event is scheduled for March 8. Yellow positions itself as a decentralised clearing network rather than another exchange or blockchain.

It focuses on solving the clearing and counterparty risk layer between exchanges, brokers and trading venues. Through off-chain order matching, trades can be executed without immediate on-chain settlement, similar to a bar tab analogy. Final settlement occurs on-chain through what Yellow calls smart clearing.

Collateral remains within a controlled framework via smart contracts. Yellow helps remove liquidity silos, allowing traders to access liquidity across venues through the Yellow Network. Additionally, new platforms are using the Yellow SDK to build their own solutions, contributing to the development of a broader ecosystem.

The company is also in discussions with the Yellow team to become more involved in the ecosystem as it continues to attract talent and entrepreneurs.

Proactive: Lots to look forward to. Thank you both for speaking with us today.

There's no denying the fact that Amazon (AMZN 2.61%) is one of the most disruptive businesses out there. The company upended the retail sector. It introduced cloud computing to the world. And it's making inroads in healthcare and autonomous driving.

Management's forward-thinking mentality has made this "Magnificent Seven" stock a huge winner. Its shares have rocketed 647% and 11,500% higher in the past 10- and 20-year periods (as of March 3).

But as we stand in 2026, is Amazon stock a long-term buy?

Image source: The Motley Fool.

The foundation is secure Investors would do better in the stock market if they focused on the highest-quality companies. Over long periods of time, these businesses can boost your portfolio's results. Amazon falls squarely into this category. This is an elite company.

Amazon's positioning at the center of multiple secular trends is a situation most businesses dream of. The growth of online shopping, cloud computing, digital advertising, and streaming entertainment, for example, has and will continue to propel Amazon forward. The company is also a power player in the artificial intelligence race, with plans to spend $200 billion in total capital expenditures in 2026.

Despite its gargantuan revenue of $717 billion in 2025, analysts estimate the top line to increase 41% to surpass $1 trillion in 2028. That growth helps to lift net income, which was up 31% last year compared to 2024. From a financial perspective, the company is in great shape.

As mentioned, Amazon is a disruptive force. Its strong position in numerous markets supports its staying power. Said differently, investors can sleep well at night knowing that the business they own has almost no threat of being disrupted itself.

Amazon's tremendous scale provides an unmatched cost advantage. Its online marketplace possesses a powerful network effect. Customers of Amazon Web Services deal with high switching costs. And the ability to collect and leverage mountains of data allows the enterprise to constantly improve and find new monetization avenues.

This company is undoubtedly worthy of being a long-term investment.

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Don't ignore the valuation Once an investor decides that Amazon is a wonderful business, the next hurdle to clear centers on the valuation. If investors pay too high a price, it can be an obstacle to producing outsize investment gains. Valuation should never be overlooked.

Amazon shares have faced some selling pressure, as they're off 18% from the peak. This provides investors with a great opportunity to buy. The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.1. This is basically a 10-year bargain valuation, as the multiple has rarely been cheaper over the past decade.

Don't make the decision complicated. Amazon makes sense as a long-term buy.

ACCO Brands remains rated 'hold' due to persistent revenue and profit declines despite aggressive cost-cutting and operational restructuring. Management targets $100M in annual cost savings, but deleveraging from falling sales continues to pressure margins and cash flows. Valuation is compelling, with ACCO trading at mid- to low-single-digit multiples, yet fundamentals have not stabilized to warrant an upgrade.

Bitcoin’s recent price action has already followed a warning we highlighted earlier. When the asset was trading close to $73,000, we noted that weakening momentum could push the price lower.

Since then, Bitcoin has fallen sharply and is currently trading near $68,000 at press time.

The move comes during a weekend session when liquidity is typically thinner, meaning price swings can appear sharper and less predictable. While the drop confirms short-term weakness, the market structure now reveals a more complex situation. Some signals suggest another bounce may appear, even as a larger bearish setup remains active.

Bitcoin Head-and-Shoulders Pattern Forms as Whales Buy the $74,000 TopOn the 4-hour chart, Bitcoin appears to be forming a head-and-shoulders pattern. This is a technical structure that often signals a potential trend reversal when the neckline breaks.

The pattern began forming after Bitcoin pushed toward $74,100 earlier this week. That level now represents the “head” of the formation. Since then, the price has gradually weakened, with the right shoulder now developing.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

BTC Price Structure: TradingViewAt the same time, large Bitcoin wallets appear to have increased their exposure near the peak. Data tracking wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 BTC shows reserves rising to roughly 2.24 million BTC on March 4, which coincides closely with the formation of the pattern’s head. This timing raises a key question: Did whales buy the top?

BTC Whales: SantimentIf so, the recent drop to $68,000, which was predicted 48 hours earlier, places them in a potentially uncomfortable position.

But several market signals suggest they may still have an opportunity to minimize losses with a layered short-term bounce.

Short Liquidations and Long-Term Holder Buying Could Fuel a BounceDerivatives positioning currently shows a heavy short bias in the market. On the Binance BTC/USDT perpetual pair, roughly $798 million in short leverage sits in the market compared with about $430 million in long positions. Shorts outweigh longs by over 80%.

Liquidation Map: CoinglassThis imbalance means that if the Bitcoin price begins to move upward, short positions may start getting liquidated, forcing traders to buy back Bitcoin and pushing prices higher.

One of the largest liquidation clusters sits above the $69,700 region, where nearly $375 million worth of short positions could be wiped out. Interestingly, this level also aligns with a key resistance level (chart revealed later), strengthening its importance as a potential short-term target.

BTC Liquidation Cluster: CoinglassAnother signal adds to the possibility of a bounce. Bitcoin’s long-term holder net position change, which tracks investors holding BTC for over a year, has suddenly flipped positive after nearly two months of steady selling.

The metric turned positive on March 6 after staying negative since early January. The last time a similar one-day flip appeared was on December 7, when Bitcoin rallied from about $90,400 to $92,700, a move of roughly 2.5%.

A similar 2.5% bounce from the current price would place Bitcoin almost exactly near $69,700, aligning with the short-liquidation cluster and the technical resistance zone.

Long-Term Holders: GlassnodeThis overlap raises the possibility that whales could be expecting a short-squeeze-driven bounce that temporarily lifts the market.

Key Bitcoin Price Levels to Watch as the Pattern DevelopsDespite the potential for a bounce, the broader technical structure remains weak.

For short-term bullish momentum to strengthen, Bitcoin would need to close a four-hour candle above $68,600, which could open the path toward the $69,700 liquidation cluster and potentially $72,000.

However, even a move toward these levels would still keep the head-and-shoulders pattern intact as long as Bitcoin remains below the $74,100 peak.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: TradingViewOn the downside, the critical neckline sits near $67,800. A four-hour close below this level could confirm the pattern. It would then trigger a deeper decline toward $65,300, with the measured move pointing to roughly $61,100.

For now, Bitcoin sits in a delicate balance. A short squeeze could produce a temporary bounce toward the $69,700 region. But unless the asset reclaims its previous highs, the broader risk of a larger pullback remains in play.

Key Takeaways Goldman Sachs has issued warnings that artificial intelligence may trigger significant job losses in finance and beyond Ningbo’s High-Flyer, an AI-driven quant hedge fund, achieved an average 52.55% return in 2025 A staggering 84% of retail cryptocurrency traders experienced losses during their initial trading year Approximately 19% of investors worldwide now leverage AI technologies for portfolio management and investment decisions Financial professionals believe the ability to choose and oversee AI trading systems will become the most critical investment skill Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing investment strategies, trading methodologies, and wealth preservation techniques. What began as simple chatbot consultations for basic financial inquiries has evolved into sophisticated systems where AI agents execute transactions, provide continuous market surveillance, and handle risk management with minimal human intervention.

AI AGENTS WILL BOOST CRYPTO 🚀

AI AGENTS ARE ALREADY WRITING CODE, RUNNING SUPPORT & MANAGING SYSTEMS 24/7.

THEY DON’T USE BANK ACCOUNTS OR ASK FOR PERMISSION. THEY NEED MONEY THAT MOVES AT INTERNET SPEED.

CRYPTO & STABLECOI …Show more pic.twitter.com/94ENuqx3K3

— Money Ape (@TheMoneyApe) March 4, 2026

Goldman Sachs has issued stark warnings about potential widespread unemployment driven by AI advancement. Citrini Research highlighted a job-displacement scenario that temporarily shook financial markets. These alerts are prompting investors to reconsider their financial protection strategies.

According to industry experts, the solution isn’t attempting to master every emerging AI platform. Rather, success lies in developing a single critical competency: the ability to choose and supervise AI trading systems.

Ningbo’s High-Flyer, an AI-powered quant hedge fund, delivered an impressive average return of 52.55% in 2025, ranking among the sector’s elite performers. This performance becomes even more striking when contrasted with broader retail trading outcomes.

In cryptocurrency markets, 84% of individual traders suffered losses in their first twelve months. These losses rarely stemmed from inadequate market information. Instead, they resulted from poor discipline — including panic-driven selling, emotionally-charged revenge trades, and impulsive decision-making.

AI systems don’t suffer from these human weaknesses. They operate continuously without fatigue, emotional responses, or second-guessing. These algorithms execute predetermined strategies consistently, following established rules without deviation.

The Growing Dominance of AI in Financial Markets According to eToro, approximately 19% of global investors currently utilize AI technologies to construct or modify their investment portfolios. In the United Kingdom specifically, Lloyds Group reports that nearly 39% of individuals employ AI for long-term financial strategy development.

Despite this expansion, individual investors remain significantly underutilized AI trading agents. Most applications involve requesting AI-generated recommendations rather than implementing autonomous strategic execution.

This distinction is crucial. Consulting AI for investment suggestions differs fundamentally from deploying an agent that independently executes a comprehensive strategy with predefined risk parameters.

Industry experts compare the process to coaching a professional sports team. Investors establish objectives, define operational parameters, and allow the agents to perform independently. Critical safeguards include emergency shutdown mechanisms, position size limitations, and ongoing performance evaluation.

Implications for Individual Market Participants Success doesn’t depend on selecting the most advanced AI model. It requires constructing a framework with explicit objectives and boundaries, then consistently evaluating outcomes.

Cryptocurrency markets operate continuously without interruption, 24 hours daily, throughout the entire week. AI systems are purpose-built for this environment. Human traders fundamentally are not.

As AI trading tools become increasingly accessible, the performance gap separating institutional and retail investors may diminish. However, this advantage will only materialize for those who develop proficiency in effectively utilizing these technologies.

The competency being emphasized isn’t primarily technical. It’s fundamentally managerial. Determine your objectives, establish operational guidelines, confirm protective measures, and monitor outcomes systematically.

Ningbo’s High-Flyer’s 52.55% return in 2025 continues to serve as one of the most frequently referenced demonstrations of AI-driven trading potential in today’s market conditions.

TLDR Table of Contents

TLDRHow the Buyback WorksValidator Node and Broader StrategyGet 3 Free Stock Ebooks AVAX One Technology completed a repurchase of 2,423,383 shares as part of its $40 million buyback initiative Stock currently valued at $0.76 per share, representing a 95% decline from its 52-week peak of $22.50; buyback program approved November 2025 Company CEO Jolie Kahn believes current share price significantly undervalues the firm’s net asset holdings AVAX One functions as a publicly accessible Avalanche blockchain treasury vehicle, concentrating on AVAX token acquisition and yield generation Firm simultaneously deployed its inaugural public validator node within the Avalanche ecosystem AVAX One Technology Ltd. has completed a significant share repurchase transaction, acquiring more than 2.4 million of its outstanding shares based on management’s conviction that the market is significantly undervaluing the company.

Avax One Technology Ltd, AVX

The Florida-based firm, headquartered in West Palm Beach, executed the transaction under a $40 million share repurchase authorization initially greenlit in November 2025.

Shares are presently trading at $0.76, marking a dramatic 95% plunge from the 52-week peak of $22.50.

According to CEO Jolie Kahn, the company strategically acquired shares when market pricing fell beneath the firm’s calculated net asset value. “We believe our shares remain materially undervalued relative to the strength of our operating platform and the long-term opportunity ahead for the Avalanche blockchain,” she stated.

Kahn characterized the share acquisitions as “opportunistic,” indicating management capitalized on perceived pricing inefficiencies between market valuation and intrinsic worth.

AVAX One operates as a publicly accessible investment vehicle centered on the Avalanche blockchain ecosystem. The company positions itself as the inaugural publicly traded treasury dedicated to Avalanche.

Its core business model involves accumulating and maintaining positions in the Avalanche native token, AVAX, while simultaneously generating returns through various yield strategies. Management’s primary objective centers on expanding AVAX holdings on a per-share basis.

How the Buyback Works The entire repurchase was executed via open market purchases. The company maintains flexibility regarding purchase volumes and retains the ability to modify or terminate the initiative based on evolving circumstances.

Additional share acquisitions remain contingent upon prevailing market dynamics, capital allocation priorities, and applicable regulatory frameworks.

Financial analysis from InvestingPro highlights concerns that the firm is “quickly burning through cash.” The company’s current ratio stands at 0.69, indicating that near-term liabilities exceed readily available liquid resources.

Validator Node and Broader Strategy Concurrent with the buyback announcement, AVAX One unveiled its inaugural public validator node on the Avalanche network. This infrastructure component contributes to Avalanche’s consensus protocol and enables delegators to participate in staking at minimal thresholds, while the company generates income through delegation fee arrangements.

The firm also submitted a Form 8-K filing accompanied by a prospectus supplement related to its active registration statement on Form S-3.

AVAX One’s leadership team comprises veterans from institutional finance and capital markets sectors. The organization seeks to provide conventional investors with a regulated avenue for gaining exposure to Avalanche blockchain opportunities through strategic treasury operations and potential acquisitions.

Kahn emphasized that leadership remains “focused on investing in AVAX accumulation and yield opportunities to maximize AVAX per share and create durable shareholder value.”

Both the validator infrastructure deployment and the share repurchase program align with the company’s broader strategic roadmap to diversify revenue channels and strengthen its financial foundation.

TLDR BTC experienced a 3.4% decline to approximately $68,000 on Saturday following a mid-week peak at $74,000 February employment data revealed a loss of 92,000 jobs, with unemployment climbing to 4.4% The greenback recorded its most significant weekly rally in twelve months, weighing on digital assets Large holders liquidated approximately 66% of their recent Bitcoin accumulation as retail continued buying Bitcoin ETFs experienced $348.9 million in redemptions — the highest single-day exodus in three weeks Bitcoin’s weekly trajectory began on an optimistic note but concluded with significant headwinds. After reaching $74,000 on Thursday, BTC reversed course dramatically, sliding back to approximately $68,000 by Saturday morning — representing a 3.4% decline over 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price The downturn followed disappointing employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which revealed the U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs in February. This stark contrast to economists’ projections of a 50,000 job increase caught markets off guard. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked upward from 4.3% to 4.4%.

Equity markets absorbed the shock as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 900 points in early Friday trading. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.7%.

The broader cryptocurrency market mirrored Bitcoin’s weakness. Ethereum declined 4.4% to $1,974. Solana shed 4% to reach $84.31. Dogecoin retreated 2.9% to $0.09. XRP decreased 2.2% to $1.37.

Despite Friday’s selloff, most leading digital assets maintained weekly gains. Bitcoin advanced 3.6% over the seven-day period. Ethereum posted a 2.6% increase. BNB climbed 2.1%.

Whale Selling and ETF Outflows Analytics from Santiment revealed that large holders — addresses containing between 10 and 10,000 BTC — accumulated positions from February 23 through March 3 while Bitcoin traded in the $62,900 to $69,600 range. As BTC surged beyond $70,000 and reached $74,000, these same addresses offloaded approximately 66% of their recent accumulation.

Meanwhile, smaller investors — wallets holding less than 0.01 BTC — continued accumulating. Santiment indicated this divergence typically signals additional downside ahead.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs registered $348.9 million in net redemptions on Friday, marking the most substantial single-day withdrawal since February 12.

Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe warned: “If Bitcoin doesn’t find support in this $67–68K region, then we’re likely going to retest the lows.”

Macro Headwinds The U.S. dollar experienced its strongest weekly advance in a year. Climbing oil prices — with Brent crude reaching $90 per barrel, a surge exceeding 20% over the week — combined with persistent Middle East tensions amplified inflation concerns, diminishing expectations for imminent Federal Reserve interest rate reductions.

$BTC In between these important high timeframe weekly levels.

Currently, the Weekly 200MA/EMA are holding as support for the past few weeks. But Bitcoin has been unable to bounce properly just yet.

Above, the bull market support band, which was lost in November, is acting as… pic.twitter.com/073T2e7rys

— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) March 6, 2026

Glassnode analytics indicated that 43% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply currently sits underwater. This underwater supply generates selling pressure during price rallies as holders attempt to achieve breakeven.

A potential silver lining emerged: net stablecoin inflows surged 415% to $1.7 billion throughout the week, indicating substantial capital waiting on the sidelines.

Economist Timothy Peterson observed that Bitcoin’s present price range has historically represented a floor, citing a 99.5% statistical probability that BTC maintains levels above $60,000.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to a reading of 12 on Saturday, firmly entrenched in “Extreme Fear” territory.

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Vitalik Buterin is urging the Ethereum ecosystem to get bolder about what it builds on top of the chain—while drawing a hard line around the base layer’s core guarantees—arguing that a first-principles reset on applications, wallets, and even culture could be necessary for Ethereum’s next phase.

In a post on X, the Ethereum co-founder said “it’s healthy for us in the Ethereum world to have a more bold and open mindset,” especially on the application layer and “how we see ourselves in the world.” That openness, he argued, should not drift into ambiguity about what Ethereum’s L1 is supposed to protect.

“We should not compromise on core properties: censorship resistance, open source, privacy, security (CROPS),” Buterin wrote. “We should not have ‘open mindedness’ of the type that leaves people with no confidence of what security properties the L1 will still have one year from now.” He added that Ethereum should not backslide into questioning fundamentals like whether “light clients” should “trustlessly verify correctness of the chain.”

Where the rethink should happen, in his framing, is the interface between Ethereum and users: the application stack, its assumptions, and the social conventions that shape what builders consider “serious” work.

Ethereum AI Wallets, But With Guardrails Buterin tied part of the shift to AI, floating a scenario where “wallets as browser extensions and mobile extensions are dead within a year?” On Farcaster, he made the point more directly: “Pretty obvious that the next iteration of wallets will heavily involve AI.”

Still, he stressed that higher-value usage can’t simply outsource trust to a model. “I would not trust an LLM with multi-million transactions or funds,” he wrote, describing what he sees as the “optimal workflow” for large transfers: “AI proposes a plan, local light client simulates it, you see the action and the simulated outcome and manually confirm it.”

The pay-off, he suggested, is that moving away from today’s dapp-heavy interaction model could reduce risk. If done “conservatively with lots of emphasis on security,” Buterin argued, removing dapp UIs “from the picture completely” could eliminate “a large number of attack vectors (for both theft and privacy).”

‘Rip Off The Suit And Tie’ Buterin pointed to privacy as a recent example of Ethereum changing its priorities at the application layer. He described last year’s “shift to thinking about privacy as a first-class consideration,” which, he argued, implies “a radically different Ethereum application stack” because “the entire stack so far has not been built around privacy.” This year, he said, that has expanded into “growing work on the networking side of privacy, both inside the EF and outside.”

He also sketched more provocative app-layer thought experiments, including whether “the rest of defi is basically just universal futures markets on top of a good decentralized oracle and letting users self-organize on top of that,” and even whether “the ideal decentralized oracle is just a SNARK over M-of-N small LLMs over zk-TLSes of some major news sites?” In his view, AI pushes “applications” away from discrete products with discrete UIs and toward a continuous space—making “build fewer apps and rely on users to self-organize around them” a pattern that could expand.

On scaling, he said Ethereum is also “rethinking from zero the role of L2s, and what kind of L2s are actually most synergistic and additive to Ethereum,” framing it as another area where past assumptions may no longer hold.

Buterin framed culture as a non-technical constraint that can quietly narrow what gets built. Referencing “the whole milady thing,” he argued the subtext is to “rip off the suit and tie,” describing a deliberately irreverent break from “respectable” postures: “Take the preconception that you are ‘respectable’, write it down on a piece of paper, crumble it up and burn it. The psychological baptism of doing this leads to the intellectual baptism of unlocking greater creativity and expanding overton windows.”

He closed his X post with a challenge to builders: stop iterating one step at a time from today’s usage patterns and instead imagine Ethereum’s application layer as if starting from a blank page. “If YOU had to write the section of the 2014 Ethereum whitepaper that talked about applications… what would you write?” he asked, urging people to “mark all path-dependence concerns down to zero” and see what new designs emerge.

At press time, ETH traded at $2,050.

ETH remains above the black trendline, 1-week chart | Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView.com Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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Shiba Inu's burn rate surged 53,000% in 24 hours, but the SHIB price dropped 2.73%.

Shiba Inu's burn rate recorded a dramatic spike in the last 24 hours, with over 172 million SHIB tokens permanently removed from circulation, a 53,000% increase over the prior period. Despite the headline-grabbing figure, the token's price has not responded in kind.

SHIB is trading around $0.00000540, down approximately 2.73% in the last 24 hours. The broader crypto market, weighed down by Bitcoin's retreat, has pulled altcoins lower across the board. SHIB has not been spared.

The Burn Math: Why 172 Million Tokens Barely Moves the NeedleThe 172 million tokens removed sounds significant in isolation. In context, it is not. SHIB has a circulating supply exceeding 585 trillion tokens. The recent burn reduced that supply by approximately 0.00003%.

That figure is not a rounding error, it is the core challenge facing SHIB's deflationary model. For burns to exert meaningful upward pressure on price, the rate of destruction would need to be sustained at far higher volumes, over an extended period, or be paired with strong ecosystem demand through Shibarium, the project's Layer-2 blockchain.

Single-day burn events, even dramatic ones, do not change the supply-demand equation in any measurable way at this scale. Investors watching burn metrics as price catalysts should treat isolated spikes with caution.

Chart Signals Flash Warning as Key Support Comes Under PressureThe technical picture adds another layer of concern. SHIB has slipped beneath its short and mid-term moving averages, a pattern that typically indicates sellers have the upper hand. Price is currently testing support at $0.00000545.

That level carries weight. A hold there opens the door to a short-term bounce toward $0.00000560, particularly as momentum indicators approach oversold territory. Oversold readings do not guarantee a reversal, but they can attract short-term buyers looking for a technical rebound.

If that support fails, attention shifts to $0.00000530. A confirmed break below that level would establish another lower low on the chart, a bearish structural signal that could invite further selling. Trading volume recently hit approximately $179 million, a figure that reflects active participation but skews toward distribution rather than accumulation, given current price direction.

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Posted: March 7, 2026

LIT, the native token of Lighter DEX, shed over 16% of its value into the weekend. 

The token slipped from $1.38 to a record low of $1.15. The decline followed reports that Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, had withdrawn $40 million from the DEX’s liquidity pool. 

Source: LIT/USDT, TradingView 

According to an on-chain analyst, MLM, Sun withdrew $40.76 million from Lighter LLP on Thursday during the U.S trading session. 

The analyst noted that Sun collectively removed a total of $152 million from the trading platform. This represented 18% of Lighter’s total USDC TVL (total locked value). In response, traders expressed bearish views about the move. This was evidenced by LIT’s sharp sell-off. 

Lighter’s daily outflows hit $155M A deeper look into the Lighter DEX reinforced the analyst’s findings, with Artemis data flagging a whopping $155.1 million in net outflows on 05 March.

This was the second-highest daily outflow from Lighter after the 10 October crash, which saw $179 million in outflows. 

Source: Artemis 

With over 90% of withdrawals driven by Sun, the community is now worried about his move.

In response, Sun clarified that he was just “rebalancing” his wallets and would deposit the funds back into the LLP. 

“We still hold all LIT purchased and remain bullish on Lighter long term. We are rebalancing wallets and will redeposit into LLP soon.”

It remains unclear whether Sun’s move was linked to the recent SEC dismissal of a fraud case against him and his firms. 

However, it’s worth pointing out that such a massive withdrawal from a liquidy pool doesn’t necessarily mean a trading platform is unsafe. On the contrary, it does affect market depth and could increase slippages, making it risky and volatile to enter or exit large orders. 

Whales hold on to their LIT Surprisingly though, the recent plunge wasn’t driven by top whales.

Santiment showed that wallets holding 1 million LIT to 1 billion LIT showed no changes in their balance in March, let alone on Thursday – A sign that the recent sell-off was likely driven by retail holders and leverage traders.  

Source: Santiment

It remains to be seen whether these resilient whales will help form a base for LIT to rebound and reverse recent losses. 

Final Summary LIT dropped by 16% over the weekend after Justin Sun withdrew over $150 million from the DEX’s liquidity pool.  Sun reassured the community that he would deposit the funds again soon.

"Our long-term target is $0.9000," one analyst stated.

Ripple’s XRP has registered a minor uptick over the past week, coinciding with the broader cryptocurrency market’s revival.

However, some analysts believe its price may decline sharply in the near future and even fall below the psychological $1 level.

New Pullback Ahead? Earlier this week, XRP tried to reclaim the $1.50 mark but failed and now trades at around $1.39 (per CoinGecko’s data). The asset’s market capitalization stands at approximately $85 billion, making it the fourth-biggest cryptocurrency, trailing behind BTC, ETH, and USDT.

One person who has been closely monitoring its performance is the X user TradingShot. In their view, XRP has been moving within a downward channel throughout its entire bear cycle, which, according to the chart, began in July 2025 – shortly after the price reached its all-time high of over $3.65.

TradingShot noted that the severe decline in February this year hit the previous target on the 1W MA200, suggesting the asset’s next potential pullback may lead to a further drop to the 1M MA100 support, set at under $0.90.

“This level is critical as it formed the June 2022 bottom of the previous Bear Cycle. Our long-term Target is $0.9000,” the X user concluded.

X user WealthManager also presented a bearish forecast. They believe XRP looks “very dangerous” right now, warning that a “huge drop could be imminent.”

Meanwhile, the prominent Bitcoin educator and advocate Adam Livingston spoke sharply against Ripple’s native cryptocurrency. He said he would rather have $100,000 in FTX customer refund claims than $100,000 in XRP.

You may also like: Analyst Tells XRP Holders to Tune Out War Talk and Watch Key Price Levels XRP Funding Rates on Binance Turn Deeply Negative, Buy Signal? Analyst: XRP Must Clear This Key Level to Invalidate Bearish Structure “At least SBF might send a heartfelt apology from prison before he dies of old age,” Livingston added.

The Bullish Scenario Despite the pessimistic views some express toward XRP, many indicators suggest its price may head north soon. Numerous market observers pointed out that large investors have purchased almost 4.2 billion tokens (worth a whopping $5.7 billion at current rates) since the October 10 crash.

This development reduces the amount of XRP tokens available on the open market, and economic principles dictate that the valuation should rise if demand doesn’t diminish. Moreover, this shows that whales are confident in the asset and view lower prices as an opportunity, a signal that could encourage smaller players to follow suit.

XRP’s exchange netflow is next on the list. Over the past several weeks, outflows have consistently exceeded inflows, indicating that investors are moving their holdings off centralized platforms and into self-custody. This shift reduces the amount of coins immediately available for sale, easing short-term selling pressure.

XRP Exchange Netflow, Source: CoinGlass The asset’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) is also worth mentioning. It has fallen to around 30 on a weekly scale, marking oversold territory that can sometimes be a precursor to a rally. On the other hand, ratios above 70 are considered bearish.

XRP RSI, Source: CryptoWaves Tags:

The crypto market is under pressure again after a brief recovery attempt earlier this week. Bitcoin had surged toward $73,000, sparking optimism that the broader market could regain bullish momentum heading into March. That optimism did not last long. As of March 7, the crypto market has turned lower again. Bitcoin has dropped toward $68,000, Ethereum price is trading near $1,976, and XRP has slipped toward $1.36.

The latest decline comes as traders react to a combination of macroeconomic shocks, including surging oil prices, a surprisingly weak U.S. jobs report, and a wave of leveraged liquidations across crypto derivatives markets. Together, these forces have pushed investors into a risk-off environment, explaining why the crypto market is down today.

Macro Shocks Hit Risk AssetsOne of the major triggers behind the market decline is rising geopolitical tension in the Middle East. Concerns about disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route responsible for roughly 20% of global oil supply, have pushed energy markets sharply higher. As a result, Brent crude oil surged above $91 per barrel, marking a sharp weekly increase.

Higher oil prices typically increase inflation pressure and reduce expectations of near-term interest rate cuts from central banks. When interest rates remain elevated, risk assets such as cryptocurrencies often face renewed selling pressure.

Weak U.S. Jobs Data Adds to Market UncertaintyAnother catalyst weighing on the crypto market is the latest U.S. labor market report. The February Nonfarm Payrolls report showed the U.S. economy lost roughly 92,000 jobs, a sharp miss compared with expectations for job growth. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate climbed to around 4.4%, signaling signs of a cooling labor market.

FEBRUARY U.S. JOBS REPORT

NONFARM PAYROLLS -92K, (Est. +55K) UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 4.4%, (Est. 4.3%)

The probability of a rate cut is rising pic.twitter.com/R23L5M4ZhC

— Couch Investor🛋️ (@Couch_Investor) March 6, 2026 The weak data has increased fears of economic slowdown while inflation risks remain elevated due to rising energy prices. For crypto markets, which tend to react strongly to global liquidity conditions, the combination of slowing growth and persistent inflation has created additional uncertainty.

$302M Liquidations Accelerate the Crypto Sell-OffThe latest drop in prices has also been intensified by large liquidations across crypto derivatives markets. According to Coinglass data, more than $302.75 million in crypto positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin accounted for the largest share of liquidations at roughly $132.79 million, followed by Ethereum with about $63.73 million, while the remaining liquidations were spread across various altcoins.

Such liquidation cascades occur when leveraged traders are forced to close positions after prices move against them. This forced selling often amplifies market declines and increases volatility.

Bitcoin Price Analysis: Key Levels To WatchAfter briefly touching $73,000 earlier this week, BTC price failed to sustain its bullish momentum and has now retraced toward the $68,000 level. Technically, the $67,000–$68,000 region now represents a critical support zone. This area previously acted as a demand region during the recent consolidation phase and may determine the next direction for the market. If buyers manage to defend this level, Bitcoin could attempt a rebound toward $70,000 and $72,000. However, a decisive break below $67,000 could open the door for a deeper correction toward the $65,000 support level.

Ethereum Price Analysis: Can ETH Reclaim $2,200?Ethereum has also moved lower alongside Bitcoin and is currently trading around $1,976, slipping below the important $2,000 psychological level.

The $1,850–$1,900 zone now acts as a key support range for Ethereum. If buyers manage to defend this area, the asset could attempt a recovery toward $2,080 and $2,200. However, if bearish pressure continues, ETH may revisit deeper support near $1,850, which previously served as a strong demand region.

XRP Price Analysis: What’s Next for XRP?XRP is also experiencing mild downside pressure as the broader crypto market weakens. The token is currently trading near $1.36, consolidating after failing to extend its earlier recovery. The $1.30 level now represents a critical support level. If this zone holds, XRP could attempt another move toward $1.45 and $1.50. However, if Bitcoin continues to decline and broader market sentiment weakens, XRP could revisit the $1.20 support zone before buyers step in again.

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On-chain data shows the Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio has witnessed a sharp increase recently, indicating that large deposit transactions have gained dominance.

Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio Has Seen Its 30-Day SMA Value Hit 0.6 In a new post on X, CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn has talked about the latest trend in the Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio. This on-chain indicator measures the ratio between the sum of the top 10 exchange inflows and the total exchange inflow.

The ten largest transactions going toward exchanges are generally representative of deposit activity from the whale entities, so the Exchange Whale Ratio essentially tells us about how the inflows from these giants compare with that of the entire market.

When the value of the metric is high, it means the whales make up for a large share of the exchange inflows. As one of the main reasons why investors deposit to these platforms is for selling-related purposes, this kind of trend can be a sign that big-money holders are potentially distributing.

On the other hand, the indicator having a low value suggests the whales are making up for a relatively healthy portion of the total market deposits, which can be either neutral or bullish for the cryptocurrency.

Now, here is the chart shared by Maartunn that shows the trend in the 30-day simple moving average (SMA) of the Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio over the past decade:

The value of the metric seems to have shot up in recent days | Source: @JA_Maartun on X As displayed in the above graph, the 30-day SMA of the Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio floated around the 0.45 mark during 2025, suggesting whale-sized transactions were making up for less than 50% of the exchange deposit activity.

Recently, however, the indicator has witnessed a sharp increase. This surge arrived as BTC saw its leg down to $60,000 in early February, but the metric’s value hasn’t calmed down even as the asset has stabilized.

Today, the Bitcoin Exchange Whale Ratio has a value of 0.6, meaning that the ten largest deposit transactions alone add up to 60% of the exchange inflow volume. It now remains to be seen how the BTC price will develop in the near future, given this possible selling pressure being applied by the large hands.

In some other news, the Bitcoin Inter-exchange Flow Pulse (IFP) has just seen a trend flip, as the analyst has highlighted in another X post.

Looks like the metric has crossed above the 90-day SMA | Source: @JA_Maartun on X The IFP keeps track of the flows occurring between spot and derivatives exchanges. Earlier, this metric fell under its 90-day SMA and entered into a period of downtrend, implying speculative activity was declining.

From the chart, it’s visible that the IFP has recently turned back up and crossed beyond the 90-day, implying derivatives flows could be making a comeback.

BTC Price At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $68,400, up more than 4% in the last seven days.

The price of the asset appears to have retraced from this week’s high | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com

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Friday's U.S. employment report triggered a wave of selling across the cryptocurrency market and Bitcoin, putting downward pressure on its price, which fell below the important psychological level of $70,000. After the data was released, Bitcoin’s price declined about 2.8-3%, reaching intraday lows around $69,000 — specifically near $69,430 — within a few hours.

The report sparked sharp two-sided “whipsaw” movements as market participants reassessed recession risk and the probability of Federal Reserve rate cuts. It came in significantly worse than expected, which alarmed the market. 

Why "bad" labor data might be fuel Bitcoin bulls are waiting forThe U.S. economy unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs, while forecasts had projected growth of 50,000-59,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, one-tenth of a percentage point above expectations. Data for previous months was also revised downward, confirming a trend of cooling on the labor market. 

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A weak employment report typically increases expectations of Federal Reserve policy easing, meaning potential rate cuts, which in theory is positive for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as risk assets. However, the market’s immediate reaction was negative, primarily due to fears of a sharp economic slowdown, the so-called hard landing and a broader decline in risk appetite amid global instability.

BTC/USD, Source: TradingViewFor many, the current Bitcoin pullback is seen as a buy-the-dip opportunity, especially if Bitcoin can hold the key support zone around $69,000 and reclaim the $70,000-$71,000 range per coin.

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The next major catalysts to watch are the February CPI report on Wednesday, March 11, and the FOMC meeting on March 17-18, where the rate decision and the press conference by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will take place.

At the moment, no rate cut is expected, but the dot plot and Powell’s comments on the softening labor market will be crucial. Any hint of faster or larger cuts later in 2026 may act as rocket fuel for BTC and the broader crypto market.

Bitcoin briefly surged toward $74,000 this week, fueled by a wave of positive institutional developments that signaled deeper integration between the cryptocurrency industry and traditional finance. However, the rally proved short-lived. By the end of the week, BTC had slipped below $69,000, wiping out roughly $110 billion in market capitalization despite what many considered one of the most bullish stretches of institutional news in recent months.

Several major financial milestones highlighted the growing relationship between Wall Street and the crypto market. Morgan Stanley appointed Bank of New York Mellon as custodian for its spot Bitcoin ETF exposure, reinforcing institutional infrastructure around digital assets. At the same time, crypto exchange Kraken secured access to the Federal Reserve’s payment system, marking a significant step toward integrating cryptocurrency firms with the U.S. banking network. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, also invested in crypto exchange OKX, valuing the platform at $25 billion. Adding to the momentum, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that traditional banks should work toward a functional relationship with the crypto sector.

In previous crypto market cycles, announcements like these could have triggered a sustained Bitcoin rally. Instead, the market largely ignored the positive institutional developments as broader macroeconomic forces dominated investor sentiment. The pullback was mainly driven by a strengthening U.S. dollar after geopolitical tensions escalated in Iran. Trump’s statement that there would be “no deal with Iran” pushed oil prices higher, raised new inflation concerns, and shifted expectations about interest rates.

As the dollar index strengthened and global equities moved lower, risk assets—including cryptocurrencies—came under pressure. Bitcoin, which increasingly trades in correlation with tech stocks and the Nasdaq, followed the broader risk-off trend.

Additional financial stress also unsettled investors. Reports that BlackRock began limiting withdrawals from its $26 billion private credit fund, along with Blue Owl selling $1.4 billion in loans to meet redemption requests, raised concerns about liquidity in the global private credit market.

Data suggests that short-term Bitcoin holders were the primary sellers during the pullback. According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, these traders transferred more than 27,000 BTC—worth about $1.8 billion—to exchanges in profit within 24 hours as the price approached $74,000. Short-term investors tend to react quickly to market volatility, locking in gains rather than holding through uncertainty.

Despite the price decline, some signs of recovery are emerging. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $787 million in net inflows last week, marking their first positive weekly inflows since mid-January, according to Binance Research. This suggests institutional investors may be gradually returning to the crypto market after weeks of outflows.

Funding rates for Bitcoin derivatives have also dropped to their lowest levels since 2023, indicating that excessive leverage has been flushed out of the system. Historically, such conditions can create a healthier market environment for sustained rallies driven by real demand rather than speculative trading.

For now, Bitcoin remains caught between growing institutional adoption and powerful macroeconomic forces. While the infrastructure supporting crypto continues to strengthen, price movements are increasingly shaped by global liquidity, interest rates, and geopolitical developments rather than crypto-specific news alone.

<Copyright ⓒ TokenPost, unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited>

Journalist

Posted: March 7, 2026

The market has brought risk management back to the forefront.

From a technical standpoint, capital inflows over the past week have pushed high‑cap assets above their month‑to‑month highs, reigniting the risk‑on sentiment that faded after last year’s Q4 crash.

Yet, the next move remains uncertain. Bitcoin [BTC] is chopping around $70k, while Ethereum [ETH] hovers near $2k, both creating indecision in directional bias and setting up a potential trap for both bulls and bears.

Source: TradingView (ETH/USDT)

Historically, such indecision has moved capital toward alternative assets. 

However, with no altcoin rally materializing, the market is instead capitalizing on bearish sentiment. Arkham Intelligence identified a whale who has already secured $4.5 million in profits by shorting altcoins.

Meanwhile, Social Volume around altcoins has fallen sharply, dropping from 750 in July 2025 to just 33, according to Santiment. This decline in market interest further reinforces bearish positioning, creating an optimal setup for bears to capitalize on altcoin trends.

That said, BTC is testing resistance, signaling that risk management is critical. In this context, is this bearish positioning truly low-risk, or could an Ethereum breakout flip the market back in favor of bulls?

Ethereum breakout could unlock rotation across altcoins Ethereum’s bullish metrics are timing-sensitive.

On the technical front, the ETH/BTC ratio continues to consolidate below 0.03. This consolidation follows a first higher high since the mid-January 0.035 peak, signaling that Ethereum is slowly regaining competitive flows.

Notably, this technical setup is further reinforced by stablecoin supply, as Artemis data shows over $500 million in stablecoin liquidity absorbed on Ethereum in the past 24 hours, outperforming every other chain.

Source: Artemis Terminal

Consequently, this influx is driving capital flows into key growth sectors, with Ethereum dominating the tokenized sector at nearly 60% market share and recording a 0.43% increase in daily Total Value Locked.

In essence, strong on-chain liquidity, targeted capital rotation, and strategic accumulation are driving the current ETH/BTC consolidation, signaling that investors are positioning bullishly around Ethereum on both technical and fundamental grounds.

As the largest altcoin, a breakout in ETH would naturally redirect capital across altcoins, and with risk management back in focus, this setup creates conditions ripe for a massive short squeeze and subsequent altcoin rally.

Final Summary With no altcoin rally, whales are profiting from bearish positions. In turn, this is creating an optimal setup for bears to capitalize on altcoin weakness. rong on-chain metrics suggest an Ethereum breakout could redirect capital across altcoins and trigger a massive short squeeze.

BlackRock’s sweeping push to tokenize their $5.5 trillion iShares franchise is fueling optimism around XRP’s role in institutional finance.

Market Sentiment:

Bullish Bearish Neutral

Published: March 7, 2026 │ 1:55 AM GMT

Created by Kornelija Poderskytė from DailyCoin

A mainstream crypto market commentator is asking why the world’s largest asset manager still hasn’t gone near an XRP spot product — and suggests the answer may lie in something much bigger than an exchange-traded fund.

In a recent video, Crypto Sensei remarks that BlackRock’s stated plan to tokenize its iShares ETFs on public blockchains could intersect directly with the XRP Ledger, potentially reshaping the token’s role in institutional finance.

Was It Never About a Ripple Spot ETF?The host revisits BlackRock’s XRP-sized gap in its ETF lineup, claiming that a spot XRP product from the firm “would have been the largest XRP spot product in the market” and a clear validation signal. Instead, he points to remarks attributed to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan and BlackRock executives that all iShares ETF products — around 1,700 funds and roughly $5.5 trillion in assets globally, $3.6 trillion in the U.S. — are on a path to tokenization within three to twelve months.

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BlackRock’s CFO Martin Small is cited as saying he could not specify whether the process would take 90 days or a year, implying it is underway rather than hypothetical. The host speculates that BlackRock may be lining up a handful of public chains for this migration, with Ethereum likely first, but argues it would be “crazy not to have some interoperability” with the XRP Ledger and other major networks like Solana’s Layer-1.

He notes that Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink have both publicly avoided commenting directly on each other’s firms, reading that silence as a hint of undisclosed work behind the scenes. If even a fraction of BlackRock’s ETF complex were tokenized on the XRP Ledger, the host suggests, that narrative could eclipse the impact of a single XRP ETF.

XRP As a Bridge Between TradFi & DeFiThe video leans heavily on a new interview with Ashish Birla, former Ripple executive and current board member, speaking with the team from Yellow.

Birla argues that real-world asset tokenization is no longer hypothetical: “If you look at tokenized value on blockchains of real world assets, that chart is growing,” he says, adding that institutional interest and clearer regulation are finally aligning with long-standing technical capabilities.

Birla highlights that XRP was used to tokenize gold “in the early days” and frames the current moment as a shift from pure technology to a three-part stack: tech, regulation, then capital formation.

The Former Ripple executive and Evernorth founder Ashish Birla explains why Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization on the XRP Ledger is the next big frontier:

Evolution: Moving from simple payments to complex assets.

• The Gold Standard: Birla notes the #XRPL was tokenizing Gold… pic.twitter.com/L216v7T0Mb

— 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸XRP (@BankXRP) March 5, 2026 His new venture, Evernorth, aims to provide institutional and retail access to XRP through active treasury management, deploying XRP on-chain to generate yield as well as via traditional methods. He describes XRP as “the killer bridge for TradFi and DeFi” and expects more banks to bypass legacy systems in favor of blockchains rather than waiting for entrenched rails like SWIFT to modernize.

On stablecoins, Birla calls them critical “on and off ramps,” comparing their role to dial-up access in the early internet. He contends that all tokens will need liquidity and that XRP is well-positioned to provide it, particularly via its native DEX.

Chainlink’s Part In Ripple’s Institutional PushBeyond XRP’s base layer, Crypto Sensei underscores growing overlap between Ripple and Chainlink in regulated digital finance. Both companies, he notes, have participated in the same EHKB (also referred to as EA, HKD) program in a major financial hub, which he interprets as a sign of reduced rivalry and more focus on interoperability.

The video cites Chainlink’s ecosystem “validating Ripple’s infrastructure for tokenized assets and cross border payments,” aligning with XRP’s speed and liquidity narrative.

Crypto Sensei also highlights crossover Markets, the firm behind CrossX — a crypto electronic communication network — which just closed a $31 million Series B at a $200 million valuation. Ripple participated in the round alongside traditional trading heavyweights such as Tradeweb, Virtu, and Wintermute, positioning CrossX as Wall Street-grade execution infrastructure for digital assets.

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People Also Ask:Is BlackRock confirmed to be using the XRP Ledger?

Not at the moment – the video’s host is clear that this is a theory based on BlackRock’s public tokenization plans and XRP’s technical fit, not on any formal announcement.

What is Evernorth and how is it related to XRP?

Evernorth, founded by Ashish Birla, is an active treasury vehicle designed to give institutions and individuals access to XRP and deploy it for yield both on-chain and through traditional methods.

Does the rise of regulated stablecoins threaten XRP?

Birla argues the opposite: he sees stablecoins as on/off ramps that make it easier to access blockchain ecosystems, while XRP can still serve as a high-liquidity asset powering the XRP DEX and broader markets.

What does Ripple’s investment in CrossX signal?

According to the host, Ripple’s backing of CrossX, alongside major Wall Street firms, signals a deliberate push into institutional-grade crypto trading infrastructure ahead of broader tokenization and capital inflows.

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Market Sentiment

100% Bullish

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Cardano price continues to face downward pressure as ADA struggles to reclaim key resistance levels. The cryptocurrency is currently trading around $0.25 after briefly approaching the upper boundary of a descending trendline. Earlier in the week, ADA attempted a recovery rally that pushed the price near $0.29, but the move quickly lost momentum, forcing the token back into consolidation near the $0.25 zone.

The broader cryptocurrency market has also experienced a sharp decline, contributing to the weakness in Cardano price. The global crypto market dropped roughly 3.5% within 24 hours as investors reacted to rising economic uncertainty. Bitcoin price fell more than 4% and slipped below the $70,000 level, while Ethereum price also weakened and traded under $2,000 despite showing signs of recovery earlier in the week.

Market sentiment shifted after a disappointing United States jobs report revealed that the economy lost approximately 92,000 jobs in February. At the same time, oil prices surged above $86, further intensifying global economic concerns. These developments triggered a broader risk-off sentiment across financial markets, causing investors to reduce exposure to risk assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Despite these bearish conditions, Cardano continues to expand its real-world adoption. The network recently integrated payment support across 137 SPAR supermarket locations in Switzerland, allowing customers to use ADA for transactions. While the development highlights growing utility for the Cardano ecosystem, it has not been enough to offset broader market weakness.

Data from the derivatives market suggests declining trader confidence. Cardano futures open interest fell by around 2% to $436 million, continuing a downtrend that began in mid-January. Daily trading volume also dropped about 24% to $753 million, indicating reduced activity across ADA derivatives markets.

On-chain data further shows that large Cardano holders have sold nearly 230 million ADA tokens over the past week, adding significant selling pressure. This wave of whale activity, worth more than $63 million, has weighed on short-term price performance.

Technically, ADA remains trapped in a sideways range between $0.25 support and $0.30 resistance on the four-hour chart. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits near 35, suggesting weakening momentum and approaching oversold conditions. Meanwhile, the Average Directional Index (ADX) around 11 indicates the absence of a strong market trend.

If the $0.25 support level breaks decisively, Cardano price could decline toward the next key support near $0.23. However, a rebound from the current zone may allow ADA to recover toward $0.27 and $0.28. A stronger bullish move would be required for Cardano to challenge the critical $0.30 resistance level again.

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TLDR:

The KITE cryptocurrency leads gains with a 22.8% rally, establishing a new all-time high at $0.323. Lighter (LIT) is in a critical situation after an 18% weekly drop, hitting an all-time low of $1.15. The Official Trump (TRUMP) token shows signs of weakness with increasing capital outflows, approaching its vital support. As the weekend begins, the market enters a period of high operational volatility, and investors are closely watching the movements of these altcoins. During Friday’s session, tokens like KITE demonstrated exceptional strength, attracting consistent buying volume that pushed its price to unprecedented levels.

The optimism surrounding this token suggests that if buying pressure continues, KITE could target levels near $0.369 in the short term. However, any shift in sentiment that breaks the $0.278 support level would end the current bullish thesis.

Divergence Between All-Time Highs and Drops to Minimums Exploring the other end of the spectrum, we find Lighter (LIT). This token faces a struggle for technical survival after losing the key level of $1.31. This capitulation led the asset to record an all-time low of $1.15, a point where bargain hunters historically appear to attempt a rebound.

Meanwhile, the TRUMP token is currently trading at $3.21, showing a bearish trend that is accelerating according to the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator. Capital outflow is evident, and there is a real risk of the price testing its absolute low of $3.02 if no political or market catalyst emerges.

In summary, despite the risks, a recovery above $3.44 for TRUMP or reclaiming $1.31 for LIT would change the negative narrative of the weekend. Traders should monitor these critical levels, as Sunday’s close will define the trend for the coming week.